Empires and Kingdoms

Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the second historically confirmed female pharaoh, the first being Sobekneferu. Hatshepsut came to the throne of Egypt in 1478 BC. Hatshepsut was only the second woman to become pharaoh in Egypt’s 3,000-year history, and the first to hold the entire power of the position. Cleopatra, who had similar …

Africa was home to a part of the world’s best heads in the ancient era. African women have played a significant role in the continent’s history. Queens were among the forerunners, commanding their territories with precision and patroitism. Their power has made an everlasting impression in history. Hangbe (or Hangbè, also Ahangbe or Na Hangbe) was the ruler of the …

Emperor Menelik II was one of Ethiopia’s most illustrious rulers, reigning as King of Shewa from 1866 to 1889 and as King and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 until his death in 1913. On August 17, 1884, in Ankober, Shewa, Ethiopia, he was born Sahle Miriam. Woizero Ejigayehu Lemma Adyamo, his mother, was a palace servant, and his father was …

The Kuba kingdom, located between the Kasai and Sankuru rivers in the southern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was one of the most powerful and beautiful civilizations that flourished from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Migrating from the far north to their current location in the 16th century, the Kuba kingdom was largely isolated due to …

Taharqa was the son of Piye, the Nubian king of Napata who had first conquered Egypt. Taharqa was also the cousin and successor of Shebitku. He was a pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt and qore of the Kingdom of Kush, from 690 to 664 BC. He was one of the “Kushite Pharaohs” who ruled over Egypt for nearly …

Daudi Chewa II KCMG KBE was Kabaka of the Kingdom of Buganda from 1897 until 1939. He was the 34th Kabaka of Buganda, has a surviving daughter, Princess Addah Balilara lives in Bujjuko, Kampala. He was born on 8 August 1896, at Mengo. He was the fifth son of Kabaka Danieri Basammula-Ekkere Mwanga II Mukasa, Kabaka of Buganda, between 1884 …

Mwambutsa IV Bangiricenge (6 May 1912 – 26 March 1977) was the king (mwami) of Burundi from 1915 to 1966. He ascended to the throne following the death of his father, Mutaga IV Mbikije who reigned from 1908 to 1915. Mwambutsa was born while Burundi was under German colonial rule, and his reign mostly coincided with Belgian colonial rule (1916–62). …

The New Kingdom, often known as the Egyptian Empire, was the time in ancient Egyptian history between the sixteenth and eleventh centuries BC, encompassing Egypt’s Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth dynasties. Radiocarbon dating dates the start of the New Kingdom between 1570 and 1544 BC. The Second Intermediate Period was followed by the New Kingdom, which was followed by the Third …

The Kingdom of Axum existed in modern-day Ethiopia from 100AD to about 970AD. It was a prosperous kingdom until it was destroyed by a queen driven by rage and revenge. Queen Gudit or Yudit is said to have invaded the kingdom from the south, destroying not only the city but also its countryside, including churches and monasteries, as well as …

Ewuare (also known as Ewuare the Great or Ewuare I) was the Oba (king) of the Benin Empire from 1440 to 1473. Ewuare became king after a violent coup against his brother Uwaifiokun that destroyed large partBenin City. Following the war, Ewuare rebuilt much of Benin’s city, restructured political systems in the kingdom, widened the kingdom’s territory, and promoted the …