Empire

Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, who died at the age of 72, held the record for the longest reign of all Zulu kings. He had been in power for 50 years. After being admitted to the hospital for diabetes-related disease, Zwelithini died on March12, 2021. Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the king’s traditional prime minister, declared that he had died of COVID-19 while preparing for …

The Kingdom of Lunda (c. 1665 – c. 1887) was a confederation of states located in what is present-day the Democratic Republic of Congo, north-eastern Angola, and north-western Zambia, with Katanga as its capital. Origin of Lunda Kingdom he Lunda confederation was founded on the foundation of a commune known as an N’Gaange in the kiLunda (kiyaka-kipunu) language. It was …

Amenhotep III and his wife Queen Tiye had a son called Akhenaten. Egypt ruled an empire that extended from Syria in west Asia to the River Nile fourth cataract in modern-day Sudan during their reign. In 1887, about 350 tablets known as the “Amarna letters” were discovered near Akhenaten’s new capital, revealing diplomatic correspondence between Akhenaten, his fellow kings in …

The Oyo Empire of present-day Nigeria was a West African empire (c. 1400-1835). The empire arose at the turn of the 14th century from a kingdom founded by the Yoruba and grew to become one of the largest West African states encountered by colonial explorers. It climbed to the top due to trade resources and the strength of a magnificent …

Many religious texts, including the Bible, Quran, Targum Sheni, and Ethiopian work, Kebra Negas, reference Makeda, the Queen of Sheba in present-day Ethiopia. She is referenced to have been a wise, wealthy and very influential ruler who had to meet King Solomon to verify reports of his intelligence and after a series of examinations, she showered him with valuable gifts. …

The African kingdom of Axum (also known as Aksum) was established in the 1st century CE, situated on the northern edge of the highlands of the Red Sea coast just above the Horn of Africa, flourished between the 3rd and 6th centuries CE, and then existed as a much smaller political entity into the 8th century CE. Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, …

The Mali Empire was an empire in West Africa from c. 1235 to 1670. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa. The Manding were most common languages spoken in Mali Empire. The history of mali begins in 1050, with the Almoravids being the ruler of a small Malian …

Kingdom of Benin was one of the strongest and most prosperous kingdoms in history known. From the beginning of the 15th century to the early 17th century, the progress of this kingdom was very clear. Benin was a beautiful city, apart from influence and prosperity, particularly the residence of the leaders. At that time, the people of Benin produced palm …

The ancient city of Mapungubwe (meaning ‘hill of the jackal’) is an Iron Age archaeological site in the Limpopo Province on the border between South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana, 75 km from Messina. It sits close to the point where the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers meet. One thousand years ago, Mapungubwe appears to have been the centre of the largest …

Buganda is a kingdom in Uganda also known as kingdom of the people of Ganda. It is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day East Africa, consisting of the Central Region of Uganda, including Kampala, the Ugandan capital. The 6 million Baganda (singular Muganda; also simply referred to by the root word and adjective, Ganda) make up the largest …