History

A truly one-of-a-kind African country. Ethiopia has a long, detailed, fascinating history, a distinct national identity, incredible and untapped heritages, and rites that are both exciting and mysterious in their own right. It’s also the world’s oldest living alphabets – Ethiopic – and probably one of the longest with its 345 letters. The country is a mosaic of plethora of …

Fishing expeditions were first organized by Africans 90,000 years ago. A finely wrought series of harpoon points, all elaborately polished and barbed, was discovered in Katanda, a region in northeastern Zare (now Congo). A well-crafted tool, thought to be a dagger, was also discovered. The findings suggested the existence of an ancient aquatic or fishing culture. Katanda Territory is one …

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 …

Malik Ambar (1548–13 May 1626) was a Siddi military leader and the prime minister of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate in India’s Deccan region. Malik was born in the Adal Sultunate, in present-day Ethiopia, and was sold as a child and brought to India as a slave. While in India, he created a mercenary force of up to 1500 men. His headquarters …

Hussein Hasan (Somali: Xuseen Xassan) was a well-known Somali poet and warrior of the Eidagale Isaaq clan, renowned for his military superiority and fiery temper. Hussein belonged to the Eidagale’s Rer Guled branch and was the great grandson of the 1st Isaaq Sultan Guled Abdi. War within the Eidagale Tensions were high between the Rer Guled and another Eidagale subclan. …

Before today’s name ‘Africa’, our continent was called with different names by our forefathers. These names are explained below; Afrika: Similar to the native words, Kongo (Congo) and Akkra (Accra), it is reported that original Afrikan languages spelled Afrika with a “k.” After European colonialism, the letter “k” was substituted by the letter “c.” To further support this theory many look …

The Azande (plural of “Zande” in the Zande language) are an ethnic group of North Central Africa. Zande are primarily found in the northeastern region of Democratic Republic of the Congo, south-central and southwestern regions of South Sudan, and the southeastern region of Central African Republic. The Congolese Azande inhabit in Orientale Province, specifically in the Isiro, Dungu, Kisangani, and Duruma areas near the …

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 …