Professor Ahmed Baba & Sonni Ali Ber
9. Professor Ahmed Baba of Songhai (died 1627 AD)Greatest scholar of the sixteenth century world The Songhai Empire ruled about two thirds of West Africa, including the lands now called Mali, Mauritania, Guinea, Senegal, Gambia, Northern Nigeria and Niger. When the Empire collapsed, due to an Arab and European invasion in 1591 AD, its intelligentsia […]
Kentake Amanirenas & Pharaoh Amenemhet I
11. Kentake Amanirenas of Kush (flourished c.24 BC)Defender of the Sudanese Kingdom of Kush against Roman aggression The Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC brought a new challenge to the Kingdom of Kush, to the south. Augustus Caesar, the Roman emperor, threatened an invasion, following his Egyptian campaign. According to Strabo, a famous geographer, […]
Pharaoh Amenemhet III & Pharaoh Amenhotep III
13. Pharaoh Amenemhet III of Ancient Egypt (ruled 3242-3195 BC)Builder of Egypt’s Largest Monument Amenemhet III, the last great ruler of the Egyptian Twelfth Dynasty (3242-3195 BC), built two important pyramids, at Hawara and Dashur. The former monument had a sepulchral chamber weighing a staggering 110 tons of yellow quartzite. He built a hall of […]
Queen Amina & Queen Bakwa Turunku
15. Queen Amina of Hausaland (ruled 1576-1610 AD)Greatest conqueror of the Nigeria region and its greatest military architect Princess Amina of the Hausa city state of Zazzau was born around 1533. In 1549 she became the heir apparent (Magajiya) to her mother. With the title came responsibility for a ward in the city where she […]
Dahia al-Kahina & Askia Daud
17. Dahia al-Kahina of Mauritania (ruled 688-705 AD)Powerful ruler of the Hausas In 639 AD a new conquering force swept into Africa. The Arabians seized Egypt, Cyrenaica, Tripoli, and pushed on to Carthage and Numidia. The invasion swept away 600 years of Roman occupation. The new conquerors spread Islam from Egypt to Morocco and also […]
Pharaoh Djoser & Mai Dunama ibn Salma
19. Pharaoh Djoser of Egypt (5018-4989 BC)Builder of the highly celebrated Saqqara Complex With the Negro Third Egyptian Dynasty (5046-4872 BC) there was a change in public administration. The Prime Minister now led the bureaucratic structure. The great ruler of this dynasty was Pharaoh Djoser. During his 29 years, Egyptian power was felt in Lower […]
Oba Esigie & Oba Ewuare
21. Oba Esigie of Benin (ruled c.1504-c.1550 AD)Great ruler of the southern Nigeria region who commissioned great art Great Benin, also known as Edo, was an important state that flourished in southern Nigeria. Oba Esigie ascended the throne in c.1504 and had a long and eventful reign of perhaps 46 years. He introduced a special […]
Negus Negaste Ezana & Hannibal Barca
23. Negus Negaste Ezana of Ethiopia (flourished 330 AD)The first Christian Emperor in the world Ezana proclaimed Ethiopia to be a Christian state in the early fourth century AD, one of the oldest surviving Christian nations in the world. An inscription of the period recorded a prayer of the Negus Negaste (i.e. King of Kings): […]
Admiral Hanno & Queen/Pharaoh Hatshepsut
25. Admiral Hanno of Carthage (sixth or fifth centuries BC)Carthaginian explorer of the West African coast The North African civilisation of Carthage was much engaged in exploration. There are accounts of Carthaginian exploration in the sixth or fifth centuries BC. Hanno, one of their admirals, commanded sixty ships that carried 30,000 people along the north […]
Mai Idris Alooma & Prime Minister Imhotep
27. Mai Idris Alooma of Kanem-Borno (ruled 1564-96 AD)Greatest ruler of the Central African state of Kanem-Borno Mai (i.e. King) Idris Alooma (1564-96) was a most successful politician of the period who gained considerable international prestige. Mahmud Kati, the great Songhai historian, wrote that: “The mass of our contemporaries hold that there are four Sultans […]
