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The Camel Caravans of the Ancient Sahara
The camel caravans which crossed the great dunes of the Sahara desert began in antiquity but reached their golden period from the 9th century CE onwards. In their heyday caravans consisted of thousands of camels travelling from North Africa...
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Biface from Blombos Cave, South Africa
Biface from Blombos Cave, South Africa. It belongs to the Africa Middle Stone Age (MSA) tool culture and has been dated to c. 71,000 years old.
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Olive Oil Amphora From Africa
Olive oil amphora from Africa and found at Ostia. 3rd century CE. Museo delle Navi Romane di Fiumicino. (National Maritime Museum, Sydney Australia) This amphora is stamped with its place of manufacture; Sullechtum in the Roman province...
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Mapungubwe, South Africa
The hill-site of Mapungubwe, capital of the kingdom of Mapungubwe (11-14th century CE). Located at the very north of South Africa near the Limpopo River.
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Anglo-Zulu War - Britain's Invasion of Zululand
The Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 saw British-led armies invade the Zulu Kingdom in Southern Africa as part of a wider plan to unify various territories into a single British-controlled state. Despite their spectacular success in the opening Battle...
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Map of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, 1016 - 1035 - England, Denmark, and Norway under a Viking Dynasty
The so-called North Sea Empire refers to the personal union created by Cnut the Great (reign in England 1016–1035; Denmark 1018–1035; Norway 1028–1035), which linked the kingdoms of England, Denmark, and Norway under a single ruler during...
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Mansa Musa I - The Richest Man in History?
Mansa Musa I was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa from 1312 to 1337. Controlling territories rich in gold and copper, and monopolising trade between the north and interior of the continent, Mali grew extremely wealthy. Mansa Musa...
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British Somaliland - The Protectorate on the Horn of Africa
The Somaliland Protectorate, more informally and better known as British Somaliland, was created in 1884 and ruled by Great Britain until independence was won in 1960, when the Somali Republic was formed. Strategically important at the mouth...
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Columbian Exchange
The Columbian exchange is a term coined by Alfred Crosby Jr. in 1972 that is traditionally defined as the transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old World of Europe and Africa and the New World of the Americas. The exchange...
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Ghana Empire
The Ghana Empire flourished in West Africa from at least the 6th to 13th century. Not connected geographically to the modern state of Ghana, the Ghana Empire was located in the western Sudan savannah region (modern southern Mauritania and...