Benin: Did you mean...?

Olaudah Equiano (l. c. 1745-1797, also known as Gustavus Vassa) was an African of the Igbo village of Essaka, of the Kingdom of Benin (modern Nigeria), who was enslaved around the age of ten, bought his...

European colonising powers sought to exploit Africa's resources from the 15th century onwards. Arab traders had been doing the same in North Africa and East Africa through the Middle Ages, but it was from the 17th...

It began with a bet in 1859 and would end in a burning in 1860, but, for the 110 African men, women, and children who had been illegally smuggled into the United States aboard the Clotilda...

A map indicating the major ancient and medieval states in sub-Saharan Africa. Areas and dates relate to a state at its peak. In addition, shaded areas are approximate indicators only. For the majority...

The centre of Inca power was the capital Cuzco, considered the navel of the world. 40,000 Incas governed an empire of over 10 million subjects who spoke over 30 different languages. Consequently, the centralised government employed...

Evliya Çelebi (1611 -1682/85) is the most famous Ottoman Turkish traveler and explorer. He is well-known for his ten-volume travelogue, the Seyahatnâme ('Book of Travels'), a monumental narrative of his...

Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, constructed 532-537, continues to be revered as one of the most important structures in the world. Hagia Sophia (Greek Ἁγία Σοφία, for 'Holy Wisdom') was designed to be the major basilica of the Byzantine...

Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (P. G. T. Beauregard, 1818 to 1893) was an engineer and Confederate general during the American Civil War. He is famous as the first general commissioned to...

The Pax Romana (Roman Peace) was a period of relative peace and stability across the Roman Empire which lasted for over 200 years, beginning with the reign of Augustus (27 BCE - 14 CE). The aim of Augustus and his successors was to...

The Battle of Fort Donelson (11-16 February 1862) was a Union victory in the Western theater of the American Civil War on the Cumberland River near the Tennessee-Kentucky border...