Kingdom of Luba

The Kingdom of Luba, located in central Africa, thrived from the 15th to 19th century CE and was the first such state in the Congo basin. Skills in ironworking and trade along the Lualaba river in such metals as copper permitted the Luba elite to form a kingdom which spread across and out from the Upemba Depression in what is today southern DR Congo. The Luba Kingdom prospered until it fell into the hands of Belgian colonialists in the late 19th century CE.