In the following article, Collins Edigin, a historian at the University of Benin, describes the rule of the Obas of Benin, a continuous dynasty that began in the 13th Century and is one of the oldest in the world. The kingdom of Benin was one … Read MoreThe Obas of Benin: A Brief History of the Rulers of A West African State for Nine Centuries
In the following article, University of Louisville historian John McLeod surveys illustrative episodes in the long history of the Siddis, or African-Indians (Indians of African Ancestry), dating back to the thirteenth century. There have been people of African descent in the Indian subcontinent for centuries. … Read MoreWho are the Siddis? A Brief Introduction to the 800-Year African Experience in India
Djenné, also known as Jenne or Dienné, is a southern Malian city that was an ancient center for trading and Muslim scholarship during its height. It is nestled on the Bani River and is approximately 220 miles southwest of Timbuktu. The city had a population … Read MoreDjenné, Mali (11th or 13th century- )
Sundiata (Sunjata) Keita was a West African political leader who would become the founder and first ruler of the Mali Empire in medieval West Africa. He founded the empire circa 1235 CE and ruled until his death in circa 1255 CE. The Mali empire was prosperous under his rule. Sundiata … Read MoreSundiata Keita (1210?-1255?)
Mathematical physicist and university administrator Arlie O. Petters was born in the Central American city of Dangriga in the nation of Belize (formerly British Honduras) on February 21, 1964, the son of civil engineer Oswald Vasquez. His mother, Velina, left him when he was a child to work in the … Read MoreArlie Oswald Petters (1964- )
Casablanca (al-Dar al-Bayda in Arabic; “white house” in English) is Morocco’s center of cultural and commercial activity and one of the largest metropolises in contemporary Africa. A port city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, it is the center of the nation’s rail and … Read MoreCasablanca, Morocco (circa 13th Century)
Lalibela, a small city of approximately 15,000 people located in the Wollo Province of the Amhara Region of Northern Ethiopia, is considered one of the nation’s holiest cities and is the destination for pilgrimages by Ethiopian Orthodox Christians from around the nation. It was envisioned … Read MoreLalibela, Ethiopia (ca. 1200- )
