The Sokoto Caliphate in Northern Nigeria was one of the largest empires in Africa during the 19th century. The empire developed as a result of the Fulani jihads (holy wars) which took place in the first decade of the 19th century across what is now … Read MoreSultanate of Sokoto (Sokoto Caliphate)
Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir (or Umar Hassan Ahmad el-Bashir) became president of Sudan in 1993 but first gained military power in 1989 during an Islamist-backed coup. He was born in the northern Sudan village of Hosh Bonnaga in 1944. Bashir’s military training began in 1960 … Read MoreOmar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir (1944- )
Omar Bongo was President of Gabon from 1967 until his death in 2009, over 42 years, and thus ruled longer than any other African leader. Bongo was born in the Beteke region of Gabon on December 10, 1935. He was the youngest of twelve children … Read MoreOmar/Albert-Bernard Bongo (1935-2009)
The Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) was founded by Malcolm X, John Henrik Clarke, and other Black nationalist leaders on June 24, 1964 in Harlem, New York. Formed shortly after his break with the Nation of Islam, the OAAU was a secular institution that sought … Read MoreOrganization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) 1965
Alhaji (Sir) Ahmadu Bello was the Sardauna of Sokoto and leader of Nigeria’s northern region during the last years of British rule and early independence. He was brutally murdered at his home during a 1966 coup d’état, one in a series of events characterizing Nigeria’s … Read MoreAlhaji (Sir) Ahmadu Bello (1910-1966)
Omar Ibn Said, also known as “Uncle Moreau” was unusual among enslaved people in the antebellum United States in that before he was captured he was highly educated and could read and write fluently at a time when most African slaves were illiterate. Said’s autobiography … Read MoreOmar Ibn Said (1770-1864)
The Kanem-Bornu Empire was a large African state which existed from the 9th century through the end of the 19th century and which spanned a region which today includes the modern-day countries of Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Nigeria. The empire was founded by the Zaghawa … Read MoreEmpire of Kanem-Bornu (ca. 9th century-1900)
The Songhai Empire was the largest and last of the three major pre-colonial empires to emerge in West Africa. From its capital at Gao on the Niger River, Songhai expanded in all directions until it stretched from the Atlantic Ocean (modern Senegal and Gambia) to … Read MoreSonghai Empire (ca. 1375-1591)
Located at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert and six miles north of the Niger River in the present-day nation of Mali, Timbuktu has been a centuries-old, significant city in West Africa. In the 14th Century it became the commercial, religious and cultural center … Read MoreTimbuktu (ca. 1100- )
Located in the northeast region of contemporary Ethiopia, the city of Axum sits on a high plateau next to the Red Sea. With the city’s ascendance centuries before the birth of Christ and its position next to the Red Sea, Axum became a major center … Read MoreAxum (ca. 100 B.C.E.-ca. 650 A.D.)
