KINGDOMS & EMPIRES
AFRICA'S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS
AFRICA'S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS
AFRICA'S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS
Scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. takes a look at civilizations in Africa, from the birth of humankind to the dawn of the 20th century.
SAHARA CAVE PAINTINGS
AFRICA'S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS
AFRICA'S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS
The Sahara was once a grassland region teeming with animal and human life. The caves of the Sahara have some of the most important prehistoric cave art in the world.
KINGDOM OF KUSH
AFRICA'S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS
KINGDOM OF KUSH
The most prosperous period of Nubian civilization was that of the Kingdom of Kush, which endured from about 800 BC to about 320 AD. During this time, the Nubians of Kush would at one point, assume rule over all of Nubia as well as Upper and Lower Egypt.
KERMA
NUBIA: FORGOTTEN KINGDOM
KINGDOM OF KUSH
Kerma was the capital city of the Kerma Culture, which was located in present-day Sudan at least 5500 years ago. Kerma is one of the largest archaeological sites in ancient Nubia.
NUBIA: FORGOTTEN KINGDOM
NUBIA: FORGOTTEN KINGDOM
NUBIA: FORGOTTEN KINGDOM
This Discovery Channel presents the magnificence of ancient Nubia - rival empire to Egypt on the Nile River.
AKSUM: ANCIENT ETHIOPIA
NUBIA: FORGOTTEN KINGDOM
NUBIA: FORGOTTEN KINGDOM
The Aksumite Empire was an important trading nation in northeastern Africa, growing from the fourth century B.C.E. to achieve prominence by the first century C.E. It is also the alleged resting place of the Ark of the Covenant and the home of the Queen of Sheba.
CHURCHES AT LALIBELA
CHURCHES AT LALIBELA
CHURCHES AT LALIBELA
In the heart of Ethiopia eleven medieval monolithic churches were carved out of rock. Their building is attributed to King Lalibela who set out to construct in the 12th century a 'New Jerusalem', after Muslim conquests halted Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land.
NOK OF WEST AFRICA
CHURCHES AT LALIBELA
CHURCHES AT LALIBELA
Nok Culture spanned the end of the Neolithic (Stone Age) and start of the Iron Age in sub-Saharan Africa, and may be the oldest organized society in sub-Saharan Africa;
GREAT ZIMBABWE
CHURCHES AT LALIBELA
GREAT ZIMBABWE
The ruins of Great Zimbabwe, the capital of the Queen of Sheba, according to an age-old legend are a unique testimony to the Bantu civilization of the Shona between the 11th and 15th centuries.
DJENNE-DJENO
ASANTE KINGDOM
GREAT ZIMBABWE
Literally translated to "ancient Djenné", it is the original site of Djenné, Mali and considered to be among the oldest urbanized centers and the best known archaeology site in sub-Saharan Africa.
TIMBUKTU
ASANTE KINGDOM
ASANTE KINGDOM
Home of the prestigious Koranic Sankore University and other madrasas, Timbuktu was an intellectual and spiritual capital and a center for the propagation of Islam throughout Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries.
ASANTE KINGDOM
ASANTE KINGDOM
ASANTE KINGDOM
Historian Gus Casely-Hayford travels to Ghana to explore a remarkable Asante civilization built on gold and slavery. He visits the haunting former slave forts of Cape Coast and Elmina before heading inland in search of the mythical birthplace of the Asante people.
AFRICA IN 1492
AFRICA IN 1492
AFRICA IN 1492
This short video presents highlights in a few African civilizations at the end of the 15th century
AFRICA IN 1492
AFRICA IN 1492
AFRICA IN 1492
This short video presents highlights in a few African civilizations at the end of the 15th century
AFRICA IN 1492
AFRICA IN 1492
AFRICA IN 1492
This short video presents highlights in a few African civilizations at the end of the 15th century