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A groundbreaking, sweeping overview of the great kingdoms in African history and their legacies, written by world-leading experts.
This is the first book for nonspecialists to explore the great precolonial kingdoms of Africa that have been marginalized throughout history. Great Kingdoms of Africa decenters European colonialism and slavery as the major themes of African history and instead explores the kingdoms, dynasties, and city-states that have shaped cultures across the African continent.
This groundbreaking book offers an innovative and thought-provoking overview that takes us from ancient Egypt and Nubia to the Zulu Kingdom almost two thousand years later. Each chapter is written by a leading historian, interweaving political and social history and drawing on a rich array of sources, including oral histories and recent archaeological findings. Great Kingdoms of Africa is a timely and vital book for anyone who wants to expand their knowledge of Africa's rich history.
“I used to think, until fairly recently, that the methods available to historians of the distant African past were of a different sort than those within the reach of their European counterparts. As a citizen of a country once colonized by the British, I felt it was perhaps impossible to know of an African past without looking at it through the meddlesome empires of Europe. . . . What changed my perspective—and lifted the fog of ignorance—is the recent book Great Kingdoms of Africa, edited by John Parker.”
"Pageantry and intrigues, imperial wars and despots lavishly coercing their rivals with violence all figure in these studies, written by a diverse group of scholars from North American, African and European institutions. African monarchs were often seen to have mystical or divine powers, yet these writers focus on earthly power perpetuation. They cite archaeological findings and oral traditions as sources – in part because many kingdoms were not literate and left few, if any, archival materials – giving these essays a fresh, interdisciplinary spirit."
“All the essays illustrate the complexity and importance of the African past.”
Foreword
Reclaiming Ancestral Narratives
Sir David Adjaye OBE
Introduction
Kings, Kingship and Kingdoms in African History
John Parker
Chapter 1
Ancient Egypt and Nubia: Kings of Flood and Kings of Rain
David Wengrow
Chapter 2
The Sudanic Empires: The Gold, the Arts, the River
Rahmane Idrissa
Chapter 3
The Solomonic Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia
Habtamu Tegegne and Wendy Laura Belcher
Chapter 4
The Yoruba and Benin Kingdoms
Olatunji Ojo
Chapter 5
The Kongo Kingdom
Cécile Fromont
Chapter 6
Buganda
John Parker
Chapter 7
From Hausa Kingdoms to the Sokoto Caliphate
Muhammadu Mustapha Gwadabe
Chapter 8
The Akan Forest Kingdom of Asante
John Parker
Chapter 9
The Zulu Kingdom
Wayne Dooling
Notes
Sources of Illustrations
Contributors
Index