|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year |
Moment |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 million B.C.E.
to
2.5 million B.C.E. |
Two major groups of hominids emerge in East Africa. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
c. 3400 B.C.E. |
Egyptians adopt a special symbol for the number ten. Around the same time other symbols are adopted: a spiral for 100 and a lotus blossom for 1,000. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
c. 3200 B.C.E. |
Egyptian writing (hieroglyphics) is invented.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
c. 3100 B.C.E.
to
2258 B.C.E. |
Egypt's Old Kingdom thrives until famine and Bedouins attack the borders and the civilization falls into decline.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
c. 2800 B.C.E. |
Papyrus, a plant found along the banks of the Nile is made into writing material by the Egyptians.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
c. 2680 B.C.E.
to
2565 B.C.E. |
The first stone pyramid—and the oldest surviving example of an architectural monument—is built for the pharaoh Zoser. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
c. 2134 B.C.E.
to
1668 B.C.E. |
Egypt's Middle Kingdom thrives. During this time, the pharaohs establish a standing army and extend Egypt's influence toward Libya, Palestine, and into Nubia.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1730 B.C.E.
to
1580 B.C.E. |
Kingdom of Kush controls Nubia south of the Elephantine.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1567 B.C.E.
to
1085 B.C.E. |
Egyptians drive foreigners from their land and establish the New Kingdom. Tutankhamen ascends the throne at the age of nine and dies at age eighteen.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1504 B.C.E. |
Hatshepsut becomes regent and rules for her infant nephew Thutmose III. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
c. 1350 B.C.E. |
Pharoah Akhenaton, regarded by some historians as the first monotheist, rules Egypt from 1350 to 1334. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
c. 1000 B.C.E.
to
350 C.E. |
Kingdom of Nubia flourishes.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
c. 920 B.C.E.
to
250 C.E. |
Nok culture thrives in central Nigeria.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
c. 800 B.C.E.
to
146 B.C.E. |
Carthage dominates the western Mediterranean region; Phoenician trade flourishes.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
525 B.C.E. |
Under the leadership of Cambyses II, Persia conquers Egypt; camels are introduced into Egypt. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
332 B.C.E. |
Greek presence in Africa begins with the entry of Alexander the Great into Egypt.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
305 B.C.E. |
Ptolemy, a Macedonian general, establishes the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
146 B.C.E. |
After the destruction of Carthage, Rome acquires its first territory in Africa—a province of about 5,000 square miles roughly corresponding to the boundaries of present-day Tunisia.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
60 B.C.E.
to
30 B.C.E. |
Cleopatra, the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt, forms alliances with Rome's most important leaders, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
to
100 |
Camels are introduced into the Sahara. By the 300s or 400s C.E., camels are transporting gold and salt across the desert. The use of camels increases the mobility of individuals and groups as well as the potential for nomads to attack Roman territories.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
c. 50
to
900s |
Aksum Kingdom flourishes in Ethiopia.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
c. 106 |
Egyptian merchant compiles Periplus Maris Erythraei, a book that describes trade of the Red Sea, eastern Africa, and South Arabia with India and China. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
354 |
Saint Augustine is born in North Africa to a pagan father and Christian mother. He is considered one of the “Doctors of the Church,” a title bestowed during the Middle Ages to particularly influential and saintly theologians.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
400
to
1076 |
Kingdom of Ghana, the first large sub-Saharan state, flourishes.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
640
to
1500s |
Islam, which had its beginnings among Arabs who inhabited the desert of present-day Saudi Arabia, spreads in Africa through trade, missionary activity, and conquest. By the beginning of the eleventh century, Muslim sultanates exist throughout the region.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
700s
to
1400s |
Swahili civilization develops along the eastern coast of Africa.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
784 |
Kingdom of Kanem-Bornu is founded between Lake Chad and the southern end of the Saharan trade route known as the Bahr al-Ghazal, providing the most direct line between the Lake Chad region and the Mediterranean. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
800s
to
1500s |
Ife, the urban center in southern Nigeria and homeland (according to oral traditions) of the Yoruba is founded and flourishes. Yoruba kings claim descent from Ife ancestors and most states on the Bight of Benin regard Ife as the source of Divine Kingship.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
c. 900
to
present |
Kingdom of Benin and its capital, Benin City, is founded on a sandy plain in the middle of the tropical rain forest of western Nigeria. The original inhabitants of Benin call themselves, their capital, and their language Edo, as their descendants do today.
Learn more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
969
to
1171 |
Fatimids, an expansionist military power and fervent evangelists for the Shiite branch of Islam, arrive in Egypt from the west and establish a dynasty. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Print
Email
)
Carthage dominates the western Mediterranean region; Phoenician trade flourishes.
Learn more
)
Kingdom of Benin and its capital, Benin City, is founded on a sandy plain in the middle of the tropical rain forest of western Nigeria. The original inhabitants of Benin call themselves, their capital, and their language Edo, as their descendants do today.
Learn more
Previous
