400 –1400 Ga-Dangme people inhabit south-eastern area of present-day Ghana Hutu begin to migrate into area occupied by the Twa, around Lake Kivu
450 Jenne-Jeno becomes a major settle-ment
c. 500 Taghaza, in central Sahara, becomes major point on gold and salt trade routes
500 Byzantine emperor Justinian takes control of northern Africa
500 –1000 Bantu speakers displace indigenous Twa people in Rwanda. Migrations of Bantu-speaking peoples contin-ues through much of central Africa 541 Christian era begins in Nubia c. 600 Aksumites relocate to Amhara and
Shoa, in present-day northern Ethiopia
Takedda, in present-day Mali, becomes the major trading center in western Sudan
622 The prophet Muhammad flees from
Mecca to Medina; the Hejira (Hijra) marks the start of the Muslim calendar
c. 650 Muslim Arabs invade northern Africa
c. 700 Soninke people found al-Ghaba, the twin city to Kumbi
c. 700 After much resistance, the Berber people of North Africa begin to accept Islam
Kaniaga flourishes in the area of present-day Mali
c. 800 City of Zeila serves as a trading nexus between Aksum and Arabia Songhai people found the city of Gao
Beja people begin to take control of Eritrea from Aksumites
c. 800 – c. 1846 Sefuwa dynasty rules in Kanem and, later, Kanem-Bornu 850 Bornu is founded in the area of
present-day Nigeria
Ile-Ife is established in the south-western region of modern-day Nigeria
900 –1100 Audaghost flourishes as the termi-nus of trans-Saharan trade route 900 –1240 Ghana Empire flourishes 900 –1300 City of Sijilmasa flourishes as a
trading center in Morocco
c. 900 – c. 1700 Tekrur kingdom flourishes in west-ern Africa
Time Line xxxv
915 The Indian Ocean city of Sofala, the oldest port in southern Africa, is founded
c. 916 –1270 Zagwe dynasty rules in Ethiopia 950 Karanga people establish their
king-dom in eastern Zimbabwe 969 Fatimids take power in Egypt
Cairo is founded
970 Mosque of al-Azhar is built in Cairo c. 1000 Akan peoples migrate toward the
Guinea coast.
Bagauda founds the Hausa state of Kano.
Legendary founding of Old Oyo by Prince Oranmiyan
Four trans-Saharan trade routes carry goods across Africa Kangaba established in western Sudan; it becomes the foundation of the Mali Empire
1000 –1200 Hausa states are established.
Mombasa founded by Arab mer-chants
Mining of salt begins at Idjil in modern-day Mauritania.
c. 1050 Barmandana brings Islam to Mali Sanhaja Berbers found the
Almoravid empire; by 1150 it con-trolls the Maghrib and Muslim Spain c. 1063 Tunka Manin rules in the Ghana
Empire
c. 1075 Mapungubwe is founded in south-ern Africa
c. 1085 –1097 Mai Umme converts Kanem-Bornu to Islam
c. 1100 Tuaregs found a seasonal camp at Timbuktu
c. 1100 Bamako, in Mali, becomes an impor-tant center of Islamic learning The city-state of Kilwa is founded along the Indian Ocean
1100 –1200 Golden age of Gedi, a trading city in present-day Kenya, begins c. 1119 –1159 Zagwe emperor Lalibela oversees
construction of rock churches in al-Roha (Adefa)
c. 1133 Tuaregs under Chief Akil rule Timbuktu
1147 The Berber Almohad empire, inspired by Ibn Tumart and led by al-Mumin, supplants the Almoravid Empire in the Maghrib and Spain c. 1150 –1270 Jenne is founded near Jenne-Jeno
Kilwa becomes a major trading port on the East African coast
Sumanguru establishes the Kaniaga kingdom
1200 –1500 Tutsi people migrate, possibly from the upper Nile Valley, into Hutu lands in present-day Burundi and Rwanda
c. 1221–1259 Dibbalemi rules as mai, or king, of Kanem-Bornu in West Africa 1230 Sundiata comes to power in Mali c. 1235 –1250 Sundiata conquers Ghana Empire
and founds Mali Empire
1235 –1400 Mandinka empire of Mali flourishes c. 1250 Great Zimbabwe is established in
southern Africa; the Hill Complex and the Great Enclosure are built 1250 –1800 Gabu kingdom flourishes in West
Africa
xxxvi Time Line
1270 Yekuno Amlak overthrows the Zagwe dynasty in Ethiopia 1270 –1700 Solomonic dynasty rules Ethiopia 1275–1400 Sabbatarians are in conflict with the
state in Ethiopia
1285–1300 Mansa Sakura restores lost glory to Mali
c. 1300 Husuni Kubwa Palace is built in present-day Tanzania; it is the largest building in sub-Saharan Africa at the time
Tanga is established by Persian merchants as a trading port linking the interior of East Africa with lands as far away as China
Wolof people migrate into the area of present-day Senegal and Gambia and establish the Wolof Empire Timbuktu in Mali flourishes as a center of the trans-Saharan gold and salt trade and as a Muslim cen-ter of learning
1307–1337 Mansa Musa I reigns in Mali Kongo kingdom is formed 1314 –1344 Emperor Amda Siyon expands
Christian Ethiopia
1324 Emperor Mansa Musa I of Mali begins his hajj to Mecca 1341–1360 Mansa Sulayman rules during
height of Mali Empire’s political and economic power
1349 –1385 Sarki Yaji becomes the first Muslim Hausa king
c. 1350 –1400 Chwezi dynasty rules Kitara Complex in East Africa Buganda founded; it eventually becomes the most powerful king-dom in East Africa
c. 1400 Kanem-Bornu enters a period of decline
c. 1400 Akan begin to develop organized states along the Guinea coast Bonny becomes an important Atlantic coast trading center c. 1400 –1590 Songhai Empire flourishes in
pre-sent-day eastern Mali and western Niger
Jenne-Jeno is no longer a function-ing city
The mines at Taghaza in the Sahara near Morocco become the main source of salt in West Africa 1404, 1433 Chinese admiral Cheng-Ho voyages
to Africa
1434 The first Portuguese explorers sail past Cape Bojador in West Africa and began to exploit the region, especially for African captives 1441 Portuguese begin to enslave black
Africans
1443 –1468 Tuaregs regain control of Timbuktu.
1448 Portuguese build the Arguin trading fort off the West African coast 1448 –1450 Bornu becomes a major
gold-producing state
c. 1450 –1470 Mwene Mutapa state founded in southern Africa
1450 –1600 Lunda kingdom established in Central Africa
1465 Sarki Muhammad Rumfa makes
Islam the official religion of Kano 1468 Sunni Ali captures Timbuktu for
the Songhai Empire
c. 1475 –1490 Sunni Ali expands the Sonhghai Empire
1473 –1480 Ewuare the Great rules in the king-dom of Benin
c. 1480 Portugese explorers land on the coast of the Kongo kingdom c. 1490 The Changamire empire, later the
most powerful Central African king-dom until its fall c. 1830, is estab-lished
Ouagadougou becomes the capital of the Mossi states
Nzinga Mbemba, ruler of the Kongo kingdom, converts to Christianity and takes the name of Afonso I 1497–1498 Vasco da Gama of Portugal sails
around the Cape of Good Hope, at the southern tip of Africa, on his way to India
1500 Queen Eleni dominates Ethiopian political and religious affairs Luo-speaking Bito clan founds Bunyoro-Kitara kingdom in East Africa
1502 Vasco da Gama establishes
Portuguese presence in Mozambique and Sofala
c. 1505 Portugese take over Kilwa, the pre-eminent East African trading city for more than 300 years
1513 Askia Muhammad Touré of Songhai captures all the Hausa States except Kano. Songhai Empire reaches its fullest territorial extent
Time Line xxxvii
Aba
A branch of the IBIBIO people and the city in pre-sent-day NIGERIA named after them. The Ibibio are the ninth-largest ethnic minority in Nigeria, and the mem-bers of the Aba branch share similar customs with theIGBO, one of Nigeria’s ethnic majorities. The Aba are an agrarian people, but they are also known for their mas-tery of woodcarving. Their villages are organized around paternal lineages and individual spirits. Councils, made up of the heads of each household, dominate village life.
The city of Aba is located on the Aba River and was once a market town for the IGBO people. Excavations have suggested that the Igbo had settled in the area as early as the ninth century and remained active traders until the arrival of European explorers toward the end of the 15th century.
Abba Libanos
One of 11 monolithic churches built in the 13th century at the city of al-Roha (later called LALI-BELA) in the highlands of northern ETHIOPIA. The churches are clustered into two groups and are connected by elaborate underground tunnels and mazes. Along with Amanu’el (House of Emmanuel), Marqorewos (House of Mercurios), and GABREL-RUFA’EL(House of Gabriel), Abba Libanos is encircled by a 36-foot (11-m) trench and is partially detached from the volcanic tuff that surrounds it. Its four walls are freestanding and its roof is connected to a rock cliff.
King LALIBELA(c. 1119–1159) of the ZAGWE DYNASTY, for whom the city of al-Roha was renamed, is credited with commissioning these churches, which remain an ar-chaeological wonder to this day. Tradition claims that it took Lalibela 24 years to build the 11 churches, although
most archaeologists agree that, on the basis of the im-mensity of the buildings and the meticulous nature of the workmanship, it had to have taken much longer.
According to legend, Maskal Kabra, Lalibela’s queen, built the church as a monument to Lalibela, following his death. The legend states that she, with the help of angels, completed the church in only one night.