Black History Timeline

Black History Timeline -Before 1601

1601-1700

1701-1800

 

CE (Common Era) replaces the old AD (Anno Domini) in Latin or ‘the year of the Lord’ in English.

BCE (Before the Common Era) replaces the old BC (Before Christ).

Before 1601

All human beings have a common ancestry that originates in eastern Africa The remains of ‘Lucy’ were found in Hadar, Ethiopia in 1974.

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600,000 to 200,000 BCE

Humans spread across Asia, Europe and Africa. The earliest human being in Africa dates from more than 200,000 years ago.



10,000 BCE

Earliest records of African people living in highly organized society.



10,000 - 5,000 BCE

Ethiopian (Kush) Empire



 6,000 - 5,000 BCE



The Kushite Civilization

The Unconquerable Kushites

 

5,660 BCE - Pharaoh Mena of ancient Egypt ruled until 5998 BCE.



5,524 BCE - Pharaoh Mer-Neith of ancient Egypt ruled until 5507 BCE.



5,094 BCE - Pharaoh Khasekhemu of Egypt ruled until 1546 BCE.



5,018 BCE - Pharaoh Djoser of Egypt ruled until 4,949 BCE. Imhotep was Pharaoh Djoser’s Prime Minister.

5,000 - 4,000 BCE

The Pharaohs of Nubia

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Black Africans Built and Ruled Ancient Kemet (Egypt)

4,824 BCE - Pharaoh Khufu of Egypt ruled until 4761 BCE.



4,240 - 3,100 BCE

The founding of Kemet (ancient Egypt) 1st - 14th Dynasties.



During this period the great pyramids were built (4th dynasty).



The sciences and arts were developed. The Ta Seti civilization was founded.



3,405 BCE - Pharaoh Amenemhet I ruled ancient Egypt until 3,376 BCE.



3,242 BCE - Pharaoh Amenemhet III ruled ancient Egypt until 3,195 BCE.



3,150 BCE - King Narmer (Menes) unifies Upper and Lower Kemet and establishes Memphis as capital.



3,000 BCE - Modern West Africans set up more sophisticated societies in Nigeria.



The earliest evidence of hieroglyphic writing.

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2,700 to 1,087

Imhotep lived during this era. He was an architect, chief physician, prime minister, teacher, philosopher, priest & astronomer. He invented the stethoscope. He is thought of as the ‘father of medicine’.

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Early civilization thrives in Mesopotamia.



2,300 BCE - An African King rules Mesopotamia, King Patesi of Lagash, more generally known as Gudea.



2,040 BCE - Mentuhotep II unifies Kemet and relocates the capital to Waset.



1,783 BCE – The first Asian invasion of Kemet by Hyksos (until 1550 BCE).

c. 1,730 Queen Ahhotep ruled ancient Egypt.



c. 1,709 BCE - Queen Ahmose-Nefertari ruled ancient Egypt until 1683 BCE.

1,650 BCE - Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt ruled until 1600 BCE.



1,550 BCE - King Ahmose defeats the Hyksos and reunifies Kemet.



1,538 Amenhotep III ruled Ancient Egypt until 1,501 BCE.



1,504 BCE -Thutmose I expands his power to include Persia and Iraq.



1,501- 1,474 BCE - Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) introduces concepts of Aton as the only God in Kemet.



1,500 BCE- Africans retook control of KMT 18th - 26th Dynasties.



1,473 BCE - Queen Hatshepsut rules Kemet as it’s first female pharaoh.



1,391 BCE -Thutmose III rules Kemet at the height of its military power.



Queen Tiye rules by his side.



1,333 BCE - Tutankhamen becomes the king.

1,290 BCE - Rameses II (Rameses the Great) rules Kemet for 67 years.

1,005 BCE - Queen of Sheba ruled Ethiopia and Yemen until 955 BCE.

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1000 – 800 BCE

The Bantu people (a group of about 60 million) migration spreads through sub-Saharan Africa for over 2,000 years. It was one of the largest migrations in human history. They came from West Africa.



970 BCE - Kush becomes an independent kingdom. The capital was at Napata on the Nile.



760 - King Kashta rules Meroe until 751 BCE



751 BCE  - Piye (Piankhi), Nubian king conquers Upper and Lower Kemet and sends away all foreigners.



750 – 600 BCE

Kush (Nubia) rules Egypt from capital Meroe.



716 BCE -King Shabato rules Meroe until 701 BCE



690 BCE Pharaoh Taharqo of Kush leads military invasion of Spain and Palestine. He ruled until 664 BCE.



667 BCE - Nubians battle Assyrians for both Lower and Upper Kemet.



538 BCE

 King Analma'aye rules Kush until 533 BCE.



533 BCE

King Amani-natake-lebte rules Kush until 513 BCE.



525 BCE

Egypt is invaded by the Persians. They raided the libraries and took the African knowledge to Europe. Egypt becomes a part of the Persian Empire.

513 BCE

King Korkamani rules Kush until 503 BCE.



503 BCE

King Amani-astabarqa rules Kush until 478 BCE.



500 BCE

Nok culture thrives in Nigeria to CE 200.  The Yoruba peoples claim the Nok as ancestors.

478 BCE

King Sisaspiqa rules Kush until 458 BCE



458 BCE

King Nasakhma rules Kush until 453 BCE.



453 BCE

King Malewiebamani rules Kush until 423 BCE.



423 BCE

King Talakhamani rules Kush until 418 BCE.



418 BCE

King Aman-nete-yerike rules Kush until 398 BCE.



398 BCE

King Baskakeren rules Kush until 397 BCE.



397 BCE

King Harisiotet rules Kush until 362 BCE.



342 BCE

King Akhratan rules Kush until 328 BCE.



332 BCE

Alexander of Macedonia (Alexander the Great) defeats the Persian army and conquers Kemet.

328 BCE

King Nastasen rules Kush until 308 BCE.



323 BCE

Greeks invaded Kemet.



Sacrotes, Aristotle and others studied in Africa. They took the superior African knowledge back to Europe.



300 BCE

 In Kush the royal institution of the Kentake is established.

Africans in Kenya invent a sophisticated calendar system.

The capital of Nubia is Meroe. This kingdom lasted for more than nine centuries.

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280 BCE

Merotic Script is introduced.



250 BCE

Zenith of Meroitic civilization until 100 CE.



260 BCE

Queen Bartare rules Meroe until 250 BCE.



219 BCE

Hannibal Barca of Carthage seized Saguntum in Spain. He died in 183 BCE.



218 BCE

Hannibal leads his army across the Alps to battle with Rome.



170 BCE

Queen Shanakdakhete rules Meroe until 160 BCE.



148 BCE

King Micipsa of Numidia ruled until 118 BCE.



45 BCE

Romans invaded Kemet (33rd Dynasty).



The opening of the University of Timbuctu.



41 BCE

Queen Amanishabhete rules Meroe until 12 BCE



30 BCE

Augustus Caesar claims Egypt and makes it a province of Rome.



24 BCE

Kentake (Queen-Mother) Amanirenas of Kush ruled.



22 BCE

Africans in Tanzania produce carbon steel.



12 BCE

Queen Amaritare rules Meroe until 12 CE.



1 CE

Pharaoh Natakamani and Queen Amanitore ruled until 20 CE.



62 CE

Queen Amanikhastashan rules Meroe (Nubia) until 85 CE



100 CE

Hausa Bokwoi rose as an empire in Nigeria (beginning separate states).



300 CE

States of Takrur and Ghana founded.

From 300 CE to 700 CE saw the rise of Axum or Aksum (Ethiopia) and conversion to Christianity.

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320 CE

Kemet reigns, there are lots of migrations and the first massive influx of Arabs occurs.



330 CE

Conquest of Meroitic Empire by Nuba;

Aksum becomes commercial center of the sub-Saharan.



350 CE

Aksumite king Ezana converts to Christianity and makes it the state religion. He was the first Christian emperor in the world.



391 CE

Christian Emperor Theodosius bans the ancient religious systems of Egypt and there are book burnings.



500 CE

The Moors invaded Europe.



The second massive influx of Arabs into Africa occurs.



Universities thrived all over Africa while Europe was in the dark ages.



 The Moorish rule of Southern Spain ended.



Columbus is the first European to reach the Americas after which the system of slavery was established.

 

Around this time the Djembe' is also invented (originally from Mali or Guinea).

527 CE

Christian Emperor Justinian shuts down the last Egyptian temple at Philae.



550 CE

Emperor Kanissa-ai of Ghana makes Koranga the capital city.



610 CE

The arrival of Islam.



639- 641 CE

Khalif Omar conquers Egypt with his Islamic army. This is the Moslems first invasion of Nubia (Sudan).



642 CE

The conquest of Egypt by Arabs and the introduction of Islam.



688 CE

Dahia al-Kahina of Mauritania ruled until 705 CE.



700 CE

States of Gao and Kanem founded (until 900 CE).

Islam spreads across North Africa and many areas of sub-Saharan.

Arab Slave Trade (to 1911). 

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715 CE

The first Moorish Dynasty, the Umayyad, ruled Spain from 715 CE to 750 CE.



740 CE

 The Moors invade Spain and rule it until 1492.

846 CE

Kanem-Bornu kingdom is founded (east of Lake Chad).



880 CE

The Yoruba founded Ife, the spiritual centre of Yoruba land.



940 CE

Queen Judith of Ethiopia ruled until 980 CE.



990 CE

Grasslanders move into the forests of Nigeria and begin dynasties at Oyo and Benin.



1000 CE

Islam moves into sub-Saharan Africa.



Zimbabwe is the capital of Mwenetupa Empire in Southern Africa.



Ghana Empire of Soninke at the height of power.



c. 1000

Yoruba Queen Oluwo of Ife ruled.



1076

A Berber army from Morocco attacked Ghana.



The empire of Mali is established.



1050

 Mandingo king Baramendana Keita converts to Islam.



1054

Muslim Berbers (Almoravids) declare a jihad against Ghana.



1061

Yusuf ibn Tashifin of the Almoravides ruled until 1106.



1067

Tunka Menin rules the Ghana.



1087

Kanem-Bornu converts to Islam.



1100

Kingdom of Benin (until 1897).



1133

Abd-al-Mumin of the Almohades, (Moroccan) ruled North Africa and Spain until 1163).



1200

Hausa kingdoms are established in West Africa. The first kingdom was Daura.



1203

Fall of the kingdom of Ghana to the Sosso.



1210

Mai Dunama ibn Salma of Kanem ruled until 1248.



1230

The fourth and last Moorish Dynasty.



The Almohade falls in Spain.

Kingdom of Mali is established under King Sundiata Keita (he ruled 1230-1255).



1235

The state of Kangaba, (led by Sundjata Keita), defeated the kingdom of Susu at the Battle of Kirina.



1260

Death of Sundjata Keita, Mali’s ‘Lion Prince.’



c. 1286

Emperor Semamun of Makurian ruled.



1290

The Dogon of Mali plot the orbits of various universes and star systems.



1300

The slave trade significantly expands in northern Africa, Ethiopia, and the West African savanna.



1311

Mansa Abubakari II of Mali, (he visited America 181 years before Christopher Columbus).



1312

Emperor of Mali, (Mansa Mussa) ruled until 1337.



1324

 Emperor Mansa Mussa goes to Mecca with an entourage of 60,000.



1332

The death of Mansa Musa. (He ruled 1307-1332).



1375

Gao withdraws from Mali, (it eventually becomes the Songhai Empire).



1400

Swahili cities thrive on the east African coast.



 Arab settlers colonized the coast and established trading towns.



By the 13th century the states of Mogadishu, Malindi, Lamu, Mombasa, Kilwa, Pate, and Sofala were established.



The Swahili culture developed through the mixture of Bantu and Arabic speakers.



The ruling classes were of mixed Arab-African ancestry but the majority of people in the region were Bantu and many of them slaves.



1415

Portuguese battle Arabs and Moors in Ceuta, Morocco.



1420

Minority Tutsi follow Hutu into Rwanda and establish a monarchy.



1438

The Portuguese travel down the coast of Africa.

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Sarki Abdullah Burja is the eighteenth ruler of the Hausa state of Kano.



1440

 Eware the Great (ruled 1440-1473) and develops Benin into a magnificent empire.



1441

The beginning of European slave trade in Africa with the first shipment of African slaves sent directly from Africa to Portugal.



1450

The decline of the Kingdom of Mali and the rise of the Songhai Empire.



1460

 Cayor splits from Mali and becomes an independent province.



1464

Sonni Ali Ber of Songhai becomes ruler of the Songhai kingdom.



1463

Sarki Muhammad Rumfa of Kano ruled until 1499.



1465

Seven Cayorian dynasties last until 1870 and they reject Islam.



1468

Sonni Ali conquers Timbuktu.



The Songhai Empire dominates the central Sudan after Sunni Ali Ber’s army defeated the Tuareg army at Tombouctou (Timbuktu).



Ali Ber expands the Songhai Empire, refuses to accept Islam and chooses to implement advanced African traditions instead.



1480

First Europeans (Portuguese) visit Benin, arriving at the east coast of Africa and increasing trade in gold, ivory, and slaves.



1481

El Mina is founded on the West African ‘Gold Coast’.

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1484

The Fung Kingdom reigns in Sudan until 1790.



1492

The death of Sunni Ali Ber.



Mamadou Toure rises to the throne under the name Askia (general) Muhammad. He ruled until 1528 and made Songhai the largest empire in the history of West Africa. The empire becomes Muslim.



1500

Benin at height of its power.



c. 1504

Oba Esigie of Benin ruled until c. 1550



1506

King Dom Affonso 1st of Kongo ruled until 1545.



1517

Egypt conquered by the Turks of the Ottoman Empire.



1513

The first enslaved Africans were taken to Cuba.



1529

The Muslim state of Adal declares a jihad against Christian Ethiopia and conquers most of the kingdom.



1536

Queen Bakwa Turunku of the Hausa state Zazzau ruled until c. 1566.



1538

The first recorded importation of Africans into Brazil.



1541

Ethiopia defeats of the Muslims.



1549

The zenith of the Songhai Empire was ruled by Askia Daud (1549-1582).



1564

Mai (King) Idris Alooma of Kanem-Bornu ruled until 1596.



1570

The Portuguese establish a colony in Angola.



1576

Queen Amina of the Hausaland ruled until 1610.



1580- 1617

TMai Idris Alooma ruled Kanem-Bornu and introduced firearms purchased from the Ottoman Turks.



1591

The fall of Songhai Empire.



1593

Moroccans defeat the Songahai with firearms.



The University of Sankoré, (in Timbuktu) is destroyed by Arabs.



1596

Askia Nuh rejects Arab domination and organizes national resistance.