Sunday 28 March 2010

Our Great African Kings - Part I (Remember Where You Come From)


AFONSO I

KING OF THE KONGO (1506-1540)

Afonso I was a visionary, a man who saw his country not as a group of separate cultures, but as a unified nation fully equipped with advance knowledge and technology. He was also known as the first ruler to resist the most despicable act ever known to man, the European slave trade.


AKHENATON

The Creator of Monotheism
(1375-1358 B.C)

Akhenaton was the first ruler in recorded history to believe in the concept of One God. He also taught this concept to all his citizens. He built a new city in the desert that was dedicated to religion, art and music. This new city, Akhenaton (now Tell el Amara), with its lush gardens and magnificent buildings is where Akhenaton and his wife Queen Nefertiti changed Kemet's culture so radically that their influence is felt for centuries right up until today. Akhenaton was also the first Pharaoh of whom a true likeness is recorded as shown in the picture to the left.



ASKIA TOURE

KING OF SONGHAY (1493-1529)

 
Askia Toure united the entire central region of the Western Sudan, and established a governmental machine that is still revered today for its detail and efficiency. He divided his country into provinces, each with a professional administrator as governor, and ruled each fairly and uniformly through a staff of distinguished legal experts and judges.


BEHANZIN HOSSU BOWELLE

THE KING SHARK (1841-1906)

Behanzin was the most powerful ruler in West Africa during the end of the nineteenth century. He strongly resisted European intervention into his country. This was done with a physically fit army which included a division of five thousands female warriors. He is often referred to as the King Shark, a Dahomeyan surname which symbolized strength and wisdom. He was also fond of humanities and is credited with the creation of some of the finest song and poetry ever produced in Dahomey.



HANNIBAL

RULER OF CARTHAGE (247-183 B.C.)

Hannibal is well known as the greatest general and military strategist who ever lived. He used his overpowering African armies to conquer major portions of Spain and Italy and came very close to defeating the Roman Empire. His audacious moves-such as marching his army with African War elephants through the treacherous Alps to surprise and conquer northern Italy and his tactical genius, as illustrated by the battle of Cannae where his seemingly trapped army cleverly surrounded and destroy a much larger Roman force, won him recognition which has spanned more than 2000 years. His tactics are still being studied in many military schools today.


IDRIS ALOOMA

RULER OF BORNU (1580-1617)

He is credited with re-uniting two of Africa's Kingdoms, the kingdoms of Kanem and Bornu. This union lasted many generations with sustain peace becoming a part of the Bornu.


11 comments:

  1. that was by a nigga by da way nigga

    ReplyDelete
  2. i love the information in this website too much of the black legacy has been covered by the white man am glad to have learned too much from you, i am so inquisitive about African and African American affairs. My e-mail is:lilcornel@yahoo.com
    and my phone number is :+256773534202

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm doing a report on Afonso... And i learned there are many ways to spell his name. xD

    ReplyDelete
  4. i am impressed ,we need to be fed by the stories of our people.our history for we are being lost.
    thanks for the effort.

    ReplyDelete
  5. hannibal was from white branch of semite... wasn't he...living in africa doesn't makes him black.......anyway he was one of the biggest LOSERs history ever knew.....Read the history yo Jarhead

    ReplyDelete
  6. Where's Shaka...the great zulu warrior....the true brave and ruthless being..... did someone forgot to mension him here.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Study your history children. Hannibal was not white. By the way, nor was Jesus.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Omg HANNIBAL was black?!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hannibal was of Phonecian descent (Carthage was established by the Phonecians). People on the north African coast are not quite black. This blog is a bit misleading. North africans (north of sahara desert) are actually considered White. Also, the pharaohes you have listed here are misleadingly depicted as black. Do Egyptians look black to you? Egypt was a middle eastern/mediterranean civilization, not black. Just because Egypt is on the corner of africa, does not mean the people are black! The ancient Eghyptians actually had black slaves. Also, AKHENATON did not create monotheism. Many other ancient civilizations were monotheistic - google zoroastrianism, for example.

    It is fine to be proud of your "race", but what's the point of mis-representing people of the past? It's misleading.

    ReplyDelete
  10. EVE WAS BLACK!!!!!!! JESUS WAS BLACK,need i remind everyone hair of wool,feet of bronze!!!!!!! Dont comment anonymous this blog is not misleading,there were NO ,and Yes EUROPEANS in Africa at the time of Hannibal,and yes Eghyptians do look Black!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete