Africa

c. 610–1300

Djenné-Djeno · Inland Niger Delta · Niger urban networks

Delta towns connect farming, fishing and regional trade.

Sources: UNESCO. Old Towns of Djenné.

c. 670–800

Ifriqiya · Kairouan · Centre of the early Islamic Maghreb

Kairouan becomes a base of Islamic rule in Ifriqiya.

Sources: UNESCO. Kairouan.

c. 700–900

Gao · Kawkaw · Settlement and trade on the Niger

From the eighth century Gao Saney develops as a settlement of craftspeople and traders. Glass beads and copper reveal connections across the Sahara.

Craft workshops, river exchange and long-distance trade.

Homes and workshops occupy distinct parts of the settlement.

Sources: Mamadou Cissé et al. Excavations at Gao Saney: New Evidence for Settlement Growth, Trade, and Interaction on the Niger Bend in the First Millennium CE. Journal of African Archaeology 11 (1), 2013, pp. 9–37.

11th–13th centuries

Old Dongola · Makuria · Capital and monasteries

The Makurian capital contains palaces, neighbourhoods and monasteries. Wall paintings and texts in Greek, Coptic and Old Nubian attest to its cultural connections.

Sources: Włodzimierz Godlewski, Dorota Dzierzbicka, Adam Łajtar (eds.). Dongola 2015–2016: Fieldwork, Conservation and Site Management. PCMA Excavation Series 5, 2018. PCMA: Dongola.

c. 1000–1300

Madagascar and the Comoros · Indian Ocean exchange

Asian crops and African connections shape island societies.

Sources: Alison Crowther et al. Ancient crops provide first archaeological signature of the westward Austronesian expansion. PNAS 113, 2016, pp. 6635–6640.

1014–1152

Hammadids · Central Maghreb

The dynasty centred on Qal‘at Bani Hammad and Béjaïa rules the central Maghreb until the Almohad conquest.

Sources: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Western North Africa (The Maghrib), 1000–1400 A.D.

c. 1300–1453

Alwa — Alodia · Alwa · Soba on the Blue Nile

Alwa preserves southern Nubia’s Christian tradition. Soba remains an important centre near converging Nile routes; its late medieval political history is fragmentary.

Sources: Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw. Virtual Nubia: Nubian Kingdoms; First results of research in Soba, 2020.; Roland Oliver (ed.). The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3: c. 1050–c. 1600. Cambridge University Press, 1977.

c. 1300–1439

Kingdom of Benin · Benin · town and the oba’s court

Benin develops as an Edo political centre. The oba’s court, crafts and surrounding farming settlements form the kingdom’s foundation.

Sources: Caleb Folorunso et al. MOWAA Archaeology Project: enhancing understanding of Benin City’s historic urban development and heritage through pre-construction archaeology. Antiquity 100 (409), 2026.; Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Pan-Atlantic University. 11 Facts You Need to Know About Benin Art.

c. 1300–1453

Misr · Cairo · Cairo · Mamluk capital

Cairo is the sultanate’s capital and a centre of crafts, Islamic learning and charitable institutions. The Nile links it with Egypt’s farming regions.

Sources: UNESCO. Historic Cairo.; Suzan Yalman. The Art of the Mamluk Period (1250–1517). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001.

c. 1601–1699

Cayor · The damels of Cayor

Cayor retains its own rulers after the breakup of greater Jolof. Atlantic commerce intensifies rivalry among coastal states.

Courts and local rulers are linked by tribute, alliances and rivalry.

Grain, livestock, textiles and caravan trade; warfare also supplies the trade in enslaved people.

Farming, pastoral and urban communities; Muslim schools and local traditions.

Sources: B. A. Ogot (ed.). General History of Africa, V: Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. UNESCO, 1992.; TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. Futa Calon; Afrika. UNESCO. General History of Africa, V, Senegambia and the Guinea highlands.

c. 1601–1700

Denkyira · Denkyira and Akan states

Gold commerce and tribute strengthen Denkyira. By the late seventeenth century it seeks primacy among neighbouring Akan states.

Ruler and council of notables; dependent towns retain local institutions.

Agriculture, crafts, markets and long-distance exchange.

Court artisans, farming households and trading communities.

Sources: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Guinea Coast, 1600–1800 A.D. Sandra T. Barnes and Paula Ben-Amos. Benin, Oyo, and Dahomey. Expedition, Penn Museum, 1983. OCR. African Kingdoms: A Level History A.; Larry W. Yarak. Asante and the Dutch, 1744–1873, chapter 2. Oxford University Press, 1990. UNESCO. Asante Traditional Buildings.

c. 1601–1775

Futa Toro · Denanke in the Senegal valley

The Denanke dynasty rules Futa Toro. Farming, herding, river trade and Muslim teachers shape society.

Courts and local rulers are linked by tribute, alliances and rivalry.

Grain, livestock, textiles and caravan trade; warfare also supplies the trade in enslaved people.

Farming, pastoral and urban communities; Muslim schools and local traditions.

Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. Futa Calon; Afrika. UNESCO. General History of Africa, V, Senegambia and the Guinea highlands.; B. A. Ogot (ed.). General History of Africa, V: Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. UNESCO, 1992.

1801–1804

Ottoman Egypt and al-Sham · Egypt · struggle for power

Ottoman troops, Mamluk households and Albanian soldiers compete to govern Egypt.

Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. Kavalalı Mehmed Ali Paşa.

1803–1805

VOC Cape settlement · Cape · Batavian Republic

Under the Treaty of Amiens the Cape returns to Dutch administration.

Sources: South African History Online. English Settlement in South Africa; Political changes from 1750 to 1820.

1804–1807

Usman dan Fodio’s movement · Usman dan Fodio’s movement

Migration to Gudu and war with Gobir initiate a new Islamic state.

Sources: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. Osman b. Fûdî. UNESCO. General History of Africa, volume VI.

1915–1918

Alawite Sultanate · Morocco · French protectorate

The Treaty of Fez establishes French protection. Spanish zones are designated in the north and south; the sultan retains his throne.

Sources: Archives diplomatiques françaises. Protectorats et mandat français (1881–1956); Traité du Bardo (1881); Traité de Fès (1912).

1915–1918

Asante · Kumasi · Asante · British colony

Conquest changes government and land relations; local societies continue to exist.

Sources: UNESCO. General History of Africa, VI: Africa in the Nineteenth Century until the 1880s; VII: Africa under Colonial Domination, 1880–1935.

1915–1918

Benguela · Benguela · Portuguese administration

The port serves as a colonial administrative and commercial centre; inland districts are subdued through military campaigns.

Sources: UNESCO. General History of Africa, VI: Africa in the Nineteenth Century until the 1880s; VII: Africa under Colonial Domination, 1880–1935.

1946–1959

Dahomey · Abomey · Dahomey

French colonial rule; political parties and independence movements grow.

Sources: Office of the Historian. A Guide to Recognition and Diplomatic Relations: Dahomey.

1946–1957

Futa Jallon · Futa Jallon

French colonial rule; political parties and independence movements grow.

Sources: Office of the Historian. A Guide to Recognition and Diplomatic Relations: Guinea.

1946–1960

Emirate of Harar · Harar · Ethiopia

In 1941 Allied forces and Ethiopian resistance end Italian occupation; Haile Selassie returns to the throne.

Sources: National Army Museum. Soldiers of the 4th King’s African Rifles in Abyssinia, 1941; United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Allied Military Operations in North Africa.

1992–2000

Imerina · Imerina

Independence is proclaimed on 26 June 1960.

Sources: Office of the Historian. A Guide to Recognition and Diplomatic Relations: Malagasy Republic.

1992–2000

Jolof · Jolof

Independence: 20 June in the Mali Federation, separately from August 1960. National institutions take shape.

Sources: Office of the Historian. A Guide to Recognition and Diplomatic Relations: Senegal.

1992–2000

Khoekhoe and San communities · Khoekhoe and San on a changing frontier

Land seizure, forced labour, disease and armed resistance transform society. Indigenous people do not disappear.

Local chiefs, community councils and colonial settlements exercise different kinds of authority.

Herding, farming, hunting and exchange; colonial farms use dependent and enslaved labour.

Diverse Indigenous societies maintain their cultures amid land seizure, wars and epidemics.

Sources: South African Government. History. South African History Online. General South African History Timeline: 1600s; 1700s. Council of Policy: VOC Cape Archives, 1651–1795.; B. A. Ogot (ed.). General History of Africa, V: Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. UNESCO, 1992.