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The area located north of West Africa is primarily desert containing the Western Sahara. Ancient West Africa included the Sahara, which became a desert by 3000 BCE. [20] During the last glacial period, the Sahara, extending south far beyond the boundaries that now exist. [21]
There were many kingdoms and empires in all regions of the continent of Africa throughout history. A kingdom is a state with a king or queen as its head. [1] An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant centre and subordinate peripheries".
The date used as the end of the ancient era is arbitrary. The transition period from Classical Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages is known as Late Antiquity.Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the transitional centuries from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world: generally from the end of the Roman Empire's ...
The terms African civilizations, also classical African civilizations, or African empires are terms that generally refer to the various pre-colonial African kingdoms.The civilizations usually include Egypt, Carthage, Axum, [1] Numidia, and Nubia, [1] but may also be extended to the prehistoric Land of Punt and others: Kingdom of Dagbon, the Empire of Ashanti, Kingdom of Kongo, Empire of Mali ...
Map of Ancient Egypt and nomes. After the desertification of the Sahara, settlement became concentrated in the Nile Valley, where numerous sacral chiefdoms appeared.The regions with the largest population pressure were in the Nile Delta region of Lower Egypt, in Upper Egypt, and also along the second and third cataracts of the Dongola Reach of the Nile in Nubia. [5]
Middle Stone Age West Africans likely dwelled continuously in West Africa between MIS 4 and MIS 2, and likely were not present in West Africa before MIS 5. [2] Amid MIS 5, Middle Stone Age West Africans may have migrated across the West Sudanian savanna and continued to reside in the region (e.g., West Sudanian savanna, West African Sahel). [2]
The 7th to 13th centuries in West Africa were a period of relatively abundant rainfall that saw the explosive growth of trade, particularly across the Sahara desert, and the flourishing of numerous important states. [152] The introduction of the camel to the western Sahel was a watershed moment, allowing more merchandise to move more easily. [103]
During the 200 year period between 1301 and 1500 (the 14th and 15th century) the main civilizations and kingdoms in Africa were the Mali Empire, Kingdom of Kongo, Ife Empire, Benin Kingdom, Songhai Empire, Hausa City-states, Wolof Empire, Great Zimbabwe, Kingdom of Makuria, Kanem Empire,Ethiopian Empire, Kilwa Sultanate, Kingdom of Mapungubwe, Kingdom of Mutapa, and the Ajuran Sultanate.