Middle Ages
Igbo-Ukwu Bronzes: Ninth-Century Masterpieces of Nigeria
Excavations revealed hundreds of finely cast leaded-bronze objects, rewriting the history of metalworking and trade in West Africa.
Region
Africa
Middle Ages
Mosque of Ibn Tulun: Cairo's Oldest Intact Mosque (876-879)
A great congregational mosque in Samarra style was completed in 879; it survived the destruction of al-Qata'i in 905 and was restored by the Mamluks in 1296.
Middle Ages
Fatimid Caliphate (909-1171): The Ismaili Empire of Egypt
The Fatimids built a rival caliphate to the Abbasids and founded Cairo, but after a long decline Saladin abolished the dynasty in 1171.
Middle Ages
Queen Gudit and the Decline of Aksum (c. 960): Legend and History
A hostile queen devastated the Christian kingdom in the late 10th century, hastening the long decline of the Aksumite state.
Middle Ages
Founding of Cairo (969): The Fatimid City of al-Qahira
The Fatimids conquered Egypt and founded al-Qahira as their walled royal city; from 973 it was the capital of the Fatimid caliphate.
Middle Ages
Al-Azhar Mosque (970): Cairo's Mosque and University
Founded as the Fatimid congregational mosque of Cairo, al-Azhar became the most influential Sunni centre of religious learning and, in 1961, a modern state university.
Middle Ages
Kilwa Kisiwani: Medieval Swahili Sultanate and Gold Port
Kilwa dominated the East African gold trade in the 13th-14th centuries before Portuguese attack in 1505 and changing trade led to its decline.
Middle Ages
Ibn al-Haytham's Book of Optics (1011-1021) and Vision
The Book of Optics established the theory that vision is caused by light entering the eye and set a new standard for experimental, mathematical optics in both Islamic and European science.
Middle Ages
Almoravids: The Berber Empire of North Africa and Spain
The Almoravids united Morocco and al-Andalus under one Berber dynasty for about sixty years before the Almohads overthrew them in 1147.
Middle Ages
Awdaghust and the Almoravid Sack of 1054: A Saharan Trade Town
Almoravid forces stormed and plundered Awdaghust, ending Ghana's control of a key Saharan trading town.
Middle Ages
Al-Bakri's Account of Ghana (1068): Africa in Arabic Geography
Al-Bakri's Book of Routes and Realms became the most detailed written source for the Ghana Empire at its height.
Middle Ages
Kingdom of Mapungubwe: Southern Africa's First State (c. 1075)
A wealthy trading kingdom with a ruling elite on Mapungubwe Hill flourished and then declined, foreshadowing the rise of Great Zimbabwe.