Medieval Africa Archives - Encyclopaedia Africana

19 Min Read

OVERVIEW The Luba Empire was one of the most significant pre-colonial political formations in Central Africa. It developed from the societies inhabiting the Upemba Depression...

LUNDA EMPIRE
(c. 1665–1887 CE)

15 Min Read

OVERVIEW The Lunda Empire was one of the most powerful and influential pre-colonial states of Central Africa. It flourished between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries...

KINGDOM OF KONGO
(c. 1390–1914 CE)

14 Min Read

OVERVIEW The Kingdom of Kongo was one of the most influential and highly organised states of medieval and early modern west-central Africa. It occupied a...

THE KANEM–BORNU EMPIRE
(c. 9th century–1893 CE)

8 Min Read

OVERVIEW The Kanem–Bornu Empire traces its origins to around the 9th century CE, when the Kanembu people founded the Kingdom of Kanem east of Lake...

THE SONGHAI EMPIRE
(c. 1464–1591 CE)

21 Min Read

OVERVIEW The Songhai Empire was one of the largest and most powerful empires in African history. It originated in the city of Gao, located on...

THE MALI EMPIRE
(c. 1235–1600 CE)

29 Min Read

Overview The Mali Empire was one of the greatest empires in West African history. It emerged in the 13th century following the decline of the...

GHANA EMPIRE
(c. 300–1240 CE)

44 Min Read

OVERVIEW The Ghana Empire, traditionally known by the Soninke name Wagadu, was one of the earliest major states to emerge in the western Sahel and...