In school, we learn about Egypt, we learn about the Greek and Ottoman empires. We learn about China and Japan. In 1491, we get an idea of what American empires were like.
But, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of great cities or empires in Sub-Saharan Africa. Were there ever any?
You don’t have to go back that far. There were wealthy and regionally powerful states in sub-saharan africa until fairly recently. Ethiopia, Mali, etc.
There were some, particularly along the Sahel, the belt immediately south of the Sahara, a region where cavalry was still possible and trans-Saharan trade important. Most notably Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Bornu, and later the Hausa-Fulani state. Also smaller states like Futa Jallon, Futa Tora, Massina and the even shorter-lived empires of the Tukolor and the Dyula.
In addition the West African ‘forest belt’ nearer the coast harbored kingdoms like Benin and the Asante state.
In East Africa ( I’m going to stop shopping for links in the interest of time, but they’re out there ) we had the various states of the Ethiopian highlands, the Great Lakes region and the Swahili coast. In the south the various Zimbabwei states. In central Africa states like Kongo.
So yes, quite a few ( and I could link to more ). Sub-Saharan Africa did labor under some resource constraints and relative isolation, so the level of sophistication of some of these states varied. But all were complex states in their own way.
Sure. Not so many big ancient empires, besides Ethiopia/Axum, Nubia and Cush, but a lot of medieval ones…Songhai, Ghana, Mali, Zimbabwe, and so on.
They were cursorily covered (late '60s-early '70s) “They had a great college in Timbuktu. They built a big wall around Great Zimbabwe. OK?” No elaboration on how they may have impacted world history as a whole.
However, there was no mention of the Ottomans except for something to do with why Columbus sailed West.
The cynic in me (and a more than cursory study of History can make one a cynic) believes this was because there were Black kids in class, but no Turks.
One interesting thing about the Sub-Saharan empires is that parts of them are still alive and kicking today.
In Northern Cameroon, for instance, lands are ruled over by lamidos in a semi-feudal fashion. The more important lamidos hold equal or even greater power than the state authorities. They run tax systems, security forces, courts, prison, land allocation, etc. Their cultures and alliances follow the old kingdoms more than the modern states. I never forgot that “Sokoto” and "Bornu’ were important and relevent to the culture around me, even though the actual Sokoto and Bornu power centers lay far away in Nigeria.
When we think of African traditional leaders, we tend to think of “tribal” leaders ruling a small group that is constantly at conflict with their neighbors. But in West Africa, traditional leaders are part of a huge, complicated, highly organized and very old feudal system that spans a good chunk of the continent. Think “kingdom”, not “tribe.”
Traditional festivals celebrate the exploits of the old leaders- in Cameroon the hip thing were parades that re-enacted the Fulani Jihad (these were less appreciated by the ethnic groups that resisted and continue to resist Fulbe-ization.) To this day the cultures of the old kingdoms (for example, the Fulbe in the case of Cameroon and much of West Africa) continue to spread and grow in power and influence.
Which is why I felt way more familiar with the culture in Mali- a good ways away from my Cameroonian home- than I did in Southern Cameroon, a short drive south. And why I am able to speak Fulfulde with people as far away as Mauritania. You may even argue the West African traditional culture is becoming more and more united, rather than fading away.
When I lived in Cameroon, I was surprised how much my village resembled nothing more than a fairy tale- complete with court jesters, bored prices running off to live as adventurous commoners, princesses who can only marry royal blood, peasants complaining the king raises the taxes too high, witches poisoning the wells, etc.- which makes sense since most of our fairy tales involve medieval times. A Cameroonian court strongly resembles a medieval court- the king on a throne, the court loitering around him, musicians in colorful robes and the whole bit.
To this day some occupations (blacksmiths, musicians, royalty and slaves, to name a few) live under a caste-like system with elaborate rules about who they may marry, etc. Most villagers just paid their taxes (ours was 10% of the harvest to the lamido- who would redistribute some of that).
Anyway, I think it’s all fascinating stuff and would love to learn more about how my personal experiences fit into history.
Also, Timbuktu must have been awesome in it’s day. It really does feel like the end of the earth- you really understand in your bones that after that it is the end of the “civilized” world until you cross a desert that few have the ability to survive. Today it is a small, quiet, sand-blown place. But it’s full of exquisite ancient buildings and no shortage of mystery. For example, there are piles of medieval Islamic manuscripts buried out in the desert. The local Taurag nomads traditionally record their family secrets in them, and then bury them where only they can find them. I spent time with a man who’s work was trying to convince the Taurags to give the books to Timbuktu’s book preservation projects, where they can at least be stored and preserved. The Taurags- who still do salt caravans across the Sahara now and then- generally would rather be left alone.