Early civilizations Main article: Ancient African history Colossal statues of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel, Egypt, date from

around !"" #C$ %he origins and spread of the #antu languages c$ """ #C to c$ &"" A'$ At about (("" #C, the historical record opens in )orthern Africa *ith the rise of literacy in the +haraonic civilization of Ancient Egypt$,((- .ne of the *orld/s earliest and longest0lasting civilizations, the Egyptian state continued, *ith varying levels of influence over other areas, until (!( #C$,(!-,(&- Egyptian influence reached deep into modern0day 1ibya, north to Crete,(2- and Canaan,,citation needed- and south to the 3ingdoms of A3sum,citation needed- and )ubia$ ,citation neededAn independent center of civilization *ith trading lin3s to +hoenicia *as established by +hoenicians from %yre on the north0*est African coast at Carthage$,(4-,(5-,(6European e7ploration of Africa began *ith Ancient 8ree3s and Romans$ In ((9 #C, Ale7ander the 8reat *as *elcomed as a liberator in +ersian0occupied Egypt$ :e founded Ale7andria in Egypt, *hich *ould become the prosperous capital of the +tolemaic dynasty after his death$,!";ollo*ing the con<uest of )orth Africa/s Mediterranean coastline by the Roman Empire, the area *as integrated economically and culturally into the Roman system$ Roman settlement occurred in modern %unisia and else*here along the coast$ %he first Roman emperor native to )orth Africa *as Septimius Severus, born in 1eptis Magna in present0day 1ibya=his mother *as of Italian Roman e7tract and his father *as +unic, a genetic mi7 of the +hoenicians and #erber$,! Christianity spread across these areas at an early date, from >udaea via Egypt and beyond the borders of the Roman *orld into )ubia?,!9- by A' (!" at the latest, it had become the state religion of the A3sumite Empire$ Syro08ree3 missionaries, *ho arrived by *ay of the Red Sea, *ere responsible for this theological development$,!(In the early 4th century, the ne*ly formed Arabian Islamic Caliphate e7panded into Egypt, and then into )orth Africa$ In a short *hile, the local #erber elite had been integrated into Muslim Arab tribes$ @hen the Amayyad capital 'amascus fell in the 5th century, the Islamic center of the Mediterranean shifted from Syria to Bayra*an in )orth Africa$ Islamic )orth Africa had become diverse, and a hub for mystics, scholars, Curists and philosophers$ 'uring the above0mentioned period, Islam spread to sub0Saharan Africa, mainly through trade routes and migration$,!!6th to 5th centuries African horseman of #aguirmi in full padded armour suit 6th0century bronzes from the Igbo to*n of Igbo0A3*u, no* at the #ritish Museum,!&+re0colonial Africa possessed perhaps as many as ",""" different states and polities,!2characterized by many different sorts of political organization and rule$ %hese included small family groups of hunter0gatherers such as the San people of southern Africa? larger, more structured groups such as the family clan groupings of the #antu0spea3ing people of central and southern Africa? heavily structured clan groups in the :orn of Africa? the large Sahelian 3ingdoms? and autonomous city0states and 3ingdoms such as those of the A3an? Edo people, Doruba and Igbo people Ealso misspelled as IboF in @est Africa? and the S*ahili coastal trading to*ns of Southeast Africa$ #y the 6th century, a string of dynastic states, including the earliest :ausa states, stretched across the sub0saharan savannah from the *estern regions to central Sudan$ %he most po*erful of these states *ere 8hana, 8ao, and the Ganem0#ornu Empire$ 8hana declined in the th century, but *as succeeded by the Mali Empire *hich consolidated much of *estern Sudan in the (th century$ Ganem accepted Islam in the th century$

In the forested regions of the @est African coast, independent 3ingdoms gre* up *ith little influence from the Muslim north$ %he Gingdom of )ri of the Igbo *as established around the 6th century and *as one of the first$ It is also one of the oldest 3ingdoms in modern day )igeria and *as ruled by the Eze )ri$ %he )ri 3ingdom is famous for its elaborate bronzes, found at the to*n of Igbo0A3*u$ %he bronzes have been dated from as far bac3 as the 6th century$,!4Ashanti yam ceremony, 6th century by %homas E$ #o*dich %he Ife, historically the first of these Doruba city0states or 3ingdoms, established government under a priestly oba E/3ing/ or /ruler/ in the Doruba languageF, called the .oni of Ife$ Ife *as noted as a maCor religious and cultural center in Africa, and for its uni<ue naturalistic tradition of bronze sculpture$ %he Ife model of government *as adapted at .yo, *here its obas or 3ings, called the Alaafins of .yo, once controlled a large number of other Doruba and non0Doruba city0states and 3ingdoms? the ;on Gingdom of 'ahomey *as one of the non0Doruba domains under .yo control$ %he Almoravids *ere a #erber dynasty from the Sahara that spread over a *ide area of north*estern Africa and the Iberian peninsula during the th century$,!5- %he #anu :ilal and #anu Ma/<il *ere a collection of Arab #edouin tribes from the Arabian +eninsula *ho migrated *est*ards via Egypt bet*een the th and (th centuries$ %heir migration resulted in the fusion of the Arabs and #erbers, *here the locals *ere Arabized,,!6- and Arab culture absorbed elements of the local culture, under the unifying frame*or3 of Islam$,&"Ruins of 8reat Himbab*e E th to &th centuriesF ;ollo*ing the brea3up of Mali, a local leader named Sonni Ali E !2!I !69F founded the Songhai Empire in the region of middle )iger and the *estern Sudan and too3 control of the trans0 Saharan trade$ Sonni Ali seized %imbu3tu in !25 and >enne in !4(, building his regime on trade revenues and the cooperation of Muslim merchants$ :is successor As3ia Mohammad I E !6(I &95F made Islam the official religion, built mos<ues, and brought to 8ao Muslim scholars, including al0Maghili Ed$ &"!F, the founder of an important tradition of Sudanic African Muslim scholarship$,& - #y the th century, some :ausa states I such as Gano, Ciga*a, Gatsina, and 8obir I had developed into *alled to*ns engaging in trade, servicing caravans, and the manufacture of goods$ Antil the &th century, these small states *ere on the periphery of the maCor Sudanic empires of the era, paying tribute to Songhai to the *est and Ganem0#orno to the east$