Matriarchs of the East African coast Power, Property and the changing status of Women in the Swahili world (1300-1900CE) Many coastal societies followed matrilineal principles of descent and inheritance, and nearly all followed a matrilocal residence rule www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/matriarchs...

Haile Selassie’s Band of Armenian Orphans newlinesmag.com/essays/haile...

Each of these dots on the map has its own history, and I intend to cover all of them Cities/towns may have been the first complex societies, long before kingdoms and empires. Any discussion of African history would be incomplete without them

Massawa, Eritrea. ca. 1864. www.patreon.com/posts/143143...

The Maduuna congregational mosque, Somaliland. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/medieval-c...

Medieval cities and towns in the northern horn of Africa. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/medieval-c...

Ruins of medieval Ifat, Ethiopia. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/medieval-c...

Medieval cities in the northern Horn of Africa (1200-1600 CE) www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/medieval-c...

The medieval cities and towns of Eritrea (ca. 1000-1900 CE) www.patreon.com/posts/143143...

Tomorrow's Patreon article is about the medieval cities of the northern Horn of Africa

outrigger canoes approaching Moroni, Grande Comore mid-20th cent. #archivesxt

Fragmentary wall painting depicting Nubians and an angel sailing a boat 10th/11th century Naga el-Scheima, Sayala, Noubadia -Kunsthistorisches Museum #randomxt

Gao, Mali early 20th century #archivesxt

Aksumite ruins at Toconda, Eritrea ca. 1905 -archivio fotografico societa geografica #archivesxt

Brilliant, as usual, from @rhaplord.bsky.social

Public hall of the Mangbetu kingdom, north-eastern D.R.Congo. ca. 1870 www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/parliament...

Reception of Monteil by Bornu’s courtiers, army, and spectators at Kukawa, Nigeria. ca. 1891. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/parliament...

Parliamentary systems and other pluralistic institutions in pre-colonial Africa “The King’s power is controlled by the minor chiefs, who in their parliament, use the greatest plainness of speech in exposing what they consider lax in his government.” www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/parliament...

Pair of 'holy' islands in eerily green African lake hold centuries-old relics and mummified emperors www.livescience.com/planet-earth...

Kisimayo, Somalia. ca. 1935 www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/state-buil...

The Jami mosque and the wali’s house in Brava. ca. 1899 www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/state-buil...

Departure of Guillain’s caravan for Gueledi, from Mogadishu. ca. 1856 www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/state-buil...

State building in pre-colonial Somalia: the Sultanate of Geledi (ca. 1750-1908) www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/state-buil...

Tomorrow's article is about a 19th-century kingdom in Somalia

Täʾammǝrä Maryam 18th century Dabra Ḍaḥāy Mārqos Church, Ethiopia HMML #randomxt

Relief from the chapel of King Amanitenmemide, protected by the goddess Isis. 1st century BC. Pyramid N17, Meroe, Sudan. Neues Museum #randomxt

Mopti, Mali ca. 1948 -Quai Branly #archivesxt

View of Duke Town, Calabar, Nigeria. ca. 1890 -Quai Branly #archivesxt

#medievalsky

The Mtambwe Mkuu hoard of silver coins, Pemba Island, Tanzania www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/a-history-...

copper coins from Great Zimbabwe, Kilwa, and Ibo (Mozambique), ca. 11th-14th century The Ibo coins were made with copper from the Katanga copperbelt (Congo/Zambia) www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/a-history-...

A history of currencies and monetary systems in the southern half of Africa www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/a-history-...

"Following the adoption of the Arabic script in the 10th century, various scholarly communities across the continent began adapting and modifying it to accommodate their own languages, thereby developing distinct orthographic traditions collectively referred to as ʿAjamī (i.e., ‘non-Arab’)."

Very interesting!!

African #bookhistory in the archives

17th-century Sorabe manuscript. Antemoro, Madagascar. www.patreon.com/posts/sorabe...

18th-century Harari Manuscript. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/theajami-s...

Ooh!

19th-century Swahili manuscripts www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/theajami-s...

Swahili epitaphs from the 14th/15th century www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/theajami-s...

19th-century manuscript with glosses in Soninke Ajami www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/theajami-s...

18th-century manuscripts with glosses in old Kanembu www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/theajami-s...

12th-century funerary stele from Gao, Mali www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/theajami-s...

Languages that use the Ajami and Arabic scripts www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/theajami-s...

“The rich archival collections of Ajami literature refute the pervasive myth of Africa’s supposed illiteracy that is perpetuated by the overemphasis on African oral traditions in academia and the privileging of external sources over local chronicles.” www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/theajami-s...

TheʿAjamī script of Africa and the Sorabé manuscripts of Madagascar. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/theajami-s...

The Sorabé script of Madagascar and a chronicle of the Malagasy-French wars of 1659-1663 www.patreon.com/posts/sorabe...

tomorrow's Patreon article is about the spread of the Ajami script

Female leaders on the East African coast, pre colonialism