The Map Room
African kingdoms and empires
For a long time maps of Africa's past were drawn mostly blank. These sixteen kingdoms and empires show how wrong that was: states that minted coins, raised stone cities, kept written records, fought off invaders and traded across oceans. Pick one to read its story.
Kingdom of KushAksumGhana EmpireKanem–BornuKilwa & the Swahili CoastGreat ZimbabweKingdom of BeninMali EmpireOyo EmpireKingdom of KongoSonghai EmpireNdongo & MatambaJolof EmpireMossi KingdomsZulu KingdomAsante Empire785 BCE – 350 CE · ▶ episodeKingdom of KushNapata & Meroë · Sudan100 CE – 940 CE · ▶ episodeAksumEthiopia & Eritrea · Ethiopia and Eritrea300 CE – 1200 CE · ▶ episodeGhana EmpireWagadu · the Sahel · Southeastern Mauritania and western Mali700 CE – 1893 CEKanem–BornuLake Chad · Chad, northeastern Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon900 CE – 1505 CEKilwa & the Swahili CoastKilwa Kisiwani · Tanzania1100 CE – 1450 CEGreat ZimbabweZimbabwe plateau · Zimbabwe1100 CE – 1896 CE · ▶ episodeMossi KingdomsBurkina Faso · Burkina Faso1180 CE – 1897 CEKingdom of BeninBenin City · Edo State, Nigeria1235 CE – 1600 CE · ▶ episodeMali EmpireNiani & Timbuktu · Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea and Mauritania1300 CE – 1836 CEOyo EmpireOyo-Ile · Southwestern Nigeria and parts of Benin Republic1350 CE – 1549 CE · ▶ episodeJolof EmpireSenegal · Senegal and The Gambia1390 CE – 1914 CEKingdom of KongoMbanza Kongo · Northern Angola, western DR Congo and Republic of the Congo1464 CE – 1591 CE · ▶ episodeSonghai EmpireGao · Mali and Niger1500 CE – 1671 CENdongo & MatambaAngola · Angola1701 CE – 1901 CEAsante EmpireKumasi · Ghana1816 CE – 1897 CE · ▶ episodeZulu KingdomKwaZulu-Natal · KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa