191-524: Sub-Saharan Africa or Subsahara is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara . These include Central Africa , East Africa , Southern Africa , and West Africa . Geopolitically, in addition to the African countries and territories that are situated fully in that specified region, the term may also include polities that only have part of their territory located in that region, per
382-581: A Greek periplus written by an unknown author around the 1st century, contains a detailed description of the Red Sea's ports and sea routes. The Periplus also describes how Hippalus first discovered the direct route from the Red Sea to India . The Red Sea was favored for Roman trade with India starting with the reign of Augustus , when the Roman Empire gained control over the Mediterranean, Egypt , and
573-736: A confederation of seafaring peoples contributed to the New Kingdom 's collapse in 1069 BC, commencing the Third Intermediate Period . Egypt's collapse liberated the more Egyptianised Kingdom of Kush in Nubia, who manoeuvred into power in Upper Egypt and conquered Lower Egypt in 754 BC to form the Kushite Empire . The Kushites ruled for a century and oversaw a revival in pyramid building , until they were driven out of Egypt by
764-549: A principality into a major power on the trade route between Rome and India through conquering its unfortunately unknown neighbours, gaining a monopoly on Indian Ocean trade in the region. Aksum's rise had them rule over much of the regions from Lake Tana to the valley of the Nile , and they further conquered parts of the ailing Kingdom of Kush , led campaigns against the Noba and Beja peoples, and expanded into South Arabia . This led
955-475: A Bantu language with many Arabic , Persian and other Middle Eastern and South Asian loan words , developed as a lingua franca for trade between the different peoples in southeastern Africa. In the Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa, the distinct people known as Bushmen (also "San", closely related to, but distinct from " Hottentots ") have long been present. The San evince unique physical traits, and are
1146-597: A Berber tribe originally from Yafran (also known as Ifrane ) in northwestern Libya , as well as the city of Ifrane in Morocco . Under Roman rule, Carthage became the capital of the province then named Africa Proconsularis , following its defeat of the Carthaginians in the Third Punic War in 146 BC, which also included the coastal part of modern Libya . The Latin suffix -ica can sometimes be used to denote
1337-410: A Business June 2008 through May 2009) , PFI (Press Freedom Index 2009) Sub-Saharan Africa contains over 1,500 languages. With the exception of the extinct Sumerian (a language isolate ) of Mesopotamia , Afroasiatic has the oldest documented history of any language family in the world. Egyptian was recorded as early as 3200 BCE. The Semitic branch was recorded as early as 2900 BCE in
1528-399: A dry winter season and a wet summer season. According to paleontology , early hominid skull anatomy was similar to that of their close cousins, the great African forest apes , gorilla and chimpanzee . However, they had adopted a bipedal locomotion and freed hands, giving them a crucial advantage enabling them to live in both forested areas and on the open savanna at a time when Africa
1719-700: A former Italian colony, gained independence. In 1956, Tunisia and Morocco won their independence from France. Ghana followed suit the next year (March 1957), becoming the first of the sub-Saharan colonies to be granted independence. Over the next decade, waves of decolonization took place across the continent, culminating in the 1960 Year of Africa and the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963. Portugal's overseas presence in sub-Saharan Africa (most notably in Angola , Cape Verde, Mozambique , Guinea-Bissau , and São Tomé and Príncipe) lasted from
1910-665: A grouping counterpart to North Africa , which is instead grouped with the definition of MENA (i.e. Middle East and North Africa) as it is part of the Arab world , and most North African states are likewise members of the Arab League . However, while they are also member states of the Arab League , the Comoros , Djibouti , Mauritania , and Somalia (and sometimes Sudan ) are all geographically considered to be part of sub-Saharan Africa. Overall,
2101-560: A handful of African countries succeeded in obtaining rapid economic growth prior to 1990. Exceptions include Libya and Equatorial Guinea, both of which possess large oil reserves. Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean , lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden . To its north lie
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#17330844829912292-550: A land (e.g., in Celtica from Celtae , as used by Julius Caesar ). The later Muslim region of Ifriqiya , following its conquest of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire's Exarchatus Africae , also preserved a form of the name. According to the Romans, Africa lies to the west of Egypt, while "Asia" was used to refer to Anatolia and lands to the east. A definite line was drawn between
2483-677: A millennium. Towards the end of the ancient period, northern Ethiopia and Eritrea bore the Kingdom of D'mt beginning in 980 BC. In modern-day Somalia and Djibouti there was the Macrobian Kingdom , with archaeological discoveries indicating the possibility of other unknown sophisticated civilisations at this time. After D'mt's fall in the 5th century BC the Ethiopian Plateau came to be ruled by numerous smaller unknown kingdoms who experienced strong south Arabian influence , until
2674-625: A monopoly on gold heading north and salt heading south, despite not controlling the gold fields themselves, located in the forest regions . It is probable that Wagadu's dominance on trade allowed for the gradual consolidation of many polities into a confederated state , whose composites stood in varying relations to the core, from fully administered to nominal tribute-paying parity. Based on large tumuli scattered across West Africa dating to this period, it has been stipulated that relative to Wagadu, there were further simultaneous and preceding kingdoms that have unfortunately been lost to time. At
2865-570: A native Libyan tribe, an ancestor of modern Berbers ; see Terence for discussion. The name had usually been connected with the Phoenician word ʿafar meaning "dust", but a 1981 hypothesis has asserted that it stems from the Berber word ifri (plural ifran ) meaning "cave", in reference to cave dwellers. The same word may be found in the name of the Banu Ifran from Algeria and Tripolitania ,
3056-649: A spiritual religious guardian. This imperial cult or system of divine kings was spread to most of central Africa by rivals in kingship migrating and forming new states. Many new states received legitimacy by claiming descent from the Lunda dynasties. The Kingdom of Kongo existed from the Atlantic west to the Kwango river to the east. During the 15th century, the Bakongo farming community was united with its capital at M'banza-Kongo , under
3247-464: A transition from " informal imperialism " – military influence and economic dominance – to direct rule. Imperial rule by Europeans continued until after the conclusion of World War II , when almost all remaining colonial territories gradually obtained formal independence. Independence movements in Africa gained momentum following World War II, which left the major European powers weakened. In 1951, Libya,
3438-475: Is considered that it will become an ocean in time (as proposed in the model of John Tuzo Wilson ). In 1949, a deep water survey reported anomalously hot brines in the central portion of the Red Sea. Later work in the 1960s confirmed the presence of hot, 60 °C (140 °F), saline brines and associated metalliferous muds. The hot solutions were emanating from an active subseafloor rift . Lake Asal in Djibouti
3629-447: Is eligible as an experimental site to study the evolution of the deep hot brines of the Red Sea. By observing the strontium isotope composition of the Red Sea brines, it is possible to deduce how these salt waters found at the bottom of the Red Sea could have evolved in a similar way to Lake Asal, which ideally represents their compositional extreme. The high salinity of the waters was not hospitable to living organisms. Sometime during
3820-668: Is located on the Swahili coast . Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa . It is the provincial capital and largest city in Gauteng , which is the wealthiest province in South Africa. While Johannesburg is not one of South Africa's three capital cities , it is the seat of the Constitutional Court . The city is located in the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills, and is
4011-787: Is not always to be taken literally. Africa is considered by most paleoanthropologists to be the oldest inhabited territory on Earth, with the Human species originating from the continent. During the mid-20th century, anthropologists discovered many fossils and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as seven million years ago ( Before present , BP). Fossil remains of several species of early apelike humans thought to have evolved into modern humans, such as Australopithecus afarensis radiometrically dated to approximately 3.9–3.0 million years BP, Paranthropus boisei (c. 2.3–1.4 million years BP) and Homo ergaster (c. 1.9 million–600,000 years BP) have been discovered. After
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#17330844829914202-415: Is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, and also one of the most populous urban agglomerations . Lagos is a major financial centre in Africa; this megacity has the highest GDP, and also houses Apapa , one of the largest and busiest ports on the continent. Dar es Salaam is the former capital of, as well as the most populous city in, Tanzania ; it is a regionally important economic centre. It
4393-693: Is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Arabian Plate and the Gulf of Aqaba to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos . It contains 54 fully recognised sovereign states , eight cities and islands that are part of non-African states , and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition . This count does not include Malta and Sicily , which are geologically part of
4584-545: Is that some Asiatic languages used color words to refer to the cardinal directions . Herodotus on one occasion uses Red Sea and Southern Sea interchangeably. The name in Hebrew Yam Suph ( Hebrew : ים סוף , lit. 'Sea of Reeds') is of biblical origin. The name in Coptic : ⲫⲓⲟⲙ `ⲛϩⲁϩ Phiom Enhah ("Sea of Hah") is connected to Ancient Egyptian root ḥ-ḥ which refers to water and sea (for example
4775-416: Is the driving force in the Red Sea to transport material as suspension or as bedload. Wind-induced currents play an important role in the Red Sea in resuspending bottom sediments and transferring materials from sites of dumping to sites of burial in quiescent environment of deposition. Wind-generated current measurement is therefore important in order to determine the sediment dispersal pattern and its role in
4966-640: Is thought that the camel was first brought to Egypt after the Persian Empire conquered Egypt in 525 BCE, although large herds did not become common enough in North Africa for camels to be the pack animal of choice for the trans-saharan trade. The Bantu expansion is a major migration movement that originated in West Central Africa (possibly around Cameroon) around 2500 BCE, reaching East and Central Africa by 1000 BCE and Southern Africa by
5157-649: The 11th dynasty , based in Thebes , conquered the others to form the Middle Kingdom of Egypt , with the 12th dynasty expanding into Lower Nubia at the expense of Kerma . In 1700 BC, the Middle Kingdom fractured in two, ushering in the Second Intermediate Period . The Hyksos , a militaristic people from Palestine , invaded and conquered Lower Egypt, while Kerma coordinated invasions deep into Egypt to reach its greatest extent. In 1550 BC,
5348-627: The 18th dynasty expelled the Hyksos , and established the New Kingdom of Egypt . Using the advanced military technology the Hyksos had brought, the New Kingdom conquered the Levant from the Canaanites , Mittani , Amorites , and Hittites , and extinguished Kerma , incorporating Nubia into the empire, and sending the Egyptian empire into its golden age. Internal struggles, drought, famine, and invasions by
5539-467: The 2023-2024 Israel-Hamas war . One ship was hijacked and taken back to Yemen. The Red Sea is between arid land, desert and semi-desert . Reef systems are better developed along the Red Sea mainly because of its greater depths and an efficient water circulation pattern. The Red Sea water mass-exchanges its water with the Arabian Sea , Indian Ocean via the Gulf of Aden . These physical factors reduce
5730-635: The Bantu expansion . In Southern Africa, their speakers are the Khoikhoi and San (Bushmen), in Southeast Africa, the Sandawe and Hadza . The Niger–Congo family is the largest in the world in terms of the number of languages (1,436) it contains. The vast majority of languages of this family are tonal , such as Yoruba and Igbo . However, others such as Fulani , Wolof and Kiswahili are not. A major branch of
5921-659: The Benin Empire . Towards the end of the 3rd century AD, a wet period in the Sahel created areas for human habitation and exploitation that had not been habitable for the best part of a millennium, with the Kingdom of Wagadu , the local name of the Ghana Empire , rising out of the Tichitt culture , growing wealthy following the introduction of the camel to the western Sahel, revolutionising
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6112-521: The Cold War , and neocolonialism . Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and a large and young population make Africa an important economic market in the broader global context. Africa has a large quantity of natural resources and food resources, including diamonds , sugar , salt , gold , iron , cobalt , uranium , copper , bauxite , silver , petroleum , natural gas , cocoa beans , and tropical fruit . The continent
6303-805: The Congo Basin , the Empire of Kitara in the African Great Lakes , the Luba Empire in the Upemba Depression , the Kilwa Sultanate in the Swahili coast by crowding out Azania , with Rhapta being its last stronghold by the 1st century AD, and forming various city states constituting the Swahili civilisation . These migrations also prefaced the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in the Zambezi basin . After reaching
6494-494: The Coptic ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ̀ⲛϣⲁⲣⲓ Phiom ̀nšari , Syriac ܝܡܐ ܣܘܡܩܐ Yammāʾ summāqā, Somali Badda cas and Tigrinya Qeyyiḥ bāḥrī (ቀይሕ ባሕሪ). The name of the sea may signify the seasonal blooms of the red-coloured Trichodesmium erythraeum near the water's surface. A theory favored by some modern scholars is that the name red is referring to the direction south, just as the Black Sea 's name may refer to north. The basis of this theory
6685-737: The Dutch East India Company . For most of the 17th and 18th centuries, the slowly expanding settlement was a Dutch possession. In 1795, the Dutch colony was captured by the British during the French Revolutionary Wars . The British intended to use Cape Town as a major port on the route to Australia and India . It was later returned to the Dutch in 1803, but soon afterward the Dutch East India Company declared bankruptcy, and
6876-679: The Ekoi civilisation rose circa 2nd century AD, and are most notable for constructing the Ikom monoliths and developing the Nsibidi script . Pre-colonial Africa possessed as many as 10,000 different states and polities. These included small family groups of hunter-gatherers such as the San people of southern Africa; larger, more structured groups such as the family clan groupings of the Bantu peoples of central, southern, and eastern Africa; heavily structured clan groups in
7067-686: The Ethiopian Empire , and the Geledi Sultanate , whose military dominance forced governors of the Omani empire north of the city of Lamu to pay tribute to the Somali Sultan Ahmed Yusuf . According to the theory of recent African origin of modern humans , the mainstream position held within the scientific community, all humans originate from either Southeast Africa or the Horn of Africa. During
7258-595: The Fatimids , Almoravids , Almohads , Ayyubids , Mamluks , Kongo , Mwene Muji , Luba , Lunda , Kitara , Aksum , Ethiopia , Adal , Ajuran , Kilwa , Sakalava , Imerina , Maravi , Mutapa , Rozvi , Mthwakazi , and Zulu . Slave trades created various diasporas , especially in the Americas . From the late 19th century to early 20th century, driven by the Second Industrial Revolution , most of Africa
7449-455: The H. erectus species. The fossil and genetic evidence shows Homo sapiens developed in Southern and East Africa by around 350,000 to 260,000 years ago and gradually migrated across the continent in waves. Between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago, their expansion out of Africa launched the colonisation of the planet by modern humans. By 10,000 BCE, Homo sapiens had spread to all corners of
7640-617: The Horn of Africa ; the large Sahelian kingdoms ; and autonomous city-states and kingdoms, such as those of the Akan ; Edo , Yoruba , and Igbo people in West Africa; and the Swahili coastal trading towns of Southeast Africa. By the 9th century AD, a string of dynastic states, including the earliest Hausa states, stretched across the sub-Saharan savannah from the western regions to central Sudan. The most powerful of these states were Ghana , Gao , and
7831-416: The Isthmus of Suez in Egypt. Other migrations of modern humans within the African continent have been dated to that time, with evidence of early human settlement found in Southern Africa, Southeast Africa, North Africa, and the Sahara . The size of the Sahara has historically been extremely variable, with its area rapidly fluctuating and at times disappearing depending on global climatic conditions. At
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8022-401: The Kanem-Bornu Empire . Ghana declined in the eleventh century, but was succeeded by the Mali Empire , which consolidated much of western Sudan in the thirteenth century. Kanem accepted Islam in the eleventh century. In the forested regions of the West African coast, independent kingdoms grew with little influence from the Muslim north. The Kingdom of Nri , which was ruled by the Eze Nri ,
8213-472: The Kingdom of Dahomey , and the Oyo Empire ) adopted different ways of adapting to the shift. Asante and Dahomey concentrated on the development of "legitimate commerce" in the form of palm oil , cocoa , timber and gold, forming the bedrock of West Africa's modern export trade. The Oyo Empire, unable to adapt, collapsed into civil wars. The Scramble for Africa was the conquest and colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by
8404-422: The Mali Empire , Songhai Empire , the Kanem Empire and the subsequent Bornu Empire . They built stone structures like in Tichit , but mainly constructed in adobe . The Great Mosque of Djenne is most reflective of Sahelian architecture and is the largest adobe building in the world. In the forest zone, several states and empires such as Bono State , Akwamu and others emerged. The Ashanti Empire arose in
8595-439: The Mauro-Roman Kingdom and its numerous successor polities in the Maghreb, namely the kingdoms of Ouarsenis , Aurès , and Altava . The Vandals ruled Ifriqiya for a century until Byzantine reconquest in the early 6th century AD. The Byzantines and the Berber kingdoms fought minor inconsequential conflicts, such as in the case of Garmul , however largely coexisted. Further inland to the Byzantine Exarchate of Africa were
8786-620: The Mediterranean Sea . To the point that a number of them now form a significant component of the Mediterranean ecosystem. The resulting change in biodiversity, without precedent in human memory, is currently accelerating, in particular for fishes according to surveys engaged by the Mediterranean Science Commission . The rich diversity of the Red Sea is in part due to the 2,000 km (1,240 mi) of coral reef extending along its coastline; these fringing reefs are 5000–7000 years old and are largely formed of stony acropora and porites corals. The reefs form platforms and sometimes lagoons along
8977-512: The Noba caused their disintegration into Makuria , Alodia , and Nobatia in the 5th century AD. The Romans managed to hold on to Egypt for the rest of the ancient period. In the Horn of Africa , there was the Land of Punt , a kingdom on the Red Sea , likely located in modern-day Eritrea or northern Somaliland . The Ancient Egyptians initially traded via middle-men with Punt until in 2350 BC when they established direct relations. They would become close trading partners for over
9168-430: The Nok culture from 1500 BC in modern-day Nigeria , the Daima culture around Lake Chad from 550 BC, Djenné-Djenno from 250 BC in modern-day Mali , and the Serer civilisation in modern-day Senegal , which built the Senegambian stone circles from the 3rd century BC. There is also detailed record of Igodomigodo , a small kingdom founded presumably in 40 BC, which would later go on to form
9359-399: The Ovambo kingdoms , most of which were later conquered. The 1884 Berlin Conference regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa, and is seen as emblematic of the "scramble". In the last quarter of the 19th century, there were considerable political rivalries between the European empires , which provided the impetus for the colonisation. The later years of the 19th century saw
9550-404: The Punic Wars against the expansionary Roman Republic , however momentum in these wars was not linear, with Carthage initially experiencing considerable success in the Second Punic War following Hannibal 's infamous crossing of the alps into northern Italy . Their defeat and subsequent collapse of their empire would produce two further polities in the Maghreb; Numidia , which had assisted
9741-429: The Red Sea slave trade from Africa to the Middle East. During the Middle Ages , the Red Sea was an important part of the spice trade route. In 1183, Raynald of Châtillon launched a raid down the Red Sea to attack the Muslim pilgrim convoys to Mecca. The possibility that Raynald's fleet might sack the holy cities of Mecca and Medina caused fury throughout the Muslim world. However, it appears that Reynald's target
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#17330844829919932-447: The Romans in 30 BC. The Crisis of the Third Century in the Roman Empire freed the Levantine city state of Palmyra , which conquered Egypt ; their brief rule ended when they were reconquered by the Romans . In the midst of this, Kush regained independence from Egypt, and they would persist as a major regional power until, having been weakened from internal rebellion amid worsening climatic conditions, invasions by Aksum and
10123-435: The Sabaeans , Parthians and Axumites for the wealthy Indo – Greco – Roman trade. In the Middle Ages several powerful Somali empires dominated the region's trade, including the Ajuran Sultanate , which excelled in hydraulic engineering and fortress building, the Sultanate of Adal , whose General Ahmed Gurey was the first African commander in history to use cannon warfare on the continent during Adal's conquest of
10314-494: The Sanhaja in modern-day Algeria , a broad grouping of three groupings of tribal confederations , one of which is the Masmuda grouping in modern-day Morocco , along with the nomadic Zenata ; their composite tribes would later go onto shape much of North African history . In the western Sahel the rise of settled communities occurred largely as a result of the domestication of millet and of sorghum . Archaeology points to sizable urban populations in West Africa beginning in
10505-488: The Sao civilisation flourished for over a millennium beginning in the 6th century BC, in territory that later became part of present-day Cameroon and Chad . Sao artifacts show that they were skilled workers in bronze , copper , and iron , with finds including bronze sculptures, terracotta statues of human and animal figures, coins, funerary urns, household utensils, jewellery, highly decorated pottery, and spears. Nearby, around Lake Ejagham in south-west Cameroon ,
10696-419: The Sassanid Empire and the Himyarite Kingdom in Arabia. The Maghreb and Ifriqiya were mostly cut off from the cradle of civilisation in Egypt by the Libyan desert , exacerbated by Egyptian boats being tailored to the Nile and not coping well in the open Mediterranean Sea . This caused its societies to develop contiguous to those of Southern Europe , until Phoenician settlements came to dominate
10887-417: The Second Industrial Revolution during the era of " New Imperialism " (1833–1914): Belgium , France , Germany , United Kingdom , Italy , Portugal and Spain . In 1870, 10% of the continent was formally under European control. By 1914, this figure had risen to almost 90%; the only states retaining sovereignty were Liberia , Ethiopia , Egba , Aussa , Senusiyya , Mbunda , the Dervish State , and
11078-518: The Second World War , the Americans and Soviets exerted their influence whilst the volume of oil tanker traffic intensified. However, the Six-Day War culminated in the closure of the Suez Canal from 1967 to 1975. Today, in spite of patrols by the major maritime fleets in the waters of the Red Sea, the Suez Canal has never recovered its supremacy over the Cape route, which is believed to be less vulnerable to piracy. Iranian -backed Yemini Houthis have attacked Western ships, including warships , during
11269-399: The Septuagint translation of the Book of Exodus from Hebrew to Koine Greek in approximately the third century BC. In that version, the Yam Suph ( Hebrew : ים סוף , lit. 'Sea of Reeds') is translated as Erythra Thalassa (Red Sea). The Red Sea is one of four seas named in English after common color terms – the others being the Black Sea , the White Sea and
11460-428: The Sinai Peninsula , the Gulf of Aqaba , and the Gulf of Suez —leading to the Suez Canal . It is underlain by the Red Sea Rift , which is part of the Great Rift Valley . The Red Sea has a surface area of roughly 438,000 km (169,000 sq mi), is about 2,250 km (1,400 mi) long, and 355 km (221 mi) wide at its widest point. It has an average depth of 490 m (1,610 ft), and in
11651-446: The Songhai , Zarma and Kanuri . The Old Nubian language is also a member of this family. Major languages of Africa by region, family and number of primary language speakers in millions: Sub-Saharan Africa has several large cities. Lagos is a city in the Nigerian state of Lagos . The city, with its adjoining conurbation , is the most populous in Nigeria , and the second-most populous in Africa after Cairo , Egypt . It
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#173308448299111842-512: The Tertiary period, the Bab el Mandeb closed and the Red Sea evaporated to an empty hot dry salt-floored sink. Effects causing this would have been: A number of volcanic islands rise from the center of the sea. Most are dormant. However, in 2007, Jabal al-Tair island in the Bab el Mandeb strait erupted violently. Two new islands were formed in 2011 and 2013 in the Zubair Archipelago , a small chain of islands owned by Yemen. The first island, Sholan Island, emerged in an eruption in December 2011,
12033-408: The UN Development Programme applies the "sub-Saharan" classification to 46 of Africa's 55 countries, excluding Djibouti, SADR , Somalia, and Sudan. Since around 3900 BCE , the Saharan and sub-Saharan regions of Africa have been separated by the extremely harsh climate of the sparsely populated Sahara, forming an effective barrier that is interrupted only by the Nile in Sudan, though navigation on
12224-451: The Walls of Benin , which is the largest man-made structure in the world. In the 18th century, the Oyo and the Aro confederacy were responsible for most of the slaves exported from modern-day Nigeria, selling them to European slave traders . Following the Napoleonic Wars , the British expanded their influence into the Nigerian interior. In 1885, British claims to a West African sphere of influence received international recognition, and in
12415-459: The Yellow Sea . The direct rendition of the Greek Erythra thalassa in Latin as Mare Erythraeum refers to the north-western part of the Indian Ocean , and also to a region on Mars . The earliest known exploration of the Red Sea was conducted by ancient Egyptians , as they attempted to establish commercial routes to Punt . One such expedition took place around 2500 BC, and another around 1500 BC (by Hatshepsut ). Both involved long voyages down
12606-404: The Zambezi , the Bantu continued southward, with eastern groups continuing to modern-day Mozambique and reaching Maputo in the 2nd century AD. Further to the south, settlements of Bantu peoples who were iron-using agriculturists and herdsmen were well established south of the Limpopo River by the 4th century AD, displacing and absorbing the Khoisan . By the Chari River south of Lake Chad
12797-673: The global economy , with cargo vessels traveling between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea every year, thus shortening the path between Asia and Europe almost by half (as compared to traveling around Africa via the Atlantic Ocean). 12% of global trade passes through the Red Sea. This includes 30% of global container traffic. The sea is known for its recreational diving sites, such as Ras Mohammed , SS Thistlegorm (shipwreck), Elphinstone Reef , The Brothers , Daedalus Reef , St. John's Reef , Rocky Island in Egypt and less known sites in Sudan such as Sanganeb , Abington , Angarosh and Shaab Rumi . The Red Sea became
12988-447: The medieval period used the general term bilâd as-sûdân ("Land of the Blacks") for the vast Sudan region (an expression denoting Central and West Africa ), or sometimes extending from the coast of West Africa to Western Sudan . Its equivalent in Southeast Africa was Zanj ("Country of the Blacks"), which was situated in the vicinity of the Great Lakes region. The geographers drew an explicit ethnographic distinction between
13179-419: The presidential system of rule. However, few of them have been able to sustain democratic governments on a permanent basis—per the criteria laid out by Lührmann et al. (2018), only Botswana and Mauritius have been consistently democratic for the entirety of their post-colonial history. Most African countries have experienced several coups or periods of military dictatorship . Between 1990 and 2018, though,
13370-416: The sabkhas through a network of channels. However, south of Jeddah in the Shoiaba area, the water from the lagoon may cover the adjoining sabkhas as far as 3 km (2 mi), whereas north of Jeddah in the Al-Kharrar area the sabkhas are covered by a thin sheet of water as far as 2 km (1.2 mi). The prevailing north and northeast winds influence the movement of water in the coastal inlets to
13561-780: The trans-Saharan trade that linked their capital and Aoudaghost with Tahert and Sijilmasa in North Africa. Soninke traditions likely contain content from prehistory, mentioning four previous foundings of Wagadu , and holds that the final founding of Wagadu occurred after their first king did a deal with Bida , a serpent deity who was guarding a well, to sacrifice one maiden a year in exchange for assurance regarding plenty of rainfall and gold supply. Wagadu's core traversed modern-day southern Mauritania and western Mali , and Soninke tradition portrays early Ghana as warlike, with horse-mounted warriors key to increasing its territory and population, although details of their expansion are extremely scarce. Wagadu made its profits from maintaining
13752-410: The tropic of Cancer , in the northern temperate zone . In the other extreme of the continent, southern Namibia , southern Botswana , great parts of South Africa , the entire territories of Lesotho and Eswatini and the southern tips of Mozambique and Madagascar are located below the tropic of Capricorn , in the southern temperate zone . Africa is highly biodiverse ; it is the continent with
13943-480: The written word . During the colonial period , oral sources were deprecated by European historians, which gave them the impression Africa had no recorded history. African historiography became organized at the academic level in the mid-20th century, and saw a movement towards utilising oral sources in a multidisciplinary approach, culminating in the General History of Africa , edited by specialists from across
14134-579: The 14th and 15th centuries, large medieval Southeast African kingdoms and states emerged, such as the Buganda , Bunyoro and Karagwe kingdoms of Uganda and Tanzania. During the early 1960s, the Southeast African nations achieved independence from colonial rule. Settlements of Bantu -speaking peoples, who were iron -using agriculturists and herdsmen, were already present south of the Limpopo River by
14325-674: The 16th and 19th centuries. In West Africa, the decline of the Atlantic slave trade in the 1820s caused dramatic economic shifts in local polities. The gradual decline of slave-trading, prompted by a lack of demand for slaves in the New World , increasing anti-slavery legislation in Europe and America, and the British Royal Navy's increasing presence off the West African coast, obliged African states to adopt new economies. Between 1808 and 1860,
14516-579: The 16th century to 1975, after the Estado Novo regime was overthrown in a military coup in Lisbon . Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence from the United Kingdom in 1965, under the white minority government of Ian Smith , but was not internationally recognized as an independent state (as Zimbabwe ) until 1980, when black nationalists gained power after a bitter guerrilla war . Although South Africa
14707-584: The 18th century in modern-day Ghana . The Kingdom of Nri , was established by the Igbo in the 11th century. Nri was famous for having a priest-king who wielded no military power. Nri was a rare African state which was a haven for freed slaves and outcasts who sought refuge in their territory. Other major states included the kingdoms of Ifẹ and Oyo in the western block of Nigeria which became prominent about 700–900 and 1400 respectively, and center of Yoruba culture. The Yoruba built massive mud walls around their cities,
14898-515: The 1950s and early 1960s, most sub-Saharan African nations achieved independence from colonial rule. According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects, the population of sub-Saharan Africa was 1.1 billion in 2019. The current growth rate is 2.3%. The UN predicts for the region a population between 2 and 2.5 billion by 2050 with a population density of 80 per km compared to 170 for Western Europe, 140 for Asia and 30 for
15089-590: The 1st and 4th cataracts of the Nile . The 4th dynasty oversaw the height of the Old Kingdom , and constructed many great pyramids . Under the 6th dynasty power gradually decentralised to the nomarchs, culminating in the disintegration of the kingdom, exacerbated by drought and famine, thus commencing the First Intermediate Period in 2200 BC. This shattered state would last until 2055 BC when
15280-567: The 2nd century BC Mauretania fought alongside Numidia's Jugurtha in the Jugurthine War against the Romans after he had usurped the Numidian throne from a Roman ally. Together they inflicted heavy casualties that quaked the Roman Senate , with the war only ending inconclusively when Mauretania's Bocchus I sold out Jugurtha to the Romans. At the turn of the millennium, they both would face
15471-438: The 44 recorded species of shark, and by many species (over 175) of nudibranch , many of which are endemic to the Red Sea. Other coastal Red Sea habitats include sea grass beds, salt pans , mangrove and salt marsh . Furthermore the deep Red Sea brine pools have been extensively studied with regard to their microbial life, characterized by its diversity and adaptation to extreme environments. The high marine biodiversity of
15662-716: The 4th millennium BC the Congo Basin was inhabited by the Bambenga , Bayaka , Bakoya , and Babongo in the west, the Bambuti in the east , and the Batwa who were widely scattered and also present in the Great Lakes region ; together they are grouped as Pygmies . On the later-named Swahili coast there were Cushitic -speaking peoples, and the Khoisan (a neologism for the Khoekhoe and San ) in
15853-416: The 4th millennium BC, which had crucially developed iron metallurgy by 1200 BC, in both smelting and forging for tools and weapons. Extensive east-west belts of deserts , grasslands , and forests from north to south were crucial for the moulding of their respective societies and meant that prior to the accession of trans-Saharan trade routes , symbiotic trade relations developed in response to
16044-526: The 4th or 5th century displacing and absorbing the original Khoisan speakers. They slowly moved south, and the earliest ironworks in modern-day KwaZulu-Natal Province are believed to date from around 1050. The southernmost group was the Xhosa people , whose language incorporates certain linguistic traits from the earlier Khoisan inhabitants. They reached the Fish River in today's Eastern Cape Province . Monomotapa
16235-588: The 6th century BC, Darius the Great , who was a prominent ruler of the Achaemenid Empire in Persia, undertook significant efforts to improve and extend navigation in the Red Sea. He sent reconnaissance missions to explore the Red Sea area and to identify its various navigational hazards, such as rocks and currents. This effort was significant, as it contributed to safer and more efficient navigation routes. In addition to
16426-521: The Achaemenid Empire's economic and political power in the region. In the late 4th century BC, Alexander the Great sent Greek naval expeditions down the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean . Greek navigators continued to explore and compile data on the Red Sea. Agatharchides collected information about the sea in the 2nd century BC. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (" Periplus of the Red Sea "),
16617-563: The African continent. Algeria is Africa's largest country by area, and Nigeria is its largest by population. African nations cooperate through the establishment of the African Union , which is headquartered in Addis Ababa . Africa straddles the equator and the prime meridian . It is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to the southern temperate zones. The majority of
16808-714: The Americas. Sub-Saharan African countries top the list of countries and territories by fertility rate with 40 of the highest 50, all with TFR greater than 4 in 2008. All are above the world average except South Africa and Seychelles . More than 40% of the population in sub-Saharan countries is younger than 15 years old, as well as in Sudan , with the exception of South Africa. GDP per Capita (PPP) (2016, 2017 (PPP, US$ )) , Life (Exp.) (Life Expectancy 2006) , Literacy (Male/Female 2006) , Trans (Transparency 2009) , HDI (Human Development Index) , EODBR (Ease of Doing Business Rank June 2008 through May 2009) , SAB ( Starting
16999-619: The Assyrians in 663 BC in reprisal for their expansion towards the Assyrian Empire . The Assyrians installed a puppet dynasty that later gained independence and once more unified Egypt , until they were conquered by the Achaemenid Empire in 525 BC. Egypt regained independence under the 28th dynasty in 404 BC but they were reconquered by the Achaemenids in 343 BC. The conquest of Achaemenid Egypt by Alexander
17190-553: The British West Africa Squadron seized approximately 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 Africans who were aboard. Action was also taken against African leaders who refused to agree to British treaties to outlaw the trade, for example against "the usurping King of Lagos ", deposed in 1851. Anti-slavery treaties were signed with over 50 African rulers. The largest powers of West Africa (the Asante Confederacy ,
17381-566: The Dutch (now under French control) and the British found themselves at war again. The British captured the Dutch possession yet again at the Battle of Blaauwberg , commanded by Sir David Blair . The Zulu Kingdom was a Southern African tribal state in what is now KwaZulu-Natal in southeastern South Africa. The small kingdom gained world fame during and after their defeat in the Anglo-Zulu War . During
17572-635: The Great in 332 BC marked the beginning of Hellenistic rule and the installation of the Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. The Ptolemaics lost their holdings outside of Africa to the Seleucids in the Syrian Wars , expanded into Cyrenaica and subjugated Kush in the 3rd century BC. In the 1st century BC, Ptolemaic Egypt became entangled in a Roman civil war , leading to its conquest by
17763-561: The Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea). The Chadic branch is distributed in Central and West Africa. Hausa , its most widely spoken language, serves as a lingua franca in West Africa (Niger, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, and Chad). The several families lumped under the term Khoi-San include languages indigenous to Southern Africa and Tanzania , though some, such as the Khoi languages , appear to have moved to their current locations not long before
17954-564: The Iberian peninsula during the eleventh century. The Banu Hilal and Banu Ma'qil were a collection of Arab Bedouin tribes from the Arabian Peninsula who migrated westwards via Egypt between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. Their migration resulted in the fusion of the Arabs and Berbers, where the locals were Arabized , and Arab culture absorbed elements of the local culture, under
18145-584: The Mediterranean. Growing from the proto-Aksumite Iron Age period ( c. 4th century BCE), it rose to prominence by the 1st century CE. The Aksumites constructed monolithic stelae to cover the graves of their kings, such as King Ezana's Stele . The later Zagwe dynasty , established in the 12th century, built churches out of solid rock. These rock-hewn structures include the Church of St. George at Lalibela . In ancient Somalia , city-states flourished such as Opone , Mosyllon and Malao that competed with
18336-539: The Niger–Congo languages is Bantu , which covers a greater geographic area than the rest of the family. Bantu speakers represent the majority of inhabitants in southern, central and southeastern Africa, though San , Pygmy , and Nilotic groups, respectively, can also be found in those regions. Bantu-speakers can also be found in parts of Central Africa such as the Gabon , Equatorial Guinea and southern Cameroon . Swahili ,
18527-572: The Nile was blocked by the Sudd and the river's cataracts . There is also an evident genetic divide between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa that dates back to the Neolithic . The Sahara pump theory explains how flora and fauna (including Homo sapiens ) left Africa to penetrate Eurasia and beyond. African pluvial periods are associated with a " Wet Sahara " phase, during which larger lakes and more rivers existed. Geographers historically divided
18718-550: The Persian prophet Mani to consider Aksum as one of the four great powers of the 3rd century AD alongside Persia , Rome , and China . In the 4th century AD Aksum's king converted to Christianity and Aksum's population, who had followed syncretic mixes of local beliefs , slowly followed. The end of the 5th century saw Aksum allied with the Byzantine Empire , who viewed themselves as defenders of Christendom , balanced against
18909-423: The Red Sea and its coasts is extremely low, averaging 60 mm (2.36 in) per year. The rain is mostly short showers, often with thunderstorms and occasionally with dust storms . The scarcity of rainfall and no major source of fresh water to the Red Sea result in excess evaporation as high as 2,050 mm (81 in) per year and high salinity with minimal seasonal variation. A recent underwater expedition to
19100-532: The Red Sea inside the Bab al-Mandab , as the first fleet from Europe in modern times to have sailed these waters. Later in 1524 the city was delivered to Governor Heitor da Silveira as an agreement for protection from the Ottomans . In 1798, France ordered General Napoleon to invade Egypt and take control of the Red Sea. Although he failed in his mission, the engineer Jean-Baptiste Lepère , who took part in it, revitalised
19291-408: The Red Sea is dominated by persistent north-west winds , with speeds ranging between 7 km/h (4.3 mph) and 12 km/h (7.5 mph). The rest of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are subjected to regular and seasonally reversible winds. The wind regime is characterized by seasonal and regional variations in speed and direction with average speed generally increasing northward. Wind
19482-465: The Red Sea offshore from Sudan and Eritrea found surface water temperatures 28 °C (82 °F) in winter and up to 34 °C (93 °F) in the summer, but despite that extreme heat, the coral was healthy with much fish life with very little sign of coral bleaching , with only 9% infected by Thalassomonas loyana , the 'white plague' agent. Favia favus coral there harbours a virus, BA3, which kills T. loyana . Scientists are investigating
19673-566: The Red Sea. The biblical Book of Exodus tells the account of the Israelites ' crossing of the sea , which the Hebrew text calls Yam Suph ( Hebrew : יַם סוּף ). Yam Suph was traditionally identified as the Red Sea. Rabbi Saadia Gaon (882‒942), in his Judeo-Arabic translation of the Pentateuch , identifies the crossing place of the Red Sea as Baḥar al-Qulzum , meaning the Gulf of Suez . In
19864-460: The Red Sea. The net value of the latter predominates, resulting in an overall drift to the north end of the Red Sea. Generally, the velocity of the tidal current is 50–60 cm/s (20–24 in/s) with a maximum of 1 m/s (3.3 ft/s) at the mouth of the al-Kharrar Lagoon. However, the range of the north-northeast current along the Saudi coast is 8–29 cm/s (3–11 in/s). The north part of
20055-558: The Romans in the Second Punic War, Mauretania , a Mauri tribal kingdom and home of the legendary King Atlas , and various tribes such as Garamantes , Musulamii , and Bavares . The Third Punic War would result in Carthage's total defeat in 146 BC and the Romans established the province of Africa , with Numidia assuming control of many of Carthage's African ports. Towards the end of
20246-803: The Sahara region was becoming increasingly dry and hostile. Around 3500 BC, due to a tilt in the Earth's orbit , the Sahara experienced a period of rapid desertification. The population trekked out of the Sahara region towards the Nile Valley below the Second Cataract where they made permanent or semi-permanent settlements. A major climatic recession occurred, lessening the heavy and persistent rains in Central and Eastern Africa . Since this time, dry conditions have prevailed in Eastern Africa and, increasingly during
20437-517: The Saharan climate started to become drier at an exceedingly fast pace. This climate change caused lakes and rivers to shrink significantly and caused increasing desertification . This, in turn, decreased the amount of land conducive to settlements and encouraged migrations of farming communities to the more tropical climate of West Africa. During the first millennium BC, a reduction in wild grain populations related to changing climate conditions facilitated
20628-566: The Sahel (northern Mauritania, northern Mali, northern Niger). The Cushitic branch of Afroasiatic is centered in the Horn, and is also spoken in the Nile Valley and parts of the African Great Lakes region. Additionally, the Semitic branch of the family, in the form of Arabic , is widely spoken in the parts of Africa that are within the Arab world. South Semitic languages are also spoken in parts of
20819-455: The Southeast coast of Kenya and Tanzania encountered by these later Arab and Persian settlers have been variously identified with the trading settlements of Rhapta , Azania and Menouthias referenced in early Greek and Chinese writings from 50 CE to 500 CE. These early writings perhaps document the first wave of Bantu settlers to reach Southeast Africa during their migration. Between
21010-784: The Sudan region and its analogue Zanj, from the area to their extreme east on the Red Sea coast in the Horn of Africa . In modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea was Al-Habash or Abyssinia, which was inhabited by the Habash or Abyssinians, who were the forebears of the Habesha . In northern Somalia was Barbara or the Bilad al-Barbar ("Land of the Berbers "), which was inhabited by the Eastern Baribah or Barbaroi , as
21201-418: The adjacent sabkhas, especially during storms. Winter mean sea level is 0.5 m (1.6 ft) higher than in summer. Tidal velocities passing through constrictions caused by reefs, sand bars and low islands commonly exceed 1–2 m/s (3–7 ft/s). Coral reefs in the Red Sea are near Egypt, Eritrea, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan. Detailed information regarding current data is lacking, partially because
21392-501: The ancestors of the Somalis were referred to by medieval Arab and ancient Greek geographers, respectively. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the populations south of the Sahara were divided into three broad ancestral groups: Hamites and Semites in the Horn of Africa and Sahel related to those in North Africa, who spoke languages belonging to the Afroasiatic family; Negroes in most of
21583-417: The application of animal husbandry towards carrying water, food, and supplies across the desert. Prior to the introduction of the camel , the use of oxen, mule, and horses for desert crossing was common, and trade routes followed chains of oases that were strung across the desert. The trans-saharan trade was in full motion by 500 BCE with Carthage being a major economic force for its establishment. It
21774-526: The area is recognized by the Egyptian government, which set up the Ras Mohammed National Park in 1983. The rules and regulations governing this area protect local marine life, which has become a major draw for diving enthusiasts who should be aware that although most Red Sea species are innocuous, a few are hazardous to humans. There is extensive demand for desalinated water to meet the needs of
21965-411: The art of making fire. They were the first hominids to leave Africa, going on to colonise the entire Old World , and perhaps later on giving rise to Homo floresiensis . Although some recent writers suggest that H. georgicus , a H. habilis descendant , was the first and most primitive hominid to ever live outside Africa, many scientists consider H. georgicus to be an early and primitive member of
22156-475: The carcasses of animals killed by other predators, both for their meat and their marrow. In hunting, H. habilis was most likely not capable of competing with large predators and was more prey than hunter, although H. habilis likely did steal eggs from nests and may have been able to catch small game and weakened larger prey such as cubs and older animals. The tools were classed as Oldowan . Roughly 1.8 million years ago, Homo ergaster first appeared in
22347-450: The central Suakin Trough it reaches its maximum depth of 3,040 m (9,970 ft). Approximately 40% of the Red Sea is quite shallow at less than 100 m (330 ft) deep, and about 25% is less than 50 m (160 ft) deep. The extensive shallow shelves are noted for their marine life and corals . More than 1,000 invertebrate species and 200 types of soft and hard coral live in
22538-884: The centre of a large-scale gold and diamond trade. Nairobi is the capital and the largest city of Kenya . The name comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyrobi , which translates to "cool water", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city is popularly referred to as the Green City in the Sun. Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia . At about 30.3 million km (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth 's land area and 6% of its total surface area. With nearly 1.4 billion people as of 2021, it accounts for about 18% of
22729-531: The coast and occasional other features such as cylinders (such as the Blue Hole (Red Sea) at Dahab ). The Red Sea also hosts many offshore reefs, including several true atolls. Many of the unusual offshore reef formations defy classic (i.e., Darwinian) coral reef classification schemes, and are generally attributed to the high levels of tectonic activity that characterize the area. Both offshore and coastal reefs are visited by pelagic species of fish, including many of
22920-1037: The coast of Africa ] and Aqaba [A line running from Ràs al Fasma Southwesterly to Requin Island ( 27°57′N 34°36′E / 27.950°N 34.600°E / 27.950; 34.600 ) through Tiran Island to the Southwest point thereof and thence Westward on a parallel (27°54'N) to the coast of the Sinai Peninsula ]. On the South. A line joining Husn Murad ( 12°40′N 43°30′E / 12.667°N 43.500°E / 12.667; 43.500 ) and Ras Siyyan ( 12°29′N 43°20′E / 12.483°N 43.333°E / 12.483; 43.333 ). Exclusive economic zones in Red Sea: Note: Hala'ib Triangle disputed between Sudan and Egypt and calculated for both. Red Sea has names in many languages of
23111-410: The continent and its countries are in the Northern Hemisphere , with a substantial portion and a number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere . Most of the continent lies in the tropics, except for a large part of Western Sahara , Algeria , Libya and Egypt , the northern tip of Mauritania , and the entire territories of Morocco , Ceuta , Melilla , and Tunisia , which in turn are located above
23302-463: The continent as a whole has trended towards more democratic governance. Upon independence an overwhelming majority of Africans lived in extreme poverty . The continent suffered from the lack of infrastructural or industrial development under colonial rule, along with political instability. With limited financial resources or access to global markets, relatively stable countries such as Kenya still experienced only very slow economic development. Only
23493-424: The continent most vulnerable to climate change . The history of Africa is long, complex, and varied, and has often been under-appreciated by the global historical community . In African societies the oral word is revered, and they have generally recorded their history via oral tradition , which has led anthropologists to term them oral civilisations, contrasted with literate civilisations which pride
23684-409: The continent's south. The Bantu expansion constituted a major series of migrations of Bantu peoples from central Africa to eastern and southern Africa and was substantial in the settling of the continent. Commencing in the 2nd millennium BC, the Bantu began to migrate from Cameroon to central, eastern, and southern Africa, laying the foundations for future states such as the Kingdom of Kongo in
23875-422: The continent. Africa, particularly Eastern Africa , is widely accepted to be the place of origin of humans and the Hominidae clade , also known as the great apes . The earliest hominids and their ancestors have been dated to around 7 million years ago, and Homo sapiens (modern human) are believed to have originated in Africa 350,000 to 260,000 years ago. Africa is also considered by anthropologists to be
24066-417: The currents are weak and both spatially and temporally variable. The variation of temporal and spatial currents is as low as 0.5 m (1.6 ft) and are governed all by wind. During the summer, northwesterly winds drive surface water south for about four months at a velocity of 15–20 cm/s (6–8 in/s), whereas in winter the flow is reversed resulting in the inflow of water from the Gulf of Aden into
24257-442: The definition of the United Nations (UN). This is considered a non-standardised geographical region with the number of countries included varying from 46 to 48 depending on the organisation describing the region (e.g. UN , WHO , World Bank , etc.). The African Union (AU) uses a different regional breakdown, recognising all 55 member states on the continent—grouping them into five distinct and standard regions. The term serves as
24448-428: The earliest instances of agriculture in human history. Its cultivation would gradually spread across Africa, before spreading to India around 2000 BC. People around modern-day Mauritania started making pottery and built stone settlements (e.g., Tichitt , Oualata ). Fishing, using bone-tipped harpoons , became a major activity in the numerous streams and lakes formed from the increased rains. In West Africa,
24639-409: The early centuries CE. The Djenné-Djenno city-state flourished from 250 BCE to 900 CE and was influential to the development of the Ghana Empire . The Nok culture of Nigeria (lasting from 1,500 BCE to 200 CE) is known from a type of terracotta figure. There were a number of medieval empires of the southern Sahara and the Sahel, based on trans-Saharan trade , including the Ghana Empire and
24830-423: The effect of high salinity caused by evaporation in the north and relatively hot water in the south. The climate of the Red Sea is the result of two monsoon seasons: a northeasterly monsoon and a southwesterly monsoon. Monsoon winds occur because of differential heating between the land and the sea. Very high surface temperatures and high salinities make this one of the warmest and saltiest bodies of seawater in
25021-441: The end of the Ice ages , estimated to have been around 10,500 BC, the Sahara had again become a green fertile valley, and its African populations returned from the interior and coastal highlands in sub-Saharan Africa , with rock art paintings depicting a fertile Sahara and large populations discovered in Tassili n'Ajjer dating back perhaps 10 millennia. However, the warming and drying climate meant that by 5,000 BC,
25212-484: The epistemic object in a sensuous, emotive, intuitive, abstractive understanding, rather than through abstraction alone, as is the case in Western epistemology " to arrive at a "complete knowledge", and as such oral traditions, music , proverbs , and the like were used in the preservation and transmission of knowledge. Oral tradition can be exoteric or esoteric . It speaks to people according to their understanding, unveiling itself in accordance with their aptitudes, and
25403-427: The erosion and accretion of the coastal rock exposure and the submerged coral beds. The Red Sea was formed by the Arabian Peninsula being split from the Horn of Africa by movement of the Red Sea Rift . This split started in the Eocene and accelerated during the Oligocene . The sea is still widening (in 2005, following a three-week period of tectonic activity it had grown by 8 m [26 ft]), and it
25594-433: The evolution of Homo sapiens approximately 350,000 to 260,000 years BP in Africa, the continent was mainly populated by groups of hunter-gatherers . These first modern humans left Africa and populated the rest of the globe during the Out of Africa II migration dated to approximately 50,000 years BP, exiting the continent either across Bab-el-Mandeb over the Red Sea , the Strait of Gibraltar in Morocco, or
25785-535: The expansion of farming communities and the rapid adoption of rice cultivation around the Niger River. By the first millennium BC, ironworking had been introduced in Northern Africa. Around that time it also became established in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, either through independent invention there or diffusion from the north and vanished under unknown circumstances around 500 AD, having lasted approximately 2,000 years, and by 500 BC, metalworking began to become commonplace in West Africa. Ironworking
25976-504: The first millennium BCE. Trade and improved agricultural techniques supported more sophisticated societies, leading to the early civilisations of Sao , Kanem , Bornu , Shilluk , Baguirmi , and Wadai . Following the Bantu Migration into Central Africa, during the 14th century, the Luba Kingdom in southeast Congo came about under a king whose political authority derived from religious, spiritual legitimacy. The kingdom controlled agriculture and regional trade of salt and iron from
26167-533: The first millennium CE, Nilotic and Bantu -speaking peoples moved into the region , and the latter now account for three-quarters of Kenya's population. On the coastal section of Southeast Africa, a mixed Bantu community developed through contact with Muslim Arab and Persian traders, leading to the development of the mixed Arab, Persian and African Swahili City States . The Swahili culture that emerged from these exchanges evinces many Arab and Islamic influences not seen in traditional Bantu culture, as do
26358-441: The following year the Royal Niger Company was chartered under the leadership of Sir George Goldie . In 1900, the company's territory came under the control of the British government, which moved to consolidate its hold over the area of modern Nigeria. On 1 January 1901, Nigeria became a British protectorate as part of the British Empire , the foremost world power at the time. Nigeria was granted its independence in 1960 during
26549-417: The form of the Akkadian language of Mesopotamia ( Assyria and Babylonia ) and circa 2500 BCE in the form of the Eblaite language of northeastern Syria . The distribution of the Afroasiatic languages within Africa is principally concentrated in North Africa and the Horn of Africa. Languages belonging to the family's Berber branch are mainly spoken in the north, with its speech area extending into
26740-451: The fossil record in Africa. From Homo ergaster , Homo erectus (upright man) evolved 1.5 million years ago. Some of the earlier representatives of this species were small-brained and used primitive stone tools , much like H. habilis . The brain later grew in size, and H. erectus eventually developed a more complex stone tool technology called the Acheulean . Potentially the first hominid to engage in hunting, H. erectus mastered
26931-455: The growth and expansion of Aksum in the 1st century BC. Along the Horn's coast there were many ancient Somali city-states that thrived off of the wider Red Sea trade and transported their cargo via beden , exporting myrrh , frankincense , spices , gum , incense , and ivory , with freedom from Roman interference causing Indians to give the cities a lucrative monopoly on cinnamon from ancient India . The Kingdom of Aksum grew from
27122-409: The historical process is largely a communal one, with eyewitness accounts, hearsay , reminiscences, and occasionally visions , dreams, and hallucinations crafted into narrative oral traditions which are performed and transmitted through generations. Time is sometimes mythical and social, and truth generally viewed as relativist . In African epistemology , the epistemic subject "experiences
27313-419: The indigenous people of southern Africa. Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous peoples of Central Africa. The Nilo-Saharan languages are concentrated in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers of Central Africa and Southeast Africa. They are principally spoken by Nilotic peoples and are also spoken in Sudan among the Fur , Masalit , Nubian and Zaghawa peoples and in West and Central Africa among
27504-458: The king title, Manikongo . Other significant states and peoples included the Kuba Kingdom , producers of the famous raffia cloth, the Eastern Lunda , Bemba , Burundi , Rwanda , and the Kingdom of Ndongo . Nubia , covered by present-day northern Sudan and southern Egypt , was referred to as " Aethiopia " ("land of the burnt face") by the Greeks . Nubia in her greatest phase is considered sub-Saharan Africa's oldest urban civilisation. Nubia
27695-462: The kingdoms of Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt in northeast Africa . Around 3100 BC Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt to unify Egypt under the 1st dynasty , with the process of consolidation and assimilation completed by the time of the 3rd dynasty who formed the Old Kingdom of Egypt in 2686 BC. The Kingdom of Kerma emerged around this time to become the dominant force in Nubia , controlling territory as large as Egypt between
27886-453: The largest number of megafauna species, as it was least affected by the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna . However, Africa also is heavily affected by a wide range of environmental issues , including desertification, deforestation, water scarcity , and pollution . These entrenched environmental concerns are expected to worsen as climate change impacts Africa . The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified Africa as
28077-440: The last 200 years, in Ethiopia . The domestication of cattle in Africa preceded agriculture and seems to have existed alongside hunter-gatherer cultures. It is speculated that by 6,000 BC, cattle were domesticated in North Africa. In the Sahara-Nile complex, people domesticated many animals, including the donkey and a small screw-horned goat that was common from Algeria to Nubia . Between 10,000 and 9,000 BC, pottery
28268-425: The major constituents of the Red Sea sediments are as follows: The Red Sea is a rich and diverse ecosystem. For example more than 1200 fish species have been recorded in the Red Sea, of which 10% are endemic, found nowhere else. Since the opening of the Suez Canal in November 1869, over a thousand marine species from the Red Sea—from plankton, seaweeds, invertebrates to fishes—have migrated northward and settled in
28459-399: The many Afro-Arab members of the Bantu Swahili people . With its original speech community centered on the coastal parts of Tanzania (particularly Zanzibar ) and Kenya – a seaboard referred to as the Swahili Coast – the Bantu Swahili language contains many Arabic loan-words as a consequence of these interactions. The earliest Bantu inhabitants of
28650-416: The maritime explorations, during the reign of Darius the Great, a canal was constructed linking the Nile River to the northern end of the Red Sea at Suez. This canal is sometimes referred to as the ancient Suez Canal. It played a pivotal role in improving trade and communication between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea, and beyond to the Indian Ocean. This canal was a predecessor to the modern Suez Canal , which
28841-453: The most famous being Sungbo's Eredo . Another prominent kingdom in southwestern Nigeria was the Kingdom of Benin , whose power lasted between the 15th and 19th century. Their dominance reached as far as the well-known city of Eko which was named Lagos by the Portuguese traders and other early European settlers. The Edo -speaking people of Benin are known for their famous bronze casting and rich coral, wealth, ancient science and technology and
29032-488: The most genetically diverse continent as a result of being the longest inhabited. In the 4th and 3rd millennia BC Ancient Egypt , Kerma , Punt , and the Tichitt Tradition emerged in North , East and West Africa , while from 4000 BC until 1000 AD the Bantu expansion was substantial in laying the foundations for societies and states in Central , East , and Southern Africa . Some African empires include Wagadu , Mali , Songhai , Sokoto , Ife , Benin , Asante ,
29223-399: The most lucrative trading locations in the Gulf of Tunis . Phoenician settlements subsequently grew into Ancient Carthage after gaining independence from Phoenicia in the 6th century BC, and they would build an extensive empire and a strict mercantile network, all secured by one of the largest and most powerful navies in the ancient Mediterranean . Carthage would meet its demise in
29414-400: The names of the Ogdoad gods Heh and Hauhet ). Historically, it was also known to western geographers as Mare Mecca (Sea of Mecca), and Sinus Arabicus (Gulf of Arabia). Some ancient geographers called the Red Sea the Arabian Gulf or Gulf of Arabia. The association of the Red Sea with the biblical account of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea is ancient, and was made explicit in
29605-424: The north and copper from the Zambian/Congo copper belt. Rival kingship factions which split from the Luba Kingdom later moved among the Lunda people, marrying into its elite and laying the foundation of the Lunda Empire in the 16th century. The ruling dynasty centralised authority among the Lunda under the Mwata Yamyo or Mwaant Yaav. The Mwata Yamyo's legitimacy, like that of the Luba king, came from being viewed as
29796-404: The northern Red Sea. The route had been used by previous states but grew in the volume of traffic under the Romans. From Indian ports goods from China were introduced to the Roman world. Contact between Rome and China depended on the Red Sea, but the route was broken by the Aksumite Empire around the 3rd century AD. From antiquity until the 20th-century , the Red Sea was also a trade route of
29987-439: The official religion, built mosques, and brought to Gao Muslim scholars, including al-Maghili (d.1504), the founder of an important tradition of Sudanic African Muslim scholarship. By the eleventh century, some Hausa states – such as Kano , Jigawa , Katsina , and Gobir – had developed into walled towns engaging in trade, servicing caravans , and the manufacture of goods. Until the fifteenth century, these small states were on
30178-410: The opportunities afforded by north–south diversity in ecosystems. Various civilisations prospered in this period. From 4000 BC, the Tichitt culture in modern-day Mauritania and Mali was the oldest known complexly organised society in West Africa, with a four tiered hierarchical social structure. Other civilisations include the Kintampo culture from 2500 BC in modern-day Ghana ,
30369-505: The period of decoloniszation . Archeological finds in Central Africa provide evidence of human settlement that may date back over 10,000 years. According to Zangato and Holl, there is evidence of iron-smelting in the Central African Republic and Cameroon that may date back to 3,000 to 2,500 BCE. Extensive walled sites and settlements have recently been found in Zilum , Chad. The area is located approximately 60 km (37 mi) southwest of Lake Chad, and has been radiocarbon dated to
30560-421: The periphery of the major Sudanic empires of the era, paying tribute to Songhai to the west and Kanem-Borno to the east. Slavery had long been practiced in Africa. Between the 15th and the 19th centuries, the Atlantic slave trade took an estimated 7–12 million slaves to the New World. In addition, more than 1 million Europeans were captured by Barbary pirates and sold as slaves in North Africa between
30751-413: The plan for a canal which had been envisaged during the reign of the Pharaohs . Several canals were built in ancient times from the Nile to the Red Sea along or near the line of the present Sweet Water Canal , but none lasted for long. The Suez Canal was opened in November 1869. During the first half of the 20th-century, the Red Sea slave trade attracted substantional international condemnation. After
30942-428: The population and the industries along the Red Sea. There are at least 18 desalination plants along the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia which discharge warm brine and treatment chemicals ( chlorine and anti-scalants ) that bleach and kill corals and cause diseases in the fish. This is only localized, but it may intensify with time and profoundly impact the fishing industry. The Red Sea serves an important role in
31133-474: The predecessor to the African Union. The nascent countries decided to keep their colonial borders, with traditional power structures used in governance to varying degrees. Afri was a Latin name used to refer to the inhabitants of what was then known as northern Africa , located west of the Nile river, and in its widest sense referring to all lands south of the Mediterranean , also known as Ancient Libya . This name seems to have originally referred to
31324-537: The region The English term Red Sea is a direct translation of the Ancient Greek Erythra Thalassa ( Ἐρυθρὰ Θάλασσα ). The sea itself was once referred to as the Erythraean Sea by Europeans. As well as Mare Rubrum in Latin (alternatively Sinus Arabicus , literally "Arabian Gulf"), the Romans called it Pontus Herculis (Sea of Hercules). Other designations include the Arabic : البحر الأحمر , romanized : Al-Baḥr Al-Aḥmar (alternatively بحر القلزم Baḥr Al-Qulzum , literally "the Sea of Clysma "),
31515-505: The region into several distinct ethnographic sections based on each area's respective inhabitants. The concept has been criticised as a racist construction intended to separate North Africa or "European/White Africa" and "Black Africa" or "Africa noire". Critics from various countries have provided arguments supporting the interconnectedness of continental Africa, pointing to historical and cultural connections, as well as trade between North, West, and East Africa . Commentators in Arabic in
31706-463: The rest of the subcontinent (hence, the toponym Black Africa for Africa south of the Sahara), who spoke languages belonging to the Niger-Congo and Nilo-Saharan families; and Khoisan in Southern Africa , who spoke languages belonging to the Khoisan family. Sub-Saharan Africa has a wide variety of climate zones or biomes . South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in particular are considered megadiverse countries . It has
31897-426: The same fate as Carthage and be conquered by the Romans who established Mauretania and Numidia as provinces of their empire, while Musulamii , led by Tacfarinas , and Garamantes were eventually defeated in war in the 1st century AD however weren't conquered. In the 5th century AD the Vandals conquered north Africa precipitating the fall of Rome . Swathes of indigenous peoples would regain self-governance in
32088-413: The sea. The Red Sea is the world's northernmost tropical sea, and has been designated a Global 200 ecoregion. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Red Sea as follows: On the North. The Southern limits of the Gulfs of Suez [A line running from Ràs Muhammed (27°43'N) to the South point of Shadwan Island (34°02'E) and thence Westward on a parallel (27°27'N) to
32279-469: The second island, Jadid, emerged in September 2013. Approximately 40% of the Red Sea is quite shallow at less than 100 m (330 ft) deep, with about 25% less than 50 m (160 ft) deep. Undiscovered oil reserves in the region have been estimated at 5,041 MMBO. Undiscovered gas reserves in the region have been estimated at 112,349 BCFG. Undiscovered natural gas reserves have been estimated at 3,077 MMBNGL. Most of these plays are controlled by
32470-437: The south near the Gulf of Aden, but it fluctuates between 0.20 m (0.66 ft) and 0.30 m (0.98 ft) away from the nodal point. The central Red Sea (Jeddah area) is therefore almost tideless, and as such the annual water level changes are more significant. Because of the small tidal range the water during high tide inundates the coastal sabkhas as a thin sheet of water up to a few hundred metres rather than flooding
32661-402: The southern part and 41 ‰ in the northern part around the Gulf of Suez , with an average of 40 ‰. (Average salinity for the world's seawater is ~35 ‰ on the Practical Salinity Scale, or PSU; that translates to 3.5% of actual dissolved salts). In general, tide ranges between 0.6 m (2.0 ft) in the north, near the mouth of the Gulf of Suez and 0.9 m (3.0 ft) in
32852-418: The structure of the basin. Normal faults are common as the Red Sea occupies an active diverging margin. These targets are commonly found below the Salt deposits of the Middle Miocene . Modern development is focused on the following fields. The Durwara 2 Field was discovered in 1963, while the Suakin 1 Field and the Bashayer 1A Field were discovered in 1976, on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea. The Barqan Field
33043-425: The two continents by the geographer Ptolemy (85–165 CE), indicating Alexandria along the Prime Meridian and making the isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea the boundary between Asia and Africa. As Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of "Africa" expanded with their knowledge. Other etymological hypotheses have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa": In African societies,
33234-433: The unifying framework of Islam. Following the breakup of Mali, a local leader named Sonni Ali (1464–1492) founded the Songhai Empire in the region of middle Niger and the western Sudan and took control of the trans-Saharan trade. Sonni Ali seized Timbuktu in 1468 and Jenne in 1473, building his regime on trade revenues and the cooperation of Muslim merchants. His successor Askia Mohammad I (1493–1528) made Islam
33425-442: The unique properties of these coral and their commensal algae to see if they can be used to salvage bleached coral elsewhere. The Red Sea is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, owing to high evaporation and low precipitation; no significant rivers or streams drain into the sea, and its southern connection to the Gulf of Aden , an arm of the Indian Ocean, is narrow. Its salinity ranges from between ~36 ‰ in
33616-462: The wet phase ushered in an expanding rainforest and wooded savanna from Senegal to Cameroon . Between 9,000 and 5,000 BC, Niger–Congo speakers domesticated the oil palm and raffia palm . Black-eyed peas and voandzeia (African groundnuts), were domesticated, followed by okra and kola nuts . Since most of the plants grew in the forest, the Niger–Congo speakers invented polished stone axes for clearing forest. Around 4,000 BC,
33807-497: The world's human population . Africa's population is the youngest among all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Based on 2024 projections, Africa's population will reach 3.8 billion people by 2099. Africa is the least wealthy inhabited continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, ahead of Oceania . Scholars have attributed this to different factors including geography , climate , corruption , colonialism ,
33998-481: The world. The average surface water temperature of the Red Sea during the summer is about 26 °C (79 °F) in the north and 30 °C (86 °F) in the south, with only about 2 °C (3.6 °F) variation during the winter months. The overall average water temperature is 22 °C (72 °F). Temperature and visibility remain good to around 200 m (660 ft). The sea is known for its strong winds and unpredictable local currents. The rainfall over
34189-458: The world. This dispersal of the human species is suggested by linguistic, cultural and genetic evidence. During the 11th millennium BP , pottery was independently invented in West Africa, with the earliest pottery there dating to about 9,400 BC from central Mali. It spread throughout the Sahel and southern Sahara . After the Sahara became a desert, it did not present a totally impenetrable barrier for travelers between north and south because of
34380-418: Was rapidly conquered and colonised by European nations , save for Ethiopia and Liberia . European rule had significant impacts on Africa's societies , and colonies were maintained for the purpose of economic exploitation and extraction of natural resources. Most present states emerged from a process of decolonisation following World War II , and established the Organisation of African Unity in 1963,
34571-421: Was a major source of gold for the ancient world. Nubians built famous structures and numerous pyramids. Sudan, the site of ancient Nubia, has more pyramids than anywhere else in the world. The Axumite Empire spanned the southern Sahara, south Arabia and the Sahel along the western shore of the Red Sea . Located in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea , Aksum was deeply involved in the trade network between India and
34762-432: Was a medieval kingdom (c. 1250–1629), which existed between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers of Southern Africa in the territory of modern-day Zimbabwe and Mozambique . Its old capital was located at Great Zimbabwe . In 1487, Bartolomeu Dias became the first European to reach the southernmost tip of Africa. In 1652, a victualling station was established at the Cape of Good Hope by Jan van Riebeeck on behalf of
34953-481: Was constructed in the 19th century and continues to be one of the world's most important waterways. The construction of the canal during Darius's reign is evidenced by ancient records, including inscriptions. Darius commemorated the completion of the canal by creating stelae (stone monuments) with inscriptions in several languages, describing the construction and its benefits. The canal not only facilitated trade but also solidified Darius's control over Egypt and enhanced
35144-419: Was discovered in 1969, and the Midyan Field in 1992, both within the Midyan Basin on the Saudi Arabian side of the Red Sea. The 20-m thick Middle Miocene Maqna Formation is an oil source rock in the basin. Oil seeps occur near the Farasan Islands , the Dahlak Archipelago , along the coast of Eritrea, and in the southeastern Red Sea along the coasts of Saudi Arabia and Yemen. In terms of mineral resources
35335-440: Was drying up, with savanna encroaching on forested areas. This occurred 10 million to 5 million years ago. By 3 million years ago several australopithecine hominid species had developed throughout Southern , East , and Central Africa . They were tool users rather than tool manufacturers. The next major evolutionary step occurred around 2.3 million BCE, when primitive stone tools were used to scavenge
35526-401: Was established around the ninth century, making it one of the oldest kingdoms in present-day Nigeri. The Nri kingdom is famous for its elaborate bronzes , found at the town of Igbo-Ukwu . The Kingdom of Ife , historically the first of these Yoruba city-states or kingdoms, established government under a priestly oba ('king' or 'ruler' in the Yoruba language ), called the Ooni of Ife . Ife
35717-450: Was fully established by roughly 500 BC in many areas of East and West Africa, although other regions did not begin ironworking until the early centuries AD. Copper objects from Egypt , North Africa, Nubia, and Ethiopia dating from around 500 BC have been excavated in West Africa, suggesting that Trans-Saharan trade networks had been established by this date. From 3500 BC, nomes (ruled by nomarchs ) coalesced to form
35908-474: Was independently invented in the region of Mali in the savannah of West Africa. In the steppes and savannahs of the Sahara and Sahel in Northern West Africa, people possibly ancestral to modern Nilo-Saharan and Mandé cultures started to collect wild millet , around 8,000 to 6,000 BC. Later, gourds , watermelons , castor beans , and cotton were also collected. Sorghum was first domesticated in Eastern Sudan around 4,000 BC, in one of
36099-444: Was noted as a major religious and cultural centre in West Africa and for its unique naturalistic tradition of bronze sculpture. The Ife model of government was adapted by the Oyo Empire , whose obas, called the Alaafins of Oyo , controlled many other Yoruba and non-Yoruba city-states and kingdoms including the Fon Kingdom of Dahomey . The Almoravids were a Berber dynasty from the Sahara that spread over northwestern Africa and
36290-514: Was one of the first African countries to gain independence, the state remained under the control of the country's white minority, initially through qualified voting rights and from 1956 by a system of racial segregation known as apartheid , until 1994. Today, Africa contains 54 sovereign countries. Since independence, African states have frequently been hampered by instability, corruption, violence, and authoritarianism. The vast majority of African states are republics that operate under some form of
36481-399: Was the lightly armed Muslim pilgrim convoys, rather than the well guarded cities of Mecca and Medina, and the belief in the Muslim world that Reynald was seeking to sack the holy cities, due to the proximity of those cities to the areas that Raynald raided. In 1513, trying to secure that channel to Portugal, Afonso de Albuquerque laid siege to Aden but was forced to retreat. They cruised
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