Pre-colonial Africa had a rich and diverse history of kingdoms, empires, and complex societies.

The powerful West African empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai controlled the lucrative trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt.

The city of Timbuktu, in the Mali Empire, was a major center of trade and Islamic scholarship, with a famous university.

The Kingdom of Aksum in modern-day Ethiopia was a major trading power and one of the first states to adopt Christianity.

The city-states of the Swahili Coast in East Africa were cosmopolitan hubs that participated in the Indian Ocean trade network.

In Southern Africa, the Kingdom of Great Zimbabwe was known for its impressive stone-walled capital city.

Other major states included the Kingdom of Kongo in Central Africa and the Yoruba city-states in West Africa.

Artistic traditions flourished, including the sophisticated bronze and ivory sculptures of the Kingdom of Benin.

Political structures varied widely, from large, centralized empires to smaller, stateless societies.

This history challenges the colonial-era misconception of Africa as a continent without history before the arrival of Europeans.