Pre-colonial Africa had a rich and diverse history of kingdoms, empires, and complex societies.
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The powerful West African empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai controlled the lucrative trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt.
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The city of Timbuktu, in the Mali Empire, was a major center of trade and Islamic scholarship, with a famous university.
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The Kingdom of Aksum in modern-day Ethiopia was a major trading power and one of the first states to adopt Christianity.
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The city-states of the Swahili Coast in East Africa were cosmopolitan hubs that participated in the Indian Ocean trade network.
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In Southern Africa, the Kingdom of Great Zimbabwe was known for its impressive stone-walled capital city.
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Other major states included the Kingdom of Kongo in Central Africa and the Yoruba city-states in West Africa.
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Artistic traditions flourished, including the sophisticated bronze and ivory sculptures of the Kingdom of Benin.
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Political structures varied widely, from large, centralized empires to smaller, stateless societies.
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This history challenges the colonial-era misconception of Africa as a continent without history before the arrival of Europeans.
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