GREAT AFRICAN KINGS



AFFONSO I
KING OF THE KONGO (1506-1540)

Affonso I was a visionary, a man who saw his country not as a group of separate cultures, but as a unified nation fully equipped with advance knowledge and technology. He was also known as the first ruler to resist the most despicable act ever known to man, the European slave trade.

AKHENATON
The Creator of Monotheism
(1375-1358 B.C)

Akhenaton was the first ruler in recorded history to believe in the concept of One God. He also taught this concept to all his citizens. He built a new city in the desert that was dedicated to religion, art and music. This new city, Akhenaton (now Tell el Amara), with its lush gardens and magnificent buildings is where Akhenaton and his wife Queen Nefertiti changed Kemet's culture so radically that their influence is felt for centuries right up until today. Akhenaton was also the first Pharaoh of whom a true likeness is recorded as shown in the picture to the left.



ASKIA TOURE
KING OF SONGHAY (1493-1529)

Askia Toure united the entire central region of the Western Sudan, and established a governmental machine that is still revered today for its detail and efficiency. He divided his country into provinces, each with a professional administrator as governor, and ruled each fairly and uniformly through a staff of distinguished legal experts and judges.

BEHANZIN HOSSU BOWELLE
THE KING SHARK (1841-1906)

Behanzin was the most powerful ruler in West Africa during the end of the nineteenth century. He strongly resisted European intervention into his country. This was done with a physically fit army which included a division of five thousands female warriors. He is often referred to as the King Shark, a Dahomeyan surname which symbolized strength and wisdom. He was also fond of humanities and is credited with the creation of some of the finest song and poetry ever produced in Dahomey.

HANNIBAL
RULER OF CARTHAGE (247-183 B.C.)

Hannibal is well known as the greatest general and military strategist who ever lived. He used his overpowering African armies to conquer major portions of Spain and Italy and came very close to defeating the Roman Empire. His audacious moves-such as marching his army with African War elephants through the treacherous Alps to surprise and conquer northern Italy and his tactical genius, as illustrated by the battle of Cannae where his seemingly trapped army cleverly surrounded and destroy a much larger Roman force, won him recognition which has spanned more than 2000 years. His tactics are still being studied in many military schools today.

IDRIS ALOOMA
RULER OF BORNU (1580-1617)

He is credited with re-uniting two of Africa's Kingdoms, the kingdoms of Kanem and Bornu. This union lasted many generations with sustain peace becoming a part of the Bornu.

IMHOTEP
THE WORLD FIRST KNOWN GENIUS

Imhotep was the royal advisor to King Zoser during the Third Dynasty of Kemet. Regarded as the world's first recorded multi-genius, Imhotep was an architect, astronomer, philosopher, poet and physician. As an architect he was responsible for designing the Step Pyramid and the Saqqara Complex. During his lifetime he was given a host of titles, among them:Chancellor of the King of Lower Kemet, the First after the King of Upper Kemet, High Priest of Heliopolis and Administrator of the Great Palace. As a physcian, Imhotep is believed to have been the author of the Edwin Smith Papyrus in which more than 90 anatomical terms and 48 injuries are described. This is well over 2,200 years before the Western Father of Medicine Hippocrates is born. Some 2,000 years after his death, Imhotep was deified by the inhabitants of Kemet and was known later as Asclepius, God of Medicine, to the Greeks. His very name, Im-Hotep, translates as the Prince of Peace. His tomb near Memphis became a sacred place and the site of pilgrimages for those seeking a cure. As a philosopher and poet, Imhotep's most remembered phrase is: "Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we shall die." There still remain many bronze statuettes, temples and sanatoria bearing his name, as is depicted in the picture of the statue above.

JA JA
KING OF THE OPOBO (1821-1891)

He was the founder and leader of the territory of Opobo an area near the Eastern Nigeria River. This area was very favorable to trading. This trading route soon attracted the greedy Europeans who seek to capture this trading route. Ja Ja put up fierce resistance to this outside intervention. This resistance lasted for many years until at an older age of 70 he was finally captured by the British and sent into exile to the West Indies. The greatest Ibo leader of the nineteenth century never saw his kingdom again.

KHAMA
THE GOOD KING OF BECHUANALAND (1819-1923)

Khama distinguish his reign by being highly regarded as a peace loving ruler with the desire of advancing his country in terms of technological innovations. He instituted scientific cattle feeding techniques which greatly inproved his country's wealth and prestige. During his reign crimes were known to be as low as zero within his country.

KHUFU
The Father Of Pyramid Building (2551-2528 B.C)
King Khufu, who is also known by the greek name "Cheops," was the father of pyramid building at Giza. He ruled from 2551 - 2528 B.C. and was the son of King Sneferu and Queen Hetpeheres. Dates Built: c. 2589-2566 B.C. Total Blocks of Stone: over 2,300,000

Base: 13 square acres, 568,500 square feet, or 7 city blocks. The length of each side of the base was originally 754 feet (230 m), but is now 745 feet (227 m) due to the loss of the outer casing stones.

Total Weight: 6.5 million tons. Average Weight of Individual Blocks of Stone: 2.5 tons, the large blocks used for the ceiling of the King's Chamber weigh as much as 9 tons.
Height: Originally 481 feet (146.5 m) tall, Khufu is now, 449 feet tall as the top stones have since fallen off or been removed. Until early in this century, this pyramid was the tallest building on earth.
Angle of Incline: 51 degrees 50' 35"
Construction Material: limestone, granite

MANSA KANKAN MUSSA
KING OF MALI (1306-1332)

A scholar, a great economists and a true man of the arts, Mansa Mussa is well known for the impact he created with his flamboyant style. In 1324 he led his people on the Hadj, a holy pilgrimage from Timbuktu to Mecca. His caravan consisted of 72 000 people whom he led safely across the Sahara Desert and back, a total distance of 6,496 miles. So spectacular was this event that Mansa Mussa gained the respect of scholars and traders throughout the world. Also during his reign, Mali was one of the most prestigious and wealthiest empires in the world. This empire at this time also contain one of the worlds most prestigious university in Timbuktu.

MENELEK II
KING OF KINGS OF ABYSSINIA (1844-1913)

Menelek II united many independent kingdoms into the United States of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). The feat of pulling together several kingdoms which often fiercely opposed each other earned him a place as one of the great statesmen of African history. His further acomplishments in dealing on the international scene with the world powers, coupled with his stunning victory over Italy in the 1896 Battle of Adwa, which was an attempt to invade his country, place him among the great leaders of world history.