When people think of Africa, many picture a region that is filled with poverty, ignorance, and unstable regions. Many also believe that it was always like this, that European colonizers brought greatness to the region. This however is false as many great empires were of African origin and design. To name a few, these empires were Egypt, Mali, Songhai, and Axum. In terms of Egypt, many people think of the ancient Egyptians that had many gods and built pyramids. While this is true, Egypt had a few great Empires and dynasties that would form from their conversion to Islam such as the Fatimid Caliphate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatimid_Caliphate
Mali and Songhai were Sub-Saharan Empires that become incredible wealthy states and important places for Islamic learning.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mali_Empire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songhai_Empire
Axum was an ancient mercantile empire that held large trading ties with great empires such as Rome and India, adopted Christianity very early, and would later become known as Ethiopia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Aksum
Overall, if one were to look past assumptions and prejudices, one can find many great and powerful Empires within Africa that could even rival the well known ones in Western memory.
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