Queen Idia, The First Queen Mother Of The Benin Kingdom.
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Ending 15th Cent, the kingdom of Benin was plunged into a state of unrest when Oba Ozolua died. He left two powerful sons who were said to have been born on the same day which bring a dispute on who to succeed him.
One son, Esigie controlled Benin City, while the other son, Arhuaran, was based in the equally important city of Udo. Neither prince was prepared to yield to the other and soon after, a war ensued. The war severely compromised the kingdom of Benin’s status as a regional power.
Exploiting this weakness, the neighbouring Igala people sent warriors across the Benue River to seize control of Benin’s northern territories. Queen Idia was the mother of Esigie and she was said to have possessed mystical powers as well as medicinal knowledge.
Queen Idia went to battle with Esigie and helped defeat Arhuaran as well as conquer the Igala people thereby restoring the supremacy of the kingdom of Benin. To reward and honor her, Esigie conferred upon his mother the title of Iyoba (Queen Mother), giving her equal authority.
To that of a senior chief.
Her face was immortalised with the 16th century ivory mask which presently sits in a British Museum. Two vertical bars between the eyes on the mask allude to medicine-filled incisions that were said to be one source of Queen Idia’s metaphysical powers.
The Rise Of Warri Kingdom
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The Kingdom of Warri is a traditional state based on the town of Warri in Delta State, Nigeria. Warri is an inland port on one of the Niger River channels in the Niger Delta. The Olu (king) of Warri is the head of the Itsekiri people.
According to Bini and Itsekiri histories Ginuwa, a prince of Benin founded the Iwerre (Warri) Kingdom about 1480. In the 15th century Warri was visited by Portuguese missionaries.
At the beginning of the 17th century, a son of the reigning Olu was sent to Portugal and returned with a Portuguese wife.
Ancient West African kingdoms Arts.
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Ancient West African were skilled potters and metalworkers. Some of them worked with brass, woods,bronze and gold which explain their history. Potters in the kingdom of Nok made sculptures from a clay called terracotta.
They created figures of men and women with very large heads. Many of the figures had elaborate hairstyles and wore delicate jewellery. The kingdom of Ife was famous for its sculptures made from brass. Brass-workers made figures of gods, humans and animals.
In the Asante kingdom, goldsmiths made ornaments to show off the wealth of their king. The king wore golden necklaces, rings, bracelets and anklets. He even had a pair of gold castanets attached to his thumb and first finger. Most West African kingdoms used an unknown technique.
Today Nigeria is one of Humanities Oldest Locations.
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Credible information gotten from archaeological sites states that Nigeria has an indication of human life that goes back as early as 11,000 BC. The remains of an ancient skulls were found in Iwo Eleru, neighbouring Akure.
And also the first and oldest noticeable sign of civilization found in the country was the Nok civilization, which started about 3500 BC–200 AD existed in Northern Nigeria according to its cravens dating.
Evidence also prove that people reside earlier than the date above at Ugwuelle-Uturu (Okigwe) south-eastern of Nigeria. Microlithic and ceramic industries were grown by savannah pastoralists from at most the 4th millennium BC and continued by successive agricultural communities.
African Moors who introduced learning and civilization in Spain.
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The Moors began invading Spain around 711 AD when an African army, under leader Tariq ibn-Ziyad, crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from North Africa invading the Iberian peninsula ‘Andalus’ (Spain under Visigoths).
Tarik Ibn Zayid led 300 Arabs and 6700 Africans in conquering Spain around 700 A.D.
A European scholar sympathetic to the Spaniards remembered the conquest in this way: 📸 And second image from Alfonso X description. 📷
The Moors, who ruled Spain for 800 yrs, introduced new scientific techniques to Europe, i.e astrolabe, a device for measuring the position of the stars and planets. Scientific progress in Astronomy, Chemistry, Physics, Maths, Geography and Philosophy flourished in Moorish Spain.
Ancient Africans Civilization
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By the 3rd century BC, the city of Carthage on the coast of Tunisia was very wealthy and impressive
It had a population between 700,000 and 1million people. Lining both sides of the streets were rows of tall houses six storeys high founded 800 BC.
Carthage was later conquered and destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC. It was rebuilt by the Romans and occupied by early Arab conquerors.
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By 1400s they had created a wealthy kingdom with a powerful ruler, known as the Oba. The Obas lived in beautiful palaces decorated with shining brass. The world famous bronzes of Benin Kingdom, carted away by the British in 1897 after pillaging the capital destroying the palace.
How the Benin Kingdom bronzes challenged the primitive European and Victorian notions when they were displayed in London in the 1890s..