African Tribes

Hausa Empire

500

Leadership in the early Hausa states was based on ancestry. The rise of the Hausa states occurred between 500 and 700 A.D., but it was not until 1200 that they really began to control the region. Since the beginning of Hausa history, the seven states of Hausaland divided up production and labor activities in accordance with their location and natural resources.

Ghana Empire

Mar 30, 706

Ghana is located in West Africa bordering present day Ivory Coast. The Word Ghana means “Warrior King.” The Empire grew rich from the trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt. This trade produced an increasing surplus, allowing for larger urban centres. It also encouraged territorial expansion to gain control over the lucrative trade routes.

Great Zimbabwe

Apr 3, 1100

Great Zimbabwe is a ruined city that was once the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, which existed from approximately 1100 to 1400 during the country’s Late Iron Age. It is the largest of about 150 ruins found in the land around the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers. This area is filled with granite that was used as building material.

Mali Empire

Mar 30, 1230

A landlocked country in Western Africa. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita. The Mali Empire had many profound cultural influences on West Africa, allowing the spread of its language, laws and customs along the Niger River.

Songhai Empire

Mar 30, 1340

A state along western Africa. In its time period it was one of the largest Islamic empire in history. The Songhai are thought to have settled at Gao as early as 800 CE, but did not establish it as the capital until the 11th century, during the reign of Dia Kossoi.

Yoruba Empire

Mar 30, 1400

Yoruba was located in present day North West Nigeria. Yoruba in the 14th century and grew to become one of the largest West African states encountered by pre colonial explorers. The Oyo Empire was the most politically important state in the region from the mid-17th to the late 18th century, holding sway not only over most of the other kingdoms in Yorubaland, but also over other African states.

Benin Empire

Mar 30, 1440

The Benin Empire (1440–1897) was a pre-colonial African nation in what is now modern Nigeria. The original people and founders of the Benin Empire, the Edo people, were initially ruled by the Ogisos who called their land Igodomigodo. About 36 known Ogiso are accounted for as rulers o

Mutapa Empire

Apr 3, 1450

The Kingdom of Mutapa Empire was a medieval kingdom which stretched between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers of Southern Africa in the modern states of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. A second Mutapa polity existed from 1803 until 1902. Its founders are culturally and politically related to the builders who constructed Great Zimbabwe.

Historic African Tribes

Period: Mar 30, 2000 to Mar 30, 2000

starting and ending dates of historic tribes

Kilwa Empire

Mar 2, 2022

Kilwa was located in present day Tanzania. The empire’s emergence as a commercial center challenged the dominance once held by Mogadishu over the East African coast.Kilwa also claimed lordship across the channel over the Myriad of small trading posts scattered on the coast of Madagascar.