Discover what are the ancient CIVILIZATIONS of AFRICA

When talking about ancient civilizations We usually focus on those that existed in Europe or even to a lesser extent on American or Asian ones, but we have great facility to forget about those that inhabit Africa. Many were the cultures that existed in Africa during this period of our history, two of them vital to the history of humanity becoming world powers. To talk about these cultures in this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to talk about what are the ancient civilizations of Africa.

Possibly the most famous African civilization for its great journey and for the great influence it had for all humanity. The ancient egyptian civilization was born near the river Nile and existed for more than 3,500 years, surviving numerous powers historical, annexing hundreds of peoples and cultures, and perishing alone before the invincible Empire Roman.

To know Egypt in depth we should do dozens of articles, but to understand its great importance in a brief way we are going to talk about some of its main features. Some of these characteristics are the following:

• The political leader of Egypt was the Pharaoh, dividing the timeline into stages depending on the dynasty that was in power at that time.
• Its economy was based on the trade, agriculture and livestock, being of vital importance the Nile for all this.
• Egypt was the first world power for most of its history.
• The region was divided into numerous provinces to be better governed.
• Your writing on hieroglyphs It is one of the most outstanding in history, taking many years to know its meaning.
• His architectural works are very outstanding, but above the rest stand out the pyramids, being the places where the pharaohs were buried.
• The egyptian mythologyIt is one of the richest in history, with a huge number of gods and myths, those related to death being especially common.
• Your use of the glass it was exceptional for the time.

Second of importance center of the ancient civilizations of Africa we must talk about Carthage. It is less known than the Egyptian but has a great relevance for having controlled the trade of the Mediterranean and for its role as an adversary of the Romans, being possibly the only culture that can stand up to them.

Carthage was located in tunisia, being a city founded by the Phoeniciansat the end of IX a. C. Little by little Carthage became a republic of great relevance, beginning a series of conflicts with great Mediterranean powers such as Rome or Sicily. Among its main characteristics were the following:

• His numerous conquests made Carthage a great state, especially those carried out in Hispania.
• One of its most illustrious citizens is Hannibal, considered one of the greatest generals in history who even arrived at the gates of the city of Rome with an army.
• His political system it was very similar to that of the Roman Republic.
• Like most religions of the time, the Carthaginian was also polytheistic, being surprising the human sacrifices that came to realize.
• The calls Punic Wars that pitted them against Rome are some of the most famous conflicts in all of ancient history.
• Carthage was a great union of cultures, mixing Phoenicians, Syrians, Hispanics, Egyptians and Greeks.
• Its main economic source was Commerce, being the most powerful state in this sense of the time for decades.

To continue with this lesson on what are the ancient civilizations of Africa, we must briefly talk about other relevant cultures, although not as much as those mentioned in the previous sections. Some of them were part of Rome, others were important points of union and others stayed away from the western world.

Mauritania

A kingdom that occupied what currently it is morocco and that was inhabited for centuries by citizens of Berber origin. Its importance was greater during the wars between Carthage and Rome, supporting the former and becoming a vassal of the Romans after the war. Over the decades it became an important area of ​​Roman influence, its communications being essential.

Numidia

Located in Algeria It was a Berber region that after the Roman victory in the Second Punic War became a Roman province and a Roman vassal state. Like Mauritania, its time of greatest splendor was in the war between Carthage and Rome, reaching marital relations with great figures of Carthage.

Bantu

More than a region in itself we can speak of the Bantu as a culture of great dominance in central and southern Africa throughout the Ancient Age. We know little information about these cultures, since they had no contact with Western civilizations.

Nubia

At first it was a kind of Egyptian viceroyaltyThe reason being the great influence that Egyptian culture had in the region. After years of Egyptian rule, Nubia became independent, forming the so-called Kingdom of Napata. Its importance lies in having been part of great empires, since their periods of independence were very short.

Aksum

A kingdom of great relevance for its role as merchant with Rome and India, serving as a bridge to unite both cultures. For some cultures such as the Parthians it was one of the great kingdoms of the world in its time, since its relationship with all powerful states, and at the same time their peaceful relationship with all, made them untouchables.