The Banu Khazraj ( Arabic : بنو خزرج ) is a large Arab tribe based in Medina . They were also in Medina during Muhammad 's era.
164-728: The Banu Khazraj are a South Arabian Qahtanite tribe that were pressured out of South Arabia as a result of the destruction of the Marib Dam. Along with their cousin tribe, the Aws, they migrated to Yathrib, later known as Medina. Abu Muhammad Al-Hasan Ibn Ahmad Al-Hamdani mentioned that the Banu Khazraj and the Banu Aws settled the area of Yathrib around the 2nd century AD as part of the Pre-Islamic Exodus of Yemen because of
328-770: A confederation of seafaring peoples contributed to the New Kingdom 's collapse in 1069 BC, commencing the Third Intermediate Period . Egypt's collapse liberated the more Egyptianised Kingdom of Kush in Nubia, who manoeuvred into power in Upper Egypt and conquered Lower Egypt in 754 BC to form the Kushite Empire . The Kushites ruled for a century and oversaw a revival in pyramid building , until they were driven out of Egypt by
492-557: A principality into a major power on the trade route between Rome and India through conquering its unfortunately unknown neighbours, gaining a monopoly on Indian Ocean trade in the region. Aksum's rise had them rule over much of the regions from Lake Tana to the valley of the Nile , and they further conquered parts of the ailing Kingdom of Kush , led campaigns against the Noba and Beja peoples, and expanded into South Arabia . This led
656-616: A Berber tribe originally from Yafran (also known as Ifrane ) in northwestern Libya , as well as the city of Ifrane in Morocco . Under Roman rule, Carthage became the capital of the province then named Africa Proconsularis , following its defeat of the Carthaginians in the Third Punic War in 146 BC, which also included the coastal part of modern Libya . The Latin suffix -ica can sometimes be used to denote
820-512: A fierce resistance movement. After defeating his Saudi foes, Muhammad Ali took over governance of Medina and although he did not formally declare independence , his governance took on more of a semi-autonomous style. Muhammad's sons, Towson and Ibrahim, alternated in the governance of the city. Ibrahim renovated the city's walls and the Prophet's Mosque. He established a grand provision distribution center (taqiyya) to distribute food and alms to
984-706: A flat mountain plateau at the tripoint of the three valleys ( wadis ) of Wadi al 'Aql , Wadi al 'Aqiq , and Wadi al Himdh , for this reason, there are large green areas amidst a dry deserted mountainous region. Under the Köppen climate classification , Medina falls in a hot desert climate region (BWh) . Summers are extremely hot and dry with daytime temperatures averaging about 43 °C (109 °F) with nights about 29 °C (84 °F). Temperatures above 45 °C (113 °F) are not unusual between June and September. Winters are milder, with temperatures from 8 °C (46 °F) at night to 25 °C (77 °F) in
1148-710: A former Italian colony, gained independence. In 1956, Tunisia and Morocco won their independence from France. Ghana followed suit the next year (March 1957), becoming the first of the sub-Saharan colonies to be granted independence. Over the next decade, waves of decolonization took place across the continent, culminating in the 1960 Year of Africa and the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963. Portugal's overseas presence in sub-Saharan Africa (most notably in Angola , Cape Verde, Mozambique , Guinea-Bissau , and São Tomé and Príncipe) lasted from
1312-564: A land (e.g., in Celtica from Celtae , as used by Julius Caesar ). The later Muslim region of Ifriqiya , following its conquest of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire's Exarchatus Africae , also preserved a form of the name. According to the Romans, Africa lies to the west of Egypt, while "Asia" was used to refer to Anatolia and lands to the east. A definite line was drawn between
1476-462: A lot of wealth and supplies, on the one hand and used to mock Muhammad with his poetry, on the other. When the Muslims had settled their affair with Banu Quraiza; Al-Khazraj tribe, a rival of Al-Aws, asked for Muhammad's permission to kill him (which Muhammad accepted) in order to merit a virtue equal to that of Al-Aws who had killed Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf . In 1228, Ibn al-Ahmar gathered the remains of
1640-698: A millennium. Towards the end of the ancient period, northern Ethiopia and Eritrea bore the Kingdom of D'mt beginning in 980 BC. In modern-day Somalia and Djibouti there was the Macrobian Kingdom , with archaeological discoveries indicating the possibility of other unknown sophisticated civilisations at this time. After D'mt's fall in the 5th century BC the Ethiopian Plateau came to be ruled by numerous smaller unknown kingdoms who experienced strong south Arabian influence , until
1804-625: A monopoly on gold heading north and salt heading south, despite not controlling the gold fields themselves, located in the forest regions . It is probable that Wagadu's dominance on trade allowed for the gradual consolidation of many polities into a confederated state , whose composites stood in varying relations to the core, from fully administered to nominal tribute-paying parity. Based on large tumuli scattered across West Africa dating to this period, it has been stipulated that relative to Wagadu, there were further simultaneous and preceding kingdoms that have unfortunately been lost to time. At
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#17327653830981968-586: A native Libyan tribe, an ancestor of modern Berbers ; see Terence for discussion. The name had usually been connected with the Phoenician word ʿafar meaning "dust", but a 1981 hypothesis has asserted that it stems from the Berber word ifri (plural ifran ) meaning "cave", in reference to cave dwellers. The same word may be found in the name of the Banu Ifran from Algeria and Tripolitania ,
2132-543: A new threat, the Hashemite Sharifate of Mecca in the south. Medina witnessed the longest siege in its history during and after World War I . The Sharif of Mecca, Husayn ibn Ali , first attacked Medina on 6 June 1916, in the middle of World War I . Four days later, Husayn held Medina in a bitter 3-year siege, during which the people faced food shortages, widespread disease and mass emigration . Fakhri Pasha , governor of Medina, tenaciously held on during
2296-574: A number of hotels surrounding the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi , which unlike the Masjid Al-Ḥarām , is equipped with an underground parking. The old city's walls have been destroyed and replaced with the three ring roads that encircle Medina today, named in order of length, King Faisal Road, King Abdullah Road and King Khalid Road. Medina's ring roads generally see less traffic overall compared to the four ring roads of Mecca. An international airport, named
2460-663: A period of a few months for sanctuary in Yathrib, an event that transformed the religious and political landscape of the city completely; the longstanding enmity between the Aus and Khazraj tribes was dampened as many of the two Arab tribes and some local Jews embraced the new religion of Islam. Muhammad, linked to the Khazraj through his great-grandmother, was agreed on as the leader of the city. The natives of Yathrib who had converted to Islam of any background— pagan Arab or Jewish—were called
2624-750: A pilgrimage known as Ziyarat , although this is not obligatory. The original name of the city before the advent of Islam was Yathrib ( Arabic : يَثْرِب ), and it is referred to by this name in Chapter 33 ( Al-Aḥzāb , lit. ' The Confederates ' ) of the Quran . It was renamed to Madīnat an-Nabī ( lit. ' City of the Prophet ' or ' The Prophet's City ' ) after Muhammad's death and later to al-Madinah al-Munawwarah ( lit. ' The Enlightened City ' ) before being simplified and shortened to its modern name, Madinah ( lit. ' The City ' ), from which
2788-687: A prophet of the Quraysh would migrate in time to come, and it would be his home and resting-place." The Yemenite king thus did not destroy the town and converted to Judaism . He took the rabbis with him, and in Mecca , they reportedly recognized the Ka'bah as a temple built by Abraham and advised the king "to do what the people of Mecca did: to circumambulate the temple, to venerate and honor it, to shave his head and to behave with all humility until he had left its precincts." On approaching Yemen, tells Ibn Ishaq,
2952-468: A transition from " informal imperialism " – military influence and economic dominance – to direct rule. Imperial rule by Europeans continued until after the conclusion of World War II , when almost all remaining colonial territories gradually obtained formal independence. Independence movements in Africa gained momentum following World War II, which left the major European powers weakened. In 1951, Libya,
3116-512: Is also used to refer to the city in the popular folk song, " Ya Taybah! " (O Taybah!). The two names are combined in another name the city is known by, Taybat at-Tabah (the Kindest of the Kind). The city has also simply been called Al-Madinah (i.e. 'The City') in some ahadith . The names al-Madīnah an-Nabawiyyah ( ٱلْمَدِيْنَة ٱلنَّبَوِيَّة ) and Madīnat un-Nabī (both meaning "City of
3280-528: Is considered to be the second- serving as the holiest and third-holiest cities respectively. Al-Masjid al-Nabawi ( lit. ' The Prophet's Mosque ' ) is of exceptional importance in Islam and serves as burial site of the prophet Muhammad , by whom the mosque was built in 622 CE (first year of the Hijrah ). Observant Muslims usually visit his tomb, or rawdhah , at least once in their lifetime during
3444-578: Is in the hands of the present-day Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1925–present). In addition to visiting for Ziyarah, tourists come to visit the other prominent mosques and landmarks in the city that hold religious significance such as Mount Uhud , Al-Baqi' cemetery and the Seven Mosques among others. The Saudi government has also carried out the destruction of several historical structures and archaeological sites , both in Medina and Mecca . Before
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#17327653830983608-791: Is not always to be taken literally. Africa is considered by most paleoanthropologists to be the oldest inhabited territory on Earth, with the Human species originating from the continent. During the mid-20th century, anthropologists discovered many fossils and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as seven million years ago ( Before present , BP). Fossil remains of several species of early apelike humans thought to have evolved into modern humans, such as Australopithecus afarensis radiometrically dated to approximately 3.9–3.0 million years BP, Paranthropus boisei (c. 2.3–1.4 million years BP) and Homo ergaster (c. 1.9 million–600,000 years BP) have been discovered. After
3772-479: Is possibly a collage of different agreements, oral rather than written, of different dates, and that it is not clear exactly when they were made. Other scholars, however, both Western and Muslim, argue that the text of the agreement—whether a single document originally or several—is possibly one of the oldest Islamic texts we possess. In Yemenite Jewish sources, another treaty was drafted between Muhammad and his Jewish subjects, known as Kitāb Dimmat al-Nabi , written in
3936-825: Is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Arabian Plate and the Gulf of Aqaba to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos . It contains 54 fully recognised sovereign states , eight cities and islands that are part of non-African states , and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition . This count does not include Malta and Sicily , which are geologically part of
4100-517: Is the capital of Medina Province (formerly known as Yathrib) in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia . It is one of the oldest and most important places in Islamic history. One of the most sacred cities in Islam , the population as of 2022 is 1,411,599, making it the fourth-most populous city in the country . Around 58.5% of the population are Saudi citizens and 41.5% are foreigners. Located at
4264-704: Is used in road signage along with its signature minaret as an icon for Medina itself. The entire piazza of the mosque is shaded from the sun by 250 membrane umbrellas. It is Sunnah to perform prayer at the Quba'a Mosque. According to a hadith , Sahl ibn Hunayf reported that Muhammad said, Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia . At about 30.3 million km (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth 's land area and 6% of its total surface area. With nearly 1.4 billion people as of 2021, it accounts for about 18% of
4428-628: The Ansar ("the Patrons" or "the Helpers"). According to Ibn Ishaq , all parties in the area agreed to the Constitution of Medina , which committed all parties to mutual cooperation under the leadership of Muhammad. The nature of this document as recorded by Ibn Ishaq and transmitted by Ibn Hisham is the subject of dispute among modern Western historians, many of whom maintain that this "treaty"
4592-654: The Sahabah —gained huge influence. Medina is home to three prominent mosques , namely al-Masjid an-Nabawi , Quba Mosque , and Masjid al-Qiblatayn , with the Quba Mosque being the oldest in Islam. A larger portion of the Qur'an was revealed in Medina in contrast to the earlier Meccan surahs . Much like most of the Hejaz , Medina has seen numerous exchanges of power within its comparatively short existence. The region has been controlled by Jewish-Arabian tribes (up until
4756-671: The 11th dynasty , based in Thebes , conquered the others to form the Middle Kingdom of Egypt , with the 12th dynasty expanding into Lower Nubia at the expense of Kerma . In 1700 BC, the Middle Kingdom fractured in two, ushering in the Second Intermediate Period . The Hyksos , a militaristic people from Palestine , invaded and conquered Lower Egypt, while Kerma coordinated invasions deep into Egypt to reach its greatest extent. In 1550 BC,
4920-646: The 18th dynasty expelled the Hyksos , and established the New Kingdom of Egypt . Using the advanced military technology the Hyksos had brought, the New Kingdom conquered the Levant from the Canaanites , Mittani , Amorites , and Hittites , and extinguished Kerma , incorporating Nubia into the empire, and sending the Egyptian empire into its golden age. Internal struggles, drought, famine, and invasions by
5084-585: The Banu Aws tribe murdered Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf , some Khazraj tribesman including Abdallah ibn Unais went to Muhammad and received permission to put to death the person responsible for the killing of Sallam ibn Abu al-Huqayq, who was killed during the Expedition of 'Abdullah ibn 'Atik . Sallam ibn Abu al-Huqayq (Abu Rafi) was a Jew, who helped the troops of the Confederates and provided them with
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5248-685: The Benin Empire . Towards the end of the 3rd century AD, a wet period in the Sahel created areas for human habitation and exploitation that had not been habitable for the best part of a millennium, with the Kingdom of Wagadu , the local name of the Ghana Empire , rising out of the Tichitt culture , growing wealthy following the introduction of the camel to the western Sahel, revolutionising
5412-526: The Cold War , and neocolonialism . Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and a large and young population make Africa an important economic market in the broader global context. Africa has a large quantity of natural resources and food resources, including diamonds , sugar , salt , gold , iron , cobalt , uranium , copper , bauxite , silver , petroleum , natural gas , cocoa beans , and tropical fruit . The continent
5576-904: The Congo Basin , the Empire of Kitara in the African Great Lakes , the Luba Empire in the Upemba Depression , the Kilwa Sultanate in the Swahili coast by crowding out Azania , with Rhapta being its last stronghold by the 1st century AD, and forming various city states constituting the Swahili civilisation . These migrations also prefaced the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in the Zambezi basin . After reaching
5740-586: The Constitution of Medina as allies to the Muslims, being as "one nation/community with the Believers". Abd-Allah ibn Ubaiy , one of their chiefs, is said to have plotted against Muhammad. However, other Khazraj chiefs such as Saad ibn Ubadah, together with most of the clan, welcomed the prophet and, together with the Aws, they became known as the Ansar . On 624 Muhammad ordered the assassination of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf . According to Ibn Ishaq , Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf
5904-746: The Ekoi civilisation rose circa 2nd century AD, and are most notable for constructing the Ikom monoliths and developing the Nsibidi script . Pre-colonial Africa possessed as many as 10,000 different states and polities. These included small family groups of hunter-gatherers such as the San people of southern Africa; larger, more structured groups such as the family clan groupings of the Bantu peoples of central, southern, and eastern Africa; heavily structured clan groups in
6068-673: The English-language spelling of "Medina" is derived. Saudi road signage uses Madinah and al-Madinah al-Munawwarah interchangeably. The city existed for over 1,500 years before Muhammad's migration from Mecca, known as the Hijrah . Medina was the capital of a rapidly increasing Muslim caliphate under Muhammad's leadership , serving as its base of operations and as the cradle of Islam, where Muhammad's ummah ( lit. ' nation ' )—composed of Medinan citizens ( Ansar ) as well as those who immigrated with Muhammad ( Muhajirun ), who were collectively known as
6232-617: The Fatimids , Almoravids , Almohads , Ayyubids , Mamluks , Kongo , Mwene Muji , Luba , Lunda , Kitara , Aksum , Ethiopia , Adal , Ajuran , Kilwa , Sakalava , Imerina , Maravi , Mutapa , Rozvi , Mthwakazi , and Zulu . Slave trades created various diasporas , especially in the Americas . From the late 19th century to early 20th century, driven by the Second Industrial Revolution , most of Africa
6396-631: The Horn of Africa ; the large Sahelian kingdoms ; and autonomous city-states and kingdoms, such as those of the Akan ; Edo , Yoruba , and Igbo people in West Africa; and the Swahili coastal trading towns of Southeast Africa. By the 9th century AD, a string of dynastic states, including the earliest Hausa states, stretched across the sub-Saharan savannah from the western regions to central Sudan. The most powerful of these states were Ghana , Gao , and
6560-416: The Isthmus of Suez in Egypt. Other migrations of modern humans within the African continent have been dated to that time, with evidence of early human settlement found in Southern Africa, Southeast Africa, North Africa, and the Sahara . The size of the Sahara has historically been extremely variable, with its area rapidly fluctuating and at times disappearing depending on global climatic conditions. At
6724-401: The Kanem-Bornu Empire . Ghana declined in the eleventh century, but was succeeded by the Mali Empire , which consolidated much of western Sudan in the thirteenth century. Kanem accepted Islam in the eleventh century. In the forested regions of the West African coast, independent kingdoms grew with little influence from the Muslim north. The Kingdom of Nri , which was ruled by the Eze Nri ,
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6888-472: The Kingdom of Dahomey , and the Oyo Empire ) adopted different ways of adapting to the shift. Asante and Dahomey concentrated on the development of "legitimate commerce" in the form of palm oil , cocoa , timber and gold, forming the bedrock of West Africa's modern export trade. The Oyo Empire, unable to adapt, collapsed into civil wars. The Scramble for Africa was the conquest and colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by
7052-439: The Mauro-Roman Kingdom and its numerous successor polities in the Maghreb, namely the kingdoms of Ouarsenis , Aurès , and Altava . The Vandals ruled Ifriqiya for a century until Byzantine reconquest in the early 6th century AD. The Byzantines and the Berber kingdoms fought minor inconsequential conflicts, such as in the case of Garmul , however largely coexisted. Further inland to the Byzantine Exarchate of Africa were
7216-549: The Nafud desert and the Red Sea . Located approximately 720 km (450 mi) northwest of Riyadh which is at the center of the Saudi desert, the city is 250 km (160 mi) away from the west coast of Saudi Arabia and at an elevation of approximately 620 m (2,030 ft) above sea level . It lies at 39º36' longitude east and 24º28' latitude north. It covers an area of about 589 km (227 sq mi ). The city has been divided into twelve districts, 7 of which have been categorized as urban districts, while
7380-512: The Noba caused their disintegration into Makuria , Alodia , and Nobatia in the 5th century AD. The Romans managed to hold on to Egypt for the rest of the ancient period. In the Horn of Africa , there was the Land of Punt , a kingdom on the Red Sea , likely located in modern-day Eritrea or northern Somaliland . The Ancient Egyptians initially traded via middle-men with Punt until in 2350 BC when they established direct relations. They would become close trading partners for over
7544-430: The Nok culture from 1500 BC in modern-day Nigeria , the Daima culture around Lake Chad from 550 BC, Djenné-Djenno from 250 BC in modern-day Mali , and the Serer civilisation in modern-day Senegal , which built the Senegambian stone circles from the 3rd century BC. There is also detailed record of Igodomigodo , a small kingdom founded presumably in 40 BC, which would later go on to form
7708-399: The Ovambo kingdoms , most of which were later conquered. The 1884 Berlin Conference regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa, and is seen as emblematic of the "scramble". In the last quarter of the 19th century, there were considerable political rivalries between the European empires , which provided the impetus for the colonisation. The later years of the 19th century saw
7872-488: The Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz International Airport , now serves the city and is located on Highway 340, known locally as the Old Qassim Road. The city now sits at the crossroads of two major Saudi Arabian highways, Highway 60, known as the Qassim–Medina Highway, and Highway 15 which connects the city to Mecca in the south and onward and Tabuk in the north and onward, known as the Al Hijrah Highway or Al Hijrah Road, after Muhammad's journey. The old Ottoman railway system
8036-404: The Punic Wars against the expansionary Roman Republic , however momentum in these wars was not linear, with Carthage initially experiencing considerable success in the Second Punic War following Hannibal 's infamous crossing of the alps into northern Italy . Their defeat and subsequent collapse of their empire would produce two further polities in the Maghreb; Numidia , which had assisted
8200-410: The Qur'an . and is thus known to have been the name of the city up to the Battle of the Trench . According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad later forbade calling the city by this name. Sometime after the battle, Muhammad renamed the city Taybah (the Kind or the Good) ( Arabic pronunciation: [ˈtˤajba] ; طَيْبَة ) and Tabah ( Arabic : طَابَة ) which is of similar meaning. This name
8364-437: The Qurayshi army with an estimated 1,000 troops, but just as the army approached the battlefield, 300 men under 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy withdrew, dealing a severe blow to the Muslim army's morale . Muhammad continued marching with his now 700-strong force and ordered a group of 50 archers to climb a small hill, now called Jabal ar-Rummaah (The Archers' Hill) to keep an eye on the Meccan's cavalry and to provide protection to
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#17327653830988528-447: The Romans in 30 BC. The Crisis of the Third Century in the Roman Empire freed the Levantine city state of Palmyra , which conquered Egypt ; their brief rule ended when they were reconquered by the Romans . In the midst of this, Kush regained independence from Egypt, and they would persist as a major regional power until, having been weakened from internal rebellion amid worsening climatic conditions, invasions by Aksum and
8692-494: The Sanhaja in modern-day Algeria , a broad grouping of three groupings of tribal confederations , one of which is the Masmuda grouping in modern-day Morocco , along with the nomadic Zenata ; their composite tribes would later go onto shape much of North African history . In the western Sahel the rise of settled communities occurred largely as a result of the domestication of millet and of sorghum . Archaeology points to sizable urban populations in West Africa beginning in
8856-488: The Sao civilisation flourished for over a millennium beginning in the 6th century BC, in territory that later became part of present-day Cameroon and Chad . Sao artifacts show that they were skilled workers in bronze , copper , and iron , with finds including bronze sculptures, terracotta statues of human and animal figures, coins, funerary urns, household utensils, jewellery, highly decorated pottery, and spears. Nearby, around Lake Ejagham in south-west Cameroon ,
9020-419: The Sassanid Empire and the Himyarite Kingdom in Arabia. The Maghreb and Ifriqiya were mostly cut off from the cradle of civilisation in Egypt by the Libyan desert , exacerbated by Egyptian boats being tailored to the Nile and not coping well in the open Mediterranean Sea . This caused its societies to develop contiguous to those of Southern Europe , until Phoenician settlements came to dominate
9184-417: The Second Industrial Revolution during the era of " New Imperialism " (1833–1914): Belgium , France , Germany , United Kingdom , Italy , Portugal and Spain . In 1870, 10% of the continent was formally under European control. By 1914, this figure had risen to almost 90%; the only states retaining sovereignty were Liberia , Ethiopia , Egba , Aussa , Senusiyya , Mbunda , the Dervish State , and
9348-423: The Siege of Medina from 10 June 1916 and refused to surrender and held on another 72 days after the Armistice of Moudros , until he was arrested by his own men and the city was taken over by the Sharifate on 10 January 1919. Husayn largely won the war due to his alliance with the British . In anticipation of the plunder and destruction to follow, Fakhri Pasha secretly dispatched the Sacred Relics of Muhammad to
9512-404: The Zambezi , the Bantu continued southward, with eastern groups continuing to modern-day Mozambique and reaching Maputo in the 2nd century AD. Further to the south, settlements of Bantu peoples who were iron-using agriculturists and herdsmen were well established south of the Limpopo River by the 4th century AD, displacing and absorbing the Khoisan . By the Chari River south of Lake Chad
9676-419: The presidential system of rule. However, few of them have been able to sustain democratic governments on a permanent basis—per the criteria laid out by Lührmann et al. (2018), only Botswana and Mauritius have been consistently democratic for the entirety of their post-colonial history. Most African countries have experienced several coups or periods of military dictatorship . Between 1990 and 2018, though,
9840-780: The trans-Saharan trade that linked their capital and Aoudaghost with Tahert and Sijilmasa in North Africa. Soninke traditions likely contain content from prehistory, mentioning four previous foundings of Wagadu , and holds that the final founding of Wagadu occurred after their first king did a deal with Bida , a serpent deity who was guarding a well, to sacrifice one maiden a year in exchange for assurance regarding plenty of rainfall and gold supply. Wagadu's core traversed modern-day southern Mauritania and western Mali , and Soninke tradition portrays early Ghana as warlike, with horse-mounted warriors key to increasing its territory and population, although details of their expansion are extremely scarce. Wagadu made its profits from maintaining
10004-410: The tropic of Cancer , in the northern temperate zone . In the other extreme of the continent, southern Namibia , southern Botswana , great parts of South Africa , the entire territories of Lesotho and Eswatini and the southern tips of Mozambique and Madagascar are located below the tropic of Capricorn , in the southern temperate zone . Africa is highly biodiverse ; it is the continent with
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#173276538309810168-424: The written word . During the colonial period , oral sources were deprecated by European historians, which gave them the impression Africa had no recorded history. African historiography became organized at the academic level in the mid-20th century, and saw a movement towards utilising oral sources in a multidisciplinary approach, culminating in the General History of Africa , edited by specialists from across
10332-459: The 16th and 19th centuries. In West Africa, the decline of the Atlantic slave trade in the 1820s caused dramatic economic shifts in local polities. The gradual decline of slave-trading, prompted by a lack of demand for slaves in the New World , increasing anti-slavery legislation in Europe and America, and the British Royal Navy's increasing presence off the West African coast, obliged African states to adopt new economies. Between 1808 and 1860,
10496-420: The 16th century to 1975, after the Estado Novo regime was overthrown in a military coup in Lisbon . Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence from the United Kingdom in 1965, under the white minority government of Ian Smith , but was not internationally recognized as an independent state (as Zimbabwe ) until 1980, when black nationalists gained power after a bitter guerrilla war . Although South Africa
10660-423: The 1st and 4th cataracts of the Nile . The 4th dynasty oversaw the height of the Old Kingdom , and constructed many great pyramids . Under the 6th dynasty power gradually decentralised to the nomarchs, culminating in the disintegration of the kingdom, exacerbated by drought and famine, thus commencing the First Intermediate Period in 2200 BC. This shattered state would last until 2055 BC when
10824-406: The 2nd century BC Mauretania fought alongside Numidia's Jugurtha in the Jugurthine War against the Romans after he had usurped the Numidian throne from a Roman ally. Together they inflicted heavy casualties that quaked the Roman Senate , with the war only ending inconclusively when Mauretania's Bocchus I sold out Jugurtha to the Romans. At the turn of the millennium, they both would face
10988-442: The 3rd year of the Hijra (625), and which gave express liberty to Jews living in Arabia to observe the Sabbath and to grow-out their side-locks. In return, they were to pay the jizya annually for protection by their patrons, while the Muslims would pay the Zakat tax. In the year 625, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb , a senior chieftain of Mecca who later converted to Islam, led a Meccan force against Medina. Muhammad marched out to meet
11152-418: The 4th millennium BC the Congo Basin was inhabited by the Bambenga , Bayaka , Bakoya , and Babongo in the west, the Bambuti in the east , and the Batwa who were widely scattered and also present in the Great Lakes region ; together they are grouped as Pygmies . On the later-named Swahili coast there were Cushitic -speaking peoples, and the Khoisan (a neologism for the Khoekhoe and San ) in
11316-416: The 4th millennium BC, which had crucially developed iron metallurgy by 1200 BC, in both smelting and forging for tools and weapons. Extensive east-west belts of deserts , grasslands , and forests from north to south were crucial for the moulding of their respective societies and meant that prior to the accession of trans-Saharan trade routes , symbiotic trade relations developed in response to
11480-437: The 9th century BCE. By the fourth century, Arab tribes began to encroach from Yemen , and there were three prominent Jewish tribes that inhabited the city around the time of Muhammad: the Banu Qaynuqa , the Banu Qurayza , and Banu Nadir . Ibn Khordadbeh later reported that during the Persian Empire 's domination in Hejaz, the Banu Qurayza served as tax collectors for the Persian Shah . The situation changed after
11644-431: The Abbasids. From 974 to 1151, the Sharifate of Medina was in a liaison with the Fatimids, even though the political stand between the two remained turbulent and did not exceed the normal allegiance. From 1151 onwards, Medina paid allegiance to the Zengids , and the Emir Nuruddin Zengi took care of the roads used by pilgrims and funded the fixing of the water sources and streets. When he visited Medina in 1162, he ordered
11808-581: The African continent. Algeria is Africa's largest country by area, and Nigeria is its largest by population. African nations cooperate through the establishment of the African Union , which is headquartered in Addis Ababa . Africa straddles the equator and the prime meridian . It is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to the southern temperate zones. The majority of
11972-704: The Assyrians in 663 BC in reprisal for their expansion towards the Assyrian Empire . The Assyrians installed a puppet dynasty that later gained independence and once more unified Egypt , until they were conquered by the Achaemenid Empire in 525 BC. Egypt regained independence under the 28th dynasty in 404 BC but they were reconquered by the Achaemenids in 343 BC. The conquest of Achaemenid Egypt by Alexander
12136-776: The Banu Nadir and the Banu Qurayza fought on the side of the Banu Aws , and the Banu Qaynuqa were allied with the Banu Khazraj. The latter were defeated after a long and desperate battle. The Nusaybah family of Jerusalem, Custodians of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre , are descendants of Banu Khazraj. They arrived in Jerusalem with the 7th-century Islamic conquest. The Banu Aws were included in point 30-31 of
12300-464: The Banu Qaynuqa sided with the Khazraj. They fought a total of four wars. Their last and bloodiest known battle was the Battle of Bu'ath , fought a few years prior to the arrival of Muhammad. The outcome of the battle was inconclusive, and the feud continued. 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy , one Khazraj chief, had refused to take part in the battle, which earned him a reputation for equity and peacefulness. He
12464-670: The Battle of the Trench and the Battle of the Confederates. After a month-long siege and various skirmishes, the Meccans withdrew again due to the harsh winter. During the siege, Abu Sufyan contacted the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza and formed an agreement with them, to attack the Muslim defenders and effectively encircle the defenders. It was however discovered by the Muslims and thwarted. This
12628-573: The British West Africa Squadron seized approximately 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 Africans who were aboard. Action was also taken against African leaders who refused to agree to British treaties to outlaw the trade, for example against "the usurping King of Lagos ", deposed in 1851. Anti-slavery treaties were signed with over 50 African rulers. The largest powers of West Africa (the Asante Confederacy ,
12792-711: The Great in 332 BC marked the beginning of Hellenistic rule and the installation of the Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. The Ptolemaics lost their holdings outside of Africa to the Seleucids in the Syrian Wars , expanded into Cyrenaica and subjugated Kush in the 3rd century BC. In the 1st century BC, Ptolemaic Egypt became entangled in a Roman civil war , leading to its conquest by
12956-651: The Great Marib Dam damage. However, all sources agree that the Banu Khazraj and Banu Aws became hostile to each other. Jewish chronicles state that they went to war against each other in the Yawm al-Bu'ath a few years before the Islamic prophet Muhammad migrated to Medina . There were three Jewish tribes present in Medina: Banu Qaynuqa , Banu Nadir and Banu Qurayza . During the battle,
13120-581: The Iberian peninsula during the eleventh century. The Banu Hilal and Banu Ma'qil were a collection of Arab Bedouin tribes from the Arabian Peninsula who migrated westwards via Egypt between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. Their migration resulted in the fusion of the Arabs and Berbers, where the locals were Arabized , and Arab culture absorbed elements of the local culture, under
13284-455: The Islamic pilgrimage ( Hajj ), Muhammad returned to Medina, which remained for some years the most important city of Islam and the base of operations of the early Rashidun Caliphate . The city is presumed to have been renamed Madinat al-Nabi ("City of the Prophet" in Arabic ) in honor of Muhammad's prophethood and the city being the site of his burial . Alternatively, Lucien Gubbay suggests
13448-603: The Madanis pledged alliance to Saud bin Abdulaziz , founder of the First Saudi state in 1805, who quickly took over the city. In 1811, Muhammad Ali of Egypt , Ottoman commander and Wali of Egypt, commanded two armies under each of his two sons to seize Medina, the first one, under the elder Towson Pasha, failed to take Medina. But the second one, a larger army under the command of Ibrahim Pasha , succeeded after battling
13612-666: The Muslim population cornered in Granada and established al-Mamlika al-Nasria derived from the Ansar of Medina whom the Nasrids trace their lineage to. With the Reconquista in full swing after the conquest of Cordoba in 1236, the Nasrids aligned themselves with Ferdinand III of Castile , officially becoming a tributary state in 1238. The state officially becoming the Kingdom of Granada in 1238. The Nasrids had to turn their backs against
13776-524: The Muslims of Cordoba and Seville in order to survive the reconquest. Initially the kingdom of Granada linked the commercial routes from Europe with those of the Maghreb . The territory constantly shrank, however, and by 1492, Granada controlled only a small territory on the Mediterranean coast. Arabic was the official language, and was the mother tongue of the majority of the population. Granada
13940-489: The Nasrid rulers of Granada. The most prominent members of the dynasty were: Yathrib Medina , officially Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah ( Arabic : المدينة المنورة , romanized : al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah , lit. 'The Luminous City', Hejazi Arabic pronunciation: [al.maˈdiːna al.mʊˈnawːara] ) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah ( المدينة , al-Madina ),
14104-781: The Ottoman capital, Istanbul . As of 1920, the British described Medina as "much more self-supporting than Mecca." After the Great War, the Sharif of Mecca, Sayyid Hussein bin Ali was proclaimed King of an independent Hejaz . Soon after, the people of Medina secretly entered an agreement with Ibn Saud in 1924, and his son, Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz conquered Medina as part of the Saudi conquest of Hejaz on 5 December 1925 which gave way to
14268-563: The Persian prophet Mani to consider Aksum as one of the four great powers of the 3rd century AD alongside Persia , Rome , and China . In the 4th century AD Aksum's king converted to Christianity and Aksum's population, who had followed syncretic mixes of local beliefs , slowly followed. The end of the 5th century saw Aksum allied with the Byzantine Empire , who viewed themselves as defenders of Christendom , balanced against
14432-476: The Prophet" or "The Prophet's City") and al-Madīnat ul-Munawwarah ("The Enlightened City") are all derivatives of this word. This is also the most commonly accepted modern name of the city, used in official documents and road signage, along with Madinah. Medina is home to several distinguished sites and landmarks, most of which are mosques and hold historic significance. These include the three aforementioned mosques, Masjid al-Fath (also known as Masjid al-Khandaq),
14596-575: The Romans in the Second Punic War, Mauretania , a Mauri tribal kingdom and home of the legendary King Atlas , and various tribes such as Garamantes , Musulamii , and Bavares . The Third Punic War would result in Carthage's total defeat in 146 BC and the Romans established the province of Africa , with Numidia assuming control of many of Carthage's African ports. Towards the end of
14760-886: The Sahara region was becoming increasingly dry and hostile. Around 3500 BC, due to a tilt in the Earth's orbit , the Sahara experienced a period of rapid desertification. The population trekked out of the Sahara region towards the Nile Valley below the Second Cataract where they made permanent or semi-permanent settlements. A major climatic recession occurred, lessening the heavy and persistent rains in Central and Eastern Africa . Since this time, dry conditions have prevailed in Eastern Africa and, increasingly during
14924-522: The Saharan climate started to become drier at an exceedingly fast pace. This climate change caused lakes and rivers to shrink significantly and caused increasing desertification . This, in turn, decreased the amount of land conducive to settlements and encouraged migrations of farming communities to the more tropical climate of West Africa. During the first millennium BC, a reduction in wild grain populations related to changing climate conditions facilitated
15088-473: The Saudi era. The rebuilt city is centered on the vastly expanded al-Masjid an-Nabawi . Saudi Arabia upholds Wahhabism as its religious ideology, which is hostile to any reverence given to historical or religious places of significance for fear that it may give rise to shirk (idolatry). As a consequence, under Saudi rule, Medina has suffered from considerable destruction of its physical heritage including
15252-701: The Seven Mosques, the Baqi' Cemetery where the graves of many famous Islamic figures are presumed to be located; directly to the southeast of the Prophet's Mosque, the Uhud mountain , site of the eponymous Battle of Uhud and the King Fahd Glorious Qur'an Printing Complex where most modern Qur'anic Mus'hafs are printed. Medina has been inhabited at least 1500 years before the Hijra, or approximately
15416-534: The advent of Islam, the city was known as Yathrib ( Arabic : يَثْرِب , romanized : Yaṯrib ; pronounced [ˈjaθrɪb] ). The word Yathrib appears in an inscription found in Harran, belonging to the Babylonian king Nabonidus (6th century BCE) and is well attested in several texts in the subsequent centuries. The name has also been recorded in Āyah (verse) 13 of Surah (chapter) 33 of
15580-466: The allegiance of the local 'Iraqis. This is considered to be the beginning of the Umayyad caliphate. Mu'awiyah's governors took special care of Medina and dug the 'Ayn az-Zarqa'a ("Blue Spring") spring along with a project that included the creation of underground ducts for the purposes of irrigation. Dams were built in some of the wadis and the subsequent agricultural boom led to the strengthening of
15744-476: The arrival of two new Arab tribes, the 'Aws or Banu 'Aws and the Khazraj , also known as the Banu Khazraj. At first, these tribes were allied with the Jewish tribes who ruled the region, but they later revolted and became independent. Toward the end of the 5th century, the Jewish rulers lost control of the city to the two Arab tribes. Most modern historians accept the claim of the Muslim sources that after
15908-557: The city and constructed a strong castle armed by an Ottoman battalion to protect the city. This is also the period in which many of the Prophet's Mosque 's modern features were built even though it was not painted green yet. These suburbs also had walls and gates. The Ottoman sultans took a keen interest in the Prophet's Mosque and redesigned it over and over to suit their preferences. As the Ottomans' hold over their domains broke loose,
16072-545: The city's sacred core of the old city is off limits to non-Muslims, the Haram area of Medina itself is much smaller than that of Mecca and Medina has recently seen an increase in the number of Muslim and Non-Muslim expatriate workers of other nationalities, most commonly South Asian peoples and people from other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council . Almost all of the historic city has been demolished in
16236-471: The city. The striking iconic Green Dome also found its beginnings as a cupola built under Mamluk Sultan al-Mansur Qalawun as-Salihi in 1297. In 1517, the first Ottoman period began with Selim I 's conquest of Mamluk Egypt. This added Medina to their territory and they continued the tradition of showering Medina with money and aid. In 1532, Suleiman the Magnificent built a secure fortress around
16400-548: The city. The banks of Wadi al-'Aqiq were now lush with greenery. This period of peace and prosperity coincided with the rule of 'Umar ibn Abdulaziz , who many consider to be the fifth of the Rashidun . Abdulbasit A. Badr, in his book, Madinah, The Enlightened City: History and Landmarks , divides this period into three distinct phases: Badr describes the period between 749 and 974 as a push-and-pull between peace and political turmoil, while Medina continued to pay allegiance to
16564-562: The construction of a new wall that encompassed the new urban areas outside the old city wall. Zengi was succeeded by Saladin , founder of the Ayyubid dynasty , who supported Qasim ibn Muhanna , the Sharif of Medina, and greatly funded the growth of the city while slashing taxes paid by the pilgrims. He also funded the Bedouins who lived on the routes used by pilgrims to protect them on their journeys. The later Abbasids also continued to fund
16728-550: The continent and its countries are in the Northern Hemisphere , with a substantial portion and a number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere . Most of the continent lies in the tropics, except for a large part of Western Sahara , Algeria , Libya and Egypt , the northern tip of Mauritania , and the entire territories of Morocco , Ceuta , Melilla , and Tunisia , which in turn are located above
16892-463: The continent as a whole has trended towards more democratic governance. Upon independence an overwhelming majority of Africans lived in extreme poverty . The continent suffered from the lack of infrastructural or industrial development under colonial rule, along with political instability. With limited financial resources or access to global markets, relatively stable countries such as Kenya still experienced only very slow economic development. Only
17056-424: The continent most vulnerable to climate change . The history of Africa is long, complex, and varied, and has often been under-appreciated by the global historical community . In African societies the oral word is revered, and they have generally recorded their history via oral tradition , which has led anthropologists to term them oral civilisations, contrasted with literate civilisations which pride
17220-461: The continent's south. The Bantu expansion constituted a major series of migrations of Bantu peoples from central Africa to eastern and southern Africa and was substantial in the settling of the continent. Commencing in the 2nd millennium BC, the Bantu began to migrate from Cameroon to central, eastern, and southern Africa, laying the foundations for future states such as the Kingdom of Kongo in
17384-478: The continent. Africa, particularly Eastern Africa , is widely accepted to be the place of origin of humans and the Hominidae clade , also known as the great apes . The earliest hominids and their ancestors have been dated to around 7 million years ago, and Homo sapiens (modern human) are believed to have originated in Africa 350,000 to 260,000 years ago. Africa is also considered by anthropologists to be
17548-565: The core of the Medina Province in the western reaches of the country, the city is distributed over 589 km (227 sq mi), of which 293 km (113 sq mi) constitutes the city's urban area, while the rest is occupied by the Hejaz Mountains , empty valleys, agricultural spaces and older dormant volcanoes . Medina is generally considered to be the "cradle of Islamic culture and civilization". The city
17712-565: The curse of God, the angels, and all the people." According to Islamic tradition , a prayer in The Prophet's Mosque equates to 1,000 prayers in any other mosque except the Masjid al-Haram where one prayer equates to 100,000 prayers in any other mosque. The mosque was initially just an open space for prayer with a raised and covered minbar (pulpit) built within seven months and was located beside Muhammad's rawdhah (residence, although
17876-399: The day. There is very little rainfall, which falls almost entirely between November and May. In summer, the wind is north-western, while in the spring and winters, is south-western. Medina's importance as a religious site derives from the presence of two mosques, Masjid Quba'a and al-Masjid an-Nabawi . Both of these mosques were built by Muhammad himself. Islamic scriptures emphasize
18040-450: The desert with a number of modern marvels, including a radio communication station , a power plant for the Prophet's Mosque and its immediate vicinity, a telegraph line between Medina and Constantinople , and the Hejaz railway which ran from Damascus to Medina with a planned extension to Mecca. Within one decade, the population of the city multiplied by leaps and bounds and reached 80,000. Around this time, Medina started falling prey to
18204-428: The earliest instances of agriculture in human history. Its cultivation would gradually spread across Africa, before spreading to India around 2000 BC. People around modern-day Mauritania started making pottery and built stone settlements (e.g., Tichitt , Oualata ). Fishing, using bone-tipped harpoons , became a major activity in the numerous streams and lakes formed from the increased rains. In West Africa,
18368-631: The economy. Following a period of unrest during the Second Fitna in 679, Husayn ibn 'Ali was martyred at Karbala and Yazid assumed unchecked control for the next three years. In 682, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr declared himself Caliph of Mecca and the people of Medina swore allegiance to him. This led to an eight-year-long period of economic distress for the city. In 692, the Umayyads regained power and Medina experienced its second period of huge economic growth. Trade improved and more people moved into
18532-543: The end of the Ice ages , estimated to have been around 10,500 BC, the Sahara had again become a green fertile valley, and its African populations returned from the interior and coastal highlands in sub-Saharan Africa , with rock art paintings depicting a fertile Sahara and large populations discovered in Tassili n'Ajjer dating back perhaps 10 millennia. However, the warming and drying climate meant that by 5,000 BC,
18696-642: The evolution of Homo sapiens approximately 350,000 to 260,000 years BP in Africa, the continent was mainly populated by groups of hunter-gatherers . These first modern humans left Africa and populated the rest of the globe during the Out of Africa II migration dated to approximately 50,000 years BP, exiting the continent either across Bab-el-Mandeb over the Red Sea , the Strait of Gibraltar in Morocco, or
18860-660: The expansion of farming communities and the rapid adoption of rice cultivation around the Niger River. By the first millennium BC, ironworking had been introduced in Northern Africa. Around that time it also became established in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, either through independent invention there or diffusion from the north and vanished under unknown circumstances around 500 AD, having lasted approximately 2,000 years, and by 500 BC, metalworking began to become commonplace in West Africa. Ironworking
19024-577: The expenses of the city. While Medina was formally allied with the Abbasids during this period, they maintained closer relations with the Zengids and Ayyubids. The historic city formed an oval, surrounded by a strong wall, 30 to 40 ft (9.1 to 12.2 m) high, dating from this period, and was flanked with towers. Of its four gates, the Bab al-Salam ("The Gate of Peace"), was remarked for its beauty. Beyond
19188-426: The fifth century CE), the ʽAws and Khazraj (up until Muhammad's arrival), Muhammad and the Rashidun (622–660), the Umayyads (660–749), the Abbasids (749–1254), the Mamluks of Egypt (1254–1517), the Ottomans (1517–1805), the First Saudi State (1805–1811), Muhammad Ali of Egypt (1811–1840), the Ottomans for a second time (1840–1918), the Sharifate of Mecca under the Hashemites (1918–1925) and finally
19352-464: The fourth caliph, changed the capital of the caliphate from Medina to Kufa in Iraq for being in a more strategic location. Since then, Medina's importance dwindled, becoming more a place of religious importance than of political power. Medina witnessed little to no economic growth during and after Ali's reign. After al-Hasan , the son of 'Ali, ceded power to Mu'awiyah I , son of Abu Sufyan , Mu'awiyah marched into Kufa , Ali's capital, and received
19516-455: The growth and expansion of Aksum in the 1st century BC. Along the Horn's coast there were many ancient Somali city-states that thrived off of the wider Red Sea trade and transported their cargo via beden , exporting myrrh , frankincense , spices , gum , incense , and ivory , with freedom from Roman interference causing Indians to give the cities a lucrative monopoly on cinnamon from ancient India . The Kingdom of Aksum grew from
19680-533: The hill, Khalid ibn al-Walid commanded his unit to ambush the hill and his cavalry unit pursued the descending archers were systematically slain by being caught in the plain ahead of the hill and the frontline, watched upon by their desperate comrades who stayed behind up in the hill who were shooting arrows to thwart the raiders, but with little to no effect. However, the Meccans did not capitalize on their advantage by invading Medina and returned to Mecca. The Madanis (people of Medina) suffered heavy losses, and Muhammad
19844-405: The hills, especially noticeable to the south of the city, are volcanic ash which dates to the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era. It is surrounded by a number of famous mountains , most notably Jabal Al-Hujjaj (The Pilgrims' Mountain) to the west, Sal'aa Mountain to the north-west, Jabal al-'Ir or Caravan Mountain to the south and Mount Uhud to the north. The city is situated on
20008-443: The historical process is largely a communal one, with eyewitness accounts, hearsay , reminiscences, and occasionally visions , dreams, and hallucinations, crafted into oral traditions . Time is sometimes mythical and social, and truth generally viewed as relativist . Oral tradition can be exoteric or esoteric . It speaks to people according to their understanding, unveiling itself in accordance with their aptitudes, and
20172-462: The kingdoms of Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt in northeast Africa . Around 3100 BC Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt to unify Egypt under the 1st dynasty , with the process of consolidation and assimilation completed by the time of the 3rd dynasty who formed the Old Kingdom of Egypt in 2686 BC. The Kingdom of Kerma emerged around this time to become the dominant force in Nubia , controlling territory as large as Egypt between
20336-453: The largest number of megafauna species, as it was least affected by the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna . However, Africa also is heavily affected by a wide range of environmental issues , including desertification, deforestation, water scarcity , and pollution . These entrenched environmental concerns are expected to worsen as climate change impacts Africa . The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified Africa as
20500-414: The last Yemenite king of the Himyarite Kingdom and the residents of Yathrib. When the king was passing by the oasis, the residents killed his son, and the Yemenite ruler threatened to exterminate the people and cut down the palms . According to Ibn Ishaq , he was stopped from doing so by two rabbis from the Banu Qurayza tribe, who implored the king to spare the oasis because it was the place "to which
20664-440: The last 200 years, in Ethiopia . The domestication of cattle in Africa preceded agriculture and seems to have existed alongside hunter-gatherer cultures. It is speculated that by 6,000 BC, cattle were domesticated in North Africa. In the Sahara-Nile complex, people domesticated many animals, including the donkey and a small screw-horned goat that was common from Algeria to Nubia . Between 10,000 and 9,000 BC, pottery
20828-417: The lava turned northward. During Mamluk reign, the Masjid an-Nabawi caught fire twice. Once in 1256, when the storage caught fire, burning the entire mosque, and the other time in 1481, when the masjid was struck by lightning . This period also coincided with an increase in scholarly activity in Medina, with scholars such as Ibn Farhun , Al-Hafiz Zain al-Din al-'Iraqi , Al Sakhawi and others settling in
20992-408: The loss of many buildings over a thousand years old. Critics have described this as "Saudi vandalism" and claim that 300 historic sites linked to Muhammad, his family or companions have been lost in Medina and Mecca over the last 50 years. The most famous example of this is the demolition of al-Baqi . Medina is located in the Hejaz region which is a 200 km (120 mi) wide strip between
21156-488: The most genetically diverse continent as a result of being the longest inhabited. In the 4th and 3rd millennia BC Ancient Egypt , Kerma , Punt , and the Tichitt Tradition emerged in North , East and West Africa , while from 4000 BC until 1000 AD the Bantu expansion was substantial in laying the foundations for societies and states in Central , East , and Southern Africa . Some African empires include Wagadu , Mali , Songhai , Sokoto , Ife , Benin , Asante ,
21320-399: The most lucrative trading locations in the Gulf of Tunis . Phoenician settlements subsequently grew into Ancient Carthage after gaining independence from Phoenicia in the 6th century BC, and they would build an extensive empire and a strict mercantile network, all secured by one of the largest and most powerful navies in the ancient Mediterranean . Carthage would meet its demise in
21484-480: The name Medina could also have been a derivative from the Aramaic word Medinta , which the Jewish inhabitants could have used for the city. Under the first three caliphs Abu Bakr , Umar , and Uthman , Medina was the capital of a rapidly increasing Muslim Empire. During the reign of 'Uthman ibn al-Affan , the third caliph, a party of Arabs from Egypt, disgruntled at some of his political decisions, attacked Medina in 656 and assassinated him in his own home. Ali ,
21648-471: The needy and Medina lived a period of security and peace. In 1840, Muhammad moved his troops out of the city and officially handed the city to the central Ottoman command. Four years in 1844, after Muhammad Ali's departure, Davud Pasha was given the position of governor of Medina under the Ottoman sultan. Davud was responsible for renovating the Prophet's Mosque on Sultan Abdulmejid I 's orders. When Abdul Hamid II assumed power, he made Medina stand out of
21812-439: The official religion, built mosques, and brought to Gao Muslim scholars, including al-Maghili (d.1504), the founder of an important tradition of Sudanic African Muslim scholarship. By the eleventh century, some Hausa states – such as Kano , Jigawa , Katsina , and Gobir – had developed into walled towns engaging in trade, servicing caravans , and the manufacture of goods. Until the fifteenth century, these small states were on
21976-410: The opportunities afforded by north–south diversity in ecosystems. Various civilisations prospered in this period. From 4000 BC, the Tichitt culture in modern-day Mauritania and Mali was the oldest known complexly organised society in West Africa, with a four tiered hierarchical social structure. Other civilisations include the Kintampo culture from 2500 BC in modern-day Ghana ,
22140-464: The other 5 have been categorized as suburban. Like most cities in the Hejaz region, Medina is situated at a very high elevation. Almost three times as high as Mecca, the city is situated at 620 m (2,030 ft) above sea level. Mount Uhud is the highest peak in Medina and is 1,077 meters (3,533 feet) tall. Medina is a desert oasis surrounded by the Hejaz Mountains and volcanic hills. The soil surrounding Medina consists of mostly basalt , while
22304-421: The periphery of the major Sudanic empires of the era, paying tribute to Songhai to the west and Kanem-Borno to the east. Slavery had long been practiced in Africa. Between the 15th and the 19th centuries, the Atlantic slave trade took an estimated 7–12 million slaves to the New World. In addition, more than 1 million Europeans were captured by Barbary pirates and sold as slaves in North Africa between
22468-474: The predecessor to the African Union. The nascent countries decided to keep their colonial borders, with traditional power structures used in governance to varying degrees. Afri was a Latin name used to refer to the inhabitants of what was then known as northern Africa , located west of the Nile river, and in its widest sense referring to all lands south of the Mediterranean , also known as Ancient Libya . This name seems to have originally referred to
22632-401: The rabbis demonstrated to the local people a miracle by coming out of a fire unscathed and the Yemenites accepted Judaism. Eventually the Banu 'Aws and the Banu Khazraj became hostile to each other and by the time of Muhammad's Hijrah (emigration) to Medina in 622, they had been fighting for 120 years and were sworn enemies The Banu Nadir and the Banu Qurayza were allied with the 'Aws, while
22796-439: The rear of the Muslim's army. As the battle heated up, the Meccans were forced to retreat. The frontline was pushed further and further away from the archers and foreseeing the battle to be a victory for the Muslims, the archers decided to leave their posts to pursue the retreating Meccans. A small party, however, stayed behind; pleading the rest to not disobey Muhammad's orders. Seeing that the archers were starting to descend from
22960-414: The revolt, the Jewish tribes became clients of the 'Aws and the Khazraj. However, according to Scottish scholar, William Montgomery Watt , the clientship of the Jewish tribes is not borne out by the historical accounts of the period prior to 627, and he maintained that the Jewish populace retained a measure of political independence. Early Muslim chronicler Ibn Ishaq tells of an ancient conflict between
23124-589: The sacredness of Medina. Medina is mentioned several times in the Quran; two examples are Surah At-Tawbah (verse 101) and Al-Hashr (verse 8). Medinan suras are typically longer than their Meccan counterparts and they are also larger in number. Muhammad al-Bukhari recorded in Sahih Bukhari that Anas ibn Malik quoted Muhammad as saying: "Medina is a sanctuary from that place to that. Its trees should not be cut and no heresy should be innovated nor any sin should be committed in it, and whoever innovates in it an heresy or commits sins (bad deeds), then he will incur
23288-426: The same fate as Carthage and be conquered by the Romans who established Mauretania and Numidia as provinces of their empire, while Musulamii , led by Tacfarinas , and Garamantes were eventually defeated in war in the 1st century AD however weren't conquered. In the 5th century AD the Vandals conquered north Africa precipitating the fall of Rome . Swathes of indigenous peoples would regain self-governance in
23452-414: The ten years following the hijra , Medina formed the base from which Muhammad and the Muslim army attacked and were attacked, and it was from here that he marched on Mecca , entering it without battle in 630. Despite Muhammad's tribal connection to Mecca, the growing importance of Mecca in Islam, the significance of the Ka'bah as the center of the Islamic world, as the direction of prayer ( Qibla ), and in
23616-421: The tribe should be killed and the women and children enslaved. This action was conceived of as a defensive measure to ensure that the Muslim community could be confident of its continued survival in Medina. The French historian Robert Mantran proposes that from this point of view it was successful—from this point on, the Muslims were no longer primarily concerned with survival but with expansion and conquest. In
23780-425: The two continents by the geographer Ptolemy (85–165 CE), indicating Alexandria along the Prime Meridian and making the isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea the boundary between Asia and Africa. As Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of "Africa" expanded with their knowledge. Other etymological hypotheses have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa": In African societies,
23944-402: The unification of Castile and Aragon in 1479, those kingdoms set their sights on conquering Granada and Navarre. On January 2, 1492, the last Muslim leader, Muhammad XII, known as Boabdil to the Spanish, surrendered complete control of Granada, to Ferdinand and Isabella , Los Reyes Católicos ("The Catholic Monarchs"), after the city was besieged. See Nasrid dynasty for a full list of
24108-433: The unifying framework of Islam. Following the breakup of Mali, a local leader named Sonni Ali (1464–1492) founded the Songhai Empire in the region of middle Niger and the western Sudan and took control of the trans-Saharan trade. Sonni Ali seized Timbuktu in 1468 and Jenne in 1473, building his regime on trade revenues and the cooperation of Muslim merchants. His successor Askia Mohammad I (1493–1528) made Islam
24272-428: The walls of the city, the west and south were suburbs consisting of low houses, yards, gardens and plantations. After the fall of Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Empire, to the Mongols, the Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo took over the Egyptian governorate and effectively gained control of Medina. In 1258, Medina was threatened by lava from the Harrat Rahat volcanic region but was narrowly saved from being burnt after
24436-462: The wet phase ushered in an expanding rainforest and wooded savanna from Senegal to Cameroon . Between 9,000 and 5,000 BC, Niger–Congo speakers domesticated the oil palm and raffia palm . Black-eyed peas and voandzeia (African groundnuts), were domesticated, followed by okra and kola nuts . Since most of the plants grew in the forest, the Niger–Congo speakers invented polished stone axes for clearing forest. Around 4,000 BC,
24600-407: The whole of the Hejaz being incorporated into the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia focused more on the expansion of the city and the demolition of former sites that according to them violated Islamic principles and Islamic law such as the tombs at al-Baqi . Nowadays, the city mostly only holds religious significance and as such, just like Mecca, has given rise to
24764-443: The word literally means garden) to its side along with the houses of his wives . The mosque was expanded several times throughout history, with many of its internal features developed over time to suit contemporary standards. The modern Prophet's Mosque is famed for the Green Dome situated directly above Muhammad's rawdhah, which currently serves as the burial site for Muhammad , Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and Umar ibn al-Khattab and
24928-497: The world's human population . Africa's population is the youngest among all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Based on 2024 projections, Africa's population will reach 3.8 billion people by 2099. Africa is the least wealthy inhabited continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, ahead of Oceania . Scholars have attributed this to different factors including geography , climate , corruption , colonialism ,
25092-418: Was rapidly conquered and colonised by European nations , save for Ethiopia and Liberia . European rule had significant impacts on Africa's societies , and colonies were maintained for the purpose of economic exploitation and extraction of natural resources. Most present states emerged from a process of decolonisation following World War II , and established the Organisation of African Unity in 1963,
25256-446: Was a Jewish poet, who created verses about Muhammad after the Muslim victory in Badr. Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf was angered by this victory and went to Makkah to incite war and hatred towards the Muslims. Shortly afterward he returned to Medina and composed amatory verses of an insulting nature about the Muslim women". Thus after his return to Medina, the order to kill him was sent by Muhammad. The Banu Aws carried out this killing. When men of
25420-401: Was established around the ninth century, making it one of the oldest kingdoms in present-day Nigeri. The Nri kingdom is famous for its elaborate bronzes , found at the town of Igbo-Ukwu . The Kingdom of Ife , historically the first of these Yoruba city-states or kingdoms, established government under a priestly oba ('king' or 'ruler' in the Yoruba language ), called the Ooni of Ife . Ife
25584-450: Was fully established by roughly 500 BC in many areas of East and West Africa, although other regions did not begin ironworking until the early centuries AD. Copper objects from Egypt , North Africa, Nubia, and Ethiopia dating from around 500 BC have been excavated in West Africa, suggesting that Trans-Saharan trade networks had been established by this date. From 3500 BC, nomes (ruled by nomarchs ) coalesced to form
25748-482: Was held as a vassal to Castile for many decades, and provided trade links with the Muslim world, particularly the gold trade with the sub-saharan areas south of Africa . The Nasrids also provided troops for Castile while the kingdom was also a source of mercenary fighters from North African Zenata tribes. However, Portugal discovered direct the African trade routes by sailing around the coast of West Africa. Thus Granada became less and less important for Castile and with
25912-417: Was in breach of the Constitution of Medina and after the Meccan withdrawal, Muhammad immediately marched against the Qurayza and laid siege to their strongholds. The Jewish forces eventually surrendered. Some members of the Aws negotiated on behalf of their old allies and Muhammad agreed to appoint one of their chiefs who had converted to Islam, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh , as judge. Sa'ad judged that all male members of
26076-474: Was independently invented in the region of Mali in the savannah of West Africa. In the steppes and savannahs of the Sahara and Sahel in Northern West Africa, people possibly ancestral to modern Nilo-Saharan and Mandé cultures started to collect wild millet , around 8,000 to 6,000 BC. Later, gourds , watermelons , castor beans , and cotton were also collected. Sorghum was first domesticated in Eastern Sudan around 4,000 BC, in one of
26240-469: Was injured. In 627, Abu Sufyan led another force toward Medina. Knowing of his intentions, Muhammad asked for proposals for defending the northern flank of the city, as the east and west were protected by volcanic rocks and the south was covered with palm trees . Salman al-Farsi , a Persian Sahabi who was familiar with Sasanian war tactics recommended digging a trench to protect the city and Muhammad accepted it. The subsequent siege came to be known as
26404-444: Was noted as a major religious and cultural centre in West Africa and for its unique naturalistic tradition of bronze sculpture. The Ife model of government was adapted by the Oyo Empire , whose obas, called the Alaafins of Oyo , controlled many other Yoruba and non-Yoruba city-states and kingdoms including the Fon Kingdom of Dahomey . The Almoravids were a Berber dynasty from the Sahara that spread over northwestern Africa and
26568-514: Was one of the first African countries to gain independence, the state remained under the control of the country's white minority, initially through qualified voting rights and from 1956 by a system of racial segregation known as apartheid , until 1994. Today, Africa contains 54 sovereign countries. Since independence, African states have frequently been hampered by instability, corruption, violence, and authoritarianism. The vast majority of African states are republics that operate under some form of
26732-412: Was shut down after their departure from the region and the old railway station has now been converted into a museum . The city has recently seen another connection and mode of transport between it and Mecca, the Haramain high-speed railway line connects the two cities via King Abdullah Economic City near Rabigh , King Abdulaziz International Airport and the city of Jeddah in under 3 hours. Though
26896-450: Was the most respected inhabitant of the city prior to Muhammad's arrival. To solve the ongoing feud, concerned residents of Yathrib met secretly with Muhammad in 'Aqaba, a place outside Mecca , inviting him and his small group of believers to come to the city, where Muhammad could serve a mediator between the factions and his community could practice its faith freely. In 622, Muhammad and an estimated 70 Meccan Muhajirun left Mecca over
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