Fertile Crescent :
158-661: Europe : Africa : Siberia : The Swiderian culture is an Upper Palaeolithic / Mesolithic cultural complex, centred on the area of modern Poland . The type-site is Świdry Wielkie , in Otwock near the Swider River, a tributary to the Vistula River, in Masovia. The Swiderian is recognized as a distinctive culture that developed on the sand dunes left behind by the retreating glaciers. Rimantienė (1996) considered
316-512: A Persian prince from Shiraz arrived and acquired the island of Kilwa from the local inhabitants, before quarrel with the Bantu king led to the severing Kilwa's land bridge to the mainland. Settlements in northern Madagascar such as Mahilaka [ de ] , Irodo , and Iharana also engaged in the trade, attracting Arab immigration. Bantu migrated to Madagascar and the Comoros from
474-702: A Roman civil war , which ultimately led to its conquest by Rome in 30 BC. The Crisis of the Third Century in the Roman Empire freed the Levantine city state of Palmyra who conquered Egypt , however their rule lasted only a few years before Egypt was reintegrated into the Roman Empire . In the midst of this, Kush regained total 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 both
632-568: A coup d'état in 522 brought Dhu Nuwas back to power who again began persecuting Christians . The Aksumites invaded again in 525, and with Byzantine aid conquered the kingdom, incorporating it as a vassal state after some minor internal conflict . In the late 6th century the Aksumites were driven out of Yemen by the Himyarite king with the aid of the Sassanids . Further north-west,
790-590: A power vacuum in North Africa. The Zengid dynasty , nominally under Seljuk suzerainty , invaded on the pretext of defending Egypt from the Christians, and usurped the position of vizier in the caliphate. Following the assassination of the previous holder, the position of vizier passed onto Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub (commonly referred to as Saladin). After a joint Zengid - Fatimid effort repelled
948-644: A revival in pyramid-building . After a century of rule they were forcibly driven out of Egypt by the Assyrians as reprisal for the Kushites agitating peoples within the Assyrian Empire in an attempt to gain a foothold in the region. The Assyrians installed a puppet dynasty which later gained independence and once more unified Egypt , with Upper Egypt becoming a rich agricultural region whose produce Lower Egypt then sold and traded. In 525 BC Egypt
1106-489: A wet period in the Sahel opened areas for human habitation and exploitation which had not been habitable for the better part of a millennium. Based on large tumuli scattered across West Africa dating to this period, it has been proposed that there were several contemporaneous kingdoms which have unfortunately been lost to history. Some important polities likely founded in the early-to-middle 1st millennium who did make it into
1264-681: A 2019 paper holds BKS ice decline responsible for 44% of the 1995–2014 central Eurasian cooling trend, far more than indicated by the models, while another study from that year suggests that the decline in BKS ice reduces snow cover in the North Eurasia but increases it in central Europe. There are also potential links to summer precipitation: a connection has been proposed between the reduced BKS ice extent in November–December and greater June rainfall over South China . One paper even identified
1422-840: A conditional alliance to counter Damot , with Shewa at times forced to pay tribute to the pagans. In the 13th century the Ajuran clan established the Ajuran Sultanate on the eastern coast of the Horn and expanded, conquering the Tunni and vassalising Mogadishu , coming to dominate the Indian Ocean trade , while the Warsangali clan formed the Warsangali Sultanate on the Horn's north-eastern coast. The turn of
1580-520: A connection between Kara Sea ice extent and the ice cover of Lake Qinghai on the Tibetan Plateau . The Barents Sea was formerly known to Russians as Murmanskoye More , or the "Sea of Murmans" (i.e., their term for Norwegians). It appears with this name in sixteenth-century maps, including Gerard Mercator 's Map of the Arctic published in his 1595 atlas. Its eastern corner, in the region of
1738-690: A devastating ambush crippled their military leadership, and throughout the 12th century they gradually lost territory to the Christians. To the east, the Fatimids saw their empire start to collapse in 1061, beginning with the loss of the holy cities to the Sharifate of Mecca and exacerbated by rebellion in Cairo . The Seljuk Turks , who saw themselves as the guardian of the Abbasid Caliphate , capitalised and conquered much of their territories in
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#17327827077921896-454: A heavy tax. The Exarchate of Africa covered much of Ifriqiya and the eastern Maghreb , surrounded by numerous Berber kingdoms that followed Christianity heavily syncretised with traditional Berber religion . The interior was dominated by various groupings of tribal confederations, namely the nomadic Zenata , the Masmuda of Sanhaja in modern-day Morocco , and the other two Sanhaja in
2054-437: A major activity in the numerous streams and lakes formed from the increased rains. Mande peoples have been credited with the independent development of agriculture about 4000–3000 BC. Evidence of the early smelting of metals – lead , copper , and bronze – dates from the fourth millennium BC. Egyptians smelted copper during the predynastic period , and bronze came into use after 3,000 BC at
2212-578: A millennium, with Punt exchanging gold , aromatic resins , blackwood , ebony , ivory and wild animals. Towards the end of the ancient period, northern Ethiopia and Eritrea bore the Kingdom of D'mt beginning in 980 BC, whose people developed irrigation schemes, used ploughs , grew millet , and made iron tools and weapons . In modern-day Somalia and Djibouti there was the Macrobian Kingdom , with archaeological discoveries indicating
2370-670: A monopoly on Indian Ocean trade in the region. Aksum's rise had them rule over much of the regions from the 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 the Persian prophet Mani to consider Aksum as one of the four great powers of the 3rd century alongside Persia , Rome , and China . In
2528-650: A series of crucial victories and expanded rapidly, forcing the Byzantines to evacuate Syria. With Byzantine regional presence shattered, Egypt was quickly conquered by 642, with the Egyptian Copts odious of Byzantine rule generally putting up little resistance. The Muslims' attention then turned west to the Maghreb where the Exarchate of Africa had declared independence from Constantinople under Gregory
2686-468: A succession of dry holes, wells containing only gas (which was cheap at the time), and the prohibitive costs of developing wells in such a remote area. Interest in the area was reignited in the late 2000s after the Snovhit field was finally brought into production and two new large discoveries were made. The Russians began exploration in their territory around the same time, encouraged by their success in
2844-582: Is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean , located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters . It was known earlier among Russians as the Northern Sea, Pomorsky Sea or Murman Sea ("Norse Sea"); the current name of the sea is after the historical Dutch navigator Willem Barentsz . The Barents Sea is a rather shallow shelf sea with an average depth of 230 metres (750 ft), and it
3002-660: Is a key food for top predators such as the north-east Arctic cod , harp seals , and seabirds such as the common guillemot and Brunnich's guillemot . The fisheries of the Barents Sea, in particular the cod fisheries, are of great importance for both Norway and Russia. SIZEX-89 was an international winter experiment in 1989 for which the main objectives were to perform sensor signature studies of different ice types to develop SAR algorithms for ice variables, such as ice types, ice concentrations and ice kinematics. Although previous research suggested that predation by whales may be
3160-545: Is an environmental concern in the Barents Sea. For decades there was a boundary dispute between Norway and Russia regarding the position of the boundary between their respective claims to the Barents Sea. The Norwegians favoured a median line , based on the Geneva Convention of 1958 , whereas the Russians favoured a meridian - based sector line, based on a Soviet decision of 1926. A neutral "grey" zone between
3318-606: Is an important site for both fishing and hydrocarbon exploration . It is bordered by the Kola Peninsula to the south, the shelf edge towards the Norwegian Sea to the west, the archipelagos of Svalbard to the northwest, Franz Josef Land to the northeast and Novaya Zemlya to the east. The islands of Novaya Zemlya, an extension of the northern end of the Ural Mountains , separate the Barents Sea from
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#17327827077923476-612: Is dominated by extensional tectonics , caused by the collapse of the Caledonian and Uralian orogenic belts and the break-up of Pangaea . These events created the major rift basins that dominate the Barents Shelf, along with various platforms and structural highs. The later geological history of the Barents Sea is dominated by Late Cenozoic uplift , particularly that caused by Quaternary glaciation , which has resulted in erosion and deposition of significant sediment. Due to
3634-528: Is estimated that Africa had up to 10,000 different states and autonomous groups having distinct languages and customs , with most following traditional religions . From the 7th century CE, Islam spread west amid the Arab conquest of North Africa , and by proselytization to the Horn of Africa. It later spread southwards to the Swahili coast assisted by Muslim dominance of the Indian Ocean trade , and from
3792-434: Is famous for rectangular slabs of ochre engraved with geometric designs. Using multiple dating techniques, the site was confirmed to be around 77,000 and 100–75,000 years old. Ostrich egg shell containers engraved with geometric designs dating to 60,000 years ago were found at Diepkloof , South Africa. Beads and other personal ornamentation have been found from Morocco which might be as much as 130,000 years old; as well,
3950-493: Is particularly true of the various cultures and dynasties of Ancient Egypt and of Nubia . From around 3500 BC, a coalition of Horus -worshipping nomes in the western Nile Delta conquered the Andjety -worshipping nomes of the east to form Lower Egypt , whilst Set -worshipping nomes in the south coalesced to form Upper Egypt . Egypt was first united when Narmer of Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt , giving rise to
4108-468: 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 is not always to be taken literally. The first known hominids evolved in Africa. According to paleontology , the early hominids' skull anatomy was similar to that of
4266-458: Is that, as the Barents Sea's permanent ice-free area grows, evaporation will increase, leading to increased winter snowfalls in much of continental Europe. The southern half of the Barents Sea, including the ports of Murmansk (Russia) and Vardø (Norway) remain ice -free year-round due to the warm North Atlantic drift . In September, the entire Barents Sea is more or less completely ice-free. From 1920 to 1944, Finland 's territory also reached
4424-665: The 11th dynasty conquered all of Egypt to form the Middle Kingdom in 2055 BC. The 12th dynasty oversaw advancements in irrigation and economic expansion in the Faiyum Oasis , as well as expansion into Lower Nubia at the expense of Kerma . In 1700 BC, Egypt fractured in two, ushering in the Second Intermediate Period . The Hyksos , a militaristic people from Palestine , capitalised on this fragmentation and conquered Lower Egypt, establishing
4582-580: The 15th dynasty of Egypt , whilst Kerma coordinated invasions deep into Egypt to reach its greatest extent, looting royal statues and monuments. A rival power base developed in Thebes with Ahmose I of the 18th dynasty eventually expelling the Hyksos from Egypt, forming the New Kingdom in 1550 BC. Utilising the military technology the Hyksos had brought, they conducted numerous campaigns to conquer
4740-631: The 1st and 2nd dynasties of Egypt whose efforts presumably consisted of conquest and consolidation, with unification completed by the 3rd dynasty to form the Old Kingdom of Egypt in 2686 BC. The Kingdom of Kerma emerged around this time to become the dominant force in Nubia, controlling an area as large as Egypt between the 1st and 4th cataracts of the Nile , with Egyptian records speaking of its rich and populous agricultural regions. The height of
4898-635: The Aghlabids controlling Ifriqiya under only nominal Abbasid rule and in 868 when the Tulunids wrestled the independence of Egypt for four decades before again coming under Abbasid control. Late in the 9th century, a revolt by East African slaves in the Abbasid's homeland of Iraq diverted its resources away from its other territories, devastating important ports in the Persian Gulf , and
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5056-729: The Aksumites and 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
5214-632: The Barents Sea coast. Ahrensburg culture History of Africa#Paleolithic Archaic humans emerged out of Africa between 0.5 and 1.8 million years ago. This was followed by the emergence of modern humans ( Homo sapiens ) in East Africa around 300,000–250,000 years ago. In the 4th millenium BC written history arose in Ancient Egypt , and later in Nubia 's Kush ,
5372-782: The Barghawata of Masmuda , the Ifranid dynasty , and the Midrarid dynasty , both from the Zenata . The Idrisid dynasty would come to rule most of modern-day Morocco with the support of the Masmuda , whilst the growing Ibadi movement among the Zenata culminated in the Rustamid Imamate , centred on Tahert , modern-day Algeria . At the turn of the 9th century the Abbasids' sphere of influence would degrade further with
5530-580: The Comoros . This second wave possibly found the island of Madagascar sparsely populated by descendants of the first wave a few centuries earlier, with the Vazimba of the interior's highlands being revered and featuring prominently in Malagasy oral traditions . The wider region underwent a trade expansion from the 7th century, as the Swahili engaged in the flourishing Indian Ocean trade following
5688-698: The Ekoi civilisation rose circa 2nd century AD, and are most notable for constructing the Ikom monoliths and developing the Nsibidi script . The turn of the 7th century saw much of North Africa controlled by the Byzantine Empire . Christianity was the state religion of the empire, and Semitic and Coptic subjects in Roman Egypt faced persecution due to their 'heretical' Miaphysite churches, paying
5846-583: The First Punic War began when Carthage came into conflict with the expansionary Roman Republic on the island of Sicily , leading to what has been described as the greatest naval war of antiquity, causing heavy casualties on both sides, but ending in Carthage's eventual defeat and loss of Sicily. The Second Punic War broke out when the Romans opportunistically took Sardinia and Corsica whilst
6004-624: The Fosna culture of the western and southwestern coast of Norway and ultimately in the final Palaeolithic Ahrensburg culture of northwestern Europe. The combination of a coastal raw material and a lithic technique typical to Late Palaeolithic and very early Mesolithic industries of northern Europe, originally suggested that Sujala was contemporaneous to Phase 1 of the Norwegian Finnmark Mesolithic ( Komsa proper), dating to between 9 000 and 10 000 BP. Proposed parallels with
6162-448: The Ghana Empire to control the affluent trans-Saharan trade routes in the Western Sahara , forming the Almoravid empire before conquering Maghrawa and intervening in the reconquest of Iberia by the Christian powers on the side of the endangered Muslim taifas , which were produced from the fall of the remnant Umayyad Caliphate in Cordoba . The Almoravids incorporated the taifas into their empire, enjoying initial success, until
6320-404: The Hafsids of Masmuda in modern-day Tunisia , before finally being extinguished in 1269. Meanwhile, after defeating the Christians' Fifth Crusade in 1221, internal divisions involving Saladin's descendants appeared within the Ayyubid dynasty , crippling the empire's unity. In the face of Mongol expansion , the Ayyubids became increasingly reliant on Mamluk generals. At the end of
6478-533: The Horn of Africa 's Dʿmt , and Ifrikiya 's Carthage . Between around 3000 BC and 1000 AD, the Bantu expansion swept from north-western Central Africa (modern day Cameroon ) across much of sub-Saharan Africa, laying the foundations for states in Central, Eastern, and Southern regions. In most African societies the oral word is revered, and as such they have generally recorded their history orally. This has led anthropologists to term them oral civilisations, contrasted with literate civilisations which pride
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6636-426: The Jugurtha to the Romans. At the turn of the millennium they both would face the same fate as Carthage and be conquered by the Romans who established Mauretania and Numidia as provinces of their empire, whilst 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
6794-423: The Kara Sea . Although part of the Arctic Ocean, the Barents Sea has been characterised as "turning into the Atlantic " or in the process of being "Atlantified" because of its status as "the Arctic warming hot spot." Hydrologic changes due to global warming have led to a reduction in sea ice and in the stratification of the water column, which could produce major changes in weather in Eurasia . One prediction
6952-432: The Khurasanid dynasty and Arab tribes ruling Ifriqiya , to be later displaced by the Norman Kingdom of Africa . In the late 10th and early 11th centuries the Fatimids would lose the Maghreb to the Hammadids in modern-day Algeria and the Maghrawa in modern-day Morocco , both from Zenata . In 1053 the Saharan Sanhaja , spurred on by puritanical Sunni Islam , conquered Sijilmasa and captured Aoudaghost from
7110-490: The Levant from the Canaanites , Amorites , Hittites , and Mitanni , and extinguish Kerma , incorporating Nubia into the empire, sending the Egyptian empire into its golden age. Internal struggles, drought and famine, and invasions by a confederation of seafaring peoples , contributed to the New Kingdom 's collapse in 1069 BC, ushering in the Third Intermediate Period which saw Egypt fractured into many pieces amid widespread turmoil. Egypt's disintegration liberated
7268-575: 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 the most lucrative trading locations in the Gulf of Tunis , initially searching for sources of metal . Phoenician settlements subsequently grew into Ancient Carthage after gaining independence from Phoenicia in
7426-539: The Maghreb traversing the Sahara into the western Sahel and Sudan , catalysed by the Fula jihads in the 18th and 19th centuries. Systems of servitude and slavery were historically widespread and commonplace in parts of Africa, as they were in much of the ancient and medieval world . When the trans-Saharan , Red Sea , Indian Ocean and Atlantic slave trades began, many of the pre-existing local slave systems started supplying captives for slave markets outside Africa, creating various diasporas , especially in
7584-561: The North Atlantic drift , the Barents Sea has a high biological production compared to other oceans of similar latitude. The spring bloom of phytoplankton can start quite early near the ice edge because the fresh water from the melting ice makes up a stable water layer on top of the seawater. The phytoplankton bloom feeds zooplankton such as Calanus finmarchicus , Calanus glacialis , Calanus hyperboreus , Oithona spp., and krill . The zooplankton feeders include young cod , capelin , polar cod , whales , and little auk . The capelin
7742-478: The Old Kingdom came under the 4th dynasty who constructed numerous great pyramids , however under the 6th dynasty of Egypt power began to decentralise to the nomarchs , culminating in anarchy exacerbated by drought and famine in 2200 BC, and the onset of the First Intermediate Period in which numerous nomarchs ruled simultaneously. Throughout this time, power bases were built and destroyed in Memphis , and in Heracleopolis , when Mentuhotep II of Thebes and
7900-419: The Old Testament . Meanwhile during the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries Islam spread through the Somali Peninsula , largely via da'wah . The Harla Kingdom of Hubat also converted to Islam circa 700. The Somalis were organised into various clans , and relations with Arabs led tradition to hold their lineages to Samaale , Daarood or Sheikh Ishaaq , traditionally descendants of Muhammad's cousins . To
8058-642: The Omo remains from Ethiopia ( c. 233,000 years ago ). Scientists have suggested that Homo sapiens may have arisen between 350,000 and 260,000 years ago through a merging of populations in East Africa and South Africa . Evidence of a variety of behaviors indicative of Behavioral modernity date to the African Middle Stone Age , associated with early Homo sapiens and their emergence. Abstract imagery, widened subsistence strategies, and other "modern" behaviors have been discovered from that period in Africa, especially South, North, and East Africa. The Blombos Cave site in South Africa, for example,
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#17327827077928216-586: The Pechora River 's estuary, has been known as Pechorskoye Morye , that is, Pechora Sea . It was also known as Pomorsky Morye , after the first inhabitants of its shores, the Pomors . This sea was given its present name by Europeans in honour of Willem Barentsz , a Dutch navigator and explorer. Barentsz was the leader of early expeditions to the far north, at the end of the sixteenth century. The Barents Sea has been called by sailors " The Devil's Dance Floor " due to its unpredictability and difficulty level. Ocean rowers call it " Devil's Jaw ". In 2017, after
8374-463: The Romans established the province of Africa , with Numidia assuming control of many of Carthage's African ports. Towards the end of 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
8532-488: 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 ,
8690-462: The Syrian Wars with the Seleucid Empire , the Ptolemaic Kingdom lost its holdings outside Africa, but expanded its territory by conquering Cyrenaica from its respective tribes, and subjugated Kush . Beginning in the mid second century BC, dynastic strife and a series of foreign wars weakened the kingdom, and it became increasingly reliant on the Roman Republic . Under Cleopatra VII , who sought to restore Ptolemaic power, Egypt became entangled in
8848-425: The Timan-Pechora Basin . They drilled their first wells in the early 1980s, and some very large gas fields were discovered throughout this decade. The Shtokman field was discovered in 1988 and is classed as a giant gas field: currently the 5th-largest gas field in the world . Similar practical difficulties Barents Sea resulted in a decline in Russian exploration, aggravated by the nation's political instability of
9006-453: The Zirids . From there they conquered up to modern-day Syria and Hejaz , securing the holy cities of Mecca and Medina . The Fatimids became absorbed by the eastern realms of their empire, and in 972, after encouragement from faqirs , the Zirids changed their allegiance to recognise the Abbasid Caliphate . In retaliation the Fatimids commissioned an invasion by nomadic Arab tribes to punish them, leading to their disintegration with
9164-690: The early Muslim conquests . Settlements further centralised and some major states included Gedi , Ungwana [de] , Pate , Malindi , Mombasa , and Tanga in the north, Unguja Ukuu on Zanzibar , Kaole , Dar es Salaam , Kilwa , Kiswere [ de ] , Monapo , Mozambique , and Angoche in the middle, and Quelimane , Sofala , Chibuene , and Inhambane in the south. Via mtumbwi [ uk ] , mtepe and later ngalawa they exported gold , iron , copper , ivory , slaves , pottery , cotton cloth , wood , grain , and rice , and imported silk , glassware , jewellery , Islamic pottery , and Chinese porcelain . Relations between
9322-413: The fall of Rome . Swathes of indigenous peoples would regain self-governance in 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
9480-496: The gorilla and the chimpanzee , great apes that also evolved in Africa, but the hominids had adopted a bipedal locomotion which freed their hands. This gave them a crucial advantage, enabling them to live in both forested areas and on the open savanna at a time when Africa was drying up and the savanna was encroaching on forested areas. This would have occurred 10 to 5 million years ago, but these claims are controversial because biologists and genetics have humans appearing around
9638-433: The island's estuaries , with oral histories describing bloody clashes and earlier settlers often pushed along the coast or inland. An Arab geographer wrote in 1224 that the island consisted of a great many towns and kingdoms, with kings making war on each other. Assisted by climate change, the peoples gradually transformed the island from dense forest to grassland for cultivation and zebu pastoralism . Oral traditions of
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#17327827077929796-452: 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 a principality into a major power on the trade route between Rome and India through conquering its unfortunately unknown neighbours, gaining
9954-800: The 11th millennium BP , pottery was independently invented in Africa, with the earliest pottery there dating to about 9,400 BC from central Mali. It soon spread throughout the southern Sahara and Sahel . In the steppes and savannahs of the Sahara and Sahel in Northern West Africa, the Nilo-Saharan speakers and Mandé peoples started to collect and domesticate wild millet, African rice and sorghum between 8000 and 6000 BC. Later, gourds , watermelons , castor beans , and cotton were also collected and domesticated. The people started capturing wild cattle and holding them in circular thorn hedges, resulting in domestication . They also started making pottery and built stone settlements (e.g., Tichitt , Oualata ). Fishing , using bone-tipped harpoons , became
10112-509: The 1990s. The Barents Sea contains the world's largest remaining cod population, as well as important stocks of haddock and capelin. Fishing is managed jointly by Russia and Norway in the form of the Joint Norwegian–Russian Fisheries Commission , established in 1976, in an attempt to keep track of how many fish are leaving the ecosystem due to fishing. The Joint Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Commission sets Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for multiple species throughout their migratory tracks. Through
10270-399: The 1st century AD, and formed various city states which traded via the Indian Ocean trade , constituting the Swahili civilisation . Madagascar was possibly first settled by Austronesians from 350 BC-550 AD, termed the Vazimba in Malagasy oral traditions, although there is considerable academic debate. The eastern Bantu group would eventually meet with the southern migrants from
10428-493: The 1st century AD, forming the Gokomere culture in the 5th century AD. The second thrust from the Great Lakes was eastward, also in the 1st century AD, expanding to Kenya , Tanzania , and the Swahili coast . Prior to this migration, the northern part of the Swahili coast was home to the elusive Azania , most likely a Southern Cushitic polity, extending southwards to modern-day Tanzania . The Bantu populations crowded out Azania , with Rhapta being its last stronghold by
10586-428: The 1st millennium BC iron working had reached Northwestern Africa , Egypt, and Nubia. Zangato and Holl document evidence of iron-smelting in the Central African Republic and Cameroon that may date back to 3,000 to 2,500 BC. Assyrians using iron weapons pushed Nubians out of Egypt in 670 BC, after which the use of iron became widespread in the Nile valley. The theory that iron spread to Sub-Saharan Africa via
10744-474: The 3rd millennium BC. Iron smelting developed in the area between Lake Chad and the African Great Lakes between 1,000 and 600 BC, and in West Africa around 2,000 BC, long before the technology reached Egypt. Before 500 BC, the Nok culture in the Jos Plateau was already smelting iron. Archaeological sites containing iron-smelting furnaces and slag have been excavated at sites in the Nsukka region of southeast Nigeria in Igboland : dating to 2,000 BC at
10902-494: The 4th century AD Aksum's king converted to Christianity and Aksum's population, who had followed syncretic mixes of local beliefs , slowly followed. In the early 6th century AD, Cosmas Indicopleustes later described his visit to the city of Aksum , mentioning rows of throne monuments, some made out of "excellent white marble" and "entirely...hewn out of a single block of stone" , with large inscriptions attributed to various kings, likely serving as victory monuments documenting
11060-418: 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
11218-618: The 6th century BC, and they would build an extensive empire , countering Greek influence in the Mediterranean , as well as a strict mercantile network reaching as far as west Asia and northern Europe , distributing an array of commodities from all over the ancient world along with locally produced goods, all secured by one of the largest and most powerful navies in the ancient Mediterranean . Carthage's political institutions received rare praise from both Greeks and Romans, with its constitution and aristocratic council providing stability, with birth and wealth paramount for election. In 264 BC
11376-587: The 6th century, the Kingdom of Aksum ruled over much of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea , with the Harla Kingdom to its east, while ancient Somali city-states such as Mosylon , Opone , Sarapion , Avalites , and Aromata on the Somali Peninsula continued to thrive off of the lucrative Indian Ocean trade and their preferential relations with India. Following the birth of Islam in
11534-608: The 740s the Berber Revolt rocked the caliphate and the Berbers took control over the Maghreb, whilst revolts in Ifriqiya were suppressed. The Abbasid dynasty came to power via revolution in 750 and attempted to reconfigure the caliphate to be multi-ethnic rather than Arab exclusive, however this wasn't enough to prevent gradual disintegration on its peripheries. Various short-lived native dynasties would form states such as
11692-608: The 7th century AD, Bantu spread to the Upemba Depression , forming the Upemba culture [ es ] . During the 1st millennium BC the Bantu spread further from the Great Lakes to Southern and East Africa. One early movement headed south to the upper Zambezi basin in the 2nd century BC. The Bantu then split westward to the savannahs of present-day Angola and eastward into Malawi , Zambia , and Zimbabwe in
11850-516: The 7th century saw the Swahili coast continue to be inhabited by the Swahili civilisation , whose economies were primarily based on agriculture , however they traded via the Indian Ocean trade and later developed local industries, with their iconic stone architecture . Forested river estuaries created natural harbours whilst the yearly monsoon winds assisted trade, and the Swahili civilisation consisted of hundreds of settlements and linked
12008-560: The 9th century expanded southwards. The history becomes murky, however tradition holds that Aksum's expansion brought it into conflict in 960 with the Jewish Kingdom of Beta Israel , led by queen Gudit and located in the Simien Mountains . Accordingly, Gudit defeated and killed Aksum's king , and burnt their churches. It's possible that Gudit was a pagan queen who led resistance to Aksum's southward expansion. To
12166-414: The 9th century, when zebu were first brought. From the 10th century Kilwa expanded its influence, coming to challenge the dominance of Somalian Mogadishu located to its north, however details of Kilwa's rise remain scarce. In the late 12th century Kilwa wrestled control of Sofala in the south, a key trading city linking to Great Zimbabwe in the interior and famous for its Zimbabwean gold, which
12324-703: The Americas . From 1870 to 1914, driven by the great force and hunger of the Second Industrial Revolution , European colonisation of Africa developed rapidly, as the major European powers partitioned the continent in the 1884 Berlin Conference , from one-tenth of the continent being under European imperial control to over nine-tenths in the Scramble for Africa . European colonialism had significant impacts on Africa's societies , and
12482-409: The Arctic, there are concerns that a further increase in pollution is likely, not least from the increased risk of future oil spills from ships not properly equipped for the environment. Barents Sea is the fastest-warming part of the Arctic, and some assessments now treat Barents sea ice as a separate tipping point from the rest of the Arctic sea ice, suggesting that it could permanently disappear once
12640-597: The Baltic zone, and other so-called post-Swiderian cultures , derive from the Swiderian culture. Sorokin (2004) rejects the "contact" hypothesis of the formation of Kunda culture and holds it originated from the seasonal migrations of Swiderian people at the turn of Pleistocene and Holocene when human subsistence was based on hunting reindeer. Many of the earliest Mesolithic sites in Finland are post-Swiderian; these include
12798-662: The Barents Sea. The Liinakhamari harbour in the Pechengsky District was Finland's only ice-free winter harbour until 1944 when it was ceded to the Soviet Union . There are three main types of water masses in the Barents Sea: Warm, salty Atlantic water (temperature >3 °C, salinity >35) from the North Atlantic drift ; cold Arctic water (temperature <0 °C, salinity <35) from
12956-660: The Berber that this conflict was not just against the Byzantines. The Arabs returned and defeated Kusaila and Altava in 690, and, after a set-back, expelled the Byzantines from North Africa. To the west, Kahina of the Kingdom of the Aurès declared opposition to the Arab invasion and repelled their armies, securing her position as the uncontested ruler of the Maghreb for five years. The Arabs received reinforcements and in 701 Kahina
13114-569: The Book ”) constituting the Dhimmi class were permitted to practice their religion and exempted from military service in exchange for a tax , which was improperly extended to include converts. Followers of traditional Berber religion , which were mostly those of tribal confederations in the interior, were violently oppressed and often given the ultimatum to convert to Islam or face death or enslavement. Converted natives were permitted to participate in
13272-572: The Carthaginians were putting down a ferocious Libyan revolt , with Carthage initially experiencing considerable success following Hannibal 's infamous crossing of the alps into northern Italy . In a 14 year long campaign Hannibal's forces conquered much of mainland Italy , only being recalled after the Romans conducted a bold naval invasion of the Carthaginian homeland and then defeated him in climactic battle in 202 BC. Carthage
13430-698: The Cave of Hearths in South Africa has yielded a number of beads dating from significantly prior to 50,000 years ago, and shell beads dating to about 75,000 years ago have been found at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Around 65–50,000 years ago, the species' expansion out of Africa launched the colonization of the planet by modern human beings. By 10,000 BC, Homo sapiens had spread to most corners of Afro-Eurasia . Their dispersals are traced by linguistic, cultural and genetic evidence. Eurasian back-migrations, specifically West-Eurasian backflow , started in
13588-914: The Christians and after he had put down a revolt from the Fatimid army , Saladin eventually deposed the Fatimid caliph in 1171 and established the Ayyubid dynasty in its place, choosing to recognise the Abbasid Caliphate . From there the Ayyubids captured Cyrenaica , and went on a prolific campaign to conquer Arabia from the Zengids and the Yemeni Hamdanids , Palestine from the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem , and Syria and Upper Mesopotamia from other Seljuk successor states . To
13746-633: The Commission, Norway and Russia also exchange fishing quotas and catch statistics to ensure the TACs are not being violated. However there are problems with reporting under this system, and researchers believe that they do not have accurate data for the effects of fishing on the Barents Sea ecosystem. Cod is one of the major catches. A large portion of catches are not reported when the fishing boats land, to account for profits that are being lost to high taxes and fees. Since many fishermen do not strictly follow
13904-705: The Crimea. Late Swiderian is characterized by blades with a blunted back. The Swiderian culture plays a central role in the Palaeolithic-Mesolithic transition. It has been generally accepted that most of the Swiderian population emigrated at the very end of the Pleistocene (10,000 BP uncalibrated; 9500 BC calibrated) to the northeast following the retreating tundra, after the Younger Dryas . Recent radiocarbon dates prove that some groups of
14062-523: The Dahlak archipelago . Despite having ancient roots, the Red Sea slave trade expanded and flourished following the Muslim conquests with Bejas , Nubians , and Ethiopians exported to Hejaz . Aksum gradually lost their control of the Red Sea , and the expulsion of the Byzantines from the region isolated them, causing their society to become introspective, drawing inspiration from biblical traditions of
14220-667: The German cruiser Admiral Hipper was severely damaged by British gunfire. The Germans later retreated and the British convoy arrived safely at Murmansk shortly afterwards. During the Cold War , the Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet used the southern reaches of the sea as a ballistic missile submarine bastion , a strategy that Russia continued. Nuclear contamination from dumped Russian naval reactors
14378-724: The Great Lakes in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe and both groups continued southward, with eastern groups continuing to 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 assimilating the Khoisan . By the Chari River south of Lake Chad
14536-614: The Horn's southeast coast the Tunni clan established the Tunni Sultanate , and the clans of Sarapion formed the Sultanate of Mogadishu . Traditionally, Gudit's dynasty reigned until 1137 when they were overthrown or conquered by Mara Takla Haymanot , with traditions differing on whether he was an Aksumite general or relative of Gudit, who established the Zagwe dynasty . In Ethiopia tradition holds that prior to his accession to
14694-544: The Muslims returned to the Maghreb to find the Byzantines had reinforced the Exarchate and allied with the Berber Kingdom of Altava under Kusaila , who was approached prior to battle and convinced to convert to Islam. Initially having become neutral, Kusaila objected to integration into the empire and in 683 destroyed the poorly supplied Arab army and conquered the newly-found Kairouan , causing an epiphany among
14852-664: The Nubian city of Meroe is no longer widely accepted, and some researchers believe that sub-Saharan Africans invented iron metallurgy independently. Metalworking in West Africa has been dated as early as 2,500 BC at Egaro west of the Termit in Niger, and iron working was practiced there by 1,500 BC. Iron smelting has been dated to 2,000 BC in southeast Nigeria . Central Africa provides possible evidence of iron working as early as
15010-688: The Patrician . The Muslims conquered Ifriqiya and in 647 defeated and killed Gregory and his army decisively in battle . The Berbers of the Maghreb proposed payment of annual tribute, which the Muslims, not wishing to annex the territory, accepted. After a brief civil war in the Muslim empire, the Rashidun were supplanted by the Umayyad dynasty in 661 and the capital moved from Medina to Damascus . With intentions to expand further in all directions,
15168-862: The Ristola site in Lahti and the Saarenoja 2 site in Joutseno with lithics in imported flint, as well as the Sujala site in Utsjoki in the province of Lapland . The raw materials of the lithic assemblage at Sujala originate in the Varanger Peninsula in northern Norway. Concerning this region, the commonly held view today is that the earliest settlement of the North Norwegian coast originated in
15326-541: The Sahara in modern-day Algeria , who all mainly followed traditional Berber religion . In 618 the Sassanids conquered Egypt during the Byzantine-Sasanian War , however the province was reconquered three years later. The early 7th century saw the inception of Islam and the beginning of the Arab conquests intent on converting peoples to Islam and monotheism . The nascent Rashidun Caliphate won
15484-719: The Svidero-Ahrensburgian Complex persisted into the Preboreal. Unlike western Europe, the Mesolithic groups now inhabiting the Polish Plain were newcomers. This has been attested by a 300-year-long gap between the youngest Palaeolithic and the oldest Mesolithic occupation. The oldest Mesolithic site is Chwalim , located in western Silesia , Poland; it outdates the Mesolithic sites situated to
15642-531: The TACs and rules set forth by the Commission, the amount of fish being extracted annually from the Barents Sea is underestimated. The Barents Sea, where temperate waters from the Gulf Stream and cold waters from the Arctic meet, is home to an enormous diversity of organisms, which are well-adapted to the extreme conditions of their marine habitats. This makes these arctic species very attractive for marine bioprospecting . Marine bioprospecting may be defined as
15800-512: The Wolaita-Mala dynasty established the Kingdom of Damot in the 13th century, locally known as the Kingdom of Wolaita , which followed a traditional religion . The history continues to be murky, however regional hegemony was contested between the Kingdom of Damot , the Zagwe , and the Sultanate of Shewa . Damot likely drew its economic power from gold production, which was exported to Zeila. The Zagwe and Shewa were forced into
15958-524: The ailing Rustamid Imamate and fought a proxy war against the remnants of the Umayyad dynasty centred in Cordoba , resulting the eastern Maghreb coming under the control of the vassalized Zirid dynasty , who hailed from the Sanhaja . In 969 the Fatimids finally conquered Egypt against a weakened Abbasid Caliphate after decades of attempts, moving their capital to Cairo and deferring Ifriqiya to
16116-581: The area of Nowy Mlyn in the Holy Cross Mountains region. The Developed Swiderian appeared with their migrations to the north and is characterized by tanged blades: this stage separates the northwestern European cultural province, embracing Belgium, Holland, northwest Germany, Denmark and Norway, and the Middle East European cultural province, embracing Silesia, Brandenburgia, Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Western Russia, Ukraine and
16274-573: The blade technology among the earliest Mesolithic finds in southern Norway would have placed the find closer or even before 10 000 BP. However, a preliminary connection to early North Norwegian settlements is contradicted by the shape of the tanged points and by the blade reduction technology from Sujala. The bifacially shaped tang and ventral retouch on the tip of the arrowpoints and the pressure technique used in blade manufacture are rare or absent in Ahrensburgian contexts, but very characteristic of
16432-1060: The borrowing and assimilation of ideas and institutions , while some developed through internal, largely isolated development. Some African empires and hegemonic kingdoms include Ghana , Mali, Songhai , Ife , Oyo , Bamana/Ségou , Asante , Massina , Sokoto , and the Toucouleur in West Africa; Ancient Egypt, Kush, Carthage, the Fatimids , Almoravids , Almohads , Ayyubids , and Mamluks in North Africa; Aksum , Ethiopia , Adal , Kitara , Kilwa , and Imerina in East Africa; Kanem-Bornu , Kongo , Mwene Muji , Luba , Lunda , and Utetera in Central Africa; and Mapungubwe , Zimbabwe , Mutapa , Rozvi , Maravi , Mthwakazi , and Zulu in Southern Africa. Some societies are heterarchical and egalitarian , while others remained organised into chiefdoms . At its peak it
16590-485: The boundary equidistant from their competing claims. This was ratified and went into force on 7 July 2011, opening the grey zone for hydrocarbon exploration . Encouraged by the success of oil exploration and production in the North Sea in the 1960s , Norway began hydrocarbon exploration in the Barents Sea in 1969. They acquired seismic reflection surveys through the following years, which were analysed to understand
16748-486: The case of Garmul , however largely coexisted. Further inland to the Byzantine Exarchate of Africa were 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
16906-692: The cause of depleting fish stocks, more recent research suggests that marine mammal consumption has only a trivial influence on fisheries. A model assessing the effects of fisheries and climate was far more accurate at describing trends in fish abundance. There is a genetically distinct polar bear population associated with the Barents Sea. The Barents Sea is "among the most polluted places on Earth" due to accumulated marine garbage, decades of Soviet nuclear tests, radioactive waste dumping and industrial pollution. The elevated pollution has caused elevated rates of disease among locals. With rising military buildup and increased use of shipping lanes heading east through
17064-430: The central highlands describe encountering an earlier population called the Vazimba , thought to have been the first settlers of Madagsacar, represented as primitive dwarfs. From the 13th century Muslim settlers arrived, integrating into the respective societies, and held high status owing to Islamic trading networks. The 7th to 13th centuries in West Africa were a period of relatively abundant rainfall that saw
17222-464: The competing claims had an area of 175,000 square kilometres (68,000 sq mi), which is approximately 12% of the total area of the Barents Sea. The two countries started negotiations on the location of the boundary in 1974 and agreed to a moratorium on hydrocarbon exploration in 1976. Twenty years after the fall of the Soviet Union, in 2010 Norway and Russia signed an agreement that placed
17380-533: The continent's south. The Bantu expansion constituted a major series of migrations of Bantu -speaking 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 the Congo Basin , and eastward to the Great Lakes region to form the Urewe culture from the 5th century BC. In
17538-487: The continent, and, with a weakened Europe after the Second World War , waves of decolonisation took place. This culminated in the 1960 Year of Africa and the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963 (the predecessor to the African Union ), with countries deciding to keep their colonial borders. Traditional power structures remained partly in place in many parts of Africa, and their roles, powers, and influence vary greatly. Many countries have undergone
17696-507: The continent. The community are still tasked with building the institutional frameworks, incorporating African epistemologies , establishing a continental periodisation, and representing an African perspective. In African societies, the historical process is largely a communal one, with eyewitness accounts, hearsay , reminiscences, and occasionally visions , dreams, and hallucinations crafted into narrative oral traditions which are performed and transmitted through generations. Time
17854-489: The early Holocene or already earlier in the Paleolithic period, sometimes between 30 and 15,000 years ago, followed by pre-Neolithic and Neolithic migration waves from the Middle East, mostly affecting Northern Africa, the Horn of Africa, and wider regions of the Sahel zone and East Africa. Affad 23 is an archaeological site located in the Affad region of southern Dongola Reach in northern Sudan , which hosts "the well-preserved remains of prehistoric camps (relics of
18012-402: The early 7th century, the north-central Harar Plateau was settled by early Muslims fleeing persecution , intermingling with the Somali who became some of the first non-Arabs to convert to Islam . Muslim-Aksumite relations were initially positive with Aksum giving refuge to early Muslims in 613, however relations soured after Aksum made incursions along the Arab coast and Muslims settled
18170-528: The east in central and northeastern Poland by about 150 years. Thus, the Mesolithic population progressed from the west after a 300-year-long settlement break, and moved gradually towards the east. The lack of good flint raw materials in the Polish early Mesolithic has been interpreted thus that the new arriving people were not acquainted yet with the best local sources of flint, proving their external origin. The Ukrainian archaeologist L. Zalizniak (1989, p. 83-84) believes Kunda culture of Central Russia and
18328-413: The east in the 9th and 10th centuries, the Somali clans such as the Dir and other groups formed states in the Harar Plateau , including Fatagar , Dawaro , Bale , Hadiya , Hargaya , Mora , Kwelgora , and Adal , with the latter centred on the port city of Zeila (previously Avalites ). They neighboured the Sultanate of Shewa to their south, who's dynasty hailed from the Meccan Banu Makhzum . On
18486-415: The east, however the Fatimids repelled them from encroaching on Egypt. Amid the Christians' First Crusade against the Seljuks , the Fatimids opportunistically took back Jerusalem , but then lost it again to the Christians in decisive defeat . The Fatimids ' authority collapsed due to intense internal struggle in political rivalries and religious divisions, amid Christian invasions of Egypt , creating
18644-460: The explosive growth of trade, particularly across the Sahara desert , and the flourishing of numerous important states. The introduction of the camel to the western Sahel was a watershed moment, allowing more merchandise to move more easily. These desert-side states are the first to appear in the written record, with Arab and Berber merchants from North Africa leaving descriptions of their power and wealth. Nevertheless, there remain massive gaps in
18802-420: The first recorded complete man-powered crossing of the Barents Sea from Tromsø to Longyearbyen in a rowboat by the Polar Row expedition, captain Fiann Paul was asked by Norwegian TV2 how a rower would name the Barents Sea. Fiann responded that he would name it "Devil's Jaw", adding that the winds you constantly battle are like breath from the devil's nostrils while he holds you in his jaws. Seabed mapping
18960-462: The global warming exceeds 1.5 degrees. This rapid warming also makes it easier to detect any potential connections between the state of sea ice and weather conditions elsewhere than in any other area. The first study proposing a connection between floating ice decline in the Barents Sea and the neighbouring Kara Sea and more intense winters in Europe was published in 2010, and there has been extensive research into this subject since then. For instance,
19118-417: The governing of the Muslim empire in order to quell the enormous administrative problems owing to the Arabs' lack of experience governing and rapid expansion. Unorthodox sects such as the Kharijite , Ibadi , Isma'ili , Nukkarite and Sufrite found fertile soil among many Berbers dissatisfied with the oppressive Umayyad regime , with religion being utilised as a political tool to foster organisation. In
19276-612: The historical record include Mema , Takrur , Silla , and Wagadu (commonly called the Ghana Empire). Soninke traditions mention four previous foundings of Wagadu , and hold 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. 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. At
19434-415: The historical record, and many details are speculative and/or based on much later traditions. Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( / ˈ b ær ə n t s / BARR -ənts , also US : / ˈ b ɑːr ə n t s / BAR -ənts ; Norwegian : Barentshavet , Urban East Norwegian: [ˈbɑ̀ːrəntsˌhɑːvə] ; Russian : Баренцево море , romanized : Barentsevo More )
19592-433: The impression Africa had no recorded history. Pre-colonial Christian states include Ethiopia, Makuria , and Kongo. Widespread conversion to Christianity occurred under European rule in southern West Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa due to efficacious missions , with peoples syncretising Christianity with their local beliefs . The rise of nationalism facilitated struggles for independence in many parts of
19750-411: The last 70 thousand to 200 thousand years. The fossil record shows Homo sapiens (also known as "modern humans" or "anatomically modern humans") living in Africa by about 350,000–260,000 years ago. The earliest known Homo sapiens fossils include the Jebel Irhoud remains from Morocco ( c. 315,000 years ago ), the Florisbad Skull from South Africa ( c. 259,000 years ago ), and
19908-470: The latest in Egypt and Nubia. Nubia became a major source of copper as well as of gold . The use of gold and silver in Egypt dates back to the predynastic period. In the Aïr Mountains of present-day Niger people smelted copper independently of developments in the Nile valley between 3,000 and 2,500 BC. They used a process unique to the region, suggesting that the technology was not brought in from outside; it became more mature by about 1,500 BC. By
20066-405: The leadership of self-proclaimed caliph Abd al-Mu'min and, after gaining the support of the Zenata , swept through the Maghreb, conquering the Hammadids , the Hilalian Arab tribes , and the Norman Kingdom of Africa , before gradually conquering the Almoravid remnant in Al-Andalus , proclaiming the Almohad Caliphate and extending their rule from the western Sahara and Iberia to Ifriqiya by
20224-402: The location of the main sedimentary basins . NorskHydro drilled the first well in 1980, which was a dry hole, and the first discoveries were made the following year: the Alke and Askeladden gas fields. Several more discoveries were made on the Norwegian side of the Barents Sea throughout the 1980s, including the important Snøhvit field . However, interest in the area began to wane due to
20382-507: The more Egyptianized Kingdom of Kush in Nubia, and later in the 8th century BC the Kushite king Kashta would expand his power and influence by manoeuvring his daughter into a position of power in Upper Egypt , paving the way for his successor Piye to conquer Lower Egypt and form the Kushite Empire . The Kushites assimilated further into Egyptian society by reaffirming Ancient Egyptian religious traditions , and culture, while introducing some unique aspects of Kushite culture and overseeing
20540-409: 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 the opportunities afforded by north–south diversity in ecosystems, trading meats , copper , iron , salt , and gold . Various civilisations prospered in this period. From 4000 BC, the Tichitt culture in modern-day Mauritania and Mali
20698-591: The north; and warm, but not very salty, coastal water (temperature >3 °C, salinity <34.7). Between the Atlantic and Polar waters, a front called the Polar Front is formed. In the western parts of the sea (close to Bear Island ), this front is determined by the bottom topography and is therefore relatively sharp and stable from year to year, while in the east (towards Novaya Zemlya ), it can be quite diffuse and its position can vary markedly between years. The lands of Novaya Zemlya attained most of their early Holocene coastal deglaciation approximately 10,000 years before
20856-447: The oldest open-air hut in the world) and diverse hunting and gathering loci some 50,000 years old". Around 16,000 BC, from the Red Sea Hills to the northern Ethiopian Highlands , nuts, grasses and tubers were being collected for food. By 13,000 to 11,000 BC, people began collecting wild grains. This spread to Western Asia , which domesticated its wild grains, wheat and barley . Between 10,000 and 8000 BC, Northeast Africa
21014-427: The popular Fumo Liyongo . The islands of Pemba , Zanzibar , Lamu , Mafia and the Comoros were further settled by Shirazi and grew in importance due to their geographical positions for trade. By 1100, all regions of Madagascar were inhabited, although the total population remained small. Societies organised at the behest of hasina , which later evolved to embody kingship, and competed with one another over
21172-399: 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 the growth and expansion of Aksum in the 1st century BC. Along the Horn's coast there were many ancient Somali city-states which thrived off of
21330-472: The present. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the "Barentsz Sea" [ sic ] as follows: Other islands in the Barents Sea include Chaichy and Timanets. The Barents Sea was originally formed from two major continental collisions: the Caledonian orogeny , in which the Baltica and Laurentia collided to form Laurasia , and a subsequent collision between Laurasia and Western Siberia. Most of its geological history
21488-424: The relationship between Swiderian and Solutrean "outstanding, though also indirect", in contrast with the Bromme-Ahrensburg complex ( Lyngby culture ), for which she introduced the term "Baltic Magdalenian" for generalizing all other North European Late Paleolithic culture groups that have a common origin in Aurignacian . Three periods can be distinguished. The crude flint blades of Early Swiderian are found in
21646-431: 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 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 in
21804-439: The search for bioactive molecules and compounds from marine sources that have new, unique properties and the potential for commercial applications. Amongst others, applications include medicines, food and feed, textiles, cosmetics and the process industry. The Norwegian government strategically supports the development of marine bioprospecting as it has the potential to contribute to new and sustainable wealth creation. Tromsø and
21962-424: The site of Lejja (Eze-Uzomaka 2009) and to 750 BC and at the site of Opi (Holl 2009). The site of Gbabiri (in the Central African Republic) has also yielded evidence of iron metallurgy, from a reduction furnace and blacksmith workshop; with earliest dates of 896–773 BC and 907–796 BC respectively. The ancient history of North Africa is inextricably linked to that of the Ancient Near East and Europe . This
22120-401: The so-called Post-Swiderian cultures of Western Russia. There, counterparts of the Sujala cores can also be found. The Sujala assemblage is currently considered unquestionably post-Swiderian and is dated by radiocarbon to 9265-8930 BP, corresponding to 8300-8200 calBC. Such an Early Mesolithic influence from Russia or the Baltic might imply an adjustment to previous thoughts on the colonization of
22278-434: The societies and kingdoms of the interior, such as those of the Zambezi basin and the Great Lakes , to the wider Indian Ocean trade . There is much debate around the chronology of the settlement of Madagascar , although most scholars agree that the island was further settled by Austronesian peoples from the 5th or 7th centuries AD who had proceeded through or around the Indian Ocean by outrigger boats , to also settle
22436-470: The states fluctuated and varied, with Mombasa , Pate , and Kilwa emerging as the strongest. This prosperity led some Arab and Persian merchants to settle and assimilate into the various societies, and from the 8th to the 14th century the region gradually Islamised due to the increased trading opportunities it brought, with some oral traditions having rulers of Arab or Persian descent . The Kilwa Chronicle , supposedly based on oral tradition , holds that
22594-519: The suppression of communal autonomy disrupted local customary practices and caused the irreversible transformation of Africa's socioeconomic systems . Colonies were maintained for the purpose of economic exploitation and extraction of natural resources . African history was initially written by outsiders ( Europeans and Arabs ), and in colonial times under the pretence of Western superiority supported by scientific racism . Oral sources were deprecated and dismissed by unfamiliar historians, giving them
22752-399: The throne, Gebre Meskel Lalibela was guided by Christ on a tour of Jerusalem , and instructed to build a second Jerusalem in Ethiopia. Accordingly this led to the commissioning of eleven rock-hewn churches outside the capital in Roha, which was renamed Lalibela in his honour, and quickly became a holy city in Ethiopian Christianity . According to oral traditions, Motolomi Sato of
22910-447: The triumph and defeat of nationalistic fervour, and continue to face challenges such as internal conflict, neocolonialism , and climate change . African historiography became organized at the academic level in the mid-20th century, and saw a movement towards utilising the oral sources in a multidisciplinary approach. This culminated in UNESCO publishing the General History of Africa from 1981, edited by specialists from across
23068-444: The turn of the 13th century. Later, the Christians capitalised on internal conflict within the Almohads in 1225 and conquered Iberia by 1228, with the Emirate of Granada assuming control in the south. Following this, the embattled Almohads faced invasions from an Almoravid remnant in the Balearics and gradually lost territory to the Marinids in modern-day Morocco , the Zayyanids in modern-day Algeria , both of Zenata , and
23226-403: The wars waged. The turn of the 6th century saw Aksum balanced against the Himyarite Kingdom in southwestern Arabia, as part of the wider Byzantine-Sassanian conflict . In 518, Aksum invaded Himyar against the persecution of the Christian community by Dhu Nuwas , the Jewish Himyarite king. Following the capture of Najran , the Aksumites implanted a puppet on the Himyarite throne, however
23384-477: The west from the 7th to 15th century, Arab tribes migrated into the Sudan , during which time the Beja Islamised and adopted Arab customs . In the 8th century, Beja nomads invaded Aksum 's northern territories and occupied the Eritrean Highlands , leading punitive raids into Aksum, with the Beja establishing various kingdoms . The Aksumite population migrated further inland into the Ethiopian Highlands , moving their capital from Aksum to Kubar , and later in
23542-407: The west, there was a new domestic threat to Almoravid rule; a religious movement headed by Ibn Tumart from the Masmuda tribal grouping, who was considered by his followers to be the true Mahdi . Initially fighting a guerilla war from the Atlas Mountains , they descended from the mountains in 1130 but were crushed in battle , with Ibn Tumart dying shortly after. The movement consolidated under
23700-433: The written word. Oral tradition often remained the preferred method of recordation in cases when a writing system was adapted or developed ; for example the oral recordation of the Kouroukan Fouga in the Mali Empire while having adapted the Arabic script to be used in scholarly pursuits . Many kingdoms and empires came and went in all regions of the continent . Most states were created through conquest or
23858-400: Was completed in 1933; the first full map was produced by Russian marine geologist Maria Klenova . The Barents Sea was the site of a notable World War II engagement which later became known as the Battle of the Barents Sea . Under the command of Oskar Kummetz , German warships sank minelayer HMS Bramble and destroyer HMS Achates but lost destroyer Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt . Also,
24016-501: Was conquered by the expansive Achaemenids , however later regained independence in 404 BC until 343 BC when it was re-annexed by the Achaemenid Empire . Persian rule in Egypt ended with the defeat of the Achaemenids by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, marking the beginning of Hellenistic rule by the Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. The Hellenistic rulers, seeking legitimacy from their Egyptian subjects, gradually Egyptianized and participated in Egyptian religious life . Following
24174-517: Was cultivating wheat and barley and raising sheep and cattle from Southwest Asia. A wet climatic phase in Africa turned the Ethiopian Highlands into a mountain forest. Omotic speakers domesticated enset around 6500–5500 BC. Around 7000 BC, the settlers of the Ethiopian highlands domesticated donkeys , and by 4000 BC domesticated donkeys had spread to Southwest Asia. Cushitic speakers, partially turning away from cattle herding, domesticated teff and finger millet between 5500 and 3500 BC. During
24332-477: Was eventually put down after decades of violence, resulting in between 300,000 and 2,500,000 dead. This gradual bubbling of disintegration of the caliphate boiled over when the Fatimid dynasty rose out of the Bavares tribal confederation and in 909 conquered the Aghlabids to gain control over all of Ifriqiya . Proclaiming Isma'ilism , they established a caliphate rivalling the Abbasids , who followed Sunni Islam . The nascent caliphate quickly conquered
24490-514: Was forced to give up their fleet, and the subsequent collapse of their empire would produce two further polities in the Maghreb; Numidia , a polity made up of two Numidian tribal federations until the Massylii conquered the Masaesyli , and assisted the Romans in the Second Punic War; Mauretania , a Mauri tribal kingdom , 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
24648-408: Was killed and the kingdom defeated. They completed their conquest of the rest of the Maghreb, with large swathes of Berbers embracing Islam, and the combined Arab and Berber armies would use this territory as a springboard into Iberia to expand the Muslim empire further. Large numbers of Berber and Coptic people willingly converted to Islam, and followers of Abrahamic religions (“ People of
24806-416: Was substantial in the usurpation of Mogadishu 's hegemony, while also conquering Pemba and Zanzibar . Kilwa 's administration consisted of representatives who ranged from governing their assigned cities to fulfilling the role of ambassador in the more powerful ones. Meanwhile the Pate Chronicle [ fr ] has Pate conquering Shanga , Faza , and prosperous Manda , and was at one time led by
24964-411: 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 , the Nok culture from 1500 BC in modern-day Nigeria , the Daima culture around Lake Chad from 550 BC, and Djenné-Djenno from 250 BC in modern-day Mali . Towards the end of the 3rd century AD,
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