Great Kingdoms of Africa - Hardcover

by John Parker (Author)

A groundbreaking, sweeping overview of the great kingdoms in African history and their legacies, written by world-leading experts.

This is the first book for nonspecialists to explore the great precolonial kingdoms of Africa that have been marginalized throughout history. Great Kingdoms of Africa decenters European colonialism and slavery as the major themes of African history and instead explores the kingdoms, dynasties, and city-states that have shaped cultures across the African continent.

This groundbreaking book offers an innovative and thought-provoking overview that takes us from ancient Egypt and Nubia to the Zulu Kingdom almost two thousand years later. Each chapter is written by a leading historian, interweaving political and social history and drawing on a rich array of sources, including oral histories and recent archaeological findings. Great Kingdoms of Africa is a timely and vital book for anyone who wants to expand their knowledge of Africa's rich history.

Author Biography

John Parker is Senior Lecturer in the History of Africa at SOAS, University of London, coauthor of African History: A Very Short Introduction, and coeditor of The Oxford Handbook of Modern African History.
Essays by David Wengrow, Rahmane Idrissa, Cécile Fromont, Olatunji Ojo, Habtamu Tegegne and Wendy Laura Belcher, Muhammadu Mustapha Gwadabe, and Wayne Dooling