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Ancient Egypt is one of the world's earliest advanced societies, which flourished around 2500 BC, long before ancient Rome was even a tiny village of farmers and shepherds.
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In the 1500s BC, Egyptian troops conquered most of Nubia, including Kush. During this period, the Egyptians introduced many elements of their culture, such as clothing styles and pyramid building into Kush.
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By 750 BC the Kushites, tired of centuries of Egyptian rule, decided to turn the tables. After a fierce invasion and years of heavy fighting, the Kushite took over Egypt and made one of their rulers the new pharaoh.
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Herodotus, a famous Greek scholar and traveler, traveled to Egypt. In writing about his journey , he expressed amazement at the many achievements of the Egyptians, including their sophisticated and accurate calendars, systems of record keeping, and mathematics.
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By the year 100 Middle Eastern and Asian ships traded along the East African coast as for south as present-day Tanzania.
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From about 700 to 1000 Ghana was at the height of its power. The people of Ghana conquered several neighboring kingdoms, enslaved some captured peoples, and forced others to pay them tribute in exchange for their freedom.
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By the 1300s , the famed Moroccan scholar Ibn Battuta, who had already traveled to India and China, had praised the Swahili city of Kihwa.
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Mana Musa is known for the security that prevailed in Mali. An arab scholar of the day called him " the most powerful, the richest, the most feared by his enemies and the need to do good to those around him."
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In 1325 Mana Musa had conquered the Songhai people and their capital city of Gao. For about 50 years, Songhai was part of Mali. Then, Songhai cast out the Malians and won back its independence .
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In 1461, King Sunni Ali Ber came to power and began the expansion that would make Songhai a major empire. Sunni Ali, a brilliant strategist, was one of the first African kings to equip his army with horses.
