| -800 |
|
Phoenicians establish colony at Carthage, North Africa |
| -500 |
|
Iron Age Nok culture thriving in Nigeria |
| -200 |
|
Axum Kingdom established in Ethiopia |
| 50 |
|
Aksum line of Ethiopian kings start rule |
| 100 |
|
Bantu people of West Africa start to spread south and east |
| 400 |
|
Ghana controls important African gold trade |
| 1000 |
|
Zimbabwe culture influencial in East Africa |
| 1050 |
|
Islamic Berber dynasties established in Sahel |
| 1230 |
|
Ghanaian Empire replaced by Mali, centred around Timbuktu |
| 1325 |
|
Zenith of Mandingo Empire in Mali |
| 1340 |
|
Songhai Empire replaces Mali rule |
| 1483 |
|
Portuguese travellers discover Congo River |
| 1493 |
|
Songhai Empire reaches height of power under Sonni Ali |
| 1516 |
|
Algiers taken by pirate Barbarossa for Holy Roman Empire |
| 1571 |
|
Bornu Empire in Central Sudan at its zenith under Idris III |
| 1592 |
|
Moorish conquest of African Songhai Empire |
| 1652 |
|
Dutch establish first colony in South Africa |
