Ages 9–12
Young Griots
Learning to carry the story forward.
A griot is a West African storyteller and keeper of history. This tier gives kids the fuller story — names, places, dates — so they can start retelling it themselves.
Heroes
Yaa Asantewaa
Queen Mother who led the War of the Golden Stool
When the men of the Ashanti Empire hesitated to fight British colonizers, the Queen Mother of Ejisu picked up a rifle herself and led them into war.
Read the story →Mansa Musa
Emperor of Mali whose wealth reshaped world maps
The tenth mansa of the Mali Empire is remembered as one of the richest individuals in recorded history, and his 1324 pilgrimage to Mecca made the world take notice of West Africa.
Read the story →Sundiata Keita
The Lion Prince who founded the Mali Empire
Exiled as a sickly child and mocked by rivals, Sundiata Keita returned to unite the Mandinka kingdoms and found the empire that would make Mansa Musa's wealth possible.
Read the story →Amina of Zazzau
Warrior queen who expanded the Hausa city-state of Zazzau
Trained in warfare from a young age, Amina became queen of Zazzau and spent much of her reign leading military campaigns that expanded her territory and its trade routes.
Read the story →Hatshepsut
The pharaoh who ruled Egypt as king
Rather than rule only as a regent for her stepson, Hatshepsut took the full title and regalia of pharaoh, presiding over one of the most prosperous periods of the New Kingdom.
Read the story →Menelik II
Emperor who defeated a European army at Adwa
Menelik II united Ethiopian forces to hand Italy a decisive defeat at the 1896 Battle of Adwa, preserving Ethiopian independence during the height of the European colonial 'Scramble for Africa.'
Read the story →Shaka kaSenzangakhona
Founder of the Zulu Kingdom
Shaka transformed a small Zulu chiefdom into a powerful centralized kingdom through sweeping military reforms, reshaping the political map of southern Africa.
Read the story →Proverbs
“Se wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi.”
“However long the night, the dawn will break.”
“It takes a village to raise a child.”
“A bird that flies off the earth and lands on an anthill is still on the ground.”
“Rain beats a leopard's skin, but it does not wash out the spots.”
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
“Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu.”
“When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.”
History
The Mali Empire's Golden Age
Founded by Sundiata Keita and expanded under rulers like Mansa Musa, the Mali Empire became one of the largest and wealthiest empires in world history, built on gold, salt, and Saharan trade.
Explore →Trans-Saharan Trade and Timbuktu's Age of Learning
Timbuktu grew from a seasonal trading camp into one of the medieval world's great centers of Islamic scholarship, home to hundreds of thousands of manuscripts on law, astronomy, and medicine.
Explore →The Kingdom of Aksum
A major trading power connecting Africa, Arabia, and the Mediterranean, Aksum minted its own currency, raised towering stone stelae, and became one of the first states in the world to adopt Christianity.
Explore →Great Zimbabwe
The stone capital of a powerful Shona trading kingdom, Great Zimbabwe's massive dry-stone walls — built without mortar — stand today as one of Sub-Saharan Africa's most significant archaeological sites.
Explore →The Kingdom of Kush and the Nubian Pyramids
South of Egypt along the Nile, the Kingdom of Kush built more pyramids than Egypt itself and, in the 25th dynasty, its kings ruled as pharaohs over Egypt.
Explore →The Kingdom of Benin and Its Bronze Casters
A powerful West African kingdom famed for its walled capital and the extraordinary bronze and brass plaques its artisans cast to record centuries of royal history.
Explore →The Battle of Adwa
Ethiopian forces under Emperor Menelik II inflicted a decisive defeat on the invading Italian army, preserving Ethiopian sovereignty at the height of Europe's colonial expansion into Africa.
Explore →The Zulu Kingdom's Rise
Under Shaka's leadership, a small chiefdom transformed into a centralized military kingdom that reshaped the political landscape of southern Africa within little more than a decade.
Explore →