Big 1

 *Africa History: Africa’s history goes back way further and is way richer than most textbooks cover. Here’s the big picture: *1. Ancient Civilizations – 3000 BCE to 500 CE*   - *Egypt*: The pyramids, pharaohs, hieroglyphs – one of the world’s first major civilizations.   - *Nubia/Kush*: South of Egypt in modern Sudan. Ruled Egypt for a century, famous for iron-working and their own pyramids.   - *Axum*: Modern Ethiopia/Eritrea. Major trading empire, one of the first to adopt Christianity in the 4th century.   - *Carthage*: North Africa, founded by Phoenicians. Rivaled Rome until destroyed in 146 BCE. *2. Great Kingdoms & Empires – 500 CE to 1500 CE*   This is Africa’s “golden age” of trade and learning:   - *Ghana, Mali, Songhai*: West African empires built on gold + salt trade. Timbuktu in Mali had universities and libraries in the 1300s when much of Europe didn’t.   - *Great Zimbabwe*: Southern Africa, kno...