Posted: 6/14/10

This 28th Day in African Heritage
DINKENESH: ONE OF THE WORLD'S EARLIEST KNOWN ANCESTORS
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

The Remains of Our Early Female Ancestor, Dinkenesh

The female remains called Dinknesh represent one of our earliest known ancestors. The bones were found in Ethiopia in 1974. The name Dinknesh means "you are wonderful." To Europeans she is known simply as Lucy. The bones themselves were found by an Ethiopian scientist and are approximately 3.2 million years old. Except for periodic traveling exhibits at major museums around the world the remains are kept in a vault in Addis Ababa--Ethiopia's capital. Since the discovery of Dinknesh many older fossils have been found in Africa. None though, have achieved the fame and celebrity of Dinknesh--one of our earliest and most important Ancestors.

This 27th Day in African Heritage
THE QUEEN OF SHEBA: POWERFUL EARLY CHRISTIAN AND ETHIOPIAN RULER
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

The Queen of Sheba and King Solomon

In the tenth century B.C.E. we hear of the exploits of Makeda--semi-legendary African queen. This woman had the qualities of an exceptional monarch and appears to have ruled over a wealthy domain embracing both Africa and Asia. She is known as Bilqis in the Koran, Makeda in the Kebra Negast, and the Queen of Sheba in the Bible. The three of these documents provide a clear picture of a highly developed state distinguished by the pronounced overall status of women. And Makeda was not an isolated phenomenon. Either their deeds or inheritance, perhaps both, enabled such women to stand out quite singularly.

This 26th Day in African Heritage
KING TENKAMENIN: POWERFUL ANCIENT GHANAIAN RULER AND ADMINISTRATOR
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

Wooden Statue of an Ancient Ghanaian King

The West African kingdom of Ghana reached the peak of its prosperity in the reign of Tenkamenin (1037-1075 CE). With the development and consolidation of the gold trade from the Sahara and West Africa, Ghana became an empire and flourished. But Tenkamenin's greatest strength was in government. Each day he rode out on horseback to listen to the issues and anxieties of his people. He required that no one be denied an audience with him and that they be allowed to remain in his presence until satisfied that justice had been done. These principles of compassion and tolerance established King Tenkamenin's epoch as a superb standard of African rule.

This 25th Day in African Heritage
AHMED BABA: THE GREATEST SCHOLAR OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY WORLD
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

Painting of Ahmed Baba

Ahmed Baba has been described as the "greatest scholar of the sixteenth century world." After the collapse of the Songhai Empire, resulting from an Arab and European invasion in 1591, its scholars were arrested by the conquerors and dragged in chains across the Sahara to Morocco. One of these scholars was Ahmed Baba. The author of sixty books, he was known as "The Unique Pearl of his Time." In a Moroccan document from the period, he is described as "the imam, the erudite, the high-minded, eminent among scholars, Abu l-Abbas Ahmed Baba." Ahmed Baba was known to possess one of the most outstanding libraries at Timbuktu.

This 24th Day in African Heritage
ABUBAKARI II: SEA EXPLORER AND NINTH MANSA (KING) OF THE MALI EMPIRE
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

Image of Man Similar to Abubakari II

Abubakari II was the ninth mansa or king of the Mali Empire, but appears to have abandoned his throne in order to explore "the limits of the ocean." Essentially what is known of Abubakari II is from the writer Al-Umari during Kankan Musa I's historic hajj to Mecca. While in Egypt, Musa explained the way that he had inherited the throne after the abdication of the previous ruler, apparently Abubakari II. He explained that in 1310, Abubakari II ordered the construction of two-hundred ships of men and another two-hundred ships of supplies to explore the limits of the ocean that served as the Empire's western frontier. His expedition never returned to Mali.

This 23rd Day in African Heritage
KING TUTANKHAMEN: THE BOY KING WHO REINSTITUTED KEMET'S SPIRITUAL PRACTICES
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

The Golden Burial Mask of King Tutankhamen

Tutankhamen was a Kemetic pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty and ruled from about 1333 to 1323 BCE during the period of Kemetic history known as the New Kingdom. His original name, Tutankhaten, means "Living Image of Aten", while Tutankhamen means "Living Image of Amen." The 1922 discovery of Tutankhamen's intact tomb received worldwide press coverage. Exhibits of artifacts from his tomb have toured the world. In historical terms, Tutankhamen's significance also stems from his rejection of the radical religious innovations introduced by his predecessor Akhenaten. Secondly, his tomb in the Valley of the Kings was discovered almost completely intact-the most complete Kemetic royal tomb ever found.

This 22nd Day in African Heritage
KING KHAFRE: BUILDER OF THE SECOND MRKHUT (PYRAMID) ON THE GIZA PLATEAU ... AND ALSO THE SPHINX?
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

Statue of King Khafre

Khafre was a Kemetic monarch of the Fourth Dynasty of Kemet and reigned from about 2558 to 2532 BCE. Khafre built the second largest pyramid at Giza and is thought to have had Herumakhet (the Great Sphinx) carved in his own likeness. The name of his pyramid is "Khafre is Great" and remains distinct because of the limestone casing blocks at the top. Herumakhet is the most recognizable portrait statue from the ancient world. With the body of a lion and the head (many believe of Khafre), it is thought to represent man conquering his lower self. The face is believed to have been heavily damaged by Napoleon Bonaparte.

This 21st Day in African Heritage
KING TAHARQA: "THE AFRICAN'S LAST GREAT WALK IN THE SUN"
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

Shwabti of King Taharqa

Taharqa was a king of Kemet and Nubia/Kush during the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty. His reign was from 690 to 664 BCE. He was the son of the Kushite king Piye (Piankhi). Historians have identified him with the Biblical Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, who waged war against Sennacherib of Assyria and drove him from his intention of destroying Jerusalem, and deporting and enslaving its inhabitants. Taharqa was described by the ancient Greek historian Strabo as being counted among the greatest military tacticians of the ancient world. Taharqa was one of Africa's true shining stars. John Henrik Clarke said that Taharqa "gave us our last great walk in the sun."

This 20th Day in African Heritage
KING AKHENATEN: KEMET'S HERETICAL RULER AND ... FIRST MONOTHEIST?
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

Statue of King Akhenaten

Akhenaten, monarch of Kemet (Ancient Egypt) from about 1375 to 1358 BCE, is cited as the world's first monotheist-believer in one god. Actually, this is an ancient African concept that predates Akhenaten. He was the son of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye, and the older brother of Tuthankamen. Aknenaten is the first known man of non-violence. He established new concepts in art and literature, and built a new city known now as Tell el-Amarna. Early in his reign he married Nefertitti and with her shared one of the storied love affairs of ancient times. His tomb is well known, but his actual body has never been found.

This 19th Day in African Heritage
SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS: AFRICAN EMPEROR AT ROME
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

Bust of Septimius Severus

Septimius Severus was born in Leptis Magna on the North African coast on April 11 in either 145 or 146 C.E. In 193 C.E., he became emperor of Rome. Septimius spent much of his reign ruling the Roman Empire on the move. Around 199 C.E., Septimius journeyed to Egypt, becoming the first Roman emperor to visit for more than sixty years. In 203 C.E., Septimius had a mighty arch constructed in the imperial forum. Septimius is even said to have built a marble tomb for Hannibal Barca--early Rome's African nemesis. Indeed, because of his own African origins, Septimius has been referred to as "Hannibal's revenge." Septimius Severus died in 211 CE.

This 18th Day in African Heritage
ST. VICTOR: THE FIRST AFRICAN POPE
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

Statue of St. Victor
St. Peter's Basilica

St. Victor I became the first known African bishop of Rome in 189 C.E. and reigned until 199 C.E. He was the first pope to write in Latin and the first to have had dealings with the imperial household. He is described as "the most forceful of the 2nd-century popes." He is venerated as a martyr. Today, he is remembered, not only for his ruling that Easter should be celebrated on Sunday, but he has also been named in the canon of the Ambrosian Mass, and he is said by Saint Jerome to have been the first in Rome to celebrate the Holy Mysteries in Latin.

This 17th Day in African Heritage
PERPETUA AND FELICITY--AFRICAN MARTYRS AT ROME
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

Painting of Perpetua and Felicity

One of the most famous acts of Christian martyrdom in Rome occurred in the year 203 C.E. and centers around two brave young African women--Perpetua and Felicity-one of them a nursing mother. The account of their deaths, known as "The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity," was so inspiring in the early centuries that it was read during liturgies. Perpetua and Felicity were thrown roughly and brutally into the arena. Regardless of their own pain and suffering and still thinking of others, the two then stood side-by-side, dignity intact, heads raised high as all of the martyrs assembled in the arena had their throats cut.

This 16th Day in African Heritage
MANSA KANKAN MUSA: MIGHTY MONARCH OF THE MALI EMPIRE
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

Mansa Musa in Procession

A world figure, Mansa Kankan Musa (1312-1377) distinguished himself as man who did everything in a grandiose way. Very importantly, he managed his vast national resources of Mali to benefit the whole of Mali. He was a scholar and welcomed distinguished artists in an effort to raise the cultural awareness of his people. In 1324 he went on the hajj-the holy pilgrimage to Mecca. His caravan was composed of 72,000 people whom he led across the Sahara and back-a distance of 6,500 miles. So remarkable was this journey that it won international status for Mali as one of the world's greatest, largest and richest empires.

This 15th Day in African Heritage
IMHOTEP: MULTI-GENIUS AND WORLD'S FIRST SCIENTIST
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

Bronze Statue of Imhotep

Perhaps no person who was not a king distinguished so much and left a greater legacy than Imhotep. Writer, poet, designer of the world's first large stone builder, the planet's first known physician, prime minister and high priest, astronomer and astrologer Imhotep was truly a man for the ages. "Is there another like Imhotep?" It was a well-earned praise, this passage from a text written more than a thousand years after his death. By 600 B.C.E., Imhotep--architecture and chief minister of King Djoser around 2850 BCE--had become a demigod, and Greece and Rome saw in him their god of healing.

This 14th Day in African Heritage
KING ALFONSO I: KONGOLESE RULER AND PAN-AFRICAN UNIFIER
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

The King of the Kongo

Alfonso I (1506-1540) was a visionary and an African who saw his country not as an aggregate of separate peoples and separate cultures but as a unified nation-state. Alfonso I was a ruler who believed in powerful innovations and modernization. He equated progress with a combination of spiritual and physical development. Alfonso encouraged the Kongolese to adopt Christianity and encouraged innovations in masonry, carpentry, and agriculture. He streamlined Kongolese politics and established what could only be called a "modern school system." A proud African man, Alfonso became one of the most determined and most notable African leaders to resist the slave trade.

This 13th Day in African Heritage
KING RAMSES II: POWERFUL EMPIRE BUILDER
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

Colossal Statue of Ramses II

The sixty-seven year reign of Ramses II was for Kemet (Ancient Egypt) an era of prosperity. Ramses was deified during his lifetime and through the unrelenting projection of his own personality made the name Ramses, the Son of Amen-Re, synonymous with kingship for a century. Ramses was the towering figure of his age and established the models that others used to rule by. In regards to the ethnicity of Ramses, Cheikh Anta Diop noted that "Ramses II is black. Let's let him sleep in his black skin, for eternity." Ramses is also credited with having signed the world's first peace treaty. He was a man for the ages.

This 12th Day in African Heritage
TERENCE AFER: INFLUENCIAL COMEDIC PLAYWRIGHT
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

The distinguished writer Publius Terentius Afer (190-158 B.C.E.), was the African who penned such immortal sentences as, "I am a man, and reckon nothing human is alien to me" and "While there is life, there's hope." Terence was born in Carthage, North Africa and brought to Rome as an enslaved person by the Roman senator Terentius Lucanus, who provided him an education and finally freed him. The success of his first play, staged in 166 B.C.E., and his engaging manners, made him a favorite among Romans. In 158 B.C.E., Terence Afer departed on a journey to Greece and never returned to Rome. His works influenced Cervantes, Shakespeare, and Moliere.

This 11th Day in African Heritage
QUEEN TIYE: BELOVED KEMETIC QUEEN AND GRANDMOTHER OF KING TUTANKHAMEN
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

Queen Tiye was the beloved wife of Nebmare Amenhotep III, the mother of Akhenaten and the mother or grandmother of Tutankhamen. Tiye is one of the most interesting figures in history. Amenhotep and Tiye married while quite young and shared one of the great love affairs of the ages. That she was of great ability and powerful influence is proved by association with her husband in all of his ceremonial records. She was such an integral part of Kamite affairs that on more than one occasion foreign sovereigns appealed to her directly in matters of international significance. The surviving portraits of Tiye show her with distinct African features.

This 10th Day in African Heritage
AMENEMHET III: KEMETIC KING AND BUILDER
By Dr. Runoko Rashidi

The Hair Locked Amenemhet III

King Nymare Amenemhet III, perhaps the greatest ruler of the period in the history of Kemet (Ancient Egypt) known as the Middle Kingdom, reigned for forty-eight years about thirty-eight centuries ago.  The kings' physical features are clearly African.  There are many statues of him, especially in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo where he is portrayed as a priest with a "dreadlocks" type hairstyle. He is a great builder, having two massive pyramids erected.  Despite great power and wealth, however, Amenemhet III is not known as a warrior king and after his splendid reign Kemet began a period of gradual decline.