History of Africa

Throughout the show, we've covered the lives of Ashanti kings, queens, bureaucrats, merchants, and religious elites. What about the Ashanti average working-class Kwadwo? This episo…

Osei Bonsu's rule has already seen the most significant Ashanti conquest in decades, but he's far from done. When the Fante and Akyem rise up in rebellion against Ashanti overlords…

In pursuit of rebellious nobles who gravely insulted his family and people, the asantehene Osei Bonsu invades the rival Fante Confederacy. After winning and unprecedented victory o…

With his place on the golden stool in a tenuous position, the young asantehene Osei Kwame secures his power through a series of purges of the Ashanti government. But, despite firml…

In the years following the death of the reformer king Osei Kwadwo, the Ashanti Empire once again regressed into a period of political instability. In 1777, two factions vied to pla…

Asantehene Osei Kwadwo attempts to reintegrate the lost Ashanti conquests of Wasa and Akyem. To do this, he must pry them away from their premiere ally - the Fante confederation. T…

The late 18th Century was a period of revolutions throughout the world, and the Ashanti Empire was no different. After the unpopular asantehene, Kusi Obodom, is impeached and remov…

The Ashanti's Akwamu allies, after decades of gradual decline and infighting, are conquered by emerging Dahomey Empire. Later, when the Ashanti catch the Dahomey supporting their e…

When the old Asantehene passes away, the regional governors and bureaucrats of the Ashanti Empire find that their tensions can no longer be contained to political meddling. The Ash…

With Osei Tutu killed in action, the Ashanti descend into an extended succession dispute. As chaos envelopes the Ashanti, their capital is sacked by a foreign invasion, leading to…

At the small village of Feyiase, the Ashanti and Denkyira armies would clash. The outcome changed the history of Ghana and the world. However, while Osei Tutu's leadership on the b…

After returning to his capital of Kumasi after years in exile, the new king of the Oyoko Tribe, Osei Tutu, begins constructing a new army to fight the inevitable war against his De…

On this episode, we look at the humble beginnings of what would eventually become the Ashanti empire, including the origins of its dominant tribal family, the beginnings of Ashanti…

During this episode, we will track the evolution of the town of Jukwaa from small trading post into the capital of the largest empire that southern Ghana had ever seen. We'll also…

Before the meteoric rise of the Ashanti Empire of southern Ghana could begin, first the region of Ghana had to be peopled. And, throughout the 10th to 14th centuries, the region wa…

This is just a short little episode that answers some viewer questions about Aksum, including questions about the Ge'ez language, the Aksumite-Roman relationship, and Ethiopian sai…

Gudit, the princess of a cadet branch of the Aksumite Royal family, was betrayed, tortured, and exiled from the city of Aksum. In exile, she plots a scheme to take her revenge. At…

After decades of restoring the Aksumite Empire to glory, Nigusa Nagast Degna Djan is dead, and his system will not last. However, what happened to his sons is mired in unreliable h…

Aksum's seemingly unending civilizational decline is finally reversed. The new Negus, Degna Djan, formulates a plan to reclaim the power of the autocratic kings of old and weaken t…

Throughout the 8th until the 10th centuries, Aksumite society changed immensely. Once a powerful, centralized empire, Aksum increasingly evolved into a decentralized, feudal state.…