AFRICAN WORLD EXPLORATORY UNIVERSITY - A HISTORIC TIMELINE
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 3.5
mil BC – 6000 BC |
5900
BC – 2000 BC |
1900
BC – 9AD |
10
AD – 1049 AD |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 1050
AD – 1699 AD |
1700
AD – 1899 AD |
1900
AD – 1969 AD |
1970
AD – 1995 AD |
10 AD – 1049 AD
40
AD: The Arawak people have their way in dug-out canoes down the
length of the Orinoco river and have settled in the island that they call
Iguana (San Salvador). They are spreading out to many of the West Indian
islands, including what the islands that will be later named Jamaica and
Cuba.
260 AD: Axum is growing into a powerful kingdom under the rule
of Kind Aphilas. Frankincense and myrrh are exported through the Red Sea
to the Mediterranean, and Aphilias issues his own coinage. Magnificent
obelisks and a royal palace are in the process of construction.
318 AD: Arius, the priest of Alexandria, puts forward
his doctrine which denies the consubstantiality of the Son with eh Father
and, therefore, Christ’s fully divine nature.
350 AD: In Ethiopia, Ezana, the first Christian king
of Ethiopia, defeats Kush making his capital Axum, the commercial crossroads
of north-east Africa and capital of the most powerful independent African
state. The city is an architectural wonder of towers, palaces and obelisks.
Dominating it is the vast newly-built Cathedral of St. Mary, the seat
of Frumentius, the bishop of Ethiopia, who brought Christianity to the
country 23 years prior.
610 AD: Mohammed, a preacher of the Quraysh tribe of
the Bedouin, begins to preach in Mecca, a prosperous oasis town and center
of pilgrimage. He calls for an end to the demons and idols of Arab religion
and conversion to the ways of one god, Allah.
619 AD: The Persians complete their conquest of Egypt.
651 AD: Nubia is again invaded by Arab Muslims.
678 AD: Arab armies commanded by Uqba ibn Nafi sweep
across North Africa to the Atlantic.
696 AD: The first Muslim dinar is minted. Adb al-Malik
imposes Arabic as the official language in the Umayyad empire. The Koran
is re-edited with vocalic symbols.
720 AD: Caliph Umar II realized the increasingly precarious
position of Arab elite dominating such a vast and heterogeneous empire.
He advocated the conversion to Islam of all populations in western Asia
to provide a broad Islamic, rather than purely Arab, foundation to the
empire. This move undermined the dynasty’s financial base –
taxation of non-Muslims – and encouraged dissent.
990 AD: The kingdom of Ghana (Mali and Mauritania),
under Soninke rulers, conquers Awdaghost, the trading gateway to Saharan
slat and gold trade routes.