The lost cities of Africa.
Edition: [1st ed.]
Publisher: Little, Brown
Published: 1959
Place of publication: Boston
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 366
Subjects: Africa, Sub-Saharan -- Civilization -- History
Description: Discusses Egypt, Kush, Meroe, kingdoms of the Old Sudan, Ghana, Mali, Timbuktu, Songhay, the Sao and Kanem, Carthage, Benin, Zanj, Kalambo, Sheba, coastal trade, Axum, Ethiopia, Engaruka, Zimbabwe, Mapungubwe, Inyanga and Niekerk, medieval Rhodesia, the Azanians, the Phoenicians, Djenne, El Masudi, Gao, the Iron Age, Kenya, Kilwa, Khartoum, Malindi, Mombasa, Monomotapa, Mozambique, Ophir, Punt, the Portuguese and the slave trade, Sofala, and more.
Notes: Includes bibliography.
London ed. (Gollancz) has title: Old Africa rediscovered.
Table of contents: title: The rediscovery of Africa -- The peopling of ancient Africa. The possibility of African history -- Lines of migration -- The desert barrier -- Giants and heroes -- The mystery of Meroë. Lords of the southern frontier -- Egypt, Libya, Kush -- Meroë -- The triumph of Kush -- An Athens in Africa -- Kingdoms of the old Sudan. Early West Africa : discoveries at Nok -- From Kush and Carthage -- The coming of iron -- “Business with the king of Timbuktu” -- Ghana -- Mali -- Songhay -- The Sao and Kanem -- In Darfur -- Eclipse and survival -- Between the Niger and the Congo. Beyond the savannah -- The great distortion -- Benin -- Unity in diversity -- To the southward. The southern Zanj -- Discoveries at Kalambo -- The foundations of southern civilization -- Traders of the Indian Ocean. Sheba’s cities -- Sailing down Africa -- The nature of the trade -- China and Africa -- Fair cities of stone. A forgotten civilization -- Arab or African? -- Steps to the interior -- After Axum. The greatness of Ethiopia -- Engaruka -- The old roads of Kenya -- Azanian history -- Who were the Azanians? -- The builders of the south. “An exceeding great country” -- Zimbabwe -- King Solomon’s mines? -- Verdict from the evidence -- Medieval Rhodesia -- The golden burials of mapungubwe -- In the old Transvaal -- Niekerk and Inyanga : forts and terraces -- The reality behind the ruins. Some points of comparison -- A period of greatness -- The bud and the flower -- What is now required -- Decline and fall. The fabric of society -- Barbarians at the gate -- The gate flung open -- History begins anew.