ca. 1600 BCE
Egypt is
liberated
from the Hyksos, nomadic Semites, who had founded a "Shepherd" dynasty
there. Horses are also introduced
into Egypt.
Influence
of early
Cretan civilization reaches the Greek Isles.
ca.
1526
The Queen
Hatshepsut, the first female Pharaoh, reigns in Egypt during the
XVIIIth
Dynasty, when Egypt has the first well-developed example of state
socialism.
ca.
1420
A new strain
of
African blood comes to the Royal Egyptian line through Queen Mutemua
(or
Mutemwiya), whose son, Amenhotep
III, built the great temple of Luxor and the colossi of Memnon.
ca.
1000
The
cattle-owning
people of Kenya develop a stone-bowl culture.
814
Carthage is
built
near present-day Tunis in North Africa.
790
The Ethiopians
rule
Egypt during the XXIInd Dynasty.
776
The Olympic
games
begin in Greece and do much to maintain that sense of a common Greek
life
(pan-Hellenism) which transcends the narrow politics of the city states.
751
The Ethiopian
King, Piankhi,
who began his career as King of Nubia,
ascends the throne of Egypt.
745
Tiglath-pileser
III conquers Babylonia and founds the new Assyrian Empire.
738
King Menahem
of
Israel buys off Tiglath-pileser III.
735
The Greeks
settle
in Sicily.
722
King Sargon II
arms
the Assyrians with iron weapons for the first time and in 721 carries
out
the deportation of the "Lost Ten Tribes of Israel" that was ordered by Tiglath-pileser
III.
716
The XXVth
Kushite
Dynasty begins when a vast army of Ethiopians led by Shabaka
conquers Egypt.
704
Sennacherib,
the
son of King Sargon II, leads his Assyrian army to the borders of Egypt.
In 701, Kush is relieved when a pestilence destroys this Assyrian army.
671
Esarhaddon,
Sennacherib's
son, takes Thebes in Upper Egypt, overthrowing Tarhaka,
the last ruler of the XXVth Ethiopian Dynasty. Babylonia is suzerain
over
the Nile for the first time. All the Ethiopian Pharaohs, from Piankhi
to
Tandamane, are buried in pyramids at their ancestral home in Napata.
670
Iron-smelting
begins
in Meroë. Iron is not used in Egypt until 650.
667
Sardanapalus
conquers
Lower Egypt.
664
Psammetichus I
restores
the freedom of Egypt and founds the XXVIth Dynasty. He is assisted
against
Assyria by Lydian troops sent by King Gyges.
660
Byzantium
(Constantinople
or Istanbul) is built.
610
Necho
II of Egypt tries to link the Nile and the Red Sea with a canal. In
608, he defeats Josiah, King of Judah, at the Battle of Megiddo.
606
Nineveh,
capital
of Assyria, is captured by the Chaldean Babylonians and the Medes,
establishing
the Chaldean Empire.
604
Necho II is
pushed
to the Euphrates and overthrown by Nebuchadnezzar II, who attacks Egypt
in 601.
593
The Temple of
the
Sun is constructed in Meroë.
586
Jerusalem
is destroyed, and the Jews are exiled in Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar;
many of them, including the Prophet Jeremiah, flee to Egypt and settle
there.
"And all
the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of
the House of the Lord, and the treasures of the king, and of his
princes;
all these he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the House of God and
brake
down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the goodly vessels thereof,
and
them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where
they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom
of
Persia" (II Chronicles, XXXVI, 18, 19, 20) in 539.
550
Cyrus II, the
Persian,
succeeds Cyaxares, the Mede, and deposes Croesus, King of Lydia.
Buddha
lives about this time. So also do Confucius and Lao Tse.
539
Cyrus II takes
Babylon,
founding the Persian Empire.
527
Peisistratus,
the
tyrant of Athens, dies.
Cambyses
of Persia leads an expedition against Ethiopia.
525
Cambyses,
Cyrus
II's successor, conquers Egypt and is proclaimed Pharaoh.
Aeschylus, the
Greek
Tragedian, is born.
521
Darius I, the
son
of Hystaspes, rules from the Hellespont (the Dardane]les) to the Indus.
He leads an expedition to Scythia, north of the Danube. Under his rule,
the canal from the Nile to the Red Sea, begun by Necho II in 610, is
completed.
495
Sophocles, the
Greek
dramatist, is born.
490
The Greeks and
Persians
battle at Marathon.
484
Herodotus, the
Greek
father of "history," is born.
480
The Persians
are
beaten at Thermopylae and Salamis by the Greeks.
Euripides, the
Greek
dramatist, is born.
479
The battles of
Plataea
and Mycale complete the repulse of Persia.
470
Hanno,
the Carthaginian, sails along the African coast from Ceuta, i.e.,
Spanish
Morocco, extending Carthaginian trade southward as far as present-day
Nigeria
and the Cameroon mountains.
465
Xerxes the
Great,
son of Darius I and King of Persia, is murdered; his son, Artaxerses I,
succeeds him.
438
Herodotus
recites his Histories in Athens.
431
The
Peloponnesian
War begins and lasts until 404.
429
Pericles, the
Athenian
statesman, dies. Herodotus dies in the same year.
427
Aristophanes,
Greek
poet of comedy, begins his career.
Plato, the
Greek
philosopher who studies in Egypt, is born; he lives until 347.
409
After building
a
fleet and recruiting mercenaries in 415, Carthage invades Sicily,
precipitating
a war that lasts 100 years.
401
The retreat of
the
"Ten Thousand Greeks" occurs after Cyrus the Younger's victory in
Babylonia.
 ca.
400
Hippocrates
begins
the development of medical sciences in Greece, some 21 centuries
after Imhotep,
an Egyptian architect, astrologer, sage and diety, distinguished
himself
a practicing physician. . . .
"Egypt gave
the
world some of the greatest personalities in the history of mankind. In
this regard, Imhotep is singularly outstanding. In the ancient history
of Egypt, no individual left a deeper impression than the commoner
Imhotep.
He was the world's first multi-genius. He was the real father of
medicine.
In his book, Evolution
of Modern Medicine (London, 1921, p.10), Sir William Osler
refers
to Imhotep as 'the first figure of a physician to stand out clearly
from
the mists of antiquity'" (John Henrik Clarke, "Africa: The Passing of
the
Golden Age," Tlle National Scene, IV:4, August-September,
1975).
390
Brennus,
leader
of the Gauls, sacks Rome.
366
Camillus
accepts
Plebian demands and builds the Temple of Concord.
359
Philip becomes
King
of Macedonia.
338
Alexander the
Great
is in command at the Battle of Chaeronea.
336
Macedonian
troops
cross into Asia. Philip, Alexander's father, is murdered.
334
At the Battle
of
the Granicus, Clitus the Black saves Alexander the Great's life.
332
Alexander
the Great conquers the Persian Empire which includes Egypt, ending
the XXXIst (Persian) Dynasty.
331
During the
Battle
of Arbela, Darius III's generals revolt against his weakness.
330
Darius III is
killed.
321
Chandragupta
conquers
the Magadha Kingdom in India.
The Romans are
completely
beaten by the Samnites at the Battle of the Caudine Forks.
303
Chandragupta
repulses
Seleucus, the first king of Syria.
ca.
300
Construction
of
the Great
Wall of China is begun. Started during the Ch'in dynasty, it is not
completed until 211 and winds across northern China for almost 1,864
miles,
from Kansu province to Hopeh province.
285
Ptolemy
Soter, founder of the dynasty of Greek kings of Egypt in 320, dies.
281
Pyrrhus, King
of
Epirus (a country in N.W. ancient Greece), invades Italy.
280
The Romans are
defeated
by Pyrrhus at Heraclea, an ancient city in Italy.
279
At the Battle
of
Ausculum, Pyrrhus defeats the Romans again.
278
The Gauls raid
Asia
Minor and settle in Galatia.
275
Pyrrhus leaves
Italy.
264
During the
first
Punic War the Carthaginian army is commanded by Hamilcar
Barkas, an African and father of Hannibal.
Asoka reigns
in
Behar in N.E. India until 227.
260
At the Battle
of
Mylae, near Messina, the Romans win their first naval victory against
the
Carthaginians.
256
During the
Battle
of Ecnomus more than 700 ships are engaged. After this naval victory,
the
Romans invade Africa by sea.
246
Shi-Hwang-ti
becomes
King of Ts'in, China.
ca. 243
An additional
year,
the so-called leap year, is included in the Egyptian calendar.
241
After the
Battle
of the Aegatian Isles, Carthage sues for peace, ending the First Punic
War.
225
At the Battle
of
Telamon some 40,000 Gauls are killed by the Romans. Roman armies enter
Illyria, on the Adriatic.
220
Shi-Hwang-ti
becomes
emperor of China; he dies in 210.
219
The Second
Punic
War begins.
218
Hannibal's
army crosses the Alps with elephants into Italy. He remains victorious
and unconquered in Italy for 15 years.
216
At the Battle
of
Cannae in Italy, Hannibal defeats the Romans.
202
Scipio
Africanus
defeats Hannibal in the Battle of Zama, which is close to Carthage.
200
The war
between
Rome and Macedonia lasts until 197.
192
The war with
the
Seleucid Dynasty in Syria breaks up Alexander's empire.
ca. 185
Publius
Terentius
Afer (i.e., the African), better known as Terence, author of comedies,
is sold as a slave.
149
The Yueh-Chi,
a
Chinese people, come into western Turkestan and later form the
Indo-Scythians.
146
Carthage and
Corinth
are destroyed in the Third Punic War.
133
Attalus III
bequeaths
Pergamum, a Greek city, to Rome, forming the Roman province of "Asia."
121
Gaius Grachus
is
killed.
118
The Romans war
with
Jugurtha, King of Numidia, until 106.
102
Marius, Roman
general,
drives back the Germans.
100
Wu-Ti,
the greatest of the Han monarchs in China, conquers the Tarim Valley.
89
All Italians
become
Roman citizens.
86
Marius, Roman
general
and consul, dies.
78
Sulla, the
Roman
dictator, dies.
73
Roman slaves
revolt
under the leadership of Spartacus, a Roman gladiator.
66
Pompey leads
his
Roman troops to the Caspian Sea and the Euphrates River. He encounters
the Alani in Russia.
Mithridates
the
Great, King of Pontus on the Black Sea, dies.
53
Crassus, Roman
statesman
and financier, is killed at Carrhae. Mongolians join with the Parthians
in Asia Minor.
51
Cleopatra,
daughter of Ptolemy II, becomes the Queen and last independent ruler of
Egypt.
48
Julius Ceasar
defeats
Pompey at Pharsalos; he is assassinated four years later.
31
The naval
battle
of Actium is decided when Cleopatra deserts with 31 ships in the midst
of battle.
27
Augustus
Caesar
princeps; he rules Rome until 14 AD.
23
The Roman
Petronius
defeats Candace,
Queen
of Meroë, and sacks Nepata. Meroë is renowned for its
female
rulers.
20
Natakamani
becomes
King of Meroë; Queen Amanitere is his co-ruler.
ca. 4
The true date
of
birth of Jesus the Christ according to H.G. Wells' Outline
of
History (1956).
1 CE
A fifth
century
monk, Dionysius the Little, records this date as the beginning of the
Christian
Era.
6
The province
of
Moesia (modern Serbia and Bulgaria) is established.
9
The Roman
province
of Pannonia is established. The Imperial Roman boundary is carried to
the
Danube.
14
Augustus
Caesar
dies; he is succeeded by Tiberius.
20
Evidence of iron-working
in Zambia is discovered.
37
Caligula
succeeds
Tiberius as Caesar.
41
Claudius I, a
madman,
the first emperor of the legions, is made emperor by the pretorian
guard
after the murder of Caligula.
54
Nero succeeds
Claudius.
61
Queen Boadicea
massacres
the Roman garrison in Britain.
64
Nero lets Rome
burn
and blames the Christians.
68
Nero commits
suicide.
Within one year Galba, Otho, Vitellus and Vespasian become Roman
emperors
in succession.
69
With Vespasian
becoming
emperor, the so-called Flavian Dynasty begins.
79
Titus succeeds
Vespasian.
84
Northern
Britain
is annexed by the Romans.
96
Nerva becomes
Roman
emperor, beginning the so-called Antoine Dynasty.
102
Pan Chau, a
Chinese
general, is encamped on the Caspian Sea.
117
Hadrian
succeeds
Emperor Trajan. The Roman Empire is at its greatest extent.
138
Antoninus Pius
succeeds
Hadrian.
150
About this
time
the Buddhist monarch, Kanishka, reigns in North India, to which reign
he
adds Kashgar, Yarkand, and Khotan.
161
Marcus
Aurelius
succeeds Antoninus Pius as emperor.
164
The great
plague
begins and lasts to the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180. This plague
also
devastates Asia.
189
The fifteenth
Roman
Catholic Pope is St.
Victor I, an African, who serves as Pope until his death in 197.
Among
his accomplishments are his reaffirming the holy feast of Easter to be
held on Sunday as Pope Pius I had done and the addition of acolytes to
the attendance of the clergy during the celebration of the Mass. He is
buried in the Vatican near the body of the Apostle Peter, the first
pope.
The second
known African Pope is St.
Miltiades who is Pope from 311 to 314. He is buried in Rome on the
famous Appian Way. St.
Gelasius I who served as Pope from 492 to 496 is the third African
Pope. He is also buried in the Basilica of St. Peter. There is
practically
no amazement at African Popes and fathers of the church during the
first
five centuries. First, because the matter of black and white has not
been
fanned to its later racist pitch. Second, strong African nations show
more
consideration for Christians and Christianity than other nations.
Ethiopia,
for instance, is a haven for Christians persecuted in other lands.
There
are records of bishops in Greece and other parts of the world seeking
asylum
for Christians in Ethiopia by way of intervention from the Bishop of
Alexandria
and Egypt. Men like St.
Augustine, the son of an African woman; Tertullian and Cyprian,
both
Carthaginians, are as black as Hannibal.
See also Fr. Martin de Porres Walsh, O.P., The Ancient Black
Christians
(ca. 1964).
193
L.
Septimius Severus, a Carthaginian, becomes emperor of Rome until
211.
For more
information on this African emperor and other Africans in classical
Rome
and Greece, see A. Birley, Septimius Severus: 7he African Emperor (1972);
Frank Snowden, "The Negro in Classical Italy," American Journal of
Philology, 1974, "The Negro in Ancient Greece," American
Anthropologist, 1948,
and "Iconographical Evidence on the Black Populations in Greco-Roman
Antiquity,"
in The Image of the Black in Western Art, Vol. I (1976);
Edward
Jones, Profiles in Afncan Heritage (1972).
220
The end of the
Han
dynasty and the beginning of four hundred years of division in China.
226
Ardashir I,
the
first Sassanid shah, puts an end to the Arsacid line in Persia.
242
Mani, the
founder
of Manichaeism,
begins his teachings. He preaches throughout Iran, India and China.
247
The Goths
cross
the Danube and raid the Roman Empire.
250
The
persecution
of Christians continues in Rome.
267
A black woman,
Queen
Zenobia, rules Palmyra, an ancient city in Syria, northeast of
Damascus,
until 272.
269
The Emperor
Claudius
II defeats the Goths at Nish.
270
Aurelian
becomes
emperor.
272
Queen Zenobia
is
carried as a captive to Rome, marking the end of the brief glories of
Palmyra.
275
Probus
succeeds
Aurelian.
276
The Goths are
in
Pontus. The Emperor Probus forces back the Franks and the Alemanni.
277
Mani is
crucified
in Persia.
284
Diocletian
becomes
emperor of Rome.
300
The
Empire of Ghana is formed in region of the Niger.
303
Diocletian
persecutes
the Christians.
306
Constantine
the
Great becomes emperor.
311
Galerius
abandons
the persecution of Christians.
314
Constantine
the
Great presides over a Christian Council at Arles.
321
Fresh Gothic
raids
are driven back.
323
Constantine
the
Great presides over the Council
of Nicaea, which he convenes to decide the controversy over the
relationship
of Christ to God. In 330, he destroys heathen temples.
337
The Vandals,
driven
by Goths, obtain leave to settle in Pannonia.
350
Constantine
the
Great is baptized on his death-bed.
Christianity
reaches
Ethiopia. According to St.
Augustine . . .
"'that which
is known as the Christian religion existed among the ancients, and
never
did not exist; from the beginning of the human race until the time when
Christ came in the flesh, at which time the true religion,
which already existed began to be called Christianity' (Retractt.
I,
xiii). . . . This astonishing declaration was made in the early
fourth
century of our era. It can be asserted with little chance of refutation
that if this affirmation of the pious Augustine had not sunk out of
sight,
but had been kept in open view through the period of Western history,
the
whole course of that history would have been vastly altered for the
better.
. . . It stands as hardly less than a point-blank repudiation of all
the
chief asserverations on which the structure of Christian tradition
rests.
Every child born to Christian parents in [twenty] centries has been
indoctrinated
with the unqualified belief that Christianity was completely new, and
the
first true religion in world history; that it was vouchsafed to
the world by God himself and brought to earth by the sole divine
emissary
ever commissioned to convey God's truth to mankind; that it flashed out
amid the lingering murks of Pagan darkness as the first ray of true
light
to illumine the pathway of evolution for the safe treading of human
feet.
All previous religion was the superstitious product of primitive
childishness
of mind. Christianity was the first piercing of the long night of black
heathenism by the benignant gift of God. . . . Augustine shatters this
illusion and this jealously preserved phantom of blind credulity. From
remotest antiquity, he asserts, there has always existed in the world
the
true religion. It illuminated the intellects of the most ancient Sages,
Prophets, Priests and Kings. It built the foundation for every national
religion, the tenets of which consisted of reformulations of its
ubiquitous
ageless principles of knowledge and wisdom. It went under a variety of
designations: Hermeticism
in ancient Egypt; Orphism
in Early Greece; Zoroastrianism
in Persia; Brahmanism
in India; Taoism
in China; Shintoism
in Japan and China. . . . even [African
traditional religions] fostered it. Mystery
cultism dramatized and ritualized it in many lands. Social usages,
all the round of annual festivals, chimney-corner tale and castle,
country-side
legend and folklore carried it down the stream of time. Always it
existed
among men; never was it not present in the world. Hardly ever
apprehended
at its real value, its representations badly misconceived, its import
warped
and travestied at every turn in popular practice, it yet existed and
came
down to Augustine's day" (Alvin Boyd Kuhn, Shadow of theThird
Century, Elizabeth, NJ: Academy Press, 1949, pp. 3-4). For more
inform-ation
on the Pagan origins of Christianity, see T.W. Doane, Bible Myths
and
Their Parallels in Other Religions (1970); Sir James G. Frazer, The
Golden Bough (1963); Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian
Creeds (1920); Godfrey Higgins, Anacalypsis. 2 Vols.
(1836); Gerald
Massey, Ancient Egypt, The Light of tlle World. 2 Vols.
(1907);
Albert Churchward, The Signs and Symbols of Primordial Man (1913);
and G.R.S. Mead, Did Jesus Live 100 BC? (1968)" (see John G.
Jackson, Christianity before Christ [1985]).
354
St. Augustine
is
born in Carthage, North Africa.
361
Julian the
Apostate
attempts to substitute Mithraism
for Christianity.
379
Theodosius the
Great,
a Spaniard, becomes Roman Emperor.
390
At Alexandria,
Egypt,
the statue of Serapis, son of Horus,
is destroyed.
392
Theodosius
the Great becomes emperor of the East and the West. When he dies in
395, Honorius
and Arcadius redivide the empire with Stilicho and Alaric as their
masters
and protectors.
410
The Visigoths
under Alaric capture Rome.
425
The Vandals
settle
in southern Spain. The Huns settle in Pannonia, the Goths in Dalmatia.
The Visigoths
and
Suevi settle in Portugal and northern Spain. The Engles, i.e. English,
invade Britain.
429
The Vandals
under
Genseric invade Africa.
439
Carthage is
overrun
by the Vandals.
448
Priscus visits
Attila
the Hun.
451
Attila raids
Gaul
and is defeated by the Franks, Alemanni, and Romans at Troyes.
453
Attila the Hun
dies.
455
The Vandals
sack
Rome.
470
The
Ephthalites
raid India.
476
Odoacer,
king of a medley of Teutonic tribes, informs Constantinople that there
is no emperor in the West, marking the end of the Western Empire.
480
St. Benedict,
Italian
founder of the Benedictine Order, is born.
481
Clovis is the
first
Merovingian to rule in France.
483
The Nestorian
Church
breaks away from the Orthodox Christian Church.
493
Theodoric
the Ostrogoth conquers Italy and becomes King of Italy, but is
nominally
subject to Constantinople. The Goths settle in a garrison of specially
confiscated lands.
527
Justinian
becomes
Roman emperor.
528
Mihiragula,
the
Ephthalite Attila of India, is overthrown.
529
Justinian
closes
the schools of Athens, which have flourished nearly a thousand years.
Belisariu,
Justinian's general, takes Naples.
531
Chosroes I
begins
his Sassanid reign.
543
A great plague
breaks
out in Constantinople.
544
St. Benedict
dies.
553
The Goths are
expelled
from Italy by Justinian. Cassiodorus founds his monastery.
565
Justinian
dies.
The Lombards conquer most of northern Italy, leaving Ravenna and Rome
to
Byzantium.
The Turks
break
up the Ephthalites in western Turkestan.
570
The
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is born.
(See the
"Chronology
of
Islamic Civilization" for an excellent timeline of Arabian history
from 4 AD — before the rise of Islam — to 1238.)
579
Chosroes I dies
The
Lombards are
dominant in Italy.
590
A plague rages
in
Rome.
Pope Gregory
the
Great (or Gregory I) sees the vision of St. Angelo.
Chosroes II
begins
his reign.
600
The
Songhay Empire is founded in Africa; the career of Antar, African
warrior-poet,
begins.
610
Heraclius,
Eastern
Roman Emperor, begins his reign.
619
Chosroes
II holds Egypt, Jerusalem and Damascus, and has armies on the
Hellespont.
622
The Prophet
Muhammad's
hegira, i.e. flight, to Medina occurs (pbuh).
623
At the Battle
of
Badr Muhammad comes away victorious.
627
Heraclius
soundly
defeats the Persians at Nineveh.
The Meccan
allies
besiege Medina and almost kill Muhammad, the Prophet.
Tai-Tsung
becomes emperor of China.
628
Kavadh II
murders
and succeeds his father, Chosroes II.
The Prophet
Muhammad
(pbuh) writes letters to all the rulers of the known world.
629
The Buddhist Yuan
Chwang (Sywan-Dzang) journeys to India.
The Prophet
Muhammad
(pbuh) returns to Mecca.
632
The Prophet
Muhammad
dies (pbuh); his brother-in-law, Omar, becomes the second caliph,
succeeding
Abu Bekr in 634.
635
Tai-Tsung
receives
Nestorian missionaries.
636
At the Battle
of
the Yarmuk, a tributary of the River Jordan, Khalid defeats Heraclius.
The Moslems
take
Syria.
638
Jerusalem
surrenders
to Omar.
644
Othman becomes
the
third caliph.
645
Yuan Chwang
returns
to Sian-Fu, China, after 16 years in India.
655
The Byzantine
fleet
is defeated by the Moslems.
656
Othman is
murdered
at Medina.
660
The
Phoenicians circumnavigate the continent of Africa.
661
Ali is
murdered. Muawija
becomes the first of the Omayyad caliphs.
668
Caliph Muawija
attacks
Constantinople by sea.
Theodore of
Tarsus
becomes Archbishop of Canterbury.
675
The last of
the
sea attacks by Muawija on Constantinople takes place.
687
Pepin of
Heristal,
Frankish mayor of the palace, reunites Austrasia and Neustria.
711
A Saracen army
invades
Spain from Africa. The Muslims remain there for more than 781 years.
716
Suleiman, son
and
successor of Walid, fails to take Constantinople. The Omayyad line
passes
its climax.
721
Charles
Martel,
Pepin's son, becomes mayor of the palace.
The domains of
the
Caliph Walid I extend from the Pyrenees, which separate France from
Spain,
to China.
722
The Copts
revolt
in Egypt after Caliph Yazid has all Christian images and pagan statues
destroyed. This revolt is repeated in 739.
732
The Saracens,
i.e.
Moors, are defeated by Charles Martel at Battle of Tours, France.
735
The Venerable
Bede,
an English monk and historian, dies.
743
Walid II, the
Unbelieving,
becomes caliph.
749
The Omayyads
are
overthrown. Abu-l-Abbas becomes the first Abbasid caliph. Spain remains
Omayyad. The Arab Empire begins to break up.
750
During this
year,
it is reported, the earliest building was constructed at Zimbabwe.
751
Pepin the
Short,
Charles Martel's son and the father of Charlemagne,
is crowned King of the Franks.
755
St. Boniface,
the
apostle of Germany, is martyred.
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his
first section of Your History Online covers several centuries divided
into
four parts: Part I: "Empires Rise and Fall," Part II:
"African Underdevelopment Begins," Part III:"The Contagion of Liberty,"
and Part IV: "Taking Giant Steps." We witness here the beginning of the
centuries- long, world-wide struggle of humanity to redeem itself in
the
face of great odds. This odyssey from ancient times in Africa, Asia and
Europe into the 19th century sets the stage for the future course of
human
events and relationships among men and women of various races, skin
colors
and cultures. In the process, it becomes clear that instability —
political,
economic and social — in the governance of the empires of Europe, Asia,
the so-called Middle East and Africa will plague generations to come,
for
imperialism, wars, assassinations, and unbridled oppression
characterize
the period. In Africa, for instance, European raids, first for commerce
and later for human chattel, pave the way for the rise of capitalism
and
the consequent disintegration and disruption of development on this
vast
continent. In the so-called "New World," Spanish, Portuguese, British,
Dutch, and French "discoveries" and subsequent colonial subjugation of
vast territories presage a frenzied rush to rape the Americas of their
gold, silver, and agricultural and human resources. Nevertheless, the
events
highlighted here make manifest how the "Contagion of Liberty"
progressed
from the fervor generated by the American and French revolutions to the
successful revolution of the Haitian people and in turn to the
liberation
struggles of Africans in America This period is also noted for the
refusal
of African and other black peoples to relinquish their innate dynamism
in religious, social, political, educational and creative endeavors.
Through
their struggle and, as if oblivious to their own disabilities, American
Africans reach out to their brothers and sisters for support and
succeed
in letters and in the arts, in commerce and in industry. This section
concludes
with black people joining with their white allies to become more
strident
and militant in voicing their demands. For the most part, however,
American
Africans and their counterparts elsewhere in the Americas and Africa
are
preparing, during the period 's waning years, to take their liberation
into their own hands.
