A. S. Balezin. African Historians and UNESCO's "General History of Africa": Yesterday and Today, the "General History of Africa", published under the auspices of UNESCO in the 1980-1990s, was the first fundamental collective work of African scholars (written, however, in collaboration with white

6. TERRA INCOGNITA: THE HISTORY OF THE ENVIRONMENT - THE HISTORY OF THE MYSTERIOUS OR THE HISTORY OF THE BANAL? It must be admitted that there is a great deal in the history of the environment that we do not know or only vaguely recognize. It sometimes seems that the ecological history of Antiquity or the non-European world before modern times consists in

The development of African countries was very diverse. Its north was part of the Arab Caliphate, south of the Sahara, under the influence of Islam and trade with the Arabs, large states arose. Ethiopia has gone through a different historical path.

Nature itself divided Africa into two unequal parts. In the northern part, adjacent to the Mediterranean and Red Seas, centers of civilization arose from ancient times. Ancient Egypt, Phoenician and Greek colonies, Ancient Rome, the kingdom of the Vandals, Byzantium succeeded each other here. In the 7th century Arabs captured the entire coast of North Africa to the Atlantic. They called the lands to the west of Egypt the Maghreb, that is, the western lands. Huge cities flourished there, such as Fez and Tangier, outstanding monuments of Muslim architecture were created. From the Maghreb to the south, through the Sahara desert, caravan routes led to Tropical Africa. The Arabs called it Bilad as-Sudan (Country of Blacks) or simply Sudan. Numerous Negro peoples lived there.

Most of Africa is occupied by deserts, savannas, rainforests. Being in different natural conditions, the peoples of Africa developed in different ways. Rainforest dwellers such as stunted pygmies engaged in hunting and gathering. And to the north and south of them, in the savannas, lived farmers and cattle-waters.

At the turn of our era, many peoples of Tropical Africa learned how to produce iron. Iron tools made it possible to obtain higher yields and contributed to the development of handicrafts.

Western Sudan

Arabs from the Maghreb traded with Western Sudan - lands between the Sahara and the Gulf of Guinea, rich in gold. In addition to gold, they also traded in salt, cattle, and ivory. The cities of Timbuktu, Djenne and others grew along the trade routes.

The most ancient state of Western Sudan was Ghana, so rich in gold that even the title of its ruler meant "master of gold." This allowed the rulers to maintain a lush courtyard and army. The heyday of Ghana dates back to the 10th-11th centuries, then it weakened in the 13th century. was captured by the neighboring state of Mali. The power of Mali in the XIII - the first half of the XIV century. was also based on trading in gold. The gold coins that were in use in the Mediterranean at that time were minted primarily from the gold of Mali.

Duties from merchants enriched the local rulers; their power increased. They lived in palaces, surrounded by courtiers, officials and warriors. Their power was considered sacred, and they themselves were mediators between their people and the gods. When Islam began to penetrate into Western Sudan, it was the first to be accepted by the rulers, their entourage, residents of large cities. With Islam, Arab culture also penetrated here, mosques and madrasahs were built. And ordinary farmers and pastoralists retained pagan beliefs for a long time. Religious differences exacerbated property inequality.

The ruler of Mali was especially famous for his wealth Musa(1312-1337), a former zealous Muslim. His hajj to Mecca is perhaps the most expensive journey in history. For travel expenses, a camel caravan carried one hundred bales of gold, weighing 12 tons. The East for a long time remembered the wealth of the rulers of Mali, and Mali's ties with the countries of Islam were strengthened. material from the site

Christian Ethiopia

Ethiopia is located in northeast Africa. The Aksumite kingdom that existed here already in the 4th century BC. converted to Christianity and managed to defend it in the fight against Islam. Later it broke up into separate principalities, but in the XIII century. in Ethiopia, a strong state was revived. Its rulers traced their family back to the biblical Solomon. In Europe they were called emperors.

With the spread of Christianity in Ethiopia, churches and monasteries were built. Chronicles were compiled in the monasteries, works of ancient and medieval authors were translated. In the XII-XIII centuries. the flowering of Ethiopian art began. In the capital of Ethiopia, Lalibe-le, churches were usually not built, but were carved from stone and decorated on the outside with carvings, and inside with frescoes and icons.

In search of allies against the Muslims Ethiopia in the XV-XVI centuries. negotiated with Western countries, although Ethiopian Christianity was closer to Orthodoxy than to Catholicism. Her delegation participated in the work of the Ferrara-Florence Cathedral. In Europe, she was also seen as an ally against the Muslims.

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• The history of the peoples of Africa goes back to ancient times. In the 60-80s. 20th century on the territory of South and East Africa, scientists found the remains of human ancestors - Australopithecus monkeys, which allowed them to suggest that Africa could be the ancestral home of mankind (see Formation of mankind). In the north of the continent, about 4 thousand years ago, one of the most ancient civilizations arose - the ancient Egyptian, which left numerous archaeological and written monuments (see Ancient East). One of the most populated regions of Ancient Africa was the Sahara with abundant vegetation and a diverse wildlife.

  Starting from the III century. BC e. there was an active process of migration of Negroid tribes to the south of the continent, associated with the advance of the desert to the Sahara. In the 8th century BC e. - IV century. n. e. in the northeast of Africa, there were the states of Kush and Meroe, connected in many respects with the culture of Ancient Egypt. Ancient Greek geographers and historians called Africa Libya. The name "Africa" ​​appeared at the end of the 4th century. BC e. at the Romans. After the fall of Carthage, the Romans founded the province of Africa on the territory adjacent to Carthage, then this name spread to the entire continent.

  North Africa met the early Middle Ages under the rule of barbarians (Berbers, Goths, Vandals). In 533-534. it was conquered by the Byzantines (see Byzantium). In the 7th century they were replaced by the Arabs, which led to the Arabization of the population, the spread of Islam, the formation of new state and social relations, and the creation of new cultural values.

  In antiquity and the early Middle Ages in West Africa, three large states arose, replacing each other. Their formation is associated with the expansion of intercity trade in the Niger River basin, pastoral agriculture, and the widespread use of iron. Written sources about the first of them - the state of Ghana - appear in the 8th century. with the arrival of the Arabs in Africa south of the Sahara, and oral traditions date back to the 4th century BC. Its heyday belongs to the VIII-XI centuries. Arab travelers called Ghana the country of gold: it was the largest supplier of gold to the Maghreb countries. Here, crossing the Sahara, caravan routes passed to the north and south. By its nature, it was an early class state, whose rulers controlled the transit trade in gold and salt and imposed a high duty on it. In 1076, the capital of Ghana, the city of Kumbi-Sale, was captured by newcomers from Morocco - the Almoravids, who initiated the spread of Islam. In 1240, the Malinke king from the state of Mali, Sundiata, subjugated Ghana.

  In the XIV century. (the time of its highest prosperity) the vast state of Mali stretched from the Sahara to the edge of the forest in the south of Western Sudan and from the Atlantic Ocean to the city of Gao; its ethnic basis was the Malinke people. The cities of Timbuktu, Djenne, and Gao became important centers of Muslim culture. Within Malian society, early feudal forms of exploitation spread. The well-being of the state was based on income from caravan trade, agriculture along the banks of the Niger, and cattle breeding in the savannah strip. Mali has been repeatedly invaded by nomads and neighboring peoples; dynastic strife led to its demise.

  The state of Songhai (the capital of Gao), which came to the fore in this part of Africa after the fall of Mali, continued the development of the civilization of Western Sudan. Its main population was the Songhai people, who still live along the banks of the middle reaches of the Niger River. By the 2nd half of the 16th century. an early feudal society developed in Songai; at the end of the 16th century. he was captured by the Moroccans.

  In the area of ​​Lake Chad in the early Middle Ages, the states of Kanem and Bornu (IX-XVIII centuries) existed.

  The normal development of the states of Western Sudan was put to an end by the European slave trade (see Slavery, Slave trade).

  Meroe and Aksum are the most significant states of Northeast Africa between the 4th century BC. BC e. and VI century. n. e. The kingdoms of Kush (Napata) and Meroe were located on the territory of the north of modern Sudan, the state of Aksum - on the Ethiopian highlands. Kush and Meroe represented a late phase of ancient Oriental society. Few archaeological sites have survived to this day. In the temples and on the steles near Napata, several inscriptions in the Egyptian language have been preserved, which allow us to judge the political life of the state. The tombs of the rulers of Napata and Meroe were built in the form of pyramids, although they were much smaller than those of Egypt (see Seven Wonders of the World). The transfer of the capital from Napata to Meroe (Meroe was located about 160 km north of modern Khartoum) was apparently associated with the need to reduce the danger from the invasions of the Egyptians and Persians. Meroe was an important center of trade between Egypt, the states of the Red Sea coast and Ethiopia. An iron ore processing center arose near Meroe, iron from Meroe was exported to many African countries.

  The heyday of Meroe covers the III century. BC e. - I century. n. e. Slavery here, just as in Egypt, was not the main thing in the system of exploitation, the main hardships were borne by the village community members - plowmen and pastoralists. The community paid taxes and supplied labor for the construction of pyramids and irrigation systems. The civilization of Meroe is still insufficiently explored - we still know little about the daily life of the state, its relations with the outside world.

  The state religion followed the Egyptian models: Amun, Isis, Osiris - the gods of the Egyptians - were also the gods of the Meroiites, but along with this, purely Meroitic cults also arise. The Meroiites had their own written language, the alphabet contained 23 letters, and although its study began as early as 1910, the Meroe language still remains difficult to access, making it impossible to decipher the surviving written monuments. In the middle of the IV century. King Ezana of Aksum inflicted a decisive defeat on the Meroitic state.

  Aksum is the forerunner of the Ethiopian state, its history shows the beginning of the struggle waged by the peoples of the Ethiopian highlands to preserve their independence, religion and culture in a hostile environment. The emergence of the Aksumite kingdom dates back to the end of the 1st century BC. BC e., and its heyday - to the IV-VI centuries. In the IV century. Christianity became the state religion; monasteries arose throughout the country, exerting great economic and political influence. The population of Aksum led a settled way of life, being engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. Wheat was the most important crop. Irrigation and terraced agriculture developed successfully.

  Aksum was an important trade center connecting Africa with the Arabian Peninsula, where in 517-572. he belonged to South Yemen, but the powerful Persian power ousted Aksum from the south of Arabia. In the IV century. Aksum established ties with Byzantium, controlled the caravan routes from Adulis along the Atbara River to the middle reaches of the Nile. The Aksumite civilization brought cultural monuments to our days - the remains of palaces, epigraphic monuments, steles, the largest of which reached a height of 23 m.

  In the 7th century n. e., with the beginning of the Arab conquests in Asia and Africa, Aksum lost its power. Period from the 8th to the 13th century. characterized by deep isolation of the Christian state, and only in 1270 begins its new rise. At this time, Aksum loses its importance as the political center of the country, it becomes the city of Gondar (to the north of Lake Tana). Simultaneously with the strengthening of the central government, the role of the Christian church also increased, the monasteries concentrated large land holdings in their hands. Slave labor began to be widely used in the country's economy; corvée and in-kind deliveries are being developed.

  The rise also affected the cultural life of the country. Such monuments are being created as chronicles of the life of kings, church history; the works of Copts (Egyptians professing Christianity) on the history of Christianity, world history are translated. One of the outstanding Ethiopian emperors - Zera-Yaikob (1434-1468) is known as the author of works on theology and ethics. He advocated strengthening ties with the Pope, and in 1439 the Ethiopian delegation took part in the Florentine Cathedral. In the XV century. The embassy of the king of Portugal visited Ethiopia. The Portuguese at the beginning of the 16th century assisted the Ethiopians in the fight against the Muslim Sultan of Adal, hoping then to penetrate the country and capture it, but failed.

  In the XVI century. the decline of the medieval Ethiopian state began, torn apart by feudal contradictions, subjected to raids by nomads. A serious obstacle to the successful development of Ethiopia was its isolation from the centers of trade relations on the Red Sea. The process of centralization of the Ethiopian state began only in the 19th century.

  On the east coast of Africa, the trading city-states of Kilwa, Mombasa, and Mogadishu grew up in the Middle Ages. They had extensive ties with the states of the Arabian Peninsula, Asia Minor and India. The Swahili civilization arose here, absorbing African and Arab culture. Starting from the X century. Arabs played an increasing role in the ties of the east coast of Africa with a large number of Muslim states in the Middle East and South Asia. The appearance of the Portuguese at the end of the XV century. disrupted the traditional ties of the eastern coast of Africa: a period of long-term struggle of the African peoples against the European conquerors began. The history of the interior regions of this region of Africa is not well known due to the lack of historical sources. Arabic sources of the 10th century. It was reported that between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers there was a large state with a large number of gold mines. The civilization of Zimbabwe (its heyday dates back to the beginning of the 15th century) is best known during the period of the Monomotapa state; Numerous public and religious buildings have survived to this day, testifying to the high level of building culture. The collapse of the Monomotapa empire came at the end of the 17th century. due to the expansion of the Portuguese slave trade.

  In the Middle Ages (XII-XVII centuries), in the south of West Africa, there was a developed culture of the Yoruba city-states - Ife, Oyo, Benin, etc. Crafts, agriculture, and trade reached a high level of development in them. In the XVI-XVIII centuries. these states took part in the European slave trade, which led them to decline at the end of the 18th century.

  A large state of the Gold Coast was the confederation of Amanti states. This is the most developed feudal formation in West Africa in the 17th-18th centuries.

  In the Congo River basin in the XIII-XVI centuries. there were early class states of the Congo, Lunda, Luba, Bushongo, etc. However, with the advent in the 16th century. the Portuguese, their development was also interrupted. There are practically no historical documents about the early period of development of these states.

  Madagascar in the 1st-10th centuries developed in isolation from the mainland. The Malagasy who inhabited it were formed as a result of a mixture of newcomers from Southeast Asia and Negroid peoples; the population of the island consisted of several ethnic groups - gelding, sokalava, betsimisarak. In the Middle Ages, the kingdom of Imerina arose in the mountains of Madagascar.

  The development of medieval Tropical Africa, due to natural and demographic conditions, and also because of its relative isolation, lagged behind North Africa.

  The penetration of Europeans at the end of the XV century. was the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade, which, like the Arab slave trade on the east coast, delayed the development of the peoples of Tropical Africa, caused them irreparable moral and material damage. On the threshold of a new era, Tropical Africa turned out to be defenseless against the colonial conquests of Europeans.

  The development of civilizations in the Middle Ages was uneven. Some of the civilizations pulled ahead, then stopped in their development, they were overtaken by others, including new ones. The process of development of civilizations can be observed most clearly in the sphere of culture. It suffices to compare a few examples taken from the history of civilizations. So, in China, collapsible type for printing was invented in the 11th century, in Western Europe - only in the middle of the 15th century, the Arabs used firearms about two centuries earlier than the Europeans. Already at the beginning of the XV century. the Chinese equip sea expeditions of tens of ships and thousands of people to distant lands and reach the eastern coast of Africa, but these expeditions soon cease, and those geographical discoveries that we call great (for they marked the beginning of the merger of the destinies of the peoples of different continents), some time later make Western Europeans, although their fleets often numbered only three to five ships.
  Each of the civilizations of the Middle Ages contributed to the world treasury of culture. Thanks to this, we can admire the subtle lyricism of the Japanese tanka poems, the frescoes of the Buddhist temples of Ajanta, the Chinese Dragon Beauty Pagoda or the Arab Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem, think about the meaning of life, reading the works of the great Li Bo, Omar Khayyam, Ibn Sina images of people and gods by African sculptors.
  Science, inventions, discoveries. One of the most important inventions of mankind in the Middle Ages was printing. The leadership in this discovery belonged to the Chinese civilization. Already in the VIII century. at the court of the emperor, a newspaper began to appear, which was printed by laying sheets of paper on wooden boards with text cut out on them. This is how books were printed. A similar method of printing in Europe appeared only at the end of the XIV century. In the XI century. in China, collapsible type was invented, which made typography more productive. In neighboring Korea, typesetting began to be printed no later than the first half of the 13th century. This method of printing was known in medieval Japan.
  Books were also printed in other Asian countries. Even in the state of nomads - the Jurchens, which existed in the north of China in the early 12th - early 13th centuries, there were state, university and many private printing houses, where books were published in Jurchen and Chinese.
  The success of book publishing in these countries was closely connected with the growth of paper production, the secret of which was known to the Chinese in antiquity.
  Much earlier than the Europeans, the Chinese invented gunpowder and the compass. Some scientists believe that these discoveries were made in antiquity, in any case, gunpowder and compass were widely known in medieval China. Firearms were invented by the Arabs in the 12th century. It was a modfa - a metal trunk attached to a wooden stick, which rested on the ground. A bipod was placed under the barrel, gunpowder was poured into it and a round stone or metal projectile was placed, then gunpowder was ignited through the hole in the barrel and the modfa fired.
  In Europe, the Arabs were also credited with the invention of numbers, which they called "Arabic" there. In fact, it was an invention of the Indians, made in the early Middle Ages, while the Arabs acted only as intermediaries between India and Europe.
  Much earlier than Copernicus, the great Central Asian astronomer Biruni in the 11th century. proved that the earth revolves around the sun. A huge contribution to the development of geography and cartography was made by Arab, Chinese navigators and scientists. Around 1420, an Arab navigator, whose name is unknown, rounded the southern tip of Africa - the Cape of Good Hope (the Arabs called him "Looking at two waters"). The Arabs sailed from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic. The first European to circumnavigate this cape was the Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias in 1488.
  Ibn Majid was an outstanding Arab navigator and scientist. In two of his treatises, he described the coast of the Indian Ocean, its islands, sea routes. It was Ibn Majid who, in 1498, brought three ships of the Portuguese Vasco da Gama as a pilot from one of the ports of North Africa to the Indian city of Calicut.
  Until the first third of the XV century. Chinese fleets appeared off the east coast of Frika.
  Mathematics reached a high level for that time in a number of non-European civilizations. Although the Arabs did not invent "Arabic" numerals, they laid the foundation for algebra. An outstanding mathematician was the Iranian poet and philosopher Omar Khayyam. The first work that brought him fame was a youthful work on algebra. The Maya Indians on another continent created their own system of counting - twenty, and not decimal, which was invented by the Indians.
  In the early Middle Ages, there were no equal Indian physicians who knew how to perform complex operations even on the skull. At the same time, an encyclopedia of medicinal herbs was compiled in India. The Chinese Taoists, in their unsuccessful attempts to find man's paths to immortality, invented cures for many diseases. The work of Ibn Sina, a native of Bukhara, written at the beginning of the 11th century, was an unsurpassed medical encyclopedia for many centuries, and doctors in many countries, including Europe, were guided by it.

  Literature. As far back as the Middle Ages, poets and writers of Asian civilizations created many works that even today cannot but arouse admiration and are rightly considered masterpieces of literature. Already in the 8th century we have the right to call the "golden age" of Chinese poetry. At that time, such outstanding poets as Wang Wei, Li Bo, Du Fu worked. The fate of each of them was not easy. If Wang Wei, being engaged in his work, simultaneously served as an official and still did not escape disgrace, then Li Bo and Du Fu preferred to live away from society, to wander, although both of them did not escape imprisonment. Wang Wei was gifted with a multifaceted talent. He was not only a brilliant poet, but also an artist. The main motive of his work is the nature of China, which he depicted surprisingly subtly both in verse and in his landscapes painted in monochrome ink. Li Bo, Dufu, in addition to the beauty of their native nature, in their works sang the work of ordinary people, condemned the troubles that wars brought to people.
  Japan in the 8th century was compiled a collection of poetry Myriad petals ", which contained more than four and a half thousand poems and songs written in C and 500 authors who lived in the IV - VIII centuries. Almost chT verses are written in the form of a tank (five lines, consisting of 31 syllables). The authors of these verses are not concerned about rhyme, but about conveying their feelings (especially when describing this or that corner of nature), so that the reader can perceive their mood and feelings.
  Many great poets and writers in the Middle Ages were given by Iran and Central Asia - Rudaki, Ferdowsi, Omar Khayyam, Saadi. Rudaki wrote a huge number of poems. He sang about love, human reason, condemned injustice, inequality of people. Ferdowsi in his poem "Shahnameh" ("The Book of Kings") highlighted the history of Iran in the pre-Islamic period. The work on this epic work required the poet to study a large number of historical works, myths, legends and legends of the Iranians. Despite the name of the poem, most of it is dedicated not to the kings, but to the heroes of Iranian legends.
  “The most learned man of the century”, “the king of philosophers of East and West” - this was the name of the great poet, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer Omar Khayyam during his lifetime. His poems sang the joys of human life, the freedom of a person from the prescriptions of the Sharia, from the whims of the rulers.
  “If you do not grieve for the suffering of others, you are not worthy to be called a man,” said Saadi, an Iranian poet who lived in the 13th century. He highly valued intelligence and knowledge. Many of his wise sayings have become winged.
  Architecture and fine arts. In all medieval civilizations, the most impressive and beautiful were the buildings of temples, as well as the palace of rulers and nobility. The architectural appearance of the temple buildings reflected the influence of a particular religion, the tradition of local architecture.
  Mosques were the most beautiful in the countries of the Islamic world. From above they were decorated with round domes. Inside the mosque there is a hall with many openwork columns, a special niche, facing which believers pray (this niche indicates in which direction Mecca is located). There are no sculptures or paintings in the mosque, the only decoration on the walls is an ornament of intertwined lines on the themes of the plant world (arabesques). Minarets were built near the mosques - high towers, from where ministers called on Muslims to perform the obligatory prayer. Some minarets were true masterpieces of architecture, such as the 70-meter Qutub Mi-nar in Delhi.
  Unlike Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu temples were generously decorated with sculptures and frescoes depicting gods, people, and animals. Until now, the frescoes of Indian temples in Ajanta amaze with their beauty and accuracy of the artistic transfer of the human body. The premises of these temples were carved into the rock, which required the colossal work of Indian craftsmen over the centuries.
  Buddhist sculptors created a huge number of images of the Buddha. Sometimes these sculptures exceeded 20 m in height. One of the famous Buddha statues was installed in the Golden Temple in Japan. Many Hindu temples in India are richly decorated with sculptures not only inside, but also on the outer walls, where various scenes from the life of the gods were often presented. The main form of the Buddhist temple at first was the "stupa" - a huge hemisphere, symbolizing the Universe, then the temples began to look like huge towers. Hindu temples were built according to Buddhist models, and these were often truly cyclopean structures, where multi-ton stone slabs served as ceilings.
  Real masterpieces of painting were left to us by Chinese and Japanese medieval artists. Their landscapes are especially striking, where the view of one or another corner of nature, the breath of the wind, the movement of birds and animals are accurately and volumetrically conveyed. Often landscapes were depicted on silk. From the 10th century in China there was a capital Academy of painting. Famous artists, in addition to paintings, also created treatises, a kind of textbooks on painting.
  Grandiose buildings were created by the Indians of the civilizations of America. They usually built temples to their gods on the tops of giant pyramids. Jewelry art reached a high level.
  Western Europeans, who discovered in the XV century. Tropical Africa, could not at first believe that the beautiful figurines of people made of baked clay or bronze, masks, buildings built of heavy stone slabs, were created by the Africans themselves. They even assured that it was the work of some aliens from other continents, but these were only the fruits of the imagination and lies of those Europeans who saw only potential slaves in the black inhabitants of Africa.
  The culture of each of the civilizations of Asia, Africa, America was distinguished by its originality. Together with European culture, they constituted the variety of artistic achievements and values ​​that we call world culture.