History of Africa with Zeinab Badawi (Full Episode)

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Published on April 11, 2020 by

Episode 1. Mother Africa
In this first episode, Zeinab Badawi travels across the continent examining the origins of humankind; how and why we evolved in Africa – Africa is the greatest exporter of all time: every human being originated in Africa.
Episode 2. Cattle, Crops and Iron
Zeinab Badawi continues her journey through the history of human development travelling to meet the Maasai of east Africa – one of the best known of the continent’s ethnic groups. They help explain how human beings began to domesticate animals and become pastoralists. Then in Zimbabwe with one lively farming family, Zeinab examines how humans also began to settle and make a living from farming. And she also looks at how the Iron Age transformed life in Africa and paved the way for the development of rich urban civilisations.
Episode 3. Gift of the Nile
Zeinab Badawi’s quest to uncover the history of Africa takes her to Egypt where she explores the most famous civilisation on the continent that of the ancient Egyptians.
Episode 4. Kingdom of Kush
n this episode Zeinab Badawi travels to the country of her birth and the very region of her forefathers and mothers: northern Sudan where she sheds light on this little-known aspect of ancient African history, the great Kingdom of Kush.
Zeinab Badawi travels to the rarely visited country of Eritrea and neighbouring Ethiopia to chart the rise of the kingdom of Aksum.
Episode 6. Kings and Emirs
In this episode Zeinab Badawi focuses on the fall of the kingdom of Aksum and how the Christian kings who followed in the wake of its demise left powerful legacies especially that of King Lalibela who ruled in the 12/13th century. He is credited with building a complex of rock hewn churches which represent amazing feats of engineering at that time.
Episode 7. North Africa
In this episode Zeinab Badawi’s exploration of Africans’ rich history focuses on North Africa. She goes to Morocco to find out about the original inhabitants of the region in particular the Berbers or Amazigh as they prefer to be called.
Episode 8. Ancestors, Spirits and God
In this episode Zeinab Badawi examines religion in Africa. First the enduring presence of Africa’s indigenous religions, to which millions of people on the continent still adhere.
Episode 9. Islam in Africa
In this episode Zeinab Badawi travels to several countries and looks at the early spread of Islam in Africa and how many Africans practise to this day a mystic, Sufi form of the religion.
Episode 10. Desert Empires
In this episode Zeinab Badawi visits rarely seen historic sites and magnificent ruins in Mali and Mauritania in west Africa. We hear from Africans about how trans-Saharan trade, mainly in gold, meant that by about the 7th century rich kingdoms became established in West Africa. These eventually gave rise to three of the greatest empires on the continent, including the Mali Empire which began in the 13th century. Under armed guard, Zeinab visits the fabled city of Timbuktu, which was overrun by extremists in 2012. Mali’s ruler Mansa Musa was reputedly the wealthiest individual to have ever lived. She brings a rich narrative of a period in Africa’s history when it was a significant player in the world economy, and influenced global thinking through great centres of learning.
Episode 11. City States and Civilisations
In this episode, we see how city states and kingdoms gave rise to rich and diverse civilisations, including some of the most iconic works of art on the continent: the Benin bronzes, dating back to the 13th century.
Episode 12. Coast and Conquest
In this episode Zeinab Badawi starts with a visit to some of the most sensational historic sites in Africa: the Swahili coastal settlements of Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique on Africa’s Indian Ocean coast.
Episode 13. Southern Kingdoms
In this episode, Zeinab Badawi travels to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia to find out about the powerful kingdoms of southern Africa and their rulers from 10th to 19th century, like the Mutapa kingdom that stretched across portions of eight modern-day southern African countries.
Episode 14. The Golden Stool
In this episode, Zeinab Badawi travels to Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire to find out about the Asante people and their kingdom. We examine the history, myths and legends of the Asante people. We attend the Akwasidae, a colourful festival where the King of the kings of the Asante – known as the Asantehene – has his gold regalia on full display as a way of projecting wealth and prestige. And we hear about the great Asante queen who led the resistance against the invading British and hid the Asante’s most valued and sacred possession: the Golden Stool. The Asante serve as an example of how despite decades of colonial rule, Africans maintained their traditions and continue to revel in and perpetuate their heritage and customs.
Episode 15. No Longer At Ease
In this episode, Zeinab Badawi provides an overview of how Africans lived before the arrival of Europeans. We see traditional religion in practice in Kenya, we meet a traditional medicine practitioner in Congo, and in Uganda, we witness traditional justice in action as community elders adjudicate in a matrimonial dispute.

Website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/africa

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