The Queen of Sheba, which is a phrase I had always heard but never had context about, is a person first referenced in the Hebrew bible. According to the Kebra Nagast, she was a queen of Abyssinia (today Ethiopia). According to legend, she had a child with King Solomon. When their child was older he went to Jerusalem to meet King Solomon and on the way back (Abyssinian?) priests had revealed they had stolen the Ark of the Covenant from the Temple. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church claims that they have the Ark under guard in a treasury in Axum.
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Source: The Fortunes of Africa, plus Wikipedia
I really recommend Martin Meredith. Specifically his books The Fortunes of Africa: A 5000-Year History of Wealth, Greed, and Endeavor and The Fate of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence .
If are intersted in South Africa's history, then also recommend Meredith's book Diamonds, Gold and War: The British, the Boers, and the Making of South Africa .
Toby Green's A Fistful of Shells: West Africa from the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution similarily takes the reader across West Africa's rich history, from the 15th century to the modern day. Also check out David Van Reybrouk's Congo: The Epic History of a People.
Alistair Horne's A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 is also great. It's a fantastic book that covers the Algerian war of independance, and the consequences of which both in Algeria and France. The book does a great job at covering such a horrific conflict.
Looking for books on African history? Here is my recommended reading list!
I really recommend anything by Martin Meredith. Specifically his books The Fortunes of Africa: A 5000-Year History of Wealth, Greed, and Endeavor and The Fate of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence . If you are interested in South Africa's history, then I also recommend Meredith's book Diamonds, Gold and War: The British, the Boers, and the Making of South Africa.
Toby Green's A Fistful of Shells: West Africa from the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution similarily takes the reader across West Africa's rich history, from the 15th century to the modern day. Also check out David Van Reybrouk's Congo: The Epic History of a People.
Alistair Horne's A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 is also great. It's a fantastic book that covers the Algerian war of independance, and the consequences of which both in Algeria and France. The book does a great job at covering such a horrific conflict.
I also strongly recommend that you check out David van Reybrouck's Congo: The Epic History of a People, Paul Kenyon's Dictatorland: The Men Who Stole Africa and Peter Godwin's The Fear: Robert Mugabe and the Martyrdom of Zimbabwe.