History That's More Than 2-Dimensional.

Collection: Africans

Amanirenas (c.60 BCE - c.10 BCE)

The One-Eyed Queen Who Fought Rome Tooth and Nail

When Rome set its eyes on her country, this one-eyed queen fought them tooth and nail, until they left her alone.

Nitocris (22nd century BCE pseudohistory)

The 6th Dynasty's Worst Banquet Host

When her brother was killed, this pharaoh took her time cooking up revenge.

Taytu Betul (c.1851-1918)

The Bad Cop Empress of Ethiopia

This stubborn empress led her native Ethiopia to do the unthinkable - defeat one of the major European powers in war.

The Shaman Who Hurled Hippos

When a firebreathing shapeshifting hippo menaced her people, this shaman faced it down in a magic battle - and then hurled it into space.

Mekatilili wa Menza (c.1860-c.1925)

The widow who beat the British through ecstatic dance

When colonial powers went too far, she rebelled in the most stylish way possible: dancing from town to town. It was surprisingly effective.

Sarraounia (late 1800s - early 1900s)

The Sorceress Queen of the Azna

The "panther queen" of the Azna defeated some of the greatest villains of French colonial history through wits, cunning -- and possibly magic.

Dragon-slaying South African Princess

When her deadbeat brothers demanded the impossible, this South African princess carried through, and slayed a dragon.

Ranavalona I (1778-1861)

The Female Caligula

This brutal sovereign's reign saw her outlaw clapping, pioneer death by feet-kissing, and design giant weaponized scissors - but are we only getting one side of the story...?

Gudit (920s?-980s?)

Princess of Beta Israel

This Jewish-Ethiopian warrior queen took the throne, ended a millennium-old biblical dynasty, and caused a break in Ethiopia's history that has not healed to this day - or did she...?

Nzinga Mbande (1583-1663)

Mother of Angola

When the Portuguese took the throne from her, this Angolan queen made a new one: out of her own servant. She then fled to the jungle, conquered a tribe of cannibals, and waged war on the Portuguese for so long that they gave up and left.