All Articles

Historical scholarship from Crowns Before Chains

The Archive

7 Articles

The African Popes of the Early Church

They held the highest seat in Christendom. And almost no one remembers them. A look at the North African pontiffs who shaped early Christianity.

ANCIENT KINGDOMS

The Kingdom of Kush and the 25th Dynasty: When African Kings Ruled Egypt

Before Egypt became a province, Nubian kings sat on the pharaonic throne. A story of conquest, culture, and a legacy written in stone.

FAITH & EMPIRE

Ethiopia's Imperial Church Before Colonialism

For 1,500 years the Ethiopian Orthodox Church crowned kings, composed scripture, and outlasted every empire that tried to erase it.

Scholars

The Moorish Scholars of Medieval Spain

African and Berber scholars preserved Aristotle, advanced medicine, and built the libraries that helped shape the Renaissance.

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Africa & Europe

When Renaissance Courts Looked to Africa

From diplomatic gifts to royal portraits, the early modern era was more connected than the textbooks suggest. More research coming soon.

In research →

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Resistance

Queen Nzinga and the Art of Diplomatic War

She outmaneuvered empires for decades. A new dispatch on Queen Nzinga's military genius and statecraft is in the works.

In research →

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ANCIENT EMPIRES

The Aksumite Empire: The African Superpower Rome Feared

Before the rise of European empires, Aksumite traders controlled the Red Sea and challenged Rome itself. Yet this African superpower barely appears in Western history books.

In research →