After preliminary investigation into the area of ancient Nubia, a striking contrast emerged. The Nubians has an unusually high number of ruling queens, especially during the golden age of the Meroitic Kingdom (1). Although ruling queens, in themselves, may not be unusual, the portrayal of Nubian queen is exceptional.

The land of Nubia is a desert divided by the river Nile. For want of water and rich soil, most of Nubia has never been able to support a large population for long periods. However, some of Africa's greatest civilizations emerged here, centers of achievement whose existence was based on industry and trade.

Ethiopia is old, even older than Egypt, but its antiquity is somewhat different. While Egypt was the world's first indisputable nation-state, unique in its complex politico-religious system augmented by magnificent material remains and a corpus of epic literature, in Ethiopia, the very cradle of mankind, the material evidence of its ancient civilisation alone attests to its former glory.

This site is based on what is considered more or less orthodox chronology, which of course means that there are other, 'deviant' chronologies. On the whole I prefer the plodding examination of facts however few and poorly understood to the flights of fancy of some of the alternative historians. Chances are it gets us a bit closer to the truth, which, unless time travel is invented, we will never know.

On this Web site, wander through the chambers and passageways of the Great Pyramid, and learn about the pharaohs for whom these monumental tombs were built. You can also follow the 1997 field season of a team of archaeologists as they excavated the bakery that fed the pyramid builders.

In a city that embodies remoteness, scholarship flourished alongside trade for centuries in the Middle Ages; an account of the history of this cultural and religious center.

An exception to most other ancient societies, Egyptian women achieved parity with Egyptian men. They enjoyed the same legal and economic rights, at least in theory, and this concept can be found in Egyptian art and contemporary manuscripts. The disparities between people's legal rights were based on differences in social class and not on gender. Legal and economic rights were afforded to both men and women.

Timbuktu Educational Foundation, Inc. (TEF) was founded for the sole purpose of preserving, restoring, and disseminating the important intellectual contributions of the early African scholars from the famous Timbuktu Universities of Mali, West Africa.