Africa
From the desert oases of the north to the trade kingdoms of the south, meet the women of Africa a thousand years ago.
May 2018
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Sitt al-Mulk and Taqarrub
Cairo, Egypt Sister of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim with her most trusted spy. They led the resistance of the palace women against al-Hakim, and Sitt al-Mulk later ruled as regent for her nephew. During this time she supported more tolerant policies towards Jews and Christians than her brother had. |
January 2019
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Mwana Mkisi
Mombasa Island, Kenya Founder of Kongowea, a Swahili city-state on Mombasa Island. Her rule represents the pagan, pre-Islamic heritage of the islanders and challenges outdated narratives which claim that Bantu peoples couldn't urbanise without outside influence. |
January 2020
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Martha Mother of Kings
Faras, Sudan The powerful mother of the Makurian king looks approvingly at the Nativity mural she commissioned for the cathedral in Faras. The Virgin Mary's royal regalia links her role as the mother of God to Martha's own dynastic role during a time of political uncertainty. |
August 2020
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Dobira
Haylaan, Somaliland The daughter of the Dir clan chief looks on, bewildered, as an exiled Yemeni shiekh climbs up into a tree to avoid her suspicious brothers. She met him while watering her camels at his well and will later marry him, founding the Darod clan. |
April 2022
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The Royal Dancer of Gao
Gao, Mali A dancer leads an important ritual in the royal palace of Gao. Capital of the kingdom of Kawkaw, Gao dominated the early medieval trans-Saharan trade. Although its king was a Muslim, rituals like this one echoed pagan practices. |
January 2023
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The Initiate of Schroda
Schroda, South Africa A teenage girl practices ndayo exercises in the hot sun, observed by an older girl who's been assigned as her instructor. They are both members of a girls' initiation school, passing on and shaping important traditions at a time of great change in the Shashe-Limpopo river valley. |
June 2023
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Sibā' bint Isaac
Cairo, Egypt A dyer stirs the dye bath in her indigo workshop. Like many Jewish women in medieval Fustat, she worked hard in the textile industry for little pay. Although she would have at least one child, her marriage would end in an acrimonious divorce. |
January 2024
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The Merchant Wives of Tadmekka
Essouk, Mali Three Tuareg noblewomen peruse the market outside the trade city of Tadmekka. Male medieval writers depict the women of Tadmekka as eager to commit adultery with foreign merchants, but the reality must have been much more complex. |