6 Important People in Ancient African History

St. Anthony

St. Anthony, called the Father of Monasticism, was born about A.D. 251 in Fayum, Egypt, and spent much of his adult life as a desert hermit (eremite)—fighting demons.

Dido

Dido was the legendary queen of Carthage (in northern Africa) who carved out a substantial niche along the southern Mediterranean coastline for her people—emigrants from Phoenicia—to live in, by outsmarting the local king. Later, she entertained the Trojan prince Aeneas who went on to become the pride of Rome, Italy, but not before he had created lasting enmity with the north African kingdom by abandoning the love-struck Dido.

Hanno

It may not show in their mapmaking, but the ancient Greeks had heard tales of the wonders and novelties of an Africa that lay far beyond Egypt and Nubia thanks to the travelogues of Hanno of Carthage. Hanno of Carthage (c. 5th century B.C.) left a bronze plaque in a temple to Baal as testimony to his voyage down the west coast of Africa to the land of the gorilla people.

Septimius Severus

Septimius Severus was born in ancient Africa, at Leptis Magna, on April 11, 145, and died in Britain, on February 4, 211, after reigning for 18 years as Emperor of Rome.

The Berlin tondo shows Septimius Severus, his wife Julia Domna and their son Caracalla. Septimius is noticeably darker skinned than his wife reflecting his African origins.

Firmus

Nubel was a powerful Northern African, a Roman military officer, and a Christian. Upon his death in the early 370s, one of his sons, Firmus, killed his half-brother, Zammac, illegitimate heir to Nubel's estate. Firmus feared for his safety at the hands of the Roman administrator who had long mismanaged Roman properties in Africa. He revolted leading to the ​Goldonic War.

Macrinus

Macrinus, from Algeria, ruled as Roman emperor in the first half of the third century.

St. Augustine

Augustine was an important figure in the history of Christianity. He wrote about topics like predestination and original sin. He was born on 13 November 354 at Tagaste, in North Africa, and died on 28 August 430, in Hippo, when the Arian Christian Vandals were besieging Hippo. The Vandals left Augustine's cathedral and library standing.