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Africans were already present on the European mainland by the time Herodotus —the so called father of history— wrote his monumental work, The Histories.
Among the groups of foreigners present in the Assyrian capital of Nimrud in 732 BC, was a community of horse experts from the kingdom of Kush led by an official who supplied horses to the armies of Tiglath-Pileser III.
Less than six years following their victory over the armies of Queen Cleopatra in Egypt in 31 BC, the Romans marched their forces south to conquer the kingdom of Kush, which was also ruled by a Queen, known to her subjects as Amanirenas and to the Romans as the ‘Candace’.
Journal of African cities: chapter 16.
When the German adventurer Gerhard Rohlfs visited the city of Ibadan in 1867, he described it as “one of the greatest cities of the interior of Africa” with “endlessly long and wide streets made up of trading stalls.” However, unlike many of the West African cities he had encountered which were centuries old, Ibadan was only about as old as the 36-year-old explorer, yet it quickly surpassed its peers to be counted among the largest cities on the continent by the end of the century.
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Fireside this week! I am still a bit behind after attending the annual meeting of the Society for Military History – conferences always leave me a bit tired and slow to get back to writing, even as they also stimulate my thinking – so the conclusion of our look at Rings of Power must wait … Continue reading Fireside Friday, April 4, 2025 →
Prada, Alfa Romeo, Pellegrino, Ferrari, Illy, Lamborghini, Gucci: these are a few Italian corporations we all know, though we don’t necessarily know that they’re all from the north of Italy. The same is true, in fact, of most Italian brands that now enjoy global recognition, and according to the analysis presented in the RealLifeLore video […]
A nice treat today as Caroline goes to the Moon! This was a popular French fictional series but I had not been able to find the one about the Moon trip until recently. The illustrations are beautiful and full color. Well worth examining each one for its details. Pierre Probst (1913-2007 ) introduced Caroline and her feisty animal friends to the French public in 1952, and added to the series for a decade. He created Caroline, based on his tomboyish daughter Simone. The illustrations are charming, full color, and with wonderful two-page spreads with great comic details. Caroline' is about seven years old, and has blonde hair with pigtails. She lives by herself among a band of friends - the dogs Bobby and Rusty, the cats Puff and Inky, the bear Bruno, a lion and a panther. Pierre Probst's greatest gift was for showing the human emotions on the faces of Caroline's animal friends, and his real daughter Simone can remember her father drawing from a mirror as he himself performed the grimaces and guffaws that he wanted to convey. Enjoy the adventure. (Sorry that some of the spreads get edges cut off.) Probst, Pierre. Caroline Sur La Lune (Caroline on the Moon). Paris: Grands Albums Hachette. (30 p.) 1965. I like Caroline's and her animal friends' faces as they undergo extra "G's" A really nice detailed illustration of approaching the Moon. I enjoy "fighting off" the meteors with tennis rackets.
German artist Evelyn Bracklow’s porcelain cups, saucers, teapots and dinner service is covered in ants. On some she’s painted a piece of food and then had her hand-painted black ants congregate around it. The effect is fascinating stuff and unsettling. We know that ants exist in abundance, but we don’t want to encounter one on … Continue reading "Painted Ants Scurry Over Vintage Porcelain by Evelyn Bracklow" The post Painted Ants Scurry Over Vintage Porcelain by Evelyn Bracklow appeared first on Flashbak.
