Dr. D. Elisabeth Glassco on Nostr: Long before Europe’s maps, Africa governed itself in plural. Nile states taxed ...

Long before Europe’s maps, Africa governed itself in plural. Nile states taxed grain and time. Nubia ruled Egypt. Ethiopia traded with Rome and India. Mali controlled gold routes; Timbuktu kept archives. Power moved through institutions, not absence.

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Image: al-Idrīsī's 1154 map of the northern part of the continent —rivered, city-dense, sophisticated trade routes---a connected space, not container. No modern nation-states. No colonial color blocks. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Al-Idrisi%27s_world_map_Rotated_180_degrees.JPG