Top 10 Oldest Countries in Africa are picked according to the records of African history basically to help us know that Africa is not just a creation of some western whims but a large community that had been even before the European explorers ever realized there was any of such place prosperously occupied by black-skinned princes and princesses.
Top 10 Oldest Countries in Africa.
Below are the top 10 oldest countries in Africa which are proud of ancient heritage that still catches the eyes of cultures around the world:
1. ETHIOPIA
Ethiopia is Africa’s oldest independent country and its second largest in terms of population. Apart from a five-year occupation by Mussolini’s Italy, it has never been colonized.
It has a unique cultural heritage, being the home of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church – one of the oldest Christian denominations – and a monarchy that ended only in the coup of 1974.
It served as a symbol of African independence throughout the continent’s colonial period, and was a founder member of the United Nations and the African base for many international organizations.
2. EGYPT
Egypt has one of the longest histories of any country, tracing its heritage along the Nile Delta back to the 6th–4th millennia BCE. Considered a cradle of civilization, Ancient Egypt saw some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanization, organized religion and central government. Iconic monuments such as the Giza Necropolis and its Great Sphinx, as well the ruins of Memphis, Thebes, Karnak, and the Valley of the Kings, reflect this legacy and remain a significant focus of scientific and popular interest.
Egypt’s long and rich cultural heritage is an integral part of its national identity, which reflects its unique transcontinental location being simultaneously Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and North African. Egypt was an early and important center of Christianity, but was largely Islamized in the seventh century and remains a predominantly Muslim country, albeit with a significant Christian minority.
Modern Egypt dates back to 1922, when it gained independence from the British Empire as a monarchy.
3. LIBERIA
This country is also one of the Top 10 Oldest Countries in Africa. Bordered by Sierra Leone, Liberia was the first African republic to proclaim its independence and is Africa’s first and oldest modern republic. It was among the few countries to maintain its sovereignty during the Scramble for Africa.
During World War II, Liberia supported the United States war effort against Germany, and in turn received considerable American investment in infrastructure, which aided the country’s wealth and development.
President William Tubman encouraged economic and political changes that heightened the country’s prosperity and international profile; Liberia was a founding member of the League of Nations, United Nations, and the Organization of African Unity.
4. MALI
The Empire of Mali was founded in 1235. This large medieval Muslim empire enjoyed a lengthy golden age, and is primarily famous for the impressive Medieval city of Timbuktu and the famed wealth and generosity of Emperor Mansa Musa.
Mali is therefore one of the Top 10 oldest countries in Africa and also known as the city of one of World’s richest men.
5. SUDAN
Sudan’s history goes back to the Pharaonic period, witnessing the Kingdom of Kerma (c. 2500–1500 BC), the subsequent rule of the Egyptian New Kingdom (c. 1500 BC–1070 BC) and the rise of the Kingdom of Kush (c. 785 BC–350 AD), which would in turn control Egypt itself for nearly a century. After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed the three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia, with the latter two lasting until around 1500.
Between the 14th and 15th centuries, most of Sudan was settled by Arab nomads. This therefore makes Sudan an Islamic.
6. ERITREA
Buya in Eritrea, one of the oldest hominids representing a possible link between Homo erectus and an archaic Homo sapiens was found by Italian scientists. Dated to 1 million years old, it is the oldest skeletal find of its kind and provides a link between hominids and the earliest anatomically modern humans.
It is believed that the section of the Danakil Depression in Eritrea was also a major player in terms of human evolution, and may contain other traces of evolution from Homo erectus hominids to anatomically modern humans.
Eritrea is undoubtedly one of the top 10 oldest countries in Africa.
7. SOUTH AFRICA (ZULU EMPIRE)
Zulu Empire, or the Kingdom of Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north.
Led by the fearsome warrior king, Shaka, the Zulus exploded onto the scene in in 1816, striking fear into their neighbours (black and white alike). With a capital, centralised monarchy and political structures, it took on the form of an early modern state. The Zulu Empire had a good run for about a century until the might of the Victorian-age British Empire brought it down.
While South Africa is today a democratic republic, and KwaZulu-Natal Province is South African, the Zulu royal family does continue to enjoy legal status in their traditional homeland. The Zulu history today makes South Africa one of the Top 10 Oldest Countries in Africa.
8. NIGERIA
The history of Nigeria can be traced to settlers trading across the middle East and Africa as early as 1100 BC. Numerous ancient African civilizations settled in the region that is known today as Nigeria, such as the Kingdom of Nri, the Benin Empire, Kano and the Oyo Empire.
Islam reached Nigeria through the Bornu Empire between (1068 AD) and Hausa States around (1385 AD) during the 11th century, while Christianity came to Nigeria in the 15th century through Augustinian and Capuchin monks from Portugal. The Songhai Empire also occupied part of the region.
From the 15th century, European slave traders arrived in the region to purchase enslaved Africans as part of the Atlantic slave trade, which started in the region of modern-day Nigeria; the first Nigerian port used by European slave traders was Badagry, a coastal harbor. Local merchants provided them with slaves, escalating conflicts among the ethnic groups in the region and disrupting older trade patterns through the Trans-Saharan route.
The other two are:
