Aida Kane

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Among historians such as Al-Umari and Joseph Ki-Zerbo, the consensus is that the Mali Empire was the largest and most influential African empire of the XIII century. Some five thousand miles from this powerful empire, another African superpower was in its infancy - the Kingdom of Zimbabwe. As the Kingdom was building its reputation throughout southern Africa, its capital city, Great Zimbabwe, erected imposing buildings. The remains of these buildings have been preserved with the beauty of the city.

When the Roman governor of Egypt, Gaius Petronius, was notified that Kushite troops had raided the Nile islands of Philae and Elephantine, he knew that he must take drastic measures to regain control of the Egyptian islands. Kush had been a thorn in Egypt’s side throughout the first century BC. Knowing their capabilities, Gaius Petronius mobilized 10,000 infantry and 800 cavalry to regain the Southern frontier that Augustus had established between Kush and Egypt.