Keita Dynasty

The opening paragraphs from the epic poem, Sundiata, are supposed to be read and taken very seriously as this gives the speaker authority. Throughout Sundiata the griot’s purpose is how important history is and why we should always value it. One of the lines that showed this principle was, “I teach kings the history of their ancestors so that the lives of the ancients might serve them as an example, for the world is old, but the future springs from the past” (page 1). This line demonstrates that…

Sundiata, an epic of Old Mali written by D.T Naine is a uniquely expressed cultural story of an African kingdom of Mali. It is the story of those women of a Muslim culture, who were living extremely unfair lives even though they possess very limited power and authority. Women were bound to live under male’s rule and were used just for men’s self purpose. During the time of old Mali, women’s were entirely subservient to men because roles of women were very much unequal to men, were given very…

could either build or destroy an empire; in which Egypt experienced both. Egypt tremendously influenced the Chinese way of leadership in relation to the rise and fall type of dynasty. In early Egypt the rule was hereditary until the dynasty collapsed and a new dynasty came into power. Typically the first ruler of the dynasty had higher qualities of virtue, leadership, and good since of control and diplomacy. However, the following kings, who were either sons or grandsons, had corrupt and lazy…

I selected the Power Figure (Nkisi Nkondi) from The Brooklyn Museum’s Collections: Art of Africa. It was difficult to narrow the choice to only one. Each piece had so many eye catching elements. Each piece had its own story to tell and teach us about its history. The Nkisi Nkondi demanded my attention by the aggressive stature and glaring eyes. To fully appreciate this piece we need to learn its history. The Power Figure also known as Nkisi (in-KEE-see) Nkondi (in-CON-dee) came from the Kongo…

technical complexity of some of the most stunning terra-cotta and copper cast sculptures to ever be constructed. Chapter four serves as an analysis of the various body and facial marking seen in different figurines and their relation to different dynasties and their excavated…

Ancient times involved many trade networks that helped establish the global economy. One of these trade networks was the Silk Road, the Han Dynasty of China helped form the Silk Road. The Silk Road connected the ancient world and helped spread global economy. The Silk Road was multiple routes from east to west. The routes were used commonly around 130 BCE, then the Han Empire expanded trade west, in 1453 CE the Ottoman Empire avoided trade with any body west and the Ottomans captured…

Portrait of a Chief (Lefem), an African wood sculpture from 19th to early 20th century, is a portrayal of one of the ruler of Bangwa chiefdoms . In contrast, The Marble Statue of a Youthful Hercules, a Roman marble sculpture from A.D. 69 to 98, Flavian dynasty, depicts the Greek Mythology hero: Hercules . While the idealized man form is the subject of two sculptures, both sculptures contain concepts of the power and strength. However, the Roman sculpture reflects…

for higher education but for them to serve the men better, maintaining a patriarchal society. Instead of using the previous harsher and cruel laws and regulation against the civilians. The Han rulers modified some of the harsher aspects of the Zhao dynasty; Confucian ideals of government, out of favor during the Qin period, were adopted as the creed of the Han Empire, and Confucian scholars gained prominent status as the core of the civil…

out of the contradictions between Liu’s vision of himself as an educated man and potential government official and his actual situation (19).” He even “traced his ancestry back to Liu Zhiyuan, a tenth century emperor of the short-lived later Han dynasty (21).” The holder of a provincial degree, Liu watched with dismay as the countryside began to wither under the slow but relentless assault of modernization. Despite his constant belief he was qualified to hold government office, he never did, and…

Qin Shihuang, the ruler of the Qin Dynasty, is revered as the first emperor of China. His quest for immortality is well known and eventually led to his death from mercury poisoning. In 1977 his vast tomb was discovered near Xi’an and is today one of the most visited sites in China, for he…