The Warrior Kings

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Describe how Djehutymes III built the greatest empire in the history of Kemet — and how his campaigns were recorded.
• Explain how Taharqa ruled both Kush and Kemet — and how he defended them against Assyria.
• Describe how Sundiata Keita founded the Empire of Mali — and how Mansa Musa made it famous across the world.
• Explain how Askia Muhammad strengthened Songhai — and why the scholars of Timbuktu mattered.
• Describe how Shaka built the Zulu kingdom — and how Menelik II kept Ethiopia free.
• Explain why the lesson calls these seven kings a pattern and not a set of rare exceptions.

Key Vocabulary

• Kemet — The name the ancient people of the great river valley gave their own land. It means the Black Land. Today it is known as Egypt. [1]Breasted, James Henry. Ancient Records of Egypt, Vol. II. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906. The Annals of Thutmose III at Karnak.
• Kush — A powerful African kingdom south of Kemet along the same great river, in what is now Sudan. [5]Török, László. The Kingdom of Kush: Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization. Leiden: Brill, 1997. Taharqa’s reign, building and wars.
• Annals — A written record of events year by year. The annals of Djehutymes III were carved on the walls of a temple. [1]Breasted, James Henry. Ancient Records of Egypt, Vol. II. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906. The Annals of Thutmose III at Karnak.
• Campaign — A series of military operations with one goal. [3]Gabriel, Richard A. Thutmose III: The Military Biography of Egypt’s Greatest Warrior King. Washington, DC: Potomac Books, 2009. The seventeen campaigns.
• Stela — A carved stone slab with writing on it. Kings raised them to record great deeds. [1]Breasted, James Henry. Ancient Records of Egypt, Vol. II. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906. The Annals of Thutmose III at Karnak.
• Pilgrimage — A sacred journey to a holy place. [8]Levtzion, Nehemia, and J.F.P. Hopkins, eds. Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981. Al-Umari on Mansa Musa in Cairo.
• Manuscript — A book or document written by hand. [10]Hunwick, John O. Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sa‘di’s Ta’rikh al-sudan down to 1613. Leiden: Brill, 1999. Askia Muhammad and the scholars of Timbuktu.
• Empire — A large state that rules over many lands and peoples. [3]Gabriel, Richard A. Thutmose III: The Military Biography of Egypt’s Greatest Warrior King. Washington, DC: Potomac Books, 2009. The seventeen campaigns.
• Colonized — Taken over and ruled by a foreign power. [12]Jonas, Raymond. The Battle of Adwa: African Victory in the Age of Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011. Adwa and the treaty that followed.
• Oral tradition — History passed down by speaking and memory from one generation to the next. [7]Niane, D.T. Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. London: Longman, 1965. The oral tradition of Sundiata Keita.

The Full Lesson

Part 1 — Djehutymes III: The Empire Builder of Kemet

Around 1479 BCE, Djehutymes III took the throne of Kemet. The Greeks later called him Thutmose III. In about twenty years, he led seventeen military campaigns. They were carved on the walls of the temple of Ipet-Isut, now known as Karnak. Scholars call these records his annals. [1]Breasted, James Henry. Ancient Records of Egypt, Vol. II. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906. The Annals of Thutmose III at Karnak.[2]Mark, Joshua J. “Thutmose III at the Battle of Megiddo.” World History Encyclopedia. The Aruna pass, the generals’ warning, and the Euphrates stela.

His first great campaign took him to the city of Megiddo. There were three roads to the city. Two were wide. One was a narrow mountain pass. His generals warned him against the pass — the army would have to march in single file. He chose the pass anyway, and he led from the front. His soldiers took their chariots apart and carried them. They led the horses one by one. The enemy had waited on the wide roads. The army of Kemet came out of the pass and took them by surprise. [1]Breasted, James Henry. Ancient Records of Egypt, Vol. II. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906. The Annals of Thutmose III at Karnak.[2]Mark, Joshua J. “Thutmose III at the Battle of Megiddo.” World History Encyclopedia. The Aruna pass, the generals’ warning, and the Euphrates stela.

Later he crossed the great river Euphrates and raised a stela on its far bank to record his victory. Under him, Kemet reached the greatest size it had ever known — from the Euphrates in the north to deep in Nubia in the south. [2]Mark, Joshua J. “Thutmose III at the Battle of Megiddo.” World History Encyclopedia. The Aruna pass, the generals’ warning, and the Euphrates stela.[3]Gabriel, Richard A. Thutmose III: The Military Biography of Egypt’s Greatest Warrior King. Washington, DC: Potomac Books, 2009. The seventeen campaigns.

"He chose the pass anyway, and he led from the front."

Part 2 — Taharqa: The King of Kush and Kemet

Eight centuries later, a king of Kush ruled both Kush and Kemet. His name was Taharqa. He ruled from about 690 BCE to 664 BCE. He built and restored temples at Ipet-Isut and at Jebel Barkal, the holy mountain of Kush. When he died, he was buried in a great pyramid at Nuri in Kush. [5]Török, László. The Kingdom of Kush: Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization. Leiden: Brill, 1997. Taharqa’s reign, building and wars.[6]Dunham, Dows. The Royal Cemeteries of Kush, Vol. II: Nuri. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1955. Taharqa’s pyramid at Nuri.

In 674 BCE, the army of Assyria tried to conquer Kemet. Taharqa drove them back. A Babylonian record of that year says simply: “The army of Assyria was defeated in Egypt.” Three years later, Assyria returned and took Men-nefer, now known as Memphis. Taharqa kept fighting them for the rest of his reign. [4]Grayson, A. Kirk. Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles. Locust Valley, NY: J.J. Augustin, 1975. Chronicle 1, iv 16: the Assyrian defeat of 674 BCE.[5]Török, László. The Kingdom of Kush: Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization. Leiden: Brill, 1997. Taharqa’s reign, building and wars.

"The army of Assyria was defeated in Egypt."

Part 3 — Sundiata Keita and Mansa Musa: The Kings of Mali

In the 1200s, in West Africa, came a prince named Sundiata Keita. Oral tradition says he could not walk as a child, and that he grew strong enough to lead armies. Tradition says he won the Battle of Kirina and founded the Empire of Mali. [7]Niane, D.T. Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. London: Longman, 1965. The oral tradition of Sundiata Keita.

About a century later, Mali was ruled by Mansa Musa. In 1324, he made a pilgrimage across the Sahara to Mecca. He passed through Cairo with so much gold that its value there fell for years. A writer named al-Umari recorded it. In 1375, a map made in Europe showed him on a throne, holding gold. [8]Levtzion, Nehemia, and J.F.P. Hopkins, eds. Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981. Al-Umari on Mansa Musa in Cairo.[9]The Catalan Atlas, 1375. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. Mansa Musa shown holding gold.

"He passed through Cairo with so much gold that its value there fell for years."

Part 4 — Askia Muhammad: The King of Scholars

In 1493, Askia Muhammad took the throne of Songhai, one of the largest empires in African history. He made a pilgrimage to Mecca and strengthened the government of his empire. [10]Hunwick, John O. Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sa‘di’s Ta’rikh al-sudan down to 1613. Leiden: Brill, 1999. Askia Muhammad and the scholars of Timbuktu.

Under his rule, the scholars of Timbuktu flourished. Its libraries held handwritten manuscripts on law, astronomy, mathematics and medicine. Many of those manuscripts still survive today. [10]Hunwick, John O. Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sa‘di’s Ta’rikh al-sudan down to 1613. Leiden: Brill, 1999. Askia Muhammad and the scholars of Timbuktu.

"Under his rule, the scholars of Timbuktu flourished."

Part 5 — Shaka: The King of the Zulu

In 1816, Shaka became king of the Zulu in southern Africa. He rebuilt his army with new weapons and new tactics. Tradition credits him with a short stabbing spear and a battle formation shaped like the horns of a buffalo. Within a few years, the Zulu were the strongest kingdom in southern Africa. [11]Laband, John. Rope of Sand: The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Kingdom in the Nineteenth Century. Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball, 1995. Shaka and the Zulu kingdom.

"He rebuilt his army with new weapons and new tactics."

Part 6 — Menelik II and the Pattern

By the 1890s, European powers had divided almost all of Africa among themselves. In 1896, Italy invaded Ethiopia. Emperor Menelik II gathered a great army. He met the Italians at Adwa on March 1, 1896. Italy was defeated. Later that year, Italy signed a treaty recognizing that Ethiopia was independent. Ethiopia stayed free while almost all of Africa was colonized. [12]Jonas, Raymond. The Battle of Adwa: African Victory in the Age of Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011. Adwa and the treaty that followed.

Now look at all seven together. Djehutymes built an empire. Taharqa defended two kingdoms. Sundiata founded Mali. Mansa Musa made it famous. Askia Muhammad made Timbuktu a home for scholars. Shaka built a nation. Menelik kept his people free. Builders. Scholars. Generals. Emperors. [1]Breasted, James Henry. Ancient Records of Egypt, Vol. II. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906. The Annals of Thutmose III at Karnak.[4]Grayson, A. Kirk. Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles. Locust Valley, NY: J.J. Augustin, 1975. Chronicle 1, iv 16: the Assyrian defeat of 674 BCE.[8]Levtzion, Nehemia, and J.F.P. Hopkins, eds. Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981. Al-Umari on Mansa Musa in Cairo.[10]Hunwick, John O. Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sa‘di’s Ta’rikh al-sudan down to 1613. Leiden: Brill, 1999. Askia Muhammad and the scholars of Timbuktu.[12]Jonas, Raymond. The Battle of Adwa: African Victory in the Age of Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011. Adwa and the treaty that followed.

"This was never one exceptional king. This was a pattern."

Critical Thinking Discussion Questions

1. Djehutymes III chose the narrow pass his generals feared. [1]Breasted, James Henry. Ancient Records of Egypt, Vol. II. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906. The Annals of Thutmose III at Karnak. What does that choice tell us about him as a leader? Was it wise or lucky?
2. Most of what we know about the campaigns of Djehutymes comes from records he had carved himself. [1]Breasted, James Henry. Ancient Records of Egypt, Vol. II. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906. The Annals of Thutmose III at Karnak.[3]Gabriel, Richard A. Thutmose III: The Military Biography of Egypt’s Greatest Warrior King. Washington, DC: Potomac Books, 2009. The seventeen campaigns. How should historians read records written by the winner?
3. Mansa Musa was shown on a European map holding gold. [9]The Catalan Atlas, 1375. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. Mansa Musa shown holding gold. What does that tell us about how Europe saw Mali in the 1300s?
4. The scholars of Timbuktu wrote about law, astronomy and medicine. [10]Hunwick, John O. Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sa‘di’s Ta’rikh al-sudan down to 1613. Leiden: Brill, 1999. Askia Muhammad and the scholars of Timbuktu. Why do you think this part of African history is rarely taught?
5. The lesson calls these seven kings a pattern. Do you agree? What would change in how history is taught if kings like them were treated as a pattern and not as exceptions?

Quiz — The Warrior Kings

Part A: Select the best answer and check your work instantly. Part B: Write in complete sentences.

Part A — Multiple Choice

Part B — Short Answer

Extension Activity

Trace the Record: Choose one of the seven kings. Find one record of his reign: the annals at Ipet-Isut, the Babylonian chronicle, the writings of al-Umari, the map of 1375, a manuscript from Timbuktu, or the treaty that followed Adwa. Then describe three things: (1) who made the record and when, (2) what the record says about the king, and (3) whether the record was made by the king’s own people or by outsiders. Then write two to three sentences explaining how the maker of the record shapes what it says.