Buku

Africa in history

---

Not long ago, while writing about the African past, an elderly scholar of the West African city of Bobo-Dyulasso recalled the downfall of the Ummayad Caliphate, and opined that Africa had changed since then. Considering that the downfall of the Ummayad Caliphate had occurred a thousand years earlier, this was no small understatement; but the mufti of Bobo, concerned to argue that African history was both long and very intricate, was perfectly aware of the fact. He went on to rub it in. As a further warning to anyone who should think it easy to write African history, he observed that any attempt to bring together the events of the last thousand years would be like trying to trap wind in a sieve, for 'everybody who attained to distinction spared no effort at extinguishing the flame of his rival... [and] everybody was in contradiction with the others... [while] many a year would drag on fruitlessly because of the numerous quarrels and wars among them'. In saying this, of course, the learned mufti was rather at the other extreme of overstatement. Yet the warning is a useful one, for it is true that scholarship is only at the begin- ning of a deep understanding of the African past. Much remains to be discovered. Much remains to be agreed.

---

Availability

Detail Information

Series Title

-

Call Number

916 Dav a

Publisher

London : Weidenfeld and Nicolson London., 1969

Collation

318 pages

Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

-

Classification

916

Content Type

-

Media Type

-

Edition

-

Subject(s)

HISTORY
AFRICA

Specific Detail Info

-

Statement of Responsibility

-

Other version/related

File Attachment

Comments

---

You must be logged in to post a comment