- 22 Feb 2012 21:08
#13902615
The Egyptians were a North African power. I am referring to sub-Saharan Africa. In terms of North African military/political leadership, the most influential leader was not Mohammed. Mohammed expanded Islam through Arabia, but he stopped at the borders of the Byzantine and Sassanid Empires. It was his successors who brought it to North Africa. The most influential native North African would probably be Hannibal.
As for Mandela as the most influential sub-Saharan leader, that's certainly not true. Mandela's chief claims to fame are being incarcerated, negotiating an end to an already-collapsing political system in a single country, and seriving as an adequate President (only to have his immediate successor let the place fall to pieces). The most influential sub-Saharan leader would have to be Cecil Rhodes.
wyly wrote: the best info I can find the sultanate was still a relatively small region, smaller than what the Egyptian dynasties controlled/influenced at their peak and that was a still localized. The Romans, and others had more extensive influence yet still amounted to little when you look at Africa as a whole. For North Africa I would go with Mohammad as the most influential.
The Egyptians were a North African power. I am referring to sub-Saharan Africa. In terms of North African military/political leadership, the most influential leader was not Mohammed. Mohammed expanded Islam through Arabia, but he stopped at the borders of the Byzantine and Sassanid Empires. It was his successors who brought it to North Africa. The most influential native North African would probably be Hannibal.
As for Mandela as the most influential sub-Saharan leader, that's certainly not true. Mandela's chief claims to fame are being incarcerated, negotiating an end to an already-collapsing political system in a single country, and seriving as an adequate President (only to have his immediate successor let the place fall to pieces). The most influential sub-Saharan leader would have to be Cecil Rhodes.
"Politics is the art of the possible." - Otto von Bismarck