Ivan Van Sertima

This book examines the debt owed by Europe to the Moors for its Renaissance, and the significant role, played by the Africans in the Muslim invasions of the Iberian peninsula. While the authors focus mainly on Spain and Portugal, they also examine the races and roots of the original North Africans before the later ethnic mix of the blackamoors and tawny Moors in the medieval period. The study ranges from characterizations of the Moors in the literature of Cervantes and Shakespeare to their profound influence upon the development of Europe's university system, and the diffusion through this system of ancient and medieval sciences.

This unique volume provides an overview of the black queens, madonnas, and goddesses who dominated the history and imagination of ancient times. The authors have concentrated on Ethiopia and Egypt because the documents of the Nile Valley are voluminous compared to the sketchier records in other parts of Africa, but also because the imagination of the world, not just that of Africa, was haunted by these women. They are just as prominent a feature of European mythology as of African reality. The book is divided into three parts: Ethiopia and Egyptian Queens and Goddesses; Black Women in Ancient Art; and Conquerors and Courtesans. This second edition contains two new chapters, one on Hypatia and women's rights in ancient Egypt, and the other on the diffusion into Europe of Isis, the African goddess of Nile Valley civilizations.

"The African presence in ancient America"--Jacket subtitle.

"This book explores the exciting culture and many festivals that are celebrated in Egypt"--Provided by publisher.