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Kong, Ivory Coast
Kong is a town in northern Ivory Coast. It is a sub-prefecture of and the seat of Kong Department in Tchologo Region, Savanes District. Kong is also a commune. It was the capital of the Kong Empire (1710–1895). Natural history Kong is in the sub-Saharan Sahel– tropical Savanna belt biogeography region, of grasslands with trees, such as the baobab (''Adansonia digitata''), shea (''Vitellaria paradoxa'') and other species. Comoé National Park is to the east. History Kong emerged as a trading centre when Mali Empire merchants began trading in the territory of the surrounding Senufo people. The sub-prefecture of Kong, in the area of Kong to Dabakala, is said to be the "origin" area, where Mandé ethnic group traders known as the Dioula–Juula migrated from the Niger basin to settle in the 12th century. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sub-prefectures Of Ivory Coast
Sub-prefectures of Ivory Coast (french: sous-préfectures de Côte d'Ivoire) are the fourth-level administrative subdivisions of the country. There are currently 510 sub-prefectures. They were created in 2011, when the administrative subdivisions of Ivory Coast were reorganised. In Ivory Coast, there are 14 first-level districts (including two autonomous districts) sub-divided into 31 regions, which are sub-divided into 108 departments (french: départements), which are further sub-divided into 510 sub-prefectures. The sub-prefectures contain more than 8000 villages nationwide. Where needed, multiple villages have been combined into 197 communes. The two autonomous districts are not divided into regions, but they do contain one or more departments as well as sub-prefectures and communes. Two areas of the country are not subdivided into sub-prefectures. First, the urban portion the Autonomous District of Abidjan—constituting Abidjan City proper—contains no sub-prefectures, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comoé National Park
The Comoé National Park is a Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Zanzan and Savanes Districts of north-eastern Ivory Coast. It is the largest protected area in West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ..., with an area of 11,500 km2, and ranges from the humid Guinean forest-savanna mosaic, Guinea savanna to the dry Sudanian Savanna, Sudanian zone. This steep climatic north–south gradient allows the park to harbour a multitude of habitats with a remarkable diversity of life. Some animal and plant species even find their last sanctuary in some of the different savanna types, gallery forests, Riparian zone, riparian grasslands, rock outcrops or Forest fragmentation, forest islands. The park was initially added as a World Heritage Site du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It has 193 member states and 12 associate members, as well as partners in the non-governmental, intergovernmental and private sector. Headquartered at the World Heritage Centre in Paris, France, UNESCO has 53 regional field offices and 199 national commissions that facilitate its global mandate. UNESCO was founded in 1945 as the successor to the League of Nations's International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.English summary). Its constitution establishes the agency's goals, governing structure, and operating framework. UNESCO's founding mission, which was shaped by the Second World War, is to advance peace, sustainable development and human rights by facilitating collaboration and dialogue among nations. It pursues this objectiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ), which consist of verses (pl.: , sing.: , cons.: ). In addition to its religious significance, it is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature, and has significantly influenced the Arabic language. Muslims believe that the Quran was orally revealed by God to the final prophet, Muhammad, through the archangel Gabriel incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning in the month of Ramadan, when Muhammad was 40; and concluding in 632, the year of his death. Muslims regard the Quran as Muhammad's most important miracle; a proof of his prophethood; and the culmination of a series of divine messages starting with those revealed to Adam, including the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel. The word ''Quran'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sahelian Architecture
Sudano-Sahelian architecture refers to a range of similar indigenous architectural styles common to the African peoples of the Sahel and Sudanian grassland (geographical) regions of West Africa, south of the Sahara, but north of the fertile forest regions of the coast. This style is characterized by the use of mudbricks and adobe plaster, with large wooden-log support beams that jut out from the wall face for large buildings such as mosques or palaces. These beams also act as scaffolding for reworking, which is done at regular intervals, and involves the local community. The earliest examples of Sudano-Sahelian style probably come from Jenné-Jeno around 250 BC, where the first evidence of permanent mudbrick architecture in the region is found. Difference between Savannah and Sahelian styles The earthen architecture in the Sahel zone region is noticeably different from the building style in the neighboring savannah. The "old Sudanese" cultivators of the savannah built th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French West Africa
French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Dahomey (now Benin) and Niger. The federation existed from 1895 until 1958. Its capital was Saint-Louis, Senegal until 1902, and then Dakar until the federation's collapse in 1960. History Until after World War II, almost none of the Africans living in the colonies of France were citizens of France. Rather, they were "French subjects", lacking rights before the law, property ownership rights, rights to travel, dissent, or vote. The exception was the Four Communes of Senegal: those areas had been towns of the tiny Senegal Colony in 1848 when, at the abolition of slavery by the French Second Republic, all residents of France were granted equal political rights. Anyone able to prove they were born in these towns was legal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wassoulou Empire
The Wassoulou Empire, sometimes referred to as the Mandinka Empire, was a short-lived (1878–1898) empire of West Africa built from the conquests of Malinke ruler Samori Ture and destroyed by the French colonial army. In 1864, Toucouleur ruler El Hajj Umar Tall died near Bandiagara, leaving the then-dominant Toucouleur Empire tottering and a number of chiefs rushing to break their own pieces away from the newly weakened federation. By far the most successful among them was Samori Touré of what is now southwestern Guinea. Army organization Samori's army was well equipped with European firearms and a complex structure of permanent units. His army was divided into an infantry wing of sofa (Mandinka for infantry, usually slaves) and a cavalry wing. By 1887, Samori could field 30,000 to 35,000 infantry and about 3,000 cavalry. Infantry were divided into units of 10 to 20 men known as a "se" or "kulu". Cavalry were divided into bands of 50 horsemen called a "sere". Kul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samory Touré
Samory Toure ( – June 2, 1900), also known as Samori Toure, Samory Touré, or Almamy Samore Lafiya Toure, was a Muslim cleric, a military strategist, and the founder and leader of the Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic empire that was in present-day north and south-eastern Guinea and included part of north-eastern Sierra Leone, part of Mali, part of northern Côte d'Ivoire and part of southern Burkina Faso. Samori Ture was a deeply religious Muslim of the Maliki jurisprudence of Sunni Islam. Toure resisted French colonial rule in West Africa from 1882 until his capture in 1898. Samori Toure was the great-grandfather of Guinea's first president, Ahmed Sékou Touré. Early life and career Samori Ture was Mandinka, born in c. 1830 in Manyambaladugu (in the Kankan region). Kankan is the second capital city located in eastern part of Guinea West, the son of Dyula traders. He grew up as West Africa was being transformed through growing contacts and trade with the Europeans in commo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dyula People
The Dyula (Dioula or Juula) are a Mande ethnic group inhabiting several West African countries, including Mali, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. Characterized as a highly successful merchant caste, ''Dyula'' migrants began establishing trading communities across the region in the fourteenth century. Since business was often conducted under non-Muslim rulers, the ''Dyula'' developed a set of theological principles for Muslim minorities in non-Muslim societies. Their unique contribution of long-distance commerce, Islamic scholarship and religious tolerance were significant factors in the peaceful expansion of Islam in West Africa. Historical background The Mandé embraced Islam during the thirteenth century following introduction to the faith through contact with the North African traders. By the 14th century, the Malian empire (c.1230-1600) had reached its apogee, acquiring a considerable reputation for the Islamic rulings of its court and the pilgrimages of several ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
