Great Zimbabwe, a city of mortarless stone enclosures, was the centre of a powerful state that prospered from cattle and the gold trade with the Swahili coast.
Approximate date.
Under King Gebre Meskel Lalibela of the Zagwe dynasty, eleven monolithic churches were carved out of the rock in Ethiopia; they are now a World Heritage Site.
After defeating the Sosso king Sumanguru at the Battle of Kirina, Sundiata Keita founded the Mali Empire, which became one of the largest empires in West Africa.
Mansa Musa of Mali made the pilgrimage to Mecca with a vast retinue, spending so much gold in Cairo that its value fell, spreading Mali's fame across the Islamic world and Europe.
The Moroccan scholar Ibn Battuta travels across the Islamic world and beyond, from West Africa to China, for nearly three decades.
Admiral Zheng He leads seven Ming treasure voyages to Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, Arabia and East Africa.
Sonni Ali captured Timbuktu, launching the Songhai Empire's rise to replace Mali as the dominant power of West Africa.