BLACK MAKURIA
Between 700 and 1200 A .D.,Makuria was more empire than kingdom. It was organized into thirteen major states with a subking over each and the "King of Kings" over all. The traditional African Council was the final authority no matter how powerful the king might seem to be . The great and colorful parasol of the "King of Kings" had to be wider than those of the divisional kings and theirs was larger than any lesser officials.
Cyriacus was "King of Kings" in 745 when Omar, the governor of Egypt, stepped up the persecution of Christians in Egypt in what amounted to a Muslim Holy War, destroying churches or converting them into mosques and even putting the Patriarch in prison . Since the Patriarch in Egypt was the head of all Christian churches in Africa, the Africans regarded this latest onslaught against the churches as an insult as well as a breach of the peace treaty, now almost a hundred years old. Strangely, the Muslims made Lower Egypt the area of greatest church destruction. When the arrogant Omar ignored all protests and pleas, the African king headed an army of 100,000 men and marched on the Arab center of power in Lower Egypt . The governor of Egypt quickly freed the Patriarch and promised to leave the Christians and their churches alone.
and progress was reflected in the advanced standard of living among the masses. The massive brickmaking industry had led to homes of brick and stone in cities, towns and villages-brick houses, and larger houses for the great common people . In the eighth century this was something for the visiting Arab scholars to write home about. (It would be some- thing to write about anywhere in this last part of the twentieth century .)Cyriacus accepted these assurances and withdrew his army from Egpyt.
It was during this period that an extensive body of church literature developed in the African language and the remarkable pottery industries were expanded ; painting, like writing, was stimulated by the Church, just as had been the case in temple art. Mining was a principal source of wealth, but agriculture was the basic national activity and there is evidence of the people's battles with the encroaching deserts. They followed the system of the "Mother Empire" and overcame certain arid areas by developing the system of terrace farming that was irrigated by water wheels constructed for high places . They were successful enough to produce -a surplus of agricultural commodities for export trade . Cotton had been produced from ancient times, and cloth making and other weaving arts were among the oldest crafts. That glass was made is certain, but the extent of this enterprise is not indicated by the archaeo-
logical findings. The reports of Arab scholars on the cities of the Blacks during these
early centuries are significant for two important reasons . The first is that, like the European explorers, "geographers" and others referred to earlier, they were not concerned with writing African history and nothing could have been farther from their intentions than glorifying the achievements of the Blacks. But their mission was to make factual reports on the conditions and exploitable possibilities of Africa to their home countries. Such reports would be the basis for future penetration, exploitation and conquest.
The second highly significant fact about the accounts of Abu Salih, Ibn Salim and other scholars between the seventh and fifteenth centuries A .D. is that, unlike the case of Egypt, none questioned either the
greatness or the origin of this black civilization . It was so clearly all- African that it did not seem to occur to these Arab writers that any other position was tenable. Those familiar with the traditional African religion might question whether Christianity was in fact external to Africa . In any case, the beautiful churches they saw spread over the "Land of the Black Gods" had become almost completely Africanized for those gods.
The prosperity the Arab visitors reported -the magnificent stone and brick palaces, temples, churches, cathedrals, wide avenues lined with palm trees, government buildings, public baths, water supply systems, beautiful gardens, countless craft industries, huge farms with extensive pastures where camels, horses, oxen, cows, sheep, goats and pigs could
be seen grazing lazily-all this was reported as messages with an unwritten message: Such is this Black Paradise, Brothers of Islam . Come!
The prosperity in this center of the black world represented one of the last great epochs in the history of the Blacks . If near the final, it was also one of their finest hours on the stage of human progress . Here the measure of a people's genius could be taken without speculation . Here the message of who Blacks were was wrought in stone and iron for the succeeding generations of Blacks who were to lose their very identity in the blood and tears of unbroken oppression.
The Arab scholars were properly amazed at a way of life so superior to that of their own homeland . It was something to be amazed about . For there were not only public baths but public latrines, drainage and central water systems, but the most remarkable evidence of prosperity

What is the african language and african council? Africans never referred to themselves as Africans.

true. what the author was referring to were common  themes found across the continent