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6 figures

Fatima al-Fihri

800 – 880

Founded al-Qarawiyyin in 859, the oldest continuously operating university.

Morocco·History

Ibn Battuta

1304 – 1369

Travelled some 120,000 km across the medieval world and wrote the Rihla.

Morocco·Literature · History

Ibn Khaldun

1332 – 1406

Founded sociology and economic history with the Muqaddimah.

Tunisia·History · Economics · Philosophy

Amílcar Cabral

1924 – 1973

Agronomist whose theory of culture and liberation shaped decolonisation.

Guinea-Bissau·Philosophy · History

Ali Mazrui

1933 – 2014

Defined the 'triple heritage' framework for African identity.

Kenya·History · Philosophy

Assia Djebar

1936 – 2015

Novelist and filmmaker of Algerian women's silenced history.

Algeria·Literature · History