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Nevertheless , it ' s important to note that the uninterrupted circulation of knowledge over the last 1,300 years or so has enabled mankind to progress and overcome certain scourges . These technological advances have logically led to the creation of the digital industry , which is the major development at the start of the 3 rd millennium . So as the year draws to a close , it ' s important to ask how the digital revolution has influenced the most impoverished community in the modern world - the black community . The wise have often said that you have to see how they treat the weakest to understand whether their society is just and prosperous , because there can be no lasting prosperity without social justice . Has the global black community benefited from this digital revolution ; and how has it impacted relations between Africa and its diaspora ?
As the 21st century begins counting down to the end of its first quarter in 2024 , the most striking historical fact is undoubtedly what many now call the digital revolution , which has paved the way for a whole new industry that has generated abysmal fortunes - a fact almost unprecedented in human history since the erection of Baghdad as the center of knowledge in ancient times . Parallels between Baghdad and Silicon Valley have since been drawn by technology historians , and rightly so . However , in the logic of this editorial , the allusion to Baghdad is important insofar as Islam was virtually triumphant in the majority of African strongholds , including Egypt , East Africa and many West African kingdoms that adopted it . It ' s therefore logical that , by transitive colonial e ect , the majority of African elites were trained in Baghdad . The Abbasid empire , which in its heyday stretched from the Atlas mountains to the Himalayas , had a very large African community , both as a result of slavery and of the immigration that the Abbasids brought with them . The revolt of the Zanjs between 869 and 883 would become the most radiant achievement of black people in medieval history , as it was the first revolution of black slaves who succeeded in creating a state and minting their own money - Haiti would have to wait a thousand years to do the same .
Flashmag ! Issue 146 December 2023 e revolt of the Zanjs between 869 and 883 would become the most radiant achievement of black people in medieval history , as it was the first revolution of black slaves who succeeded in creating a state and minting their own money - Haiti would have to wait a thousand years to do the same .
If the impact of Baghdad ' s technological advances on the lives of Africans and their diaspora is poorly documented , because Western historians have found it unimportant to investigate it , it ' s nevertheless important to understand that this technological legacy was much more closely reflected in religion and the construction of Timbuktu , whose edification and erudition is directly linked to Islamic culture , which in its time had succeeded in translating numerous scientific treatises from both ancient Egypt and ancient Greece . And the only real legacy of this religio-technological revolution to the black community is , alas , Islam , since most of the theoretical works on science were plundered during the period of slavery and colonization . As a result , very little of the science of this period really benefited the black people , the majority of Zanjs having been exterminated in the wars of the Middle East and the Levant . Between 869 and 883 , the end of their state , it is estimated that around 3 million people lost their lives in these incessant conflicts within the Abbasid empire , the majority of them black . After this bloody episode in medieval times , the modern African diaspora comprises people of African origin scattered all over the world as a result of historical events such as the transatlantic slave trade , colonization and migration . For centuries , the relationship between Africa and its diaspora has been shaped by complex historical , cultural and socio-political factors .