THE LATER ASKIAS 217 own British monarchy from the abolition of the Saxon Heptarchy to the present day. Melle, who succeeded her, had a shorter national life of about 250 years. Songhay counted its kings in regular succession from about 700 A.D. to the date of the Moorish conquest in 1 59 1 — a period which almost exactly coincides with the life of Rome from the foundation of the republic, 509 B.C., to the downfall of the empire in the first half of the fifth century of our era. The duration of the Empire of Bornu was, as will be seen, no less respectable.

The civilisation represented by these empires was no doubt, if judged by a modern and still more by a Western standard, exceedingly imperfect. The principles of freedom, as we understand them, were probably unknown. Authority rested upon force of arms. Industrial life was based on slavery. Social life was founded on polygamy. Side by side with barbaric splendour there was primeval simplicity. Luxury for the few took the place of comfort for the many. Study was devoted mainly to what seem to us unprofitable ends. These are grave drawbacks. Yet the fact that civilisation, far in excess of anything which the nations of Northern Europe possessed at the earlier period of Soudanese history, existed with stability enough to maintain empire after empire through a known period of about 1500 years, in a portion of the world which mysteriously disappeared in the sixteenth century from the comity of modern nations, is interesting enough to merit recognition, and, it seems to me, to justify some study of the new chapters of history presented to our consideration.