BLACKS IN EUROPE
One of the biggest misconceptions about black people is that they never had any contact with European people before slavery, that it is only when the white man came to enslave the uncivilized jungle man did these two worlds finally collide. That you will find is a complete lie , since ancient times the black has been a presence in Europe .From feared adversary to trusted ally ,from worshiped saints to lowly slaves, from hated conqueror to the beaten conquered. A complex history is what you will find when you look into the past, one far different then the one given to us, one of black men of great heroic character and of great contribution to European history. It must be noted that the dehumanization of the black man did not start until the late 17th and18th century when the trans-atlantic slave trade became a central part of European economies and European nation states began developing. Prior to that you will find the black man portrayed in a severely different light, one markedly different than the buffoonish cowardly depictions of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Below is a collection of ancient greco-roman art and artifacts, from the earliest minoan settlements to the heights of the roman empire there has always been a presence of black people in Europe. Their ocupations ranging from respected philosophers, artists and generals , to the most common of roles.
Traditionally, European artists depicted a variety of religious figures as black, most notably one of the Three Kings, or Magi, bearing gifts for the baby Jesus. They are usually depicted in an honorable and noble fashion often wearing turbans perhaps eluding to the moorish conquerors who occupied and ruled over much of Europe, many of them converting to christianity after the reconquista.
Below are images of St.Maurice , a patron saint of the catholic church, he was a commander of the Roman Egyptian legion .When ordered to kill innocent Swiss christians he refused which resulted in the decimation of him and his whole brigade.The Swiss would make him a martyr and to this day churches all around Europe are filled with images of this worshiped black man.
Oldest known depiction of Saint Maurice, 12c. Magdeburg cathedral
The Queen of Sheba was the ruler of Ethiopia and said to be the lover of King Solomon based off the actual Queen Makeda of Ethiopia ,legend seems to have mixed with actual accounts and her legendary status spread through biblical lore.
From commoners to kings many black people populated Europe, a concept seemingly lost to mainstream depictions of european history.