THE FORGOTTEN ERA, Nigeria before British rule

320pp., maps, illus., d.w., hardback, Pluto Press, London, 2025

ISBN: 9780745350080

Max Siollun explores Nigeria's pre-colonial history, with its rich "magico-religious" lore and fascinating cast of revolutionaries, intellectuals, innovators and assassins.

"This is the indispensable book for anyone interested in the pre-colonial history of what now constitutes Nigeria. Incredibly necessary, magnificently done, Siollun charts the characters and events that shaped the political, social, cultural and economic lives of those who inhabited Nigeria's territories centuries before colonization. The Forgotten Era is as important to understanding the past as it is to comprehending the present and planning the future." Remi Adekoya, author of It's Not About Whiteness, It's About Wealth

"Anyone who wants to understand the world, needs to understand Nigeria, a country with the largest Black population in the world. And there is no more eloquent and informed guide than Max Siollun. This is a totally essential book that you'll want to annotate, re-read and gift many times." Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland: How Modern Britain is Shaped by its Imperial Past

Historian Max Siollun has written four previous books on Nigeria’s history, most recently What Britain Did to Nigeria: A Short History of Conquest and Rule. He has also written for the New York Times, Guardian, Independent and Foreign Policy.