“I have restored that which was ruins, I have raised up that which was unfinished.”

Hatshepsut Egypt

“Now my heart turns to and fro, in thinking what will the people say, they who shall see my monument in after years, and shall speak of what I have done.”

Hatshepsut Egypt

“I have done this with a loving heart for my father Amun… It was he who led me, I did not plan a work without his doing.”

Hatshepsut Egypt

“Hear ye, all persons! ye people as many as ye are! I have done this according to the design of my heart.”

Hatshepsut Egypt

“Never was brought the like of this for any king who has been since the beginning.”

Hatshepsut Egypt

“The king who was my predecessor did not believe that it was impossible to discover the furthest limit of the Atlantic Ocean and wished vehemently to do so.”

Mansa Musa Mali

“I am a great chief: no one ever sees me sing, no one ever sees me eat; no one has ever sat at table with me.”

Samori Touré Guinea

“If you want war, I am ready. I will not end it, though it lasted a hundred years and killed twenty thousand of my men.”

Béhanzin Benin