What are the main regions that medieval Africa can be divided into?

The first region can be considered the Arab northern part of Africa, from Morocco to the Red Sea. It was the most developed, since in the early Middle Ages it was part of Byzantium, and before that – part of the Roman Empire. She actively interacted with Europe, even the crusaders organized campaigns there in the XIII century.

The second region can be considered East Africa. She actively traded with the Arabs through ports on the shores of the Indian Ocean (Zanzibar, Mogadishu), in which Christian Ethiopia can be attributed. Europeans penetrated there only towards the end of the 15th century.

The third region can be considered equatorial Africa, where in fact there were no states and where Islam did not penetrate. That is, from modern Liberia to South Africa. Europeans began to explore this region in the middle of the 15th century (Portuguese).