Kingdoms of Africa

Left Side• On your map of Africa:• Draw in the Nile River

and Niger River• Color the Sahara

desert

Niger River

Nile River

The Big Questions

• What were the major civilizations of Africa during the post-classical era?• What political, economic, and social effects did

Islam have in African kingdoms?

Introduction• Anthropologists believe humanity first arose in East

Africa• In ancient times, the rise of Egyptian civilization

affected African cultures along the upper Nile• Kush – an early iron-producing center, grew rich

from selling iron products, ivory, ebony, wood, and slaves. (It had once been a part of Egypt called Nubia)• Axum – Located in Ethiopia. Its rise caused the

decline of Kush. King Ezana made Christianity the official religion (330 A.D.). Axum dominated trade in slaves and ivory.

Left Side

• Locate the kingdoms of Kush and Axum on your map. • Create a key in the lower

left section of your map Kush Axum

Gold-Salt Trade

• Sahara was never completely cut off from Eurasia• Muslim merchants crossed the Sahara because

of gold and other riches in West Africa• West Africa lacked salt – vital to human survival• Merchants picked up large blocks of salt on their

journey and exchanged them for gold• A thriving trade developed, based on gold-salt

trade• Ideas were exchanged, such as Islamic beliefs

Left Side• Draw in trade routes

Kingdom of Ghana – 750-1200

Kingdom of Ghana

Draw an outline of Ghana on your map and add it to your key.

Ghana 750-1200• Made iron swords, spears, and lances to subdue neighboring

peoples and to gain control over West Africa’s major trade routes• Caravans brought salt south to Ghana and returned north

with gold • Power of kings of Ghana rested on their ability to tax all

trade passing through the region, especially the gold-salt trade• Rulers and nobles were further enriched by using captives of

war as slaves• 1076 they were invaded by Muslims from North Africa• Muslims brought Islam to West Africa

Add to your notes:

• In 1240, the people of Mali, under their leader, Sundiata Keita, conquered the old capital of Ghana and established a new empire. • You will be taking notes about Mali.

Include info about its economy and its most famous ruler, Mansa Musa.

Kingdom of Mali – 1240-1400

• Draw an outline of the Kingdom of Mali on your map (different than Ghana) and add it to your key.

• label Timbuktu Timbuktu

Kingdom of Mali

Notes on Mali 1240-1400:• Rulers brought both gold and salt mines under their

direct control• Rulers converted to Islam, although most people did not• Mansa Musa – expanded kingdom greatly• Made a religious pilgrimage to Mecca• Brought Muslim scholars and architects back to Mali

with him• Muslim scholarship flourished• Timbuktu became an important center of several

important universities and attracted student from Europe, Asia, and Africa

Ibn Battuta –

• Arab traveler that wrote about Mansa Musa and his respect for law and the power of its ruler• Because of his extensive

travels and his records historians know a lot about this time period in Africa and the Middle East• He was like the Marco

Polo of the Muslims

Timbuktu

• Famous trading city• Became an important

center of several important universities• Attracted students from

Europe, Asia, and Africa• Flourished as a center of

Muslim scholarship• Also famous for the Sankore

mosque

Another trading kingdom:

• In 1464, Sultan Sunni Ali, captured Timbuktu, brought the upper Niger under his control, and created the largest of West Africa’s three trading kingdoms.• Add notes about Songhai and include info about

trade, politics, and policies of expansion.

Kingdom of Songhai – 1464-1600

Draw an outline of the Kingdom of Songhai (new color) and include it on your key.

Kingdom of Songhai

Notes on Songhai 1464-1600:• Grew rich from trade across Sahara Desert (salt and

gold)• Divided into provinces• Created a navy and soldiers on horseback (cavalry)• expanded its trading networks as far as Europe and

Asia• Continued to flourish as a center of Muslim scholarship and many subjects were Muslim

Kingdom of Benin

• Became famous for their copper and bronze sculptures, which were among the finest of all African artwork• Became involved with the slave trade

Kingdom of Benin

Draw Benin on your map and add it to your key

Kingdom of Benin

The Great Zimbabwe

• One of the best known trading kingdoms of South Africa• Great deposits of gold• Traded gold, copper, and ivory from

Africa’s interior with Muslim traders along Africa’s east coast

Towers of the Great Zimbabwe

Other Important Info

• Bantu Migrations• Communities of peoples who lived on subsistence

farming and spoke a common language (Bantu)• Lived throughout West, Central, and southeast Africa

• East African Trading Centers• Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf

settled at ports along the east coast• Merchants grew wealthy from trade here• Eventually, gave rise to mixed African-Arabian culture

known as Swahili

Zimbabwe, Trading Cities, and Migrations.

Add Zimbabwe to your map.

Also, add the East African Trading cities of Mogadishu, Mombasa, and Kilwa.

Finally, add arrows representing the movement of the Bantu migrations.

Make sure everything is on your key.

Mogadishu

MombasaKilwa

Zimbabwe

African Society• In many African societies, lineage was traced through the

mother (matrilineal).• Boys and girls were often separated from the community and

underwent special ceremonies at puberty.• Marriages were arranged by families and grooms paid a dowry

to the bride’s family.• Under Islam, women were limited to running the household

while husbands represented the family outside it.• Slavery• Berber groups in N Africa regularly raided villages south of the

Sahara for captives, but slavery was also common further south and along the east coast• Included prisoners of war, debtors, and some criminals• Slaves worked on farmlands, were soldiers, or were domestic

servants

LEFT SIDE

• Using page 232 in your textbook, complete the chart of African Trading Empires. Using your notes or textbook, add the information for important rulers and economic base (you won’t find rulers for Kush or Ghana)