Empires and Cultures of Africa
I. Geography of Africa
A. A Land of Extremes
1. Equator runs through Africa
2. Snow year round on Mt. Kilimanjaro (tallest mountain)
3. Sahara Desert (world’s largest)
4. Sahel Grasslands
5. Nile, Niger, and Zambezi Rivers (1)
B. Savannas
1. Grassy, tree-dotted plains (1)
2. Cover much of Africa
3. Have a dry season and a rainy season (1)
C. Early Farmers
1. Began farming 4,000 years ago
2. Common crops
a. Millet (1, 2)
b. Sorghum (1)
c. Okra (1, 2)
d. Peas
3. Used fire to clear land for farming
a. Caused savannas to spread where forests once where (1)
II. The Kingdoms of Ethiopia
A. The Kingdom of Kush (500 BC- 150 AD) (1, 2)
1. Great wealth gained through trade networks
2. Queen Amanishakhete (1)
a. Ruled Kush around 27 BC
b. Tomb contained: gold bracelets, chains, rings, statues (1, 2, 3)
B. The Kingdom of Aksum (1)
1. Conquered Kush in 350 AD
2. Located in the hills of Eritrea and Ethiopia
3. Controlled important cities and trade routes
a. Traded with: Egypt, Arabia, and India (1)
C. Christianity in Africa
1. Aksum’s leaders were Christians by 300 AD (1)
a. Makes it one of the oldest Christian churches in the world
2. Developed different beliefs from European Christians
a. Followed a Patriarch, not the pope
D. The Zagwe
1. Overthrew the Aksum leaders
2. Supported Christianity
3. King Lalibela (1)
a. Ruled 1185- 1225 AD
b. Had 11 stone churches carved (1, 2, 3)
c. Used workers from all over to complete the churches
III. The Empires of Western Africa
A. Ghana (700- 1100 AD) (1)
1. The “Land of Gold”
a. Economy based on Gold trade
b. Merchants only handle gold dust, king keeps gold nuggets (1)
2. Economics
a. Supply- quantity of a good
b. Demand- People’s desire for the good
c. Rule of Supply and Demand
1. Items that are plentiful are in low demand and have low price
2. Ghana’s kings kept gold supply low
B. Mali (1100 – 1400 AD) (1)
1. Prince Sunjata of Mali (1)
a. Conquered Ghana
2. Grew rich on the gold trade (1)
a. Used similar economic policies to Ghana
3. Timbuktu (1)
a. Located at trade crossroads, near the Niger river, on the edge of Sahara
b. Prime location = Wealth
4. Mansa Musa (1312- 1327 AD) (1, 2)
a. Muslim King of Mali
b. Made a pilgrimage to Mecca
C. Songhai (1490- 1590 AD) (1)
1. Took over Mali (1)
a. Originally part of Mali
2. Griots
a. Assistants to the kings
b. Told stories that describe historical events
3. Scribes
a. Wrote official documents
b. Arabic writers
4. Morocco (To the North of Songhai)
a. Conquers Songhai
b. Used guns (1)
1. Songhai only had arrows and spears
c. Spread African gold throughout the Mediterranean (1)
IV. Africa’s Eastern Coast
A. Trade along the Indian Ocean
1. Merchant-Sailors brought goods to Asia
a. Exports to Arabia and Asia
1. Gold, Leopard skins, Rhinoceros horns, and ivory
b. Arabians and Asians use these goods to make artwork
c. Imports to Africa
1. Metal tools, pottery, cloth, glass containers, and wheat
2. Swahili- Arabic word
a. “People of the Shore” (1)
b. Islam becomes an important religion
3. Swahili Cities
a. Ruled by individual leaders, not united
b. Mombasa
1. Important city off coast of present-day Kenya (1, 2)
2. Large port and markets
c. Zanzibar (1, 2)
1. An island off coast of present-day Tanzania
d. Mogadishu
1. In Somalia
2. One of the largest coastal cities (1)
3. Farming and Fishing important
4. Controlled gold trade from 1000- 1300 AD
5. Vibrant import/ export economy
V. Great Zimbabwe (1)
A. Mystery
1. No oral traditions, no written documents
2. Archaeologists and historians have to make guesses
B. Life in Great Zimbabwe
1. Fertile hills and savannas for farming and grazing
2. Craftworkers made pottery from clay
3. Houses made of mud with wooden poles for stability
C. Walls of Stone (1)
1. Biggest stone walls in southern Africa (1, 2)
2. Trade probably paid for the construction
3. Used granite from surrounding areas
4. Heated the stones, then cracked them in straight lines (1, 2)
5. Reason for walls
a. To show power
b. For protection
c. For privacy
D. The Gold Trade
1. Sofala (1)
a. An important Swahili coastal city
b. Traded with Persia and China
2. Wealth of Great Zimbabwe
a. Gold bracelets
b. Iron hoes and axes for farmers
3. Reason for Decline
a. None found
b. Ecological suicide?
1. The environment can no longer support the people
c. Natural catastrophe?