Did you know?
• Africa is one of the earth’s seven
continents. It is the second largest
continent. Africa is a land of great
beauty and resources.
• The earliest evidence of human
beings comes from Africa. Many
great cultures developed here.
Using the map, answer the following
questions.
_____1. Africa is a small continent.
A. True
B. False
_____2. China is larger than the USA.
A. True
B. False
_____3. Europe is larger than China.
A. True
B. False
_____4. Africa is larger than China,
Europe and the USA combined.
A. True
B. False
_____5. What does this map compare?
a. Population of Africa
b. Size of Africa
c. Cultures in Africa
Africa produced many great civilizations. During
the time of the Middle Ages of Europe, the
African kingdoms of Mali, Ghana and Songhai
were places of advanced learning and great
wealth.
They participated in trans-Saharan trade (across
the Sahara) including salt, gold, food and slaves.
Strong leaders and vast natural resources helped
these cultures rule large areas of northern and
western Africa for hundreds of years.
Using the map to the left, answer the
following questions:
_____1. Which empire covered the
least area?
a. Ghana b. Mali c. Songhai
_____2. Which area extended the
furthest east?
a. Ghana b. Mali c. Songhai
_____3. Which kingdom was
established first?
a. Ghana b. Mali c. Songhai
_____4. Which kingdom was
established last?
a. Ghana b. Mali c. Songhai
_____5. Which kingdom ruled the
longest?
a. Ghana b. Mali c. Songhai
Ghana developed in West Africa
between the Niger (NI-jhur) and
the Gambia Rivers. It was an
important kingdom there from
about AD300 to about 1100.
The rivers helped Ghana to grow
rich because they were used to
transport goods and develop
trade. Ghana also collected taxes
from traders who passed through
the kingdom.
The kingdom of Ghana probably began
when several clans of people of west
Africa came together under the
leadership of a great king named Dinga
Cisse.
Ghana had few natural resources
except salt and gold.
They were also very good at making
things from iron. Ghana’s warriors used
iron tipped spears to defeat their
neighbors, who fought with weapons
made of stone, bone, and wood.
The court of a king of Ghana.
"The King . . .(wears). . . necklaces
round his neck and bracelets on his
forearms and he puts on a high cap
decorated with gold and wrapped in a
turban of fine cotton. He (meets
people) in a domed pavilion around
which stand ten horses covered with
gold-embroidered materials…and on
his right, are the sons of the
(lesser) kings of his country, wearing
splendid garments and their hair
plaited with gold.
At the door of the pavilion are dogs
of excellent pedigree. Round their
necks they wear collars of gold and
silver, studded with a number of
balls of the same metals."
Read “The Court of a King of Ghana” and answer the following
questions.
_____1. The King wears many things. What is not mentioned?
a. Bracelets b. Rings c. Necklaces
_____2. What does he do in a domed pavilion?
a. Meet people b. Sleep c. Live
_____3. Where are the sons of the lesser kings?
a. On his left
b. On his right c. Behind him
_____4. What is located at the door?
a. Soldiers b. Tigers
c. Dogs
_____5. Who wears collars of gold and silver?
a. Guard dogs
b. Soldiers
c. the King
_____6. How many horses surround the pavilion
a. 5
b. 8
c. 10
_____7. What does the King have that is made of fine cotton?
a. A robe
b. A garment
c. A turban
_____8. Who has hair plaited with gold?
a. The King b. The Queen c. The lesser kings
_____9. The lesser kings are poor.
a. True
b. False
_____10. The dogs have collars with balls of what?
a. Gold and silver
b. Cotton
c. studded
Ghana became a rich and powerful nation, especially
when the camel began to be used as a source of
transport. Ghana relied on trade, which was made
faster and bigger with the use of the camel.
Camels – Camels made trade much easier. Why were they so useful? Read the following information and
answer the related questions.
A camel caravan was a group of traders and their families who traveled together, and used camels to carry most of their goods. Together,
these camel caravans braved the dangerous obstacles along the 1,500 mile route from Ghana to Egypt. When you think of the desert, the first
animal that you might think of is the camel. Thousands of years ago traders tamed camels and began to use them to travel across the desert.
Today the people of the Sahara desert still use the camel for milk, meat, wool, shade and, of course, transportation.
A camel’s body temperature is cooler than the air around them. They huddle together to stay cool! Camels do not store water in their
humps like some people believe. It is really fat inside the hump. When they haven't had food in a long time the hump gets smaller and falls
over. When they do get food and rest, the hump returns to normal. For food, camels are omnivorous. They can eat almost anything including
vegetation, meat, or bone,-- salty or sweet, a camel’s stomach knows no limits.
A mature camel (6-7 years old) weighs between 551 lbs. to 1500 lbs. and stands from 6 ft. to 6 1/2 ft. tall at the shoulders. Camels have
two toes on each foot, each with a hoof on the front that looks like a toenail. They walk on their toes much like a woman wearing a pair of
high heels. But, instead of a heel, a camel has a ball of fat that helps form the soft pad on the bottom of its foot. This pad supports the animal
on the sand like a pair of snowshoes, and makes the camel almost completely silent when it walks and runs.
It has two large eyes on either side of the head. Each eye is shaded from the noonday sun by a projecting ridge of bone that thick bushy
eyebrows sit on. The eye itself is protected from sand by two rows of extra long eyelashes, one on the upper eyelid, and one on the lower
eyelid. The camels ears and nose are covered in hair, including the inside of the ear, which helps keep out airborne sand and dust.
A baggage camel can travel up to 40 mi. per day at about 2 mph fully loaded. A caravan will usually average only about 12 mi. per day.
Together, camels and traders helped increase the wealth in the early African kingdoms.
_____1. How long was the route from Ghana to Egypt? A. 1,000 miles
_____2. Why do camels huddle together? A. To stay warm
_____3. Camels only eat vegetation. A. True
b. 1,500 miles
b. For protection
c. 2,000 miles
c. To stay cool
b. False
_____4. A mature camel weighs less than 2,000 lbs. A. True
B. False
_____5. What does not help the camel survive in the desert? A. 3 rows of eyelashes
b. Hair lined nose
c. Ball of fat on its foot
Islamic
Mosque
in Ghana
blankbluesky.com/ travel/ghana/
After 700 AD, the religion of Islam began to spread over northern
Africa. Followers of this religion are called Muslims and they
worship in a building called a mosque. Muslim warriors came into
Ghana and fought with the non-Islamic people there. This
weakened the great civilization of Ghana and led to its decline.
A powerful king named Sundiata ruled
this area from around 1230-1255 AD.
He led the people in conquering and
expanding his kingdom to be as great as
Ghana had been.
Perhaps the greatest
king of Mali was Mansa
Musa (1312-1337). He
developed the gold and
salt trade of Mali and his
kingdom became very
powerful and rich.
Mansa Musa was a Muslim,
meaning he followed the religion
of Islam. He built many beautiful
mosques or Islamic temples in
western Africa.
In 1324 Mansa Musa made a pilgrimage ( a journey to a holy
place) to Mecca, which is a holy city in Arabia, with 60,000
servants and followers and 80 camels carrying more than
4,000 pounds of gold to be distributed among the poor. Of
the 12,000 servants 500 carried staffs of pure gold. This
showed his power and wealth to the other people he visited.
Based on the story above, answer the following questions.
_____1. How many pounds of gold did each camel carry?
A. 5
b. 50
c. 500
_____2. How many followers went with Mans Musa (not including servants)?
a. 60,000 b. 12,0000 c. 48,000
_____3. How many servants carried staffs of gold?
A. 12,000 b. 500 c. 80
_____4. How many servants did not carry staffs of gold?
A. 500
b. 11,500
c. 4,000
_____5. What is a journey to a holy place?
A. Mansa Musa b. Pilgrimage c. Mecca
_____6. Where is Mecca located?
A. Mansa Musa b. Pilgrimage
c. Arabia
_____7. Mansa Musa is not very wealthy. A. True B. False
_____8. Mansa Musa was traveling only to show off his wealth. A. True B. False
_____9. Mansa Musa planned to give the gold away. A. True B. False
_____10. Mansa Musa was greedy. A. True B. False
When Mansa Musa died there were no kings as powerful
as he was to follow. The great kingdom of Mali
weakened. Eventually a group of people known as
Berbers came into the area and other people came up
from the south to claim territory that was once part of
the kingdom. Although Mali fell, another advanced
African kingdom took its place, the kingdom of Songhai.
The Berbers still
live in North
Africa. This
picture, taken in
1893, shows a
Berber group.
This map was
created in 1375.
These trade
routes were used
by the merchants
of the Songhai
kingdom.
What kinds of
pictures do you
see on the map
and why do you
think the
mapmaker put
them there?
The picture above is one artist’s idea of what the great Songhai
leader, Sunni Ali might have looked like. Sunni Ali saw that the
kingdom of Mali was weakening and he led his soldiers to conquer
the area. He began the kingdom of Songhai. He also set up a
complex government to rule all the lands he had conquered.
Silk, Ceramics, Beads,
Islam from Europe and
Asia
All three kingdoms of West
Africa depended on trade
for their strength and
wealth.
Use the map to answer these
questions.
____1. What was not traded?
a. Salt
b. Slaves
c. Iron
Salt
Timbuktu
Gao
Jenne
Gold, Ivory, Wood, Slaves
_____2. Beads came into Africa.
a. True
b. False
_____3. Slaves came into Africa.
a. True
b. False
Coming from Africa and going to
Europe and Asia
____4. What religion was traded?
a. Christianity b. Islam c. Buddhism
____5. What did not come into Africa?
a. Silk
b. Ceramics
Coming into West Africa
c. Wood
Sunni Ali died in 1492 CE. His
son took over the rule of
Songhai but he did not accept
Islam as a religion. Islam was
accepted as a religion by many
people in northern Africa. One
of Sunni Ali’s generals, named
Muhammad Ture, overthrew
the new king and made himself
king of Songhai. Ture was a
follower of Islam (Muslim) and
so he made Islam the religion
of his kingdom.
This is a photo of a mosque,
or place of worship for
Muslims, in western Africa.
Many mosques were built of
local materials.
Songhai remained a rich and
strong kingdom under
Muhammad Ture’s rule. It
had a complex government
centered in the city of Gao,
and great centers of learning.
But later rulers were not as
powerful. In the late 1500s,
Morocco invaded Songhai to
take its rich trade routes.
Moroccans had a new weapon,
the gun, and the army of
Songhai did not. This led to
the fall of Songhai.