Kingdoms of Africa
Left Side
• On your map of Africa:
• Draw in the Nile River
and Niger River
• Color the Sahara
desert
Nile River
Niger 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
Draw an outline
of Ghana on
your map and
add it to your
key.
Kingdom
of Ghana
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
Kingdom of Mali
Timbuktu
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.
Mogadishu
Mombasa
Kilwa
Make sure everything is
on your key.
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)