1.
Tropical rainforests
2.
Savanna – grassy plains
3.
Sahara desert
4.
Mediterranean coast

Tropical
rainforests –
cover less than
5% of Africa

Savanna – largest
and most populated
zone

Sahara – the world’s largest desert

Desertification  Migration


Mediterranean coast – the tip of the
Northern and Southern coasts of Africa
Unlike the desert, the Mediterranean
climate is ideal for farming.
Bantu Migrations



West African farmers and herders moved
to the south and east between 500 and
1500 AD.
Migrations contributed to the rich diversity
of people and cultures
They spoke a variety of languages that all
came from the African root language,
Bantu.
Bantu Migrations
Nile Kingdom of Nubia

The ancient kingdom Nubia was formed on a
wide band of fertile land along the Nile.
Nubian rulers adopted many Egyptian
traditions. They built palaces and pyramids
modeled on Egyptian styles.
Roman Influence on North Africa


The Romans built roads, dams, aqueducts, and
cities across North Africa.
They imported lions and other fierce animals
to do battle with the gladiators.
GOLD
SALT
The camel changed the Saharan trade. For
centuries trade was limited because the horses that
transported the salt were not suitable to desert
travel. However, about 300, the Berbers, an Arabic
people of North Africa began using camels to carry
their goods. When the caravans reached Ghana,
merchants would pay one pound of gold dust for
one pound of salt. Trade began to thrive.
Now, more than 1,000 years later, salt trade still
exists. As late as 1975, workers in Taghaza were
living in salt huts and mining several thousand tons
of salt per year. Small caravans of camels carrying
salt still arrive in Timbuktu today.
Kingdoms Of West Africa
Ghana, Mali and Songhai were among the richest of the
West African states. They dominated the Sahara trade.
Two products
that
dominated the
Sahara trade
were gold and
salt. These
commodities,
or valuable
products,
were plentiful.
Sahara Trade Routes



In 800, the rulers of the Soninke people united many
farming villages to create Ghana. The capitol of
Ghana was Kumbi Saleh which was comprised of two
separate towns.
The king controlled the gold-salt trade routes across
West Africa. Two streams of trade met in Ghana,
where kings collected tolls on all goods entering or
leaving his land.
Muslim merchants brought their Islamic faith to
Ghana. They also introduced their written language
coinage, business methods, and architecture.




In 1235, Sundiata founded the kingdom of Mali.
The greatest emperor of Mali, Mansa Musa,
expanded Mali’s borders and worked to keep
peace. (mansa = king)
Mansa Musa converted to Islam and based his
system of justice on the Quran. He actually fulfilled
one of the five pillars of Islam by making the hajj.
He formed diplomatic and economic ties with other
Muslim states, increasing Mali’s renown.



By 1450, Gao, a wealthy trading state became the
capital of Songhai.
Sonni Ali, made it the largest state to have ever
existed in West Africa. He did not adopt the
practices of Islam. Instead, he followed more
traditional religious beliefs.
After his death Askia Mohammed set up a Muslim
dynasty and set up a bureaucracy. He also
completed the hajj which improved his ties with
the Muslim world.
By 1000 A.D., port cities in
Africa were thriving from trade
across the Indian ocean. Some of
the things that were produced in
Africa that they traded were
ivory, rhinoceros horn, hides,
and gold. Some immediate
affects from the trading were
that there was thriving
commerce in Mogadishu, Kilwa,
and Sofala. There was also a rise
of strong East African city-states
and a rise of slave trade. There
was also the introduction of
crops and animals from the
Middle East and Asia.


To the south and inland
from the coastal citystates, massive stone
ruins sprawl across
rocky hilltops near the
great bend in the
Limpopo River.
These ruins are known as
“Great Zimbabwe.” The
builders of Great
Zimbabwe were a group
of Bantu-speaking people
who settled in the region
between 900 and 1500.

The newcomers brought
improved farming
methods. They
produced enough food
to support a growing
population.

Zimbabwe reached its
height in about 1300. By
then, it tapped nearby
gold resources and
created profitable
commercial links with
coastal cities like Sofala.
Scholars have
suggested that the
ruler of Great
Zimbabwe was a
god-king who
presided over a
large court. A
central
bureaucracy ruled
an inner ring of
province, while
appointed
governors had
authority in more
distant villages.

African art was
usually created in
ivory, bronze, and
wood. Jewelry
and dyed cloth
was used in
African art often.
Much art, though,
served as social
and religious
purposes.
1)
Regents
Questions
The wealth and power of Mali’s ruler, mansa musa, were significant
because they contributed to the
a)
Start of the crusades
c)
b)
Growth of European nationalism
d)
Spread of Islam
Rise of Arab nationalism
2) The spread of Islam into the kingdoms of Ghana and Mali
resulted from
a)
Imperialism
c) cultural diffusion
b)
Ethnocentrism
d) self- determination
3) Which
civilization best
completes the
heading of the
partial outline
1)
Benin
____________
2)
Mali
a)spread of Islam
3)
Kush
b)Gold and salt trade
4) Egyptian
c) Growth of Timbuktu
d) Pilgrimage of Mansa Musa
Regents Questions
4) Which description best
characterizes the city of
Timbuktu
a)
b)
c)
d)
Port of the water route to east
Asia
Major urban and industrial
center on the Silk road
Commercial and cultural center
of West Africa
Inland city of the Hanseatic
league
5) Which economic activity was the
basis for most of the wealth and
power of the West African empires
of Ghana and Mali
a)
Hunting and gathering
b)
Farming and cattle ranching
c)
Trading in salt and gold
d)
Working in bronze and brass
Answers
1) c. the spread of Islam
2) c. cultural diffusion
3) c. Mali
4) c. commercial and cultural center of West Africa
5) c. trading in salt and gold