CHAPTER 15: SOCIETIES AND EMPIRES
OF EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA
Honors World History
Section 1: North & Central African Societies
•Hunter-Gatherers
•Stateless Societies
•Muslim States
Section 1: North & Central African Societies



Hunting-gathering societies like the Efe of central
Africa gathered wild food to survive.
The Efe used informal mutually agreed-upon rules for
sharing food and belongings.
The structure of many African societies is based on
extended families called “lineages”
Section 1: North & Central African Societies




In stateless societies, such as the Igbo, lineages shared
power.
The spread of Islam lead to the founding of Muslim
states in North Africa
Islamic law provided order and unified North Africa
Two of the first Muslim states in North Africa were the
Almoravid and Almohad empires.
Section 1: Societies and Empires of Africa
Summary of Section 1:
Societies and empires in North and
Central Africa had religious and
ethical systems in place. This region
developed hunting-gathering
societies, stateless societies, and
Muslim states.
Section 1: North & Central African Societies
Section 1:TASK
Almoravid
Almohad
Both
Section 2: West African Civilizations

The main trans=Saharan trade items are gold and salt.

Muslim merchants spread Islam to West Africa


The Almoravids conquer Ghana, disrupting the goldsalt trade.
Like Ghana, Mali, under the leadership of Sundiata,
builds its wealth on the gold-salt trade
Section 2: West African Civilizations


Sundiata, Mali’s first great leader, conquered Ghana
and made Niani its capital city and center of trade.
King Mansa Musa creates an efficient government and
expanded the Mali Empire.
A
devout Muslim, Musa went on a hajj to Mecca
 Upon his return he built several mosques in Timbuktu
 Timbuktu becomes one of the most important cities in the
empire
Section 2: West African Civilizations





The writings of early Muslim historian, Ibn Battuta depicted what
life in 14th century Mali was like.
Mali began to decline in the 1400s
The Empire of Songhi gained control of the trans-Saharan trade
routes
Emperor Sunni Ali expanded the empire through military
conquest (He even conquered Timbuktu and Djenne’ Djaro and
forced the queen to marry him).
His son took over after he died
Section 2: West African Civilizations



Askia Muhammad stole the empire from Sunni Ali’s son.
The Empire grew stronger under Askia’s leadership. He
placed great emphasis on education and acquiring
wealth.
However, the empire lacked modern weapons (Chinese
had gunpowder, Arabs had the crossbow, Moroccans
had cannons)
Section 2: West African Civilizations


The Songhi Empire fell to the Moroccan army, which
ended the period of West African empires.
Other people in West Africa:
- The Hausa people united by a common language and
form of government (city-states ruled by local
kings)
- Each city-state was responsible for taking care of its
own people (militarily, food, trade)
Section 2: West African Civilizations


Yoruba Kingdom: Its people also spoke a common
language, had a city-state setup, lived as forest
dwellers and mostly farmed.
- Yorubian kings were considered divine
- Ife and Oyo become the two largest Yoruba
kingdoms
- The Ife were gifted artists who carved in wood
and ivory
Another forest kingdom was Benin, whose rulers claimed
descent from the first king of the lfe people.
- Also had many gifted artists
Section 2: West African Civilizations
Summary of Section 2:
West Africa contained several rich and powerful
states including Ghana, Mali, and Songhi. These
empires engaged in the gold-salt trade, had
organized governments and many artists. This tells
us today that these early civilizations had rich
cultures before the Europeans came in and stole
their history.
Section 2: West African Civilizations
Section 2 – Task:Create flash cards for these terms:
1) Ghana
3) Sundiata
5) Timbuktu
7) Songhi
9) Yoruba
2) Mali
4) Mansa Musa
6) Ibn Battuta
8) Hausa
10) Benin
Section 3: Eastern City-States and Southern Empires




East African seaports developed and became strong
through trade with Asia
Swahili became the universal trade language
The city-state of Kilwa: Rich families had nice
houses/furniture. Muslim women wore silk robes, gold and
silver.
Kilwa had control of the port city of Sofala which helped
make the city-state rich through trade.
Section 3: Eastern City-States and Southern Empires




In 1488, the Portuguese, looking for a short route to India,
sail around the southern tip of Africa and conquer Sofala,
Kilwa, and Mombasa. This ends southeastern African control
of the trade.
Islamic influences increase as Muslim traders spread Islam to
East Africa.
East African rulers, officials, and native traders adopt Islam.
Muslim traders begin the practice of exporting slaves from
East Africa to Asia
Section 3: Eastern City-States and Southern Empires




The Great Zimbabwe, located in southeastern Africa was a
great trading city established by the Shona people
Most of the gold and ivory traded on the east coast of Africa
came from the continent’s interior
The Great Zimbabwe grew rich on controlling the gold trade to
the coast, but mysteriously the city was abandoned
The Mutapa Empire flourishes under the leadership of Mutota,
but in the end the Portuguese overthrow Mutota and begin to
politically control the region
Section 3: Eastern City-States and Southern Empires
Section 3: Summary:
African city-states and empires gained wealth
through developing and trading resources. The
country of Zimbabwe, and the cities of Mogadishu
and Mombasa have their roots in this time period.
Also, it sets the stage for increasing European
interference in Africa for centuries to come.
Section 3: Eastern City-States and Southern Empires
Section 3: Your Task: Answer
question #’s 3, 4, & 5 on
page 427. WRITE the
question and the answer