8
Early
Civilizations in
Africa
The Big questions
 How
& why did the first civilizations arise?
 What role did cross-cultural contacts play in their
developments?
 What was the nature of the relationship between
these permanent settlements and nonagricultural
peoples living elsewhere in the world?
 What brought the demise of these early civilizations,
and what legacy did they leave for their successors
in the region?
Questions:
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What is your knowledge of Africa or perceptions of
African civilizations?
How much have you learned about Africa in the course of
your educational careers?
How did the first people develop in Africa and to what
civilizations did the neolithic or agricultural revolutions
give rise?
Questions:
 What
are the several possible reasons that might
explain Islam's success in Africa prior to 1500
C.E.? What do the career and accomplishments of
Mansa Musa reveal about African society during
the fourteenth century C.E.?
Identifications
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Nubia
Kush
Axum
Coptic Christianity
Ethiopia
"fleets of the desert"
Meroë
Nok culture
Bantu
Swahili
Berbers
al-Maghrib
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Zanj/Azania
Ghana and Saleh
mansa
Mansa Musa
Timbuktu
"noncentralized societies"
Great Zimbabwe
lineage group
matrilinear
African slavery
p222
 Nubians
 9000
BCE
Agriculture
 Cattle, Sheep,
Goats
 Pottery
 By 5000 BCE
Cotton textile
manufacture

Figure 8-1 p215
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Axum &
Meroe
Center of
trade
Iron based
economy
Religion of
Saba
writing
4CE Coptic
Figure 8-2 p216
p234
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Berbers
Pastoral
people of N.
Africa
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Intermediaries
of
technological
& Cultural
Exchange
Carthage
Center of
Trade
Berbers – Fleets of the Desert
p218
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N. Nigeria
Nok Culture
500BCE
Metallurgy
Terra Cotta
p218
p231
East and Southern Africa
 Bantu
7
“The People”
Migrations
 Introduced agriculture &
iron metallurgy 3000BCE
 Engaged in trade with
Egypt 2000 BCE
 Port of Rhapta – trade hub
by 1CE
 Swahili – trade language –
lingua Franca
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Pantheism
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Lineage
Group
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Syncretism of
Islam &
original
systems of
belief
p219
The Spread of Islam
Al-Maghrib
Egypt 641 CE
Carthage 690 CE
p220
Ethiopia
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Zagwe Dynasty – consolidated
control of the region,
incorporated Axum
 Christian Kingdom of
Ethiopia 12th C
 King Lalibela (1221 CE) 11
Great Churches
Muslim State of Adel, 14-16th C
Swahili Coast of East Africa: Zanj
 Cosmopolitan
independent states
 Revenue – commerce
tax
 Swahili “coast” culture
 Fusion of Bantu &
Arabic language and
culture
p223
9
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The Emergence of States in
Africa
Gao & Ghana
Intermediaries of the
Trans-Sahara Trade
Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
Figure 8-3 p225
p226
Ghana
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Land of Gold
Soninke
People
Commercial
economy
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Gold & Salt
20 Kings
pre-dated
Muhammad
Today’s Mali
Figure 8-4 p227
Ghana’s Decline
 Arrival
of Islam in North Africa weakened Ghana
 Conquered by 1076
 Berber & Tuareg Tribes of the Sahara converted in
7th Century and by 11th Century
 Rise of the Almoravids
 Controlled the gold trade
Empire of Mali & Mansa Sundiata
Peoples 13th C broke away from Ghana
 Basis of society: Agriculture
 Juula or merchants formed partnerships & carried
out trade
 Expansion : Mansa Sundiata
 Organized social & political arrangements of
the empire – 16 clans with distinct duties
 Mailinke
• Griots: professional oral historians
• Kept history, tradition, advised the king
Mansa Musa – Haj to Mecca – promoted Islam
p228
Mansa Kankan Musa
1312-1337 CE
 Hajj to Mecca 1324
 So much gold was distributed
that there was a general
devaluation of currency
 Ishak al-Sahili
 Poet & architect
 Great Mosque of Jenne
p235
City of Timbuktu
p228
Timbuktu
 Great
sankore mosque
 Library
 University
 Scholars, Jurists,
Theologians
 Book symbolized the
Islamic world
• Book trade, most
lucrative
Business in Timbuktu
The Songhay Kingdom
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Decline of Mali
Sunni Ali 1464 – 1492 forged new Empire
 Conquered trading cities of Jenne and
Timbuktu
 Developed system of provincial administration
 Mobilized recruits for conquests
 Muslim rulers took on military title, Askia
 Extended boundaries, by mid 1500’s
dominated Central Sudan
p233
Decline of Songhay
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1591 Muslim army from
Morocco defeated larger forces
of the Songhay
Signs of weakness stimulated
internal revolts against the ruling
family
Legacy: political and cultural
tradition of Western Sudan
Hausa of Northern Nigeria
established cities such as Kano
and Katsina
 Kano became a center of
Muslim Learning
Sudanic States, Political & Social
 Islam
provided a universalistic faith
 Common religion and law provided solidarity
 Ruling families used Islamic titles such as Empire
& Caliph to reinforce authority
 Fusion of Africa and Islam
 Many did not convert to Islam
Fusion evident in role of women
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Songhay State – matrilineal societies, recognized role of women in kinship
Women continued to enjoy freedom under Islamic Songhay
Impact of Slavery on women
Slaves
 domestics, laborers, soldiers and administrators,
 eunuchs and concubines,
 Children of slave women were freed and integrated into society but that
also meant a constant demand for slaves.
 The trade extended over 700 years and is estimated 4.8 – 6 million.
Southern Africa
States of Luba & Kongo
 Luba
& Kongo
 Centralized Government
 King appointed provincial governors who
collected tribute from village chiefs
 Agriculture & manufacture
 Absorbed mixed farming & pastoral people in
area of Modern day Angola
Zimbabwe “The Sacred/Stone House”
1000CE
Mixed Economy
12-14th CE
Powerful state
Gold trade
15th C abandoned
p213
p238