Bell Ringer
• How did Ghana control the trans-Saharan
trade?
• Why were camels important?
• What is an oasis?
CH 8: Ghana- A Trading empire
Kingdom of Ghana
• Started before 500 CE, and lasted until about 1200
• Located in a semi-arid land (receives rain, but not
much)
• Modern Day: Mali & Mauritania
• The first mention of the
Empire of Ghana was from
Arab Scholars, but it was a
flourishing empire by that
time.
• Ghana means “war chief”
• Ghana was an important
empire as it was very
important in terms of
trade, and they controlled
a large supply of gold.
Land of Gold
• Arab scholars described Ghana as a land of
Gold.
• The King was the head of the military, which
made him very powerful.
• The King taxed all gold that passed through
the kingdom, and all gold found in the Empire
had to be given to the king.
• The King used governors to help rule the
Empire (he paid them, they obeyed)
Matrilineal Inheritance
• The royal
inheritance was
Matrilineal
• When the King
died his Sister’s
son would
inherit the
throne.
Trade
• Ghana benefited from its geography. North
Africa wanted to trade with West Africa.
• Traders had to cross through Ghana, which
taxed them heavily on their goods.
• Control of the trans-Saharan trade made the
King of Ghana extremely rich.
History of Trade
• Trade across the Sahara was
difficult in history.
• However the introduction
of the Camel & Islam made
trade easier.
• Invading Muslims
introduced Camels, which
were great for the Desert.
• Ghana also defeated the
invading Muslims, who
controlled West Africa.
Their desire to trade
benefited Ghana.
• Traders would use
caravans, or travel in
groups.
• Traders would wait until
after the rainy season,
when water and grass
could be found along
the trade route.
• Traders would go from
Oasis to Oasis.
• The entire trip took
about 2 months to
complete.
The Journey
Gold & Salt
• Of the many items traded Gold & Salt were
the two most important.
• Gold has long been considered valuable
throughout the world.
• Salt is valuable as a part of people’s diet and
for food preservation.
Wangara: Gold
• A part of Africa known as Wangara had a large
supply of gold they were willing to trade.
• Apparently no one knew where the gold was but
the Wangara people.
• Stories state that miners captured by traders
would rather die then reveal the location of the
Gold.
• One story says when a miner was killed the
Wangarian people stopped trading for 3 years to
prove a point
Taghaza: Salt
• West Africans needed salt
• In Taghaza salt was located
about 3 feet below the earth
• The only thing in Taghaza
was salt, and without salt it
would have never existed.
• Miners relied on Caravans to
bring them food, if the
caravans didn’t show up the
salt miners starved.
Taxes
• Ghana had a complex system of taxes for
traders going through their empires.
• Traders were taxed going into and out of
Ghana.
• Most traders didn’t mind as the Army of
Ghana secured the trade routes, and made
traveling in their empire extremely safe.
• Traders would also sell
some of their goods at
the market place in
Kumbi (Ghana Capital)
• One of the biggest
markets in Africa, also
had a slave market.
• Wood, Silk, Cotton,
Dates, Figs, Grain,
Leather, Gold, Salt
• Gold dust was the main
currency
Ghana Falls
• Ghana peaked in about 1000 CE
• Muslim Warriors would take control in 1076, and
the King would regain control in 1087
• West Africa would fall (making Ghana less
important), & Ghana would deplete their
resources.
• 1203 a rival took over Kumbi, and Ghana ended
• Mali would become the next major empire in
Africa after the fall of Ghana.
Class Work
• Take 5-8 Minutes
• Make Up 3 Multiple choice questions based
on Ghana.
• Write out the full question and provide
multiple answers A-D (obviously one of them
should be a correct answer).