East Africa
Kingdoms & Trade
Coins of Aksum
Coins used by the
Kingdom of Aksum
How similar are these
coins?
How are they different?
Coins of Aksum
One has a crescent, the
other has a cross
What does this tell us?
Who was this ruler?
Aksum
How important was Aksum at its peak?
How important were the kings of Aksum?
How important was trade to Aksum?
What was Aksum like?
Aksum: Decline & Legacy
How did the kingdom of Aksum come to an
end?
How was Ethiopia influenced by Aksum?
What happened to Ethiopia after the spread of
Islam?
The Swahili Coast
The east coast of Africa was home to a
number of city-states.
The Swahili were a combination of African
and Islamic culture.
By 1100 CE many of the city-states had
become wealthy and powerful.
Why?
The Swahili Coast
How did the Swahili
become influenced
by Islamic culture?
Why were the citystates wealthy and
powerful?
The Swahili Coast
The city-states were part of
the Indian Ocean Trade.
Who did they trade with?
Coins found in Kilwa
Kilwa & the Swahili Coast
Kilwa became the most
powerful city-state.
How powerful was it?
Kilwa & the Swahili Coast
Was the coast the
only part of Africa
impacted by the
Indian Ocean
Trade?
Where else might
have been?
Great Zimbabwe
A “zimbabwe” is a
stone structure.
The city became
powerful around 1250.
Why?
Great Zimbabwe
Do these items provide a
clue?
Great Zimbabwe controlled the gold
and ivory trade to the coast.
Gold beads
found in Great
Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe
Historiographical
controversy
Who built Great
Zimbabwe?
Great Zimbabwe
“It can be taken as a fact that the wood which we obtained [from
Great Zimbabwe] actually is cedar-wood and it cannot come from
anywhere else but from the Lebanon. Furthermore, only the
Phoenicians could have brought it here; also, Solomon used a lot
of cedar-wood for the building of the temple [in Jerusalem].”
Karl Mauch, German explorer & geographer (1871)
“The word ‘peacocks’ in the Bible may be read as parrots and
amongst the stone ornaments from Zimbabwe are green parrots.”
Cecil Rhodes, English businessman & politician (1891)
“In recent years, most Africans have not only claimed the ruins as the
product of an indigenous African society but have taken pride in
them as a reminder of past glories.”
Peter Garlake, Zimbabwean archaeologist & art historian (1973)
Great Zimbabwe
What do you think?
In a short essay, determine
who built Great Zimbabwe
and explain why.
Be sure to consider
historical thinking in your
response.