Africa: 600 – 1450 CE
Definitions
• Nomadic camel herders and
hardened warriors
• Embraced the new faith
with enthusiasm that
bordered on the fanatic…
• Berbers
Africa: 600 – 1450 CE
Definitions
• Powerful state between
800s – 1000, thanks to large
gold deposit an its
prominent role in transSaharan trade.
• Welcomed Muslim traders,
but it didn’t officially
convert which triggered a
Berber invasion.
• Was a gold-trading state
until 1200s…
Africa: 600 – 1450 CE
Definitions
• 1200s – 1600s, part of the
Niger River basin.
• Was part of an important
North-South trade route
• Blessed with deposits of gold
and other metals
• Also traded salt, ivory, animal
skins and slaves
• Emerged as a key point in the
trans-Sahara network
• Founded by Sundiata…
Africa: 600 – 1450 CE
Definitions
Timbuktu
• Chief commercial and
cultural hub/city of Mali
• Resting place for caravans
• Renowned center for
Islamic scholarship – home
to mosques and madrasas…
The Mosque of Sankore 
Africa: 600 – 1450 CE
Definitions
• Mali’s most powerful ruler
from 1312 – 1337
• Devout Muslim
• Gained fame throughout
Africa and Europe as one of
the world’s wealthiest
monarchs
• Caused an international
sensation when he made
his pilgrimage to Mecca…
• Mansa Musa
Africa: 600 – 1450 CE
Definitions
• One of the 5 pillars of Islam
• All faithful who are able are
expected to visit the holy
city of Mecca a least once in
their lifetime…
•Hajj
Africa: 600 – 1450 CE
Definitions
• Thrived on the East coast of
Africa
• Flourished between 1000 – 1500
• Nearly 40 autonomous urban
centers were sprinkled along
1500 miles of coastline
• All heavily involved in the Indian
Ocean network
• All were multi-ethnic w/Persians
and Arabs migrating with the
local Africans and migrants from
India and SE Asia
• Heavy Islamic presence…
Africa: 600 – 1450 CE
Definitions
• Key port cities along the
East African coast…
• Mogadishu, Mombasa,
Zanibar
Africa: 600 – 1450 CE
Definitions
Malaria
• Insect borne disease that
was obstacle to population
growth
• Carried by mosquito which
transmits deadly parasites
• High fever fevers, shaking
chills, flu-like symptoms,
anemia, death…
Africa: 600 – 1450 CE
Definitions
Sleeping Sickness
• Insect borne disease that was
obstacle to population growth
• Carried by tsetse fly which
transmits deadly parasites
• Near water in sub Sahara
Africa
• Can kill livestock and humans
• Made infected areas
unsuitable for settlement…
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The infection attacks the central nervous
system, causing severe neurological
disorders. Without treatment the disease is
fatal.
The first stage of sleeping sickness presents
with non-specific symptoms such as fever,
headache, weakness, itching, and joint pain.
At this stage, sleeping sickness is easy to
treat but difficult to diagnose. If no
treatment is given, the parasite will invade
the infected person’s central nervous system
and the second stage sets in.
The second stage may be characterized by
more specific symptoms, such as confusion,
violent behavior or convulsions. Named after
one of its most striking symptoms, patients
with sleeping sickness experience an inability
to sleep during the night but are often
overcome by sleep during the day.
*see You Tube
• Death by Tsetse Fly
• By Animal Planet