Background information about the Account of Ghana by Arab writer Al-Bakri
You have just learned about the key role that trade played in the development of Ghana. You also read how the empire of Mali, and then Songhai arose after the decline of Ghana. All three empires exercised political and economic power over a large part of Africa . Control of high-demand trade products like gold and salt allowed Ghana, Mali, and Songhai to become powerful and wealthy.
Gold and salt were the largest part of West African economies. Slavery was another part of those economies.
Many societies in Africa who were ruled by kings kept slaves. Slaves were seen as a symbol of power and wealth. Mostly, slaves were used for household purposes. In Mali, they were also used to clear new farmlands. Kings would sometimes keep loyal foreign-born slaves as bodyguards. Slaves were also traded to places outside of West Africa, but not on the large scale that would happen later.
Ghana, Mali, and Songhai had great political and economic power . These three empires also demonstrated cultural influence over a large part of Africa. The city of Timbuktu which flourished during the reign of Askia Muhammad became a great centre of learning. People from all over the
Islamic world came to admire its striking mosques and to study in its famous universities and libraries.
Archaeological excavations of Ghana’s capital of Kumbi Saleh show it to be an impressive city as well.
Historians believe that it could have been largest city in the world at the time. A mix of traditional and
Muslim religions coexisted there.
One of the sources of information about Ghana and its cities comes from Abu Ubayd Al-Bakri . He was a historian and geographer from Muslim Spain. In 1068, he wrote the Book of Roads and
Kingdoms(also referred to as The Book of Routes and Realms). Many Muslim traders crossed the
Sahara to trade salt, metalwork, and horses, for gold and slaves. Al Bakri’s book describes the lands they encountered there. He never travelled south of the Sahara himself. He based information in his book on those areas he had never been to on accounts given to him by merchants and other travellers.
He also consulted the works of many of his fellow Muslim geographers.
Next, you will investigate an excerpt from The Book of Routes and Realms. In it, Al-Bakri describes a city in Ghana and the king that rules that city.
Al Bakri:

1.
When did Al Bakri write his book? (1point.)
2.
What was the title of the book from which the account of Ghana was taken? What did it describe? (2 points)
3.
What was Al Bakri’s background (education etc.)? (1 points)
4.
According to Al Bakri, who are the king’s interpreters, treasury officials and ministers? (1 point)
5.
Is there any evidence that the king follows the same religion as the interpreters, officials and
(2 points) ministers? Explain your answer.
6.
You want to design a map of the city of Kumbi Saleh. What information from this source would
(2 points) help you do that?
7.
Why might using Al Bakri’s account as evidence of the Kingdom of Ghana have limitations?
(6 points) Explain your answer by referring to at least TWO of the following:

Fact

Omission
 Reliability

Bias
 Opinion
 Accurate
8.
Al Bakri wrote about life in the kingdom of Ghana during the 11 th Century.
To what extent is his account useful as source of evidence about the following THREE topics in the
(10 points) ancient kingdom of Ghana?
 Kingship, politics and government
 Religion and religious life

Social structures, the roles of men and women
For your answer write a short essay that refers to all three topics (3 short paragraphs using the
PEE format (Point, Example/Explain)
TOTAL POINTS 25

I am Al-Bakri, a Muslim geographer and nobleman living in southern Spain. The year is 1068 and I have just written a book called The Book of Routes and Realms. Many Muslim traders cross the Sahara to trade salt, metalwork, and horses, for gold and slaves. My book describes the lands they encounter there.
The wealthiest and most powerful of these lands is the Kingdom of Ghana, "the land of gold."
Although I myself have never traveled to Ghana, I have spoken to many merchants who have. I also have consulted the works of many of my fellow Muslim geographers. In my writing I strive to maintain objectiveness when describing the people and their customs, the geography, the climate, and main cities of the land. I have determined that the Kingdom of Ghana is populated by the Soninke people, who call their land Wagadugu or Wagadu. Our name for it, Ghana, is their title for the king who rules the empire. The Soninke state is strong, and its king controls 200,000 soldiers, 40,000 of whom are archers who protect Ghana's trade routes.
The power of the king of Ghana is drawn from his monopoly of the enormous quantity of gold that is produced in his realm. This wealth allows the Soninke to build and support large cities, and their capital has between 15,000 and 20,000 inhabitants. The Soninke also have used their wealth to develop other economic activities, such as weaving, iron working, and agricultural production.
I hope you will find the following excerpts from my book helpful in preparing you for your study of this land .
The capital
The capital of Ghana is called Kumbi Saleh. The city consists of two towns lying on a plain, one of which is inhabited by Muslims and is large, possessing 12 mosques. The town also possesses a large number of judges and learned men.
Surrounding both towns are wells of sweet water from which they drink and near which they cultivate vegetables. The town inhabited by the king is six miles from the Muslim one and is called Al Ghana. The area between the two towns is covered with houses made of stone and wood. The king has a palace and conical huts, surrounded by a wall-like enclosure. In the king’s town, not far from the royal court of justice, is a mosque. The Muslims who come on missions to the king pray there. There is one great avenue, which crosses the town from east to west.
The king
The king’s interpreters, the official in charge of his treasury and the majority of his ministers are
Muslims. The king adorns himself like a woman wearing necklaces around his neck and bracelets on his forearms. When he sits before the people, he puts on a high cap decorated with gold and wrapped in a turban of fine cloth.
The court of appeal is held in a domed pavilion around which stand 10 horses covered with goldembroidered materials. Behind the king stand 10 pages holding shields and swords decorated with gold. On his right are the sons of the vassal kings of his country wearing splendid garments and their hair plaited with gold. The governor of the city sits on the ground before the king and around him are ministers seated likewise. At the door of the pavilion are dogs of excellent pedigree that hardly ever

leave the place where the king is, guarding him. Round their necks, the dogs wear collars of gold and silver studded with a number of bells of the same metal.
The audience is announced by the beating of a drum which they call deba, made from a long hollow log. When the people who profess the same religion as the king approach him, they fall on their knees and sprinkle dust on their heads, for this is their way of showing respect for him. As for the Muslims, they greet him only by clapping their hands.
Economy and justice
The king exacts the right of one dinar of gold on each donkey-load of salt that enters his country, and two dinars of gold on each load of salt that goes out. Duties are also laid on copper and other merchandise entering and leaving the empire. The best gold in the country comes from Ghiaru, a town situated 18 days’ journey from the capital.
All large pieces of gold found in the mines of the empire belong to the king, although the public has access to the gold dust, which everyone knows about. Without this precaution, gold would become so abundant that it would practically lose its value.
When a man is accused of denying a crime, a headman takes a thin piece of wood, which is sour and bitter to taste, and pours upon it some water which he then gives to the defendant to drink. If the man vomits, his innocence is recognized and he is congratulated. If he does not vomit and the drink remains in his stomach, the accusation is accepted as justified.
Religion
Their religion is paganism and the worship of idols. Around the king's town are domed huts and groves where live the sorcerers, the men in charge of their religious cult. In these are also the idols and the tombs of the kings. These groves are guarded; no one can enter them nor discover their contents. The prisons of the living are there, and if anyone is imprisoned in them, no more is ever heard of him.
When the king dies, they build a huge dome of wood over the burial place. Then they bring him on a bed lightly covered and put him inside the dome. At his side they place his ornaments, his arms, and the vessels from which he used to eat and drink. The snake is the guardian of the state and lives in a cave devoted to its care. When the king dies, his possible successors are assembled, and the snake will prick one with its nose. This person is then said to be the new king.