Unit II: Early African Civilizations
Ghana
Mali
Axum
Zimbabwe
Bantu Migration*
• About 1500 b.c.e. an extraordinary
cultural migration began to
transform sub-Saharan Africa. From
their homeland near the Niger delta,
groups of Bantu-speaking (Swahili)
farmers began to move east and
south, spreading cattle
domestication, crop cultivation,
and iron-working.
• By about 500 c.e. southern Africa
had been reached, the original
hunter-gatherers having been
marginalized to remote regions such
as the Kalahari Desert. (last phase
to about 1000 CE)
Environment - Migration caused
by overuse of soil and loss of its fertility
Trade & Iron Smelting
•Bracketing the Sahara and other deserts of
Africa is the sahel, a dry, treeless semi-arid
grass-covered plain
It was at Meroe that iron
working was perhaps
developed (either
introduced indigenously
or brought by the
Phoenicians to Egypt).
From the Nile, iron
smelting spread west
and was present in
West Africa by 250
B.C.E. and subSaharan Africa by 600
C.E. Some evidence,
however, suggests iron
smelting took place as
early as 500 B.C.E. in
the regions of the
Niger River (NOK
peoples).
• Many states
appeared in 10001500 CE in
northern and
western Africa,
their power based
on control over
long-distance trade
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East Africa
Zanj
(Egpyt, Nubia –
covered
previously)
Kush,
Axum,
Zanj
Kingdom of Kush
(760 BCE to 350 CE)
About 750 B.C.E. the Kushites took
advantage of Egyptian decay and
conquered Thebes, the capital of Upper
Egypt. The Kushites, however, soon
withdrew back to their homeland as the
Assyrians burst into Egypt in 670 B.C.E.
Their rule centered on the important
trading center of Meroe from which the
Kushites served as the conduit for goods
from Central and East Africa as well as
the Red Sea to Rome and its tributaries.
The zenith of Kush was from 250 B.C.E
to 200 C.E.
Women – important role in ruling dynasty
Decline – slow, eventually captured by
Axum (350 CE)
Kush Culture & Trade
While Kushite culture was
influenced by the
Egyptians and the other
African cultures that
surrounded them (began
using Egyptian
hieroglyphics – but
morphed to own;
syncretism of Egyptian
and Kushite gods, used
pyramids for burial of
dead), they maintained
their own art and
traditions.
Economy – agriculture,
trade of emeralds, gold
(Nubian means “gold”),
ebony, incense, ivory,
leopard skins, oils, and
ostrich feathers.
An Ancient Testimonial
• In the third century CE, the Persian
religious leader Mani is said to have
identified the four most important
kingdoms of the world: Persia, Rome,
Sileos (possibly China), and Aksum (also
called Axum)
Wow – Pretty important
company! Must be HUGE
(as Fuccillo’s would say)
Kingdom of Axum
• Began as a trade colony
about 500 B.C.E. by the
kingdom of Saba (Sheba)
Sheba
across the Red Sea on the
southern tip of the Arab
Peninsula (Yemen). When
Saba declined, Axum
became independent.
• Trade based on Red Sea and port of
Adulis. Among the items exported were
ivory, frankincense, myrrh, and slaves
while imports included textile, metal
goods, wine, and olive oil.
• In about 330 C.E. Kush was eliminated as
a rival when it was conquered by Axum.
• In the eighth century the Muslims cut off
Axum's commercial contacts with the
Byzantine Empire. Soon, Ethiopia lost
its control of the Red Sea trade routes.
Now landlocked and primarily agricultural
society.
Stele to mark location of
royal tombs, not like Ashoka’s
for laws
Axum & Christianity
•
•
In the sixth and seventh centuries the
kingdom was Christianized via
Coptic Egypt (under Emperor
Justinian) and the church became
Monophysite in doctrine (the single,
unitary nature of Jesus). Christianity
became the tool for unifying the
various chieftains of Axum into the
kingdom of Ethiopia.
By the tenth century the Axumite
Kingdom had disappeared, replaced
by Christian Ethiopia. In relative
seclusion due to mountainous and
almost inaccessible highlands, a
stable monarchy and distinctive
Christian culture were created.
Axum overthrown by Jewish
Queen, Judith in 960 CE
Coin of Ousanas, king of Aksum
in the fourth century A.D., reverse
has the symbol of the cross to
show conversion
Ethiopia
• Christian community of Axum moved inland into
highlands of Ethiopia – Abyssinian period.
• Increasingly feudal and militarized in resistant to
encroachment of Islamic Africans.
• Military strength of Ethiopians combined with
assistance from Portuguese allowed for Ethiopia
to remain an isolated Christian state until 1974
when military coup.
The Land of Zanj
• 7th-8th c CE – Arabian (and later
Persian) merchants began
settling on east coast.Created
string of 37 ports – Mombasa,
Pemba, Zanzibar and Kilwa
(southern limit a ship could go in
one season)
• Trade with the Indian Ocean and
as far away as China.
(rhinocerous horns, ivory and
gold exchanged for Chinese
porcelain and Indian textiles)
• Mixed African-Arab culture
(Bantu, Persian and Arab)
• Self-governing cities
• Swahili develops w/loans
words from Arabia, India and
even China – becomes the
lingua franca of East Africa
Trading ports and
cities, Indian Ocean,
618-1500 c.e.
• The Indian Ocean was the pivot of long-distance
seaborne trade from the Mediterranean to the South
China Sea. Each of its port cities housed a rich diversity
of merchants of many ethnicities and cultures.
Kilwa – 1200s CE
Ibn Battuta (Muslim travelor
in 1352 CE) describes it
as “amongst the most
beautiful of cities and
most elegantly built.”
West Africa
Ghana, Mali, Songhai
Ghana (800-1200)
• Capital at Saleh, a city of
15,000-20,000 by the
twelfth century. Emerging in
the fifth century C.E. north
of the Senegal and Niger
Rivers, it was located near
one of the richest gold
producing areas in Africa.
• The gold was procured from
neighboring people and
transported to Marrakech
and Morocco where it was
distributed to the northern
world.
• Ghana also exported to the
Mediterranean ivory, ostrich
feathers, hides, leather
goods, and ultimately
slaves.
• It also had substantial
agricultural land that
supported a population of
about 200,000.
• Divine right monarchy
assisted by hereditary
aristocracy
Decline of Ghana
13th century Islamic attack by the nomadic
Almoravids from the Sahara had
devastated Ghana's main trading centers,
and tribes previously under Ghana's
dominance (such as Mali, Songhai,
Kanem-Bornu, and the Hausa) began to
exert their independence
Mali (13th – 15th c.)
The Malinke tribe were originally pagan, but
they saw the economic potential of
Islam. Embracing the faith would not
only give them equality with Arabic
traders, but it would also lessen the
chance of being attacked by the
Almoravids. Thus, Malian traders
spread Islam in their travels.
Timbuktu was not only a main
trading center for the gold that
was used to build the power of
Mali but also by the fifteenth
century it had developed into a
center of scholarship and
learning. Songhai, at the eastern
end of the Niger
Sundiata
(1210 CE – 1255 CE)
• Founder of the Mali Empire.
• Uniting his society and eliminate
his enemies, Sundiata was able
to establish the framework for
Mali's eventual economic and
political leadership of the region.
• There are many oral traditions (by griots) about Sundiata but
little in the way of written evidence about his early life.
• Under Sundiata, Mali thrived economically. The merchants of
Mali were particularly fond of the stability brought by Sundiata.
The people of Mali became very rich by supplying the transSaharan caravans with ebony, fish, gold, iron, ivory, kola nuts,
palm oil, salt, and woods. Due to the success of its diverse
economy, Mali at its height was the envy of many leaders
throughout the world.
• Although a Muslim who created bonds with Trans-Saharan
Arab merchants, he was beloved by his people for his respect
of native traditions and animism.
Mansa Musa (1312-1337)
Mansa Musa made a
pilgrimage to Mecca in
1324. He took 12,000
slaves each holding a
golden staff weighing 5-6
pounds. He had 60,000
followers with 80-100
camel-loads of dust, each
load weighing 300 lbs.
Legends arose about his wealth – Spanish record him on
a map (Catalan Atlas) calling him “the richest and most
noble king in all the lands”
Builds his palace and mosque in capital city of Timbuktu in
style of Arabic buildings.
Songhai (1375-1591)
•
•
•
•
Songhai was under Mali's control until 1375. By the
late fifteenth century Songhai dominated the entire
upper Niger and had captured Timbuktu.
Under Songhai trans-Saharan trade reached its
height focusing on gold, slaves, and ivory. Extended
trade with Arabs and Europeans
16th century, the country fell into civil war (animist vs.
Muslims) and chaos. Songhai's rule waned because of
European traders from Portugal who diverted gold
resources from the more traditional trading relationship
with the Arab empires. (also price of gold dropped due
to New World – Aztec gold)
Moroccan forces invaded the vulnerable empire in
1591 using muskets, and a fractured Songhai soon
fell to the Moroccans and the preying forces of the
increasing Atlantic slave trade. (Breaks into
competing Slave Trade States)
Southern
Africa
Khoisan People
Zimbabwe
San Bushmen of
Kalahari
Kongo
Khoisan
• One of the most ancient
population groups in the world.
They have inhabited regions of
southern Africa for around
30,000 years.
• the primary population group in
southern Africa prior to the Bantu
migration into the region
approximately 2,000 years ago.
• The Khoikhoi maintained huntergatherer and pastoral herding
lifestyles until very recently; the
• European colonists began settling
economic limitations of those
South Africa in the 17th century,
lifestyles are one of the main
they referred to the Khoikhoi as
reasons that the Bantus with
"Hottentots" (derived from a
their more productive
Dutch word meaning "stutterer,"
agricultural methods, were able
referring to the characteristic
to displace and assimilate many
clicks of the Khoisan language) or
of the Khoikhoi populations.
"Bushmen." In modern times,
those terms are considered
offensive.
Kingdom of Zimbabwe
Founded by eleventh century Bantu
speakers called the Shona and
flourished until the sixteenth
century.
The area consisted of at least 150
settlements that were apparently
involved in the trade of East
Africa.
Among its products was gold found
to the west and north and traded
to coast.
Great Zimbabwe – palace complex
Decline – shift in trade due to
Portuguese, environmental
degradation due to overutilization
of agricultural resources
Kingdom of Kongo
• Located near the mouth of the Kongo River, was
formed in the fourteenth century by a Bantu
prince. Ultimately, six states were brought under
the Mani Kongo ("lord of the Kongo"). By the
1400s, Kongo was a bureaucratic monarchy.
• Alfonso I (1506-1543) converted to
Christianity by Portuguese missionaries.
• Exploitive policies by Portuguese, however,
ended further conversions.
• Between 1100 and 1500 a relay system of trade by land and
sea connected almost all populous regions of Eurasia, as well
as north and east Africa. Long-distance traders carried goods
along their own segments of these routes, and then turned
them over to traders in the next sector. The western
hemisphere was still separate, and had two major trade
networks of its own.
The pattern of emporia trade in the Indian Ocean, c. 1000-1500
• Trade goods did not travel on a single ship the whole length of this
region. Rather, they would be loaded at a port in one of the three
regions, off-loaded and reloaded in the next for shipment to the third
region.
• Ivory, gold, hardwoods, and slaves were the magnets which
drew trading caravans south across the arid Saharan wastes,
often following routes established before the desert had
formed. These routes linked the classical cultures of the
Mediterranean and southwest Asia with an array of rich
trading states strung along the Sahel/Sudan axis.
Camel introduced in 1st c. BCE
Zheng-He
• Chinese expeditions of
1417-1419; 1421-1422
traded with Swahili coast.
Ming emperor finally
decided not worth effort.
African Kingdoms - Religion
Animism
Christianity
Islam
Native African Religion
– Animism
• Single creator god
– Sometimes accompanied by a pantheon of gods
– Reason why easily accepted monotheistic Christianity
and Islam
• Divine Kingship – divine status of kings was seen
through practices like secluding king from
commoners, sacrifices and taboos
• Shamans – medium and prophet who through
animal sacrifice could obtain power over or from
the spirits
• Challenged by Islam but not always replaced
Christianity
• Disciples and early
missionaries
established
Christian
communities in
southwest Asia,
Greece, Italy, north
Africa, and India.
On the other hand,
Roman
persecution, the
decline of western
Rome, and the rise
of Islam hindered
its dissemination.
• Islam entered sub-Saharan Africa as a result of trade.
Trans-Saharan caravans from Egypt, Libya, and
Morocco gradually introduced the faith overland among
the trading kingdoms of west Africa, while the Arab
traders of the Indian Ocean carried the message south
by sea along the east coast of the continent.
African Kingdoms - Social
• African Society
– Urban life
• Fortified villages
– Government
– Clans lived in own
compounds
• Relationship between the
king and merchant class
– Village Life
• Most people lived in
small villages
• Nuclear families and
larger kinship
communities
• Village was usually
composed of a single
lineage group
– Role of women
• Usually subordinate
to men
• Polygamy not
uncommon
• Many societies had
matrilinear lineage
• Could be warriors or
leaders in certain
tribes
• Could own property
and trade
Slavery
• Practiced in Africa since ancient times, probably
originating in prisoners of war
• Common in ancient Egypt
• Berbers raided agricultural villages and the slaves
were sold throughout the Mediterranean
• Could gain freedom
• Living conditions often decent
• Pre-modern slavery not as impacting because
smaller quantities
• Muslims could not enslave other muslims –
frequently trained slaves as soldiers creating
warrior slave caste known as mamluks (would
sometimes become so strong could usurp power)
African Kingdoms
– Art/Literature
– Painting and Sculpture
• Rock paintings, wood carving,
• Nok pottery, Benin bronzes
– Music and Dance
– Architecture (pyramids, stone bldgs.)
– Mostly Preliterate - Professional storytellers (griots)
African Kingdoms - Ethnology
• Continent of very complex and diverse
mixture of ethnic groups.
• North – Semitic, now largely Arabic, but
originally Phoenician and Jews.
• Sahara – Berbers and Egyptians
• South of Sahara – Black Africans
w/enclaves of Khoisan and Malaysians
who migrated from SE Asia in 5th c. CE