DSS; October 13
1. List 5 major contributions that live on today
that were gifts of the Roman Empire.
2. In the Eastern Roman Empire, what legal code
was adopted and which emperor was its founder?
How is it important to our rights?
3. What was the name of the famous church that
the emperor Justinian built for the Christian
religion?
4. Answer all these questions about the Eastern
Roman Empire.
• Religion?
• Capital?
• Women’s rights according to Justinian Code?
• Draw a sketch of
the continent of
Africa in your
journals.
• Label everything you
remember:
countries, cities,
mountains, deserts,
rivers, lakes,
oceans, etc.
• Make sure to include
all elements of a
map.
Term
Hint
Definition
Sahel
Area of Africa that between tropics and
the equator
Berbers
People of the Mediterranean coast of
Africa
Ghana
Possibly means “warrior king”
Desertification
Population
density
Expansion of the desert due and loss
of grasslands due to overgrazing of
border lands, too much agricultural use
of border lands, or by climate change
Number of people that live in a square
mile
Taureg
A Berber nomad
Essential Question
How did the growth
of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai
kingdoms
affect trading centers
such as Timbuktu and Jenne?
A Satellite View
Africa:
The
“Tropical”
Continent
Tropic of Cancer
20° N
Equator 0°
Tropic of Capricorn
20° S
Vegetation Zones
DSS October 14th
1. What is the climate like in Arabia?
2. Describe what the Hijaz is?
2
3
6
5
1
4
3. Identify the bodies of water in the map
above.
African Kingdoms
400 C.E. -1500 C.E.
African Kingdoms
• Ghana 750-1076
• Mali 1235-1610
• Songhai 1464-1612
• Great Zimbabwe 11th -15th C.E.
• Swahili coast 12th -15th C.E.
• Many of the dates for these
kingdoms are still debated
Illustrate flap
Ghana Empire
• 750-1076-- southeastern Mauritania, Western Mali,
and Eastern Senegal
• First of many empires in Western Africa made
possible by a shift in the economy of the Sahel which
allowed more centralized states to form.
• Camels were important!
– preceded Arabs and Islam by several centuries,
brought about a gradual revolution in trade
– the extensive gold and ivory resources of the
region could be sent north and east to population
centers in North Africa, the Middle East and
Europe in exchange for salt and manufactured
goods
Gold-Salt Trade
SALT
GOLD
Berbers
Ghana Empire
[4c-11c]
Gold “Money”, Ghana/Ivory Coast
Ghana Empire
•
•
The main center of
trade was Koumbi
Saleh, it is thought
that the modern day
leather goods of
Morocco were
inspired by original
designs by the
Ghana Empire.
They also used iron
tipped spears in a
time with others
were still using
stone and bones.
Ghana’s Economy & Decline
• The taxation system imposed by the
king (or 'Ghana') required that both
importers and exporters pay a
percentage fee, not in currency, but in
the product itself.
• By 1059, the population density
around the empire's leading cities was
too much for the region.
• The Sahara desert was expanding
southward, threatening food supplies.
While imported food was sufficient to
support the population when income
from trade was high, when trade
faltered, this system also broke down.
Islamic
Mosque
in Ghana
After 700 AD, the religion of Islam began to spread over northern
Africa. War broke out and weakened the great civilization of Ghana.
Local warriors then decided to break away from the power of Ghana
and form their own local kingdoms. This ended many of the trade
networks.
Literacy grew through lessons on the Qu’ran.
AP #1
•How did Ghana
become a wealthy and
powerful kingdom?
Describe Ghana’s
economy.
The Kingdom of Ghana
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=3x-IwaVhnmo
http://www.btsadventures.com/img/
mosque.jpg
Illustrate flipbook
Mali Empire
1235 to 1610
• Renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially
Mansa Musa I who developed Mali’s gold/salt
trade.
• The Niger River allowed for cultural diffusion of the
Mali Empire such as the spread of its language,
laws and customs.
Mali Empire
SALT
GOLD
[13c-15c]
Mali Empire
• Contained three immense gold
mines within its borders unlike
the Ghana Empire, which was
only a transit point for gold.
• The empire taxed every ounce
of gold or salt that entered its
borders.
• By the beginning of the 14th
century, Mali was the source of
almost half the Old World's gold.
Ancient Timbuktu
Timbuktu Rooftop, Mosque
Tuaregs
Eventually the Berbers came into the area and other people
came up from the south to claim territory. Mali fell.
The Kingdom of Mali
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=VIV3TrntOiw
AP #2
•Compare and
contrast Ghana and
Mali kingdoms
The Bottom Line
Letter to an
absent
student
http://www.exzoobera
nce.com
Illustrate Flipbook
Songhai Empire
early 15th to the late 16th Century
• capital --Gao, where a small Songhai
state had existed since the 9th Century.
• Its base of power was on the bend of the
Niger River in present-day Niger and
Burkina Faso.
Songhai Empire
Songhay Economy
• Economy based on a caste system.
– The clan a person belonged to ultimately decided their occupation.
– At the top were nobleman and direct descendants of the original
Songhai people, followed by freemen and traders.
– The most common castes were metalworkers, fishermen, and
carpenters.
– Lower caste participants consisted of mostly non-farm working
slaves, who at times were provided special privileges and held high
positions in society.
– At the bottom were war captives and slaves obligated to labor,
especially in farming.
Sunni Ali saw that the kingdom of Mali was weakening and he led his
soldiers to conquer the area. He began the kingdom of Songhay. He
also set up a complex government to rule all the lands he had
conquered.
http://www.abcorpaffairs.com/gallery
/
Sunni Ali died in 1492 CE.
His son took over rule but
he did not accept Islam as
a religion.
Islam was accepted as a
religion by many upper
class people in northern
Africa. One of Sunni Ali’s
generals, named
Muhammad Ture,
overthrew the new king
and made himself king of
Songhai.
Ture was a follower of
Islam (Muslim) and so he
made Islam the religion of
his kingdom.
Many mosques were built of
local materials.
In the late 1500s, Morocco
invaded Songhai to take its
rich trade routes.
Moroccans had a new weapon,
the gun, and the army of
Songhai did not. This led to
the fall of Songhai.
(Photo courtesy of African Origin of Civilization by
Cheikh Anta Diop)