Pre-Historic Africa

Kingdom of Kush
[295 BCE – 320 CE]
Nubia
[modern-day Sudan]

Pyramids of Kush at Meroë

Pyramids of Kush at Meroë

Kushite in Egypt, 23 BCE

Kingdom of Axum [300-700]

Stele, Ezana’s Royal Tomb,
Aksum (4c)

Christian Church, Lalibela
[Ethiopia]

Christian Church, Lalibela
[Ethiopia]
Coptic Christian Priest

Controlled
NE African
Trade
Written
Language
AXUM’S
ACHIEVEMENTS
Spread
Christianity in No. & E.
Africa
Terrace
Farming
Built
Stelae

Early African Kingdoms 600 CE – 1500’s
• Ghana
• Mali
• Songhay
• Benin
• Swahili
• Great Zimbabwe

• After 300 CE – camels replaced horses & donkeys as transport
• Camels – quicken pace of communication
• Islamic merchants crossed desert & established relations

Gold-Salt Trade
SALT
Berbers
GOLD

Ghana Empire
[4c-11c]
Gold “Money”, Ghana/Ivory Coast

Salt

Kingdom of Ghana -- Gold-Salt Trade
• Most important commercial site in W. Africa
• Provided gold, ivory, & slaves for traders from N. Africa
• In exchange for salt, horses, cloth, & manufactured goods
• Capital = Ghana – thriving commercial center
• Ghana kings convert to Islam by 10 th cent. – tolerant

Mali Empire
[13c-15c]
SALT
GOLD

Sundiata
[1210-1260]
“Lion Prince”

• Sundiata
– “Lion Prince”
– Built Mali Empire
• Controlled gold-salt trade
(post-Ghana)
• Taxed all trade in W.
Africa
• Caravans linked Mali & N.
Africa
• Many prosperous cities

Mansa Musa [r. 1312-1337]

• Greatest king of Mali
• Sundiata’s grandnephew
• Known for pilgrimage to Mecca
(Hajj)– huge caravan
• Effects of Hajj (Important)
• Strengthened Islam, promoted education, trade & commerce in Mali
– Built mosques (Timbuktu, Gao &
Djenne)
– Sent students to study w/scholars in W. Africa
– Estab. Islamic schools
• Timbuktu
– Commercial & Intellectual center of
Mali

• 100 camel-loads of gold (300 lbs./each)
• 500 Slaves – each carrying a 4 lb. gold staff
• Thousands of his subjects
• Senior Wife
– 500 attendants
• He was “making it rain” gold in
Egypt & Mecca
• SO!! Mansa Musa ran out of
$$$$. “He gave out so much gold… it caused its value to fall”

Timbuktu-”Heavenly Clay”

Timbuktu Rooftop, Mosque

Tuaregs

Marketplace near the Niger River

Mosque in Gao

Great Mosque at Djenne, Mali

Distant Mosque at Djenne, Mali

European Map

Songhai Empire
[15c-16c]
SALT
GOLD

Sunni Ali
[r.1464-1492]
• Songhai take over from Mali
(control gold-salt trade)
• Muslim leaders
• Sunni Ali – ruler of Songhai
• Worked to unify, strenghten & enlarge the land (took over
Timbuktu & Djenne)
• Brought stability & peace to
Songhai
• Religiously tolerant

Askia Mohammed
[r.1493-1529]
Great leader of Songhai
Serious Muslim
Supported Islamic education (Timbuktu flourished again)
Djenne became a center of learning
Organized govt. and laws based on Islamic principles
Created 1 st standing army

Askia Mohammed’s Tomb
[1443-1538]
Gao, Mali

Benin Empire
[15c-19c]

Bronze Heads from Benin (16c)

Benin Bronze Leopard

Bantu
Migrations:
1000 BCE
To
500 CE

Islamic
Invasions

African Trade Routes

Swahili-Speaking Areas of E. Africa
SWAHILI [“the coast’] = Bantu + some Arabic

Arab Dow off the coast of Zanzibar

Great Zimbabwe
[1200-1450]
“Zimbabwe” = “stone enclosure”

Great Zimbabwe Street

Great Enclosure, Zimbabwe

Manamotopa Empire
[1450-1630]

Overland & Sea Trade Routes by 16c

African Trade [15c-17c]