Empire of Ghana
Chapter 13: Section 1
Main Ideas:
 1. Ghana controlled trade and became wealthy.
 2. Through its control of trade, Ghana built an
empire.
 3. Attacking invaders, overgrazing, and the loss
of trade caused Ghana’s decline.
Big Idea: The rulers of
Ghana build an empire by
controlling the salt and gold
trade.
Key Terms
Silent Barter: a process in
which people exchange
goods without ever
contacting each other
directly.
Ghana Controls Trade
Ghana’s Beginnings
 Historians know very little about ancient
Ghana.
 The Soninke (soh-NING-Kee) were famers
who may have been threatened by
nomadic herders.
 They wanted the farmer’s ______ and pastures.
 For protectiong, The Soninke joined together to
form the beginnings of Ghana
Early people of Ghana
 They learned to work with ________.
 They herded cattle for their ___________ and milk.
 The population grew because they were able to
produce plenty of _________.
Early People of Ghana
 They used iron to make tools and ______________
 Other armies at this time used:
 Bone
 Wood
 Stone
 These were no match for Ghana’s iron spears
and blades!
TRADE in Valuable Goods
 Ghana’s most valuable resources were
__________ and ____________.
 Gold came from the south, from mines near the
Gulf of Guinea and along the Niger
 Salt came from the Sahara in the north
Why salt?
 Gold was wanted for its ____________.
 They needed salt for their diet:
 It preserved food
 And added flavor to bland foods.
 Salt was so valuable that they sometimes used
salt for _____________!
Silent Barter
 Silent barter was a process of exchanging goods
where people did not contact each other
directly.
 This kept things peaceful.
 It also allowed gold mines to be kept secrete from
the salt traders.
 A __________ was used to make the trades.
Growth of Trade
 Rulers in Ghana became wealthy because
people from the north and south would meet
there to __________________.
 What else did they trade?
 Wheat, sheep, cattle, and ________________.
 Leather, cloth, and tassels made from ____________
thread.
 Ghana’s capital city, Koumbi Saleh, became the
largest city in West Africa.
 It was an oasis to travelers.
 It was a great trading center.
Ghana Builds an Empire
 Ghana’s ___________________ protected traders
from bandits.
 Traders were not scared to travel to Ghana.
Taxes and Gold
 Merchants made more money by charging taxes
to traders.
 The people of Ghana had to pay taxes, too.
 Small tribes that were overtaken had to pay
tributes.
 Rulers used this tax money to support their armies.
Gold
 HUGE amounts of gold were mined in Ghana.
 All gold in Ghana was officially the property of
the ___________.
 Kings kept much of the gold for themselves but
some of it was traded out of Africa.
 Kings banned anyone else in Ghana from
owning gold nuggest. Though, they were
allowed to own gold _________, which they used
for money.
 This made sure the king was richer than anyone else.
Expansion of the Empire
 Ghana’s armies were ____________.
 When they took over a territory, they allowed the
kings to act as governors of their kingdoms.
Tunka Manin ruled in Ghana’s peak.
Ghana’s Decline
 Ghana was powerful during the mid-1000’s.
 It began to decline by the end of the 1200’s.
 Three Major Factors contributed to its end:
 Invasion
 Overgrazing
 Internal Rebelion
Invasion
 A Muslim group called the Almoravids attacked
Ghana in an effort to force its leaders to convert
to ____________.
 Ghana held them off for ______ years but finally
the Muslims won.
 They destroyed Koumbi Saleh.
 The Almoravids didn’t control Ghana for long…
They cut off many trade routes so they could only
trade with Muslim traders.
Internal Rebellion
 People of a country that Ghana had overtaken
rebelled.
 They fought and won but were unable to keep
Ghana’s empire in ______________.
 The empire fell apart.