Crossword
Down
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1. Ghana became rich and powerful through
.
2. The routes which Muslims used to travel to trade were called the
.
3. The people who conquered Ghana were called
.
4. Language the Arabs introduced to Africa was
.
Across
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1. Ghana made fine
.
5.
was mined and traded in Ghana.
6. Muslims introduced this religion to Ghana.
7. This empire in Western Africa became rich and powerful through
trade.
8. People traveled in
to exchange gold, salt, and slaves.
9 Ghana also became wealthy through the
trade.
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Multiple Choice
1. What did Ghana NOT trade?
A) Slaves
C) Diamonds
B) Salt
D) Gold
2. What contributed to the fall of Ghana?
A) Volcanic eruption
B) Diseases
D overgrazing
C) civil war
3. What did the Islam influence
A) Building of libraries
C) Increase in military
B) Starvation
D) Less rights for people
4. What made Ghana rich?
A) Slaves
C) Gold
B) Trade Routes
D) Powerful Kings
5. Who were the Almoravids?
a. merchants from the north who controlled the salt trade
b. Muslims who attacked Ghana and cut off trade routes
c. Christians from southern Europe who joined forces with Ghana
d. a group of sea-traveling people from the coast of southern Africa
Short Answer (complete sentences)
1. What combination of geographic and economic factors made Ghana an ideal trade center?
2. What impact did Islam have the economics & culture of Ghana?
Ancient Ghana
Ghana: Introduction
Arrival of the Muslims
What was the reason for Ghana’s wealth and power?
How did Arabs change Ghana?
Ghana was located in western Africa. Ghana was
the ancient kingdom of the Soninke people. The
name Ghana comes from the word “Ghana” which
means “warrior king”. It was a prosperous empire
and their culture was famous for the elaborate and
complicated cloth/textiles it produced (kente).
They herded cattle and farmed.
As Ghana became more famous for its wealth,
Arabs crossed the Sahara in search of Gold and
Salt. In return they traded goods such as horses
and silk. Most of the traders in Ghana were Muslims.
It was not through their cloth and textiles however,
that Ghana became rich and powerful. The key to
Ghana’s power and wealth was rather its location
and the trade routes that went through it. Traders
from the salt mines to the north and the gold fields to
the south passed through Ghana. Ghana had a
powerful army to protect these trade routes.
The Soninke kings had their own traditional
religion. They were tolerant of Islam, but they
wanted to keep it separate. Ghana’s rulers created
separate districts on Muslim & one for their native
religion. Muslims practiced patrilineal succession,
in which the throne passes from father to son.
However, in Ghana, the king passed his right to the
throne down to his sister’s son, in matrilineal
succession. In addition to a new religion they
brought with them written language through the
creation universities. Arabs spoke and wrote in
Arabic, which was adopted by Ghana. These
Arabs wrote down the first accounts of Ghana.
Salt, Gold, and Slaves
The Decline of Ghana
How did trade help and change ancient Ghana?
What caused Ghana to fall?
Ghana had several natural resources that enabled
it to rise to power. Ghana’s access to iron that
enabled b l a c k s m i t h s to make excellent
weapons and tools.
Ghana was ruled by a monarch (king) and a council
of advisors. The empire was divided into districts
which each had a governor. To enforce his will, the
king had a large army.
The people of Ghana also had gold mines to the
south of the empire. As important as gold, was
the salt mines located in northern Ghana. Salt
was important as a spice and also to preserve
food, before people could use refrigerators. As
people crossed Ghana to trade, the government
taxed the trade caravans to raise money.
Even with this mighty army, Ghana was soon
attacked by a group of African Muslims called the
Almoravids & they forced citizens to convert to
Islam. After 14 years of fighting, Ghana’s trading
system was in ruins. The Almoravids also brought
animals that over-grazed and destroyed the
environment making it difficult for Ghana to produce
food. Finally, rebellions erupted around Ghana
making it easy to conquer.
As trade increased, Arabs arrived from the Middle
East to trade slaves as well. With the Arabs came
books, Arabic, and the Islamic religion.