AFRICA Ch. 7 / Early African Civilizations Section 1 – The Development of Civilizations in Africa

AFRICA

Ch. 7 / Early African CivilizationsSection 1 – The Development of Civilizations in Africa

Savannas

• Broad and expansive grasslands dotted with small trees and brush

Kush

• Formerly an Egyptian dominated region known as Nubia

• It becomes an independent state

c. 1,000 B.C.

Meroe

Meroe

Meroe

• Served as the capital of Kush.

• Meroe was also a center of iron production.

• Meroe = Washington D.C. + Pittsburgh

Axum ( or Aksum)

• Starts as an Arab colony• Combined Arab and

African culture• City of Adulis, located

on the Red Sea, becomes an important trade center.

• Invades Kush and takes over in 300’s A.D.

King Ezana

• Most famous King of Axum• He leads invasion of Kush.• War with Kush starts over

trade in ivory.• He will convert to

Christianity c. 330 A.D.• He makes Christianity the

official religion of the Kingdom.

Tomb of King Ezana

• His body is still in there today.

The coming of Islam

• In 641 A. D., Islam is introduced to Africa by Arabs in Egypt.

• Map to the right shows the spread of Islam into Africa today.

• In recent years, in the Darfur region of Sudan, Black Christians have been attacked by Islamic Arabs.

Ch. 7 / Section 2

Kingdoms and States of Africa

Ghana• The first great trading state

in west Africa.• Capital city was Saleh• Developed a well trained

army to protect its wealth.• Ghana had abundant

natural resources.• Note: The modern nation

of Ghana is not actually located where ancient Ghana existed.

Modern Ghana is here

What resource made Ghana the center of an enormous trade

empire?

Gold!

(The Alaska Centennial nugget. Largest ever found. Discovered in 1998 and weighs 294.10 Troy ounces)

What food preservative was highly desired by Ghanaians?

NaCl – Sodium Chloride

Salt!

Berbers

• Nomadic people who traded across the Sahara desert.

• They are the oldest known inhabitants of this part of Africa.

• They call themselves Amazigh which translates as “ pure” or “free”

Touaregs

• Large Berber tribal group that inhabits the western Sahara.

• Muslim, but unlike other Muslims, it is the men who wear veils to cover their faces ( to ward off evil)

• Known as the “Blue people of the desert” because of their preference

for indigo dyed cloth.

“ The Fleets of the desert”

• Touaregs led caravans of camels across the Sahara desert carrying trade goods such as salt and gold to trade for things like cloth and spices.

Mali

• Mali overtakes Ghana to become the second great trading empire in West Africa ( 1100’s)

Sundiata Keita

• “ The Lion Prince”

• The lion was the symbol of the Keita clan to which he belonged.

• Considered the “ George Washington of Mali”. ( Founder of Mali)

• Had problems with his legs as a child and had to wear braces. ( like Forrest Gump?)

• He converted to Islam, but kept traditional religions as well.

• His family ruled Mali for 200 years.

Timbuktu

• Famous trade city and Capital of ancient central Mali

• Established by the Touareg in 1,000 A.D.

• Mali took over from Ghana to become Africa’s second great trading power in the 1200’s

Mansa Musa ( b. ? – d. 1337)

• Ruled Mali 1312-1337• “Mansa” = “King”• Doubled the size of Mali• Created a strong central

government.• Divided the Kingdom

into provinces ruled by Governors that he appointed.

Mansa Musa’s Pilgrimage to Mecca

• As a devout Muslim, Mansa Musa went on a pilgrimage to Mecca.

• He and his group spent so much gold , it depressed the world price for gold for over a decade!

• He imported Islamic scholars into Mali to teach and built many Mosques

• He was the last powerful ruler of Mali. After his death, civil war broke out in he country.

Songhai

• Third important West African trade empire to arise.

• Built on the banks of the Niger river, and also rich in resources.

• In 1009, Kossi the ruler of Songhai converts to Islam and starts the Dia dynasty.

• City of Gao becomes the chief trade center and capital.

Sunni Ali

• In 1464 starts the Sunni dynasty.

He is a great general and spends most of his time fighting

• He conquers Timbuktu giving Songhai control over the gold-salt trade.

Muhammad Ture

• Overthrows the son of Sunni Ali in 1493 and becomes the leader.

• He starts a new dynasty known as the Askia dynasty.

• Askia means “Usurper”• He continues policy of conquest and

expansion.• He was a good ruler and divides

Songhai up into provinces for better administration.

The Songhai empire will go into decline after his rule.

Bantu Migrations

• Slow migration starting around 2,000 B.C. of small family (clan) groups from West Africa into Eastern and Southern Africa.

• These people all spoke related languages known collectively as “Bantu”

Subsistence Farming

• Agriculture where farmers grow enough to feed themselves and their families but typically not enough for sale or trade.

• Typically employ “ Slash and Burn” methods where land is used until it is no longer fertile, and then the family moves on.

North East Coast of Africa in the news• Since 2006, pirates

operating in small boats off the coast of Somalia have attacked a number of ships in the Horn of Africa region

• In November, 2008, pirates seized a Saudi supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of oil.

Swahili

• The language of East Africa which emerged as a mixture of Arabic and African speech.

• It is the national language of both Kenya and Tanzania

Say it in Swahili!

• Hello• How are you?• Fine • Goodbye• Yes • No

• Jambo• Habari yako• Nzuri• Kwaheri• Ndio• Hapana

Great Zimbabwe

• Ancient civilization in Southern Africa characterized by a great walled city of which only ruins still exist today.

• The most monumental ruin is the “ Great Enclosure” a walled area of the city.

• It is 17 ft thick and 32 ft high

• At one time , about 10,000 people lived there

Zimbabwe in the news today

• Marxist dictator Robert Mugabe has run the economy into the ground.

• Zimbabwe released a 10 Million dollar bill, but it is not enough to even buy a hamburger!

• This is how much money it takes to buy a loaf of bread.

Ch. 7 / Section 3

African Culture and Society

Lineage Groups

• Extended family groups living together as a clan.

• In some African cultures, it is typical in the clan or tribal group for children to be organized into “ Age sets” with their peers.

Matrilineal v. Patrilineal Societies

• Matrilineal societies trace ancestry though the mother’s side of the family.

• Patrilineal societies trace ancestry through the father’s side of the family

Slavery

• Practiced in Africa in ancient times. Slaves were typically war captives.

• Still practiced in remote parts of Africa today.

• The Western slave trade in the 16th – 19th Centuries (to North/South America) typically only affected areas of western Africa.

Diviners

• Fortunetellers • Thought to have

mystical or supernatural powers

Griots

• Musical storytellers• The “ Rappers” of

ancient times, but still popular today at celebrations, parties etc.

• They also act as “praise-singers”

The African concept of Kings

• The King is the center of society.

• In African society , the King typically played the role of chief priest, judge and military leader.