TheThe RRise ise ofof AAfrican frican CCivilizationsivilizations

What’s the Connection?Egypt and Kush were Africa’s first

great civilizations. In this section, youwill learn about African civilizationsthat developed later.

Focusing on the • Africa has a vast and varied

landscape. (page 445)

• West African empires grew rich fromtrade. (page 447)

• Africa’s rain forests blocked invadersand provided resources. (page 450)

• East African kingdoms and statesbecame centers for trade and newideas. (page 451)

Locating PlacesGhana (GAH•nuh)Mali (MAH• lee)Timbuktu (TIHM•BUHK•TOO)Songhai (SAWNG•HY)Axum (AHK•SOOM)

Meeting PeopleSundiata Keita

(sun•dee•AH•tuh KY•tuh)Mansa Musa

(MAHN•sah moo•SAH)Sunni Ali (sun•EE ah•LEE)

Building Your Vocabularyplateau (pla•TOH)griot (GREE•OH)dhow (DOW)

Reading StrategySummarizing InformationCreate diagrams describing theaccomplishments of each medievalAfrican civilization.

c. A.D. 300AxumconquersKush

c. A.D. 750Arab Muslim traderssettle in East Africa

1468Sunni Ali capturesTimbuktu

Timbuktu

Kilwa

GreatZimbabwe

A.D. 300 A.D. 900 1500A.D. 300 A.D. 900 1500

444 CHAPTER 13 Medieval Africa

Civilization

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Africa’s Geography Africa has a vast and varied landscape.

Reading Focus How can geography discourage people

from exploring another place? Read to learn about the

geographic features that made it difficult for people to

travel across parts of Africa.

In 1906 a teacher named Hans Vischerexplored what he called the “death road,” a trade route connecting western Africa to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. No

European or American had ever risked thejourney before. The “death road” crossedmore than 1,500 miles (2,414 km) of theSahara, the world’s largest desert. To getlost meant certain death.

Only nomads living in the region knewthe way, but Vischer hoped to map theroute. Like the desert nomads, his lifedepended upon finding oases. Upon hisreturn, Vischer amazed people with storiesof the Sahara. He told of swirling windsand shifting sand dunes.

445

Geography and Climate Zones in Africa

How people live in Africa dependsupon where on the continent theymake their home.1. Which type of physical feature

covers the largest area of Africa? 2. How might Africa’s geography have

affected trading patterns there?Find NGS online map resources @www.nationalgeographic.com/maps

Savanna

Desert

Mediterranean

Rain forestDesertMediterraneanRain forestSavanna

KEY

(t)Christine Osborne/Lonely Planet Images, (tc)Frans Lemmens/Getty Images, (bc)Brand X Pictures, (b)Michael Dwyer/Stock Boston/PictureQuest

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A Vast and Diverse Continent Africa is the world’s second-largest continent. TheUnited States fits into Africa three times, withroom to spare. The Equator slices through themiddle of the continent. Hot, steamy rainforests stretch along each side of it. Yet therain forests cover only 10 percent of the land.

Most of Africa lies in the tropics. Here dry,sweeping grasslands reach for thousands ofmiles. Most of the tropical grasslands, knownas savannas, have high temperatures anduneven rains. These wide-open grasslandsare perfect for raising herds of animals. Formuch of Africa’s history, the people of thesavanna were hunters and herders.

North and south of the savannas are thedeserts—the Sahara to the north and theKalahari to the southwest. For many years,these unmapped seas of sand blockedtravel. People had to follow the coastline ifthey wanted to get past the deserts. Areas ofmild climate, good for growing crops, arefound along the Mediterranean Sea innorthwest Africa and in the south.

Africa United States

Size

Population Today

Longest River

11,667,159 square miles (30,217,894 sq. km)

about 891 million people

Nile River 4,160 miles (6,693 km)

3,794,085 square miles (9,826,680 sq. km)

about 291 million people

Missouri River 2,565 miles (4,130 km)

LargestDesert

Sahara 3,500,000 square miles (9,065,000 sq. km)

Mojave 15,000 square miles (38,850 sq. km)

Comparing Africa to the U.S.Comparing Africa to the U.S.

Africa has a land area roughly three timesthat of the United States.1. How does the size of the Sahara compare to

the size of the United States?2. How does the population of Africa compare

to that of the United States?

The African Plateau Almost all of Africa,except the coastal plains, rests on a plateau(pla •TOH)—an area of high flat land. Riversspill off the plateau in crashing waterfallsand rapids, cutting off inland water routes.Although the Nile River is Africa’s longestriver, the Congo River winds 2,700 miles(4,345 km) through Africa, near the Equator.

In the east, movements of the earth’scrust millions of years ago cracked the con-tinent, and parts of the plateau’s surfacedropped. This formed the Great Rift Valley,where some of the earliest human fossilshave been unearthed. The valley extendsthrough eastern Africa from present-dayMozambique to the Red Sea.

Cause and Effect Whatcaused the Great Rift Valley?

UNITED STATES

AFRICA

Sources: The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2004;World Population Data Sheet, 2003;The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1990

446 CHAPTER 13 Medieval Africa

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West African Empires West African empires grew rich

from trade.

Reading Focus What would you rather have—

a pound of gold or a pound of salt? Both of these

goods were important to West Africans and helped

them build large trading empires.

Stories of golden lands south of the Sahara seemed hard to believe.There’s a country, claimed one story,“where gold grows like plants in thesame way as carrots do, and is pluckedat sunset.”

The Berbers who told the tales hadseen the gold with their own eyes. TheBerbers, the first known people to settle inNorth Africa, crossed the Sahara to tradewith people in western Africa. Theybegan making the trip about 400 B.C.

For hundreds of years, Berbertraders carried goods on horses anddonkeys, which often died in the hotSahara. When the Romans conqueredNorth Africa, they introduced camelsfrom central Asia. Camels, nicknamed“ships of the desert,” revolutionizedtrade. Their broad feet did not sink inthe sand, and their humps stored fat forfood. In addition, they could travelmany days without water.

Traders grouped hundreds, maybeeven thousands, of camels together toform caravans. They traded salt andcloth from North Africa and the Saharafor gold and ivory from western Africa.The trade led to the growth of cities inwestern Africa. Eventually, rulers ofthese cities began to build a series ofempires. During the Middle Ages, theseAfrican empires were bigger than mostEuropean kingdoms in wealth and size.The first empire to develop was Ghana.

CHAPTER 13 Medieval Africa 447

While many of the caravans that crossed the desertgoing to and from West Africa included about 1,000camels, some caravans may have had as many as12,000 camels. What were some of the items tradedby caravans?

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Cairo

Makkah(Mecca)

TripoliTunis

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SalehTimbuktu

Gao

Benin

Trade Routes of North Africa

448 CHAPTER 13 Medieval Africa

A number of empires in West Africa,including Ghana, grew wealthy fromthe salt and gold trade.1. About how many miles was it from

the kingdom of Ghana to Cairo? 2. In general, where were many of the

sources of salt found in West Africa?

Ghana, c. 1050Mali, 1300sBenin, c. 1500Songhai, 1500s

Trade routeSalt minesGold mines

KEY

Rise of Ghana Ghana (GAH • nuh) rose topower in the A.D. 400s. It was a “crossroadsof trade,” a place where trade routes cometogether. Trade routes reached across theSahara into North Africa and down theNiger River (NY • juhr) to kingdoms in the rain forest. Some extended all the wayto Africa’s northeastern coast.

For traders to meet, they had to passthrough Ghana. Passage came at a price—atax paid to Ghana’s rulers. These taxesmade Ghana rich. Why did traders pay thetaxes? First, Ghana knew how to make ironweapons. Like ancient Kush, it used theseweapons to conquer its neighbors.Although Ghana owned no gold mines, itcontrolled the people who did. Second,Ghana built a huge army. “When the kingof Ghana calls up his army,” said one trader,“he can put 200,000 men in the field.”

Third, people wanted the trade items,especially salt and gold, at almost any price.West Africans needed salt to flavor and pre-serve food, and their bodies needed salt tostay healthy. They paid taxes to get saltfrom Berber mines in the Sahara. In turn,the Berbers paid taxes to get gold to sell at ahuge profit in Europe.

Rise of Mali Ghana did not last forever,however. The discovery of new goldmines outside Ghana’s control reducedthe taxes it collected. In addition, heavyfarming robbed the soil of minerals andmade it harder to grow enough crops tofeed people. Constant fighting also hurtGhana. Ghana’s rulers had accepted thereligion of Islam, but they fought withNorth African Muslims who wanted tobuild empires of their own.

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Africa’s Salt Mines Salt mining beganin the Sahara in the Middle Ages.Ancient miners worked undergroundand in sand dunes to extract solidblocks of salt. The salt trade became a successful business for the Africanpeople. In ancient times, salt was sodesirable that it was traded ounce forounce for gold.

There are many salt deposits inwestern Africa because part of thedesert was once a shallow sea madeup of salt water. When the sea driedup, salt was left behind.

People need a small amount of saltto stay healthy. It is lost when people

and animals sweat,so people needsome in their food.In ancient times,before refrigeratorsor canned foodswere invented,salt was used tokeep foods fromgoing bad. It alsowas used to addflavor to food.

Connecting to the Past1. How do salt deposits form?

2. Why do you think salt was so valuable that it was traded ounce for ounce for gold?

African salt minetoday

After Ghana fell in the 1200s, the king-dom of Mali (MAH • lee) replaced it. WestAfrican griots (GREE • ohz), or storytellers,give credit to a great warrior-king namedSundiata Keita (sun • dee • AH • tuh KY •tuh)—the “Lion Prince.” Sundiata, whoruled from 1230 to 1255, seized the capitalof Ghana in 1240. He then won control oflands from the Atlantic coast to the tradingcity of Timbuktu (TIHM • BUHK • TOO) andbeyond. His conquests put Mali in controlof the gold-mining areas, allowing him torebuild the gold and salt trade.

Rise of Songhai Mali began a slow declineafter the death of its last strong king, Mansa Musa (MAHN • sah moo • SAH), in1332. The kings who followed failed to stopBerber conquerors, who for a time evenruled Timbuktu.

In 1468 Sunni Ali (sun•EE ah•LEE), theleader of Songhai (SAWNG•HY), stormed intoTimbuktu and drove out the Berbers. He thenbegan a campaign of conquest. Sunni Aliused Songhai’s location along the NigerRiver to his advantage. He ordered a fleet ofwar canoes to seize control of the rivertrade. His armies then swept west-ward into the Sahara, where they tookover Berber salt mines. By the time ofhis death in 1492, Sunni Ali had builtthe largest empire in West Africa.

The empire lasted almost 100 moreyears. In 1591, however, a small armyfrom the Arab kingdom of Moroccocrossed the Sahara. Soldiers withcannons, guns, and gunpowder eas-ily cut down Songhai soldiers armedwith swords, spears, and bows andarrows. Within months, Songhai’sempire was gone.

Analyze Why did WestAfrica become the center of three large tradeempires?

AFRICA

Niger R.

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Kingdoms of the Rain ForestAfrica’s rain forests blocked invaders

and provided resources.

Reading Focus What does your state make that

people in other places want to buy? Africa’s rain forest

kingdoms had something the savanna kingdoms

wanted. It was not gold or salt, but something just as

valuable—food.

Ghana, Mali, and Songhai ruled thewide-open savannas. However, the denserain forests along the Equator kept themfrom expanding to the southern coast.People living in the rain forests built theirown kingdoms and empires. They includedBenin, which arose in the Niger delta, and Kongo, which formed in the CongoRiver basin.

Griots who live in the Niger delta stilltell stories about King Ewuare (eh • WOO •ah • ray), who founded the empire of Beninaround 1440. In describing his ancestor’saccomplishments, one storyteller boasted:

He fought against and captured201 towns and villages. . . . He took their . . . rulers captiveand caused the people to paytribute to him.

—J.V. Egharevba, A Short History of Benin

Farmers in the rain forest kingdomsenjoyed many natural advantages, includ-ing farmable soil and a warm, wet climate.In cleared-out areas of the forest, they oftenproduced a surplus, or extra supply, offoods like bananas, yams, or rice.

450

This bronze casting honored the king ofBenin. Around when was the kingdom of Benin founded?

The Kingdom of BeninThe Kingdom of Benin

Statue of horn player from Benin

Bronze statue ofqueen from Benin

(l)Werner Forman/Art Resource, NY, (c)The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1964 (1978.412.310), (r)The British Museum, London/Bridgeman Art Library

444-453 C13S1-824133 3/23/04 6:06 AM Page 450

Food surpluses supported rulers and aclass of artisans. Kongo weavers, for exam-ple, wove fabrics from bark and plant fibersthat looked to Europeans like velvet. InBenin, artists excelled at sculpting and carv-ing metal, wood, and ivory.

Rain forest kingdoms that bordered onthe dry savannas traded surplus food andcrafts for copper, salt, and leather goods fromthe savannas. Later, when the Europeansarrived, traders from Benin and Kongo metships along the coast. They traded, amongother things, captives taken in war.

Describe What advantagesdid farmers in the rain forests have over farmersin other parts of Africa?

East AfricaEast African kingdoms and states

became centers for trade and new ideas.

Reading Focus Have you ever met someone who

used to live somewhere far away? Did their ideas help

you to think about the world differently? Read to learn

how new ideas arrived along the coast of East Africa.

People today in the East African countryof Ethiopia trace their history back to 1005 B.C. In that year, Queen Makeda rose tothe throne of a great empire called Saba orSheba. According to the Glory of Kings,Ethiopia’s oldest written history, Makedatraveled to meet with King Solomon, ruler

CHAPTER 13 Medieval Africa 451

Location

AxumAxum

East Africa

ivory, frankincense, myrrh, slaves

GhanaGhana

Time Period

Goods Traded

Key Facts

c. 100–1400

King Ezana converted to Christianity; made it the official religion.

West Africa

iron products, animal products, salt, gold

c. 400–1200

Taxes from traders passing through made Ghana rich.

MaliMali

West Africa

salt, gold

c. 1200–1450

King Mansa Musa built mosques and libraries.

SonghaiSonghai

West Africa

salt, gold

c. 1000–1600

Songhai gained control of West African trade by conquering Timbuktu and mastering trade by river.

ZimbabweZimbabwe

SE Africa

gold, copper, ivory

c. 700–1450

Kings Mutota and Matope built the region’s biggest empire.

African Trading Empires A.D. 100 –1600African Trading Empires A.D. 100 –1600

GHANA

Large trading kingdoms developed in severalareas of Africa.1. Which kingdom developed earliest? 2. Generalize What were some of the common

trade items of the West African empires?

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A.D. 300, King Ezana of Axum sent hisarmies against Kush and defeated it. A fewyears later, Ezana helped to bring a newreligion to Africa when he converted toChristianity. In A.D. 334 he made it the offi-cial religion of Axum. Within a few hundred years, another religion—Islam—brought many changes to Axum and othertrading states along Africa’s eastern coast.

Coastal City-States Arab traders from theArabian Peninsula had been coming to east-ern Africa long before the rise of Islam inthe early A.D. 600s. They invented a wind-catching, triangular sail that let them sail toAfrica. The sails powered sailboats calleddhows (DOWZ).

Picture of a dhow,an African sailingvessel

of the Israelites. On her return, Makedaintroduced ancient Israel’s religion to herempire. Over time, eastern Africa wouldfeel the impact of two other religions—Christianity and Islam.

The Rise of Axum Like other empires,Saba declined. However, Ethiopia, knownin ancient times as Abyssinia, did not. Its power was centered in a city-state called Axum (AHK • SOOM). Axum owed itsstrength to its location on the Red Sea.Goods from Africa flowed into Axum, whichserved as a trading center for the ancientMediterranean and East Asian worlds.

Axum fought neighboring Kush for con-trol of trade routes to inland Africa. Around

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GreatZimbabwe

Mero¨e

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Makkah(Mecca)

Trade in East Africa

452 CHAPTER 13 Medieval Africa

A stele, or monument, fromAxum

Zimbabwe,c. 1300 Coastal settlement,c. 1300 Trade route

KEY

Prosperous trade cities, such asMogadishu and Kilwa, developedalong Africa’s east coast.1. Into what bodies of water did trade

routes from eastern Africa extend? 2. Describe the location of

Zimbabwe.

(t)Nik Wheeler/CORBIS, (b)Merilyn Thorold/Bridgeman Art Library

444-453 C13S1-824133 3/23/04 2:38 AM Page 452

Reading SummaryReview the • The continent of Africa has varied

landscapes, including rain forests,grasslands, and deserts.

• Beginning in about A.D. 300, asuccession of kingdoms, includingGhana, Mali, and Songhai, arosein West Africa.

• Rain forest kingdoms, includingBenin and Kongo, traded with thesurrounding savanna kingdoms.

• In East Africa, trade with the Arab world helped kingdoms and port cities grow.

1. What items were traded in thekingdoms of West Africa?

Critical Thinking2. Organizing Information

Draw a chart like the onebelow. For each region, writenames of the kingdoms and/or city-states that developed there.

3. Analyze What city-statesgrew as trading ports in EastAfrica, and why were they successful?

4. Compare and ContrastWhich African kingdoms developed away from thecoast? How did their econ-omies compare to other African kingdoms?

5. Compare andContrast Create a Venn dia-gram that shows the similari-ties and differences of twoAfrican kingdoms.

What Did You Learn?

Homework Helper Need help with the material in this section? Visit jat.glencoe.com

CHAPTER 13 Medieval Africa 453

In the A.D. 700s, many ArabMuslim traders settled in EastAfrican city-states. Here Africansand Arab Muslims shared goodsand ideas. By the 1300s, a string oftrading ports extended down theEast African coast. They includedMogadishu (MAH • guh • DIH • shoo),Kilwa, Mombasa, and Zanzibar.These ports became major links inan Indian Ocean trading network.They traded with places as faraway as China.

Great Zimbabwe Another great tradingcenter known as Zimbabwe (zihm • BAH •bway) arose inland in southeastern Africa.Founded around A.D. 700 by the Shona people, Zimbabwe supplied gold, copper,and ivory to the East African coast. Fromthere, African goods were shipped toArabia, Persia, India, and China.

WestAfrica

AfricanRain Forests

EastAfrica

During the 1400s, two kings—Mutotaand his son Matope—made Zimbabwe intoa large empire. It stretched from south of theZambezi River to the Indian Ocean.Evidence of Zimbabwe’s power can still beseen at Great Zimbabwe, the empire’s capi-tal. Here more than 300 huge stone build-ings stand—silent reminders of Zimbabwe’spast greatness.

Explain How did new tech-nology help East Africa’s trade?

Some of the walls of Great Zimbabwe still exist. Whattrade goods from the interior of Africa passed throughZimbabwe?

MIT Collection/CORBIS

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