MEDIEVAL AFRICA

GEOGRAPHY

Africa is the world’s second largest

continent.

Savannas cover the largest area of Africa.

North and south of the savannas are deserts. Sahara to the north and the Kalahari in the south.These large seas of sand, blocked trade for many years.

The Sahara is the world’s largest desert.

Almost all of Africa, except for the coastal plains, rests on a plateau.A plateau is an area of high land.

The Niger River runs through West Africa and gave rise to several civilizations.

The Nile and Niger Rivers both had civilizations grow up along their banks.

The rich soil along the Niger River grows many crops and gave rise to several civilizations.

The Niger River also helped unite the region as merchants and travelers spread good and ideas up and down the river.

QUESTION

Why is the Niger River important?

The Bantu were early Africans who moved throughout the continent.

The Sahara desert prevented them from moving into North Africa.

AFRICAN TRADING EMPIRES

BERBERSAround 400 B.C. North Africans known as Berbers moved across the Sahara and into West Africa.The Berbers transported goods across the hot desert, thus opening trade routes.

THE EMPIRE OF GHANA

GHANATraders in caravans brought salt and cloth to West Africa for gold and ivory.

GHANAWhen I say Ghana you say Gold!

GHANAThe first empire to arise in West Africa was Ghana.

Ghana rose to power in 400 A.D.

Ghana was located on a major trade route and was rich with gold, but had no salt to preserve their food.

TIMELINE

300 A.D. 400 A.D. 570 A.D.

Roman Empire divided into

two

Ghana rises to power

Prophet Muhammad

born

GHANATrading gold for salt made Ghana very wealthy.

Ghana was also powerful because of its big army with iron weapons.

GHANAGhana’s power eventually declined as new gold mines were discovered outside the empire.

In addition, heavy farming robbed the soil of minerals and made it harder to grow crops.

GHANAGovernment of Ghana

The king ruled with absolute authority over all the provinces.

QUESTIONWhat two items were

traded in Ghana?

Why was Ghana so powerful?

MALIIn the 1200’s, the kingdom of Mali conquered Ghana.

MALIWest African griots or storytellers give credit to the great warrior-king named Sundiata Keita “Lion Prince” for capturing Ghana in 1240.

He also conquered the city of Timbuktu, making Mali’s empire even larger than Ghana’s.

MALIMali’s greatest king was Mansa Musa.

He led a huge pilgrimage to Mecca that helped put West Africa on the map.

MALIMali decreased in power after the death of Mansa Musa.

QUESTIONWhich great warrior king seized Ghana?

(Sunidata Keita or Mansa Musa)

SONGHAIIn1468, Sunni Ali, leader of the Songhai, conquered Timbuktu and drove out the Berbers by controlling economic resources.

By the time of his death, Sunni Ali had built the largest empire in West Africa.

SONGHAIIn 1591, a small army from Morocco crossed the Sahara armed with cannons and guns easily cut down Songhai soldiers armed with swords, spears, and bows.

Within months, Songhai’s empire was gone.

QUESTIONWhich ruler of Songhai helped build the largest empire in West Africa?

GHANA

SONGHAI

MALI

Many traditional African religions were similar to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

How?

TRADITIONAL AFRICAN RELIGION

One supreme god

TRADITIONAL MUSLIM CHRISTIAN

Ibn Buttuta was a Muslim lawyer from Morocco .

He traveled through out the Muslim world for 30 years.

When he got to Africa Islam had been there for hundreds of years, but not everyone accepted Islam.

He was amazed that West Africans studied the Quran.

ISLAM

Mansa Musa

ISLAMThe great Muslim Mali king, Mansa Musa, allowed people to practice their own religion, but was devoted to making Islam stronger.

ISLAMIn 1324, Mansa Musa made his famous pilgrimage to Mecca and thus brought attention to the kingdom of Mali.While in Mecca, Mansa Musa convinced some of Islam’s finest architects, teachers, and writers to accompany him back to Mali.

He brought:Thousands of people, 100 pack camels carrying gold,

Islam also influenced African art and buildings.

ISLAM

• Africans who accepted Islam also accepted Islamic laws and ideas.

ISLAM’S IMPACT

• Islam also advanced learning with the creation of Muslim schools.

ISLAM’S IMPACT

• The Arabic language quickly spread across the continent.

• It also influenced art and buildings (mosques and palaces.

ISLAM’S IMPACT

AFRICAN CULTURE

“We are almost a nation of dancers, musicians, and poets.”

Enslaved Africans developed rich cultures that influenced many other cultures, including their own.

AFRICAN ART

Cave paintings are the earliest form of African art we know about.

AFRICAN ART

Woodcarvers made masks and statues to celebrate African religious beliefs.

AFRICAN ART

Kente cloth of West Africa

AFRICAN MUSIC AND DANCE

Drums, horns, flutes, or banjos were used to keep the beat.

AFRICAN MUSIC AND DANCE

Africans believed that dance allowed spirits to

express to themselves.

AFRICAN MUSIC AND DANCE

They used dance to celebrate important

events such as birth and death.

Individual dancers leaped and twirled while

drummers sounded in the background/

AFRICAN MUSIC AND DANCE

African slaves used music to

remember their homeland.

AFRICAN MUSIC AND DANCE

Many types of music came out of their hard

times and hopes for freedom.

Blues, gospel, ragtime, jazz, rock and roll, and

rap all came from Africa.

AFRICAN STORYTELLING

African storytellers passed down their stories to younger generations.

African griots also told their stories