The African Kingdoms

1. The African Kingdoms

2. Starting Points Africa is the second largest continent in the world Has a wide variety of climates and environments, from desert to grassland to rainforest Africa also has a huge amount of natural resources (minerals, gems, iron, etc.) The continent’s geography dramatically shaped the way Africa developed

3. More on Geography low, wide plains run across the northern and the western interior High plains on top of plateaus run across the central and southern interior The Great Rift Valley is in the east, where many narrow lakes and rivers are located Several mountain ranges are located toward the outer part of the continent

4. Climate/Vegetation The Sahara Desert makes up most of northern Africa, though there are oases scattered throughout the region The Sahel, a strip of plains just south of the Sahara, is fairly dry but has not as hot as the desert The Savanna, a tropical grassland, is even farther south and contains many herds of animals – the majority of Africans live here Tropical rain forests are located near the Equator

5. Learning to Adapt Farmers had to learn how to grow crops with little water and poor soil Rainfall was very unpredictable – too little and there wouldn’t be enough land for livestock to graze on – too much and the grasslands would flood, washing away any good soil Harmful parasites thrive in the tropical areas and spread diseases like malaria and sleeping sickness

6. Early African Societies The earliest farming societies in Africa settled in the Sahara region – it was much wetter then Over time, the climate changed and these people had to migrate – many went west and others moved the Mediterranean coast As they migrated to different areas, a variety of diverse cultures developed

7. Social Structure Many African societies shared common features even though they were separated from one another Many societies developed cultures around clans – families with common ancestors Extended families were very common Everyone had a specific role in society, and members of a village were extremely loyal

8. Religion and Culture Many Africans believed that the spirits of their ancestors were always nearby, so they needed to honor the spirits by making sacred spaces These spaces were marked with statues and family members would gather there to share news and food – they believed this would convince the spirits to protect them Africans also believed in animism Not very many early societies developed a writing system – most of their identity came from oral traditions (songs, stories, poems, etc.) Griots – the storytellers – they had the responsibility of memorizing and sharing a society’s oral tradition with the next generation. They were highly respected Music, dance, and art were very important in most kingdoms – these were seen in religious ceremonies and many daily activities

9. Africa’s Iron Age When Africans learned how to produce high-quality iron, it allowed them to make new tools and weapons that advanced their societies Nok – one of the first societies that learned iron working – they became better farmers, hunters, and warriors – their power increased as well Learning how to use iron also allowed Africans to move to new places – they could clear the land for more space to grow food

10. The Bantu Bantu refers to a group of languages that are related to one another As the Africans began to migrate around the continent, Bantu languages spread and so did knowledge of farming and ironworking technology Bantu-speaking groups used their language and information to gain power and soon became the dominant groups throughout much of Africa Bantu societies became more complex – leadership revolved around food and social status was measured by the size of your cattle herd

11. East Africa

12. Aksum Aksum was a state made up of descendents of farmers and migrants from Arabia Became wealthy through trade – its location made land and sea trade very easy and Aksum gained access to rare items King Ezana helped make Aksum strong by having the military attack nearby kingdoms Eventually Aksum defeated Kush and became the greatest power in East Africa

13. Aksum Culture Trade brought Aksum new products and new ideas Traders eventually brought Christianity to the region – King Ezana became a convert and made Christianity the official religion of his kingdom Ge-ez – the written and spoken language of Aksum, it is still used in the region today Aksum also used coins to regulate its economy

14. The Decline of Aksum Muslim invaders gradually conquered lands all around Aksum and the kingdom became isolated from other Christian societies Muslims destroyed Aksum’s main port city and crippled their sea trade While Aksum wasn’t ever conquered, the kingdom’s people moved into what is now Ethiopia

15. Ethiopia Name refers to the region around Aksum, began to develop under the Zagwe dynasty King Lalibela, the most famous Zagwe ruler, helped spread Christianity in the area Christianity became a unifying force in Ethiopia because the area was surrounded by Muslms Christianity in Ethiopia incorporated many African religious traditions as well

16. The Solomonid Dynasty Second dynasty of Christian kings, the rulers claimed to be descendents of King Solomon, ruled for 700 years The first kings fought many religious wars, especially against Jews who lived in the area While they couldn’t make the Jews leave their land, the Solomonid leaders heavily persecuted them Muslim kingdoms formed around Ethiopia and tried to take them over, but Ethiopia was strong enough to remain independent

17. Rise of the City-States City-states developed along Africa’s east coast partially due to monsoon winds The winds made trade with India and Asia much easier and a strong trade network developed The city-states linked the coast with traders from Africa’s interior Merchants in the city-states would trade Asian luxury items for African raw resources (porcelain, silk, and cotton was traded for ivory, gold, and SLAVES) Kilwa became the most powerful city-state because of its location

18. Swahili Many Arabs migrated to the coastal city-states and began to blend African and Muslim traditions Some Bantu-speaking kingdoms began to adopt Arabic words and phrases The new language that developed was called Swahili and quickly spread along the coast

19. Great Zimbabwe Developed between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers, in the eastern interior if Africa Great Zimbabwe was built on a major trade route linking interior gold mines with the eastern city-states

20. The Great Enclosure Zimbabwe means “stone houses” – the biggest structure is known as the G.E. We don’t know exactly what it was used for – display of rulers’ power, observatory, something else Great Zimbabwe was abandoned, possibly because the land was overgrazed

21. The Mutapa Empire When Great Zimbabwe fell apart, one of the empire’s former residents moved north and founded Mutapa The empire grew wealthy by controlling all trade in the region and by exporting gold

22. Kingdoms of West Africa

23. Ghana Land had many resources, but it had no sea access and was blocked by the Sahara, it took centuries before they formed a trade route across the desert Once trade routes were built, the area became a trading powerhouse and kings became rich by taxing trade goods – except gold Ghana did not have a permanent army, but the kings would call up the military when needed to protect the region The military conquered other groups in the area, and captives were sold into slavery

24. Ghana’s Decline When kings tried to expand their empire to the north, they encountered a Muslim empire and war broke out The Muslims won and briefly took over Ghana, but they did not stay When the Muslims left, the people of Ghana began to rebel against their king and the empire fell apart

25. The Mali Empire Formed about 150 years after Ghana collapsed – controlled the same territory but also expanded out to the Pacific coast Sundiata – a Mali king who made his kingdom powerful by conquering his neighbors Mansa Musa – helped expand Mali and made it very wealthy through taxation on trade, he kept the area peaceful by building a large army to protect trade routes Mali’s population grew to about 40 million under Mansa Musa

26. Decline of Mali Mansa Musa was a devout Muslim and had schools, mosques, libraries, and other public structures built to help his people – Timbuktu became the cultural center of West Africa Unfortunately, rulers after Mansa Musa were very weak and people began to break away form the empire – at the same time, the empire was attacked by foreigners

27. Songhai A small kingdom that existed next to Ghana and Mali – paid them money and remained independent Sunni Ali – a Songhai military leader who took over Timbuktu and conquered many Songhai neighbors After conquering other groups, he replaced their leaders with his own loyal followers Askia Muhammad – Songhai’s first Muslim ruler who ruled during its Golden Age, reformed the government and expanded its territory Askia was overthrown by his son – the son was a weak ruler and the empire soon lost power and was conquered

28. Other West African States Hausa City-States: independent city-states that cooperated and traded with each other, used slave labor to increase trade and wealth Yoruba Kingdoms: built many small but strong kingdoms, were great and respected artists Benin: made a living by trading with Europeans – at first they traded slaves but later switched to trading art and natural resources – helped make Portugal major world power