African Societies – Similarities and Differences

1. African Societies – Similarities and Differences Chapter 8 (1 of 4)

2. African Diversity There was no dominant state or religion in Africa Diverse = Different Africans very diverse making it hard to generalize about them (each group different)

3. Stateless Societies States emerged, but many stateless Difficulties = hard to raise army and defend itself vs. organized states or raise money for public works

4. Though Diverse, some similarities Existed in African Society Bantu people spread out, so language similar Overall, African religion = provided view of how world worked and code of ethics Even as Islam spread to Africa, these beliefs still held

5. Sub-Saharan Africa North Africa Agriculture and skilled ironwork spread rapidly throughout Trade (especially w/Arabs increased greatly - led to some big cities w/professional traders – women involved too) Had been involved in trade with other parts of the world for a while Economies varied greatly from region to region

6. Africa at Trade Disadvantage Traded away valuable resources (gold, ivory, salt) for expensive manufactured goods Africa didn’t gain much new technology and manufacturing through this trade

7. Islam Comes to North Africa in the 600s

8. The Berbers Berbers = Africans from Sahara Desert (indigenous people) The Berbers created states in North Africa Almoravids Reform movement within the Berbers. Practiced stricter version of Islam and spread religion through jihad. Almohadis Islamic reformers within the Berbers, key to spreading Islam to sub-Saharan Africa and Spain through jihad

9. Islam Attractive to Africans Egalitarian, so African converts would be equal to Arab Muslims (though stratification still existed) Example of social stratification that still existed = punishment for killing man twice as much as for killing woman The kings and rulers were the first to convert (they used Islam to enhance their power

10. Christianity Arrives 1st in Africa (Before Islam) Egypt and Ethiopia = Christian, even before Romans converted EGYPT Coptic Christians = Christians of Egypt, 1st universal religion in Africa ETHIOPIA Coptic Christians had spread Christianity from Egypt up the Nile to Nubia Arabs conquered Egypt, but Copts remained Click map for video on Coptic Christians

11. Ethiopia Formed from the trading kingdom of Axum Ethiopia grew when King Lalibela conquered surrounding lands from Axum

12. Ethiopia The Ethiopian Highlands - Ethiopians lived in mountainous area so they learned to use terrace farming Ethiopians built many great buildings, especially massive churches which they built from rock terrace farming

13. Ethiopian Religious Isolation

14. Ethiopia Surrounded