Medieval Africa

1. Medieval Africa ACOS # 13: Compare the African civilizations of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai to include their geography, religions, slave trade, economic systems, empires, and cultures. Tracing the spread of language, religion, and customs Illustrating the impact of trade

2. Geography • Africa is the second-largest continent in the world! • 2 Deserts: Sahara (largest in the world) and Kalahari • Most of Africa is on a plateau • The Nile River is Africa’s longest river. • “Death Road”-a trade route connecting western Africa to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea • The Great Rift Valley was formed when parts of the plateau’s surface dropped. Some of the earliest human fossils have been found in the Great Rift Valley.

3. The Bantu and Traditional African Life • Bantu people, nomadic fishing groups, migrated throughout Africa around 3000 BC; they had settled much of Africa by AD 400. They spread skills such as pottery making, mining, and ironworking. • The Bantu believed in one supreme creator and a spirit world where ancestors live. • The lived in clans with extended families; many of the clans were matrilineal • Griots helped educate children by spreading the oral history. Lessons were also given through short proverbs.

4. African Art • Cave paintings are the earliest form of African art we know about. • Wood carvers made masks and statues to celebrate African religious beliefs. Each carved piece of wood captured some part of the spiritual world. • Works of art told stories and served practical purposes

5. West African Empires • The Berbers were the first known people to settle in North Africa; their trade ability was revolutionized when the Romans introduced camels. • Ghana, the first large empire to rise from trade, was a “crossroads of trade”. They gained wealth and power because they taxed traders and built a powerful army. They also controlled salt and gold trade-and people were willing to pay almost anything for those goods. • Ghana fell in the 1200s and was replaced by Mali. Sundiata Keita, the “Lion Prince” seized the capital of Ghana in 1240 and put generals in charge of provinces. • Mansa Musa rewarded his citizens for loyalty and rewarded military heroes with the “National Honor of the Trousers”; he was the last strong ruler of Mali, the kings who followed him were unable to stop the Berbers. The Berbers gained control of Timbuktu (center of trade in West Africa). • Sunni Ali, the Songhai leader, drove the Berbers out of Timbuktu. Songhai was the largest empire in West Africa in the 1500s. • In 1591, Arab soldiers from Morocco attacked the Songhai and ended their empire.

6. East Africa • The country of Ethiopia today traces its origins to Queen Makeda, who became queen of Saba (Sheba) in 1005 B.C. • Ethiopia’s power was centered in the city-state of Azum • King Ezana of Axum sent armies to defeat Kush and take control of its trade routes. King Ezana converted to Christianity and brought this religion to Africa.

7. Islam in Africa • Most traditional African groups were monotheistic but the specific religious practices varied from place to place; many believed the spirits of dead relatives stayed with them after death and that their spirits could talk to god. • Since the 600s, Islam had spread from the Arabian Peninsula • Mansa Musa, a Muslim, had worked to spread Islam but he allowed different religions. In 1324, he made pilgrimage to Mecca. • In East Africa, a culture developed as a blend of African and Muslim influences. Swahili, “people of the coast”, but more than just describing the people here it came to mean both the culture and the language of these people.

8. Slavery • Slavery existed in Africa before the arrival of Europeans; Africans enslaved criminals and enemies captured in war. • The slave trade grew as trade with Muslim merchants increased. (Why would Muslims need slaves of other faiths?) • The Portuguese brought enslaved Africans to harvest sugarcane when they settled the West Indes. • As they were traded and transported, Africans took their culture with them causing the African Diaspora, or the spreading of African people and culture around the world. • Over time, African-based music developed, such as ragtime, jazz, rock and roll, and rap.