Early Civilizations of Africa East and West

East Africa Trade in East Africa  mixture of cultures Kingdom of Axum In modern-day Ethiopia Monsoon winds  Axum trading ships crossed Indian Ocean From Africa To Africa ivory slaves spices cloth wine olive oil

East Africa: Zimbabwe Settled by Bantu-speakers Zimbabwe = “great stone houses” Used bricks & stones w/o mortar (cement) Had feudal system In 1620s, defeated by Portuguese, who wanted gold

East Africa: Trading city-states Persian, Arab, Indonesian, & Indian traders settled in East Africa Arab merchants most powerful Grew rich by exporting iron ore, ivory, slaves, & gold from Africa African & Arab cultures mixed Many Africans & Arabs married Many Africans converted to Islam Swahili, meaning “people of the coast” in Arabic, is now most spoken language in East Africa Portuguese, determined to take over control of trade, fought Arab city-states in East Africa for 300 years

West Africa 500-1500 CE: 3 kingdoms ran on trans-Saharan trade Trade b/w West Africa, the Mediterranean region, & the Arabian Peninsula Muslim merchants took control of the trade They sold goods to Berbers, camel-riding desert nomads Shipped north Shipped south gold ivory slaves leather goods cattle sheep jewelry salt cloth wheat dried fruit horses metal goods

West Africa: Ghana Ghana exported gold & imported salt Ghana known as “land of gold” Kings became rich taxing the gold & the salt Invading Islamic armies & merchants spread Islam Scholars, who taught about Islam, came too Ghana’s city dwellers (including the kings’ advisers) converted to Islam, but farmers didn’t Ghana became weak from North African Islamic armies, but Mali finally conquered in 1240

West Africa: Mali After Mali conquered Ghana in 1240, it spread from the Atlantic Ocean to 1/3rd of the way east into Africa Mali’s kings also become rich from taxes on gold and salt, in addition to taxes on their people Mali’s kings became Muslims

West Africa: Mansa Musa Mansa Musa (1312-1337), king of Mali, made a huge pilgrimage to Mecca 60,000 people, 12,000 slaves, >2,400 lbs of gold Price of gold fell sharply Timbuktu, Mali’s capital became West Africa’s Islamic center of learning Mansa Musa brought back architects & scholars from Mecca to build mosques, palaces, & schools In 1359, Timbuktu and Gao (another city) split up Mansa Musa Timbuktu mosque

West Africa: Songhai The city of Gao became the trading center of the Songhai Kingdom King Askia Muhammad, like Mansa Musa, made big pilgrimages to Mecca He tried to convert everyone in Songhai to Islam Islamic principles became the basis of the court system & of social reforms Morocco eventually took down Songhai by 1600

Impact of Islam Look through your notes for info on Islam. Then, in your notes, write a paragraph explaining Islam’s impact on the early civilizations of Africa.