Early Civilizations of Africa
Geography of Africa Bands of tropical rain forest, savanna, and desert Interior plateau creates waterfalls and rapids on rivers Great Rift Valley: interior passageway Mediterranean and Red Sea provide trade routes Natural resources encourage trade
Bantu Migrations Between 1000 BC and 1000 AD, a group of West African farmers began migrating to the south and east Their language, called Bantu, spread with them Brought skills in farming, ironworking, and domesticating animals Many South and East African languages today are varieties of Bantu
Nubia 2700 BC-350 AD, flourished on the upper Nile River (south of Egypt) Trade brought them in close contact with Egypt and sparked cultural exchange The capital city, Meroe, was a center of trade and natural resources (iron) Nubian culture is mysterious, because their language is not understood today
Outside Influences on North Africa Phoenician sailors established trading colonies on the North African coast The Roman Empire ruled North Africa, bringing Christianity Arabs later invaded, bringing Arabic language and Islamic religion
Kingdoms of West Africa
Patterns of Trade Develop Agricultural villages traded across the Sahara From West Africa, caravans carried leather, nuts, cotton, and slaves From North Africa, Arabs brought silk, metals, beads, and horses Largest trade was gold for salt-one pound of gold for one pound of salt
Kingdom of Ghana Groups of trading agricultural villages united to form the Kingdom of Ghana, between the Niger and Senegal Rivers Kings of Ghana controlled and taxed the gold-salt trade routes Taxes were used to build rich cities and mighty armies Many of the elite in Ghana converted to Islam When Ghana lost control of its trade routes, the Kingdom collapsed
Kingdom of Mali Mali was united by a leader named Sundiata who took control of the trade routes Villages on caravan routes became great trading cities like Timbuktu Mali’s greatest king, Mansa Musa, made hajj to Mecca, drawing attention to Mali’s wealth
Songhai Empire As Mali weakened, the Songhai Empire grew in power Ruler Askia the Great created a bureaucracy, government with different departments with different responsibilities He brought Islamic scholars to Songhai Weakened by fights over succession
Patterns in West African Kingdoms Grew wealthy by controlling the salt-gold trade Villages became great trading cities Islamic influence Conquered by invaders from the Sahara, but the invaders could not maintain an empire over both the Sahara and West Africa
Smaller Societies of West Africa The Kingdom of Benin formed in the rainforests of the West African coasts Benin traded with the savanna kingdoms to the north and created great bronze and brass sculptures The Hausa people created many walled city states These city states were home to great artisans and often had female rulers
Kingdoms and Trading States of East Africa
Axum Located from highlands of Ethiopia to shores of Eritrea Descended from African farmers and Jewish traders Traded throughout Africa, with India, and the Middle East Axum converted to Christianity in the 300s, was isolated when Islam spread to surrounding areas
Ethiopia Axum culture survived in the highlands of Ethiopia Ethiopians blended Christianity with East African traditions The Churches of Lallibela were carved into the ground downward into the mountains Some Ethiopians also practiced Judaism
East African City States Trade cities flourished on the East African coast-easy access to India and the Middle East-the culture and language was called Swahili Traded ivory, leopard skin, copper, gold, and slaves from Africa for cotton, cloth, silk, spices, porcelain, glass, and swords from Middle East, China, and India Swahili culture and language was a mix of Arabic and African
Great Zimbabwe Zimbabwe was the capital of an inland trading empire Built by Bantu speakers who brought ironworking, mining, and farming skills Part of a trading network connecting all the way to India