1. West African Kingdoms
Ghana/ Mali/ Songhai

2. The Bantu Group of people who originally live in West Africa
Migrated in search of fertile land
Spread their knowledge of farming, ironworking, & LANGAUGE across the continent
Today almost 1/3 of Africans speak a language derived from the Bantu

3. West African Gold/Salt Kingdoms

4. Ghana (c. 400 – 1235) The first of the West African trading kingdoms
Through weapon making technology (iron smelting), Ghanaian warriors expanded boundaries
Gained control over trade routes

5. Ghana Gold &Salt Trade Location! Location! Location!
Ghana was located in the midway between Saharan salt mines and tropical gold mines
Caravans of Muslim merchants brought goods, which Ghanaian people exchanged for gold
Trade conducted via the silent trade
Muslims brought their religion to the people of Ghana

6. Recap

7. Mali (1230 – 1600s)
Mali was the second of the three major West African Kingdoms
Mali was the leading supplier of slaves in the Indian Ocean & Trans-Saharan trades

8. Read the account of Mansa Musa’s Hajj and answer the questions
Mali (1230 – 1600s)
Mansa Musa
Devout Muslim king
Bases legal and justice system on the Qur’an
Makes hajj to Mecca, but stops in Egypt first
Gives Egypt so much gold that the value of gold declines for 10 straight years
Traveled with 12,000 servants each wearing silk & carrying gold bars, which were given to the poor
Read the account of Mansa Musa’s Hajj and answer the questions

9. Mansa Musa Primary Source
During my first journey to Cairo and sojourn there, I heard talk of the arrival of the Sultan Musa [Mansa Musa] and I found the Cairenes [residents of Cairo] very glad to talk of the large expenditures of Sultan Musa.
I questioned the Emir [Muslim leader of a country], who spoke of the sultan’s noble appearance, dignity, and trustworthiness. The Emir told me, “When I went out to greet him in the name of the glorious Sultan el Malik en Nasir, he gave me the warmest of welcomes and treated me with the most careful politeness. But he would talk to me only through an interpreter, although he could speak perfect Arabic. He carried his imperial treasure in many pieces of gold, worked or otherwise.”
Why do you think Mansa Musa only spoke through an interpreter even though he spoke Arabic?

10. Mali Mansa Musa Brings back Islamic scholars and architects to Mali
Has Timbuktu built
Timbuktu
Center of learning and art
Increased Islamic influence in West Africa
Use of credit
Written contracts
Education for many classes

11. Timbuktu

12. I think it’s worth a try this summer
Ibn Battuta
Moroccan born traveler and explorer
Travel the Islamic world from North Africa to China
Spent 30 years traveling
His primary source writings inform historians about the Muslim world in Africa
Batttuta!
Ibn????
I think it’s worth a try this summer

13. Songhai (c – 1591)
The largest of the 3 major West African kingdoms
Took control of Timbuktu
Expanded trade to Europe and Asia
Period of great cultural diffusion

14. Sunni Ali Sunni Ali Will the real Sunni Ali please stand up?
First emperor of Songhai
Will the real Sunni Ali please stand up?
Some sources note his skills as a politician and military commander. Others are not so kind…
Sonni Ali entered Banana, committed gross iniquity, burned and destroyed the town, and brutally tortured many people there. When Akilu heard of the coming of Sonni Ali, he brought a thousand camels to carry the fuqaha ([slamic legal expert] of Sankore and went with them to Walata..... The Godless tyrant was engaged in slaughtering those who remained in Timbuktu and humiliated them.

15. Songhai Askia Muhammad sets up high functioning bureaucracy
5 provinces each with
A governor
Tax collector
Judges (Like Mansa Musa, had laws based on Qur’an)
Trade inspectors
Askia Muhammad’s Tomb

17. Assessment