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African Civilizations and the Spread of Islam
Chapter 8
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Geography of Africa Size and Location
Second Largest continent in the world Centrally located on the Earth’s surface Stretches 5,000 miles north to south From Mediterranean Sea (north) to Cape of Good Hope (south) From Cape Verde in the west to Horn of Africa in the east Surrounded by 4 bodies of water North – Mediterranean Northeast – Red Sea East – Indian Ocean West – Atlantic Ocean Most of the region located on a high plateau
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Geography of Africa Regions North Africa
Includes lands from Morocco to Egypt Washed by the Mediterranean Sea Large area of cultural diffusion – Europe and the Middle East Sahara Desert Largest Desert in the world Extends from Atlantic to Indian Ocean (larger than the US) Currently expanding at a rate of 20 miles per year. Served as a major trade route
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Geography of Africa Regions West Africa
From the “Hump of Africa” to Nigeria Center of slave trade Center for the gold and salt trade Central Africa Includes Sahel region and Congo Basin Home of the grasslands and tropical rain forests East Africa Includes area from the Great Rift Valley to Indian Ocean Home of the earliest hominid Trade maintained with Middle East and India
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Geography of Africa Regions South Africa Area below the Congo basin
Location of hills, plateaus, and eventually desert (Kalahari, Namib)
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Geography of Africa Climate Zones Mediterranean
Hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters Found on the northern and southern tips Desert Make up 40% of Africa Include the Sahara, Kalahari, and Namib Tropical wet and dry Known as the savannah region Occupies 45% to 50% of Africa Area where most people live Unpredictable rainfall Desertification occurring in Sahel region
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Geography of Africa Climate Zones Tropical Wet Rainforest region
Makes up 8% of Africa around the equator Home to disease carrying insects (termites, mosquitos) Contains tsetse fly – makes ability to raise livestock impossible Impact of Geography Although many of Africa’s people have lived on and migrated across the region, Africa’s geography discouraged Europeans from exploring the interior of the land. As a result, European referred to this land as the “Dark Continent.”
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Early Civilizations of East Africa
Kush Originally formed at the Kingdom of Nubia, prior to Egyptian civilization Became a tributary of Egyptian civilization Formed as an empire after the fall of the New Kingdom (Egypt) Borrowed ideas on religion, pyramids, hieroglyphics, etc. Located in the northern Sudan and southern Egypt Developed into a trading state Supplied goods from Central and East Africa to the Roman Empire, Arabia, and India. Ex. Ivory, gold, ebony, and slaves Conquered by the kingdom of Axum
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Kingdom of Nubia
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Early Civilizations of East Africa
Axum Located on the highlands of present day Ethiopia Founded by migrants from the Kingdom of Saba Legend traces founding of Axum and the Ethiopian royal dynasty to the son of King Solomon and Queen Sheba Dynasty lasted into the 20th century until the death of Halie Selassie in 1975 C.E. Defeated Kush empire Converted to Christianity in 300 C.E. Adopted Christianity from Egypt – known as the Coptic Church
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Axum - Ethiopia
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Early Civilizations of East Africa
Axum Impact of Islam Area cut off from contact with the rest if Christendom Known as the “Hermit Kingdom” Muslims took control of slave and ivory trade Zagwe Dynasty (mid 1100s – 1270 C.E.) Expanded Christianity in region Renamed kingdom - Ethiopia Solomonids Replaced Zagwe Dynasty Fought holy war against Muslim state of Adal for over a century
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Early Civilizations of East Africa
Zanj Coast of East Africa Included commercial centers of Mombasa, Pemba, Zanzibar, and Kilwa in the 900s C.E. Created under Arab settlement Self-governing coastal states Swahili Mixed African-Arabian culture Became a language combining Arabic words with Bantu grammatical structure National language of Kenya and Tanzania today
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Early Civilizations of North Africa
Berbers Pastoral society who lived in the mountains of northern Africa Original inhabitants of the Maghreb region Served as intermediaries for the Trans-Saharan trade Converted to Islam upon spread in the 600s and 700s C.E.
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Early Civilizations of Central Africa
Area characterized by stateless societies Autonomous village life Organized by clans Rule by local chieftain or clan head Kingdom of Luba Located near shores of Lake Kisale Maintained centralized government Kingdom of the Congo Formed south of the mouth of the Congo River on the Atlantic Coast Absorbed cultures and people in neighboring Angola
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Early Civilizations of Central Africa
Zimbabwe (1100s – 1500s C.E.) Located in grassland region south of Zambezi River. Played role in gold trade with Swahili communities on east coast Developed capital – Great Zimbabwe (“Great Stone House”) Benefited from gold trade from the interior to the east Surrounded by large stone walls Abandoned due to overgrazing of lands
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Early Civilizations of South Africa
Khoi Located in the present day Kalahari desert region Also referred to as the Hottentots Pastoral herding group Known for their use of “click” language Benefited from gold trade from the interior to the east Surrounded by large stone walls Abandoned due to overgrazing of lands
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Early Civilizations of South Africa
San Extended influence into region from Namibia in the west to the Drakensburg Mountains in the east Also referred to as the Bushman Hunter gatherer group Both Khoi and San cultures would be blended with beliefs of nomadic group, known as Bantus
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Bantu Migrations Bantu
African group who originally lived in Savanna south of the Sahara Moved from the Niger River to East Africa and south of the Congo River Basin nearly 2,000 years ago Overpopulation in region left to movement Introduced ideas for crop cultivation and iron working into area Migration helped unify the continent as a result Ex. Bantu language evolved into over 900 languages across the continent
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