1. EQ 1: How were the African civilizations impacted by the geography of the land? Key Terms: Sahel, savannas, Sahara, Bantu

2. The African Continent http://www.sciencealert.com/this-is-the- true-size-of-africa http://www.sciencealert.com/this-is-the- true-size-of-africa

3. Geography of Africa Main geographic feature of Africa is the Sahara Desert, which is the largest desert in the world Early African civilizations could not cross the Sahara, therefore the cultures north of the desert are different from the south

5. Sahel—area bordering the Sahara along the southern edge of the desert, acting like a coastline where the land is arid Savannas—grassy plains that cover the southern one-third of the African continent

9. Early African History The first sub-Saharan civilizations developed in the Sahel or along the coastlines of Africa Bantu—means “the people”; the first settlers of sub-Saharan Africa, developed in the northwest corner of the Sahel Bantu tribes were hunter-gatherers

11. As the Bantu population increased, it was necessary for the tribes to move Bantu migration—Bantu tribes migrated south and southeast, eventually spread over the entire sub-Saharan continent Today, about 90% of the people in Africa (60 million) speak some dialect of the Bantu

14. EQ 2: What contributions were made by ancient African societies? Key Terms: Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Sundiata, Mansa Musa, Swahili, Kilwa

15. Saharan African Empires Western empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai Bantu origins Established great trading empires Northern Kingdoms converted to Islam through conquest by and trade with Arabs Islam eventually spread throughout the continent

17. Ghana—c. 700-1100 AD

18. Ghana Smallest of the northern African empires Kingdom was close to gold mines, traded salt for gold and made a profit through taxing the transactions Incorporated Muslim beliefs and practices into their own traditional religions Conquered c. 1050 AD by group of Muslims called the Amoravids

19. Mali– c.1200-1400 AD

20. Established by Mali’s first great ruler, Sundiata, when he led an army in vengeance of his family’s murder by a rival kingdom years earlier Mali Empire also grew wealthy from the gold & salt trade

21. Sundiata’s nephew, Mansa Musa, is considered the greatest ruler of the Mali Kingdom Mansa Musa’s famous haj is evidence of the nation’s wealth and power Ibn Battuta traveled to Mali and described the wealth and advancements

25. Songhai—c. 1400-1600 AD

26. Songhai lived under Mali rule for 100s of years Emerged as a separate independent state in 1400s b/c of a rebellion led by Sunni Ali Empire spread through military conquest Empire reached its height under rule of Askia Muhammad Trade routes passed through the empire, allowing the empire to become wealthy by taxing the traders of gold and salt

27. Eastern Trading Cities Unlike northern Africa, eastern civilizations were not organized into empires Instead, they lived in individual city-states that were linked together by trade The trading cities along the eastern coast of Africa were called Swahili Their language, which also was called Swahili, was a combination of Bantu and Arab, which came from the Muslims with whom they traded The Swahili city-states were very wealthy from trade and had extensive access to gold from nearby mines

29. The most important of the Swahili city- states was Kilwa, because of its geographic location Kilwa was the city-state that was the furthest south the winds would carry a ship This city trade approximately 1 ton of gold a year In 1500, the city was destroyed by the invading Portuguese