African CivilizationsWest

East

AxumGhana, Mali

Songhai

South

Great Zimbabwe

SOL Standards Essential Questions

• What were the characteristics of civilizations in sub-Saharan Africa during the medieval period?

African Empires• East: Egypt,

Kush, Axum

• North: Carthage

• West: Ghana, Mali, Songhai

• South: Great Zimbabwe (area of Monomotapa)

Axum

• Axum was located in sub-Saharan East Africa (south of Kush and Egypt)

• Located in the Ethiopian highlands

• Present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea

Also spelled Aksum

Trade in Axum

• Axum’s location on the Nile and Red Sea enabled it to become an international trading center

• Trade brought economic, cultural, and religious influences to Axum.

Christianity in Axum

• Axum became a Christian Kingdom under King Ezana

• When the Muslims invaded North Africa, Axum moved to the highlands and remained Christian.

Axumite Architecture• Stelae: Huge

stone pillars carved out of granite

• Christian Rock Churches: carved out of existing rock.

• The Small green building on the right supposedly holds the Ark of the Covenant

West African Kingdoms

• Ghana – 11th century

• Mali – 14th century

• Songhai – 15th century

Arose in the area of present-day Mali

Western Empires • These kingdoms arose

on the Niger River, just south of the Sahara Desert in the savannah region (Sahel).

• They grew strong by controlling the gold-salt trade.

Salt• necessary for survival

in Africa’s hot climate, so it was as valuable as gold.

• lost through sweat in hot climates and must be replaced.

• used to preserve foods.

Gold- Salt Trade• Salt was plentiful in the Sahara desert, but the

Sahel and forests to the south lacked salt.

• Gold was plentiful in the Sahel and the forest regions.

Gold-Salt Trade• North and South were interdependent on each other for these natural resources, so they

traded.

Trans-Sahara Trade• The Niger River and the Sahara

desert were the highways of this gold-salt trade.

• Ghana, Mali, and then Songhai prospered because they lay on trade routes located between these resources.

Ghana

• Ghana grew rich by taxing traders that

carried goods through their territory

• Traders would have to pay the king of

Ghana (in gold or salt) whenever they

exchanged goods.

The Land of Gold

Animism • Animisim: belief that there

are spirits present in animals, plants, and other natural forces which play an important part in daily life.

Spread of Islam• Islam spread to West

Africa through trade.• Ghana’s rulers converted

to Islam, but many people remained animists.

• Some people observed Islam, but also kept their former beliefs.

West African Religions

• Islam continued to spread through trade and conquest.

• Islam and Animism continue to coexist in West Africa today.

Mali• As Ghana declined, Mali seized power and grew into

an Empire

Sundiata

• Restablished the gold-salt trade

• Known as “The Lion King”

Mansa Musa• King who made Timbuktu into a great

center of learning

• Went on a Hajj across Africa to Mecca.

Timbuktu• Largest trading city in Mali.

• Located where the desert met the Niger River.

Timbuktu• Became a great Muslim

learning center

• Had three universities and a library with Greek and Roman writings.

Songhai• As Mali

declined, Songhai grew into an empire

• Songhai was the last and largest of the powerful empires which ruled central West Africa.

Great Zimbabwe

• Capital of a trading empire that thrived in southeastern Africa from 1200-1450

• Located on a plateau between the Zambezi and Limpopo

Rivers in modern Zimbabwe.

• This location had many advantages.

• It had fertile land.

• It was close to trade routes linking inland gold fields with Sofala, a trading city located on the Indian Ocean.

Trading Empire

• In Sofala gold was traded for goods from North Africa, India, and China

•Great Zimbabwe took control of these trade routes.

Ruins of Great Zimbabwe• Great Zimbabwe means “great stone

buildings”

• Most of what we know about Great Zimbabwe

comes from these ruins.

• The city was the political, economic, and religious

center of its empire.

Reflection

• Religion spread across the hemisphere. Islam spread intoA. China.B. Japan.C. West Africa.D. East Europe.

• Which of the following kingdoms in Africa is located near the Limpopo and the Indian Ocean coast?A. GhanaB. MaliC. ZimbabweD. Axum