-the first great west African trading state

-developed along Niger River

Most people of Ghana were farmers

Kings were strong and wealthy

-ruled without the benefit of law

-when they appeared in public, it was always with great pomp as well as lavish clothing, robes, and jewels

-held power with a very well trained army of thousands

Ghana prospered from its iron and gold supplies

-Ghana blacksmiths were highly skilled at making iron tools and weapons

Ghana was the biggest gold-producing area in Africa

-made it a very wealthy, busy trading empireMuslim merchants brought textiles, horses, metal goods, and salt

The importance of salt:

-used to preserve and spice food

-needed to replace salt lost by their bodies due to warm climate

The Silent Trade system of ancient Ghana:

-foreign merchants were not allowed to pass a certain boundary

-they would place the goods they wanted to trade and then leave

-Ghanaians would then come and leave a quantity of gold for the goods

-if the merchants liked the amount of gold, they would take it and leave

-if they didn’t like it, they would go away, and the Ghanaians would come and leave more gold (or not)

-Both parties worked out a mutually agreeable exchange

Berbers:

-a nomadic people who led most of the cross-Sahara trade

“Fleets of the desert:” what Berber camel caravans became known as

Why use camels?

-need little food for days at a time

-also drank large quantities of water infrequently

-could survive the arid trip

These camel fleets of the desert would travel in groups of about 100

-moved about 3 miles per hour

-took from 40 to 60 days to reach their destinations

Ghanaians traded tropical items such as bananas and palm oil with the Berbers

Kings became wealthy by imposing taxes on imports and exports

Ghana

Berbers

Gold, bananas, palm oil

• How did the arrival of the camel affect African trade?

Camels made it possible for people living in North Africa to travel across the Sahara and interact with people in sub-Saharan

Africa.

This expanded trade throughout the continent and brought different cultures into contact with one another

Ghana was weakened by a series of wars and collapsed @1200

-Mali replaces Ghana as the strongest west African trading state

Sundiata Kieta:

-established the Kingdom of Mali during mid-1200s

Sundiata: the word means “lion prince”

-Sundiata captured Ghanaian capital in 1240

-united the people of Mali

created a strong government

Timbuktu

Mali built its wealth and power by controlling the gold and salt trade between the Atlantic coast and Timbuktu

Most of the people of Mali were farmers

-grew sorghum, millet, and rice

Farmers lived in villages with local rulers

-these rulers sent tax revenues to the king

The old mosque at Djenné, Mali, as restored around 1890. Recent excavations have revealed fixed settlements at Djenné, in the Niger inland delta, going back to the first millennium B.C. Djenné remained an important cultural and economic center through medieval times.

Mansa Musa: grandson of Sandiata

-became one of Mali’s richest and most powerful kings

-ruled from 1307 to 1337

-Mansa Musa was a devout Muslim

-in 1324, he made his hajj to Mecca (as required by Islamic custom)

-Mansa Musa returned and spread Islamic culture throughout Mali

Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage became legendary

-as he traveled to Mecca he gave gold to his hosts and purchased everything with gold

-he put so much gold into circulation so quickly that its value fell

Mansa Musa also doubled the size of Mali during his rule

-although earlier Malian kings had been Muslim, Mansa Musa ordered the building of mosques and encouraged the study of the Quran

-he brought in Islamic architects

                                             

-mosque in Djenne, Mali

Sankore: great mosque of Timbuktu

-also housed a great university for learning

-Mansa Musa also brought in Islamic scholars to teach here and throughout Mali

-spread the word of Allah

The Sankore Mosque at Timbuktu as it appeared around 1890. Following the Moroccan invasion of Songhai in 1590-91, commercial and intellectual vitality declined in the Western Sudan, resulting perhaps from the political upheavals caused by the invasion.

• List three of Mansa Musa’s accomplishments.

Created a strong central government

Imported scholars and books to encourage the study of the Quran

Brought architects to build mosques

-Mansa Musa was Mali’s last powerful leader

-by 1359, civil war divided Mali and weakened the empire

-To the southeast of Timbuktu

1009: a ruler named Kossi converted to Islam established a dynasty

-the shaded area marks the greatest extent of Songhai

Gao: became the chief trade center and richest city of Songhai

Gao located downstream from Timbuktu

-some modern day photos of Gao

-although only a few hundred yards from the Niger River, the desert quickly begins to dominate the geography outside of Gao

-like other ancient river societies, the people of Songhai depended upon annual flooding of the Niger to keep their croplands fertile

Sunni Ali: expanded Songhai and created the Sunni Dynasty in 1464

Sunni Ali took control of Timbuktu and Jenne which gave Songhai total control of the west African trade area

Muhammad Ture: helped Songhai reach the height of its power

-overtook Sunni Ali’s son in 1493 and created a 1000 mile long empire

Muhammad Ture created a strong central empire with local provinces

-each province had a governor appointed by Ture

Songhai cities prospered as never before

-Following Ture’s death, insecurity in Songhai

-Moroccan forces began to occupy much of the area

-The Songhai Empire ended

• What were the key factors in Songhai’s rise to power?

Trade and conquest

It was located on major trade routes, and its rulers built it into a great trading empire by conquering neighboring territories