EARLY CIVILIZATIONS

OF AFRICAEast and West

EAST AFRICA Trade in East Africa mixture of cultures Kingdom of Axum

In modern-day EthiopiaMonsoon winds Axum trading ships

crossed Indian Ocean

From Africa To Africa

ivoryslavesspices

clothwineolive oil

EAST AFRICA: ZIMBABWE Settled by Bantu-speakers Zimbabwe = “great stone houses”

Used bricks & stones w/o mortar (cement) Had feudal system In 1620s, defeated by Portuguese, who

wanted gold

EAST AFRICA: TRADING CITY-STATES Persian, Arab, Indonesian, & Indian

traders settled in East AfricaArab merchants most powerful

Grew rich by exporting iron ore, ivory, slaves, & gold from Africa

African & Arab cultures mixed Many Africans & Arabs married Many Africans converted to Islam Swahili, meaning “people of the coast” in Arabic,

is now most spoken language in East Africa

Portuguese, determined to take over control of trade, fought Arab city-states in East Africa for 300 years

WEST AFRICA 500-1500 CE: 3 kingdoms

ran on trans-Saharan tradeTrade b/w West Africa, the

Mediterranean region, & the Arabian Peninsula

Muslim merchants took control of the trade They sold goods to Berbers, camel-

riding desert nomadsShipped north

Shipped south

goldivoryslavesleather goodscattlesheepjewelry

saltclothwheatdried fruithorsesmetal goods

WEST AFRICA: GHANA Ghana exported gold &

imported salt Ghana known as “land of gold” Kings became rich taxing the

gold & the salt Invading Islamic armies &

merchants spread Islam Scholars, who taught about

Islam, came too Ghana’s city dwellers

(including the kings’ advisers) converted to Islam, but farmers didn’t

Ghana became weak from North African Islamic armies, but Mali finally conquered in 1240

WEST AFRICA: MALI After Mali conquered Ghana in 1240, it

spread from the Atlantic Ocean to 1/3rd of the way east into Africa

Mali’s kings also become rich from taxes on gold and salt, in addition to taxes on their people

Mali’s kings became Muslims

WEST AFRICA: MANSA MUSA

Mansa Musa (1312-1337), king of Mali, made a huge pilgrimage to Mecca 60,000 people, 12,000

slaves, >2,400 lbs of gold Price of gold fell sharply

Timbuktu, Mali’s capital became West Africa’s Islamic center of learning Mansa Musa brought back

architects & scholars from Mecca to build mosques, palaces, & schools

In 1359, Timbuktu and Gao (another city) split upTimbuktu mosque

Mansa Musa

WEST AFRICA: SONGHAI The city of Gao became the trading

center of the Songhai Kingdom King Askia Muhammad, like Mansa

Musa, made big pilgrimages to MeccaHe tried to convert everyone in Songhai to

Islam Islamic principles became the basis of the

court system & of social reforms Morocco eventually took down Songhai

by 1600

IMPACT OF ISLAM

Look through your notes for info on Islam.

Then, in your notes, write a paragraph explaining Islam’s impact on the early civilizations of Africa.