Africa

Bantu Migrations

Nubia / Kush (3000 BC – AD 350) • Southern part of the Nile River Valley• Interaction with Egypt

– Under Egyptian rule (c. 1500 BC – 1000 BC)– Cultural diffusion:

Egyptian gods found on Nubian gold• King Piankhi – 724 BC invaded & conquered Egypt• Pushed out of Egypt by Assyrians in 671 BC

(bronze v. iron weapons)• New capital at Meroë – successful trading center

(gold, ivory, animal skins, perfume, slaves & timber)• Nubian culture:

polytheistic, artistic & an undeciphered alphabet • Invaded by King Ezana of Axum AD 350

Axum (300 BC – AD 600) • Ethiopia to the Red Sea (Eritrea) • Unique culture (African & Middle Eastern)• Geez language• Adulis - major trading center that connected India,

Africa & the Mediterranean (from inland: ivory, animal hides & gold; by ship: iron, spices, precious stones, & Indian cotton)

• King Ezana – Converted to Christianity– AD 350 invaded & conquered Nubia

• Over time, as Islam spread & Axum didn’t convert, they became distanced from the growing trade and declined

How would you explain this picture

taken in present-day Ethiopia?

Ethiopia (1200 - 1550)• King Lalibela (c. 1200) – ordered the building of at

least 11 rock churches that were carved from ground-level down into the solid rock

• Christian culture mixed with East African music• Church services still conducted in Geez

Ethiopia cont.• Falasha – group of Ethiopian Jews that claim descent

from the Queen of Sheba and the Israelite King Solomon (according to Ethiopian tradition, the Arc of the Covenant is said to be in this Ethiopian church – brought from Jerusalem by Sheba’s son, King Menelik)

East African Trade “Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam,

Comoros, Mombasa, Mogadishu, Bombay, Mangalore…” The names

of places strewn along the rim of the Indian Ocean tripped like a

melody off the old sailor’s tongue. “I visited them all and more. From here in Africa we sailed with ivory, mangrove, coconuts, tortoise and

cowrie shells. From Arabia we brought dates, whale oil, carpets,

and incense. From India pots, glassware, and cloth. Trade was our

life, you see.” - National Geographic

Swahili culture & language that emerged out of the E. African, Asian & Middle

Eastern trade

East AfricaCritical Thinking Questions

1. Did geography have a positive or negative impact on East Africa? Explain.

2. Which individual had the greatest impact on East African history?

3. How did cultural diffusion affect each of the East African Kingdoms?

4. How did the architecture of Ethiopia reflect its values?

Ghana (AD 300 – 1200)

• West Africa by the Niger & Senegal rivers

• ghana – king (acted as religious leader, chief judge & military commander)

• Trade – gold (from the forest area between the rivers) & salt (from the Sahara) – merchants met in the middle, under the watchful eye of the king’s tax collectors (also ensured accuracy of weights and provided security)

• c. 1000, Ghana converted to Islam (although some stayed with animistic beliefs) → literacy increased in order to study the Quran

• 1076 – conquered by Muslim Almoravids of North Africa

Mali (AD 1235 – 1400)

• Founded by Mande-speaking people south & east of Ghana

• Sundiata Keita (r. 1235 – 1255)– 1st mansa, or emperor– Took over the old kingdom of

Ghana– Reestablished the gold-salt

trade– Moved capital to Niani– Mali (“where the king lives”)

became the name of the empire

Mali (cont.)

• Mansa Musa (r. 1312-1332)– Expanded the empire to

2x the size of Ghana– Divided the empire into provinces w/ governors– Devout Muslim

• Went on hajj 1324-1325• Ordered the building new mosques at Timbuktu &

Gao → Timbuktu became a center of learning because of the reputation from the hajj, the mosque & the universities attracted Muslim judges, doctors, religious leaders & scholars

• Empire declined in the late 1300s due to a lack of strong leaders & the discovery of gold further east

Songhai (c. 1400s – 1591)

• Gao was the capital• Sunni Ali (r. 1464 – 1492)

– Cavalry & a fleet of war canoes– 1468 – captured Timbuktu

• Askia Muhammad (r. 1492 – 1527)– drove out Sunni Ali’s son because

he was not a devout Muslim– Set-up an efficient government– Empire thrived

• 1591 – conquered by Moroccan troops w/ gunpowder & cannons

West AfricaCritical Thinking Questions

1. Did geography have a positive or negative impact on West Africa? Explain.

2. Which individual had the greatest impact on West African history?

3. How did cultural diffusion affect each of the West African Kingdoms?

4. How did the architecture of Mali reflect its values?

Great Zimbabwe (c. 1000 – 1500)

Great Zimbabwe(cont.)

• Great Zimbabwe means “stone house”

• Largest ruins in Africa – covers 1,800 acres– Walls are 30 ft. high– No mortar between the stones

• In the center was the house of the Zimbabwe chief

• As many as 40,000 people lived at the complex

Critical Thinking Questions1. Which African kingdom did geography

have the greatest impact on?

2. Which individual had the greatest impact on African history?

3. Choose an African Kingdom & show how it’s art/architecture reflected the values of the kingdom.

4. How did the movement of goods & people affect the different areas of Africa (East, West & South)?