Kingdoms of Africa
Gold-Salt Trade

Geography
 Land
below the
Sahara desert is
Savanna
 Lots of Gold
deposits in the
Savanna
Gold-Salt Trade Continued
 Muslim
-Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
 This trade fueled the rise of West African
Kingdoms
 Muslims trade SALT for GOLD
Kingdom of Ghana (750-1200)
Developed iron weapons to dominate their
region
 The people they conquered would become
slaves
 Got rich by taxing all traders going through
their land
 Used taxes to build a large military
 Kingdom fell when Muslims from the north
invaded

Kingdom of Mali (1240-1400)
 Took
over all the territory of Ghana and
converted to Islam
 Further controlled the Salt-Gold Trade
 Ruler Mansa Musa built Timbuktu
 Largest mosque in Africa and center of
trade and education
 Attracted scholars from all over to
study Islam
Other African States

Songhai


Ife and Benin



Came after Mali, largest west
African Empire
Famous for their copper and
bronze sculptures
Helped capture slaves to trade to
Europeans
Zimbabwe

Traded gold, copper, and ivory from
Africa’s interior