Kingdoms & States of Africa
Ch. 13 L2
Three prosperous and powerful
West African kingdoms were:
• Ghana (gold)
• Mali (blue)
• Songhai (red)
Ghana
• Strong kings who
ruled without written
laws & had vast
wealth
• Kings had a well
trained army
• Resources:
• Iron ore
• Gold
• Salt
• The intake of salt was
beneficial for their
health.
• Salt helped preserve
food.
• Salt made food taste
good.
Ghana
• It was prosperous and powerful due to trade
and the first great trading state of West Africa.
• Other exports: ivory, hides, slaves
Ghana
• Traders from Ghana hired the Berbers from the
north (Morocco) to carry out the trade using
camel caravans, known as “fleets of the
desert.”
• Camels stored water and ate little food.
• As many as 100 camels on a trek.
Mali
• 1250 to 1450 AD
• Mali replaced Ghana as a major trading state.
• It was founded by Sundiata Keita, known as the
“lion prince.”
• The lion was the symbol of his family.
• He walked with braces on his legs.
• He was Muslim, but kept his African traditional
religion too.
• He is known as the founder of Mali.
• He united people of Mali & had a strong government.
Mali
• Timbuktu became a
major trading city.
• Gold and salt trade made
Mali very wealthy.
• Many farmers lived in
Mali, mostly farming
sorghum, millet and
rice.
Mali
• Another famous ruler of Mali was Mansa
Musa.
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•
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Ruled from 1312 to 1337
Strong central government
Doubled the size of the kingdom
Islam grew (particularly in Timbuktu) as a
result of his building mosques and palaces
and hiring scholars.
• Sankore: mosque located in Timbuktu, center
of Muslim learning
Mali: Mansa Musa
• Made a very famous pilgrimage to Makkah
in which he went with a grand entourage
and gave away so much gold that the
price of gold dropped.
• Hundreds of camels (with gold & supplies)
• Thousands of servants & soldiers
Mali ended in 1359
Songhai:
1000 to 1600 AD
• Ruler Sunni Ali conquered the cities of Timbuktu
and Djenne in 1464.
• Songhai, like Ghana and Mali, became prosperous
from trade, particularly in gold and salt.
Mosque of Djenne, Mali
Mosque of Timbuktu, Mali
Songhai
• Muhammad Ture (Askia, “Usurper”)
overthrew Sunni Ali’s son and ruled
Songhai at the height of its power.
• Had a navy & cavalry, much prosperity
Songhai
• Askia Dawud (Daud)
(1549-1582)
• Largest empire in
African history
• Was invaded by the
sultan of Morocco and
culture and wealth
declined.
Bantu Migrations
• Began around 1000 BC
• Slow movement across
Africa
• Movements based in
subsistence farming
• Growing crops for personal
use
• Using iron and stone tools
East African City States
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Location: Indian Ocean
Mogadishu, Mombasa, Kilwa & Sofala
Bantu speaking peoples settled there.
Ports became important for Indian Ocean
trade.
• These cities became wealthy.
East African City States
Kilwa (Tanzania)
Great Mosque of Kilwa
Kilwa (Tanzania)
Husuni Kubwa Palace
Ibn Battuta: Traveler
Ibn Battuta
• Traveled 75,000 miles
• Visited most Muslim countries, visited
China
• Visited Kilwa: “one of the most beautiful
and well-constructed towns in the world”
Swahili
“peoples of the coast”
• Language that developed in East Africa
out of trade
• Combined Bantu languages with Persian
and Arabic
• Spoken in Kenya and Tanzania today
Societies in South Africa
• Stateless Societies
• Group of
independent
villages organized
by clans and ruled
by a chieftain
Zimbabwe
• Wealthiest state in
region from 1300
to 1450
• Traded gold with
Swahili trading
communities
• King’s wealth:
taxes & cattle
• City abandoned in
the 1500s
Great Zimbabwe
• The Great Enclosure
• Near the Zambezi River
• Housed as many as
10,000
• Granite blocks without
mortar
• 17 feet thick, 32 feet
high, 800 feet long
• Purpose?