The Kingdom of Axum — Created by Arabs and Africans by 300 B.C. — City of Adulis was main trading center — African goods included ivory, slaves, and spices — Imported goods included cloth, wine, and olive oil — King Ezana made Christianity the official religion of Axum in 324 — Around 1100 Axum and Muslim trading states argued about the slave‐ivory trade — By the 1500s Axum partnered with Portugal to defeat their rivals. Axum was divided into many kingdoms.
The Zimbabwe Region — Zimbabwe means “great stone houses” — In Zimbabwe there were many large stone buildings — The largest building in called Great Zimbabwe — Building were made from stones that were put together without mortar (cement). — Great Zimbabwe was the center of a large trading kingdom. It connected in interior of Africa with the East Coast and Asia. — The major export was gold. — A Shona leader named Mutota set up an empire and taxed traders passing through — In the 1500s the Portuguese began to move in and by 1620s they took over
Trading City‐States — Trade from the interior went through cities on the east coast‐ Kilwa, Mombassa, and Zanzibar — These cities had their own rulers, governments, and armed forces — Arab merchants became wealthy from international trade. They lived in luxury. — Trade was based on iron ore, ivory, slaves, and gold exchanged for cloth, glass, metal goods — As Bantu and Arab people intermarried a new culture developed and a new language, Swahili. Many people practiced Islam — In the 1500s the Portuguese fought the city‐states for power