Chapter 7, Lesson 2 Kingdoms and States of Africa

Berbers

Nomadic desert people whose trade caravans became known as the "fleets of the desert". They used camels who were adapted to the harsh desert conditions, and as many as a hundred camels could make up a caravan.

Mansa Musa

Ruled Mali from 1312-1337. He doubled the size of the kingdom, and was one of the richest and most powerful kings. He built a strong central government and was a devout Muslim who made a pilgrimage to Makkah while king. He lavished gifts of gold upon those who hosted him as he traveled, and he traveled with several thousand servants and soldiers. He made Timbuktu a center for Islamic learning and culture after his pilgrimage, building mosques and libraries within the city. He was the last powerful ruler of Mali

Sundiata Keita

Ruler of Mali from 1230-1255. Viewed as the founder of his nation, he was born a cripple and sent into exile when his brother became king. He created his own army while in exile, and took Mali back from the Susu, and in 1240 he captured the capitol of Ghana.

Muhammad Ture

Seized power of Songhai in 1493. He created the Askia dynasty (means "usurper"), and continued Ali's policy of expansion. He was an able administrator and divided his empire into provinces. Songhai reached it height under his reign.

Subsistence Farming

The growing of crops for personal use only.

Zimbabwe

Wealthiest and most powerful state in South East Africa from 1300-1450. It traded gold with the Swahili on the coast, salt all the way from the northern kingdoms, and even things such as tea from the Chinese. The city of Great Zimbabwe was built on a hill over looking the Zambezi River, and was built masterfully. However, it was abandoned in the middle of the fifteenth century for unknown reasons.

Bantu

A farming people who originated near the Niger River, but spread into Eastern and Southern Africa. They are known by the family of languages they spoke and their communities were based around subsistence farming. They established the city of Great Zimbabwe around A.D. 1000

Ibn Battuta

Arab traveler who lived in the fourteenth century and visited almost all Muslim countries and traveling over 75,000 miles. He recorded his impressions of the places he visited, and wrote highly of Kilwa, Mogadishu, and Mombasa. He visited Kilwa in 1331 and said it was "one of the most beautiful towns in the world."

Sunni Ali

Came to power in 1464 over Songhai, and began its expansion. He controlled the government and the military, and captured Timbuktu and much of what was the kingdom of Mali. He was a uniting force for his kingdom, set up the short lived Sunni dynasty.

Kilwa

City developed in the eighth century, it was the most magnificent of the Arab ports located on the coast of East Africa. Two massive buildings of coral were built in the fourteenth century. The rich enjoyed indoor plumbing, imported china, and other such riches. It was sacked by the Portuguese in 1505, and much of the city was destroyed.

Timbuktu

Famous trading city located on the Niger river that rose to power during the reign of the Mali empire. It became an Islamic intellectual capitol during the rule of Mansa Musa.

Ghana's Location

First great trading state in West Africa, it emerged in A.D. 500 and is located in the upper Niger River valley a grassland region between the Sahara and the tropical forests along the West African coast. The modern state takes its name from this kingdom, but is located farther south in the forested region.

Mali

Greatest state to rise in Western Africa that was established in the mid-thirteenth century. It extended from the Atlantic to the trade city of Timbuktu. It built it's wealth and power on the gold and salt trade. It fell due to civil war in 1359 and gave rise to a new kingdom called Songhai

Stateless Society

Groups of independent villages organized by clans and led by a local ruler or clan head. It was prominent in southern Africa where states developed much more slowly.

Mombasa

Is south of Mogadishu and was one of the key three Arab trading ports along the coast. Like Mogadishu it enjoyed a steady rise and long term prosperity.

Mogadishu

It was the northern most port of a string of ports that developed on the coast of the Indian Ocean due to trade between Muslim Arabs and Bantu peoples. The city was built in the tenth century and did not decline until the 16th century

Ghana

Kingdom that rose in A.D. 500. Their kings ruled with absolute power and kept a strong standing army of several thousand men. This kingdom was known for its abundance of gold and iron, and had highly valued skilled blacksmiths. The country became extremely wealthy due to trade. It finally collapsed in the 1100's due to wars.

Songhai

Kingdom that rose to the east of Timbuktu and became extremely powerful in the 13th century. At it's peak it controlled parts of the kingdom of Ghana, and most of Mali. It became a trading powerhouse, but entered a slow decline in the 14th century and was almost gone by the 15th century after Morocco occupied much of its territory.

Mansa

Means "king" in Mali culture.

Swahili

Mixed African-Arabian culture that began to emerge throughout the coastal area, and emerged due to intermarriage between Arabs and Africans. Muslim religion and architecture became part of a largely African society. It also is the name of the language that arose on the coast and is part Bantu and Arabic. It spread north and west.