African Empires

Civilization

A society with organized culture, economics, and politics

Congo River Rain Forest

Africa's largest rainforest, located in Central Africa

Savannah

African grassland famous for its wildlife

Artifacts

Any objects made by a human being

Calligraphy

Art of beautiful handwriting popular in the Islamic world

Monsoon Winds

Carried ships back and forth across the Indian Ocean, changing with the seasons, making trade possible

House of Wisdom

Center of learning in Baghdad (present-day Iraq) started in the 800s

Khufu

Controversial pharaoh who built the Great Pyramid of Giza, reigned in the 2500s BCE

Neolithic Revolution

Discovery of farming 12,000 years ago

Aksum

East African city that grew wealthy through trade, established around 100 CE

Hieroglyphics

Egypt's picture-based writing system

Pharaohs

Egyptian kings who were seen as powerful gods

Mansa Musa

Emperor of Mali from 1312 to 1337 and the richest person in world history

Arab Slave Trade

Enslaved over 10 million Africans, Asians, and Europeans to work in the Islamic Empire

Hatshepsut

Female pharaoh who built power through trade in the 1400s BCE

Nile River Valley

First African civilization to develop agriculture about 10,000 years ago

Tehuacán Valley

First American civilization to develop agriculture about 10,000 years ago

Narmer

First pharaoh, united Upper and Lower Egypt into the world's first nation-state around 3100 BCE

Theocracy

Government based on religious rule

Qu'ran

Holy book of Islam

Hunter-Gatherers

Humans who moved around to find plants and animals to eat

Umayyah Caliphate

Islamic Empire in the 700s, at its largest point, reaching into three continents

Mosque

Islamic place of worship

Arab Peninsula

Land mass to the northeast of Africa, near Egypt

Sundiata

Legendary king who established the Kingdom of Mali in 1235

Swahili

Mix of Bantu and Arab cultures, located on the east coast of Africa

Pyramids

Monumental resting places for the dead in Egypt

Zimbabwe

Most powerful empire in pre-colonial South Africa, lasted until the Portuguese invaded in the 1500s

Mecca

Muhammad's hometown and holy city of Islam

Allah

Muslim name for the one God

Great Pyramid of Giza

Oldest, largest, and best-preserved pyramid

Muslims

People who follow Islam

Pre-Colonial History

Period of time (400 CE to 1400 CE) before Europeans invaded Africa, Asia, and the Americas

Ancient History

Period of time with the earliest written records, from 3000 BCE to 500 CE

Ramses II

Pharaoh who made alliance and built many monuments in the 1200s BCE

New Kingdom

Pharaohs from 1500 BCE to 1000 BCE who kicked out the Hyksos invaders but fell to the Nubian invaders

Middle Kingdom

Pharaohs from 2000 BCE to 1600 BCE who enriched Egypt through trade

Old Kingdom

Pharaohs from 2600 BCE to 2100 BCE who first established the Egyptian empire

Papyrus

Plant that Egyptians used for paper

Nubia

Powerful kingdom to the south of Egypt, took over Egypt around 750 BCE

Islamophobia

Prejudice against Muslims and bias against Islam

Mummification

Process for preserving and honoring elite Egyptians

Muhammad

Prophet who established Islam in 613 CE

Hajj

Religious trip to Mecca, where Islam began

Zanj Rebellion

Revolt of African slaves in present-day Iraq, lasted from 869 to 883 CE

Tuthmose III

Stepson of Hatshepsut who invaded nearby areas in the 1400s BCE

Astronomy

Study of the sky, moon, and stars, advanced by Muslims for religious and economic purposes

Rosetta Stone

Tablet with ancient languages that was used to decode hieroglyphics

Obelisks

Tall, narrow monuments built by Hatshepsut

Sahel

The area where the Sahara Desert transitions into the savannah

Pre-History

The period of time before written records, which ended 5000 years ago

"Out of Africa" Theory

Theory that all humans have ancestors who migrated from Africa 100,000 years ago

Afroeurasia

Three continents interconnected by trade and travel

Ibn Battuta

Traveler who wrote about his journeys across North Africa and the Middle East in the early 1300s

Bantu

Tribes that migrated across Central Africa

Timbuktu

Wealthy city in West Africa, center of trade and home to one of the world's oldest universities

Djenné

West African city that grew wealthy through trade, founded around 200 BCE

Ghana

West African empire built on trade, from the 700s CE to the 1000s CE

Songhai

West African empire that took over from Mali, from the 1400s CE to the 1500s CE

Mali

West African empire united by Sundiata and enriched by Mansa Musa, from the the 1200s CE to the 1300s CE

Sahara

World's largest hot desert, covering most of North Africa