Transcript Africa Western Empires

KINGDOMS OF WEST
AFRICA
AFRICAN REGIONAL
RESOURCES
EACH REGION IN AFRICA HAD DIFFERENT
RESOURCRES
North Mediterranean: cloth,
spices, and weapons
Desert: salt
Savanna: Agriculture (grain,
cattle, donkeys, and cotton) and
gold
Forest: gold and kola nuts
• The Niger River – a river in
West Africa that was a major
artery of trade that flows
through rain forest, savanna,
and steppe
SAME LAND … DIFFERENT
EMPIRES
Ghana Empire
Mali Empire
800 – 1200s
1200s – 1400s
Songhai Empire
1400s – 1591
What patterns do you notice???
FUN FACTS
Rich trade empires arose in West Africa
between 800 and 1600 A.D.
 Empires grew rich from taxing
long-distance trade
 Gold and salt were the heart of trade in
West Africa
 Long-distance trade spread Islam and
other ideas throughout Africa
 In the 8th century, trans-Saharan trade brought Muslim
merchants and traders to West Africa
 Islamic beliefs and customs affected many areas of life
besides religious faith
 Ethical values of Islam spread in West Africa
 Developed Islamic forms of government and law
 Muslims greatly value education.
 They encouraged people to become educated.
 They built many schools and centers of learning
 The influence of Islam brought new styles of
architecture to West Africa*
 Traditionally, West Africans had built small
shrines to the forces of nature. As they
converted to Islam, they began to build
mosques
GHANA
RICH WESTERN AFRICAN EMPIRE #1
Ideal location – south of Sahara’s salt mines
and just north of the goldfields
By 800 A.D. Ghana was major trading
kingdom
Ghana’s decline was caused by attacking
invaders, overgrazing, and the loss of trade.
Much of what we know about Ghana comes
from Griots – story tellers who pass on
traditions and knowledge of ancient Ghana
through the generations.
The kings of Ghana "taxed" all traders
who traveled through their land.
Ghana grew rich from taxes received
and gold in their gold mines.
The people of Ghana traded using the
method of silent barter. The traders left
slabs of salt on a riverbank. In
exchange, gold miners left what they
thought was a fair amount of gold. This
method help trade stay peaceful, and
it helped keep the location of gold
mines secret.
Another
Western
Kingdom was
Benin (now
Nigeria). The
Benin were
famous for
their bronze
work and the
famous neck
coils worn by
some women
even today!
MALI
RICH WESTERN AFRICAN EMPIRE #2
In 1100: there was a serious drought in Ghana Tribal
fights had also left Ghana weak
1235: Mali was founded by Sundiata (Soon-de-ata),
who made empire rich by farming and herding cattle
 1312: Mansa Musa (Sundiata’s grandson) became
ruler. During his 25-year rule, he expanded the empire
and made Islam the official religion of Mali.
• Individuals still allowed to choose their own religion
Because Islam was important to Mansa Musa, he
made a pilgrimage to Mecca. Brought back Arabs who
built Muslim mosques and schools. Mali became a
center of learning.
MALI
1324:Mansa Musa visited Cairo, Egypt. He handed out
24,000 pounds of gold in a parade
Mali weakened after Mansa Musa’s death, and was
conquered Songhai (Sung-guy) in late 1400s
SONGHAI
RICH WESTERN AFRICAN EMPIRE #3
Songhai kingdoms expanded by conquering
other lands, gaining more trade routes and
sources of gold and salt
Conquered the wealthy trade cities of
Timbuktu and Jenné
1591: Morocco (in Northern Africa) used guns
and cannons to defeat Songhai
Morocco could not handle the empire, and the
great trading empires of West Africa ended
BambukAkan
Bure
Goldfields Goldfields
What is this???
A MOSQUE!
The Great Mosque in Djenne (a city in the modern country of Mali)