African Civilizations and the Spread of Islam
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Transcript African Civilizations and the Spread of Islam
AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS
AND THE SPREAD OF
ISLAM
Chapter 8
GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA
Size and Location
Second Largest continent in the world
Centrally located on the Earth’s surface
Stretches 5,000 miles north to south
From Mediterranean Sea (north) to Cape of Good Hope (south)
From Cape Verde in the west to Horn of Africa in the east
Surrounded by 4 bodies of water
North – Mediterranean
Northeast – Red Sea
East – Indian Ocean
West – Atlantic Ocean
Most of the region located on a high plateau
GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA
Regions
North Africa
Includes lands from Morocco to Egypt
Washed by the Mediterranean Sea
Large area of cultural diffusion – Europe and the Middle East
Sahara Desert
Largest Desert in the world
Extends from Atlantic to Indian Ocean (larger than the US)
Currently expanding at a rate of 20 miles per year.
Served as a major trade route
GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA
Regions
West Africa
From the “Hump of Africa” to Nigeria
Center of slave trade
Center for the gold and salt trade
Central Africa
Includes Sahel region and Congo Basin
Home of the grasslands and tropical rain forests
East Africa
Includes area from the Great Rift Valley to Indian Ocean
Home of the earliest hominid
Trade maintained with Middle East and India
GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA
Regions
South Africa
Area below the Congo basin
Location of hills, plateaus, and eventually desert (Kalahari,
Namib)
GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA
Climate Zones
Mediterranean
Hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters
Found on the northern and southern tips
Desert
Make up 40% of Africa
Include the Sahara, Kalahari, and Namib
Tropical wet and dry
Known as the savannah region
Occupies 45% to 50% of Africa
Area where most people live
Unpredictable rainfall
Desertification occurring in Sahel region
GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA
Climate Zones
Tropical Wet
Rainforest region
Makes up 8% of Africa around the equator
Home to disease carrying insects (termites, mosquitos)
Contains tsetse fly – makes ability to raise livestock impossible
Impact of Geography
Although many of Africa’s people have lived on and migrated across
the region, Africa’s geography discouraged Europeans from
exploring the interior of the land. As a result, European referred to
this land as the “Dark Continent.”
EARLY CIVILIZATIONS OF EAST AFRICA
Kush
Originally formed at the Kingdom of Nubia, prior to Egyptian
civilization
Became a tributary of Egyptian civilization
Formed as an empire after the fall of the New Kingdom (Egypt)
Borrowed ideas on religion, pyramids, hieroglyphics, etc.
Located in the northern Sudan and southern Egypt
Developed into a trading state
Supplied goods from Central and East Africa to the Roman
Empire, Arabia, and India.
Ex. Ivory, gold, ebony, and slaves
Conquered by the kingdom of Axum
KINGDOM OF NUBIA
EARLY CIVILIZATIONS OF EAST AFRICA
Axum
Located on the highlands of present day Ethiopia
Founded by migrants from the Kingdom of Saba
Legend traces founding of Axum and the Ethiopian royal dynasty
to the son of King Solomon and Queen Sheba
Dynasty lasted into the 20th century until the death of Halie
Selassie in 1975 C.E.
Defeated Kush empire
Converted to Christianity in 300 C.E.
Adopted Christianity from Egypt – known as the Coptic Church
AXUM - ETHIOPIA
EARLY CIVILIZATIONS OF EAST AFRICA
Axum
Impact of Islam
Area cut off from contact with the rest if Christendom
Known as the “Hermit Kingdom”
Muslims took control of slave and ivory trade
Zagwe Dynasty (mid 1100s – 1270 C.E.)
Expanded Christianity in region
Renamed kingdom - Ethiopia
Solomonids
Replaced Zagwe Dynasty
Fought holy war against Muslim state of Adal for over a century
EARLY CIVILIZATIONS OF EAST AFRICA
Zanj
Coast of East Africa
Included commercial centers of
Mombasa, Pemba, Zanzibar, and Kilwa
in the 900s C.E.
Created under Arab settlement
Self-governing coastal states
Swahili
Mixed African-Arabian culture
Became a language combining Arabic
words with Bantu grammatical
structure
National language of Kenya and
Tanzania today
EARLY CIVILIZATIONS OF NORTH AFRICA
Berbers
Pastoral society who lived in
the mountains of northern
Africa
Original inhabitants of the
Maghreb region
Served as intermediaries for
the Trans-Saharan trade
Converted to Islam upon
spread in the 600s and 700s
C.E.
EARLY CIVILIZATIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA
Area characterized by stateless societies
Autonomous village life
Organized by clans
Rule by local chieftain or clan head
Kingdom of Luba
Located near shores of Lake Kisale
Maintained centralized government
Kingdom of the Congo
Formed south of the mouth of the Congo River on the Atlantic Coast
Absorbed cultures and people in neighboring Angola
EARLY CIVILIZATIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA
Zimbabwe (1100s – 1500s C.E.)
Located in grassland region south of Zambezi River.
Played role in gold trade with Swahili communities on east coast
Developed capital – Great Zimbabwe (“Great Stone House”)
Benefited from gold trade from the interior to the east
Surrounded by large stone walls
Abandoned due to overgrazing of lands
EARLY CIVILIZATIONS OF SOUTH AFRICA
Khoi
Located in the present day
Kalahari desert region
Also referred to as the Hottentots
Pastoral herding group
Known for their use of “click”
language
Benefited from gold trade from
the interior to the east
Surrounded by large stone
walls
Abandoned due to overgrazing
of lands
EARLY CIVILIZATIONS OF SOUTH AFRICA
San
Extended influence into region
from Namibia in the west to the
Drakensburg Mountains in the
east
Also referred to as the Bushman
Hunter gatherer group
Both Khoi and San cultures would be
blended with beliefs of nomadic
group, known as Bantus
BANTU MIGRATIONS
Bantu
African group who originally lived in
Savanna south of the Sahara
Moved from the Niger River to East Africa
and south of the Congo River Basin nearly
2,000 years ago
Overpopulation in region left to
movement
Introduced ideas for crop cultivation and
iron working into area
Migration helped unify the continent as a result
Ex. Bantu language evolved into over 900
languages across the continent