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Trading States of East Africa

Yaelis AvilaHistory

January 28, 2013

The Rise of Aksum

2 main cities = Aksum (capital) & Adulis (Red Sea Port)

Ethiopian highlands coastal plan of the Red Sea

Region suited for agriculture

Ideal for trade (access to Indian Ocean)

African traders: frankincense, gold dust, ivory, and slaves

Foreign traders: cloth and spices

Aksum At Its Height

Military power grew strong

Under King Ezana in 320 AD

Limited authority but collected tribute from local rulers

Attacked and defeated rival trading kingdom, Kush 350 AD

Control of trade in the region so it became the greatest power in East Africa

Culture of Aksum

Merchants brought ideas like Christianity in the 300’s

King Ezana converted and made Christianity the official religion of Aksum

Kind Ezana said he would “rule the people with righteousness and justice and will not oppress them, and may they preserve this throne which I have set up for the Lord of Heaven”

Found inscribed in a stelae, a stone monument

Ge’ez – written and spoken language

First African kingdom to mint its own coins

The Decline of Aksum

In the 600’s because of Muslim invaders

Conquered parts of East and North Africa

Aksum was never conquered but it was isolated

Muslims destroyed Adulis and took over Red Sea trade

Aksum people moved to Ethiopia.

The kingdom was lost but the legacy lived on

Ethiopia

Began to develop under Zagwe dynasty around 1150

King Lalibela, known for building 11 stone Christian churches

In 1270 kings claimed to be descendants of Solomon, this created a dynasty called the Solomonid dynasty (700 years)

Jews faces persecution in Ethiopia

Muslim kingdom formed to the east of Ethiopia causing conflict

Muslim forced never conquered Ethiopia

Rise of City-States

Africa’s East coast trade was successful because of the Indian Ocean and its monsoon winds

Main trading cities were Mogadishu, Mom-basa, Kilwa, and Sofala

Foreign merchants sold glassware, porcelain, silk, and cotton in the city-states’ markets

In exchange they got raw materials like coconut oil, copper, leopard skins, and shells. Also very valuable ones like ivory and gold

Enslaved Africans were exported to slave markets in Arabia, Persia, and India to work as domestic servants

Europeans increased the trade

Kilwa became the wealthiest and most powerful because of its location

It then gained control of Sofala which much gold was exported through

SWAHILI

Muslims Arabs and Persians influenced Africa’s culture and ways of life

Local architecture was influenced by Arabs, carved doors and decorative niches

Africans spoke Bantu language but adopted Arab words

New language called Swahili developed (blended African-Arab culture)

Foreign traders made Islam gain hold of the coast, African rulers adopted Islam and mosques appeared in cities and towns

Many Africans continues to practice local traditional religions like animism

Great Zimbabwe

Ancestors of the Shona people established a kingdom called Great Zimbabwe around the 1100s

Located between Limpopo and Zambezi rivers in southeaster Africa (now nation of Zimbabwe)

Served as a middle-man between gold miners and ivory hunters because it was located along a trade route linking Africa’s interior mines to the city-states on the coast

A middle-man is someone who buys something from one person and sells it to another, making a profit on the sale

The kingdom’s rulers taxed the trade goods that passed through the territory

The Great Enclosure

Shona word zimbabwe means “stone houses”

The largest and most impressive of the Great Zimbabwe ruins is called the Great Enclosure

Thick, circular, outer stone wall about 35 feet high, inner wall runs along part of the outer wall and forms a narrow passage 180 feet long

Inside there is a 33 foot high stone tower

Not sure of its purpose but it was maybe built to show the rulers’ power or as an astronomical observatory

The Mutapa Empire

Great Zimbabwe reached to 18,000 people but during the 1400’’s they abandoned the area

Because they raised cattle one plausible reason is that the land became overgrazed, or the soil may have lost its fertility

1500’s Europeans found it in ruins

Mutapa Empire got the power

Empire founded by former resident of Great Zimbabwe, Mutota.

Became knows as Mwene Mutapa “master pillager” or “conqueror”

Grew wealthy by exporting gold and controlling trade

Europeans took control of the empire eventually

Questions

1. How did trade and religion influence the development of Aksum and Ethiopia?

Christianity was brought by trade because of this Christian churches and other structures like steales were built. This two kingdoms were based on Christianity. 2. Name one of the first written languages in Africa.Ge’ez 3. How did Aksum rise to power?Because of its location and its ability to trade with the Red Sea 4. How do historians know the words of King Ezana?It was inscribed in a stelae 5. Why did Aksum decline?Because of Muslim invaders

Questions

6. How did the location of early Ethiopia compare to the location of Aksum?

Ethiopia was the larger region around Aksum 7. How did trade lead to the rise of coastal city-states in East Africa?The coastal city-states became wealthy because they linked foreign merchants with traders from Africa’s interior 8. What good were traded from Africa’s interior?Coconut oil, copper, leopard skins and shells 9. How did monsoons affect the development of East African trade?Monsoons helped set up a trade network that linked East Africa with Persia, Arabia, India, and Southeast Asia 10. Why did Kilwa become the wealthiest among the East Africa’s

coast city-states?Because it was located at southernmost point on East Africa’s coast that a ship could reach in a single monsoon season

Questions

11. What do historians know about the African kingdom of Great Zimbabwe?That the kingdom was part of Africa’s thriving trade network because of its location 12. What is a middleman?Someone who who buys something from one person and sells it to another, making a profit on the sale 13. What evidence suggests that Great Zimbabwe may have acted in the

roles of middleman for African trade?They found glass beads from India and a coin minted in Kilwa at the site of the kingdom’s ruins 14. What does the word Zimbabwe mean in Shona?It means “stone houses” 15. What are some reasons the people of Great Zimbabwe may have

abandoned the site?That the land became overgrazed or that the soil lost its fertility

Key Terms

Ezana: (c. AD 300s) Aksumite ruler; he destroyed the Kush capital of Meroë  and took over the kingdom of Kush around AD 320.

Ge’ez: the written and spoken language of Aksum.

Lalibela: (c. 1180-c. 1250) Ethiopian ruler from about 1200 to 1250; he is known for  building large stone Christian churches, many of which are still standing today.

Swahili: an African society that emerged in the late 1100s along the East African coast and combined elements of African, Asian, and Islamic cultures

Multiple Choice Test Question

What were the two most valuable trade items that came from Africa in the city-states markets?

A. Cotton and silk

B. Copper and gold

C. African ivory and gold

D. Leopard skins and shells