Ancient Africa

1500 B.C. – 1500 A.D.

African Geography Desert

• Sahara dominates northern Africa• Kalahari largest desert in southern Africa

Savanna• Best areas for herd animals and growing of grains

Rainforest• Diverse life forms and natural resources, very difficult

to travel through or live in• Tsetse flies

Mediterranean• Small region in northern Africa that supports abundant

life

Tsetse Fly & African Sleeping Sickness

Early Sub-Saharan African Life East Africa was the beginning of human

life• “Lucy”

Nomadic herders• Masi and other groups still practice

Agriculture develops (~6,000 B.C.)• Permanent settlements develop• Animism = ?• Griots = ?

West African Iron Age• Nok Culture (Niger River Valley)

• Trade city of Djenne-Djeno• Use of Iron tools

Push-Pull Factors

Chart page 221 3 main migration factors

• Environmental

• Economic

• Political

Migration of the Bantu Peoples

Trace the Bantu Migrations on your map of Africa (page 222)

Where did they go? How did they adapt to each region?

• Slash & burn

• Raising cattle

• Adopting new crops

Why did they migrate?• Agriculture led to more land use and great population

Effects of Bantu Migration

Forced interaction between different groups (BaMbuti and San)

• Some mixed, some left, some fought

Brought new technologies to regions Brought Bantu ideas about politics and

social organization Centralized language branch

throughout the continent

• Niger-congo languages• 900+ different dialects and individual

languages

• Bantu is the first language of nearly 1/3 of all Africans today

Kingdom of Aksum South of Kush

• Legend traces roots of Kush back to son of King solomon and Queen of Sheba

• Modern day Ethiopia and Eritrea

International trade center (Adulis)

• Caravans to Egypt through Meroe

• Access to Mediterranean Sea & Indian Ocean through Red Sea

• Exported: salt, ivory, emeralds, gold

• Imported: cloth, glass, wine, iron, copper

Kingdom of Aksum (cont.) Ezana (325 – 360 A.D.)

• Peak of the empire

• Expanded territory into Arabian Peninsula (modern day Yemen)

• Conquered Kush

• Cosmopolitan Heritage• Greek, Roman, Persian, Indian, and

Egyptian

• Converted to Christianity• Made official religion for Aksum

Decline &Isolation• Islamic invaders began to cut into

the empire and take-over trade routes

• Moved to the mountains of northern Ethiopia• Remained isolated for a few

hundred years (632 – 750 AD)

The Pillars of Aksum Used no mortar Carved great stones

together Created false doors,

windows, as well as tall peaks

The Pillars are often dedicated to the Christian God

West African Societies

Ghana (700 – 1076 A.D.) Use of camels led to development

of the trans-Sahara trade routes Gold-Salt Trade

• Arab and Berber traders

• Gold from western Africa, salt from Sahara

Empire of Ghana developed from taxing trade routes

Ghana’s kings convert to Islam• Led to literacy (learning to read the

Qur’an)

• Commoners mostly did not convert 1076 – Muslim Almoravids

conquered

Mali (1235 – 1400s) Gold deposits east of Ghana allowed

Mali empire to gain wealth and power by moving the trade routes

2 important leaders• Sundiata – 1st emperor (mansa)

• Different than prior emperors• Peaceful

• United Mali• Conquered Ghana

• Led to period of peace and prosperity

• Mansa Musa (1312 – 1332)• Muslim leader (Sundiata’s

grandnephew• Expanded empire to twice the size of

Ghana (100,000 man army)• Hajj to Mecca in 1324-1325 exposed

riches of Mali to Arab peninsula• New trade centers develop (Timbuktu

and Gao)

Songhai (1400s – 1500s) Gained control of trade routes due to

gold deposits near Niger River (Gao) 2 important leaders

• Sunni Ali• Muslim leader

• Had a private army consisting of horse soldiers and river canoes

• Conquered Timbuktu (1468) & Djenne (1473, took 7 years)

• Military hero

• Askia Muhammad• Established bureaucracy and provinces

• Overthrew Sunni Ali’s son

• Spread more orthodox Islam

• Efficient and fair ruler Conquered by Moroccans in 1591

(guns)

East Coast Trade Cities

Islamic Influence• New trade centers on Indian Ocean after fall of

Aksum

• Spread Muslim religion along trade routes

• Slave/Gold trade Swahili language group

• Mix of Bantu & Arabic City-states

• Kilwa, Sofala, Mogadishu Great Zimbabwe (1200s – 1450) – Bantu

for stone enclose• Shona people’s in south-eastern Africa

• Controlled trade routes of gold to the coast• City taxed traders

• Disappeared suddenly• Suspected because of arrival of Portuguese

Portuguese Conquest (1488)