Transcript Ancient Africa – 1500 A.D. 1500 B.C.

Ancient Africa
1500 B.C. – 1500 A.D.
African Geography
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Desert
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Sahara dominates northern Africa
Kalahari largest desert in southern Africa
Savanna
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Best areas for herd animals and growing of grains
Rainforest
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Diverse life forms and natural resources, very difficult
to travel through or live in
Tsetse flies
Mediterranean
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Small region in northern Africa that supports abundant
life
Tsetse Fly & African Sleeping
Sickness
Early Sub-Saharan African Life
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East Africa was the beginning of human
life
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“Lucy”
Nomadic herders
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Masi and other groups still practice
Agriculture develops (~6,000 B.C.)
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Permanent settlements develop
Animism = ?
Griots = ?
West African Iron Age
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Nok Culture (Niger River Valley)
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Trade city of Djenne-Djeno
Use of Iron tools
Push-Pull Factors
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3 main migration factors
• Environmental
• Economic
• Political
Migration of the Bantu Peoples
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Where did they come from?
Where did they go?
How did they adapt to each region?
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Slash & burn
Raising cattle
Adopting new crops
Why did they migrate?
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Agriculture led to more land use and great population
Effects of Bantu Migration
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Forced interaction between
different groups
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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
Kingdom of Aksum
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South of Kush
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Modern day Ethiopia and Eritrea
International trade center
(Adulis)
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Caravans to Egypt through
Meroe
Access to Mediterranean Sea
& Indian Ocean through Red
Sea
• Exported: salt, ivory,
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emeralds, gold
Imported: cloth, glass, wine,
iron, copper
Kingdom of Aksum (cont.)
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Ezana (325 – 360 A.D.)
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Expanded territory into Arabian
Peninsula (modern day Yemen)
Conquered Kush
Converted to Christianity
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Made official religion for Aksum
Decline &Isolation
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Islamic invaders began to cut
into the empire and take-over
trade routes
Moved to the mountains of
northern Ethiopia
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Remained isolated for a few
hundred years
West African Societies
Ghana (700 – 1076 A.D.)
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Use of camels led to development
of the trans-Sahara trade routes
Gold-Salt Trade
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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
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Led to literacy (learning to read the
Qur’an)
1076 – Muslim Almoravids
conquered
Mali (1235 – 1400s)
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Gold deposits east of Ghana
allowed Mali empire to gain
wealth and power by moving the
trade routes
2 important leaders
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Sundiata
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United Mali
Led to period of peace and
prosperity
Mansa Musa (1312 – 1332)
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Muslim leader
Expanded empire to twice the
size of Ghana
Hajj to Mecca in 1324-1325
exposed riches of Mali to Arab
peninsula
New trade centers develop
(Timbuktu and Gao)
Songhai (1400s – 1500s)
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Gained control of trade routes due to
gold deposits near Niger River (Gao)
2 important leaders
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Sunni Ali
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Muslim leader
Conquered Timbuktu & Djenne
Military hero
Askia Muhammad
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Overthrew Sunni Ali’s son
Spread more orthodox Islam
Efficient and fair ruler
Conquered by Moroccans in 1591
(guns)
East Coast Trade Cities
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Islamic Influence
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New trade centers on Indian Ocean after fall
of Aksum
Spread Muslim religion along trade routes
Slave trade
Swahili language group
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Mix of Bantu & Arabic
City-states
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Kilwa, Sofala, Mogadishu
Great Zimbabwe (1200s – 1450)
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Shona people’s in south-eastern Africa
Controlled trade routes
Disappeared suddenly
Portuguese Conquest (1488)