famous empires of africa
Post on 24-Feb-2016
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Famous Empires of Africa
Aksum, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali and Songhai
Aksum: ~100-940 AD
• Geographically Lucky:– Environment allowed for farming– Near the Red Sea (easy to trade)
• Political Structure:– King only could directly control people in the city of Aksum. – Forced tribute from surrounding areas
• Religion:– King Enzana converted to Christianity (around 300 AD)
• Downfall:– Fell to invading Muslims between 600-700 AD
Ethiopia: ~1100-1974
• Created from ancient Aksum• Christianity was a unifying force• Solomonid Kings – claimed to be descendants
from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba• One of the only areas of Africa to never be
colonized by Europeans
Ghana ~830-1235• Traded salt from the north for gold- then traded salt with
southern civilizations - kings made money by heavily taxing the salt
• Kings also kept the location of the gold mines a secret and outlawed the ownership of gold – this kept the supply scarce and the price high
• Decline:– Used military force to maintain safe trade routes– This started a conflict with a northern Berber empire that
eventually captured Ghana’s capital city in 1076- this was the beginning of the end
Mali ~1230-1600• Rose from the ashes of Ghana – also traded gold and salt• Notable Leaders:
– Sundiata (Soohn-jaht-ah) ruled for 25 years.– Mansa Musa:
• Hajji of 1324 • gold impressed the world – soon Europeans were searching for this
wealthy, exotic land
• Decline:– Weak leadership – Invasion of the capital, Timbuktu, signaled the end was near
Songhai ~1340-1591• Survived as a tribute kingdom among Ghana and Mali for
hundreds of years• Traded along the Niger River• Sunni Ali –
– Created a fierce cavalry and “navy”– conquered others to create his empire
• Askia Muhammad– First Muslim Ruler – Hajji to Mecca created better trading roots– Overthrown by his son who was not a good ruler– In 1591 Morocco conquered the empire
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