the history of ancient civilizations

8/18/2019 The History of Ancient Civilizations

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The History of Ancient Nubia

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2. The History of Ancient Nubia

Nubia was home to some of Africa’s earliest kingdoms.

Known for rich deosits of gold! Nubia was also the gateway through which lu"ury roducts like

incense! i#ory! and ebony tra#eled from their source in sub$%aharan Africa to the ci#ili&ations of

'gyt and the (editerranean.

Archers of e"cetional skill ro#ided the military strength for Nubian rulers. Kings of Nubiaultimately con)uered and ruled 'gyt for about a century.

(onuments still stand*in modern 'gyt and %udan*at the sites where Nubian rulers built

cities! temles! and royal yramids.

Nubians lived in the central Nile valley

African eole from what is now the %ahara began to mo#e toward the Nile in Nubia by around

+,,, -. They brought with them the art of making ottery. riginally herdsmen and hunters of

large animals! they e#entually became fishermen and farmers. #er time! new eole mo#ed into

the region from the south! so that Nubia’s oulation was often a di#erse mi" of African eoles.

The river was a lifeline

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(any Nubians li#ed along the Nile which cur#ed northward through the desert. 0armers grew

grains! eas! lentils! dates! and ossibly melons. -ut esecially imortant were their herds of

cattle! a measure of wealth and social status. n the deserts! Nubians mined carnelian and gold! as

well as other mineral resources. -artering cattle! gold! carnelian! i#ory! animal skins! hardwood!incense! and dates! Nubians traded with the 'gytians! their neighbors to the north! for grain!

#egetable oils! wine! beer! linen! and other manufactured goods.

Archaeology and history reveal Nubia

(ost information about ancient Nubia comes from archaeological e"ca#ation and from the study

of monuments and rock art found there. -ut the art and writing of Nubians and of eolescontemorary with them also gi#e imortant e#idence. ecords of ancient 'gyt tell much aboutthe history of Nubia! documenting a long and comle" relationshi between the two lands.

(onuments and te"ts in the 'gytian language left by the Nubian kings! who became haraohs

of 'gyt’s 2+th 3ynasty around 4+, -! also ro#ide an e"tensi#e record. Nubians de#eloedalhabetic writing systems around 2,, - during the (eroitic eriod. The (eroitic language is

still not understood well enough to read more than words and hrases! but much documentation

on (eroitic Nubia can be found in the art and literature of 5reece and ome! whose emirestouched on the borders of Nubia after 66, -.

The Names of Nubia

Nubia is a name that came into use in the Roman period

The origin of the name Nubia is obscure. %ome ha#e linked it to nwb! the ancient 'gytian word

for gold. thers connect it with the term Noubades! the 5reek name for eole who mo#ed into

northern Nubia sometime in the 7th century A3.


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Nubia was known as Kush for 2 years

0or much of anti)uity! the region south of the 1st cataract of the Nile was called Kush. The nameis known from ancient 'gytian! classical! and biblical te"ts. 8hether it reflects an indigenous

term is not known. The Kushites de#eloed owerful kingdoms. The first was centered at Kerma

92,,,:1;+, -


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How did the "mpire first begin%

The 'mire of (ali was formed when a ruler named %undiata Keita united the tribes of the

(alinke eoles. He then led them to o#erthrow the rule of the %oso. #er time! the (ali 'mire

became stronger and took o#er surrounding kingdoms including the 'mire of 5hana.

&overnment

The go#ernment of the (ali 'mire was led by the emeror who was called the (ansa. The

emire was then di#ided u into ro#inces that were each led by a go#ernor called a ferba. The

religion of slam layed an imortant art in the go#ernment and many of the go#ernment

administrators were (uslim scribes.

The #ali 'ulture

Although there were many small tribes and cultural grous within the (ali 'mire! most of thesegrous were considered art of the (ande eoles. The (ande eoles soke similar languages

and had similar cultures. eole were di#ided into castes. ne of the most resected castes werethe farmers. 0armers were highly regarded because they ro#ided food. Bust below the farmers

were the artisans. ther grous included fishermen! scribes! ci#il ser#ants! soldiers! and sla#es.

The religion of slam was an imortant art of the (ali 'mire. Howe#er! e#en though the kings!

or (ansas! had con#erted to slam! they did not force their sub@ects to con#ert. (any eole

racticed a #ersion of slam that combined slamic beliefs with the local traditions.

(ansa (usa

#ansa #usa

erhas the most famous of the (ali 'merors was (ansa (usa. (ansa (usa became famous

because of his la#ish tri to (ecca in %audi Arabia. (ecca is the holy city of the (uslims and(ansa (usa decided to make a ilgrimage to (ecca in 1627.

t is said that (ansa (usa was e"tremely rich and that he brought as many as ;,!,,, eolealong with him on his ilgrimage. He also brought camels loaded with gold. (ansa (usa must

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ha#e made )uite the imression during his tri with his large entourage and massi#e dislay of

wealth. 3uring his tra#els! (ansa (usa ga#e away and sent a significant amount of gold! but

he also brought back a lot of new ideas to (ali. This included a number of scholars such asarchitects! oets! and teachers who heled to imro#e his emire.

(all of the "mpire of #ali

Not long after the rule of (ansa (usa ended! the (ali 'mire began to grow weak. n the

17,,s! the emire began to lose control along the edges of its borders. Then! in the 1+,,s! the%onghay 'mire rose to ower. The (ali 'mire came to an end in 1;1, with the death of the

last (ansa! (ahmud C.

)nteresting (acts about the "mpire of Ancient #ali

• %ome historians estimate that (ansa (usa may ha#e been the wealthiest erson in

history.

• The great wealth of (ali came from gold and salt mines.

• The caital city of the emire was Niani. ther imortant cities included Timbuktu! 5ao!

3@enne! and 8alata.

• The (ali 'mire controlled imortant trade routes across the %ahara 3esert to 'uroe

and the (iddle 'ast.

• The city of Timbuktu was considered a center of education and learning and included the

famous %ankore Dni#ersity.

!onghai "mpire

$here was the !onghai "mpire located%

The %onghai 'mire was located in 8estern Africa south of the %ahara 3esert and along the Niger i#er. At its eak! it stretched well o#er 1!,,, miles from the current modern day country

of Niger to the Atlantic cean. The caital city of the %onghai was the city of 5ao which was

located in modern$day (ali on the banks of the Niger i#er.


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$hen did the !onghai "mpire rule%

The %onghai 'mire lasted from 17;7 to 1+E1. rior to the 17,,s! the %onghai were under the

rule of the (ali 'mire.

How did the "mpire first begin%

The %onghai 'mire first came into ower under the leadershi of %unni Ali. %unni Ali was a rince of the %onghai. He was being held as a olitical risoner by the leader of the (ali 'mire

who ruled o#er the %onghai. n 17;7! %unni Ali escaed to the city of 5ao and took control of the

city. 0rom the city of 5oa! he established the %onghai 'mire and began to con)uer nearby

regions including the imortant trading cities of Timbuktu and 3@enne.

Askia #uhammad

n 17E6! Askia (uhammad became the leader of the %onghai. He brought the %onghai 'mire to

its height of ower and founded the Askia 3ynasty. Askia (uhammad was a de#out (uslim.

Dnder his rule! slam became an imortant art of the emire. He con)uered much of thesurrounding lands and took control of the gold and salt trade from the (ali 'mire.

&overnment

The %onghai 'mire was di#ided into fi#e ro#inces each led by a go#ernor. Dnder Askia(uhammad! all the go#ernors! @udges! and town chiefs were (uslims. The emeror had total ower! but he also had ministers who ran different asects of the emire for him. They also

counseled the emeror on imortant issues.

The !onghai 'ulture

The %onghai culture became a blend of traditional 8est African beliefs and the religion of slam.


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3aily life was often ruled by traditions and local customs! but the law of the land was based on

slam.

!laves

The sla#e trade became an imortant art of the %onghai 'mire. %la#es were used to heltransort goods across the %ahara 3esert to (orocco and the (iddle 'ast. %la#es were also sold

to 'uroeans to work in 'uroe and the Americas. %la#es were usually cati#es of war catured

during raids on nearby regions.

(all of the !onghai "mpire

n the mid$1+,,?s the %onghai 'mire began to weaken due to internal strife and ci#il war. n1+E1! the (oroccan army in#aded and catured the cities of Timbuktu and 5ao. The emire

collased and was di#ided u into a number of searate smaller states.

)nteresting (acts about the !onghai "mpire

• %unni Ali became a legendary hero in %onghai folklore. He was often ortrayed as ha#ing

magical owers and was known as %unni Ali the 5reat.

• f a risoner of war had already con#erted to slam before being catured! they could not

be sold as a sla#e.

• A 8est African storyteller is called a griot. History was often assed down from

generation to generation through the griots.

• The city of Timbuktu became an imortant city of trade and education during the %onghai'mire.

"mpire of Ancient &hana

$here was the "mpire of &hana located%

The 'mire of 5hana was located in 8estern Africa in what is today the countries of (auritania!

%enegal! and (ali. The region lies @ust south of the %ahara 3esert and is mostly sa#annagrasslands. (a@or ri#ers in the region such as the 5ambia i#er! %enegal i#er! and the Niger

i#er ser#ed as the means of transortation and trade.

The caital city of Ancient 5hana was Koumbi %aleh. This is where the King of 5hana li#ed in

his royal alace. Archeologists estimate that u to 2,!,,, eole li#ed in and around the caitalcity.


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$hen did the "mpire of &hana rule%

Ancient 5hana ruled from around 6,, to 11,, '. The emire first formed when a number oftribes of the %oninke eoles were united under their first king! 3inga isse. The go#ernment of

the emire was a feudal go#ernment with local kings who aid tribute to the high king! but ruled

their lands as they saw fit.

$here did the name &hana come from%

F5hanaF was the word that the %oninke eole used for their king. t meant F8arrior King.Feole li#ing outside of the emire used this word when referring to the region. The %oninke

eole actually used a different word when referring to their emire. They called it F8agadu.F

)ron and &old

The main source of wealth for the 'mire of 5hana was the mining of iron and gold. ron was

used to roduce strong weaons and tools that made the emire strong. 5old was used to trade


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with other nations for needed resources like li#estock! tools! and cloth. They established trade

relations with the (uslims of Northern Africa and the (iddle 'ast. Gong cara#ans of camels

were used to transort goods across the %ahara 3esert.

(all of the "mpire of &hana

Around 1,+, '! the 'mire of 5hana began to come under ressure from the (uslims to the

north to con#ert to slam. The Kings of 5hana refused and soon came under constant attacks

from Northern Africa. At the same time! a grou of eole called the %usu broke free of 5hana.#er the ne"t few hundred years! 5hana weakened until it e#entually became art of the (ali

'mire.

)nteresting (acts about the "mpire of Ancient &hana

• The 'mire of Ancient 5hana is not related either geograhically or culturally to the

modern African country of 5hana.

• A lot of what we know about Ancient 5hana comes from the writings of Arab scholar Al$

-akri.

• ron smiths were much re#ered in the 5hana society. They were considered owerful

magicians because they worked with fire and earth to create iron.

• rossing the %ahara 3esert from a coastal city to 5hana tyically took around 7, days

when tra#elling on a cara#an of camels.

• (ost of the eole li#ing in the emire were farmers. They didn?t own the land. 'ach

family was allotted a ortion of the land by the local #illage leader.

• %alt was considered #ery #aluable and the salt trade was hea#ily ta"ed by the king. (uch

of the salt was mined in the %ahara 3esert at the city of Tagha&a where sla#es were usedto mine salt. %alt was sometimes used as money and was about as #aluable as gold.

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