Empires of Ancient Africa

1. Ancient African Civilizations
Kush, Axum, Ghana, Mali, Songhai & Bantus
750 BCE – 1500CE

2. Geography Sahara Desert
Rain ForestSavann
a (African
Plains)
Kalahari
Desert
Africa is the second largest continent on
Earth. Africa has several distinct
geographical zones. The northern fringe,
on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, is
mountainous. South of the mountain
ranges is the largest desert on Earth, the
Sahara.
South of the Sahara, Africa is divided into
several regions. In the west, the Sahara
gradually gives way to grasslands in the
interior and tropical jungles on the coast.
In the East, the Great Rift Valley is full of
snow-topped mountains and deep
canyons, with a grassland region that is
populated with animals.
The Congo Basin is full of dense
vegetation fed by the Congo River. These
tropical rainforests eventually fade to hills
and plateaus, high flat land areas and
deserts to the south.
Congo Basin

3. Climate
Africa has four distinct climate zones: Desert, Rain
Forest, Savanna, and the Mild Zones.
The Mild Zones are the smallest regions (dark green,
left), and stretch across the Northern coast and the
southern tip of Africa, plus a region near the
Drakensberg Mountains in the Southeast.
Deserts form the second climate zone. The Sahara in
the north and the Kalahari in the south are the tow
largest deserts. Together they cover about 40% of
Africa.
The rain forest is the third climate zone. It stretches
along the equator and is about 10% of the continent.
Heavy rains and warm temperatures produce dense
forests where little farming and travel are possible. The
rainforest is also home to disease-carrying insects,
including the tsetse fly, which produces sleeping
sickness in humans and animals.
The final climate zone is the Savannas, the grass plains
with small trees and shrubs. The Savannas make up
about 40% of the continent. They receive enough
rainfall for farming and herding animals.
Each of the zones is populated with people, who have
adapted to the geographical and climate challenges in
unique ways.

4. Kush
 By 2000 BCE, the area south of
Egypt, called Nubia, had developed
extensive trade.
 Nubians traded ivory, ebony,
frankincense, and leopard skin
 Nubia was controlled by Egypt until
around 1000 BCE
 In 750 BCE, the Kush conquered
Egypt, but were overwhelmed by the
Assyrians less than a hundred years
later, in 663 BCE
 The Kush were still using bronze and
stone, while the Assyrians used iron
spears and swords
 After the Assyrians conquered Egypt,
the Kushites returned to their land in
Nubia

5. Kush Economics & Society
 Kush economics were based on farming and
trade.
 They built a capital city in Meroe, which became a
trading center.
 Meroe had a large supply of iron ore; the Kush
were able to make the iron weapons they had
seen on the Assyrians
 The Kush was a major trading empire, taking
advantage of the Nile and land routes
 Kush trade went as far as Rome,
India, and Arabia
 Traded: iron, ivory, ebony,
 Received: jewelry, silver, luxury goods
 Not much is known about Kush society. They left
behind tombs full of luxury items, demonstrating
that they were prosperous and had traded with
distant countries. This suggests there was
probably a large trader or merchant class in
Kush society.
 The Kush flourished from about 250 BCE to
approximately 150 CE, but declined because of
the rise of a new power in the region.
Kush Tombs

6. Axum
South of the Kush was Ethiopia, where the
Axum were located.
Originally started as an Arab colony, Axum
emerged as an independent state that
combined African and Arabic cultures.
Axum was prosperous because of it’s prime
location on the Red Sea, which allowed
them to trade between India, the
Mediterranean, and southern Africa.
Like the Kush, they exported ivory, spices,
and slaves. They imported textiles, metal
goods, wine and olive oil.

7. Axum
King
Ezana
Axum competed with the Kush for control of the
ivory trade. In the fourth century CE, King Ezana,
the Axumite ruler, invaded Kush and conquered it.
The most distinctive feature of the Axumites was
their religion. Around 330 CE, the king converted to
Christianity, which was brought to Axum by Syrians.
The king made Christianity the official religion of
Axum.
After King Ezana died, the Axum kingdom flourished
until the rise of Islam, which brought Arab forces
into northern and eastern Africa.
In 641, Arab forces took control of Egypt. By the
700s, the entire coast of North Africa was under
Arab rule. The Muslim trading states lived
peacefully with Axum until the 12th century, when
the Muslims started moving inland into Africa. By
the 15th century Axum was in constant conflict with
the Muslim states.

8. Kingdom of Ghana
 Ghana was the first great trading state of Western
Africa
 Ghana emerged around
500 CE; Ghana was a
series of villages and
farmlands organized under
strong rulers
 The kings of Ghana
governed without laws,
instead they used a well-
trained army to enforce
their wishes
 Kings based their wealth
on the gold and iron trade

9. Ghana Economy & Trade
 The Ghana kingdom was rich in both iron and gold
 They had trained blacksmiths to turn the iron into weapons and
tools
 The heartland of Ghana was one of the richest gold-producing
areas of all of Africa, making it the center of an enormous trade
empire
 Muslim merchants from North Africa brought textiles, metal
goods, horses, and salt, which they exchanged for iron and
gold.
 Ghana also exported ivory, ostrich feathers, hides, and slaves
 Many of the trade goods were carried by the Berbers,
nomadic peoples whose camel caravans became known as
“fleets across the desert”.
 Merchants from Ghana were very wealthy and paid a tax to
the king, but nearly all trade was conducted through the
Berbers, who brought the goods to Muslim traders.
 Ghana collapsed in the 1100s, weakened by wars and the
competition from other trading societies.

10. Mali
Mali was established by Sundiata Keita, who
defeated the Ghanians and captured their capitol in
1240 CE.
He united the people of Mali under a strong
government. Mali’s greatest trading center was
Timbuktu. Mali built it’s wealth and power on the
gold and salt trade.
Most of Mali’s citizens were farmers, living in villages
with local rulers, who sent tax revenues to the Mali
Kings.
Mansa Musa ruled Mali from 1312 to 1337. He
doubled the size of the kingdom and built a strong
central government. He divided Mali into provinces
ruled by appointed governors.
Mansa Musa embarked on a pilgrimage to Makkah,
accompanied by a huge caravan. He gave away
lavish gold gifts, causing the value of gold to drop.
Musa also imported scholars and books into his
kingdom. He also built the Sankore mosque in
Timbuktu.
In 1359, Mali was divided by civil war, which
Sundiata
Keita
Sankore
Mosque

11. Songhai
The Songhai established
themselves on the Niger River
in western Africa. Like the
Nile, the river flooded
regularly, providing a rich soil
for farming and herding.
In 1009 CE a ruler named
Kossi converted to Islam and
established the Dia Dynasty.
The Songhai states benefited
from Muslim trading routes
that linked them to Arabia,
Northern Africa, and West
Africa. Gao became the chief
trade center of the Songhai
kingdom.
The Sunni dynasty began in 1464, established
by Sunni Ali. Ali expanded the Songhai
empire. Ali was a great military commander
who led his army on conquests. Ali conquered
Timbuktu and Jenne, two major trading cities.
The Songhai reached their height under the
rule of Muhammad Ture, a military
commander who overthrew the son of Sunni
Ali and seized power in 1493.

12. Songhai
 Under Muhammad Ture, the Songhai expanded
even further. The new empire was over a thousand
miles long and centered on the Niger River.
 Muhammad Ture divided the empire into provinces
and used the navy and army to maintain peace and
security.
 Songhai prospered from salt and gold trading.
 After Ture’s death, the Songhai slowly declined.
 At the end of the 16th century, the Sultan of Morocco
invaded and occupied a large section of the Songhai
empire.
 Under the Sultan’s rule, Songhai became a dangerous, insecure
place, with increasing poverty, violence, and distress.

13. African Trading Empires, 1000 BCE – 1600 CE

14. Societies in East Africa
South of Axum, along the shores of the Indian Ocean
and inland from the mountains of Ethiopia, through the
lake district of central Africa, lived a mixture of
peoples.
In the first millenium BCE, farming peoples who spoke
dialects of the Bantu family of languages began to
move from the region of the Niger River into East
Africa and the Congo River Basin (phase I, right). Two
migrations followed (phase II and III, right), moving
their descendants into most of Eastern Africa.
Bantu society was based on subsistence farming, or
growing just enough crops for personal use. The
primary crops were grains, yams, melons, and beans.
The farmers used iron and stone tools. Bantu society
also herded animals and traded among their
communities.

15. Indian Ocean Trade & Ports
On the Eastern fringe of Africa, the Bantu-speaking
peoples began to participate in the regional trade.
The spread of Islam during the 7th and 8th centuries
increased the importance of Eastern Africa trading
network formed along the Eastern coast, Arabian
Peninsula, and Persian Gulf (see red lines, left).
A string of trading ports formed along the Eastern
coast, including Mogadishu, Mombasa, and Kilwa.
Merchants in these cities grew wealthy from the
lucrative trade.
Kilwa was a magnificent city; two monumental
buildings from this period were the Great Mosque of
Kilwa and the Husuni Kubwa palace, built on a
clifftop.
Kilwa began to decline and the Portugese sacked it
in 1505, destroying most of its buildings.

16. Kilwa
Kilwa Mosque
Husuni Kubwa Palace

17. Swahili
 The mix of African and Arabian
culture on the East Coast of Africa
eventually became known as
Swahili.
 Intermarriage was common among
ruling groups.
 Muslim religion and architectural
style became a large part of African
culture
 The major language of the area was
name Swahili (meaning “people of
the coast”).
 This language combined Bantu with
Arabic words and phrases.
 It is now the national language of Kenya
and Tanzania

18. Southern Africa Societies
 Most of the people in Southern Africa lived in stateless
societies, meaning they lived in independent villages
organized by clans and led by a local ruler or clan leader.
 In the grasslands of the Zambezi River a mixed
economy of farming, cattle herding, and trade developed
over a period of many centuries. Villages often had walls
to keep the domestic animals safe from wild animals.
 In the 1300s, some of these villages started to
consolidate into states. One of the first southern states
was Zimbabwe, which became the wealthiest and most
powerful state in the region.
 Zimbabwe traded gold with the Swahili trading communities.
 Great Zimbabwe was the capitol city, which housed over
10,000 residents at its height.
 Great Zimbabwe had a Great Enclosure that dominated the city,
historians are still not sure what it was used for!