This document provides a timeline and overview of major African civilizations from ancient times through the rise and fall of early empires. It describes the geography of the continent including the Sahara and Kalahari deserts. Early settlements developed along the Nile River valley starting around 5000 BC. Notable early kingdoms included Nok, Bantu, Kingdom of Kush in modern-day Sudan, and Aksum in Ethiopia. Major empires that arose from trade included Ghana with its capital at Kumbi Saleh, Kanem-Bornu centered around Lake Chad, Mali under Mansa Musa, and later the Songhai Empire. Art, literature, education, and commerce contributed to the development of culture across

1. A Timeline of
African Civilizations

2. Geography
Africa is the 2nd largest continent
in the world. It measures 30, 244,
000 square kilometers wide with
1,032,532,974 people living as of
2011.
A large part of continent is made
up of deserts.
A. Sahara – largest desert in the
world; Northern part.
B. Kalahari – Southern part
The scarce rainfall in these areas
bring about the appearance of
spring, which forms an oasis

3. Two
Africas:
Mediterranean Africa –
near the region of the
north Sahara with a
climate identical to that
of Southern Europe
Tropical Africa - has
thick jungles, deserts,
and grass lands.

5. History
Ancient peoples
settled on the Nile
Valley during the
Neolithic (New
Stone) Age,
around 5000 BC.
Many scientists
believe that the
first people in the
world came from
Africa.
“Lucy”, one of the
first discovered
australopithecines,
was discovered in
the Great Lift
Valley.
Early African
peoples did not
usually leave a
written record.

6. Traditional Society
Village Government – power was shared
among the members of the community,
not a single leader.
Family Patterns – the group was always
more important than the individual.
Religious Beliefs – Early Africans
identified with the forces of nature and
the belief that all living and nonliving
things contained spirits, this is called
animism.

7. Rise of Communities
A. Nok (800BC –
200AD)
Known for
beautiful, life-
sized metal
sculptures
used as art
pieces.
They also
made jewelry
made from
metal such as
steel, gold and
tin.
The figurines
they made
were dressed
by the cloth
they wove, for
the Noks
were excellent
weavers.
They lived in
houses made
from dried
mud.
They were
polytheistic –
they believe in
more than
one God.

8. B. Bantu
(600BC –
1000BCAD)
Bantus lived in the
Sahara, south of
Africa.
They spread their
culture and language
throughout the
continent.
They lived by farming
and animal raising.
Women commonly
raised crops while men
hunted.
Magic was central to
the Bantus’ beliefs.
They also believed that
soul would separate
from the body at the
time of death.

9. Ancient Kingdoms
A.Kingdom of Kush (1600BC-300AD)
In 1600BC, the
Nubians established
the Kingdom of
Kush.
Egypt defeated Kush
in 1525 BC.
Egypt fell in 800-
700BC.
Kushites declared
freedom and elected
a new king in 715BC.
In 671BC, the
Kushites escaped to
Menroe.
In 350 AD, Ezana,
took over the
Kingdom of Kush.

10. • They have a system of writing and their cities
boasted palaces made of stone.
• it was the first kingdom in Africa to ever have its
own money made of gold, silver, and bronze.
• The Kingdom of Aksum was strong in the
north, of what is now called Ethiopia.
• Its economy was sustained by trade in the Red
Sea.
• In the 4th century, the Aksum kings converted to
Christianity.
• Trade in Aksum remained strong until the 7th
century, the time when Islam began to spread.
B.
Kingdom
of
Aksum
(600-
500BC)

11. Early Imperial Trade
A Empire of Ghana (5th-11th Century)
Gold Coast
The Soninkes benefited from the taxes they imposed on their trade of mines, salt and gold. They controlled this
trade and established a large empire called Ghana.
They also designated the value of gold, and assigned taxes to the salt and gold that were delivered.
Kumbi Saleh (now the modern desert region of Senegal) was the capital of Ghana.
Trade became the center of Soninke culture.
However they rejected the religion of Islam.

12. B. Empire of Kanem-Bornu (9th-19th
Century)
It can be found
around the Chad
Lake.
Tasted victory in the
17th century, with
territories
compromising
southern Chad,
northern Cameroon,
northeastern Nigeria,
eastern Niger, and
southern Libya.
The Kanem-Bornu
was built in the
middle of the 19th
century. Because of
its location, it served
as a trade route from
North Africa, Nile
Valley and sub-
Saharan regions.

13. • It is composed of Mandika people.
• The Soso Empire rose, this obliterated many races,
including the Mandinka. Sundiata Kita was the lone
survivor, and when he grew up, he led the
successful Mandinka Revolution against the Soso
reign.
• Sundiata converted to Islam. Those who succeeded
him carried the title mansa, meaning “emperor”.
• The most famous emperor of Mali was Mansa
Musa who governed in 1312 AD.
• The first map of Africa was drawn in 1375,
showing Mansa Musa sitting on the thrown with the
title, “Lord of the Negroes”.
C. Mali
Empire

14. Sunni Ali was the leader who
attacked the Mali empire. He was
known for his belief in pagan
gods and magic.
Sunni Ali was When Sunni Ali
dies, he was succeeded by Askia
Mohammed who ruled from
1493-1528.
Askia was a devoted Muslim
who tried to unite his territories
under one Muslim empire
through consecutive wars.
It was eventually destroyed from
enemy attacks and from conflicts
from the empire itself.
D. Songhai Empire

15. Contributions
Art – closely
tied with
religion, made
from ivory,
wood and
bronze.
Literary
Traditions–
folktales were
passed on from
generation to
generation,
Arabic was a
popular written
language.
Education – in
most societies, it
was the duty of
the elders to
teach boys and
girls their roles
in the village.
Commerce-
trade allowed
many empires
to prosper and
develop as a
result of
cultural
diffusion.