Kingdoms of Africa Mapping On your map of

Kingdoms of Africa Mapping

• On your map of Africa: • highlight and label the Nile River and Niger River • Color the Sahara desert Niger River Nile River Left Side

Introduction • Anthropologists believe humanity first arose in East Africa • In ancient times, the rise of Egyptian civilization affected African cultures along the upper Nile • Kush – an early iron-producing center, grew rich from selling iron products, ivory, ebony, wood, and slaves. (It had once been a part of Egypt called Nubia) • Axum – Located in Ethiopia. Its rise caused the decline of Kush. King Ezana made Christianity the official religion (330 A. D. ). Axum dominated trade in slaves and ivory.

Left Side • Locate the kingdoms of Kush and Axum on your map. • Create a legend in the lower left section of your map q Kush q Axum

Gold-Salt Trade • Sahara was never completely cut off from Europe and Asia • Muslim merchants crossed the Sahara because of gold and other riches in West Africa • West Africa lacked salt – vital to human survival • Merchants picked up large blocks of salt on their journey and exchanged them for gold • A thriving trade developed, based on gold-salt trade • Ideas were exchanged, such as Islamic beliefs

Left Side • Draw in trade routes and add to your legend

Kingdom of Ghana – 750 -1200 Draw an outline of Ghana on your map and add it to your legend. Kingdom of Ghana was the first of three West African empires that rose to power by controlling extensive gold mines and trading across the Sahara

Kingdom of Mali – 1240 -1400 • Draw an outline of the Kingdom of Mali on your map (different than Ghana) and add it to your legend. • Label the city of Timbuktu Kingdom of Mali The Mali Kingdom began when a small kingdom within the Ghana empire grew ever more powerful. Timbuktu

Ibn Battuta – • Arab traveler that wrote about Mansa Musa and his respect for law and the power of its ruler • Because of his extensive travels and his records historians know a lot about this time period in Africa and the Middle East • He was like the Marco Polo of the Muslims

Timbuktu • Famous trading city • Became an important center of several important universities • Attracted students from Europe, Asia, and Africa • Flourished as a center of Muslim scholarship • Also famous for the Sankore mosque

Kingdom of Songhai – 1464 -1600 Draw an outline of the Kingdom of Songhai (new color) and include it on your legend. Kingdom of Songhai • Major trading post in West Africa • It was the last major kingdom in this area of Africa

Kingdom of Benin • Became famous for their copper and bronze sculptures, which were among the finest of all African artwork • Became involved with the slave trade

Kingdom of Benin Draw Benin on your map and add it to your legend Kingdom of Benin

The Great Zimbabwe • One of the best known trading kingdoms of South Africa • Great deposits of gold • Traded gold, copper, and ivory from Africa’s interior with Muslim traders along Africa’s east coast Towers of the Great Zimbabwe

Other Important Info • Bantu Migrations • Communities of peoples who lived on subsistence farming and spoke a common language (Bantu) • Lived throughout West, Central, and southeast Africa • East African Trading Centers • Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf settled at ports along the east coast • Merchants grew wealthy from trade here • Eventually, gave rise to mixed African-Arabian culture known as Swahili

Zimbabwe, Trading Cities, and Migrations. Add Zimbabwe to your map. Also, add the East African Trading cities of Mogadishu, Mombasa, and Kilwa. Finally, add arrows representing the movement of the Bantu migrations. Mogadishu Mombasa Kilwa Make sure everything is on your legend. Zimbabwe