1. Early African Civilizations
World History
Early African
Civilizations

2. Africa/geography 2nd largest continent
Mountains along Mediterranean Sea, just south lies the Sahara= Earth’s largest desert
Southwest of the desert = grasslands & tropical jungle cover hump of Africa jutting into Atlantic Ocean
Great Rift valley = east
Congo River runs through Congo basin = dense vegetation, rain forests

3. Great Rift Valley

4. Geography Africa has 4 climate zones
1st = mild climate on northern coast & southern tip
2nd = desert/ Sahara desert = north, Kalahari desert = south –cover 40 % of Africa
3rd = rain forest along equator, 10% of land
Heavy rains & heat make for dense forests & disease carrying insects
4th = savannas – broad grasslands dotted with shrubs & small trees that is north & south of the rainforests, cover about 40% of Africa

5. Sahara Desert

6. Kalahari
Desert

7. Congo Basin Rain Forest

8. Tsetse Fly

9. The Sahel

10. Savanna

11. Emerging Civilizations
7-8,000 years ago farming led to the first civilizations in Africa; Egypt, Kush, Axum
Early heavy trade between Egypt & Nubia around 2,000 b.c.
Nubia freed itself from Egyptian control around 1,000 b.c. & became Kush
750 b.c., Kushites conquered Egypt/ Assyrians “iron weapons” drove them out of Egypt to their original land
Kush economy was originally based on agriculture & then became a major trading center

12. African Kingdoms East Africa West Africa Ghana Mali Songhai Nubia Kush
Axum
Ethiopia
West Africa
Ghana
Mali
Songhai

14. Nubian Temple

15. Kush Kingdom
City of Meroe was center of society/ had a large supply of iron which led to them making iron weapons & tools
Major trading empire for several hundred years
It provided iron, ivory, gold, ebony, and slaves to the Roman empire, Arabia, & India for luxuries such as jewelry, silver lamps
Flourished from 250 b.c. to ad 150/ Axum caused its decline

16. Pyramids at Meroe

17. Kush Ruins

18. Axum King Ezana conquered Kush
Founded by a colony of Arabs in present day Ethiopia/ independent state that combined Arab & African cultures
Prospered because it was located on the Red Sea & the trading route between India & Medt. Sea
Shipwrecked Syrians introduced Christianity to Axum/ 324, Ezana converted to Christianity & made it official religion
Arab forces had taken control of Egypt & almost all of North Africa

19. King Ezana
Axum Stele

20. Christian Ceremony in Ethiopia

21. Muslim-Christians
Arab North Africa Muslims & Axum Christians were peaceful for years
12 century problems arose/ Muslims moved inward to take control of slave & ivory trades from Axum/ Axum fought back
By 15 century, Axum & Muslim state of Adal were in growing conflict

22. Rather be on a Beach?

23. Ghana
First of the trading states/ emerged in the Niger valley grasslands/ Between Sahara & tropical forests/Modern Ghana is just east of the location
Most people were farmers who lived in villages
Ghana kings were strong, wealthy rulers
To protect kingdoms, Ghana kings had a well trained army of thousands of soldiers
Ghana prospered from gold & iron products
In exchange, Muslim merchants brought textiles, horses, metal goods, & salt
Salt important for preserving & spicing food/ needed to replace lost body salt in hot climate

24. African Salt Trade

25. Africa Salt Trade
Salt is essential for Life, every person contains about 8 ounces of salt in their body/ People lose salt when they sweat
African salt was traded for many items; gold, ivory, slaves
Salt trade grew with camel caravans/thousands of camels caravans carried tons of salt across the desert
Local kings placed taxes on salt – payable by gold – for caravans crossing their realms
3 great empires gained great wealth from salt trade

26. Salt Caravan

27. Ghana
Ghana eventually exported ivory, ostrich feathers, hides, & slaves
Exchanging goods was done by silent trade; At a boundary line, no foreigner was allowed in/ foreigners would place goods & leave, Ghana would then leave gold & leave, if one side was not happy with exchange then they would leave it & suppliers would replenish with more
Berbers = nomadic people who were main traders on the camel caravans
Kingdom was weakened by wars & collapsed in 1200

29. Mali Kingdom
Arose to replace Ghana/ established by Sundiata Keita in 13th century
Sundiata captured Ghana capital in 1240/ united people & created strong government
Empire extended from Atlantic coast to trading center of Timbuktu
Mali built power on salt & gold trade
Most people were farmers/ lived in villages with local rulers

31. Mali Village

32. Mali Kingdom Mansa Musa = rich & powerful king of Mali
Musa encouraged the growth of Islam, study of the Quran, & ordered mosques built
Pilgrimage to Mecca is legendary/ Gave gold to the host everywhere he went, purchased items from merchants with gold/ Put so much gold into circulation that it lost its value
Most famous mosque = Sankore mosque in Timbuktu
Made Timbuktu = center of Islamic learning
Imported scholars & books to spread the word of Allah

33. Mali Kingdom
Ruled from 1307 to 1337/ doubled Mali’s size/ created strong central government
Musa was last powerful leader of Mali
By 1359, civil war divided Mali

34. Mansa Musa
Timbuktu

35. Great Mosque at Timbuktu

36. Songhai Kingdoms
Niger River provided rich soil for farming & raising cattle
Established southeast of Timbuktu
1009, Kossi converted to Islam & established Dia dynasty/ prospered around the main trading center of Gao of Songhai
Sunni Ali expanded Songhai & created the Sunni dynasty in 1464
Ali spent most of his time on military campaigns/ able to gain control Timbuktu & Jenne which gave Songhai control of trading empire

37. Sunni Ali Expanded
Independent Songhai

38. Songhai Kingdom
Empire reached its height under Muhammad Ture = devout Muslim who overthrew Ali’s son in 1493 & created the Askia dynasty
Ture created an empire that stretched a thousand miles along the Niger River
Ture created strong central government with local provinces under the control of appointed governors
Songhai cities prospered under Ture
Songhai empire came to an end after Ture’s death
Morocco came to occupy it by the 16th century

39. Muhammad Ture
Ruled Songhai
At Its Height

40. Bantu
Various small states & societies took root in eastern Africa/ Islam influence many of them/ lived by hunting & gathering, raising livestock
Bantu migrated east & south, & to Congo Basin/ not as conquerors but as communities
Bantu = subsistence farmers using iron & stone tools/ Women tilled the fields & cared for children/ Men tended the herds, hunted, & traded
Bantu = traded salt, animal products, copper, iron ore

41. East Africa
Growth of Islam in 7th & 8th centuries brought increased trade to the communities on the eastern coast
Arab & Persian traders settled in these ports
Mogadishu, Mombasa, Kilwa = major trading ports
Kilwa was magnificent city/Great Mosque & Husuni Kubwa palace was built in Kilwa
Portuguese sacked Kilwa in 1505 & destroyed its major buildings

42. Great Mosque at Kilwa

44. _____ ____ _____

45. East Africa
Mixed African-Arabian culture = Swahili emerged through the coastal area/ Swahili = “people of the coast”
Swahili – national language of Kenya & Tanzania

46. South Africa States formed more slowly in the southern half
People lived in stateless societies/ 11th century ad = independent villages began to consolidate & form the 1st states
Zimbabwe = ( ) wealthiest & most powerful
Prospered from trading gold with Swahili communities
Great Zimbabwe = capital/ overlooked the Zambesi river/Great Enclosure dominated the capital

47. Great Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe = capital/ overlooked the Zambesi river/Great Enclosure dominated the capital
Walls were unusual/ People stacked granite blocks without mortar
City was abandoned by 15th century/ possibly due to overgrazing or natural disaster

48. Great Zimbabwe

51. African Society
African towns began as fortified walled villages and grew into larger communities
Kings & people were pretty close/ Kings would hold meetings to listen to people’s complaints
Kings often gave merchants favors
Sense of identity was determined by membership in an extended family
Women were subordinate to men/often worked in fields, but some became merchants
Many African societies were matrilineal= descent traced through mother’s family

52. African Society
Women could inherit property & the husband would move into the wife’s house
African villages had a process for educating young people
15th century Congo, up to age 6, boys & girls learned language, family history, & songs that gave meaning to their lives from their mothers
Boys were then sent to the “house of the men”, girls sent to the “house of the women”
Fathers then taught boys how to hunt & fish, grow plants, & clear the fields

53. African Society Kings and aristocrats closer to people.
Extended family became lineage group, ancestor worship.
Matrilineal vs. patrilineal.
Sex roles reinforced by education, puberty rituals for boys and girls.
Slaves came from war, debt and crime.
Religion was based on a creator god, lesser deities, diviners, ancestor worship and belief in an afterlife.

54. African Society
Mothers taught girls how to care for the house & tend to the field/ to be good wives & mothers
At puberty, young people entered the community entirely
Change was marked by initiation/ young people were isolated & underwent a ritual ceremony in which they symbolically died & was reborn

55. Slavery Slavery was practiced in Africa since ancient times
Slaves were used for forced labor or were sold
Slaves = captives, debtors, war prisoners, & some criminals
Slaves were not necessarily seen as inferiors/ they could be trusted as servants & were respected for their talents & skills
Life was hard for slaves with long hours of hard, tedious work
Domestic slaves =easiest lives/ Slaves in Muslim societies were able to win their freedom more easily

56. African Religious Beliefs
Religions shared a belief in a single creator god
Yoruba people of Nigeria believed that their chief god sent his Oduduwa from heaven in a canoe to create the first humans/ Many of the slaves that were transported to the Americas practiced the Yoruba religion
Sometimes a group of lesser gods joined the creator god
Ashanti people of Ghana believed in a supreme being Nyame whose sons were the lesser gods/ each son had a different purpose

57. African Religious Beliefs
Ashanti gods could not always be trusted, so people had to appease them to avoid their anger
Some believed the creator god once lived on earth & he got disgusted with human behavior so he left
Creator god was merciful & could be pacified with good behavior
Rituals were one way to communicate with the gods
A special class of diviners usually performed the rituals/ diviners believe they have the power to tell the future by working with supernatural forces/they were used to protect the interests of the ruler & community

58. African Culture Early African arts served religion
Earliest African art form was rock painting/most famed example are in the Tassili mountains of central Sahara, they show life of the people as it changed from hunting to herding to trading
Wood carvers made masks & statues = representing gods, spirits, or ancestral figures
Nok culture = oldest known culture in West Africa/ terra cotta figures = religious significance
13th & 14th centuries, Yoruba metal workers produced bronze & iron statues

59. Rock Paintings = Tassili Mts.

60. Nok Sculpture: Terra-cotta

62. African Culture Music & dance served religious purpose
Dancing = way to communicate with spirits/ African music & dance influenced western music
Spirituals & work songs developed into blues, gospel, jazz, ragtime, & rock & roll
African music was used to pass on history, folk legends, & religious traditions of the community