6. African Environments Continent is home to many different cultures Diversity of people was due to different environments Much of Africa lies in the tropical zone Wet and dry seasons Resulting cultures adopted varied lifestyles

10. Islam in Africa Islam spread slowly across the Sahara Came to dominate most regions in Sub-Saharan Africa Usually done through trade rather than conquest

11. Trade Economic interactions produced personal relationships among traders leading towards opportunities for conversion

12. Syncretism Melding practices of various cultures or schools of thought Seen in religion, literature, music, architecture, etc. Ex. as Islam spread into Africa, Arabic culture blended with African culture Ex. gender roles, Swahili, mud mosques, etc.

13. Christianity in Africa Spread in Africa was limited With the exception of Ethiopia Again, diffusion of literary, artistic and cultural traditions spread with the religion

19. Mali Empire of West Africa (c. 1230 – 1400) Converted peacefully to Islam Took control of Trans- Saharan caravan routes Gained wealth by taxing traders Salt from north; Gold from south Timbuktu became most prominent trading center

20. Sundiata – the Lion King Founder of the Mali Empire His story of banishment & then returning to claim his throne inspired the Disney film Originally his story was told via oral storytelling (griots)

21. Mansa Musa 1324, Mansa Musa made the Hajj to Mecca Brought over 60,000 people with him and lots of gold In Cairo, he distributed so much gold, that it lost tremendous value for almost 10 years Returned to Mali and built mosques and Quranic (Islamic) schools

24. Decline of the Empire Incapable leaders led to rebellion Other groups attacked from outside to obtain Mali’s wealth Eventually Mali collapsed & the Songhai empire arose

29. Travels of Ibn Battuta Much of what we know of this time comes from the accounts of Ibn Battuta (interregional traveler) His journeys lasted for nearly thirty years and covered almost the entirety of the known Islamic world His writings illustrate both the extent and the limitations of intercultural knowledge

31. Indian Ocean Trade Increased in the 1300s, due to collapse of overland trade routes Dhows and Junks Trade was decentralized, but cooperative Indian port cities became cosmopolitan clearinghouses of trade Ex. Silk, porcelain, spices, cotton, horses, gold, ivory & slaves In response to the increasing demand in Afro-Eurasia for foreign luxury goods, crops were transported from indigenous homelands to equivalent climates in other regions

32. Tropical Africa and Asia: Compare & Contrast the empires of Mali & New Delphi during the 1200- 1500 era. Be sure to include slavery in your response.