CHAPTER 15 SOCIETIES & EMPIRES IN AFRICA Section 3 Eastern City-States and Southern Empires

EAST COAST TRADE CITIES  Aksum  3 rd century- extensive trade network  Port on Red Sea  Traded w/Arabia, Persia, India, & Rome  600s- Muslims controlled Arabia, Red Sea, & North Africa; cut off Aksum  Aksumites moved south  Indian Ocean Trade  Bantu speakers  Farming & fishing villages  Traders used monsoons to cross Indian Ocean to E. Africa  Trade b/w E. Africa, Persia, India, & Arabia  Muslim Arab & Persian traders moved to E. Africa  Swahili: Arabic blended with Bantu

EAST COAST TRADE CITIES  Growth of trade  Persian traders moved s. from Horn of Africa  Persians brought Asian goods to Africa and African goods to Asia  Coastal markets- Arabs sold goods from China & India  Arab traders brought African goods to Arabia  > 35 trade cities on coast  Wealthy through controlling all trade  Some cities made trade goods for export

EAST COAST TRADE CITIES  City-State of Kilwa  Wealthy Muslims rulers & traders  Southernmost port Indian traders could reach & return from in 1 monsoon season  S. regions had to send goods n. to Kilwa for trade  Seized port of Sofala (trading center for gold mined inland)  Controlled overseas trade of gold from s. Africa  Wealthiest, most powerful coastal city-state  Portuguese Conquest  st Portuguese ships rounded s. tip of Africa looking for trade route to India  Saw wealth of E. African coastal cities -> conquest  Captured Sofala, Kilwa, & Mombasa  Took over trade, maintained presence for > 200 years

ISLAMIC INFLUENCES  Spread  Through trade  Every town had a mosque  Muslim sultan (ruler) in most cities  Most gov. officials & wealthy merchants = Muslim  Islamic Law  Questions of religious law settled by Qadi (judge)  Other matters settled by gov. ministers & military commanders  Sultan may settle some issues  Majority of E. Africans held onto traditional beliefs  Enslavement of Africans  Arab traders exported enslaved people to Arabia, Persia, & Iraq for domestic tasks  Indian rulers used slaves as soldiers  Worked on docks & ships in Muslim- controlled ports  Household servants in China  Trade increased dramatically in 1700s

GREAT ZIMBABWE  Empire built on gold trade in SE Africa  History  Shona people  Fertile, well-watered plateau b/w Zambezi & Limpopo Rivers  Farming & cattle raising  Near important trade route linking inland gold fields w/Sofala  Gained control of routes, taxed traveling traders  City = economic, political, & religious capital of empire  city of Great Zimbabwe abandoned for unknown reasons  Ruins  Zimbabwe is a Shona phrase meaning “stone enclosure”  2 complexes of stone buildings that used to be royal palace  Walls probably built to impress visitors b/c no way for soldiers to get to top

SOUTHERN AFRICA  Mutapa Empire  ~1420- Mutota left Great Zimbabwe to find new source of salt; settled in n. valley w/good rainfall, fertile soil, & wood  State meant to replace Great Zimbabwe  Used army to conquer n. Shona people -> forced payments  Conquered all but e. part of Zimbabwe under Mutota  Matope (Mutota’s son) claimed control of area along Zambezi River to Indian Ocean  Mined gold; sent to coastal city-states for luxuries  S. part of empire broke away  Portuguese failed to conquer -> interfering w/politics  Put ruler they could control on throne