African Civilizations and Empires

Geography and Climate The climate of Africa is very diverse. Dry desert environment in the north, tropical rainforest in the central part and a variety of climates in the south. Desert- region or landscape that receives less than 10 inches of rain per year

The Sahara Desert was once fertile and green. The Sahara is about 3,000 miles long and 1,200 miles wide. The Sahara is almost as large as the United States. The Sahara Desert

The Berbers, a nomadic Muslim tribe used camels to form caravans across the desert. –Caravan – a group of people traveling together for protection

Camels could travel 60 miles a day and go 10 days without water.

The Sahel – the African Savannah The Sahel is a region on the southern border of the Sahara. It means “shore of the desert.” The Sahel is also called “savannah” grasslands.

It has little rainfall and a long dry season. The Sahel is inhabited by pastoralists, farmers who move their herds of animals in search of food and water.

Equatorial (central) Africa There are large areas of tropical rainforest near the equator. It rains almost all year long in this area.

Equatorial (central) Africa The Congo, Zambezi, and Niger Rivers flow near the equator. NIGER RIVER CONGO RIVER ZAMBEZI RIVER

Southern Africa The southern part of Africa has a variety of climates. These are savannah, the Kalahari Desert, Mediterranean, marine, and subtropical climates similar to California and Oregon in the United States.

Axum (or Aksum)

The Axum empire was located in the highlands of modern Ethiopia along the Red Sea. They controlled all trade from the southern Nile and Red Sea into central Africa

The Axum empire traced its ancestors back to King Solomon of Israel. Its traditional religion was a combination of monotheism and animism. –Animism – the belief that spirits are present in animals, plants and other natural objects.

Trade The Axum exported products like salt, gold, gems, ivory and tortoise shells. Imports included cloth, iron, glass, wine and copper. Christian missionaries spread the religion into Ethiopia along the trade routes. Because of trade, Axum was a very cosmopolitan empire. –Cosmopolitan – including elements from all over the world

Axum’s architecture was advanced compared to many African kingdoms. Large stele (stone pillars) showed the accomplishments of the kings.

Axum’s power declined when Islam spread through northern Africa in the 700’s.

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe was an empire located in southeast Africa which began around 1000 AD.

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe was strategically located near the Zambezi River, the Indian Ocean and good farming and grazing land. They also controlled the gold and ivory trade to the interior of Africa. The capital city, called “Great Zimbabwe” covered more than 60 acres and had more than 10,000 people living in it.

Once thought to be a city of the biblical Queen of Sheba, Great Zimbabwe stands as the most important archaeological site yet found in sub-Saharan Africa, evidence suggests the Shona, ancestors of the modern Bantu, built it beginning around A.D and that it served as a religious center

The empire declined around 1450 AD because of over-farming, lumbering and grazing.

Ghana The Empire of Ghana was located between the Niger River and the Senegal River, in the Sahel. This area is in modern-day Mauritania and Mali.

Ghana’s empire grew as they traded gold (which they had lots of) for salt (which they needed to preserve food). To keep the value of gold high, the king didn’t allow common people to own or trade gold nuggets, only gold dust

Ghana The king had officials to tax trade and make sure that trade was honest. The king used his wealth to create a large army, which conquered or controlled nearby tribes.

Islamic missionaries traveled with the caravans and converted many of the nobles and kings of Ghana around 1000 AD. Many of the common people did not convert to Islam, and continued to practice animism.. Timbuktu

The spread of Islam did increase literacy and trade in the empire, but also brought about violence which led to the empire’s decline.

The kingdom of Mali replaced Ghana as the major power in Western Africa around 1235 AD. Mali both defeated Ghana in battle and shifted the gold/salt trade away from them, which caused their economy to collapse.

Mali Empire The king Mansa Musa traveled to Mecca in 1324 and when he returned to Mali he ordered the cities of Gao and Timbuktu built on the Muslim model. Timbuktu and Gao became centers of trade and the location of major universities.

The empire began to decline around 1400 AD after the death of Mansa Musa because of weak leadership and the gold trade shifting to the east.. Niani

The final strong empire in Western Africa was the Songhai Empire.

Like the Ghana and Mali empires, the Songhai controlled the trans-Saharan trade of salt and gold.

The Songhai was a well organized empire which continued the educational traditions that the Mali empire began in Timbuktu. The Songhai lacked modern weapons and were eventually conquered in 1591 AD by invaders from Morocco in the northern coast of Africa. –The Moroccans had guns while the Songhai did not.

Once the Songhai were defeated, no major African empire controlled the area again. The division among the African people made it easy for the Europeans to take control in the 1500s.