Africa 600-1450

African Stateless Societies Organized around kinship Did not tax the people No need to pay government officials, army, etc… Little concentration of authority Government was not a full time occupation

Problems with Stateless Societies Couldn’t resist outside pressures Couldn’t organize for warfare Couldn’t organize for large building projects Couldn’t support long-distant trade Led to creation of states

Bantu “Bantu” is defined as a family of African languages that stretches across sub- Saharan Africa Bantu is not a specific language group or people group 450 known languages in the Bantu family

African Language Groups

Bantu “Migrations” Originally, archeologist thought the Bantu migration was a mass movement Evidence now shows that the Bantu moved about slowly and intermarried into tribes and affected the culture of these tribes The term migration is misleading as the movement took several centuries

Effects of migrations Spread agricultural techniques (iron) and herding Led to increased production Led to more migration as they searched for agricultural lands

Bananas Brought to Africa from Asia along the Indian Ocean trade lines First in Madagascar then to the continent Led to creation of many banana verities Enriched African diets, which allowed them to expand more rapidly

Kin-Based Societies Did not depend on an elaborate hierarchy Villages would have an average of about 100 people Men would be in charge A group of villages formed districts; creates ethnic loyalties

Chiefdoms Population growth strained resources kin groups began fighting over resources Led to organized military systems, which led to more organized governments After about 1000, large city-states had developed

Trans-Saharan Trade Camel and camel saddle 70-90 Days to cross the Sahara First written records from Muslim traders in the 8th century Three large empires formed in West Africa as a result of trade: Ghana 700 to 1100 Mali 1100 to 1400 Songhay 1300-1600

Trans-Saharan Trade Goods that moved north: gold, slaves, cloth, ivory, ebony, pepper, kola nuts Goods that moved south: salt, dates, horses, brass, copper, glass wear, beads, leather, textiles, clothing, and food stuffs Gold was the most important product West Africa provided two-thirds of gold trade in the eastern hemisphere

West Africa: Kingdom of Ghana Between 4th-5th century Began as a way to protect agriculture from desert raiders Became center for trading gold Capital was Koumbi-Saleh Taxes on trade allowed for a huge military 10th century, kings became Muslims Raids from the desert led to collapse in the early 1200s

West Africa: Mali Sundiata built Mali kingdom and ruled 1230-1255 Mali controlled and taxed most trade through West Africa Capital was Niani Rulers were Muslim

West Africa: Mali & Mansa Musa Ruled 1312-1337 Took Hajj to Mecca 60,000 retainers, 12,000 slaves, his senior wife had 500 attendants 500 slaves carried a 4 lb gold bar He was carried under a silk pavilion on a throne made of ebony with ivory tusks Gold’s value declined by about 25% Established religious schools along the way

West Africa: Mali and Timbuktu Became a center for Muslim scholarship Huge trade center for gold and salt The mosque had massive libraries of African and Muslim texts

West Africa: End of Mali Military pressures from other kingdoms and desert nomads By late 1400’s Songhay Empire overtook Mali

East Africa: Aksum Began as a group of traders out of the Arabian Peninsula looking for ivory Dominated trade in the Red Sea and some of the Arabian Sea Traded in: Ivory Silver Gold Frankincense (used in Greek burials) Built stelae

East Africa: Aksum King Ezana (320-350 CE) converted to Christianity At one point, Aksum had spread into modern Yemen Fell by 800 CE Loss of natural resources Muslim culture prevented trade for African Christian Ethiopia will be the next Christian Empire in Africa (will speak same language group as Aksum- Ge’ez)

Height of Aksum

Ethiopian Christianity Refused to accept that Jesus was two parts (human & divine) They believe that Jesus was both natures at once Today 40 million practice Ethiopian Christianity Possible site of the Ark of the Covenant

East Africa: Zimbabwe Name came from what Swahili speakers called wooden buildings Great Zimbabwe built a wall around its towers, palaces, and public buildings 18,000 people could have lived here at its height

East Africa: Zimbabwe Kings controlled taxes and trade between coastal and interior regions Formed many alliances and control of products

East Africa: Swahili Arabic term meaning “coasters” A language group who spoke a mix of Bantu and Arabic Trade sites from Indian Ocean routes created city-states Began building in coral; created large mosques and public buildings

South West Africa: Kingdom of Kongo Military conflicts resulted in this large kingdom by 1200 King and officials oversaw military, judicial, and financial affairs Most tightly centralized Bantu kingdom Had a royal currency system Mid-1700, Portuguese show up