Early Civilizations in Africa 8

©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license. The Continent of Africa

The Emergence of Civilization  The Land  5,000 miles long  Sahara is the great divide  Kush  Agriculture may have first appeared in Nubia rather than the lower Nile valley  Perhaps the site of the first true African kingdom  Nubia became an Egyptian tributary  Disintegration of the Egyptian New Kingdom (end of second millennium B.C.E.) resulted in the independent state of Kush Kush became a major trading state Little known about the society of Kush Seems to have been widespread material prosperity

©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license. Ancient Ethiopia and Nubia

Nubia / Kush  Egyptians withdrew from Nubia, ca BCE;  Southern region became known to them as "Kush“  Trade links continued, but the two realms separated politically.

Nubia / Kush  730 BCE, new rulers of independent Kush felt strong enough to invade Egypt; seized Thebes  Ruled Egypt for 60 years-a period known as the 25th ("Ethiopian/Nubian") dynasty  Assyrian invasion of Lower Egypt (ca. 670 BCE), withdrew to Nubia  Moved their administrative center further south, from Napata to Meroe, ca. 550 BCE

Nubia / Kush  Development of iron technology in Meroe  The region of Meroe supported agriculture and herding  Very well situated for trade:  gold  ostrich feathers  ebony  ivory  leopard skins  elephants  iron

Nubia / Kush  Trade across the desert to Egypt or via Red Sea port to several destinations  Especially during the period of Greek/Roman control of Egypt  Distinctive features of Kushite civilization emerged, particularly after the move to Meroe

Meroe: Transitional Stage BC It was assumed that the Kingdom of Kush was at this time divided into a northern (Napatan) territory with its capital at Napata and a southern (Meriotic) territory with its capital at Meroe.  There is a greater emphasis on Amun of Napata as a traditional god.  In their cartouches, all the rulers of this period add to their own names the epithet “beloved of Amun.”

Meroe: Early Meroitic Period BC  The influence of the priests of Amun came to an end with the transfer of the royal cemetery to Meroe.  The first 3 rulers of the Meroitic Period assumed throne names modeled upon rulers of the Egyptian Dynasty XXVI.  During the reign of King Tanyidamani ( BC), the oldest datable text of significant length written in the Meroitic language is found on a stelae containing a detailed government report and temple endowments.  Henceforth, Meroitic hieroglyphs were increasingly used and soon replaced Egyptian writing altogether.

Middle Meroitic Period 90 BC~0 AD  The 1st century BC can in many ways be regarded as a golden age; the height of Meroitic power.  The strong concentration of reigning queens in this period is striking.  Increasing Meroitic activity in Lower Nubia is evident and this eventually leads to a military confrontation with the Romans.

Late Meroitic Period 0 AD~320 AD  This period began with King Natakami (0-20 AD). He managed to introduce a new smaller size pyramid and a new kind of chapel decoration.  Natakami also carried out renovations for old temples and built new ones.  There are very few observable decisive changes within this period and it is generally regarded as marking the decline and fall of the Meroitic Kingdom.

Language  Local (Meroitic) replaced Egyptian as language of court.  New alphabetic script developed (remains un-deciphered today)  The Meroitic script has a cursive and more rarely used hieroglyphic form.  The individual characters derived from Egyptian demotic script and hieroglyphs.  The Meroitic system of writing differs fundamentally from that of the Egyptian.  The complicated Egyptian system was reduced to a simple alphabet of 23 symbols.  Meroitic script includes vowel notations.  The Meroitic language was almost exclusively the written language

Religion and Art  lion god  Apedemek (lion's head on body of snake)  The elephant had great significance in Meroe, particularly in Musawwarat es-Sufra where it was frequently represented in relief and sculpture. Distinctive art:  Portrayals of tropical African animals on:  Art objects  Pottery  Public sculptures  The minor arts especially that of goldsmiths, continued to develop and reached high levels of achievement.

Economic Organization  Rulers were not able to exert as much direct control over their subjects  Slightly less autocratic than Egypt.  Nobility & priesthood occasionally removed kings.  The king's mother was traditionally a key political player ("kingmaker").

Decline  Kingdom declined by CE 300;  City of Meroe itself was abandoned between CE  Major factors in its decline included:  Over-exploitation of the environment  The land became agriculturally untenable  Iron smelting had consumed most of the forests for charcoal  Widespread erosion ensued  Decline of Roman power in Egypt affected Meroe as well  Demand for luxury goods fell  New power of Aksum took control of the Red Sea trade, and even invaded region of Meroe ca. CE 350

Axum, Son of Saba  Conquered Kush in first millennium C.E.  Axum founded as a colony of the kingdom of Saba (Sheba) in first millennium B.C.E.  Saba a trading state, goods from South Asia to the Mediterranean  Axum continued the trade after Saba declined  Location on trade routes responsible for prosperity  Competed for control of ivory trade  Followed Egyptian Christianity (Coptic)  Would be renamed Ethiopia  Called the “hermit kingdom” by Europeans

Axum ca. 500 BCE, peoples from southwestern Arabia migrated across Red Sea  Established farming settlements and trading centers on African coast (particularly Adulis)  In order to take advantage of ivory trade for Persia and India  Came to dominate the Red Sea trade, already in the period of Ptolemaic Egypt  This facilitated the establishment of their independent inland state at Aksum  Eventually edged out Meroe for domination of Red Sea & Indian Ocean trade by 300.

Axum: Prosperity  Aksum's economic well-being was, dependent upon trade  The king's power relied on the tax revenues raised on import/export duties  Important export goods included:  ivory  slaves  crystal  brass  copper  frankincense  Myrrh  Prosperity was reflected in ambitious building projects:  stone stelae: tall, thin columns marking notable gravesites  adopted Christianity in 4th century CE

Axum: Decline  Aksum was eventually confronted by two principal economic & political challenges  Persian Empire, particularly in the 6th-century Arabian trade  Islamic Caliphate presented a political threat,  Trade also began to shift more to the Persian Gulf, away from Red Sea  However, over-exploitation of land and forests also played a major role in Aksum's decline  Managed to avoid incorporation into the Islamic world system,  The effect of cultural isolation  The eventual development of very distinctive Ethiopian Christianity

The Sahara and Its Environs  From 8000 to 4000 B.C.E. a warm, humid climate that created lakes, ponds, grasslands, and game  Desiccation began in 6th and 5th millennium B.C.E.  After 3000 B.C.E. and farming spread to the savannas to the south; Berbers were intermediaries  Carthage became focal point of trans-Saharan trade  Ironworking by the people along the Niger River in the middle of the first millennium B.C.E., Nok culture

East and Southern Africa  Bantu language group  Introduced cultivation of crops and ironworking  The Bantu settled into rural communities  Commercial trade  Egyptians may have arrived looking for trade goods  Rhapta a commercial metropolis  Trade across the Indian Ocean  Khoisan language group

©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license. Ancient Africa

The Coming of Islam  African Religious Beliefs before Islam  Common beliefs Single creator god Sometimes accompanied by a pantheon of lesser gods Most believed in an afterlife in which ancestral souls floated in the atmosphere through eternity Closely connected to importance of ancestors and lineage Rituals very important  Challenge by Islam but not always replaced; synthesized

The Coming of Islam (cont.’d)  North Africa  Arab forces seized the Nile delta of Egypt in 641  New capital at Cairo  Arabs welcome due to high taxes and periodic persecution of Coptic Christians by Byzantines  Arabs seize Carthage in 690, called Al Maghrib  Berbers resisted for many years  The Kingdom of Ethiopia: A Christian Island in a Muslim Sea  Axum began to decline  Shift in trade routes and overexploited agriculture  Muslim trading states on the African coast of the Red Sea transforming Axum into an isolated agricultural society Source of ivory, resins, and slaves  Attacked by Muslim state of Adal in early 14th century  Became a Christian state in mid-twelfth century

East Africa: The Land of Zanj  Legend says a Persian and his six sons founded the trading centers on the coast of East Africa  Self-governing city-states  Trade with the interior  Trade with the Indian Ocean, China, and along the coast  Mixed African-Arab culture  Mixed culture and language called Swahili  Conversion to Islam grows

©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license. The Emergence of States in Africa

The States of West Africa  Expansion of Islam has impact on political system  Introduction of Arabic for a writing system  Ghana  Majority of people were farmers  Primary reason for Ghana’s growth was gold  Trans-Saharan trade with Ghana becomes very important  Divine right monarchy assisted by hereditary aristocracy  Kings did not convert to Islam, but many of their subjects did  Mali  Ruinous wars by the twelfth century in Ghana New states of Mali, Songhai, Kanem-Bornu, and Hausa states  Greatest state was Mali Gold trade Farming in the savanna region Mansa Musa ( ), king, encouraged Islam Timbuktu becomes center of trade, religion and learning

©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license. Trans-Saharan Trade Routes

States and Stateless Societies in Southern Africa  From the basin of the Congo River to the Cape of Good Hope  Stateless society  Progress made with regional trade  Zimbabwe (sacred house)  Capital known as Great Zimbabwe  Benefited from trade between interior and coast  Evidence of great wealth, but Great Zimbabwe abandoned  The Khoi and the San (Bushman) people

African Society  African Society  Urban life  Village Life  Role of women  Slavery

African Culture  Painting and Sculpture  Rock paintings, wood carving, pottery, metalwork  Music and Dance  Often served religious purposes  Wide variety of instruments  Integration of voice and instrument  Music produced for social rituals and educational purposes  Architecture  Pyramid  Stone pillars  Stone buildings  Sometimes reflected Moorish styles  Literature  Written works did not exist in the early traditional period  Professional storytellers, bards  Importance of women in passing down oral traditions