Early African Civilizations, 2000 BCE - 1500 CE

The Development of Civilizations in Africa Kingdoms and States of Africa African Society and Culture

The Development of Civilizations in Africa

Objectives: 1. Identify Africas four distinct climate zones that affected the development of African civilizations 2. Explain how the mastery of farming gave rise to the rst civilizations in Africa: Egypt, Kush, and Axum

The Land of Africa

After Asia, Africa is the largest of the continents ve thousand miles Distinct geographical zones: Northern and southern mountainous zones, south of that, the largest desert on earth *Sahara In the west is the hump of Africa, grassland interiors and tropical jungles along the coast

The far east, mountains, upland *plateaus (high, at land areas), and lakes *Great Rift Valley, mountains over deep canyons with grassland populations *Congo River is part of the Congo basin

The Climate of Africa

A mild climate zone stretches across northern and southern regions; Crop production could support large populations Deserts were large climate zones (40 %)the Sahara and the *Kalahari Rain forests that stretches along the equator (10 %); the region had little cattle and people due to the *tsetse y *Savannas, broad grasslands, dotted with trees and shrubs (40 %)much farming and herding of animals

Emerging Civilization and the Rise of Islam Kush By 2000 BCE, trade arose between Egypt and southern *Nubia Trade items: ivory, ebony, frankincense, and leopard skins Once controlled by Egypt, they freed themselves and formed an independent state

In 750 BCE, *Kushites conquered Egypt but eventually was overwhelmed the Assyrians The economy of Kush was based at rst on farming but became a trading state the city of Meroe: a centered for iron weapon for the Roman Empire, Arabia, and India They traded for luxury goods

The Rise of Axum

Kush ourished from about 250 BCE to 150 CE, resulting in the rise of a new power Axum in the highlands of now Ethiopia, founded as a colony by Arabs Independent state that combined Arab and African cultures Prosperity along the Red Sea led Axum to be the main trade center between India and the Mediterranean

*King Ezana, the Axumite ruler, launched an invasion of Kush and conquered it In 330 CE, Ezana converted to Christianity brought by Syrian Christianseventually becoming the ofcial religion Within a few centuries, Islam brought changes to the kingdom

The Coming of Islam

By the early eighth century, Axum came under Arab rule Relations between Christian Axum and its Muslim neighbors were relatively peaceful

Objectives: 1. Identify Africas four distinct climate zones that affected the development of African civilizations 2. Explain how the mastery of farming gave rise to the rst civilizations in Africa: Egypt, Kush, and Axum

Kingdoms and States of Africa

Objectives: 1.Analyze hoe the expansion of trade led to migration and the growth of new kingdoms 2. Discuss the different forms of government introduced by rulers

The Kingdom of Ghana

*Ghana, the rst great trading state in West Africa, emerged as early as 500 CE Most were farmers living in villages under the authority of a local ruler; the villages formed the kingdom of Ghana

The Kings of Ghana The kings of Ghana were strong rulers who governed without any laws Ghanaian kings relied on a well-trained regular army of thousands of men

Economy and Trade

Ghana lived off the land, prospered from their possession of both iron and gold Abundant supply of iron ore, gold (Ghana was located near one of the richest goldproducing areas) in Africa Muslim merchants from North Africa brought to Ghana metal goods, textiles, horses, and salt (it was used to preserve food, improve taste, and replace salt)

Other exports: ivory, ostrich feathers, hides, and slaves Much of the trade was carried by *Berbers, nomadic peoples whose camel caravans were known as the eets of the desert Trading merchants became wealthybut by the 8th/9th centuries all trade was conducted by Muslim merchants

The Kingdom of Mali Ghana was weakened by wars and collapsed in the 1100s The state established after this was *Mali by *Sudiata Keita

Founding and Economy Sundiata is considered the founder of Mali, defeating the Ghanians as they declined and seized the capital in 1240 He created the famous trading city *Timbuktu, center of Mali wealth and power from the gold and salt trade

Reign of Mansa Musa

One of the richest and most powerful kings was *Mansa Musa, who ruled from 1312 to 1337 He created a strong centralized government and divided the kingdom into provinces ruled by governors whom he appointed

He converted Islam and took a pilgrimage to Mecca; his spread of gold and the market reaction Creation of center of Islamic learning and cultural center in Timbuktugreat library and school Civil war divided Mali in 1359 and the new kingdom of Songhai emerged to power

The Kingdom of Songhai

The Niger River oods and thus provides a rich soil for raising crops and raising cattle The ruler Kossi converted to Islam in 1009 and established the Dia dynastythey beneted from Muslim trade routes linking Arabia, North Africa, and West Africa Under *Sunni Ali, who fashioned a new dynasty after his name, the Songhai expanded

Under *Muhammad Ture, the military commander and devout Muslim, overthrew the son of Sunni and seized power and created the new dynastyAskia After Muhammad, the Songhai entered a slow decline and the sultan of *Morocco gained power

Societies in East Africa Migration of the Bantus

A mixture of people lived inland from the mountains of Ethiopia; hunting and gathering Farming peoples who spoke dialects of the *Bantu family of languages moved from the Niger river into East Africa Their communities were based on *subsistence farming growing crops for personal use; iron use for farming (which spread this technology south) as well as the spread of bananas and yams

Indian Ocean Trade and Ports The eastern coast of Africa became an important part of the trading network along the Indian Ocean The formation of a string of trading ports emerged including *Mogadishu, *Mombasa, and *Kilwa in the south The Arab traveler *Ibn Battuta called Kilwa, One of the most beautiful towns in the world

Kilwa began to decline, and the Portuguese sacked the city in 1505 A mixed AfricanArabian culture, eventually known as *Swahili (a mixed language of Arabic and Bantu) began to emerge throughout the coastal area

States and Stateless Societies in South Africa

In the southern half of the African continent, states formed more slowly *Stateless society is a group of independent villages organized by clans and led by a local ruler or clan head Regions to the south of the *Zambezi River, a mixed economy of farming and cattle herding emerged

Objectives: 1.Analyze hoe the expansion of trade led to migration and the growth of new kingdoms 2. Discuss the different forms of government introduced by rulers

African Society and Culture

Objectives: 1. Characterize the extended family units that formed the basis of Africa villages 2. Evaluate the importance of the arts to early African culture

Aspects of African Society Towns began as fortied walled villages and became centers of government, and the markets were lled with goods from faraway regions

King and Subject In Africa, the gulf between king and common people was not as great The ruler would hold an audience to allow people to voice their complaints Merchants received favors from the king, and the kings treasury was lled with taxes paid by merchants

Family and Lineage Extended families lived together: parents, children, grandparents, and other families They lived in small, round dwellings made of packed mud and topped with thatch Larger communities were known as *lineage groups (the basic building blocks if African society)

The Role of Women Women were usually subordinate to men in Africa, as they were in most early societies around the world Women often worked in the elds while the men of the village tended the cattle or went on hunting expedition In many African societies, lineage was based on the mother rather than the father

*matrilineal societies, rather than *Patrilineal Women were often permitted to inherit property, and the husband was often expected to move into his wifes house

Community Education and Initiation At six, girls and boys left their mothers training and moved to the house of the women and house of the men to learn their respective skills When they reached puberty, the young entered the community fully having underwent a ritual ceremony symbolizing their death and new rebirth as adults

Slavery

Slavery had been practiced in Africa since ancient times; not unique to Africa but was common in many societies throughout the world North Africa regularly raided farming villages south of the Sahara for captives and sold them The use of captives for forced labor or for sale was also common in African societies Slaves were not inferior but rather could be trusted servants

Religious Beliefs in Africa

Most African societies shared some common religious ideas Belief in a single creator god. The *Yoruba peoples in *Nigeria believed that their chief god sent his son Oduduwa down from Heaven The *Ashanti people of Ghana believed in a supreme being called Nyame One way to communicate with the gods was through ritual done by a special class of *diviners with the power to foretell events

The importance of ancestors in ritual ceremoniescloser to the gods and affect the world Islam spread rst in the north; the rst rulers to convert were the royal family of Gao By the 15th century, the south lands bellow the Sahara had accepted Islam It had less success in the mountains of Ethiopia; many beliefs of Islam conicted with traditional African beliefs and customs

Islams insistence on distinct roles for men and women and modesty is dress was odd In Africa, imported ideas were combined with native beliefs resulting in an Africanized Islam

African Culture

The earliest art forms in Africa were rock paintingsa famous example of this is the Tassili Mountains from 4000 BCE Wood carvers throughout Africa made masks and statues representing gods, spirits, or ancestral gures and embodied the spiritual powers of the subjects Metal workers at *Ife, the capital of the Yoruba, created iron statues

African music and dance often served a religious purpose: heavy rhythmic beats were the means of communicating the spirits Music was used to pass on to young people information about the history of the community since there was no written language Priests or a special class of storytellers known as *griots taught these histories

Objectives: 1. Characterize the extended family units that formed the basis of Africa villages 2. Evaluate the importance of the arts to early African culture