CHAPTER 9: CIVILIZATIONS AND EMPIRES IN AFRICA
9A- THE GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA
Africa is a large and incredibly diverse continent. It features a wide range of geographic features, including towering mountains, dense rainforests, vast deserts, and winding rivers.
The continent can be divided into four or five distinct regions, each with its own unique physical geography.
North Africa borders the Mediterranean Sea and includes Africa's northern coast along with vast stretches of desert. This region is known for its arid climate. Dominating a large portion of it is the the Sahara, the world's largest desert. The region is also home to the Atlas Mountains, which run through the northwest.
On the eastern edge of North Africa is the Nile River and its delta region. The Nile is Africa's longest river and it stretches south over 4,000 miles into East Africa.
West Africa also includes a large portion of the Sahara Desert along with the Sahel. The Sahel is the of transition between the Sahara to the north and tropical savanna to the south. It is a belt of dry grassland with a hot semi-arid climate and stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea.
|
The Niger River is an important waterway in this region. Africa's third largest river, it covers over 2,600 miles from the Guinea Highlands to the Atlantic Ocean in the Gulf of Guinea.
Central Africa is home to the Congo River Basin, which is the second-largest river basin in the world after the Amazon. The Congo River is Africa's second longest at about 2,900 miles in length.
This region is characterized by dense tropical rainforests, savannas, and a hot and wet climate. It is also home to iconic wildlife such as gorillas, chimpanzees, and elephants.
Eastern Africa is known for its diverse landscapes, including highlands, savannas, and coastal plains. It is home to famous landmarks like Mount Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti, and the Great Rift Valley, as well as a variety of wildlife and ethnic groups.
The Horn of Africa is a large peninsula in East Africa along the southern boundary of the Red Sea that extends into the Indian Ocean.
South Africa is characterized by its desert, grasslands, and savannas, and it features natural wonders like Victoria Falls and the Okavango Delta.
The Kalahari Desert makes up a large portion of the region, with flat plateaus of rolling grasslands and tree-dotted plains called the veld surrounding it.
The Cape of Good Hope lies off the southernmost tip of Africa. The Zambezi River is the longest river in this region and flows east into the Indian Ocean.
9B- THE KINGDOM OF AXUM
The Aksumites were a people formed from the mix of Cushitic speaking people in Ethiopia and Semitic speaking people in southern Arabia who settled the territory across the Red Sea around 500 BCE.
The Aksumites lived in the Ethiopian highlands of this region. This gave them a strategic position in the trade routes between Yemen (in the south of the Arabian Peninsula) and the cities of Nubia. They spoke a Semitic language and wrote in Semitic characters. This gives Ethiopia, in fact, one of the longest continuous literate traditions in Africa.
We know little about the early Axumite kingdom. Roman and Greek sources indicate that an Axumite kingdom was thriving in the first century CE.
The city of Adulis on the Red Sea is frequently mentioned because it had become one of the most important trading ports in Africa.
|
Aksum lay in the path of growing trade routes between Africa, Arabia, and India. As a result, it grew wealthy and its major cities, Adulis, Aksum, and Matara, became three of the most important cosmopolitan centers in the ancient world.
Although they were off the beaten path as far as European history is concerned, these cities were just as cosmopolitan and culturally significant. They served as a crossroads to a variety of cultures: Egyptian, Sudanic, Arabic, Middle Eastern, and Indian.
Perhaps an indication of this cosmopolitan character can be found in the fact that the major Aksumite cities had Jewish, Nubian, Christian, and even Buddhist minorities.
In the second century CE, Aksum acquired tribute states on the Arabian Peninsula across the Red Sea and conquered northern Ethiopia and Kush.
The downfall of the Nubian powers led to the rise of Aksumite imperial power. The Aksumites controlled one of the most important trade routes in the world and occupied one of the most fertile regions in the world.
The Aksumite religion was actually from polytheistic Arabic religions. They believed that gods controlled the natural forces of the universe. However, in the 4th century, the Aksumite king Ezana converted to Christianity under the tutelage of a Syrian bishop. King Ezana declared Axum to be a Christian state, making it the first Christian state in history. He actively converted his population to Christianity.
In the 5th century, the Axumites replaced Greek in the liturgy and began using their own native language, Ge'ez. Because of their Semitic origins, they believed they were descendants of the Hebrews, who were also Semitic, and traced their origins back to David.
Axum remained a strong empire and trading power until the rise of Islam in the seventh century. However, because the Axumites had sheltered Muhammed's first followers, Islamic powers never attempted to overthrow Axum as they spread through Africa.
Even though Axum no longer served as a hub of international trade, it nonetheless enjoyed good relations with its Islamic neighbors. Two Christian states north of Axum: Maqurra and Alwa, survived until the 13th century when they were finally forced by Muslim migration to become Islamic.
|
Axum, however, remained untouched by the Islamic movements across Africa. Because of this, the Ethiopic (or Abyssinian) Church has lasted until the present day.
9C- GREAT ZIMBABWE, SOUTH & EAST AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS
The continent of Africa is one of the most diverse places on earth. It is the second-largest continent in the world spanning over 12 million square miles and has been home to many varied civilizations. Much like the civilizations in Mesopotamia, India, and China, empires rose and fell throughout Africa.
In South and East Africa, the Kingdom of Zimbabwe dominated the region and was one of Africa’s largest empires at its height from the 12-16th century.
The empire’s capital city, Great Zimbabwe, was founded by a Bantu ethnic group called the Shona. Great Zimbabwe is one of the oldest and largest pre-colonial cities of large stone houses and structures in Southern Africa.
Scholars believe that Great Zimbabwe was built by members of the early Gokomere culture, ancestors of the modern-day Shona.
|
Since the early 4th and 7th centuries, the Gokomere or Ziwa cultures farmed the valley, established small communities, and practiced metalworking of iron and copper.
Construction of Great Zimbabwe did not begin until the 11th century and continued to grow and expand for over 300 years. It is most noted for its large walls, some as high as 36 feet and 820 feet in length. At its peak, historians believe Great Zimbabwe housed around 10,000 people.
Great Zimbabwe became a center for trading in South and East Africa. Their trade network reached far and wide. Some artifacts such as coins from Arabia, pottery from China, and other items like beads and glass that were not of local origin have been found in Great Zimbabwe.
It also had a strong local trade network with a nearby trading center in Sofala, where gold from Great Zimbabwe would be brought in.
Great Zimbabwe began to decline in the 15th century when its trading networks ceased. This was likely due to the civilization exhausting the local gold deposits.
They faced several environmental issues as well, including overworking of land, deforestation, and crises resulting from a series of droughts.
|
Many of the Shona migrated and formed new states, essentially abandoning the city. Great Zimbabwe was eventually succeeded by the Kingdoms of Butua and Mutapa.
9D- THE EMPIRE OF GHANA
The Kingdom of Ghana, also known as Wagadu or Wagadugu, was the earliest known empire of western Sudan and was founded by a king of the Soninke people. Europeans and Arabs mistakenly named it Ghana, which means “ruler”. The first historical records of this nation are from the end of the 8th century, but it probably came into being long before that. Oral records maintain that it emerged by the 7th century and had over 144 kings. Modern day Ghana has no historical connection to the medieval kingdom.
|
The rulership of Ghana was matrilineal, which means that the sister of the king gave birth to the new ruler. The bloodline of the royal family was continued through its women. The king did not rule his state alone, but was helped by a People's Council whose members came from all levels of society. This type of social organization shows that Ghana's political system was well developed because it included citizens and didn't rely on the guidance of a single person.
Economy and Industry
This kingdom had a very advanced system of administration and taxation because traders had to travel through its lands to carry goods like gold and salt to and from North Africa to the southern parts of West Africa. The state's economy was dynamic and helped to expand the kingdom into an empire.
This kingdom had a very advanced system of administration and taxation because traders had to travel through its lands to carry goods like gold and salt to and from North Africa to the southern parts of West Africa. The state's economy was dynamic and helped to expand the kingdom into an empire.
It also had large armies and defeated smaller states around it who had to pay tribute and taxes to its rulers. Although Ghana received great riches from its subordinates, it did not rely on them for its economic growth. Instead it developed agriculture, iron smelting, stone masonry, carpentry, pottery, cloth manufacturing and goldsmithing. The products they produced were traded along the Trans-Saharan trade routes from western Africa to Egypt and the Middle East in the north. They usually exchanged their goods for gold, salt, copper and sold war captives as slaves.
|
Even though there are written records of Ghana, like in the “Book of Routes and Kingdoms” by 11th century geographer Abu Ubayd al-Bakri, the kingdom is still a mystery. North Africans call it the “Land of Gold” because gold was plentiful in the area, but the locations of its gold mines were kept secret to maintain control over them.
Religion and Decline
Although the people of Ghana protected their good relations with Muslim traders, allowed Muslims to live in its cities, and even encouraged Muslim advisers to help the royal court with its administration of legal issues, the kingdom never converted to Islam. The Muslim religion had been the main faith in northern Africa since the 8th century and Ghana's northern neighbors were dedicated believers. These Muslims called themselves the Almoravids and in 1076, in the 11th century, they declared a holy war, or “jihad”, against Ghana under the leadership of Abdullah ibn Yasin. |
The kingdom of Ghana was destroyed and many of its people converted to Islam. After this the once powerful state lost its military and commercial power. From 1180 to 1230 the southern parts of what used to be Ghana was controlled by the Sosa people, who were anti-Muslim, but the empire of Ghana had come to an end.
9E- THE MALI EMPIRE IN AFRICA
The Kingdom of Mali flourished in West Africa from about 1200 - 1500 and grew to become one of the richest empires in Africa.
Mali began as a small state called Kangaba and was established by the Mandinka people. The Mandinka were farmers and middle-men in the gold trade and had been conquered by the Kingdom of Ghana.
Sundiata Keita was born to a noble Mandinka family in the early 1200s. Legends told by oral tradition say his brothers were killed by Ghana's rulers but he was spared because he was crippled.
Keita later led a revolt against the Empire of Ghana. He united several groups and was victorious at the Battle of Kirina in 1235.
Keita then founded the Mali Empire and took the title of Mansa (king or emperor in the Mandinka language).
|
Sundiata Keita commanded a mighty army and expanded the empire by defeating neighboring kingdoms. Eventually he divided the empire into provinces that were ruled by governors.
A series of rulers came after Keita, but it was the 9th mansa who brought Mali into its golden age.
Mansa Musa took power around 1312. He was one of the first truly devout Muslims to lead the Mali Empire. He attempted to make Islam the faith of the nobility, but kept the tradition of not forcing it on his people.
Musa went on pilgrimage or hajj to Mecca in 1324. He traveled with an enormous entourage and a vast supply of gold. He made a point of showing off his nation's wealth.
The lavish display of riches and generosity drew the attention of the whole Islamic world and Europe.
This was especially true in Cairo, where they camped by the Pyramids of Giza in July 1324. Musa gave so much gold to the poor and others that it supposedly impacted Egypt's entire economy.
It is estimated that Mansa Musa was the wealthiest person in history.
Back in Mali, the salt plains in the north and the gold mines in the south continued to bring more wealth. Timbuktu became a center of learning and many important scholars visited the country, like Ibn Battuta, the greatest of all Arab travelers and writers.
The people of Mali were also skilled farmers. The natural environment was ideal for planting cotton, peanuts, grains and other crops, which fed the people.
Wealth also came from the slave trade. Mali captured and enslaved people from neighboring groups. However, Mali's constitution, the Kouroukan Fouga prohibited the maltreatment of prisoners and the enslaved.
When Ibn Buttata visited Mali in the 14th century, shortly after Mansa Musa's death, he was surprised and impressed by how strictly order was enforced in the kingdom.
Soon after, however, Musa's grandsons fought over his throne. Far-off provinces of the empire broke away while enemies attacked it in its weakened state.
In 1534, the ruler Mansa Suleyman asked Portuguese colonizers at the coast for help, but they refused. Mali shrank to the original size of Kangaba by 1645.
|
The Empire finally collapsed with the rise of the Kingdom of Songhai, but no empire was able to maintain the power and wealth held by the Kingdom of Mali.
9F- THE SONGHAI EMPIRE IN AFRICA
The Songhai Empire was a large and powerful West African civilization from about 1450-1600.
The kingdom grew after the decline of the Mali Empire. The Songhai people broke away from Mali control after Mansa Musa's death.
Centered in the city of Gao along the Niger River, the Songhai built up a large army and expanded their territory. Eventually, they were able to control the lucrative gold and salt trade routes that crossed through their lands.
Sunni Ali took power in 1464 and became the first king of the Songhai Empire. He further expanded the empire and conquered Timbuktu and Djenné, two important centers for trade and learning.
|
Sunni Ali ruled for 30 years, during which time his cities grew and were fortified.
Askia Muhammad was a leading general under Sunni Ali. When the ruler died in 1492, Askia Muhammad challenged Sunni Ali's son Sunni Baru for the throne. Askia Muhammad professed that Sunni Baru was not a faithful Muslim and defeated him at the Battle of Anfao.
This established the Askia dynasty of the Songhai Empire. Askia Muhammad became known as Askia the Great, and ruled the kingdom for 37 years.
|
At its peak under his reign, the Songhai Empire expanded to become larger than either the Ghana or Mali Empires.
His policies resulted in a rapid expansion of trade with Europe and Asia. The kingdom's gold mines continued to bring wealth.
Gold, ivory, ostrich feathers, and enslaved peoples were sent north in exchange for salt, horses, camels, cloth, and luxury goods.
After his pilgrimage to Mecca, Askia the Great brought scholars from Morocco and Egypt to Songhai and had them establish new schools. He further encouraged learning in Timbuktu by rewarding its professors with larger pensions.
Askia the Great also improved the empire's tax system to be more efficient and selected skilled officials to run his central government.
Muslim judges called qadis, ran his legal system on Muslim principles. Most of the people living in cities embraced Islam. In rural areas where most Songhai people lived, however, traditional African religions dominated.
Leo Africanus, a Spanish Moroccan traveler and writer, visited Gao and noted its wealthy ruling class: "The houses there are very poor, except for those of the king and his courtiers. The merchants are exceedingly rich and large numbers of Negroes continually come here to buy cloth brought from Barbarie (Morocco) and Europe." (Actual quoted text)
|
A series of plots and coups by Askia's successors forced the empire into a period of decline and instability. Less skilled kings found the empire too large to control. Environmental changes also caused droughts and disease.
The wealth of its gold mines also drew the attention of invaders. The Saadi Sultanate of Morocco saw the weakened Songhai Empire as vulnerable and invaded in 1590.
Equipped with gunpowder and cannons, the Moroccan army defeated the Songhai warriors, armed only with swords and spears, at the Battle of Tondibi.
The Songhai Empire collapsed soon after, ending a 1,000-year period in which successive powerful empires controlled West Africa.
9G- THE TRANS-SAHARAN GOLD-SALT TRADE
Trans-Saharan Trade, also known as the Gold-Salt Trade, was an extensive network of trade routes that linked the Mediterranean world with West Africa during the Middle Ages.
The trade routes facilitated the exchange of goods, ideas, and cultures between the people of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. This played a significant role in shaping the economies, societies, and cultures of the civilizations that were connected.
The trade network gets its names from its paths crossing the Sahara Desert and from the most popular goods traded (gold and salt). However, it was not a single, continuous route, but rather a complex network of interconnected routes that stretched thousands of miles.
|
The trade route began in the West African gold mines that were controlled by a series of empires over the span of 1,000 years, including the Kingdom of Ghana, the Mali Empire, and the Songhai Empire.
The routes then extended north through salt mining towns like Taghaza before reaching the Mediterranean coastal cities of North Africa, such as Tunis and Tripoli. From there, goods were traded into Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Enslaved people were often captured in Sub-Saharan Africa and brought north and sold to Mediterranean and Middle Eastern civilizations. African rulers unable to resist the slave trade acted as middlemen, rounding up members of nearby villages to be sold to demanding merchants.
The Trans-Saharan Trade Route was instrumental in the development of the civilizations that participated in it. The trade route facilitated the exchange of ideas and cultures between the people of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
This led to the development of new technologies, art, and architecture. The trade route also facilitated the spread of Islam in West Africa, which had a significant impact on the region's religious and cultural practices.
The Kingdom of Ghana controlled the West African gold mines in the 6th century and became a major center of trade, exporting gold and ivory to North Africa and Europe in exchange for salt, textiles, and other goods.
The Mali Empire emerged in the 13th century and became one of the most prosperous civilizations along the route. One of its rulers, Mansa Musa, is considered the richest man in history due to his control of both the gold and salt mines in West Africa.
The Songhai Empire rose after the fall of the Mali Empire in the 15th century and expanded the trade routes even further.