Africa Throughout History

The empire of Mali was established around 1235 C.E. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita, when he united the tribes of Malinke. He then led these tribes to overthrow the ruler Soso. The empire then became stronger, and took over many surrounding areas. When Mansa was the emperor he made many changes to the way he ran the society. ”The empire was then divided up into provinces that were each led by a governor called a ferba” (ducksters.com). The religion of Islam played an important part in the government and many of the government admin. Mansa Musa was thought of as one of the most famous emperors of Mali. He is best known for his pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It is said that Mansa was a very wealthy man and brought over 60,000 people

East and West Africa from 1000 to 1500 CE had profound differences in forms of government, with West Africa being kingdom based, and East Africa city-state based. The conversion of Eastern and Western African ruling elites compacted trading between themselves and Islamic traders from Mesopotamia, China, India, and as far away as Oceania. The relatively stable political environment from 1000-1500 CE in Sub-Saharan Africa attracted displaced peoples from the Abbasid empire in Northern Africa, with West Africa utilizing Trans-Saharan trade, and East Africa utilizing mariner trade routes. The East and West developed in clearly different ways, but paralleled each other in a way in which the political, social, and economic environments facilitated stable trade in the region, as well as a distinct blend between Islamic culture and African tradition.

One of Mali’s most famous rulers was Mansa Musa. He did many things during his rule such as encouraging learning and the arts and even extended the boundaries of his kingdom. One of the most famous things he did in his rule was go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. According to a story, 500 slaves, 60,000 followers, and 80-100 camel loads went along with him. Along the, he gave so much gold out to people, even the poor, that the

Between 300th century and 1400th century, the most powerful African kingdoms had achieved great goals, such as developing a trade system. The empires in Africa had a solid economy which was supported by their trade. Before the Europeans arrived, these empires had hierarchies and roles in society, which helped the trade system flourish. Some achievements Africa accomplished included trade, wealth, and a complex society.

Sundiata was their fist Mansa, which was a ruler/king. He turned Mail into a wealthy and strong empire by defeating attacks and growing their goldfields'. After Ghana collapsed the regions they had became farming villages. The kings were used to collect taxes and build new towns. Sundiata’s story, the first mansa for Mail, is mostly a legend, but there have been some evidence of his rule. From what people know Sundiata might have combined many religions, created a new society, and mastered the dangerous people who came from Mecca. We do know Sundiata was powerful and successful. From 1312 to 1337, a new mansa of Mali was Mansa Musa. Mansa Musa was the grandnephew of Sundiata. Mansa Musa is known for leading the pilgrimage of 60,000 people to Mecca in 1324 with tons of camels carrying pounds of gold! A very harsh journey through the Sahara desert consisted of little to no water, lots of flies and even some dead and lost people. When he went on his long journey he not only spread his wealth of gold to others, he also brought back new ideas to Mali. Including schoolers, poets, teachers and most importantly he converted their religion to Islam. One specific way he did this was by trading gold and salt and then using his wealth to build new mosques for the city and universities for the students to learn about the Islamic world. Something we learn from this long journey is that many people liked the “bling” you could say, also known as

Mansa Musa was one of the greatest rulers of history and achieved many goals. He was the tenth rulers of the Empire. The pilgrimage to Mecca was legendary which represented the wealth of the empire and made him well known ( Lin Donn, Mansa Musa). Numerous structures were built under his reign such as Gao mosque and the University of Sankore. Also, the Dijiongoereber mosque was built as an education center and became one of the massive empires of the world. Abu-Ishaq Ibrahimes-Saheli was the aritchet that built the palace and mosque. Timbuktu was an important city not only for trade but for education as well. Many people traveled from all over the world to attend (Ojibwa, Ancient Africa). Ahmad Baba who was known for being teacher, professor

Ghana and Mali were one of Africa’s greatest ancient civilizations. The Ghana kingdom was founded around the year 750, and developed between the Senegal and Niger River, while the Mali kingdom came about in 1240 after taking over Ghana. Rich in trade and supplies, their empires flourished under their rulers. The Ghana and Mali empire had a series of key similarities and differences throughout their years as a civilization, such as education, their culture, and their resource for trade.

In History of Africa, Shillington focuses on many aspects of African culture and factors that made Africa to be the continent that it is today. Chapter 5 primarily focuses on the Northern region of Africa and how empires took over and spread their ideology technology, and culture all through out the region. Even today some remnants of the Roman and Greek empire live on to this day (Shillington, 69.) Despite many people getting the impression that Northern Africa is only influenced by Arabic and Islam, these empires and their conquests are best understood through topics like intricate trading routes, farming, and the spread of religion. Shillington provides an in depth analysis of how many of these conquests affected Northern Africa centuries ago and today.

Not only does this document blatantly tell you about the wealth of the kings, it shows other things upon deeper analysis. One thing it shows is an advanced political structure, with each person knowing his/her place in the kingdom(Doc. 2). At a first glance of the piece of writing, one may just think the only thing to read is that the kings were rich. But by sharing their wealth with diplomats in other kingdoms, the diplomatic relations with said kingdoms improved greatly, which let the kings make a great deal of friends(Doc. 4). In Ibn Battuta’s Travels to Kingdom of Mali, he talks about the iron fist that the kings ruled with. By having no tolerance for crime, the rulers had very successful kingdoms with complete control over them(Doc. 6). Whether it be the close proximity to other parts of the world, the barren deserts, or the rainforests, Africa’s people have been aided in their success by the continent’s natural advantages. A map showing trade routes, this document is the perfect example of Africa’s prime location. Right near Europe and Asia, trading routes in northern and eastern Africa flourished(Doc 1). Although this is another trade route map, it gives us more insight on the routes that were used to get to other parts of the world, such as Asia. Boats could travel through the Arabian, Mediterranean, and Red seas, along with

The history of Africa has been viewed and understood through a variety of lenses in the past few hundred years. To begin with, the origin of the name Africa in itself has drawn a number of controversies that stem from the different perspectives through which the name has been examined. A general scholarly explanation holds

These stateless societies had a legitimate, informal government but, had no official bureaucratic system. During the early Post-Classical era, Ghana played an important part in West African society because even though they had limited connections to outside kingdoms, they still traded with neighboring societies. Gold and salt were two of the major commodities that helped grow these small stateless societies into large and prospering empires. With trade increasing throughout the Saharan, the amount of gold and salt that was able to reach this region was able to increase, which allowed for both the resources and the incentive to build a larger empire. Between the years 700-1450 CE, elaborate court life, degrees of admission and military forces were created as a result of the increased trade through the Saharan. Another result of the Trans-Saharan trade and the increasing spread of Islam is that Mansa Musa, the king of Mali was able to become extremely wealthy and rule over a large empire. Mansa Musa was a very wealthy man who

The African nations of Ghana, Mali, Songhai, shared so many characteristics between each other. For one primary comparison is, all three ancient empires relied on the trans-Saharan trading routes and their lush amount of gold, copper and other natural resources. They established many political ties with many Arab countries and nearby African societies. These three nations shared abundantly cultural similarities from just the rise of Islam. All three of them shared the standard lifespan of incredible growth, expansion of wealth and resources, and then finally ending. All three of these empires starting from Ghana to Songhai chronology inherited the same trade routes and geopolitical and cultural traditions

He was so secure in his power and rule that he did not hesitate to leave his kingdom in the rule of another while he preformed his pilgrimage. Even while on his journey he managed to command a large group of travelers with “100 loads of gold” (p. 60) on an incredibly long walk to Mecca. Today, there aren’t any leaders who could boast about having the same command, or being able to affect the price of a precious metal like gold. During his stay in Egypt Al-Umari writes that Mansa Musa “left no court amir nor holder of a royal office without the gift of a load of gold. The Cairenes made incalculable profits out of him and his suite in buying and selling and giving and taking.” (p. 62) flooding the region with his gifts. However, Mansa Musa was also very generous to his people as Al-‘Umari documents that “The emirs and soldiers of the king have fiefs and benefices, Among their chiefs are some whose wealth derived from the king reaches 50,000 mithqals of gold every year.” (p.56) Al-Umari further goes on to say that the kings whole ambition is to give his people “fine clothes and to make his town into cities” (p. 56). Hence, Mansa Musa was very concerned with the development of his people and kingdom by distributing his wealth, establishing trade, and creating a progressive reputation about the kingdom of Mali to the

Mansa Musa ruled over Mali and Mali was a nation with fabulous wealth, during his rule he has built many monuments, mosques, and also schools all over his empire. He mostly famous from his 1324 pilgrimage and

Africa before 1500 ce was a time where many events happened that changed the civilization of Africa forever. Africa invented trades, cultures, traditions, and so many other things that affected Africa in many ways. There is a huge timeline that explains all the events that happen in Africa, what year they happen, and why they happen in the first place. Africa along with other certain continents had major events happened before 1500 ce. Since I chose Africa I will be explaining what was Africa before 1500 ce.