African Empires Dbq

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.

One way to recognize a thriving kingdom is to look at its trade and economy. Africa’s empires had a trade system that allowed their economy to flourish. “Ancient Ghana was an extremely complex empire. It possessed many of the characteristics of powerful nations today...wealth based off trade” (Document 3). The trade system relied on key trading centers, such as Aksum (present-day Ethiopia), “Aksum reached its height between 325 and 360” (Doc 1). Aksum was valuable due to its location, which was near the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea. Cooperation played a major role in the trade, as all the empires needed goods and wealth. A good example is Ghana, “The Arab traders of

Each person had a job that helped their city. There were many unique roles, “Here there are many doctors, judges, priests” (Doc 5). Some people were wealthier than others,”There was no person, no officer of court, or holder of any office of the Sultanate who did not receive a sum of gold from him” (Doc 4). but everyone had their role that contributed to the empire. The kings led the empires, the doctors kept people healthy, the judges maintained order, the traders helped the economy and so on. Without these roles, there would have been anarchy and chaos. Structure kept each empire together, because without it, the society would have broken down. They would’ve had to have been advanced enough to form a system and keep people in line. If everyone knew what role they had to play, it would have made it a lot easier for the