Africa Africa is a land of great wealth natural resources bounty o Gold Rubber salt agricultural bounty Great Kings dominated African Society o Priests emerged in African Religion The Spirit World instead of classic heaven and hell outlook Saw spirits in everything known as animism Slavery was practiced o Slaves were criminals spoils of war if you had to pay a debt o The treatment of slaves wasn t bad in Africa they were treated almost like family Ethiopia o Was a great African Kingdom Centralized powerful society When Egypt collapsed Ethiopia rose to power After the reign of Zara Yakab Ethiopia started declining The arrival of the Europeans in Africa Ethiopia would be further destabilized Kingdoms in Sudan grew o Kingdom of Ghana Rose to power in the 800 s Emerged as a traditional African kingdom society Worshipped the traditional African spirits and gods Emerged along the Niger River started as a cluster of villages Capital is Qumbi a federation of allies under the ruler Ghana The kingdom was in the center of the Trans Saharan trade route so he became very wealthy by regulating trade He appointed local chieftains in conquered areas which gave the leader Ghana power over these territories Ghana was very successful because of advanced military technology they used Iron Almoravids o An Islamic group o Focused on uniting Islamic community o Very aggressive and expansive o When they arrived in Ghana there was a split in welcoming Islam and denying it Kingdom of Mali o One of the main goals is to take control of trade o Sundiata wanted to take control of the gold producing regions Gold can be used for trade which gave them contacts with other groups o Mansa Musa was the greatest of the Mali rulers Timbuktu is one of the most important cities in Mali Created an effective tax system He gave to the poor gave lots of gold to the poor He gave so much gold in Cairo that he disrupted the economy for almost a generation So rich he basically made Bill Gates look homeless Kingdom of Songhay o Last of the great kingdoms in Sudan o Around 1375 AD o Incorporated into the kingdom of Mali rebelled and overthrew Mali o The greatest of the rulers of Songhay is Sunni Ali died 1492 and Muhammad al Toure o As a Muslim dynasty were very open to other Muslim traders Arabic merchants scholars traders etc o Built up cities which were centers of learning and culture o Sunni Ali was a great military leader conqueror reformed the military so there a more efficient chain of command and large navy o Sunni Ali was a Muslim was respectful of native traditions there were natives who were not Muslims in his government administration Had lots of respect for native culture religion o Muhammad al Toure succeeded Sunni Ali continued expansion and conquest expansion of civil government built upon whatever Sunni Ali did HOWEVER Muhammad was a much more dedicated Muslim He changed the tolerance policies of Sunni Ali and made the government Muslim only The government under Muhammad was Arabic Muslim only