Name __________________________#___________ Date __________
Early and Medieval African Kingdoms
Know about the early African kingdoms:
Kush, in a region called Nubia, was once ruled by Egypt and then became rulers of Egypt
Aksum, a trading kingdom in what is now Ethiopia
Know about the Medieval Kingdoms of the Sudan:
Ghana: iron and gold were plentiful here as was salt for the mines in the north.
Timbuktu was a center of trade and learning.
Mali: became a dominant power after the fall of Ghana
controlled the gold and salt trade routes.
Sogolon Kedjou, also known as Sundiata, the Lion King, was a warrior king who united a
weak and scattered people, and reunited the kingdom bringing a period of peace and prosperity.
Mansa Musa was a ruler of Mali, he was a devout Muslim, and he took a great pilgrimage
to Mecca that made him famous.
Songhai: became a dominant power after Mali
Askia Muhammad ruled this kingdom after a military revolt
Some of what we know of these ancient African kingdoms is due in part to Ibn Battuta, a world traveler and
historian.
Camel caravans were used to transport gold, iron, salt, ivory, and slaves across the desert.
Through merchants and travelers, Islam also spread across the desert.
Muslims are people who follow the teachings of Muhammad and the Laws of Islam. They earn their way to heaven through good works and by obeying the Five Pillars of Islam.
The Five Pillars of Islam include reciting the creed (there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his
messenger), praying 5 times each day while bowing toward the city of Mecca, giving alms (money) to the poor, fasting (especially during the month of Ramadan), and by making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life.
Muslims do not know if they will make it to heaven until the day they stand before Allah and he
weighs their good deeds against their bad deeds. The only exception to this is if the person dies as a martyr during an Islamic Holy War or jihad.
The contrasting climates of the different regions of Africa including:
deserts, tropical rain forests, savanna, and the region of the Sudan below the Sahara.
The slave trade, which began with captives of war, prisoners, and criminals, but expanded to non-Muslims and those captured in raiding parties.
Slavery was justified by Europeans using religious arguments.
Africa is the second largest continent of the world and is surround almost completely on all 4 sides by
water.