History, Government, and Economy of Ancient Ghana

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the origins, governance, economy, Islamic introduction, and decline of Ancient Ghana based on the lecture material.

Sonnikes

The wandering tribe that founded the Ancient Ghana empire in about $500\text{ A.D.}$

Dokuir

The original name of the Ghana Empire before it was renamed Ghana.

Ghana (Etymology)

A Sonnike word meaning 'the king.'

Geographical Boundaries of Ancient Ghana

Bounded in the west by the Atlantic Ocean, in the south by the forest region, in the east by the Mali state, and in the north by the Sahara Desert.

$$1050\text{ A.D.}$$

The approximate year by which Ancient Ghana reached the pinnacle of its power, fame, and glory due to fertile agricultural land and rich mineral resources.

Wangara

The location in Ancient Ghana where gold was mined.

Taghaza

A mining center situated at the edge of the Sahara Desert where salt was obtained.

Takkedi and Taodeni

Sites within the empire from which diamonds were extracted, in addition to Bambuk.

Al-Fazara

An Arab scholar who visited the Ghana Empire at the peak of its fame and recorded in his diary that it was simply 'the land of gold!'

Al-Hamadani

An Arab scholar who visited the empire about a century after Al-Fazara and described it as 'a land where gold grows like carrots__ and are plucked at sun-set.'

El-Idris

An Arab traveller who characterized the ruler of the empire as 'the wealthiest king on the surface of the earth.'

Ibn Hawkal

An Arab traveller who recorded seeing a debt warrant (cheque) in Awdaghost for $42{,}200\text{ dinars}$ (about $\text{N}200{,}000$ in modern money) owed by Mohammed Ali Said.

Trade by Barter in Ancient Ghana

The system through which Ghana exchanged minerals like gold, salt, diamond, and copper with North African Berbers for items such as guns, gunpowder, and war ammunition.

The Supreme King of Ghana

The supreme and divine ruler who possessed absolute political, religious, and economic authority, addressed subjects from behind a curtain or with a covered face, and dressed decorated like a woman surrounded by servants with golden shields.

Council of Chiefs

A body of prominent chiefs that advised the king without binding him to their decisions, resembling the 'Oyomesi' of the Oyo empire and the 'Uzama' of the Benin kingdom in structure and function.

Chief Justice

The head of the empire's judiciary who settled petty disputes and, along with lesser judges, provided legal counsel to the king.

Provincial Governors

Officials appointed to govern conquered states, assisted by the chiefs of defeated territories to collect taxes on the king's behalf and maintain law and order.

Imperial Armed Forces

The military establishment formed from the empire's youths and equipped with modern weapons to extend imperial borders and safeguard imperial unity.

Ghana's System of Government

The hierarchical monarchical administrative structure of Ancient Ghana, descending from the Supreme King to the Council of Chiefs, the Chief Justice, the Provincial Governors, and the Imperial Armed Forces.

Indigenous Religion of Ghana

The original religious system of the people of Ghana, characterized as worshipping a Supreme Being through lesser gods and goddesses.

Spread of Islam to North Africa

The historical expansion of Islam entering Egypt across the Red Sea in $641\text{ A.D.}$, reaching Tripoli in $708\text{ A.D.}$, and progressing across Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco before reaching West Africa in the eleventh century A.D.

Sanhajas

A desert tribe that established an empire based at Awdaghost by the 10th century A.D. and facilitated the spread of Islam to Tadmekket and Ancient Ghana.

Three Channels of Islamic Introduction

The three avenues by which Islam entered Ancient Ghana: the activities of the Sanhajas desert tribe, trans-Saharan trade with North African merchants, and the proselytization efforts of Arab scholars and travellers.

Tributary States of Ancient Ghana

Subject territories—including Kangaba, Kaniaga, Tekrur, and Diana—that relied on Ghana's king for protection and rendered yearly tributes in money, foodstuffs, and slaves.

Kangaba

A neighbouring tributary dependency of Ancient Ghana that ultimately replaced the empire after its decline.

Kaniaga

A tributary neighbouring state whose ruler was directly responsible for the collapse of the Ancient Ghana empire.