Middle Ages of Africa Vocabulary

Mohammed

570-632. Born in Mecca, died in Medina. Founder of Islam. Regarded by Muslims as a prophet of God. Teachings make up the Qu'ran, the Muslim holy book.

Muslim

a follower of the religion of Islam

Quran

The holy book of Islam

Mosque

A Muslim (Islamic) place of worship

Five Pillars of Islam

true Muslims were expected to follow (principle of Salvation): belief in Allah, pray 5 times a day, giving of alms, fasting during Ramadan, pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime

Caliph

successor to Muhammad as political and religious leader of the Muslims

Jihad

A holy struggle or striving by a Muslim for a moral or spiritual or political goal

Sunni

a Muslim group that accepts only the descendants of the Umayyads as the true rulers of Islam

Shia

the branch of Islam whose members acknowledge Ali and his descendants as the rightful successors of Muhammad

Sunnah (Islam)

A collection of writings about the way Muhammad lived that provides a model for Muslims to follow

Mecca

the holiest city of Islam; Muhammad's birthplace

Medina

City in western Arabia to which the Prophet Muhammad and his followers emigrated in 622 to escape persecution in Mecca.

Tolerance

acceptance

Ghana

First known kingdom in sub-Saharan West Africa between the sixth and thirteenth centuries C.E. Also the modern West African country once known as the Gold Coast. gold and salt trade.

Mali

The kingdom in West Africa that followed the Kingdom of Ghana; its wealth is also based on trans-Saharan trade; this kingdom encouraged the spread of Islam.

Songhai

a West African empire that conquered Mali and controlled trade from the 1400s to 1591

Animism

The belief that bodies of water, animals, trees, and other natural objects have spirits

silent barter

a process in which people exchange goods without ever contacting each other directly

Gold-Salt Trade

Gold and salt made up trade and wealth in the African kingdoms because the Europeans wanted gold, and the Africans needed salt

Griots

Professional oral historians who served as keepers of traditions and advisors to kings within the Mali Empire

oral history

accounts of the past that people pass down by word of mouth

extended family

household made up of several generations of family members

Inflation

a general increase in prices while the value of that same money decreases.

Silk Road

An ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean Sea extending some 6,440 km (4,000 mi) and linking China with the Roman Empire. Marco Polo followed the route on his journey to Cathay.

Mansa Musa

Emperor of the kingdom of Mali in Africa. He made a famous pilgrimage to Mecca and established trade routes to the Middle East.

Sunni Ali

First great ruler of Songhai, who established the empire