African Empires

Migration

Permanent or Semipermanent move from one country/region to another

Push-pull factors

Factors that can either push people out of an area of pull people into an area

Bantu

A language that spread because of Migration

Sahara

Desert spanning across North Africa

Savannah

Southern part of Africa- Woodland, Grassland ecosystem

Ezana

King of Axum in the early fourth century CE who established Christianity in his state.

Aksum

A kingdom along the Red Sea today known as Ethiopia and Eritrea which grew wealthy from trade

Adulis

Port city in Aksum that included many diverse trading partners

Terraces

steplike ledges cut into mountains to make land suitable for farming

Maghrib

Muslims entered this part of North Africa that is now the Mediterranean coast of Libya,

Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco.

Ghana Empire

The Soninke people called their ruler "ghana" which means war chief, and eventually Ghana became a kingdom that grew rich by taxing goods brought in.

Mansa Musa

Mali's most famous ruler, known for his legendary wealth and pilgrimage to Mecca, where he distributed so much gold that he caused inflation in Egypt. - HUGE army - doubled Mali's size

Sunni Ali

Ruler of Songhai Empire- built a vast empire through military conquest, captured Timbuktu and other trading cities.

Benin

a kingdom that arose near the Niger River delta in the 1300s and became a major West African state in the 1400s

Almoravids

A strict religious brotherhood founded by an Islamic scholar that devout Berber Muslims convinced to come back to the Maghrib with them.

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

Timbuktu

Mali trading city that became a center of wealth and learning

Askia Muhammad

Ruler of the Songhai empire from 1493 to 1528 who expanded the empire and organized its government

Almohads

A Berber group that seized power from the Almoravids and followed the teachings of a scholar who urged Muslims to strictly follow the Qu'ran.

Mali

A powerful empire (1235-1600s) that controlled trade and became a center of Islamic learning

Ibn Battuta

A Moroccan scholar and traveler who visited Mali in the 14th century and wrote about its justice system and wealth.

Hausa

A group of city-states in modern Nigeria, known for their trade, textile industry, and strong leaders

Berbers

A member of a North African, primarily Muslim people living in settled or nomadic tribes from Morocco to Egypt

Sundiata

Founder of the Mali Empire, known for military conquests and effective governance

Songhai

A powerful empire that took over after Mali's decline, expanding trade and military strength

Yoruba

A civilization known for its artistic achievements, spiritual traditions, and structured city-states

Swahili

A language that blended Arabic and Bantu together

Kilwa

A rich city-state where trade goods were transported here for Asian merchants to exchange. The most wealthiest, powerful coastal city-state.

Mutapa

Relating to a southern African empire established by Mutota in the 15th century A.D.

Great Zimbabwe

City, now in ruins (in the modern African country of Zimbabwe), whose many stone structures were built between about 1250 and 1450, when it was a trading center and the capital of a large state. Political, religious, and economic center of the empire