Chapter 19 - States and Societies of Sub-Saharan Africa

First domesticated in southeast Asia, this food provided a nutritious supplement to Bantu diets and allowed the Bantu to expand into forested regions.

a. potatoes

b. pineapples

c. wheat

d. bananas

e. yams

d. bananas

Who made a famous pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324-1325?

a. Ibn Battuta

b. Zanj

c. Koumbi-Saleh

d. Sundiata

e. Mansa Musa

e. Mansa Musa

By the tenth century C.E., the kings of Ghana had converted to

a. Judaism.

b. Christianity.

c. Buddhism.

d. Manichaeism.

e. Islam.

e. Islam.

"Swahili" is an Arabic term meaning

a. "subjects of god."

b. "servants of the one god."

c. "adventurous seafarers."

d. "coasters."

e. "possessors of god."

d. "coasters."

The Swahili city-state of Kilwa was ferociously sacked in 1505 by the

a. British.

b. Ottoman Turks.

c. Mongols.

d. French.

e. Portuguese.

e. Portuguese.

A Bantu village ruling council was made up of

a. a matriarchal hierarchy.

b. the male heads of families.

c. the land-owning aristocracy.

d. villagers wealthy enough to qualify for citizenship.

e. shamanistic elite.

b. the male heads of families.

In regard to political structure, the early Bantu societies

a. developed an elaborate hierarchy of officials.

b. depended on a strong, centralized kingship.

c. governed themselves mostly through family and kinship groups.

d. were governed by a centralized, theocratic structure.

e. were influenced by their trading contacts with Rome.

c. governed themselves mostly through family and kinship groups.

One of the central factors in the establishment of trans-Saharan trade was

a. the invention of lighter, but still powerful, artillery.

b. the domestication of the camel.

c. the spread of a common religion.

d. the use of large caravans of donkeys.

e. the invention of a wider horseshoe.

b. the domestication of the camel.

Ibn Battuta

a. wrote the Sundiata.

b. was an Islamic merchant who converted many Africans.

c. founded the Mali Empire.

d. was a Moroccan jurist who traveled throughout Africa.

e. was the powerful Islamic official who dominated trade in the Indian Ocean.

d. was a Moroccan jurist who traveled throughout Africa.

Axum was

a. the founder of the Ghana state.

b. a Christian kingdom in Ethiopia.

c. the capital of the Swahili city-states.

d. the great creator god of most sub-Saharan religions.

e. a Swahili slave.

b. a Christian kingdom in Ethiopia.

The capital of Zimbabwe was

a. Niani.

b. Great Zimbabwe.

c. Koumbi-Saleh.

d. Kilwa.

e. Gao.

b. Great Zimbabwe.

Most sub-Saharan African religions

a. believed in a powerful creator god, who took a very active role in everyday human affairs.

b. was influenced by Zoroastrian thought.

c. believed in a main powerful female fertility goddess.

d. developed an elaborate theology.

e. centered on the practical business of explaining and predicting the experiences of individuals.

e. centered on the practical business of explaining and predicting the experiences of individuals. (?)

The legendary founder of the kingdom of Mali was

a. Niani.

b. Sundiata.

c. Al-Bakri.

d. Mansa Musa.

e. Great Zimbabwe.

b. Sundiata.

Gao was an important trading center

a. on the east African coast.

b. in northern China.

c. in central Asia.

d. in southeast Asia.

e. in the Sahara Desert.

e. in the Sahara Desert.

By the middle of the first millennium B.C.E., the Bantu had begun to produce

a. steel.

b. iron.

c. tin.

d. bronze.

e. copper.

b. iron.

The most powerful state in west Africa at the time of the arrival of Islam was

a. Kush.

b. Ghana.

c. Kongo.

d. Swahili.

e. Axum.

b. Ghana.

By 1000, most parts of Africa south of the equator had been settled by people speaking what language?

a. Mali

b. Kongo

c. Swahili

d. Indo-European

e. Bantu

e. Bantu

In relation to spreading their language across a huge stretch of Africa, the Bantu played a role similar to that played by the

a. Indo-Europeans.

b. Xiongnu.

c. Visigoths.

d. Mongols.

e. Franks.

a. Indo-Europeans.

The capital of the kingdom of Ghana, a major trading center, was

a. Jenne.

b. Timbuktu.

c. Gao.

d. Koumbi-Saleh.

e. Alexandria.

d. Koumbi-Saleh.

Christian churches, carved from solid rock, are an example of the influence of

a. Neolithic architectural design.

b. trade connections with India.

c. Muslim conquest.

d. contacts with Greek Orthodox missionaries.

e. pre-Christian values.

e. pre-Christian values.

In regard to gender issues in sub-Saharan Africa,

a. women played the dominant role in society.

b. the position of women was essentially the same as in other societies of the time.

c. women had no opportunities and suffered more than their counterparts elsewhere.

d. women played a strictly subservient role.

e. women had more opportunities open to them than did their counterparts in other societies.

e. women had more opportunities open to them than did their counterparts in other societies.

The great epic story of Mali is known as

a. the Sundiata.

b. the Legend of the Lion of Mali.

c. the Mansa Musa.

d. the Adventures of the Lion .

e. the King 's Journey.

a. the Sundiata.

The most powerful kingdom in central Africa was

a. Zimbabwe.

b. Kush.

c. Ghana

d. Mali.

e. Mogadishu.

a. Zimbabwe.

Mali became the wealthiest kingdom in sub-Saharan Africa because of

a. its control of the spice trade.

b. its domination of the oasis towns.

c. its technological leadership.

d. its control of the gold trade.

e. its alliance with Spain.

d. its control of the gold trade.

Since there was no concept of private ownership of land in sub-Saharan Africa,

a. the land was owned by the church.

b. all land was owned by the chief.

c. all members of the tribe lived in complete social equality.

d. social differentiation was based entirely on physical strength and military prowess.

e. slave ownership formed an important aspect of determining personal wealth.

e. slave ownership formed an important aspect of determining personal wealth.

Ethiopian Christianity

a. was much closer to certain Islamic beliefs than to Roman Catholicism.

b. was almost entirely African in nature.

c. was influenced much more profoundly by the Greek Orthodox Church.

d. was identical to Roman Catholicism.

e. retained both traditional African and Christian beliefs.

e. retained both traditional African and Christian beliefs.

The Swahili city-states

a. became the dominant political force in west Africa after the collapse of the Mali kingdom.

b. succeeded in uniting Africa for the first time.

c. strongly maintained their Christian roots.

d. spread Islam throughout Africa.

e. dominated trade along the east African coast.

e. dominated trade along the east African coast.

Which one of the following factors was not one of the foundations of Mali's power?

a. a vibrant religious inspiration caused by the king's conversion to Christianity

b. control over trans-Saharan trade

c. a series of powerful kings

c. use of Arabian scholars and bureaucrats

d. a strong cavalry

a. a vibrant religious inspiration caused by the king's conversion to Christianity

The conversion to Islam by east African merchants and princes did all of the following except

a. allow for the formation of alliance with other Islamic princes.

b. completely eliminate the animistic religions.

c. allow for greater cooperation with other Islamic merchants.

d. give a greater sense of legitimacy for east African princes.

e. allow for greater trade.

b. completely eliminate the animistic religions.

Historians estimate that between 750 and 1500 C.E., the number of slaves transported north as part of the trans-Saharan slave was

a. 10 million.

b. 2 million.

c. 50 million.

d. 500,000.

e. 30 million.

a. 10 million.

Mali would reach its peak during the reign of

a. Al-Bakri.

b. Mansa Musa.

c. Chaghatai.

d. Ibn Battuta

e. Sundiata.

b. Mansa Musa.

Just as the kingdoms of west Africa depended on trans-Saharan trade, the kingdoms of east Africa depended on

a. south African trade.

b. trans-Atlantic trade.

c. Egyptian trade.

d. Persian Gulf trade.

e. Indian Ocean trade.

e. Indian Ocean trade.

The most tightly centralized of the fourteenth-century Bantu kingdoms was

a. Axum.

b. Songhay.

c. Kongo.

d. Kush.

e. Swahili.

c. Kongo.

The introduction of a new food crop about 400 C.E. encouraged a fresh migratory surge in Africa. What was the crop?

a. bananas

b. beans

c. corn

d. potatoes

e. wheat

a. bananas

Griots were

a. singers and storytellers.

b. tribal shamans.

c. the legendary kings of Mali.

d. Swahili slave traders.

e. aqueducts that were essential for life in the oasis towns of the Sahara.

a. singers and storytellers.