Chapter 3 Transition in Sub-Saharan Africa Vocabulary

Flashcards covering key vocabulary terms, locations, rulers, and empires from Chapter 3: Transition in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Sahara

Vast desert, in fact the world's largest desert, located in the Northern part of Africa.

Savannah

Flat grasslands in the central part of Africa where many grain crops are raised.

Sahel

A narrow strip of land that lies between the Sahara and the Savannah.

Livestock

Animals including sheep, goats, and cattle, which were seen as a sign of wealth in Africa and were seldom killed.

Ironworking

The forming of iron ore into tools, which may have actually developed in Africa before the Middle East or Europe.

Extended Family

An important element of traditional African Culture including parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, responsible for guidance, teaching of manners, and beliefs.

Clan

A group of people who could trace their ancestry back to a common relative.

Tribe

2 or more clans that share the same language, beliefs, and customs.

Kikuyu

An African clan who believed in and worshipped only one God, Ngai.

Animism

The belief that spirits lived in trees, rocks, rivers, mountains, and air, which had the power to affect a person's life and were prayed to for blessings.

Ethiopia

The name that the Greeks gave to Aksum, and all of the territory below it.

Menelik

Per the legend, the child of Queen Sheba and King Solomon, of whom all Ethiopian rulers are descendants.

Frumentius

A slave who introduced Coptic Christianity to Ethiopia.

King Ezana

Ethiopian king who converted to Coptic Christianity.

Laibela

A city with unique Coptic churches carved into bedrock below ground level.

Ghana

1st Empire of West Africa that traded both salt and gold with Muslims, leading many people to convert to Islam.

Mali

2nd Empire of West Africa whose rulers converted to Islam, including Mansa Musa.

Songhai

3rd Empire of West Africa, which lay further to the East and included the Niger River and Timbuktu.

Mansa

Means 'ruler' and refers to the rulers of Mali.

Musa

The most well-known Mansa, who converted to Islam and famously made a pilgrimage to Mecca displaying the wealth of Mali.

Timbuktu

Leading city of both Mali and Songhai Empires, which collapsed in 1591 when overrun by Moroccan forces.

Camels

Known as 'Ships of the Dessert', they store energy rich fat in their humps and water in body fluids, can go 5 to 7 days without water losing up to 30% of body water, and withstand desert windstorms and extreme temperatures.

Gold Coast

Name given to western Africa by Europeans because of vast amounts of gold found there.

Caravans

Groups of traders who traveled across the Sahara from oasis to oasis, usually with the aid of camels.

Swahili

A common trade language that developed in Southeast Africa that was built upon the Bantu language.

Zimbabwe

Great city that was established on the Zimbabwe Plateau near the Sabi River, meaning 'house of great stone'.

Kilwa

Key port city through which Zimbabwe's gold was transported north.