WHAG A Unit 1 Vocab

Lineage

the people—living, dead, or unborn— who are descended from a common ancestor

Patrilineal

relating to a social system in which family descent and inheritance rights are traced through the family of the father

Matrilineal

relating to a social system in which family descent and inheritance rights are traced through the mother

Stateless Societies

cultural groups in which authority is shared by lineages of equal power instead of being exercised by a central government

Maghrib

a region of western North Africa consisting of the Mediterranean coast lands of what is now Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria

Almoravids

an Islamic religious brotherhood that established an empire in North Africa and southern Spain in the 11th century A.D.

Almohads

a group of Islamic reformers who overthrew the Almoravids’ dynasty and established an empire in North Africa and southern Spain in the 12th century A.D.

Ghana

West African kingdom that grew rich from taxing and controlling trade and established an empire

Mali

West African empire that flourished from 1235 to the 1400s and grew rich from trade

Sundiata

Mali’s first great leader who came to power by crushing a cruel and unpopular ruler

Mansa Musa

the most famous of the African Muslim rulers

Ibn Battuta

a traveler and historian who visited most of the countries in the Islamic world

Songhai

West African empire that conquered Mali and controlled trade from 1400s - 1591

Hausa

West African people who lived in several city-states in what is now northern Nigeria

Yoruba

West African people who formed several kingdoms in what is now Benin and southern Nigeria

Benin

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

Swahili

an Arabic-influenced Bantu language that is spoken widely in eastern and central Africa

Great Zimbabwe

a great city built by the Shona people, which grew into an empire

Mutapa

relating to a southern African empire established by Mutota in the 1500s