African American Studies unit 1 part 1 vocab

African American Studies

an interdisciplinary approach with the rigor of scholarly inquiry to analyze the history, culture, and contributions of people of African descent in the United States and throughout the African diaspora

African Diaspora

the dispersion of a people from their homeland applied to african this term usually describes the mass movement of african americans during trade.

Sahara

a vast desert in North Africa, known for its extreme climate and significant historical and cultural importance to the African continent.

Semiarid/Sahel

A dry grassland region south of the Sahara that served as a transition zone and important trade area.

Tropical Rainforests

Hot, wet regions with dense forests, especially in Central and West Africa.

Mediterranean Zone

 Northern African region with a climate similar to the Mediterranean, supporting agriculture and settlement.

Atlantic Ocean

Ocean west of Africa that later became central to the Atlantic slave trade and African Diaspora.

Indian Ocean

Ocean east of Africa that connected East Africa to Arabia, India, and Asia through trade.

Niger River

Major West African river that supported agriculture, transportation, and powerful empires such as Mali and Songhai.

Congo River

 Major Central African river that provided transportation, resources, and supported 

Zambezi River

Major southeastern African river important for agriculture, transportation, and trade.

orange river

Major river in southern Africa that flows westward into the Atlantic Ocean.

Nile River

Major northeastern African river that supported the development of ancient Egypt through farming and transportation.

Bantu Expansion

a series of migrations throughout the continent, from 1500 BCE to 500 CE

Xhosa

A bantu speaking country south of africa

Swahili

A bantu speaking country that lies east of africa

Kikongo

A bantu speaking country that is in the area of angeola

Zulu

A bantu speaking country that is in South Africa

Egypt

• One of the earliest civilization in africa, located on the nile river

Dynasties

A bloodline of rulers; hereditary succession

Hieroglyphics

The writing system of ancient Egypt that used symbols and pictures.

Mummification

Allowed for the preservation of bodies (not just royalty could afford it).

Polytheistic

A belief in many God’s

Patriarchal

Tracing family ancestry or heritage through the fathers bloodline.

Nubia/Kush

• South of egypt, along the Nile (Kush is now Sudan)

• Nubia was the source of Egypt’s gold and luxury trade items, which

created conflict between the two societies.

Black Pharaohs

The Kushite rulers of Egypt during the 25th Dynasty, who were from Nubia/Kush.

Meroë

A major capital of the Kingdom of Kush, known for ironworking, trade, and its pyramids.

Aksum

• Emerged in Eastern africa around 100 CE, present day ethopia

• Connected to the red sea

• Developed its own currency and script Ge’ez, Took over Kush in the 4th century CE

• minted its own coins

Nok

An ancient culture in present-day Nigeria, famous for its distinctive terracotta sculptures and early ironworking.

• Known as a complex society (advanced in technology)

Semitic languages

Spoke semitic languages from the arabian peninsula including:

• Arabic, Amharic, Hebrew, Tigrinya, Aramaic, and Maltese

King Ezana

• Aksum ruler in who adopted christianity under his power (became monotheistic)

• On the Ge’ez coin

Ge’ez

• Ge’ez, its script, is still used as the main liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

• An ancient Semitic language that became the classical language of Ethiopia and remains important in Ethiopian and Eritrean religious traditions.

Sudanic Empires

The Sudanic empires, also known as the Sahelian empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.

• located in West africa

• Became wealthy through trans-Saharan trade, especially in gold and salt.

• Connecting trade from the Sahara (toward Europe) to sub-Saharan Africa.

Ghana

• Controlled southern trade routes

• Asian camels

• Adopted Islam and had established a large army.

• Suffered ecomic decline.

Mali

• Emerged power around 1230, under the reign of sundiata mali rose in economic and military power

• after Sundiata defeated Ghana he created the empire of mail

• Most important city was timbuktu

Songhai

• Emerged after the decline of ali in the 15th century

• Great traders and warriors, captured Timbuktu

• Songhai was the last and the largest of the Sudanic empires.

• Following Portuguese exploration along the western coast of Africa, trade routes shifted from trans-Saharan to Atlantic trade, diminishing Songhai’s wealth.

Trans-Saharan trade

Trans-Saharan trade was crucial to the development of empires

▪ Trading Centers provided meeting places

Sundiata Keita

• Under his empire the military and economy rose

• Converted people to islamic

• Defeated Ghana.

Timbuktu

• A major hub for trade in gold, the enslaved, and salt

• First african american university

• leading centers of islamic learning

Sankore Mosque

First African university in mali

Mansa Musa

• Mail’s ruler in the 14th century was every wealthy (considered richest person in the world) from gold and salt mines

• Known for his trip to Mecca

• Under musa the mali empire reached its greatest size

Sunni Ali

The leader of Songhai, founded the lagrest West Sudanese empire

Askia Muhammad Toure

• Led a revolt to make himself king, and spread the influence of Islam

• during pilgrimage he recruited scholars

Hajj

Pilgrimage to mecca

Savannah Grasslands

• Tropical grasslands with seasonal rainfall that supported farming, herding, and large African societies.

Patriarchal

A social system in which men generally hold greater authority and power in the family or society.