Ch18

age grades

Bantu institution in which individuals of roughly the same age carried out communal tasks appropriate for that age.

Al Bakri

a spanish muslim traveler who described Koumri Saleh, the thriving commercial center, as a flourishing site with buildings of stone and more than a dozen mosques.

Abi bin Muhammas

rebel slave who organized about 15,000 Zanj slaves into an immense force that captured Bansra, the Mesopotamian capital and the rebellion lasted 10 years.

Axum

African kingdom centered in Ethiopia that became an early and lasting center of Coptic Christianity.

bananas

fruit first domesticated in southeast Asia but made its way to africa and was significant 

Bantu

African peoples who originally lived in the area of present day Nigeria; around 2000 B.C.E. they began a centuries-long migration that took them to most of sub-Saharan Africa; very influential, especially linguistically.

Kingdoms of Ife and Benin

local sub-saharan African kingdoms that emerged after 1000 CE in forested regions. Both realms were city-states in which the court and urban residents controlled the surrounding countryside through family relationships and political alliances.

camels

animals that came to north africa by way of Egypt and Sudan and quickened the pace of communication

gold trade

 centered in Ghana, this trade was in high demand because of economic development and surging trade throughout the eastern hemisphere. The resources likely came fom Niger, Gambia, and Senegal rivers.

Great Zimbabwe

 Large sub-Saharan African kingdom in the fifteenth century that arose near Nyanda in modern Zimbabwe. Within stone walls the city was made of stone towers, palaces, and public buildings.  Had up to 18,000 people in the stone complex at one time. 

griots

Professional singers, historians, and story-tellers in sub-Saharan Africa.

Jenne-jeno

 Settlement in the middle Niger River region in Africa that flourished from the 4th to the 8th centuries C.E. Known for iron production. Principal commercial crossroads of West Africa. Left a legacy of urban development and inspired the foundation of Timbuktu and other cities

Islamic slave trade

between 750 and 1500 CE when the number of African slaves transported to foreign lands may have exceeded ten million. Served as the foundation for the atlantic slave trade

Kebra Negast

 African fictional work that undertook to trace the lineage of Israelite Kings and became popular among Rastafarians and devotees or reggae music in ethiopia, Jamaica, and other lands. 

Kilwa

one of the busiest city-states on the east african coast. Had early Bantu inhabitants who relied mostly on fishing and engaged in limited trade. 

kin-based societies

 prominent in africa , societies based on foundation of family and clan groups

kingdom of Ghana

 principal state of west Africa at the time of the Muslim’s arrival, situated between Senegal and Niger rivers in a region straddling Mali and Mauritania. Legend says it had 22 kings before Muhammad even embarked on the hijra.

kingdom of Kongo

Central African State that began trading with the Portuguese around 1500; although their kings, such as King Affonso I (r. 1506- 1543), converted to Christianity, they nevertheless suffered from the slave trade. Embraced the Republic of Congo and Angola.

Koumbi-Saleh

 Important trading city along the trans-Saharan trade route from the eleventh to the thirteenth century.

Mali empire

West African kingdom founded in the thirteenth century by Sundiata; it reached its peak during the reign of Mansa Musa.

Mansa Musa

 Sundiata's grand-nephew who ruled Mali from 1312 to 1337 during the highpoint of the empire and observed the islamic tradition by making the pilgrimage to Mecca. Bestowed lavish gifts on those who hosted him so much so that he declined the value of gold when he visited Cairo

Sundiata

Founder of the Mali empire (r. 1230- 1255), also the inspiration and name of an African literary and mythological work.

Swahili

East African city state society that dominated the coast from Mogadishu to Kilwa and was active in trade. Also a Bantu language of East Africa, or a member of a group who speaks this language. “coasters”

trans-saharan trade

 what Ghana was integrated into and brought it enormous wealth and considerable power especially the thriving commercial center of Koumbi-Saleh

Zimbabwe

Former colony of Southern Rhodesia that gained independence in 1980. “Dwelling of a chief”

Zanj revolt

a 14 year uprising of the slave trade that throws light on the nature of African slavery in Muslim lands, the first word refers to black slaves on the Swahili coast who labored under extremely difficult conditions in southern mesopotamia on sugarcane plantations. The revolts were snuffed by muslim authorities but they once captured the Mesopotamian capital of Basra.