Geography
a desert that covers most of Northern Africa
Sahara
ancient sub-Saharan West African empire strategically located between two rivers; rulers converted to Islam; famous for trade salt coming from the north and gold coming from the south; inhabited by the Soninke people who taxed gold traders and became very wealthy until the thirteenth century; followed by Mali and Songhai empires
Ghana
What famous city is located near the Niger River?
Timbuktu
Greatest Mali Mansa "ruler"; 25 year reign; made pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324; gave away gold and deflated its value for several years
Musa
the largest family group in Africa; included everyone who could trace his ancestry to a common relative and lived under the authority of the clan leader or chief and later formed African states and kingdoms
clan
flat grasslands in Africa
savannah
ancient sub-Saharan West African empire that conquered Mali; founded by Sunni Ali; and collapsed in 1591 by Moroccan forces with muzzle loading firearms
Songhai
means "great house of stone"; city-state named for its massive stone buildings that grew into a great empire; wealth from cattle, gold, ivory, slaves'; near Sabi River on the Zimbabwe Plateau
Zimbabwe
legend says this person was the son of King Solomon & Queen Sheba; all Ethiopian rulers are descended from Menelik "the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah"
Menelik
two or more African clans living together and sharing a common language, beliefs, and customs and later formed African states and kingdoms
tribe
a narrow strip of land in Africa between the Sahara Desert and the rain forests
Sahel
ancient sub-Saharan West African empire that absorbed the territory of Ghana probably with their strong army; rulers converted to Islam and one in particular made the pilgrimage to Mecca giving away so much gold on the way that he reduced the value of it for years
Mali
What city became the coastal port for the empire of Zimbabwe?
Kilwa
a slave in the Empire of Aksum who rose in favor of King Ezana and introduced Coptic Christianity to the region; later became the head of the Ethiopian church
Frumentius
African clan that believed in one god, Ngai; descendants live in modern Kenya
Kikuyu
A Christian kingdom in the highlands of eastern Africa; formerly the Kingdom of Aksum but the Greeks gave it this name
Ethiopia
Kingdom on the Nile River between Ethiopia and Egypt
Kush
a Coptic holy city in Ethiopia that contains churches carved out of a solid rock below ground level
Lalibela
Ethiopian king who became a Coptic Christian
King Ezana
belief that ancestor spirits live in physical objects like trees, rocks, rivers, mountains, or just in the air
animism
a name of Western Africa given by Europeans that derives from the gold trade that occurred at its coasts
Gold Coast
How did Ghana grow into an empire?
Trade
What led to the decline of Timbuktu?
Warfare disrupted trade and wealth
Ethiopian legend states that Menelik was the offspring of who?
King Solomon
cotton cloth, gold, iron (forged into tools and also used as money) which area in Africa?
West African trading items