Geography
This desert acted as both a barrier and a highway for trade.
What is the Sahara Desert?
This religion spread into West Africa through traders and pilgrims.
What is Islam?
These two resources were the foundation of West African wealth.
What are gold and salt?
Known as the “Lion King,” this man, believed by his people to be a sorcerer, founded the Mali Empire.
Who was Sundiata Keita?
This empire, known for taxing Berbers as they entered and departed its borders, rose and fell before the rise of the Mali Empire.
What is the Ghana Empire?
This African river was vital for farming and settlement in Mali.
What is the Niger River?
This tradition of passing history and stories from generation to generation meant that West Africa had no reason to write its history down.
What is Oral Tradition?
These desert traders used camels to carry goods across the Sahara.
Who were the Berbers?
This ruler, remembered as one of the richest men in history, used his wealth to fund education and religion in Mali.
Who was Mansa Musa?
This Malian city attracted scholars, poets, and artists, and was famous for its libraries.
What is Timbuktu?
These seasonal winds helped traders cross the Indian Ocean.
What are the monsoon winds?
This Malian king introduced Islamic law and supported building mosques and libraries.
Who was Mansa Musa?
This Malian city became a hub for trade and Islamic learning.
What is Timbuktu?
These oral historians kept Mali’s stories and traditions alive.
Who were the griots?
These Arabic settlements grew rich from trading in the Indian Ocean, leading to the creation of a unique Arabic/African culture.
What are the East African City-States?
This savanna empire, located in West Africa along the Niger River, rose to prominence due to its access to plentiful gold mines.
What is Mali?
This Malian system tied a person’s job to their family group.
What is the system started by Sundiata?
This economic downturn happened to Cairo’s economy after Mansa Musa gave away large amounts of gold.
What is inflation (the value of gold went down)?
This Arabic scholar traveled for much of his life, documenting his visits to both West and East Africa.
Who is Ibn Battuta?
This city, the same where one can find the Great Pyramids, suffered during Mansa Musa's pilgrimage due to heavy inflation.
What is Cairo?
This ocean lies between East Africa and India, and was traversed in dhows by traders traveling between those two regions.
What is the Indian Ocean?
Better known for the language whose name it shares, this culture, blended together on Africa’s eastern coast, was a combination of African and Arabic traditions.
What is Swahili?
These animals, indigenous to Africa and Asia, made Trans-Saharan trade possible by carrying heavy loads across the desert.
What are camels?
This holy city, a required visit for any able Muslim, was Mansa Musa's final destination during his pilgrimage.
What is Mecca?