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GWH EA VA WHI.10d Student Activity
Standard WHI.10d
The student will demonstrate knowledge of civilizations and empires of the Eastern
Hemisphere and their interactions through regional trade patterns by
d) describing east African kingdoms of Axum and Zimbabwe and west African
civilizations of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai in terms of geography, society,
economy, and religion.
Essential Skills
Identify major geographic features important to the study of world history.
(WHI.1c)
Identify and compare political boundaries with the location of civilizations, empires,
and kingdoms. (WHI.1d)
Analyze the impact of economic forces, including taxation, government spending,
trade, resources, and monetary systems on events. (WHI.1f)
Comparing the East African Kingdoms of Axum and Zimbabwe
Background
East Africa featured many states whose communities were based on subsistence
farming, which means growing crops for personal use, not for sale. Following the rise
of Islam, the eastern coast of Africa became an important part of the trading
network along the Indian Ocean.
Axum’s culture combined Arab and African traditions. In about A.D. 330, King Ezānā
converted to Christianity and made it the official religion of the state. In much of
North Africa, the Arabs were in control, however. Arabs had taken control of Egypt in
641, and soon they controlled the entire North African coast. Muslim trading routes
were established along the coast near Axum.
In the southern half of the African continent, most people in the region lived in
stateless societies—groups of independent villages led by a local ruler. Beginning in
the eleventh century, some of the villages gradually united. From about 1300 to
1450, Zimbabwe was the wealthiest and most powerful state in the region. It
prospered from the gold trade.
Activity
Go to the graphic organizer Comparing East African Kingdoms. Fill in the graphic
organizer identifying geographic, cultural, and economic attributes for both Axum
and Zimbabwe. It may be helpful to review Chapter 7, Sections 1 and 2 of Glencoe
World History: Early Ages.
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GWH EA VA WHI.10d Student Activity
Comparing East African Kingdoms
Kingdom
Geography
Culture
Economy
Axum
Zimbabwe
Critical Thinking
Analyzing Relationships Remembering what you know about West African
kingdoms, what aspects of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai’s economy is similar to the
economies of Axum and Zimbabwe?
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