Download Mansa Musa

Name:__________________________ Date: ______ Period: ____
Unit #4
World History
The Middle Ages in Asia/Africa
Trading Kingdoms in Africa
Directions: The following empires represent only a partial listing. Read the following information
about each empire, then summarize the excerpt in the provided box on the map.
300 CE - Rise of Axum (Ethiopia)
In modern day Ethiopia, the empire of Axum flourished from about 500 BCE until 700 CE. In 300 CE,
the kingdom converted to Christianity, becoming the first Christian empire in Africa. It was influenced
by the Christians from the Roman Empire in Egypt. It served as a trading hub until the rise of Islam.
740 CE - Invasion of Spain by the Moors
An Islamic empire had spread across North and East Africa during the 7th and 8th centuries.
In 740 CE, Muslim Moors invaded Spain. Their rule would last until 1492. Despite being an occupying
force for 700 years, the Moor brought many new ideas to Medieval Europe, including mining,
agriculture, engineering, architecture, and education. During this time, Spain became the center for
culture and learning in Europe.
1000 CE - Ghana Empire
The empire of Ghana controlled the trade routes across the Sahara desert. Armed with iron weapons,
it held a monopoly on two of the greatest commodities of the time, gold and salt. While never an
Islamic empire, Muslims acted as advisors.
1235 CE - Mali Empire
The Mali Empire continued where Ghana left off, controlling the profitable gold trade. Mansa Musa,
the most powerful Mali leader, oversaw the creation of Timbuktu as a intellectual and cultural center.
Musa was a devote Muslim who spread Islam through the empire and made a famous pilgrimage to
Mecca. This pilgrimage strongly established the Mali Empire throughout the Islamic and Christian
spheres.
1300 CE - Kingdom of Benin
Through a link with the trans-Saharan trade network, the Kingdom of Benin was able to thrive after
the 1300s. At its peak, over 200 towns and villages were part of the kingdom. Benin became one of
the first major trading partners with the Portuguese in the late 1400s. Known for its brass, ivory, and
wax art, Benin also heavily participated in the slave trade.
1300 CE- Great Zimbabwe
The first centralized state in Zimbabwe took advantage of large gold reserves. It centered around a
great stone enclosure. While it received goods from outside of Africa through trade, it was far enough
away from the coastal trading cities that there was no non-African influences, including Islam.
1400 CE - Songhai Empire
The largest of the three Sub-Saharan empires, Songhai encompassed part of the former Mail Empire.
As with Ghana and Mali, Songhai’s success was rooted in the control of trans-Saharan trade
networks. Using cavalry and a strong centralized military, Songhai became the largest empire in
African history. Muslim leaders instituted Islamic laws and the Islam became the dominant religion
within the cities. However, in rural areas, traditional religions dominated.
1400 CE - Swahili City-States
A series of independent city-states formed on the east coast of Africa. While they shared a similar
culture and language – Swahili (a combination of Arab and Bantu languages), they never collaborated
or formed an empire. The Islamic city-states competed for trade with Persian and Indian traders. They
specialized in ivory, gold, iron, and slaves.
Directions: Based upon the timeline and map, answer the following questions.
1. What did the Moors bring to Europe?
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2. What did Ghana, Mali, and Songhai have in common?
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3. Describe why Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage to Mecca significant?
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4. Why was Timbuktu important?
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5. Most of these events occurred during the European Middle Ages and Renaissance.
What do these events in Africa tell us about events outside of Europe?
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6. Empires and civilizations were spread throughout Africa, what does this tell us about
Africa as a continent?
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7. Why do you think Europe dominates the history regularly taught in school?
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Mali
After the Ghanain empire fell, there needed to be a new place to __________. The people of Mali, who settled
further __________ than Ghana, became the new center of the gold trade. The ruler of Mali was a man named
__________. He was powerful and grew a large army to _________ Ghana and other smaller cities in the
region. He re-opened the gold-salt trade and made his people very __________. After Sundiata died, the rulers
of Mali became more dedicated to __________ and its role in society. __________ were built, __________
was spoken and Islam was spread throughout the Kingdom of Mali. One man, named __________
__________. became the most famous ruler of Mali because of his role in spreading Islam and the resources
of Mali. (PREDICT! What kind of resources would Mansa Musa spread? _______________)
During his rule, Mansa Musa went on a _____________ to Mecca – a pilgrimage is when Muslims travel to
their ___________ to pay respect to their god (Allah). During this journey, Mansa Musa met with many other
leaders from __________ and Europe and Asia – earning him _____________ for being a wealthy and
powerful king. This was important because it was the ________ time a major West African leader left Africa
and spread African culture to other parts of the world. While Mansa Musa traveled to Mecca, he would stop at
important cities such as ________ in Egypt. When Mansa Musa stopped in a city like Cairo, he would spend
more ________ than any other person that city had ever seen! In fact, Mansa Musa spent so much money that
gold spread throughout Africa. When more people had gold, this made Mali’s money less _________. The
___________ (
vocab word) this caused was part of the reason Mali lost __________.
When he returned, Mansa Musa built more mosques and appointed Muslim people to lead the country. This
had an important effect in the way African societies functioned for many centuries because __________ would
dominate the societies. Mansa Musa also made the city of ______________ the center of trade for North
Africa. This was a humongous city with numerous merchants and scholars. ___________ would become the
center for trade and education in West Sub-Saharan Africa many educated Africans would move there. This
would allow the kingdom of Mali to have people who were wealthy and _________.
Although Mansa Musa made Mali a powerful empire, the gold resources began to __________, and new gold
fields were found further to the __________. Over time, Mali had became __________ powerful and a new
kingdom, however, an even larger kingdom, would soon take its place in African history – the kingdom of
__________.
1. Why did Mansa Musa traveled to Mecca?
2. Why was Mansa Musa’s trip to Mecca important to African history?
3. What two things did Musa spread across Africa during his journey?
4. Why did he spread these two things especially (think about how they are related)?
5. Was Mali better off Mansa Musa went on the pilgrimage? Why?