Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Ancient African Empires - Coggle Diagram
Ancient African Empires
Kush
Kush was a part of Nubia, loosely described as the region between the Cataracts of the Nile. The Cataracts of the Nile are a series of six whitewater rapids
The city of Kerma was established in Kush by c 2400 BCE and was powerful enough to threaten Egypt as attested by Egyptian inscriptions and forts built to repel raids
The kush rulers were regarded as guardians of the state religion and were responsible for maintaining the houses of gods
Kushite kings became the pharaohs of Egypt's 25th Dynasty and Kushite princesses dominate the political landscape.
The region of Kush was the main source of gold for the Egyptians, and it is thought that "Nubia" derived from Egyptian word for gold "nub".
Nubia
Nubia ancient region in northeastern Africa, extending approximately from the Nile River valley (near the first cataract in Upper Egypt)
Ancient Nubia had a complex series of political interactions and cultural exchanges with Egypt, largely based om its position as an intermediate between the Mediterranean world and sub- Saharan Africa.
Great importance was gold, a commodity found in the Nubian desert and greatly prized by Egyptians
-
Egypt conquered all of Nubia during the New Kingdom (ca 1550- 1070 B.C.) instilling viceroys who administered the lands and collected tribute.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe which was continuously inhabited between c 1100 to c. 1550 C, flourishing between 1300 and c. 1450 CE in the late iron age of southern Africa.
The Kingdom of Zimbabwe, of which Great Zimbabwe was its capital, was formed by shona, a Bantu- speaking people that had first migrated to southern Africa
The location of Great Zimbabwe on a natural rise 80 meters high provided both a prominent site for rituals and a place easy to defend
Zimbabwe society, as in other parts of southern Arica, was dominated by male family heads who competed with their peers for power and influence.
Great Zimbabwe had trade links with other states further afield is evidenced by finds of even non- African good, which came via merchants of East African coast
Axum
The African kingdom of Axum located on the northern edge of the highland zone of the Real Sea coast just above the horn of Africa, was founded in the 1st century CE
Gold and ivory were Axum's main exports- the byzantines, in particular could not get enough of both but other goods included salt and slaves
In the mid-4th century CE, the king of Axum, Evan I, officially adopted Christianity. Prior to that, the people of Axum had practiced an indigenous plolytheistic religion
The area which Axum would later occupy used an Arabian type script from the 5th century BCE called Sabaean. Greek was also used in some insciptions
The gold and silver coins of Axum, which appeared from the 3rd century CE onwards, have Greek insciptions, Sabaean religious symbols and they were minted adhering to Roman standards weighst