The Empire of Ghana
800 year Ghana became an empire
Land of Gold
Gold-Salt Trade
empire of ghana
Islamic Influences
Islam spread through north africa by south of the Sahara, Islam spread through trade.
Important= Gold and Salt
Gold- Forest region south of savanna, Miners dug Gold from shafts, deep as 100 ft, sifted from fast-moving shafts
By AD 200, trade across the Sahara had been infrequent due to harsh desert conditions.
Estimate about 1350, 2/3 of worlds supply of Gold from West Africa
Ghana’s king controlled trade and commanded a large army
West Africa's savanna/ forests lacked salt, essential to life
he demand taxes and gifts from the chiefs of surrounding land
Berber nomads began using camels in the third century AD, which could travel 60 miles per day and ten days without water, enabling them to expand their routes and increase trade.
as long as the chiefs paid the payments the king let them rule their own people
Saharan village of Taghaza, workers built houses from salt blocks
only the king could own gold nuggets
Arab/Berber traders crossed desert w/ camel caravans loaded down w/ salt
Interregional trade between North and West Africa was facilitated by ironmaking technologies, which enabled the production of agricultural tools and weapons.
Trade
Carried cloth, weapons, manufactured goods from ports on mediterranean
Has many people of different groups of people
The abundance of food allowed for more specialized trade. Arabic writing became important for contract recording, and local pottery and canoes were used for transportation.
Army
Slaves were part of trans-saharan trade from 6th century to 19th century
By the end of the 11th century, Muslim advisers were helping the king run his kingdom.
Who limited the supply of gold and kept it's price from falling?
Animism
Animism is the belief that spirits living in animals, plants, and natural forces play an important role in daily life. Much of the population never converted.
The Soninke people, known as ghana, ruled the trans-Saharan trade routes, leading to the rise of Ghana as a kingdom.
Those who did kept many of their former beliefs, which they observed along with Islam.
In addition to taxing trade, royal officials made sure that all traders weighed goods fairly and did business according to law.
In what year did the muslim geographer and scholar named al-Bakri wrote a descriptions of Ghana royal court?
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Royal guards also provided protection from bandits.
Why would the disruption of trade destroy Ghana's power?
Control
Conflict
Social Organization
In all of Ghana, the king was considered the supreme ruler.
There was multiple people of different groups that speak other languages
The administrative class helped the king run the government
segments that emerged in Ghana’s society included miners, agricultural laborers, metalworkers, and leather crafters
Lot of them Some were supported by the king’s court
Ghana has an ancestry that was traced through the mother's lineage.
the king's son was not the king's heir. The son of the king's sister was the heir.