Ch. 5-6 West Africa Flashcards
Soninke
c.500 CE: Soninke farmers joined together (and formed Ghana) to protect themselves.
Grew wealthy through trade
c.800 CE: controlled W. African trade routes
Tunka Manin
The greatest king of Ghana.
Berbers (Amazighs)
The people who began to use camels to navigate the Sahara.
Almoravids
c.1060s: Invaded from N. Africa & took power of Ghana briefly.
Sundiata Keita
1235-1255 CE: The legendary founder of the Mali Empire.
Mansa Musa
1312-1337 CE: A king of Mali, said to have been the richest person in history.
Went on hajj and gave away so much gold that its value dropped over time.
Tuareg
1431 CE: Conquered Timbuktu
Sunni Ali
The founder of the Songhai Empire.
Sunni Baru
The son of Sunni Ali who ruled Songhai for 5 months.
Askia Muhammad Ture (the Great)
A king of Songhai known for reorganizing its government & supporting education.
Became king by overthrowing Sunni Baru.
Griot
A West African storyteller whose job was to remember & pass down oral histories, stories, & traditional knowledge.
Al-Masudi
A Muslim scholar who visited and wrote about West Africa in the 900s CE.
Al-Bakri
A Muslim scholar who wrote about Ghana by interviewing the people that had been there in the 1000s CE.
Ibn Battutah
A Muslim scholar who traveled to West Africa & wrote about the Mali Empire in the 1350s CE.
Leo Africanus
A Christian scholar who wrote about North & West Africa in 1500 CE.
North Africa
Mediterranean Coast; Atlas Mountains; Sahara Desert
Sahara Desert
Largest desert in the world.
East Africa
Very mountainous ; East African Rift
East African Rift
Source of many hominid fossils.
West Africa
Sub-Saharan; Niger River; Inland delta