West Africa Flashcards
Who is a Griot?
West African people who preserve the genealogies, historical narratives, and oral traditions of their people.
What was the Mali Empire?
An empire in West Africa from 1226 to 1670. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa. At its peak, Mali was the largest empire in West Africa, widely influencing the culture of the region through the spread of its language, laws, and customs.
What was the Ghana Empire?
The first great trading empire in West Africa located between the Sahara salt mines and gold mines near West African coastal rainforests.
What was the Songhai Empire
One of the states that broke away from Mali. The Songhai empire was founded by Sunni Ali who seized control of Timbuktu and expanded the empire to include the salt mines. For a time, it was the largest empire in West Africa.
Who were the Berber?
A group of people from North Africa who found a way to cross the Saharah into South Africa and started trade between the two regions.
Who was Mansa Musa?
The legendary king of Mali who remains the richest man to have ever lived.
Who was Ibn Battuta?
A young Arab lawyer from Morocco who traveled to Africa to see the Muslim world and wrote a detailed response about it.
What was the Trans Saharan Caravan Trade?
From 1200 to 1450, an extensive trans-Saharan trading system reached its peak. Huge caravans of camels and merchants transporting goods from one “shore” of the desert to the other. Beginning with the Arab conquests in the seventh century, trade across the Sahara linked the great kingdoms of West Africa to the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean worlds.
What was Djenne?
An ancient trading city and center of Muslim scholarship, southern Mali. It is situated on the Bani River and on floodlands between the Bani and Niger rivers, 220 miles (354 km) southwest of Timbuktu.
What was Timbuktu?
A city in the western African country of Mali, historically important as a trading post on the trans-Saharan caravan route and as a center of Islamic culture.
