7th Grade

Here are 12-2 notes. We did the bulk of these in class. There should only be couple of slides you need to complete from this section. I posted all of them, but you only need to pick up where we left off in class. Again you only need to write the slides we did not get to in class.

Kingdoms, City-States, and Empires
Chapter 12
Section 2

East African Trading Civilizations
East Africa Boundaries: Red Sea, Indian Ocean
Primarily trading centers
Port cities
Arab and African traders settled the area
Aksum- Present day Ethiopia
Controlled trade in the Red Sea
By 200’s A.D. controlled all trade from India to the Mediterranean Sea
Christianity came to Aksum around 300 A.D.
By 600 A.D. Arabs had seized control of the region and Aksum began to decline


Cities of Trade
Sailors used seasonal winds to reach China and India, when winds changed, they sailed back
Took- skins, Ivory, gold and other metals
Brought back- cotton, silk, and porcelain
Islam introduced to region during this time
New language- Swahili- Bantu/Arab language
Most widely spoken language in Africa today

Rise of City-States
City-State- city that has its own traditions, governments, and laws. Both a city and an independent state
Important city-states
Malindi, Mombasa, Kilwa, and Great Zimbabwe

Kilwa
3 and 4 story stone and coral dwellings
Traders paid high taxes to trade there
Conquered by Portugal in the 1500’s

Great Zimbabwe
Inland and east along the Limpopo River
Connected to the east by a system of trade networks all the way to the Indian Ocean
Reached it’s peak of power in about 1300 A.D.
1000’s of people called this walled city home

North African Trading Powers
Boundaries- Sahara and Mediterranean Sea
Phoenicians were the first to explore this region
Rise and Fall of Carthage
Phoenician trading center in present day Tunisia
Wealthiest city in the world at the time
Controlled trade in the Med. Sea from 500-200 B.C.
Taken over by Roman Empire in 146 B.C.
City was destroyed

Roman and Islamic Influences
Cities grew all along North Africa under Roman rule
Christianity spread as well
1000’s of miles of roads to connect its empire
Roman Empire falls in 476 A.D. and competing forces fought over the land until Arabs gained control in 600’s A.D.
Islam spread and replaced Christianity

West African Kingdoms
Based on the trade of salt and gold
No refrigeration at the time so salt was very important
A lot of trading between north and west Africa
Growth of important cities like Ghana, Mali, and Songhai and Forest Kingdoms like Benin

Ghana
Between the Senegal and Niger Rivers
Controlled trade in western Africa
Called the land of gold
High taxes

Mali
Upper Niger River valley
Powerful in mid 1200’s
Kings controlled the flow of salt and gold to the north
Kings were called Mansa-emperor
Most important Mali king was Mansa Musa
20 year reign brought peace to the region

Mansa Musa and the Spread of Islam
Was Muslim himself
Made regular pilgrimages to Mecca
Brought 60,000 people with him
Each of his 80 camels carried 300 lbs of gold
Gave it away as a gift
Europeans heard about his wealth and began buying Mali gold

Songhai
Becomes powerful after Mansa Musa’s death
Tombouctou was Songhai’s major trading center
Important caravan stopping location along the Nile
Greatest Muslim learning center
Songhai declined after northern invaders attacked in 1591

Forest Kingdoms
Benin
late 1200’s
Traded ivory, palm oil and pepper
Worked with bronze, brass, and wood
Created some of the finest sculpture of the time
Trade partners- Africa and Europe
European began to trade guns for slaves
Many African Americans are descendants of these forest kingdoms