three sudanic states ghana mali songhai. ghana empire

Three Sudanic StatesGhanaMali

Songhai

Ghana Empire

Ghana Empire It is believed to be the first of many empires that would rise in

that part of Africa. • It first began in the eighth century, when a dramatic shift in

the economy of the Sahel area south of the Sahara allowed more centralized states to form.

Ghana: Land of Gold• The introduction of the

camel, which preceded Arabs and Islam by several centuries, brought about a gradual revolution in trade, and for the first time, the extensive gold, ivory, and salt resources of the region could be sent north and east to population centers in North Africa, the Middle East and Europe in exchange for manufactured goods.

Decline of Ghana

• The Almoravid Muslim Empire

• Ghana's preeminence faded toward the end of the eleventh century, when its power was broken by a long struggle with the Almoravids led by Abdullah ibn Yasin.

Mali Empire

Mali• The Mali Empire was a

medieval West African state of the Mandinka from c. 1235 to c. 1610.

• The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I.

• The Mali Empire had many profound cultural influences on West Africa allowing the spread of its language, laws and customs along the Niger River.

Sundiata• Mali emerged against

the back-drop of a declining of Ghana under the dynamic leadership of Sundiata of the Keita clan.

• But the region he took over had a past rich in trade and powerful rulers.

Mansa Musa• In the 13th year of his

reign (1324), he set out on his famous pilgrimage to Mecca.

• It was this pilgrimage that awakened the world to the stupendous wealth of Mali.

• Traveling from his capital of Niani on the Upper Niger River to Cairo, Mansa Musa was accompanied by a caravan consisting of 60,000 men.

• He also brought with him 80 camels loaded with 300 pounds of gold each.

Mali was an Islamic Empire

• Islamic Mosque at Djenne

Islamic University in Mali• The Muslim city of Timbuktu was a center of

learning and scholarship.

City of Gao• Gao would

become the capital of Songhai Empire

Songhai Empire

Songhai• The Songhai Empire was a

pre-colonial African state centered in eastern Mali.

• From the early 15th to the late 16th century, Songhai was one of the largest African empires in history.

• This empire bore the same name as its leading ethnic group, the Songhai.

• Its capital was the city of Gao, where a small Songhai state had existed since the 11th century.

• Its base of power was on the bend of the Niger River.

Sunni Ali• When Sunni Ali came

to power, Songhai was a small kingdom in the western Sudan.

• But during his twenty-eight-year reign, it grew into the largest, most powerful empire in West Africa. Painting by: Leo Dillon.

Muhammed Ture/Askia the Great

• Under Askia the Great's rule, education in the Songhai Empire, especially Timbuktu, flourished.

• He built a university in Timbuktu for students.

• Djenn‘e also became a center of learning.

Decline of Sonhai• But in 1591 Morocco

invaded Songhai. • Although the invaders

were not very numerous, perhaps 4,000 men, they were armed with firearms, not yet seen in West Africa, and thus possessed an enormous advantage over their more traditionally equipped foes.

• Ahmad al-Mansur (1549-1603)