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African History
African
Kingdoms
1. Ghana
-Government
-Military
-Fall of Ghana
2. Mali
3. Songhay
4. Kongo
5. Zimbabwe
6. Swahili
7. Bornu
8. Benin
9. Ethiopia in the Middle Ages
10. Ancient Nubia
11. Ancient Aksum
Ancient and
Medieval Attitudes:
12. Black and White Morality
13. Black and White Intelligence
14. Blacks in Greece and Rome
15. Power and Origins of Blacks
16. African Architecutre
17. Wealth: Africa and Europe
18. Philosophy: Africa and Europe
19. Rise of Africa and Europe
20. Was Egyptian Culture African
21. Fall of Africa
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Ghana
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"He is the richest sovereign of
earth."
Ibn Hawkel, a 10th century geographer who obtained information on the Ghanaian
kingdom while in North Africa1
"Ghana is…a great empire and
of a power which is formidable."
Al Barki (El Berki), a Spanish Moor in 10672
The origins of the Kingdom date back
between 400BC to 600BC. The kingdom prospered into the 11th century, then
began to decline, and was finally
destroyed in the 13th. Ghana had at least 43 straight
Kings from the same line--a strong sign of its unique stability.3
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Government
Ghana's king settled disputes among
different clans, was the supreme judge of a legal system that consisted
of high and low courts, conducted daily affairs, was the military chief,
the chief of justice, performed traditional religious rituals, heard
reports on the royal treasury, and appointed government officials.4 Al Barki (El Berki), an 11th century
Moorish nobleman who lived in Spain, gave the following description of
Ghana's high court ceremonies: He wrote that the king:
"Gives an audience to his people, in order to listen to their
complaints and set them right…he sits in a pavilion around which stand 10
horsed with gold embodied trappings. Behind the king stand 10 pages
holding shields and gold mounted swords; on his right are the sons of
princes of his empire, splendidly clad and with gold plaited in their
hair….The door of the pavilion is guarded by dogs of an excellent breed
who almost never leave the king's presence and who wear collars of gold
and silver."5
For those who could not
attend the king toured his capital daily. He talked to his subjects
individually, listening to their complaints. Although Ghanaian kings
refused to convert to Islam, they had a friendly relationship with the
Muslim merchants--even allowing some to work for
the administration and offer Islamic legal advice.
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Economy and Wealth
At the local level Ghanaians produced and traded items such as cotton
cloth, metal ornaments, and leather goods; The highly sought and famous
Moroccan leather goods are actually crafted in Ghana.6
Their main source of wealth was obtained through the international gold
and salt trade. Ghana
obtained salt from Taghaze--a nearly desolate town in the Sahara--and their gold from a West African people
called the Wangara's(The Wangara kept their gold mines in complete
secret, for they knew any powerful nation or tough nomadic clan would
conquer them if the location of the gold was revealed). Salt was cut into
pieces and used as currency; its value surpassed even that of gold.7
Ghana was fortunate to have had a near monopoly on the gold trade. Due to
the abundance of gold the government had to
regulate its output. In the 10th century the geographer Ibn
Hawkal wrote, "If gold nuggets are discovered in the country's
mines, the king reserves them for himself and leaves the gold dust for
his subjects. If he did not do this, gold would become very plentiful and
would fall in value…the king is said to possess a nugget as big as a
large stone."8
International and local trade were also taxed
and regulated.
Shops of local potters,
craftsmen, weavers, sandal makers and the like were constant visuals of
the bustling marketplaces. Ironsmiths made weapons for the king's army
and gold and coppersmiths made jewelry for the king; the smiths also sold
their goods on the free market.9
Ibn Hawkal wrote that the
king, "…possesses great wealth and reserves of gold that have been
extracted since early times to the advantage of former kings and his
own….he is the richest sovereign of earth."10
The King was so wealthy he kept 1000 horses, all with their own mattress,
copper urinal, and three servants.11
The king's compound, as
recorded by Al-Barki (El Berki), was, "a palace and a number of
dome-shaped dwellings, the whole surrounded by an enclosure like the
defensive wall of a city."12
One of the king's mansions was 66 ft long, 42 ft wide with seven rooms,
two stories, and a staircase; its walls and chambers were filled with
sculptures and painting, which demonstrated a good taste of royal art.13
It was written that every evening he spoke to a thousand subjects from
his red and gleaming gold balcony and provided enough food for 10,000
people.14
Al Barki (El Berki)
described Ghana's city
of Aoudaghast
as "A very large city with several markets, many date palms and
henna trees as big as olives, filled with fine houses and solid
buildings."15
The king and merchants did not monopolize the wealth. The average citizen
used iron knives, arrowheads, nails, and some of the finest scissors of
the medieval world, as well as many farming tools."16
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Millitary
In 1067 Al Barki (El Berkri) wrote: "The king of Ghana can
put 200,000 warriors in the field, more than forty thousand of them being
armed with bow and arrow."17
The power of Ghana
stems from the black iron smelting Soninke clan. The Soninke may have
been the first people of the region to use iron, which gave them a
distinct military advantage over their neighbors who fought with ebony
and dark hard wood. (The first West African people to develop the use of
iron was likely the Nok of Nigeria over 2500 years ago)18
Around 700AD the Soninke defeated the small kingdom of Ghana, which they
used as a foundation for the empire they were soon to create, and
embarked on a series of expansion. Ghana's
strategy was to defeat a clan or village and allow the local ruler to
remain in power if he pledged allegiance to Ghana. Other times, if the
king saw fit, he would assume direct control over the conquered people.
The king appointed a governor or mayor to the important towns and cities
he conquered. All conquered people were expected to provide soldiers for
the nation's army.
Fall of Ghana
In the 13th century Ghana experienced
environmental irregularities that increased their vulnerability to
outside attacks. Three hundred years after El Berki's glowing description
of a powerful and affluent state, Ibn Khaldum, the best-known Arab
historian of the 14th century and respected diplomat for North African
kings, wrote the following account of its sad downfall. The Almoravids of
North Africa:
"…spread their dominion over the Negroes, devastated their territory
and plundered their property. Having submitted them to poll tax they
imposed on them a tribute, and compelled a great number of them to become
Moslems. The authority of the kings of Ghana being destroyed, their
neighbors, the Sosso, took their country and reduced its inhabitants to
slavery."19
In 1238 King Sundiata of Old
Mali overthrew the oppressive Sosso and in 1240 captured its capital.
Under Mali rule the
people of Ghana
were once again perhaps the most prosperous people in the world.
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1Africa
from the seventh to the eleventh century/ editor, M. Elfasi; assistant
editor, I. Hrbek. (London; Heinemann
Educational Books; Berkeley; University of California
Press; Paris:
Unesco, 1988, 616
2Davidson,
Basil. The Lost Cities of Africa. Boston: Little Brown,
1959, 84
3Ibid,
86
4Chu,
Daniel and Skinner, Elliot. A Glorious Age in Africa, 1st ed. Garden
City, New York:
Doubleday, 1965, 25
5Davidson,
Basil. African Kingdoms. New
York: Time, inc., 1966, 80
6Chu,
Daniel and Skinner, Elliot. A Glorious Age in Africa, 1st ed. Garden
City, New York:
Doubleday, 1965, 27
7Ibid,
35
8Africa
from the seventh to the eleventh century/ editor, M. Elfasi; assistant
editor, I. Hrbek. (London; Heinemann
Educational Books; Berkeley; University of California
Press; Paris:
Unesco, 1988, 617
9Chu,
Daniel and Skinner, Elliot. A Glorious Age in Africa, 1st ed. Garden
City, New York:
Doubleday, 1965, 36
10Africa
from the seventh to the eleventh century/ editor, M. Elfasi; assistant
editor, I. Hrbek. (London; Heinemann
Educational Books; Berkeley; University of California
Press; Paris:
Unesco, 1988, 616
11Davidson,
Basil. African Kingdoms. New
York: Time, Inc., 1966, 80
12Ibid
13Davidson,
Basil. The Lost Cities of Africa. Boston: Little
Brown, 1959, 86
14Davidson,
Basil. African Kingdoms. New
York: Time, Inc., 1966, 80
15Davidson,
Basil. The Lost Cities of Africa. Boston: Little
Brown, 1959, 84
16Ibid,
87
17Chu,
Daniel and Skinner, Elliot. A Glorious Age in Africa, 1st ed. Garden
City, New York:
Doubleday, 1965, 25
18Africa
from the seventh to the eleventh century/ editor, M. Elfasi; assistant
editor, I. Hrbek. (London; Heinemann
Educational Books; Berkeley; University of California
Press; Paris:
Unesco, 1988, 355
19Davidson,
Basil. The Lost Cities of Africa. Boston: Little
Brown, 1959, 88
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