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the introduction of the camel, which preceded Muslims and Islam by several centuries, brought about a gradual change in trade, and for the first time, the extensive gold, ivory trade, 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. -
Given the scattered nature of the Arabic sources and the ambiguity of the existing archaeological record, it is difficult to determine when and how Ghana declined and fell. The earliest descriptions of the Empire are vague as to its maximum extent, Ghana had forced Awdaghast in the desert to accept its rule
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The Arabic sources, the only ones to give us any information are sufficiently vague as to how the country was governed. It is mentioned that the king had officials who surrounded his throne when he gave justice, and these included the sons of the kings of his country. Ghana was surrounded by independent kingdoms, and Sila, one of them located on the Senegal River was “almost a match for the king of Ghana.” -
Detached folio from a dispersed copy of the Qur'an; recto: left-hand half of a double-page composition separate from its facing folio (F 1929.73), Sura al-Fatiha (the Opener) 1:5-7, recto begins with "wa iyyak", -
Historically, currency came in a variety of forms—including bars, anklets, armlets, blades, hoes, crosses, neck rings, manillas, rods, ingots, cloth—as well as coins. Some of these objects traded hands regularly; others were only exchanged at important, fixed moments.
Description:
Gold coin in square cardstock envelope, thin, circular with double square (or lozenge according to the orientation established by the hole at either side) and Arabic script, pearled border -
active in pre-World War II Warsaw, Poland. At the end of the World War II, Klejman left Poland and in 1950 he established himself in New York, NY where he owned a gallery specializing in Roman, Greek, and Byzantine art as well as Asian art and African art, located at Madison Avenue and 76th Street. -
Wine bottle with a full, pear-shaped body tapering to a long, waisted neck ending in a flared mouth with lipped rim. The vessel sits on a splayed, slightly stepped foot that is unglazed on the bottom except where trimming has left a thin strip of glaze on the underside edge. The dark glaze is a lustrous rich brown suffused with fine speckles. A chip is visible on the foot ring. -
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The Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka. 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. It extended over a large area and consisted of numerous vassal kingdoms and provinces.
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Christianity has a long history in Ethiopia, dating from its introduction in Aksum under the reign of King Azana. Its spread among the peoples of the highlands, and the arrival of nine monks from Syria toward the end of the fifth century, is said to have introduced monasticism to Ethiopia and to have contributed strongly to the production and use of liturgical objects. The cross is perhaps the most pervasive symbolic artifact. Every member of the clergy carries a cross at all times. -
was a state located in western Africa. This empire bore the same name as its leading ethnic group, the Songhai. Its capital was the city of Gao, where a Songhai state had existed since the 11th century. Its base of power was on the bend of the Niger River in present day Niger. The Songhai state has existed in one form or another for over a thousand years if one traces its rulers from the first settlement in Gao to its semi-vassal status under the Mali Empire
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Following the death of the Emperor Askia Daoud, a civil war of succession weakened the Empire, leading the sultan of the Saadi Dynasty of Morocco to dispatch an invasion force (years earlier, armies from Portugal had attacked Morocco, and failed miserably, but the Moroccan coffers were on the verge of economic depletion and bankruptcy, as they needed to pay for the defenses used to hold off the siege). -
The mansa’s defeat actually won Manden the respect of Morocco and may have saved it from Songhai’s fate. It would be the Mandinka themselves that would cause the final destruction of the empire. Around 1610, Mahmud IV died. Oral tradition states that he had three sons who fought over Manden’s remains. No single person ever ruled Manden after Mahmud IV’s death, resulting in the end of the Mali Empire. -
Discovery of Australopithecus near Taung, South Africa. -
Homo habilis skulls found in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania and Lake Turkana, Kenya -
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Thirteen Australopithecus remains found in Hadar, Ethiopia.
- Homo Erectus skull found Lake Turkana -
Australopithecus footprints found in Laetoli, Tanzania. -
Discovery of Australopithecus in Sterkfontein, South Africa