African kingdoms

By lstron02
  • 20,000 BCE

    Decline

    Decline
    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). Judar Pasha was a Spaniard by birth, but had been captured as an infant.
  • 1230 BCE

    Gold

    Gold
    Gold nuggets were the exclusive property of the mansa, and were illegal to trade within his borders. All gold was immediately handed over to the imperial treasury in return for an equal value of gold dust. Gold dust had been weighed and bagged for use at least since the reign of the Ghana Empire. Mali borrowed the practice to stem inflation of the substance.
  • 1230 BCE

    Copper

    Copper
    Copper was also a valued commodity in imperial Mali. Copper, traded in bars, was mined from Takedda in the north and traded in the south for gold. Contemporary sources claim 60 copper bars traded for 100 dinars of gold.
  • 1204 BCE

    Salt

    Salt
    The next great unit of exchange in the Mali Empire was salt. Salt was as valuable, if not more valuable than gold in Sub-Saharan Africa. It was cut into pieces and spent on goods with close to equal buying power throughout the empire. While it was as good as gold in the north, it was even better in the The people of the south needed salt for their diet
  • 830 BCE

    Politics

    Politics
    Much testimony on ancient Ghana depended on how well disposed the king was to foreign travelers, from which the majority of information on the empire comes. Islamic writers often commented on the social-political stability of the empire based on the seemingly just actions and grandeur of the king. 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 Ghana .
  • 800 BCE

    Ghana

    Ghana
    The Ghana Empire or Wagadou Empire (existed before c. 830 until c. 1235) was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, and Western Mali. Complex societies had existed in the region since about 1500 BCE, and around Ghana’s core region since about 300 CE. When Ghana’s ruling dynasty
  • 15 BCE

    Economy

    Economy
    Economic trade existed throughout the Empire, due to the standing army stationed in the provinces. Central to the regional economy were independent gold fields. The merchants would form partnerships, and the state would protect these merchants and the port cities on the Niger. It was a very strong trading kingdom, known for its production of practical crafts as well as religious artifacts. The Songhai economy was based on a clan system. The clan a person.
  • Period: 15 BCE to 16 BCE

    Overview

    The Songhai Empire, also known as the Songhay Empire, was a state located in western Africa. From the early 15th to the late 16th century, Songhai was one of the largest Islamic 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 Songhai state had existed since the 11th century. Its base of power was on the bend of the Niger River in present day Niger.
  • 13 BCE

    Military

    Military
    The number and frequency of conquests in the late 13th century and throughout the 14th century indicate the Kolonkan mansas inherited and or developed a capable military. Sundjata is credited with at least the initial organization of the Manding war machine. However, it went through radical changes before reaching the legendary proportions proclaimed by its subjects. Thanks to steady tax revenue and stable government beginning in the last 13th century
  • Period: 13 BCE to 14 BCE

    Songhai Empire

    The Songhai Empire, also known as the Songhay Empire, was a state located in western Africa. From the early 15th to the late 16th century, Songhai was one of the largest Islamic 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 Songhai state had existed since the 11th century. Its base of power was on the bend of the Niger River in present day Niger.
  • Period: 11 BCE to 13 BCE

    Government

    Upper classes in society converted to Islam while lower classes often continued to follow traditional religions. Sermons emphasized obedience to the king. Timbuktu was the educational capital. Sonni Ali established a system of government under the royal court, later to be expanded by Askia Muhammad, which appointed governors and mayors to preside over local tributary states, situated around the Niger valley. Local chiefs were still granted authority over their respective.
  • 9 BCE

    Songhai Empire

    Songhai Empire
    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 through its continuation in Niger as the Dendi Kingdom.
  • Period: 1500 to 1500 BCE

    the Economy

    Most of our information about the economy of Ghana comes from merchants, and therefore we know more about the commercial aspects of its economy, and less about the way in which the rulers and nobles may have obtained agricultural products through tribute or taxation. Merchants had to pay a one gold dinar tax on imports of salt, and two on exports of salt. Imports probably
  • Period: to 1610 BCE

    Collapse

    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
  • Period: to 40,000 BCE

    The Capital of Ghana

    1 million-40,000 BC - Middle Stone Age
    Evolution of early form of Homo sapiens - modern man. Shaped stone points used for spearheads. 40,000-10,000 BC - Later Stone Age Rise of Homo sapiens.
    Development of bow and arrow
    Evidence of rock paintings.
    Hunter gathering lifestyle. 9,000-3,000 BC - Last major wet period in Africa. The Sahara is habitable with savannah, grassland and rivers. Baked clay pottery found in African stone