African Kingdoms Timeline Instructions

By cmena22
  • 1500 BCE

    Ghana Empire complex societies had existed in the region since about 1500 BCE

    Ghana Empire complex societies had existed in the region since about 1500 BCE
  • Period: 1464 BCE to 1591 BCE

    Songhai, the last of these three great empires, remained from 1464-1591 CE. It started under the control of the Mali Empire

  • Period: 1200 BCE to 1500 BCE

    Mali came next and lasted from

  • 1000 BCE

    iron smelting in Nigeria and central Niger. Spreads to rest of West Africa

    iron smelting in Nigeria and central Niger. Spreads to rest of West Africa
  • 1000 BCE

    Iron technology spreads to the rest of Africa

    Iron technology spreads to the rest of Africa
  • 800 BCE

    The religion of Islam begins to spread through Africa

    The religion of Islam begins to spread through Africa
  • Period: 300 BCE to 1200 BCE

    Ghana was the first of the three early African empires,

  • 19 BCE

    19th century Muslim reformers changed the political landscape of large parts of West Africa

    19th century Muslim reformers changed the political landscape of large parts of West Africa
  • 18 BCE

    By the 18th century the northern part of West Africa was a patchwork of city states and kingdoms

    By the 18th century the northern part of West Africa was a patchwork of city states and kingdoms
  • 14 BCE

    Processional cross

    Processional cross
    Christianity has a long history in Ethiopia, dating from its introduction in Aksum under the reign of King Azana in about A.D. 330. Its spread among the peoples of the highlands, and the arrival of nine monks from Syria
  • 13 BCE

    Archer figure

    Archer figure
    Since the 1940s, low-fired ceramic figures and fragments such as this have been unearthed at various sites throughout the Inland Niger Delta region, an area that once had highly developed urban centers. These works are among the earliest known surviving art forms in sub-Saharan Africa. The makers were from the various peoples in the region, but it is not known whether they were men or women
  • 11 BCE

    Headrest

    Headrest
    In the Bandiagara cliffs, above the villages now occupied by the Dogon people, carved wooden headrests have been found in burial caves.
  • 11

    Ring

    Ring
    Jewelry
  • 1067

    Ghana capital is believed to have been at Koumbi Saleh on the rim of the Sahara desert.

    Ghana capital is believed to have been at Koumbi Saleh on the rim of the Sahara desert.
  • 1148

    Coin

    Coin
    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
  • 1229

    Bottle with four handles

    Bottle with four handles
    This rare four-handled vase bears the characteristic five-petal rosettes associated with the Rasulid dynasty of Yemen (reigned 1229–1454). Controlling the trade routes to Africa and East Asia