KINGDOM OF KUSH

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GHANA
MALI
KUSH
AXUM
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KINGDOM OF KUSH

• 700 BC-300 AD
• Egyptian influences paramount
• Trade contacts during Middle Kingdom
• Taken over during New Kingdom
• Became guardian of pure Egyptian culture
• Period of Black Pharaohs (750-700 BC). Kush
  liberates Egypt from Lybians

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GOLDEN AGE OF KUSH

• 300 BC 100 AD
• Keys to Success
• location
• land
• energetic people

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KINGDOM OF KUSH
Located upriver from Egypt, its number one
trading partner
Area around Meroe was well-watered, creating a
broad expanse of pasture and crop land around the
city
Also located on several key caravan routes
leading to the Red Sea and the Arab commercial
cities of the Arabian coast
Produced enough food to feed entire kingdom and
also produce a surplus
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CULTURE

• Engraved walls
• Stone pyramids
• Developed own writing system in 300 BC (not
  translated yet)

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DOWNFALL OF KUSH

• Rapid decline after 100 AD
• REASONS
• Exhaustion of agricultural land
• Decline of Egypt
• Loss of trade routes to Red Sea

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AXUM
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KINGDOM OF AXUM

• Part Arab/part native African
• Merchants par excellence
• Capital city Axum
• Created huge empire that encompassed East Africa
• Built engraved walls, obelisks (65 feet tall with
  rounded arches at top)

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DOWNFALL OF AXUM

• King Ezana adopts Christianity in 400 AD
• Shortrun strengthened trade ties with Christian
  Middle East
• Longrun Axum cut off from Christian world by
  Arab conquest of Middle East and North Africa
• Wealth declined and empire gradually lost by 900
  AD

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SAHARA DESERT TRAFFIC
Siljimassa
Sahara Desert

• Only could follow specific routes across the
  desert, allowing local strongmen who controlled
  these routes to tax caravans

Caravan route
Moslem North African merchants sent caravans
across the Sahara Desert to acquire kola nuts,
gums, cotton cloth, hides, slaves, and gold
Medium of exchange was salt
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GHANA

• First state was Ghana
• Controlled route from Sijilmassa to southern gold
  mines
• Developed powerful and created empire in West
  Africa
• Did not convert to Islam until late in its
  history
• Collapse when it lost control of trade route

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New routes
Sahara Desert
Old caravan route
RISE OF MALI
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MALI

• Controlled several trade routes across the Sahara
• Created West African empire
• Developed economic infrastructure
• Adopted Islam early in history
• Timbuktu capital and center of Islamic learning
  and worship

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MANSA MUSA

• Made pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324
• Accompanied by huge retinue of servants and
  retainers
• Spent massive amounts of gold as gifts and for
  supplied
• Results
• Advertised wealth and power of Mali throughout
  Islamic world
• Intensified Islamic influence within Mali