Formation of Centralized Governments in Africa (c. 1000

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Formation of Centralized Governments in
Africa(c. 1000 1500)
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Today

• Stateless Societies
• Christian Kingdoms in the African Continent
• Egyptian Copts
• Ethiopians at Axum (12th 16th centuries)
• Islamic Kingdoms in the African Continent
• Ghana (11th 13th centuries)
• Mali (13th 15th centuries)
• Sundiata and Mansa Musa

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Key Points

• The broad shift from stateless societies to
  centralized states in Africa was underway by 1100
  (1100 1500 era of kingdoms/empires)
• Universal religions (both Christianity and Islam)
  contributed to the formation of large states and
  empires in Africa, influencing different regions
• African states grew wealthy from vibrant trade
  connections with Eurasia (both land and sea)

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Some commonalities

• Linguistic base
• Animistic religion
• Creator deity
• Ancestor worship
• Spiritualization of land and labor

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Yet it is difficult to generalize about African
history in this period. . . Why?
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Some differences between African societies c.1000
- 1500

• Geography
• Climate
• Access to Trade
• Economy
• Religion
• Language
• Political structure
• Range from small kin-based stateless village to
  large economically stratified royal state
• Shift from former to latter c. 1000 CE

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II. Early Christian Expansion to Africa
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Coptic Christianity (Egypt)
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Christian Kingdoms of Kush / Nubia
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Christianity in Ethiopia
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Ethiopian Highlands
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King Lalibela (d.1221)
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Christian church of St. Georgeat Lalibela,
Ethiopia
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Spread of Christianity in the African continent
since 1st century CE
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II. Early Spread of Islam in Africa
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The Later Spread of Islam in Africa
(postclassical and later periods)
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The Sahel (grasslands)
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Kingdom of Ghana(11th 13th centuries
Kingdom of Ghana
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Mali Empire (13th 15th centuries)
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For what qualities was Sundiata (d.1260) known?
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Oral history told by griots

• Listen, then sons of Mali, children of the black
  people, listen to my word, for I am going to tell
  you of Sundiata, the father of the Bright
  country, of the savanna land, the ancestor of
  those who draw the bow, the master of a hundred
  vanquished kings. . . He was great among kings,
  he was peerless among men he was beloved of God
  because he was the last of the great conquerors.

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Timbuktu (trading center)
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Mansa Musa (1312 1337)
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The mosque at Jenne
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Primary Source

• Who wrote this? When and where? Why?
• What clues can we glean from the text about the
  authors historical circumstances?

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Ibn Battuta, 14th century(Moroccan
scholar/traveler)