By Margaret Myaskovskaya, Paula Reyes, Rebecca Wodzinski, Anam Choudhary, Signe Swanson, and Mariam Ali THE GOLDEN ROUTE.

By Margaret Myaskovskaya, Paula Reyes, Rebecca Wodzinski, Anam Choudhary, Signe Swanson, and Mariam Ali

THE GOLDEN ROUTE

Mansa Musa• African Muslim leader who • Built mosques• Attended public prayers • Supported the preaching of Muslim holy law.• Reigned 1312 - 1337 AD •Golden Age King of the Mali Empire• Sundiata’s grandnephew. • Skilled military leader who exercised control over the gold salt trade & put down every rebellion.•Had a 100,000 men army that protected the Mali’s from attack.•He was the “King of Mali”.

•Great believer in spreading wealth around.• Allowed his people (the people of Mali) to have religious freedom, but he was a devoted Muslim. • Encouraged education • Allowed his people to choose their own occupation.• Along the way to his journey to Mecca, he freely gave away gold.

Ibn Battuta• Traveler from North Africa• Devout Muslim• Traveled throughout the Islamic world for 27 years• Visited cities such as Mogadishu, Timbuktu, and other cities in Mali•Wrote accounts about the places he went to. An example is when he visited Mogadishu, he described how the people treated him warmly.•Was a qadi in Delhi and India• His writings are history’s most detailed regarding the Islamic World in the later Middle Ages.

•Had two rules:Only to visit the Muslim WorldNever to travel the same road twice• Visited the lands of every Muslim ruler at that time• Traveled along the Trans Saharan Trade Routes• “By the fifth century C.E., a second center of active trade and state building was developing in West Africa, in kingdoms such as Ghana and later Mali that stretched along the southern rim of the Sahara Desert”

Bantu•Meaning: the people•Major linguistic group in Africa •As a result of the Bantu migrations, agriculture and herding spread throughout Africa.•Brought iron, yams, millet, and bananas to sub-Saharan Africa•These new foods supported population growth in Africa from 3.5 million in 400 B.C.E to 22 million in 1000 C.E.

•Their language blended with Arabic which resulted in Swahili. •"In some areas they brought notions of government, controlling people, development of leadership, chieftaincy, state-craft and organizing people for campaigns for battles and also maybe a kind of advanced religion."Professor Leonard Ngcongco.•These migrations were a result of desertification of plains and overpopulation

Bantu Migration

Trans-Saharan Trade Route•Connected Western Africa to the Mediterranean world•Caravan routes through the Sahara linked North and West Africa to Europe and the Middle East•Many African states grew wealthy through Saharan trade•Salt, gold, and ivory dominated trade within AfricaGold was important for the coinage of moneySalt preserved foodIvory was used for art•Mali- Controlled and taxed all trade passing through west Africa after the kingdom of Ghana

• Ceramic, silk and

beads from Europe and Asia• Silk and ceramics

from India and China• Ivory, wood, slaves,

gold, and salt from Africa

Transportation

• Camels quickened the pace of communication and transportation throughout the Sahara• Camels came to north Africa from Arabia in the seventh century B.C.E• 300 C.E.- camels replaced horses and donkeys as the main transportation animals in the Sahara and in the deserts of central Asia

Ghana•Became a state around the fourth or fifth century•Was the most important commercial site in west Africa •Center of trade for gold•Provided ivory and slaves for traders from north Africa•Received horses, cloth, small manufactured wares, and salt. •Principle trading site was Koumbi-Saleh

Slaves•Some African kingdoms used Africans as slaves•Sultanate of Zanzibar used non-Muslim slaves for farm labor•Slaves did household work

Quiz: Question 1 •What were three important exports that traveled from Africa to other areas through the Trans Saharan Trade Route?

Answer

•Slaves, gold & ivory.

Question 2•What did the Bantus' bring to Sub Saharan Africa?

Answer•They brought iron, yams, millet, and bananas.

Question 3•What was Ghana the center of trade for?

Answer•Gold

Question 4•Where was Ghana’s principle trading site?

Answer•Koumbi-Saleh

Question 5•What were Ibn Battuta’s two rules?

Answer•Only to visit the Muslim World•Never to travel the same road twice

Question 6•What was the main source of transportation?

Answer•Camels