West Africa Study Guide 1.

In the city of Timbuktu, the written language in the universities and libraries was translated into __________________. 2. The items that were traded and highly valuable were ____________ and ____________. 3. The laws in West Africa were based on the ___________________ and were written in Arabic. 4. Mansa Musa was the ruler of the empire of _____________________. 5. In West Africa, Arabic became an important language because the traded with the __________________. 6. The most important river of West Africa is the ____________ ________________. 7. The northern bend of the Niger River became an important trade spot because it was the closest water source to the _______________ _________________. 8. Arabic became an important language in West Africa because it was used in trade, people converted to ___________________, and Berbers dominated trade. 9. The trans-Saharan trade changed West Africa because ___________________ brought Islam to West Africa. 10.The Empire of Mali became a powerful trade center because it was located on the ________________ ________________. 11.Arabs used ________________ to trade with the Ghana Empire because it increased trade across the desert. 12.Ghana and Mali grew because they were key _______________ _________________ for salt and gold. 13.The religion of Islam spread to West Africa because of ___________________ ______________. 14.The beautiful fabric made in West Africa is known as _____________________.

15.Story tellers that told history of their past were _________________. Word Bank Trade route Quran Berbers Camels traders routes Islam griots Niger River kente Niger River salt Mali Arabic gold trade

Sahara Desert

Muslim merchants

Answer Key- West Africa Study Guide 1. Arabic 2. Gold/salt 3. Quran 4. Mali 5. Berbers 6. Niger River 7. Sahara Desert 8. Islam 9. Traders 10.Niger River 11.Camels

12.Trade routes 13.Muslim merchants 14.kente 15.griots