Name _____________________________ Class________________________ Date_____________

Societies and Empires of Africa

Lesson 4

North and West African Civilizations

Key Terms and People
Maghrib part of North Africa that is today the Mediterranean coast of Morocco
Almoravids Islamic group with an empire in North Africa and southern Spain
Almohads Islamic group that overthrew the Almoravids in the 12th century
Ghana West African empire that grew rich from trade
Mali West African empire that grew rich from trade
Sundiata founder and first emperor of the kingdom of Mali
Mansa Musa Mali ruler who created a large kingdom and adopted Islam
Ibn Battuta 14th-century traveler who visited most of the Islamic world
Songhai West African empire that conquered Mali
Hausa West African people who lived in city-states of what is now northern
Nigeria
Yoruba West African people who formed several kingdoms in what is now Benin
Benin kingdom near the Niger River delta which became a West African state

Before You Read

In the last lesson, you read about the kingdom of Aksum.
In this lesson, you will read about societies that arose in Africa.

As You Read
Use a chart to take notes on empires in North and West Africa.

MUSLIM STATES The Almohads were another group of

How did Islam spread in North Berbers. They overthrew the Almoravids
Africa? in the 1100s.
Islam was an important influence on 1. Who were the Berbers?
African history. By 670, Muslims ruled
Egypt. They entered the Maghrib, the North African Muslims who helped
part of North Africa which is now spread Islam in North Africa and to
southern Spain.
Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria.
The Berbers were a group of North
Africans. In the 11th century, a group of
Berbers called the Almoravids spread
Islam. They conquered modern
Morocco, Ghana, and parts of Spain.

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169 Guided Reading Workbook

Name _____________________________ Class________________________ Date_____________
Lesson 4, continued
EMPIRE OF GHANA; EMPIRE OF
MALI; EMPIRE OF SONGHAI
How did the kingdom of Ghana arise?
By the 700s, the rulers of the kingdom
of Ghana were growing rich. They taxed
the goods that traders carried through
their land. The two most important
trade goods were gold and salt. Arab
traders also brought cloth and
manufactured goods from cities on the
Mediterranean Sea.
Over time, Muslim merchants and
traders brought their religion to Ghana.
By the 1000s, the kings converted to
Islam. Later, Ghana fell to the
Almoravids of North Africa. Ghana
never regained its former power.
By 1235, a new kingdom began—
Mali. Mali’s wealth and power were also
based on the gold trade. Sundiata
became Mali’s first emperor. He was a
great military and political leader.
Later, Mali rulers adopted Islam. One
of them was Mansa Musa. He made
Mali twice the size of the old empire of
Ghana. Mansa Musa built mosques in
two cities. One was Timbuktu. It became
a leading center of Muslim learning.
Ibn Battuta was a later traveler to the
area. He described how peaceful Mali
was. Mali, though, declined in the 1400s.
Mali was replaced by another empire
that grew wealthy from gold.
The next trading empire was Songhai.
It was farther to the east than Mali.
Songhai arose in the 1400s.
The Songhai Empire fell in 1591.
Moroccan troops used gunpowder and
cannons to beat Songhai soldiers. They
had only swords and spears. Empires no
longer ruled West Africa.
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2. What goods made Ghana, Mali, and
Songhai powerful?
Gold and salt were the most important
trade goods. Cloth and manufactured
goods were also traded in Ghana.
OTHER PEOPLES OF WEST
AFRICA
What other states and kingdoms
arose?
In other parts of West Africa, city-
states developed. The Hausa people
lived in the region that is now northern
Nigeria. The Hausa rulers depended on
farmers’ crops. They also relied on trade
goods. These included salt, grain, and
cotton cloth.
The Yoruba people also first lived in
city-states. Over time, some of the small
Yoruba communities joined together.
Many Yoruba kingdoms were formed.
Yoruba people believed that their kings
were gods.
The kingdom of Benin arose in the
1200s. It was located near the delta of
the Niger River. In the 1400s, a ruler
named Ewuare led Benin. He made the
kingdom more powerful. During his
reign, Benin became a major West
African state. He strengthened Benin
City, his capital. High walls surrounded
the city. The huge palace contained
many works of art.
In the 1480s, trading ships from
Portugal came. They sailed into a major
port of Benin. Their arrival was historic.
It marked the start of a long period of
European involvement in Africa.
3. What was important about Benin?
Benin was another West African kingdom
that arose in the 1200s and reached its
peak 100 years later.
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Lesson 4, continued

As you read about the empires and states that arose in West Africa, briefly note
the causes or effects (depending on which is missing) of each situation.

Causes
1. Berbers discovered that camels
could cover greater distances
than other pack animals and
could travel up to ten days
without water.
Effects
Using camels, Berber nomads blazed
new routes across the Sahara and
trade increased.

2. The Muslim Almoravids With the source of its wealth gone,

disrupted the gold-salt trade Ghana never regained power.
that Ghana had controlled.

3. Gold was discovered farther The people of Mali, who lived in the
east, causing a shift eastward region of the new trade routes, were
able to seize power.
in trade routes.

4. Most of Mansa Musa’s The empire of Mali weakened.

successors did not govern
well; also, new gold deposits
were developed and trade
shifted eastward again.
5. Unlike their foe, the Songhai Moroccan troops quickly defeated the
warriors had no modern Songhai warriors.
weapons.

6. The city-states of Kano and These city-states became major

Katsina were located along the centers for trade, profiting from
route that linked other West
African states with the supplying the needs of caravans.
Mediterranean.

7. The largest Yoruba kingdoms This freed city dwellers from farming;
produced surplus food, which they could become craftspeople or
was sent to cities.
traders.

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171 Guided Reading Workbook