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Keynotes - Ancient African Civilizations

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26 views2 pages

Keynotes - Ancient African Civilizations

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safwat.technology
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OUR OWN HIGH SCHOOL AL WARQA’A

Keynotes: ANCIENT AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS


Subject: Moral, Social and Cultural Studies
Grade: 8
Learning objectives:

• Identify ancient African civilizations.


• Explore the contributions of ancient African civilizations to human history.
Ancient Aksum
• Location: Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa.
• Diversity: Ethiopia is populated by many ethnic groups, reflecting its rich history.
• Historical Name: In ancient times, Ethiopia was called Abyssinia.
• Prominent Kingdom: The Kingdom of Aksum was the most prominent kingdom.
• Establishment: The Kingdom of Aksum was established in 400 BCE.
• Trade Hub: Aksum served as a major trade hub between African, Arab, European, and Indian
communities.
• Language: The people of Aksum had their own written language called Ge'ez.
• Currency: Aksumites printed their own coins to use as currency.
• Modern Remains: Remains of the Kingdom of Aksum are still visible in Northern Ethiopia.
• Aksum City: The city of Aksum has a population of over 50,000 people and is considered one of
the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Africa.
• Obelisks: Large structures called obelisks, erected by Negus Ezana, have been discovered by
archaeologists.
• Historical Significance: The obelisks serve as a reminder of the power that ancient Aksum once
held.
Ancient Harar Jugol
• Location: Part of Ancient Abyssinia, now in Ethiopia.
• Founding: The city was founded as early as the 10th century.
• Capital: It served as the capital of the Harari Kingdom.
• Trade: The Harari Kingdom was an important trading society connecting merchants from the
Ethiopian coast to the Ethiopian highlands.
• City Structure: Ancient Harar Jugol had five walled gates.
• These gates served as protective barriers.
• They divided the city into five separate neighborhoods.
• The gates corresponded with main roads and walkways throughout the city.
• Comparison with Aksum
• Geographic Context: Both kingdoms were part of Ancient Abyssinia, located in modern-day
Ethiopia.
• Prominence: Both were powerful empires in their time.
• Trade Importance:Aksum: Served as a major hub between African, Arab, European, and Indian
trade communities.
• Harari Kingdom: Connected merchants from the Ethiopian coasts to those in the Ethiopian
highlands.
• Historical Significance: Both kingdoms are prominent in Ethiopia's history.
The Kingdom of Zimbabwe
• Location: Southern Africa, present-day Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa.
• Establishment: Founded around 1000 CE by the Kalanga people.
• Name Origin: The name comes from the stone architecture, including stone houses and massive
walls.
• Duration: The kingdom lasted until about 1500 CE.
• Modern Name: Present-day Zimbabwe took its name from the original Kingdom of Zimbabwe
after independence from the British in 1980.
• Regional Power: Became an important regional power through trade.
• Major Trading Partnership:
• Mapungubwe: One of Great Zimbabwe’s major trading partners, located in present-day
Limpopo area of South Africa.
• The relationship contributed to the prosperity of both kingdoms.
• Trade Control:Controlled the ivory and gold trade routes from the African interior to the
southeastern coasts.
• Resource Production: Established its own gold, copper, and iron mines for production and trade.
• Architectural Significance:
Ancient Ghana
• Location: Also known as Wagadou, located in present-day Mauritania and Mali.
• Influence: Spread throughout the West African coast and across the Sahara Desert.
• Modern Name: Present-day Ghana took its name from the ancient kingdom.
• Historical Records:
• Appears in written records by travelers in 830 CE.
• Mentioned in the 11th-century book "The Book of Routes and Kingdoms."
• Reputation: Known as the "Land of Gold" along trade routes and in distant kingdoms.
• Stories of gold-embroidered caps, golden saddles, shields, and swords decorated with gold.
• Power and Trade:Dominant force in ancient international trade.
• Strategically located at the gates of the Sahara Desert, facilitating Trans-Sahara trade.
• Profited from trade with Arabian, Asian, European, and Indian markets.
• Traded gold, copper, iron, ivory, salts, cola nuts, and other resources.
• Gold Wealth:All gold nuggets belonged to the king, while gold dust could be freely collected by
miners and citizens.
• Contributed to the kingdom's immense wealth.
• Cultural Complexity:Described as a complex civilization with a blend of Islamic and traditional
West African culture.
• Islam was introduced through Trans-Sahara trade.
• Literacy and Writing:Ghanaian scholars began to write their oral stories.
• Used Arabic script to write in their native Wolof language, creating Ajami (Arabic script used to
write different languages).

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