The West African Kingdom of Songhai



The West African Kingdom of Songhai

Global History and Geography I Name: ___________________

E. Napp Date: ___________________

The third and the last of the great West African kingdoms was Songhai. In 1464, the Songhai people captured Timbuktu. Like Ghana and Mali before it, Songhai grew powerful by controlling the gold and salt trade. Songhai’s greatest king was Sonni Ali. From 1464 until 1492, this great king of Songhai never lost a battle. He also made Songhai the largest empire that West Africa ever had. His empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean eastward nearly 1,800 miles. Ali brought uniformity to his empire by making sure that all the weights and measures were the same throughout the empire.

Others wanted Songhai’s riches and attacked it. At first, Songhai’s army easily defeated its neighbors. Then in 1590, the Arab ruler of Morocco in North Africa sent an army to conquer Songhai. The Arab army had only 2,000 soldiers, but it had a new, powerful weapon – the gun. In 1596, Songhai fell. The empire broke apart, and West Africa was never united again.

Questions:

1- From previous lessons, explain the Trans-Saharan trade. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2- Many of the people of Songhai were Muslims. From previous lessons, explain how Islam in West Africa is an example of cultural diffusion. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3- Who was Sonni Ali and why was he Songhai’s greatest king? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4- Why was Songhai attacked? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5- Why was a Moroccan army able to defeat Songhai? ________________________________________________________

Trade routes on the African continent transported more than just goods like salt and gold. With the commercial trade came the exchange of religious ideas. Islam was introduced to West Africa by Arab merchants traveling along the Saharan caravan routes in the early ninth century and gradually influenced West Africa through the migration of Muslim merchants, scholars, and settlers.

By trading with North Africa, the states of West Africa became important players in the activities of the region, since it was they who provided the gold on which so many countries depended. Without losing their own African character, these states eventually became part of the Islamic world.

How did the Trans-Saharan trade change the cultures of West Africa?

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Primary Source: Ibn Battuta, Arab traveler, in Mali

“Yet another is their zeal for learning the Koran by heart. They put their children in chains if they show any backwardness in memorizing it, and they are not set free until they have it by heart. I visited the quadi in his house on the day of the festival. His children were chained up, so I said to him, "Will you not let them loose" He replied, "I shall not do so until they learn the Koran by heart". Among their bad qualities are the following. The women servants, slave-girls, and young girls go about in front of everyone naked, without a stitch of clothing on them. Women go into the sultan's presence naked and without coverings, and his daughters also go about naked. Then there is the custom of their putting dust and ashes on their heads as a mark of respect, and the grotesque ceremonies we have described when the poets recite their verses.”

Provide one example of an educational technique of the people of Mali:

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Provide one example of ethnocentrism from the primary source:

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One similarity between the Ancient African kingdoms of Egypt, Ghana, Mali and Songhai is that all of these kingdoms were located

1. in mountainous terrain

2. in coastal areas

3. on major trading routes

4. in rain forest areas

One reason the ancient kingdoms in western Africa prospered was that they

1. were located along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers

2. had no contact with the rest of the world

3. followed the Hindu beliefs of their rulers

4. developed extensive trade in gold, ivory, and salt

Mansa Musa’s journey to Mecca in the 1300’s is evidence that

1. the Crusades had a great influence on western Africa

2. most African leaders were educated in the Middle East

3. European culture was superior to the cultures of western Africa

4. Islam had a major influence on the Mali Empire

The contributions of the ancient civilizations of Ghana, Axum, Kush, and Mali demonstrate that

1. industrial technology was needed for African civilizations to develop

2. many African civilizations developed in southern Africa

3. most of the African Continent was unified under a single political system

4. advanced societies developed in Africa before Europeans colonized this region

A similarity between the ancient western African kingdoms of Mali, Ghana, and Songhai is that these kingdoms

1. limited the power of their rulers

2. practiced Christianity

3. established economies based on trade

4. isolated themselves from contact with other cultures

Much of the wealth of the West African kingdoms of Ghana and Mali was gained from the

(1) sale of slaves to Europeans

(2) creation of colonies on the Mediterranean coast

(3) taxation on goods brought by Indian merchants

(4) control of the trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt

Who was Ibn Battuta?

Ibn Battuta started on his travels when he was 20 years old in 1325. His main reason to travel was to go on a Hajj, or a Pilgrimage to Mecca, as all good Muslims want to do. But his traveling went on for about 29 years and he covered about 75,000 miles visiting the equivalent of 44 modern countries which were then mostly under the governments of Muslim leaders of the World of Islam, or "Dar al-Islam".

He met many dangers and had many adventures along the way. He was attacked by bandits, almost drowned in a sinking ship, was almost beheaded by a tyrant ruler, and had a few marriages and lovers and fathered several children on his travels!

Near the end of Ibn Battuta's own life, the Sultan of Morocco insisted that Ibn Battuta dictate the story of his travels to a scholar and today we can read translations of that story called "Rihla - My Travels". Much of it is fascinating, but some of it seems to be made up and even is inaccurate about places we know about. However, it is a valuable and interesting record of places which add to our understanding of the Middle Ages.

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Write Five Facts about Ibn Battuta:

1- ________________________________________________________

2- ________________________________________________________

3- ________________________________________________________

4- ________________________________________________________

5- ________________________________________________________

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