Kush: Kingdom south of Egypt in Nubia; its rulers once ruled Egypt as the 25th dynasty
Meroe: Kushite capital famous for iron working and pyramids
Aksum (Axum): Powerful trading kingdom in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea
Ezana: Aksumite king who adopted Christianity in the 300s
Stelae of Aksum: Tall carved stone monuments in Aksum
Ge'ez: Ancient language and script of Aksum, still used in church
Sahara: World's largest hot desert, crossed by trade caravans
Sahel: Dry grassland belt south of the Sahara
Savanna: Grassland with scattered trees
Trans-Saharan trade: Caravans carried gold and salt across the desert
Camel: Desert animal that made trade across the Sahara possible
Caravan: Group of traders traveling together
Salt: Valuable in West Africa; traded for gold
Gold: Mined in West Africa and traded to North Africa and beyond
Ghana Empire: West African trading empire, about 300-1100 CE (not today's Ghana)
Wagadu: Local name for the Ghana Empire
Kumbi Saleh: Ghana's capital and trading city
Mali Empire: Large West African empire that peaked in the 1300s
Sundiata Keita: Founder of the Mali Empire, about 1235
Epic of Sundiata: Story of the founder of Mali, told by griots
Griot: West African storyteller and keeper of history
Mansa: Title meaning 'king' in Mali
Mansa Musa: Mali's king famous for his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324
Hajj: Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca
Timbuktu: Mali trading city and center of Islamic learning
Sankore: Mosque and university in Timbuktu
Djinguereber Mosque: Mud-brick mosque in Timbuktu, built in the 1300s
Manuscripts of Timbuktu: Hundreds of thousands of handwritten books on many subjects
Ibn Battuta: Moroccan traveler who visited Mali in the 1350s
Songhai Empire: Largest West African empire, 1400s-1591
Sunni Ali: Songhai ruler who built the empire and took Timbuktu
Askia the Great: Songhai ruler who strengthened the empire and promoted learning
Gao: Songhai capital on the Niger River
Battle of Tondibi (1591): Moroccan forces with guns defeated Songhai
Niger River: Major river of West Africa
Great Zimbabwe: Stone city built in southern Africa, about 1100-1450
Zimbabwe (word): From a word meaning 'stone houses' or 'venerated houses'
Shona: People linked to Great Zimbabwe
Swahili Coast: East African coast where African and Arab trade cultures blended
Kilwa: Wealthy Swahili trading city on an island
Swahili: Bantu language with many Arabic words, spoken in East Africa
Mombasa: Trading port on the Kenyan coast
Indian Ocean trade: Monsoon winds carried ships between Africa, Arabia and Asia
Dhow: Triangular-sail ship used on the Indian Ocean
Benin Kingdom: Forest kingdom in today's Nigeria with a strong ruler, the Oba
Oba: King of Benin
Benin Bronzes: Famous plaques and sculptures made by Benin artists
Ife: Yoruba city known for its fine brass and terra-cotta heads
Yoruba: People of southwestern Nigeria with a rich art tradition
Hausa city-states: Trading states in northern Nigeria, like Kano
Kanem-Bornu: Empire near Lake Chad, long-lasting
Ethiopia: African land with ancient Christian kingdoms and never colonized for long
Lalibela: Town in Ethiopia with churches carved from rock in the 1200s
Queen Nzinga: Ruler of Ndongo and Matamba who resisted Portuguese rule in the 1600s
Kongo Kingdom: Central African kingdom that traded with Portugal
Bantu migrations: Spread of Bantu-speaking peoples across much of Africa over centuries
Iron working: Skill that spread through sub-Saharan Africa and made tools stronger
Nok culture: Ancient culture of Nigeria known for terra-cotta sculpture
Transatlantic slave trade: Forced removal of millions of Africans to the Americas from the 1500s to the 1800s
Colonialism: Control of a land by a foreign power
Berlin Conference (1884-85): European powers set rules for dividing Africa among themselves
Scramble for Africa: European takeover of most of Africa between 1880 and 1914
Shaka Zulu: Leader who built the powerful Zulu kingdom in the early 1800s
Menelik II: Ethiopian emperor who defeated Italy at Adwa in 1896
Battle of Adwa (1896): Ethiopian victory that secured its independence
Kwame Nkrumah: Led Ghana to independence in 1957
Independence era: Most African countries gained independence between 1950 and 1975
Nelson Mandela: Anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa's first Black president
Apartheid: South African system of racial separation, ended in the early 1990s
Wangari Maathai: Kenyan environmentalist who founded the Green Belt Movement
Africa: Second-largest continent, with 54 countries

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