Flashcards › History › World History

African Kingdoms and Empires

Kush, Aksum, Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Great Zimbabwe, Benin and other African civilizations.

71 cardsGrades 3–5, Grades 6–8, Grades 9–12#africa#mali#songhai#ghana#timbuktu

0 of 71 known
71 cards
  • KushTerm
    Kingdom south of Egypt in Nubia; its rulers once ruled Egypt as the 25th dynasty
  • MeroeTerm
    Kushite capital famous for iron working and pyramids
  • Aksum (Axum)Term
    Powerful trading kingdom in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea
  • EzanaTerm
    Aksumite king who adopted Christianity in the 300s
  • Stelae of AksumTerm
    Tall carved stone monuments in Aksum
  • Ge'ezTerm
    Ancient language and script of Aksum, still used in church
  • SaharaTerm
    World's largest hot desert, crossed by trade caravans
  • SahelTerm
    Dry grassland belt south of the Sahara
  • SavannaTerm
    Grassland with scattered trees
  • Trans-Saharan tradeTerm
    Caravans carried gold and salt across the desert
  • CamelTerm
    Desert animal that made trade across the Sahara possible
  • CaravanTerm
    Group of traders traveling together
  • SaltTerm
    Valuable in West Africa; traded for gold
  • GoldTerm
    Mined in West Africa and traded to North Africa and beyond
  • Ghana EmpireTerm
    West African trading empire, about 300-1100 CE (not today's Ghana)
  • WagaduTerm
    Local name for the Ghana Empire
  • Kumbi SalehTerm
    Ghana's capital and trading city
  • Mali EmpireTerm
    Large West African empire that peaked in the 1300s
  • Sundiata KeitaTerm
    Founder of the Mali Empire, about 1235
  • Epic of SundiataTerm
    Story of the founder of Mali, told by griots
  • GriotTerm
    West African storyteller and keeper of history
  • MansaTerm
    Title meaning 'king' in Mali
  • Mansa MusaTerm
    Mali's king famous for his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324
  • HajjTerm
    Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca
  • TimbuktuTerm
    Mali trading city and center of Islamic learning
  • SankoreTerm
    Mosque and university in Timbuktu
  • Djinguereber MosqueTerm
    Mud-brick mosque in Timbuktu, built in the 1300s
  • Manuscripts of TimbuktuTerm
    Hundreds of thousands of handwritten books on many subjects
  • Ibn BattutaTerm
    Moroccan traveler who visited Mali in the 1350s
  • Songhai EmpireTerm
    Largest West African empire, 1400s-1591
  • Sunni AliTerm
    Songhai ruler who built the empire and took Timbuktu
  • Askia the GreatTerm
    Songhai ruler who strengthened the empire and promoted learning
  • GaoTerm
    Songhai capital on the Niger River
  • Battle of Tondibi (1591)Term
    Moroccan forces with guns defeated Songhai
  • Niger RiverTerm
    Major river of West Africa
  • Great ZimbabweTerm
    Stone city built in southern Africa, about 1100-1450
  • Zimbabwe (word)Term
    From a word meaning 'stone houses' or 'venerated houses'
  • ShonaTerm
    People linked to Great Zimbabwe
  • Swahili CoastTerm
    East African coast where African and Arab trade cultures blended
  • KilwaTerm
    Wealthy Swahili trading city on an island
  • SwahiliTerm
    Bantu language with many Arabic words, spoken in East Africa
  • MombasaTerm
    Trading port on the Kenyan coast
  • Indian Ocean tradeTerm
    Monsoon winds carried ships between Africa, Arabia and Asia
  • DhowTerm
    Triangular-sail ship used on the Indian Ocean
  • Benin KingdomTerm
    Forest kingdom in today's Nigeria with a strong ruler, the Oba
  • ObaTerm
    King of Benin
  • Benin BronzesTerm
    Famous plaques and sculptures made by Benin artists
  • IfeTerm
    Yoruba city known for its fine brass and terra-cotta heads
  • YorubaTerm
    People of southwestern Nigeria with a rich art tradition
  • Hausa city-statesTerm
    Trading states in northern Nigeria, like Kano
  • Kanem-BornuTerm
    Empire near Lake Chad, long-lasting
  • EthiopiaTerm
    African land with ancient Christian kingdoms and never colonized for long
  • LalibelaTerm
    Town in Ethiopia with churches carved from rock in the 1200s
  • Queen NzingaTerm
    Ruler of Ndongo and Matamba who resisted Portuguese rule in the 1600s
  • Kongo KingdomTerm
    Central African kingdom that traded with Portugal
  • Bantu migrationsTerm
    Spread of Bantu-speaking peoples across much of Africa over centuries
  • Iron workingTerm
    Skill that spread through sub-Saharan Africa and made tools stronger
  • Nok cultureTerm
    Ancient culture of Nigeria known for terra-cotta sculpture
  • Transatlantic slave tradeTerm
    Forced removal of millions of Africans to the Americas from the 1500s to the 1800s
  • ColonialismTerm
    Control of a land by a foreign power
  • Berlin Conference (1884-85)Term
    European powers set rules for dividing Africa among themselves
  • Scramble for AfricaTerm
    European takeover of most of Africa between 1880 and 1914
  • Shaka ZuluTerm
    Leader who built the powerful Zulu kingdom in the early 1800s
  • Menelik IITerm
    Ethiopian emperor who defeated Italy at Adwa in 1896
  • Battle of Adwa (1896)Term
    Ethiopian victory that secured its independence
  • Kwame NkrumahTerm
    Led Ghana to independence in 1957
  • Independence eraTerm
    Most African countries gained independence between 1950 and 1975
  • Nelson MandelaTerm
    Anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa's first Black president
  • ApartheidTerm
    South African system of racial separation, ended in the early 1990s
  • Wangari MaathaiTerm
    Kenyan environmentalist who founded the Green Belt Movement
  • AfricaTerm
    Second-largest continent, with 54 countries

Download this deck

Want paper cards? Paste the plain-text download into the flashcard maker.

More World History decks