700 || Islam in North Africa |
800-1100 || Growth of Trans Saharan Trade |
Islam in spread quickly through North Africa due to the saharan trade. Several groups brought into Islam were fighting Christianity and joined the Islamic empire to avoid converting. Traders and rulers often converted to connect with trade partners and create trust, respect, and unity between groups, especially as Islam spread. Most rulers mixed Islam with original cultural practices to be more accessible to commoners.
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The Saharan trade system grew greatly with the spread of Islam and the creation of each new kingdom. Gold, salt, lumber, and ideas were popular trade items. Many trade centers such as Alexandria and TImbuktu drew in many scholars and created world class universities that pushed the bounds of knowledge. The trade routes were also expanded by missionaries and merchants, looking for new societies to communicate with.
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c. 1000 || Soninke People at Height of Power
Ghana reaches the height of its power. It was the first major empire in Western African. The Mali and Songhay empires later grow from it. the minority Muslims soon achieved roles as advisors to the emperor. Ghana's great army was supplied with iron weapons. It soon grew to becomes major trade center for gold and salt due to its strategic location between the desert of northern africa and the dense forest of the south while controlling the Niger and Senegal rivers.
1076 || Fall of the Ghana Empire
A popular theory is that Ghana fell because of an attack from the Islamic Berbers of Morocco. This lead Ghana into several years of internal disputes and fighting, weakening it until it fell apart into several small kingdoms. Another idea for Ghana's collapse was a declining economy due to the gold trade moving east of the Niger river. A final theory is that Ghana fell due to rivalries among the various hierarchies resulting in political instability. No matter the cause the Ghana Empire completely collapsed in 1230 when the capital was overtaken by the Senegals. The fall of Ghana left a power vacuum resulting in many years of instability in west africa before the Mali Empire came to power.