The Ancient and Medieval African Kingdoms: A Complete Overview

Africa gives us some of the most important and diverse history of any continent this isn't surprising as Africa is the second biggest continent after Asia and presently as the largest number of countries to the north the coast which touches the Mediterranean Sea is full of mountains just to the south of that is the largest non-polar desert on the planet the Sahara the Sahara is a very important division in Africa making history in sub-Saharan Africa much different than in the North this region came to be dominated by the civilizations that would form around the Nile River Valley to the South the sub-Saharan is made up of a variety of terrain in the hump of Africa grasslands slowly develop as you head south which then turn into tropical rainforests this region is home to the Niger River a very important river valley in African history home to numerous civilizations moving further south we find the rainforests of the Congo Basin where flows the mighty Congo River in the East Africa touches the Indian Ocean and terrain is more mountainous with plateaus and large lakes we believe the Cradle of humankind is located in this region of modern-day Kenya in the south of Africa there are dry deserts like in Namibia but also Hills and plateaus this area is home to some of the most valuable mineral resources in the world we aren't exactly certain where agriculture first began in Africa but it was most likely about 7 000 years ago in the Sahel the area between the Sahara and the Savannah the region was more green and fertile than it is today though cultivation was easy the suboptimal soil and scarce rainfall made more intensive farming impossible so populations remained relatively stable this wasn't a problem as they relied mainly on hunting and Gathering it was only after the Sahara became drier turning into a desert that some populations migrated South deeper into the grasslands spreading their farming techniques leading to more diverse crops like tropical fruits which are only able to grow in wetter climates others migrated towards the Nile river which became a cradle of civilization this eventually coalesced into ancient Egypt a region which we had previously discussed in our last Mega documentary Egypt is usually studied alongside the Mediterranean or near East but perhaps above all else it was truly African this is evidenced by its neighbors right to the south in which they would be inextricably linked in truth archaeologists of the past could only work within their own perspectives influenced by ever-present ideologies the most influential was the backdrop of biblical stories many of these involving Egypt the result was European archaeologists and historians removing Egypt from Africa to place them in the stories of the near East often depicting them with European features along with other regions mentioned in the Bible the Nubians were regarded as darker skinned and out of the biblical sphere so had always taken a backseat to Egypt Nubia has often been overlooked because of Egypt's dominance in the historical narrative but the region of Nubia today Sudan also developed their civilization around the same Nile River with which the Egyptians prospered [Music] around 2500 BCE the Karma Culture would form in Upper Nubia after growing in size and prominence they would expand northwards into lower Nubia on the border of their great Rivals the city of kerma itself was only home to around 2000 Nubians but most others lived rurally in smaller villages the most stunning Karma structures were built of mud bricks these were called de fufas they were either temples or chapels for funerals they were built promoting air circulation and the bricks kept the interior nice and cool Egypt often underestimated the Nubians but this wasn't the Egypt of old Egypt was in a weakened State during the second intermediate period the hixels had encroached from the north and now Nubia from the south after expelling the hiksos the Egyptian New Kingdom would launch campaigns into Nubia which they now referred to as Cush the Nubian Army was said to possess stunningly skilled archers the Egyptians previously called the region to seti meaning land of the bow by 1500 BCE Nubia was absorbed and their capital of coma was destroyed while Western narrative is that Nubia inherited most of their culture from Egypt there was always a mutual exchange of ideas this period saw that exchange ramped up tenfold Elite wood intermarry and ceremonies involving the sun godaman would take place though Nubia was annexed they would continue to fight back for centuries [Music] perhaps one of these rebellions would succeed but there was no need to find out the Bronze Age collapse dismantled New Kingdom Egypt sending the once great Egyptian Empire spiraling down after Egypt finally disintegrated Nubia had its own chance for Glory the kingdom of kush was established in Nubia around 1070 BCE with the capital eventually moving to napta after Karma this marked a second golden age for Nubia in the 700s BCE Egypt was still fragmented from The Fallout of the Bronze Age collapse with Libyan Invaders making a mockery of Egypt's buildings and customs a firm believer in the Egyptian religion himself King Caster of kush undertook a campaign to invade Egypt and drive off these Invaders while there is no depiction of this man he succeeded in taking the religious Center of Thebes and was even greeted as a liberator by the locals he would then set his sights North to conquer the rest of Egypt but it was not to be Caster died and was buried with his predecessor Alara the conquest of Egypt would then fall to Caster's son kingpai around 745 BCE King pie would invade a divided Egypt and succeed completing the conquest and becoming their first pharaoh of the 25th Dynasty I am a king Divine ammunition living image of a tomb who came forth from the womb adorned as a Rula of whom those greater than you are afraid whose father knew and whose mother recognized that he would rule foreign [Music] ruling from thieves in Memphis this dynasty would be known as the Nubian Dynasty encompassing a wider cushite Empire one of pai's sons tahaka became the most influential pharaoh of this dynasty under his rule Egypt became as prosperous as it had been during its New Kingdom Period religion was promoted and art restored and created temples and monuments were commissioned as well pyramid construction began again a practice not seen since the Middle Kingdom others of the Dynasty are sometimes depicted with distinct headdresses the typical headdress involves a ureas or Cobra representing rulership to Harkers possess two cobras most likely signifying rulership of both Egypt and Nubia the kushites also developed their own script derived from the Egyptian this was the meruitic alphabet the kushite's success caught the eye of a new and expanding superpower in the near East the neo-assyrian empire was lapping up chunks of land in the Middle East and was on the March towards Egypt in Judah King Hezekiah implored the Kush for help to Stave off the Assyrians so the king sent an army Jerusalem was saved from The Siege and merely became a tribute state of Assyria instead of fully annexed Furious the neo-assyrant would then attack Egypt herself to crush this Kingdom of kush once and for all the Nubians fought well fending off the Assyrians over and over even after all seemed lost in 664 BCE though the kushites were finally defeated after the sack of Thebes the neo-assyrians under King Asha banapal had access to vast amounts of iron weapons which wore down the Nubians forcing a retreat the Assyrians withdrew as well but installed native puppet rulers as Egypt's 26th Dynasty their civilization would live on though by the 500 BCE the capital was moved to marrow or merui further away from Egypt but more importantly expanded southwards to a region with sufficient rainfall and easy access to iron and other resources here the Nubians would flourish once again their most significant structures were their pyramids while smaller and differently shaped than their Egyptian counterparts some would still stand an impressive 30 meters tall just shy of 100 feet even more impressive is that just a single burial area in merrow contains more pyramids than in the entirety of Egypt yet not many have heard of this land of pyramids the Nubians would live on through the Classical period as well often under female rulers called candy k [Music] as the kingdom of kush flourished in Nubia for centuries a rival would be growing to the southeast in present-day Ethiopia by the first century CE the Kingdom of Aksum was founded here by people claiming to be descendants of the kingdom of saba which biblical sources call Sheba whose Queen possesses great wealth in the story Saba situated across the Red Sea on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula became a wealthy trading Kingdom as an intermediary between the Mediterranean and India there still isn't evidence that the founders of Aksum were actual descendants or whether they just adopted some of their culture the kingdom of saba began to decline by the turn of the Millennium and dissolved by the third century Aksum survived though relying on their own fortuitous trading location between the Mediterranean and the east ER mainly exported Ivory perfumes and slaves and brought in Metal Works wine and olive oil they would eventually get into an economic war with their Nubian neighbors over the ivory trade and in 330 they attacked and conquered the Nubian capital a final blow to the already declining Nubians the kingdom of kush disintegrated into different smaller States and the Kingdom of Aksum later taking on the name Ethiopia became the Region's hegemonic power so much in fact that the Iranian philosopher Manny regarded Aksum as one of the four Great powers of the world along with sassanid Persia the Roman Empire and China while they had originally practiced the religion of the kingdom of Sabah they would adopt a new official religion in the mid-300s fremences was a Christian born in Byzantine tire and grew up in Aksum as a slave before the axemite King's death he freed fromensius who appealed to the Church of Alexandria to send missionaries to Aksum he was appointed as bishop and converted the new king to Christianity and fremences became the founder of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church es and Aksum retained close ties with the church of Alexandria just to their North in Byzantine Egypt tradition held that Aksum was the home of the Ark of the Covenant the sacred chest covered in Gold where lay the two tablets with the Ten Commandments in this region of Africa Nubia and axon became so prominent because of the trading routes from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean most of the rest of Africa saw different patterns that shaped their cultural development in North Africa during the ancient period Carthage was a huge hub for Commerce and trade trading beyond the Sahara was conducted by the berbers a people we mentioned last episode the berbas were part of the afro-asiatic language family like the ancient Egyptian the kashitic in the Horn of Africa and the Semitic languages which came to dominate the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant these pastoralists transported goods from North Africa to the sub-Saharan and vice versa while salt gold copper and slaves moved North food and manufactured Wares would move South once the camel was introduced to the Sahara from the Arabian Peninsula the trans-saharan trade truly prospered as the camels which could store their own nutritional resources to survive in the desert were far superior transport units to the donkey which had previously been used in North Africa a group possibly descended from Iron Age berbers were known to the Romans as the garamantes and resided in Libya forming a small Kingdom though the earliest records date from the 5th Century BCE they emerged as a regional power in the 100 CE prospering from the trans-saharan trading routes the garamantes are most known for developing the first urban Society in a major desert not centered near a river they did this using a complex irrigation technique known as the cannot system similar to the one used in Persia the society declined heavily in the 400s once the deserts got drier and water became more scarce in West Africa agricultural communities would emerge based on the domestication of millet there is evidence of this as far back as 2000 BCE these would become Urban centers and flourished because of the variation of environment in Western Africa the desert Nomads to the north could produce salts the Farmers on the fertile Coast could provide meat and grain the hunters along the Niger River provided fish and those in the forests provided meats and Furs the two most prominent Urban centers were of the tishit culture data sheet and wallata in present-day Mauritania the Sonic people amande speaking ethnic group are thought to be responsible for beginning these centers by around 300 BCE these centers would decline and eventually become abandoned we would see similar Pottery in the later Ghana Empire so the culture did survive later around 300 BCE Jenny jenno in Mali was settled marked by homes and living quarters built with dried mud by 250 BCE Jenny jenno became a huge urban center itself the bricks were built by mixing mud with straw and letting it ferment for a period of time making the building materials thick and tough but also malleable once the mud bricks were placed they would be covered in mud plaster this kept the insides cool [Music] to the south in the Joe's plateau of central Nigeria the knock culture would emerge around 1500 BCE they were known for their life-like terracotta figures of humans and animals by 200 CE however this culture disappeared but the knock is thought to have influenced later figurine to the Yoruba [Music] Central and Southern Africa would start to see new migrants from the second millennium BCE originating in Cameroon protobantu speakers part of the Niger Congo language family would Branch off kick-starting a millennia-long migration the Western Branch would migrate southwards following the rivers until reaching Angola the Eastern group would first settle near the Great Lakes region of Africa then they traveled Southeast in different phases these phases were not done within a lifetime but over thousands of years and by the end of the first Millennium CE the barn II occupied all of Central and most of southern Africa displacing or assimilating the nomadic and pastoralist tribes along the way in the East they would encounter both kashitic and nilotic speakers kashitik speakers were from the afro-asiatic language family the same family as the semitics from the near East and the Egyptian language nilotic speakers were from the nilo Saharan language family the same family as the Nubian language as the Bantu speakers of central Africa spread to the South they encountered a people who were still able to thrive through hunting and Gathering and herding relations between the barn too and these people were relatively peaceful and many would get absorbed into the Bantu society and culture which relied primarily on agriculture the two main groups of these indigenous Africans were the quake and the San collectively known as the khoisen both shared similar languages primarily from three language families and are known for their Clique consonants the kwaikwen were primarily nomadic pastoralist herders maintaining large herds of cattle indigenous to their region the sanwa hunter-gatherers who lived in small communities and have been called Bushmen in the past by the first century the African East Coast was established as part of a trading Network it was around this time a sailor from Roman Alexandria who remained unknown wrote a detailed account of his voyages down the coast to the Strait of Madagascar this document was called the periplus of the Eritrean sea and provided descriptions of the people and settlements encountered the periplus also describes trading opportunities with regions of the Persian Gulf Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean the port of raptor which could be located in present-day Tanzania was described as a trading Metropolis exporting valuable Ivory rhinoceros horns and tortoise shells while importing glass grains and weapons Beyond this lay the Strait of Madagascar which led to the southern tip of Africa but was known for its bad weather so the periplus goes no further we aren't certain of the beginnings of the East African trade with the Indian Ocean but the monsoon winds made it fast easy and one of the most efficient trading routes in the world it's possible that around the year 250 Malay Traders from Southeast Asia trading in spices like cinnamon began a settlement on the uninhabited island of Madagascar with their indigenous laborers from Borneo since the region was so isolated megafauna from the prehistoric period still roamed on the island but are now extinct Bantu migrants from the African Mainland would eventually make it to the island around year 1000. after years of mixing the malagazi people and language would emerge a blend of austronesian and East African after Africa's ancient period the medieval period would be mixed into the sphere of a new religion that of Islam though Islam the religion managed to permeate into sub-Saharan Africa the armies of Islam never managed to break through only completing direct control of North Africa before Islam Africa had reached traditions of its own while there was no unified religion Africans believed in pantheism which is a belief in one Creator God who is responsible for creation but other minor Gods lived throughout the world as well was a supreme deity of the akan people of Ghana who gave birth to more minor gods one of these sons was The Rainmaker another God was responsible for Sunshine the afterlife was viewed by how well a lineage group or Clan honors their ancestors the surviving members of a clan needed to perform the correct rituals to keep their ancestors Souls from disappearing in return it was thought the souls could influence their lives both positively and negatively so best to keep them happy once Islam arrived these beliefs didn't go away despite being at odds with each other one common thread was the acceptance of a single Supreme deity but Islam did not accept the worship of lesser deities and spirits and the existence of a priest class furthermore Islam was more rigid in its gender roles and there was often separation between men and women in Islamic Society while African society was more lenient with their relationships and friendship circles in the end African culture and Islamic culture became syncretized into a unique form of African Islam but how exactly did Islam first get to Africa we touched on the rise of Islam last episode focusing on Africa after the newly islamized Arabs Consolidated power in their Peninsula the rashidans the first of the major caliphates went on a lightning-quick campaign of expansion in 641 they toppled the 200-year Byzantine rule in Egypt still more of a desert power than a naval power the Arabs moved the capital from the coastal city of Alexandria to fostart a more Inland City and safer from Maritime attacks after their initial successes in Egypt the Arabs continued to expand westwards in North Africa along the Mediterranean Coast the native berbers at first fought back against the Arabs delaying Arab expansion into the region for decades but by the 700s the Arabs broke through under their next caliphate the Umayyads and conquered all the way to the western coast and the Strait of Gibraltar leading into their own storied campaigns in Europe in the East the Kingdom of Aksum one of Africa's most prominent civilizations of the ancient period was in a period of decline by the Medieval Age overuse of their Farmland began their problems but trading routes shifted from the Red Sea region to the Persian Gulf and Arabian ports in the 800s AXA moved their Capital Inland away from the shore to the more mountainous regions attempted to stay active in trade by exporting Ivory gold perfumes and slaves from the Amharic Plateau to the South but couldn't regain their former glory as they were now landlocked and cut off from trading partners by the Arabs to the north in 960 tradition states that Aksum was destroyed by yoded a mysterious Warrior Queen the zagwe dynasty had taken power in Aksum in the mid-1100s they made the government more centralized and helped spread Christianity throughout Ethiopia Christian churches and monasteries were built all over in an attempt to spread the faith in rural areas though cut off economically they kept in contact with the Coptic Church in Egypt and the Christian communities in the Middle East in 1270 the solomonic dynasty took control founding the Ethiopian Empire which would last for centuries even though it would always be surrounded by hostile forces and be one of the only two African countries to have never been colonized the coast of East Africa would reach its Zenith during the medieval period in the ancient period this region was already booming with trade beyond the Indian Ocean as identified in the periplus the Arabs had called it the land of zange in reference to the darker skin of the indigenous people who inhabited the area according to Swahili tradition in the seven and eight hundreds Arabs from the peninsula began to settle along the small islands and ports on the coast Ivory rhinoceros horn and gold were shipped across the Indian Ocean in return for Ironworks textiles from India and Porcelain from China these regions became quite Rich quite quickly and some of their Stone palaces can still be seen in present-day Mombasa and Zanzibar the most impressive city was said to be kilwa to the South it is now in Ruins but IBN batuta claimed it was one of the most beautiful cities ever built the husuni kabwa was a large palace with domed roofs with a beautiful inner Courtyard indoor plumbing was also common the cities were generally all independent but also exerted power over numerous smaller towns the coastal cities would often act as intermediaries between East Asia and the interior regions of Africa as well who utilize the Ironworks and textiles sometimes though merchants on the coast would use Force against the interior Africans in order to gain more products Mombasa was reported as often being at war with the interior but still maintained trade relations by the 1100s the culture was Cosmopolitan blossoming with a culture mixed from the indigenous Africans and peoples from the Arabian Peninsula and Persia from this mix developed a unique Swahili culture a word from the Arabic meaning Sahel or Coast intermarriage would occur between immigrants and the native population leading to a powerful class of people of mixed heritage most of these upper classes had converted to Islam by this time another consequence was the appearance of Middle Eastern style buildings and distinctly Arab culture in a society that was still widely African the Arabic language mixed in with the native Barn too and created a new distinct language which came to be known as Swahili today it is still the national language of Kenya and Tanzania on the other side of the continent West Africa would be home to numerous large commercial Empires the introduction of the camel sparked the development of more efficient trans-saharan trade routes leading to the development of the first of the major West African empires in the three to four hundreds the Ghana Empire it was founded by the soninka people part of the mande language family the Ghana Empire wasn't located in present Ghana but further north in the grasslands of the upper Niger Valley between the deserts of the Sahara and the tropical forests to the South though the camel May trade easier the key to the development of Ghana was one of the most precious resources in the center of the Ghana Empire was one of the richest gold producing areas in all of Africa garnet and gold was traded with Morocco to the North and then transported all over the old world Ghana even became known to the Arabs as the land of gold over time Ivory ostrich feathers and slaves became their Prime exports in the trans-saharan trade but the slave trade most likely began much earlier with North African merchants selling sub-Saharan slaves across the Mediterranean though we don't know much about the kings of this Empire we know the capital was at kumbi Saleh Kings ruled by divine right and were aided by an aristocratic class made up of heads of the different Clans they each rule different areas where they collected taxes and maintained order the King was to maintain order in the whole empire and also acted as a judge in internal disputes the state religion was traditional African beliefs but over time Islam would enter the region through the Berber Merchants from the north the islamization of West Africa began slowly with individual Merchants converting by the start of the New Millennium the GAO Empire a newer Empire established in the 800s in eastern Mali was the first in the region to adopt Islam as the state religion the Ghana Empire adopted Islam in 1050. the Empire lasted for almost 1 000 years but was weakened by constant Wars with the berbers once trading routes shifted East the Empire would lose economic hegemony as well Ghana continued to decline and was eventually dissolved by the 1200s new Estates would coalesce in West Africa after the decline of Ghana including smaller city-states like in Horseland in Northern Nigeria and States like Canaan Borneo and GAO which would develop into the enormous Empire of solhei at the end of the medieval period but the most powerful successor to Ghana would be the Mali Empire established in 1230. extending from the West African Coast all the way Inland it encompassed the former Ghana capital of kumbi Saleh as well as the important trading cities of GAO and Gene all along the Niger River they continued the gold trade that made the preceding Ghana Empire wealthy but also relied more on farming as they had access to more moist farmland the political rulers were known as Mansa and also acted as the religious Authority the trading and most of the rest of Commerce was done in the bigger cities this was led by the merchants many of whom had converted to Islam this was the Mali Empire's official state religion although the rural regions kept the indigenous African traditions the empire was one of the wealthiest states in the world during the late medieval period and it's thought that one of its Kings Mansa Musa was the wealthiest man to have ever lived Mansa Musa also strengthened Islam in the Empire Building mosques and bringing in Scholars for quranic studies one of the most interesting cities to develop under Mali was the city of Timbuktu it was founded earlier around 1100 as a caravan camp for Berber merchants and Traders under Mansa Musa and the Mali Empire the city became the biggest Cultural Center in West Africa [Music] to the south of these West African kingdoms would be the wetter climates home to a wide variety of States based around the tropical forests by the Modern Age this region would include the Ashanti Empire primarily located in present-day Ghana the kingdom of dahome in present-day Benin known for their female warriors and the Kingdom's later role in the transatlantic slave trade the Oyo Empire the most powerful Yoruba state known for their cavalry the kingdom of Benin established by the Edo in southern Nigeria and the states of igbaland including the kingdom of Henry and its famous bronze artifacts dating to the 9th century Central and Southern Africa would remain relatively stable throughout the medieval period while there were no large empires in these regions during the ancient period there were many non-centralized societies ruled by local Chieftains during the medieval period some of these societies began to coalesce into larger States heading south from the major West African empires in the Congo River Valley two new kingdoms would emerge in these rich fertile lands the kingdom of Luba emerged from the preceding lubriculture and had a centralized government with appointed Governors who collected tribute from the village locals to the West the kingdom of Congo would also form near the Congo River both would grow quite powerful over time as they were the main polities in the region and expanded to overtake the local pastoralist and small farmers to the South still further to the south and east in the grasslands near the Zambezi River more Bantu speakers thrived through farming herding and trade The Villages here were built surrounded by walls mainly to protect their animals during the night this was characterized by the Zimbabwe a barn to word meaning Stone House a society based on a plateau between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers it is thought that the ruins of Great Zimbabwe was the capital of this powerful Kingdom its location was between gold reserves to the west and a river for trading to the east during the late medieval Zimbabwe was the most prosperous state in southern Africa and was a major player in trade with the Swahili city-states on the coast Great Zimbabwe rested on a hill surrounded by its famous stone walls and could have held more than ten thousand residents houses of the upper classes were built with stone and cement the Royal Palace was also surrounded by large stone walls gold and copper ornaments have been found here along with porcelain imported from as far away as China Zimbabwe most likely became wealthy through their ownership of cattle and the taxes imposed on the gold passing through their region it appears that during the 1400s Great Zimbabwe was abandoned most likely because of environmental factors or overgrazing African history has been difficult to Fathom because many of their language families had no writing systems so we have had to rely on foreign visitors to Africa to report on it like IBN battuta furthermore the rich oral Traditions have been cut short because of the coming imperialism still though modern historians are finding out more about the vast and varied African Societies in this second largest continent and not just the histories of its regions States and kingdoms but deeper information about its societies cultures and lifestyles Africa unfortunately is still seen as a monolith but it was not only a diverse continent it was arguably the most diverse in history while we've mentioned many of the major states it is estimated that the continent was home to over 10 000 distinct societies each with their own cultures and traditions ancient Africa was home to four major language families like the Niger Congo in the West this included the Bantu language family which spread all throughout the rest of sub-Saharan Africa and the mande speakers in the West the nilo Saharan language family included the Nubians and other sudanic cultures near the Nile the afro-asiatic language family dominated the Sahara and included Semitic languages Berber Egyptian and kashitic in the very south was the koisen speaking three language families many African Urban centers began like in the rest of the world small towns that were walled off and then small villages ruled by a single Clan these Villages grew into larger towns with division of labor and a center of government with different Clans sharing the city each ruling their own districts in the West African kingdoms the major towns and cities were based around the Royal districts unlike other cultures of the time the African kings weren't an Untouchable divine presence African kings would often hold council with the local communities in order to hear grievances or hold festivals for foreign visitors though the kings were more open and accessible they were still well guarded by a retinue of armed guards and lived a life of extravagance in large policies there was a mutually beneficial relationship between the Kings and Nobles and the merchant class the merchant provided the taxes for the king and were granted special favors in East Africa there were also Kings but these were more Merchants than rulers and presided more over their city-state through wealth than by force most Africans lived in smaller rural Villages though away from the Splendor of the Palaces or the bustling Thrill of the urban markets the rural Africans lived a more simple life based on their immediate family this usually included parents and their young children and sometimes grandparents as well houses were mostly just thatched mud Huts inhabited by the whole family the families were in Turn part of larger kinship groups the kinship groups acted like they did in other societies and Elders were generally the most respected and controlled most aspects of the clan in African society women often work the fields and mothers were valued for their contribution to the population men either went on Hunting Expeditions or tended to the cattle in Islamic communities in Africa polygeny was practiced but also occurred in some non-islamic regions the main difference between men and women in Africa compared to other contemporary societies was that lineage was matrilinear it was traced through mothers and daughters and inheritances were generally given to daughters or the sons of a man's sister rather than his own Sons Muslim traveler IBN batuta wrote of how women never Veil themselves and have male friends outside of their marriages a controversial practice back home in the margreb after asking his African acquaintance why they give women so much more freedom he replied that there is nothing suspicious about a man and woman being friends and that to think otherwise is suspicious in itself suggesting infidelity would be common in the Muslim world if men and women weren't kept separate an insulted in the tutor later refused to go back to his friend's home though Islamic culture permeated throughout Africa most Africans still kept their own Customs regarding men and women even in the bastians of Islamic Africa in the western kingdoms when we think of African slavery our minds often go to the early modern period in the early 1500s and the massive number of slaves taken from Africa in the transatlantic slave trade while nothing compares to the sheer magnitude and Lasting consequences of this chattel slavery slavery had been practiced in different forms in most ancient and medieval societies it most likely developed when one clan or Society took over another and forced them to become workers and servants by the medieval period the berbas in North Africa regularly raided regions of the Sahel and Beyond to bring back captives who were then sold across the Mediterranean world men could have been used as slave soldiers while women as domestic servants for the nobility in the western Empires and the Swahili coasts African slaves were used more for manual labor sometimes even little girls would be used in mind in order to reach gold too hard for larger bodies to reach plantations did exist in Africa usually owned by the king or wealthy landowners conditions were harsh and deplorable and along with slaves who worked the mines were some of the worst lives of servitude those more lucky like soldiers could at some point win their freedom those who worked in private residences as domestic servants also had a somewhat easier time than the laborers it's possible that the majority of the population in North Africa were slaves while in sub-Saharan Africa this number is less than one in ten African culture was primarily based on their art which was like most other cultures of the world at the time created for religious purposes as far as we can tell the oldest forms of African art are their Rock paintings east of these is in the Sahara in the tasseli mountains dating to around 5000 BCE later paintings show the two-horse chariots widely used before the camel was brought to North Africa in southern Africa the San Rock paintings depict some of their Village rituals Africans also use trees to create intricate art after making a sacrifice to the tree Spirit an artist would carve masks sculptures or headdresses from the tree itself the masks and headwear were used by dancers during rituals in Mali The chiwara Mask represented the Swift Antelope with their rituals honoring the myth of the creation of farming and agriculture a bit to the south in epha present-day Southern Nigeria metal workers created copper alloy statues using the Lost wax method these efest sculptures could have influenced the sculptures in the Kingdom of Benin which represented different figures both human and animal the Benin sculptures are quite complex and are collectively known as the Benin bronzes reaching their Peak during the late medieval period under a golden age under their obas or Kings it's no surprise that each of Africa's varied regions practiced varied types of architecture in ancient Africa the oldest and longest lasting has been the pyramids not just the ones in Egypt but to the south in merrow built by the Nubians of the kingdom of kush from 300 BCE as discussed earlier these pyramids were distinct from those to the North in Egypt in that they were smaller but much more numerous later to the South the Kingdom of Aksum built colossal Stone pillars up to 100 feet high just over 30 meters called Steely to Mark the tombs of their kings once Christianity was officially adopted in the mid 300s Aksum focused on building large churches in West Africa though Stone was used for buildings they relied more on mud brick constructions or mixtures of Earth and other organic compounds in the Swahili city-states architecture was more related to those designs of the Middle East most people lived in small mud or thatch houses while the wealthy lived in large residences built of stone influenced by the Arab culture to the South were the walls of Great Zimbabwe built with no mortar by the Shona part of the Bantu people who migrated throughout the continent some of these walls reached 11 meters high a lesser-known Zimbabwean archaeological site was at bambusi where colossal stone walls were also built although later African music and dance was also created for religious purposes to tell stories or for ceremonies like weddings emphasis was on percussion and rhythmic Beats dances were representations of the spirits coursing through the human form some societies like the Maasai and nilotic people jumped While others shook stomped or sang many would join in and clap their hands [Music] the phones like the balafun were used in West Africa bells and flutes were also popular and they used stringed instruments like the fiddle harp and zither for musical storytelling West Africans used what we call a talking drum which went by many names in the various regions two drum heads were connected and leather tension cords could be squeezed to manipulate the pitch leaders would use voice repetition to incite a reply from listeners called a call and response this tradition made its way over to the Americas during the slave trade and it mostly survives in the present day through gospel music and in American churches in the south a Bard also called agrio was a professional Storyteller and necessary to orally pass down a community's history from generation to generation as expected bards needed a highly developed memory and was said to possess the knowledge contained in entire libraries when agrio died so did the knowledge they weren't simply storytellers but entertained crowds by singing and playing instruments and were even thought to possess Supernatural Powers with the ability to both bless and to curse the Epic of sanjara is one of the most prolific West African poems and has been passed down in the oral tradition by bards for over seven centuries it is set in West Africa and deals with the exploits of sanjara also known as sandiata the founder of the Mali Empire while Mansa Musa became more famous because of his pilgrimage to Mecca spending extravagant amounts of gold sandiata has always been more celebrated by the mandinka because of his legendary stories which were told by their bards the kuyata line of grios which began with the founding of the Mali Empire still exists today

Channel: Made In History

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Keywords: made in history, made in history medieval world, world history, world history documentary, world history summarized, history of the world, medieval history documentary, ancient african history, ancient african documentary, ancient african civilizations, ancient african kingdoms, west african empires ghana mali songhai, history of africa before colonization, history of africa documentary, medieval african history, made in history africa

Id: dHJF8Gv2sxw

Length: 47min 21sec (2841 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 25 2022