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Core Knowledge Overview
(see below for unit questions)
Africa is one of the most diverse continents on Earth – in climate, topography, natural resources and people. This continent claims the longest river (Nile River), the largest desert (Sahara Desert), and one of the tallest mountains (Mt. Kilimanjaro) in the world.
Over several millenia, Africa bred mighty civilizations that were rich in wealth, knowledge, and military power. The Egyptians created an empire that still spellbinds us today. Kush and Aksum (Axum) fostered trade, which opened the continent to new goods, ideas and religious beliefs from the outside world. The empire of Ghana became one of the richest kingdoms, because of its location in the center of important trade routes. Nearly 1,000 years later, it was eclipsed by the kingdom of Mali. The next empire to grow in Africa was the Songhai, which also expanded to impressive proportions.
African Links:
Maps and Geography
PBS Africa
PBS - Ghana, Mali, Timbuktu
Ancient Kush at Meroe
Lesson 1
- What are some of the bodies of water that surround Africa?
- How does the Sahara compare with the other deserts of the world?
- What is the Sahel?
- Why are different kinds of crops able to grow in the savanna?
- What geographic fact helped the Egyptian Civilization thrive?
Lesson 2
- What made Kush an important Kingdom?
- What caused the fall of Kush?
- What made Aksum (Axum) an important kingdom?
- What caused the fall of Aksum?
Lesson 3
- How was trade carried on in medieval Africa?
- Why were traders willing to risk crossing the dangerous Sahara Desert?
- What did traders get from oases? What did they get from West Africa?
- What did traders carry that couldnít be seen, felt, smelled, or tasted?
- Why did many people in West Africa become Muslims?
Lesson 4
- Why was Ghana called the "Land of Gold"?
- How did Ghana become so wealthy?
- What were the two most important reasons the Berbers invaded Ghana?
- Why did the kingdom of Ghana never regain its former power?
Lesson 5
- How did Mali grow from a defeated kingdom to the most powerful kingdom in Africa?
- Why did the Mandinkas look to Sudniata to rescue them from Sumanguru?
- What were Sundiata's greatest accomplishments off the field of battle?
- How did Islam affect Mali's culture?
- For what did Timbuktu become most famous?
Lesson 6
- What were some important ways that Mali benefited from Mansa Musa's rule?
- Why did Mansa Musa make a pilgrimage to Mecca?
- What was unusual about Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca?
- Why did a historian describe Africa in the 1300ís as ìthe century of Musaî?
- What happened that ended Mali's 300-year control of the gold and salt trade, and led to the empire's decline?
Lesson 7
- Why did Mansa Musa take the Songhai princes under his control?
- What was Sonni Ali Ber's strongest skill as a ruler and how did that ability affect the empire of Songhai?
- What was the social system of the Songhai empire like?
- Which Songhai leader helped spread Islam throughout West Africa?
Lesson 8
- How did Ibn Batutta's stay in Mecca help him when he started his many years of travels?
- What kind of work did Ibn Batutta do during his travels?
- Why is Ibn Batutta's book Rihlah such a valuable source of information about the Muslim world in the 1300ís?
- Why were world travelers so rare in Ibn Batutta's time?
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