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394 History

Medieval Africa

From around 750 to 1500 CE, lands to the south of Africa’s Sahara

Desert were home to many thriving civilizations. Muslim kings ruled in

cities like. TIMBUKTU, and chiefs called. OBAS were powerful

in rainforest kingdoms.. SWAHILI peoples became rich through trade.

HOW DID TRADERS CROSS THE SAHARA DESERT?

Traders from North Africa crossed the Sahara together

in a group called a caravan. They led as many as

10,000 camels, heavily laden with goods, in a long

line known as a camel train. At the southern edge of

the Sahara, the goods were transferred to donkeys or

human porters, to be carried further south.

WHICH AFRICAN GOODS WERE HIGHLY PRIZED?

Gold, ivory, ebony, and slaves from west African

kingdoms such as Ghana, Mali, and Songhai were

sold in North Africa and the Middle East. They were

traded for salt and copper, mined in the Sahara. Later,

European traders came for gold, ebony, and slaves.

HOW DID TIMBUKTU BECOME WEALTHY?

Like a number of other cities on the edge of the

Sahara, such as Gao and Jenne, Timbuktu was

also on the banks of the River Niger. These cities

were inland ports. Merchants from the south sent

boatloads of gold, ivory, cotton, dried fish, and kola

nuts upriver to them, to be sold to people living

there, or to be carried to lands further north.

Timbuktu became a terminus (end point) for one of

the main trading routes crossing the Sahara.

WHY DID MUSLIM PILGRIMS GO TO TIMBUKTU?

Many Muslim pilgrims travelled to Timbuktu to

honour the city’s 333 resident saints. These were

celebrated Muslim scholars and teachers who taught their

faith to people in the surrounding lands. Many beautiful

mosques were built in Timbuktu.

TIMBUKTU

Timbuktu (in central Mali) was one of the most important cities

on the edge of the Sahara. After Muslim scholars brought the

religion of Islam to the region, around 900, it became a great

centre of Muslim learning, with schools, a university, and a

special market where valuable, handwritten books were sold.

4 ELMINA CASTLE AND FORT, GHANA

This castle and fort were built by the Portuguese in 1482. Portuguese,

and later Dutch and English, traders used it as a base for dealing in

slaves, gold, and imported European artefacts. The Europeans set up

many trading posts in West Africa.

Crown of

Portuguese

heads

4 DJINGUEREBER MOSQUE

This mosque, built in 1327, is the oldest

building in Timbuktu. It is made of mud bricks,

a wooden frame, and mud-and-straw plaster.

Wooden scaffolding

• builders climbed
  this to repair walls

medieval

Africa