ch5less2 Ghana

Hello 7th graders,
I have been unsuccessful in trying to upload the Power Points at school, so here are the notes in outline form. Please make sure to have them copied by tomorrow as we should be finishing the lesson by tomorrow. The quiz will more than likely be on Friday. I will let you know tomorrow if plans change.

The Soninke
o Iron --> expanding empire
o Iron weapons were better than neighboring peoples’ stone weapons
o Result: easy to conquer other people
o Lacked salt
o Surplus of gold
o Fall of the Soninke

Ghana becomes the center of trade
o Traders with salt passed through Ghana
o Traders with gold passed through Ghana
o Both exchanged goods through Ghana

Ghana’s capital becomes divided
o Many traders were Muslim
o Rulers wanted to keep Islam separate from traditional Soninke religion
o Result --> divided the city into two sections(Muslim and Local people)

The Al Moravids
o They were from the Sahara and north Africa
o They were a threat to the Soninke

A new religion
o Arabs came to live in Ghana because of the good trade
o Trading of goods equals the trading of ideas
o By 750 Muslim Arabs had created a huge Islamic empire in the Middle East
o Traders taught the people of Ghana their Arab religion
o Government Officials and merchants change religion to Islam

Conversion to Islam
o Mandinke spread the ideas through out west Africa
o Islam stressed the brotherhood of all believers
o Encouraged trust and peaceful trade between people of different nationalities

Traditional practices
o Succession of the kings done through the mothers side practiced by Ghana (Known as matrilineal)
o Throne passes from father to son was practices by the Muslims (Patrilineal)