African Kingdoms

In this period, the abundant riches of the mightiest kingdoms in Africa impressed Muslims and Europeans who visited their courts. Much of this wealth came from trade in gold, salt and slaves.

Many north African kingdoms were Muslim. From these kingdoms, Muslim preachers took Islam to West Africa. In the kingdom of Ghana (modern-day Gambia, Mali and Senegal), Muslim traders marveled at warriors who carried gold-mounted swords and shields guarding the king in his capital, Koumbi Saleh. Even the guard dogs that were kept in the royal pavilion wore gold collars. Ghana reached the peak of its power in the 10^th century, when it controlled both the gold and salt trade in the region.

In the 1300s, Muslim camel caravans crossed the Sahara Desert to the city of Timbuktu. They carried cloth and luxury items, which were exchanged for slaves, leather goods and kola nuts (used as a drug). Timbuktu was the capital of Mali, an Islamic kingdom that soon replaced Ghana as the most powerful empire in West Africa. Mali’s most famous ruler, Mansa Musa, made a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, with an entourage of 60,000 followers. His fame spread as far as Europe, where his kingdom was shown on maps as a land that was filled with gold.

Farther south were kingdoms just as splendid, such as Ife, Oyo and Benin, where trade made powerful rulers rich.

The craftworkers of Benin made cast bronze figures, the finest metal sculptures in Africa. Benin traded with the protuguese, who began sailing along the West African coast in the 1400s.

In East Africa, people living in what are now Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania traded in ivory, animals skins and slaves with cities on the coast. These were visited by ships from Arabia and India. The coast prosperity lasted until almost 1500, when the Portuguese took control of trade in the region and the trading cities were destroyed.