Nok One of Nigeria’s earliest known cultures were the Nok. They appeared around 500 Bc in north western Nigeria. Their territory expands across a wide range of climate similar to the Almoravids, with the northern part being desert and the southern being rainforest. The areas they inhabited came with some natural dangers, there were droughts, floods, sandstorms, water scarcity, animals, and much more. In the northern plains of Nigeria, there was good hunting, specifically for animals like gazelle and buffalo, but it was too dry for many bigger animals. Parts of the region further away from the rainforest raised cattle, and in the desert they relied on camels and ibex for food. There were also many civilizations surrounding the Nok that they had to look out for. To the north, the Songhai. East, there was the huasa, and down south the Benin and Yoruba territories. It was believed the Nok had a very modern government for their time. They had a well established judicial system similar to ours with trial by peers and voting. Militarily, the Nok had very little because like many civilizations there was no need. No one was threatening to invade them, they had no intentions of expanding, all was well. However, they did trade a lot of spears and weapons with other wealthy civilizations in the area that were interested in using an army. The Nok got wealth from their because they were very central in Africa and were not at odds with anybody they were able to facilitate a lot of trade. Culture and Religion of the Nok is somewhat vague, we know some of them became Christian or Muslim but there is little other information. They were well known for clay and terracotta works, many artifacts from the people can be found in museums around the world today. The fall of the Nok is also unknown but there are several theories that seem to fit most of the tribal civilizations in the area. They were mostly likely conquered overtime, land became infertile and cattle started dying until eventually it became territory of a another close tribe.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Nok Culture.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 29 May 2018, www.britannica.com/topic/Nok-culture.
Bantu The Bantu started as a small civilization and they spread across Africa to end up covering a massive portion africa. The Bantu never fell because they did not have a formally set up empire. A lot of african people now are Bantu decendants. The Bantu are in the modern countries of The DRC, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Angola, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Burundi, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, Somalia, and Comoros. The Bantu people were so spread out that the different places operated and lived extremely different lives. From dry savannas, humid rainforests, arid deserts, and salty coasts. This meant that each region has its own advantages and disadvantages, region varying. The most important thing that the Bantu had to worry about were European settlers. Like I said the whole civilization was so spread out that governments and militaries were very basic, or non existent. Each village was probably had its own small group of leaders that actioned as the government. If anyone tried to invade them they might have helped their neighbors but there was no formal military formed. Most Bantu people were either Christian or Muslim, again depending on the region they lived in. The groups further north were more densely Muslim and the groups in the south more Christian. The culture and ethnic and ethnic traditions of each group were totally different based on location. They probably reflected different tribes in surrounding areas because there was little communication or spread of ideas throughout the massive area. Migration was mostly what made them so large, they followed the animals and moved towards the food and water sources making them nomadic. This meant that spreading out was necessary for finding more food, especially since their population was multiplying quickly. Many Bantu descendants still exist in today's world, living in different countries with different cultures.
Hausa Around the year 1100, a group of similar city-states, who all shared similar cultures, together they form the Hausa civilization. They lived in the savannahs of northern and eastern Nigeria and a few in the surrounding places that are now Niger, Ghana, and Benin. The Niger river runs very closely, almost straight through their civilization giving them access to farming, drinking, and trading routes with everyone else along the river and local coastline. Several of the city states were Katsina, Kano, or Zazzau. They became some of the biggest trading spots mostly because of location. They were known for their salts and leather and dyes. The reason why the Hausa never formally came together as one is because they spent too much time fighting each other over territory or money or many other things. Most of the civilizations’ economies were supported by slaves and relied a lot on farming and trade. The lack of varied nutrition in their diet and lack of wealth meant they were not very healthy as a whole, making them very susceptible to disease and sickness. (McDougal, Holt, World History, pages 417-418)
Djenne Djenne Djeno directly translates to Old Djenne, and it was an ancient city along the banks of the niger river in Mali. Found by archeologists in 1977 it is one of western Africa's most famous historical remnants. Believed to have started around 250 b.c. and abandoned in 1400 a.d. That would make the city one of the oldest south of the Sahara. At one point in time, there were almost 50,000 residents living in or around the city which was very large for ancient times. The people lived near the Niger river in mud and reed huts where they fished, raised cattle, and farmed rice using the fertile river beds. The people of Djenno also became very accomplished at crafting iron tools to help speed up the process of their everyday jobs. They traded a lot of their products for copper and gold and salts, many things they were unable to obtain themselves. This made Djenne a very big trading hub in western Africa for its time. Some remnants of culture and art have been found including pottery, toys, glass beads, stone bracelets, and iron knives. The reason for leaving, or their downfall, is unknown. (McDougal, Holt, World History, page 219.
Ghana Ghana’s there is thought and evidence of people living in Ghana all the way back in 10,000 BCE. They lived almost in the same civilization and type of rule until they were conquered by Mali in the 13th century. Ghana was full of culture and natural resources making them a very well diversified society. They were well known at the time for being so wealthy that their dogs had golden collars and their horses slept on cushions. Ghana first officially came together into one society when multiple tribes formed under the rule of Dinga Cisse, their first king around 750. The climate of Ghana is tropical and warm, dry in the southeast and humid in the southwest. It is south of the Sahara, and the Empire covered what we know now as Mauritiana, Senegal and Mali. The languages spoken there were more commonly Malinke, Mandinka and Fulani. Natural resources and commonly traded items are:gold timber diamond ivory rubber Many of these items were worth their weight in gold at the time, and this was the main reason of Ghana’s wealth. They had lots of resources and were very good at trading and making a profit. Droughts were very common in ancient Ghana, which meant farming was very difficult for them, and they had to find other ways to get food. Like raising minimal amounts of cattle, hunting, or relying on riverbeds. Ghana is one of the most advanced countries in Africa because of their natural wealth and the fact that they were the first African independent black country south of the Sahara. (Africa: Ghana) At the time, the empire of Ghana was a feudal government (Feudalism is when the king assigns smaller rulers to rule smaller parts of their large empire). The leader of leaders was called a ‘Ghana’, meaning ‘war chief’. Whatever he said went, and he ran trade, war, and kept order and justice. (Empire of Ancient Ghana) This allowed them to keep order in the government, what he said went and as long as the leader was somewhat just he could remain in rule for a long time. Using the Trans-Saharan trade route, Ghana traded with North Africans, Arabs, Islams and Europeans. They were taxed when trading or selling in Ghana, which gave them even more money. Ghana met its eventual downfall through a mixture of ways, competition in trading weakened them, but they were able to hold off invasions but soon it became to much and the rapidly growing empire of Mali overtook Ghana and all of their culture. (Fage, Maier, 'Ghana') 'Empire of Ancient Ghana.' Ducksters, Technological Solutions, Inc., n.d. https://www.ducksters.com/history/africa/empire_of_ancient_ghana.php January 25, 2019 'Africa: Ghana.' The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Society, January 24, 2019. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gh.html January 24, 2019 Fage, John, Maier Donna, 'Ghana.' Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, January 15, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana January 25, 2019 'Kingdom of Ghana.' Ancient Civilizations, US History.org, n.d. http://www.ushistory.org/civ/7a.asp January 25, 2019
Mali In 1235 the Kingdom of Mali was formed. They spread out quickly, taking over Ghana which gave them access to the coast and a more humid environment for raising animals and doing some farming. The kingdom of Mali was in the far west of Africa, where southwest Mali is today. The Government of Mali was a modified monarchy system. They had a senate similar to that of the Romans, but instead of having two consuls they had one main ruler who all of the local town owners answered to. The Malians had a large and strong army for a period of time where they conquered Ghana and areas around the coast. The economy of Mali was centered around gold, the leader Mana Masu, was the richest man in the world. He was worth over $430 billion dollars, if you adjust for inflation. He gave a lot of it to his people and built up the Empire very well. The culture involves wearing boubouts and ethnic robes. They were also an extremely Muslim society, just like the Almohads were before them.
Benin Benin officially became a city-state from 900 to 1300 C.E and ended in the late 19th century. It was formed when many small villages joined together to become stronger. Occupying the area between Ghana and Nigeria. Their first ruler was Oranyan, and his son Ekewa after him. Kings were called obas. Their true rise to power didn’t really start until Eware the Great ruled, however, when the Empire changed dramatically. The government system at the time was changed from kin-to-kin to a bureaucracy (non-elected officials that make decisions). They acquired a lot of land through conquering, their economy boomed because of increased trade and their culture flourished. They traded with Portugal, creating bonds with some European countries, and their main income was from ivory, pepper, and cloth. This trading brought copper and brass into the empire, which was huge for the time. A huge part of their culture is the large copper statues. Since they were so close to the coast this trading access was easy and quickly accessible for them. What brought Benin to riches also destroyed their empire. When the European slave trade began, they were in trouble. During the 17th century, they made the export of male slaves illegal, but still allowed women to be put into slavery. Soon they got greedy, and conflicts arose over the selling of slaves, weakening their economy. During the 19th century, Europeans came through the area and claimed land that was weak. The down fall of the society ended up being a result of greediness and the inhumanity of selling their people. (Benin and Its Royal Court) Citations: 'Benin and Its Royal Court.' Ancient Civilizations, US History.org, n.d. http://www.ushistory.org/civ/7c.asp January 29, 2019 'Benin.' World Atlas, WorldAtlas.com, n.d. https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/bj.htm January 29, 2019
Yoruba The civilization of Yoruba was located in south western part of Nigeria, where present day Osun state stands.(The Yoruba States) The Niger river flowed through the very northern part of their territory and the southern edge was on the water, giving the people of Yoruba access to food, water, and transportation for trading and connecting with the outside world to become more advanced. Yoruba was made up of groups of tribes and villages similar to the Igbo, or Hausa and many other groups in the region. At one point the did elect a king-like figure that was in charge of all the land. The culture in Yoruba was also very rich, they were known for telling great folktales and making big bronze statues similar to Ghana and their copper. They also believed in a singular god called Oshun
Songhai The Songhai Empire lasted from 1464 to 1591 and came after Mali, in basically the same region. This gave them the same benefits and downside geologically as the Mali people because they lived in the same area. The Sonhai conquered the area after the fall of Mali under the leadership of Sunni Ali. He conquered neighboring regions like Timbuktu and Djenne (important traders at the time.) In 1494, Askia Muhammad became the leader and created the Askia Dynasty, and brought the empire to its height. This empire followed an 'attack and conquer' dynasty format that ruled for over a century. After being decided to rule, Askia was known as Askia the Great, however, he had no right or qualification to rule. As he grew older, he became less powerful (Songhai Empire, Ducksters). The reason for this was he probably exhausted his armies power because he fought too much and spread his country too thin. We can see this exact thing happen with Rome, as they were such a huge empire they were not able to keep all of their people under their rule very well because the government was so far away. As for the empire’s religion, they were Muslim, and Askia made Islam an important part of Songhai’s culture. He also took over the trade Mali did with gold and salt, which was still very successful. Another important part of their economy was slave trading, they sold slaves and used them to transport goods across the Sahara to trade in the Middle East. Slaves were often captives from war, but fellow Islam followers were never sold as slaves. If a war fugitive claimed to be Muslim, they would be released. The empire was divided into five parts, each run by a governor, and they were all Muslim because Askia hand picked them, and was in charge of everything as he was the emperor. In the mid-1500s, the empire started to weaken due to wars and internal revolt. In 1591, the Moroccan army invaded and conquered the capital, bringing the entire empire to its knees. Afterwards, the empire was split into smaller regions. ^(Songhai Empire, Ducksters, for map)^ 'Songhai Empire.' Ducksters, Technological Solutions, Inc, n.d. https://www.ducksters.com/history/africa/songhai_empire.php January 28, 2019