The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay Life in Medieval Africa

by McKissack, Patricia; McKissack, Fredrick

• ISBN13: 9780805042597
• ISBN10: 0805042598
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1995-10-15
• Publisher: Square Fish

Summary

For more than a thousand years, from A.D. 500 to 1700, the medieval kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay grew rich on the gold, salt, and slave trade that stretched across Africa. Scraping away hundreds of years of ignorance, prejudice, and mythology, award-winnnig authors Patricia and Fredrick McKissack reveal the glory of these forgotten empires while inviting us to share in the inspiring process of historical recovery that is taking place today.

Table of Contents

Authors' Note	xiii
Map of present-day Africa showing the ancient kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay	xvi
Introduction	xvii
Part I Ghana
Chapter 1
The Origin of Ghana	5	(1)
Wagadu	6	(1)
Dinga's Pui from The Dausi	7	(1)
Dyabe's Pui from The Dausi	8	(2)
The Berbers	10	(1)
Oral Accounts, Early Written Histories, and Modern Archeology	11	(3)
The Coming of Islam	14	(5)
Map of the growth of Islam	17	(2)
Chapter 2
Ghanaian Riches	19	(3)
Map of the kingdom of Ghana circa A.D. 1000	20	(2)
The Smiths	22	(1)
Taghaza	23	(1)
Gold for Salt	24	(1)
Dumb Bartering	25	(1)
The Trade Caravans	26	(2)
Ghana's Government	28	(2)
Map of North African trade routes circa A.D. 400--1700	29	(1)
Ghana's Kings	30	(2)
The Military	32	(1)
Ghanaian Justice	33	(1)
Daily Life	34	(3)
Religious Beliefs	37	(3)
The Fall of Ghana	40	(3)
Part II Mali
Chapter 3
The History of Mali	43	(2)
Map of the growth of the kingdom of Mali from circa A.D. 1000 to 1500	44	(1)
Early Mali	45	(1)
Sumanguru	46	(1)
Sundiata Keita, the Legend and the King	47	(6)
Sundiata the Ruler	53	(2)
After Sundiata	55	(1)
Mansa Kankan Musa I	56	(1)
Ibn Battuta	56	(4)
The Great Hajj	60	(4)
Chapter 4
Timbuktu	64	(2)
Traditional Mandinka Beliefs	66	(2)
The Artisans	68	(2)
Mandinka Arts and Ceremonies	70	(2)
Mandinka Marriage Ceremony	72	(4)
Honor of the Trousers	76	(1)
European Contact	76	(1)
Mali's Trans-Atlantic Exploration	77	(1)
The Fall of Mali	78	(3)
Part III Songhay
Chapter 5
The Niger River	81	(3)
Map of the kingdom of Songhay circa A.D. 800--1580	83	(1)
The History of the Songhay	84	(3)
The Princes' Escape	87	(2)
Sunni Ali Ber	89	(6)
Chapter 6
Religious Conflict	95	(1)
Askia Muhammad Toure	96	(1)
The Reign of Askia Muhammad I	97	(3)
Mahmud al-Kati and Leo Africanus	100	(2)
Timbuktu, Gao, and Jenne	102	(4)
The Slave Trade	106	(4)
Race and Slavery	110	(1)
The Decline and Fall of Songhay	111	(4)
Chapter 7
Freedom Regained	115	(4)
Time Line	119	(5)
Notes	124	(7)
Bibliography	131