The Emergence, Development, and Decline of the Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay - Essay Example

The Emergence, Development, and Decline of the Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay Introduction The African continent has an ancient, long reachinghistory that is most likely the originating regions of human existence. According to Falola, “archeologists have concluded that it is the original home of humankind”.1 Powerful kingdoms have come and gone, leaving evidence of great technological societies as well as remnants of culturally rich populations which have survived for thousands of years. The valley of the River Niger has held some of the strongest kingdoms in Africa that were in control of the trade of highly valuable commodities. The first major kingdom to emerge post the point of the Common Era (CE) was that of Ghana. Ghana is the geographic center of the world, the prime meridian of 0 degrees longitude with the equator of 0 degrees latitude crosses in Ghana.2 From the decline of the kingdom of Ghana grew the kingdom of Mali and from Mali the kingdom of Songhai. These three kingdoms were powerful from the resources that they had with which to trade, but also brought attention from those who would conquer and take those resources. In discussing the rise, development and fall of these three kingdoms, the region of the valley of the River Niger is shown for its rich wealth and sophisticated civilizations. Chronology Ghana, the first kingdom to emerge in the valley of the Niger River, establishing strong trade centers, rose to economic power around 400 CE. The main exports that came from the kingdom and created the stability for the bases of the economy were gold, salt, animal products, and iron. Through the availability of these commodities, the kingdom developed a number of trade centers which included the central and key city of Saleh. The attractive riches that were held within these trade centers also attracted attention from those who would wish to take them and over the course of time the Almoravids, a Muslim group from North Africa, invaded repeatedly and eventually led to the decline of the kingdom around 1200 CE.3 Mali emerged around 1250 CE and depended on the same commodities for trade. The development of the region included the city of Timbuktu which was the focus of trade and political dealings for the kingdom. One of the distinguishing historical events of the kingdom was the rise of one of the best examples of rulers from within the Muslim world. Mansa Musa was the greatest king of Mali who ruled from 1312 to 1332 who during his time doubled the size of the kingdom and created a center for learning within the Muslim city of Timbuktu that brought in scholars from all over the adjoining regions. As powerful as his rule was, the end of it signaled the end of the kingdom which declined and was lost by 1450 CE. Without Mansa Musa to lead, the kingdom fell into divisions which brought about the emergence of smaller and less powerful kingdoms.4 Songhai emerged around the year 1000 CE and participated in the trade of the same commodities as Mali, the kingdom becoming more powerful when Mali finally began to decline. Songhay gained control over the cities of Timbuktu and Jenne which gave the nation control over gold and salt in West Africa. King Askia Muhammad, who ruled in Songhay between 1493 and 1528, the kingdom gained considerable power and held a vast number of territories. King Askia Muhammad introduced a set of laws into the region that were based upon the Quran, developing to create a standardized and even handed basis for justice within the kingdom. In 1529, the king’s son led a rebellion which overthrew his father. This was not to last. The Moroccan army swept through the kingdom and tore apart the kingdom, taking the wealth that had been amassed by the Songhai kingdom.5 Ghana Previous to the emergence of Ghana as a central trade center, the kingdom had a long history in the valley of the River Niger. By 300 CE there can be traced an approximate 44 kings, giving the region a long history as an established kingdom.6 Ghana was a primarily peaceful society which thrived on agriculture and trade. At the height of its power, Ghana “spanned the territory that presently encompasses Mali, Guinea, the Gambia, Senegal and a portion of Mauritania”.7 Gold from the Wangara gold mines was so plentiful that laws were passed that only the king could own gold bars, leaving gold dust to the people. This was not done for the greed of the government, but in order to retain the value of the substance so that the market did not bottom out, leaving them without a valuable item for trade. Next to gold, salt was the most valuable commodity as salt was sparse in the territories of Ghana.8 Education in West Africa stemmed from the emergence of the Islamic traditions that stemmed from the takeover of the region by the Almoravids around 1200 CE.9 Islam provided resources for learning to read write and pray in Arabic, meaning that many of the slaves that appeared on the shores of the United States were far more educated than history often leads the American public to believe. The decline of the Sudanic states were directly associated with the increase in European travel to the regions, Western influences in the 17th century increasing the slave trade and shifting overall trade away from the African continent, leaving them vulnerable to the Western manipulations. Portuguese settlements would eventually lead towards the influx of more Western communities which in turn led to colonization.10 Portuguese adventurers that discovered the riches of Ghana nicknamed the region the Gold Coast. Eventually, European trade with the region of Ghana was centered both on gold and slaves, making this region a center of connectivity to the European trade markets. Most of the slaves that ended up in the United States were shipped from the region of Ghana. In 1957 Ghana was the first African nation to become free from colonialism, the rich trade they still enjoyed in cocoa, timber and gold providing a strong and thriving economic basis on which to gain political power, hoping to achieve freedom for all African states. The country was also first to see a military takeover which occurred in 1966, during which time the strong government and social services that the country had enjoyed become subjected to a revolving door of regimes, making life difficult and dispersing the populations all over the world as they searched for a better life.11 Mali The Mande speaking group called the Malinke was led by the Keita clan which took over Ghana in 1234 CE. Sundiata, who led the Keita clan, became the first king of the Mali kingdom, where he was referred to as the Mansa. The Malinke were mostly trading and farming people, but they conquered most of the Sudan, including Ghana, their territory stretching for 1500 miles and encompassing a great number of different cultures and people. The trade of gold made the Mali people and kingdom just as rich as it had made the people of Ghana, their prominence in these regions bolstered by ties that were made with Islamic rulers of Northern Africa. Money gave Mali a great deal of power and the first king wielded it liberally. The Mansa was not only a political king, but a divine ruler that held an expectation that he would be worshipped by his people. Although their first leader converted to Islam, he “made use of Malinke animism, developing a reputation as a magician”.12 His descendents adhered more to Islamic belief systems, however, with great pilgrimages made to the city of Mecca. One of Sundiata’s descendents, Mansa Musa left for Mecca in 1324 riding on a great white horse, bringing with him fifty slaves who bore gold staffs, one thousand followers, and a group of camels which carried 300 pounds of gold each.13 During this journey, the Mansa made strong ties with Egypt, giving to all of the officials of the city large sums of gold and forging bonds that were intended to increase the Mali power in the North. The people of Mali still had not fully embraced Islam and most still practiced animism, but Musa was credited with building great mosques and bringing academics from the Islamic traditions in order to educate the people.14 The greatest city of Mali was that of Timbuktu, once a kingdom in its own right.15 This city was placed in the center of trade routes, the largest educational centers and a university situated within its walls. The city grew into prominence during the time of the great power of Ghana as the Wagadu people, that is the ancient people of Ghana, traveled to this region and increased trade relations in the area. The city grew threw trade that developed with Jenne, the location of the city and the eventual academic power that was cultivated making it a central and powerful location in the kingdom.16 In 1325, the city and its people, despite oppositions and a great deal of loyalties to the old religions, officially converted to Islam.17 The transmission of learning is traced back through several lines, but the most well documented resource is that of Suware. His line is also traced back to that of a founding leader of the rise of Ghana, Dinya. Therefore, despite the recreation of a public religion and the growth of academic excellence, the region has interconnectivity of history between Ghana and Mali.18 In the 1400s, the Mali kingdom began to decline due to internal conflicts due to religious diversities and plays for power over the nation. Without the strength of Mansa Musa, the state could not hold its vast territory amongst diverse interests and ideas of the state that were at odds. By 1550, the full decline of the state was observed as incursions for the Songhay, the Mossi, and through the manipulations of the Portuguese deteriorated the power held by Mali.19 The developments in Mali would soon pale to the rise of the kingdom of Songhay as it became one of the most highly advanced societies in Africa. Songhay At its apex, the state of Songhay had achieved a state of advancement that rivaled that of the European cities. The unfortunate history of Songhay is that its decline and fall was the catalyst for the breech of the Europeans towards the slave trade. Because of the destruction of the state, the Europeans established a belief that Africans were not civilized or educated. The truth was far removed from this belief. In contrast to the myths, “Africans were among the first people to foster the idea of the university. They were learned in literature, art, and the sciences long before the continent came under the influence of Western European culture”.20 During the 19th and 20th centuries, local power was diminished by the establishment of local elite that were educated in French language and culture. These elite were eligible for jobs in the colonial government, thus separating the culture from its own educational efforts and asserting authority through cultural domination.21 Conclusion The rise and fall of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay spoke to the centuries of conflict that lead to a vulnerability that was exploited by European explorers. When the presence of gold was discovered as the primary resource of Western Africa, the development of trade based upon that gold gave the local people a great deal of wealth and power. This attracted conquering armies that soon turned over the power that was within those regions. However, it was the establishment of trade with Europe and the consequence of the slave trade that lead to the ultimate demise as the culture of Africa was diminished by systemic efforts to diminish the local culture in favor of a supposed ‘superior’ culture of the French. Although freedom from colonization was finally won in Ghana in 1957, the ensuing internal conflicts did not support the continuation of prosperity that could have come from a still resource rich region. The fate of the Sudan is still in question as the harm that Western societies brought through colonization is still felt in those regions. Bibliography Anderson, Talmadge, and James B. Stewart. Introduction to African American Studies: Transdisciplinary Approaches and Implications. Baltimore, Md: Inprint Editions, 2007. Falola, Toyin. Key Events in African History: A Reference Guide. Westport (Conn.): Greenwood press, 2002. Hall, Timothy C. The Complete Idiots Guide to World History. New York: Alpha, 2008. Hunwick, John O. Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-SADIs "TaRikh Al-Sudan" Down to 1613 and Other Contemporary Documents. Leiden: Brill, 2003. Lockard, Craig A. Lockards Societies, Networks, and Transitions to 1500 A Global History. Houghton Mifflin College Div, 2007. Oppong, Joseph R., and Esther D. Oppong. Ghana. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2003. Otfinoski, Steven, Nancy White, and Francine Weinberg. Get Ready! for Social Studies. World History. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2002. Rothstein, Stanley W. Class, Culture, and Race in American Schools: A Handbook. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1995. Saad, Elias N. Social History of Timbuktu: The Role of Muslim Scholars and Notables, 1400- 1900. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Stoller, Paul. The Taste of Ethnographic Things: The Senses in Anthropology. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1989. Read More