session 7 (reading)

Question 1

“Bilad al-Sudan” (plains of West Africa) literally means the land of the ______

Answer 1

Land of the blacks

Question 2

What are the three main environmental zones running east–west across West Africa?

Answer 2

Sahel
Savanna
Forest

Question 3

Why was the Niger River so important for these empires?

Answer 3

It was easy to navigate and allowed movement of people, languages, animals, crops, arts, and ideas

Question 4

: In this region, pastoralists mainly lived in the desert around the city of ______, while farmers lived in the ______ below the Niger

Answer 4

timbuktu
savanna

Question 5

Where did fishermen and forest dwellers live in this system?

Answer 5

Fishermen along the Niger River; forest dwellers in the forest zone

Question 6

How did this strong regional specialization (pastoralists, farmers, fishermen, forest dwellers) affect trade?

Answer 6

It made trade crucial and encouraged commerce, specialization, and the growth of towns, cities, and states

Question 7

urban centres already existed before what major development or arrival?

Answer 7

Before the arrival of Arab traders and before the full development of the camel trans-saharan trade

Question 8

What animal’s integration into trans-Saharan caravans greatly stimulated political expansion?

Answer 8

The camel

Question 9

Name the two key merchant groups in West African trade mentioned in the notes.

Answer 9

Dyula (mande-speaking early muslim converts
Wangara (merchant class that dominated trade)

Question 10

What happened to Islam in these states because of links between Muslim merchants and local elites?

Answer 10

That islam became the court religion

Question 11

Ghana was associated with the “land of ______” and controlled the ______ region.

Answer 11

gold
Wagadou

Question 12

In Ghana’s organization, what was the role of the city of Koumbi Saleh and what kind of people lived in the countryside?

Answer 12

Koumbi Saleh had merchants and the royal administration; the countryside had farmers, fishermen and herdsmen

Question 13

How did Ghana use tribute to control its countryside?

Answer 13

People paid tribute to the king, and in return he protected them from raids by desert nomads

Question 14

What kind of commerce made Ghana rich and connected it with other regions?

Answer 14

Long-distance trade

Question 15

(fill-in-the-blank): In 1076, ______ ______ attacked Ghana and sacked Koumbi Saleh.

Answer 15

Berber Almoravids

Question 16

Besides the Almoravid attack, name two internal problems that led to Ghana’s collapse

Answer 16

Rival chieftaincies, political instability and economic depression (any two)

Question 17

(fill-in-the-blank): The Mali Empire rose in the ______ century, linked to new gold deposits and the legend of ______, its founder

Answer 17

13th
sundiata

Question 18

How did Sundiata create the Mali Empire according to the notes?

Answer 18

He united Mande farmers of the Niger Valley, expanded east, north and west, and conquered the remnants of Ghana

Question 19

(fill-in-the-blank): The capital city of the Mali Empire was ______

Answer 19

Niani

Question 20

What did the Malinke religious and secular ideology say about Sundiata’s role?

Answer 20

He was the master of the land and guardian of the ancestors

Question 21

How did Mali interact with the Islamic world in terms of its court?

Answer 21

The court followed Islam, and secretaries and accountants were Muslims

Question 22

In Mali, traditional ______ still ruled the land and paid annual ______ to the mansa

Answer 22

chiefs
mansa

Question 23

What groups provided external security and internal enforcement in Mali?

Answer 23

Horsemen, soldiers and officials

Question 24

Which trades were important for Mali, and on what was the broader economy based?

Answer 24

Gold and salt trades were important; the wider economy was based on agriculture and pastoralism

Question 25

What internal problems weakened the Mali Empire between the 14th and 16th centuries?

Answer 25

Court conflicts among rivals over the mansa, unstable control over non-Mande provinces, and succession struggles that encouraged secession

Question 26

Q (fill-in-the-blank): The ______ Empire sacked Mali’s capital in ______, marking a key step in its collapse

Answer 26

Songhai 1545

Question 27

From which people did the Songhai descend and in which river area?

Answer 27

From the Sorko fishermen of the Middle Niger

Question 28

(fill-in-the-blank): By the 9th century the Songhai had formed a state with a capital at ______

Answer 28

Kukiya

Question 29

What did the Songhai exchange with Muslim merchants in early times?

Answer 29

Fish and food in exvhange for salt and hardware

Question 30

What happened religiously to many merchants in the Songhai Empire?

Answer 30

Many merchants converted to Islam

Question 31

How did Sunni Ali help expand the Songhai Empire?

Answer 31

He developed agriculture in the Niger valley using slave labour

Question 32

Under Muhammad Ture of the Askia dynasty, Songhai became important in Muslim - trade.

Answer 32

trans-Saharan

Question 33

How did Muhammad Ture change provincial government to centralise the empire?

Answer 33

He replaced traditional ethnic governors with servants or members of the royal family

Question 34

Who led the Moroccan invasion that destroyed the Songhai Empire, and with what kind of army?

Answer 34

Judar Pasha, a Spanish eunuch, leading about 4,000 Moroccan troops with cannons and muskets

Question 35

What happened in the region after Songhai fell to Morocco?

Answer 35

Small petty states rose and fell amid economic depression and political instability

Question 36

(fill-in-the-blank): For security, agricultural settlements became ______, which helped cause common ______ and ______

Answer 36

dispersed; famine; epidemics

Question 37

In the notes, what does the fall of Songhai symbolise?

Answer 37

The end of the era of the great Sudanese empires

Question 38

Where was Kanem-Bornu located in relation to the Islamic world?

Answer 38

It was the largest empire close to Egypt and the heartlands of Islam

Question 39

What was the ruling dynasty of Kanem-Bornu, and why is it notable?

Answer 39

The Saifawa dynasty, known as the longest reign in recorded history

Question 40

(fill-in-the-blank): Kanem-Bornu was centred around ______ ______, an attractive area with fish and water for agriculture

Answer 40

Lake chad

Question 41

How did Kanem-Bornu become wealthy from Sahelian trade?

Answer 41

It dominated north–south trade routes and sent ivory, slaves and animal skins in exchange for salt, horses and goods from the Maghrib

Question 42

What was the role of Islam and military technology under the Mais (especially Mai Dunama)? Kanem-Bornu – Islam & firearms

Answer 42

Islam was very important; the Mais promoted Islam and were the first rulers south of the Sahara to import firearms, muskets and Turkish mercenaries

Question 43

Name two factors that led to the collapse of Kanem-Bornu

Answer 43

Internal rebellion, pressure from nomadic pastoralists in the north, growing power of the Hausa, plus drought, famine and warfare (any two)

Question 44

For the empires of the plains, the fundamental resources were ______ and ______, plus trans-Saharan trade

Answer 44

agriculture; livestock

Question 45

How did rulers expand their authority over large areas, according to the notes?

Answer 45

Through negotiation and the submission of local leaders who became vassals and paid tribute and services

Question 46

What does it mean that “all empires of the plains could be formed quickly as well as collapse quickly”?

Answer 46

Their power grew fast but was fragile due to unclear succession, rebellions, famine, drought and religious tensions

Question 47

Which three tools were used to expand and consolidate these empires?

Answer 47

Diplomacy, military force and religion

Question 48

How did rulers think of their territories, according to the notes?

Answer 48

Not as fixed borders with loyal subjects, but as networks of routes, personal relations and trade connections