School Encyclopedia. Presentation on the topic "History of Africa in the Middle Ages" Tropical African countries in the era of the developed Middle Ages

Africa is a place where people live, adhering to the rules of life, traditions and culture that developed several centuries ago, have survived to this day almost unchanged and are a clear guide to the everyday way of life of the population. The inhabitants of Africa still successfully exist due to fishing, hunting and gathering, without feeling the need and acute need for the objects of modern civilization. This does not mean that they are not familiar with all the innovations of civilization, they simply know how to do without them, leading a secluded lifestyle, not coming into contact with the outside world.

Peoples inhabiting Africa

The African continent has sheltered many different tribes with different levels of development, traditions, rituals and outlook on life. The largest tribes are Mbuti, Nuba, Oromo, Hamer, Bambara, Fulbe, Dinka, Bongo and others. Over the past two decades, the inhabitants of the tribes have been gradually reorganizing themselves into a commodity-money way of life, but their priority is to provide themselves and their families with the necessary food in order to prevent prolonged famine. It can be said that the tribal population has practically no economic relations, which is why various conflicts and contradictions often arise, which can even end in bloodshed.

Despite this, there are tribes that are more loyal to modern development, have entered into economic relations with other large nations and are working to develop social culture and industry.

The population of Africa is quite large, therefore, from 35 to 3000 people live on the continent per square kilometer, and in some places even more, because due to the lack of water and the unfavorable climate of the deserts, the population is unevenly distributed here.

Berbers and Arabs live in northern Africa, who, over a dozen centuries of living in this territory, passed on their language, culture and traditions to the locals. Arab ancient buildings are still pleasing to the eye, revealing all the subtleties of their culture and beliefs.

There are practically no inhabitants in the desert area, but there you can meet a large number of nomads who lead entire caravans of camels, which is their main source of life and an indicator of wealth.

Culture and life of the peoples of Africa

Since the population of Africa is quite diverse and consists of more than a few dozen tribes, it is very obvious that the traditional way has long lost its primitiveness and, in some aspects, borrowed culture from neighboring residents. Thus, the culture of one tribe reflects the traditions of another and it is difficult to determine who was the founder of certain rituals. The most important value in the life of the tribal people is the family, it is with it that most of the beliefs, traditions and rituals are associated.

In order to marry one of the girls of the tribe, the guy must compensate the parents for the damage. Often this is a domestic animal, but more recently, ransom is also accepted in cash. It is believed that this tradition helps families unite, and in the case of a good amount of ransom, the father of the bride is convinced of the wealth of the son-in-law and that he can properly provide for his daughter.

The wedding should only be played on a full moon night. It is the moon that will indicate what the marriage will be like - if bright and clear, then the marriage will be good, prosperous and prolific, if the moon is dim - this is a very bad sign. The family in the tribes of Africa is distinguished by polygamy - as soon as a man becomes financially wealthy, he can afford several wives, which does not bother the girls at all, since they equally share household and childcare responsibilities. Such families are surprisingly friendly and direct all their efforts for the good of the tribe.

Upon reaching a certain age (it is different for each tribe), young people must undergo an initiation ceremony. Boys and sometimes girls are circumcised. It is very important that the guy during the ceremony does not scream or cry, otherwise he will forever be considered a coward.

Traditions and customs of the peoples of Africa

Africans spend a lot of time protecting themselves from evil spirits and getting closer to good gods. To do this, they perform ritual dances (causing rain, fight pests, receive a blessing before hunting, etc.), stuff tattoos, cut out masks that should protect them from evil spirits.

Sorcerers and shamans play a special role in the life of the tribe. They are considered servants of the spirits, it is to them that the leaders of the tribes listen and the common people come to them for advice. Shamans have the right to bless, heal, they hold weddings and bury the deceased.

The inhabitants of Africa honor their ancestors with particular enthusiasm, performing a series of rituals to worship them. Often this is the worship of dead ancestors, after whose death more than a year has passed, they are invited back to the house with the help of some ritual actions, allocating them a separate place in the room.

Before marriage, girls are taught a special language for married women, which only they know and understand. The bride herself must come to the groom's house on foot and bring her dowry. Marriage can be concluded from the age of 13.

Another feature of the tribal culture is the scarring on the body. It is believed that the more of them, the better a man is a warrior and hunter. Each tribe has its own drawing techniques.

The art of Tropical Africa became known to Europeans only at the end of the 19th century. But the perfection of this art was amazing.

The original art of the peoples of Tropical Africa developed mainly in its western part: in western Sudan, on the Guinean coast and in the Congo.
Of course, the art of Africa is very diverse, one can distinguish different styles of African art with their own special features. But within the limits of one small article there is no opportunity to consider this topic in more detail, therefore we give only a generalized description of the entire art of the peoples of Tropical Africa.
The art and culture of Africa is still not fully understood, there are still many mysteries and gaps in this issue. Although discoveries are made all the time. Archaeologists are sure that African art developed not only in Tropical Africa, but also in many areas of South and North Africa, including the Sahara mountains, which 7-8 thousand years ago was inhabited by peoples engaged in hunting, cattle breeding and agriculture. Thousands of rock paintings and paintings of various styles and periods have been found in the Sahara. The oldest of them date back to the 5th millennium BC, the later ones - to the first centuries of our era.

The existence of prehistoric paintings in the Sahara has been known for a long time, but only after the expedition of the French scientist A. Lot in 1957 did it become widely known: he brought to Paris more than 800 copies of rock paintings from the region of the Tassilin mountain range. And at present, rock carvings have been found in almost all of Africa.

Landscape of Tassilin-Adjer
The huge desert plateau of Tassilin-Adjer (an area of ​​72 thousand km²) is located in the Central Sahara, in the southeast of Algeria. The surface of Tassilin-Adjer is crossed by canyons, the beds of dried up ancient rivers. In the rocks of Tassili there are many grottoes and caves, as well as hot volcanic springs.

The ancient inhabitants of Tassilin-Adjer left over 15 thousand rock paintings and reliefs dating from the 7th millennium BC. e. until the 7th century n. e. This is one of the largest monuments of rock art in the Sahara, a UNESCO site. The drawings refer to different time periods. The earliest are petroglyphs, they are made in a naturalistic style and date back to 6000-2000 BC. e.

hunting scene
These are mainly hunting scenes and images of animals of the "Ethiopian" fauna: elephants, rhinos, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, ostriches, antelopes, an extinct species of buffalo, etc.

buffaloes
Animals are depicted very realistically. There are some drawings made later - their style is already different. The people depicted here are of the so-called "Bushman type". These are people in masks, with bows and arrows. Henri Lot, who studied drawings in 1956-1957, called them "round-headed people."
Later drawings from the end of 3000-1000 BC. e. made with paints and depict domestic animals: sheep, goats, cattle. There are also images of horses, dogs, mouflons, elephants and giraffes. The drawings are more conventional than the previous group. People are usually masked, with bows and arrows, darts, axes and crooked sticks. Men are dressed in short wide cloaks, women in bell-shaped skirts.

camels
Images of horses and carts with wheels dating back to the middle of the 2nd millennium BC have also been found. e. - the beginning of our era.
The appearance of the camel in the drawings (200-700 AD) marks the "camel period".
Many arrowheads, scrapers, bones, grain grinders, stone knives and other human tools were also found among the rocks.
In the Neolithic era, this area was rich in water and various species of deciduous and coniferous trees, oleander, myrtle, oak, citrus and olive trees grew here. In those places where you can now see valleys covered with sand, full-flowing rivers flowed. There were a lot of fish and large river animals in them: hippos, crocodiles - preserved bones testify to this.

Petroglyphs of Fezzan

Fezzan petroglyphs are considered the pinnacle of primitive art. The area where these images are located is currently a lifeless desert. Images of elephants, hippos, rhinos, giraffes, bulls, antelopes, ostriches and other animals are clearly visible on the rocks, as well as figures of archers, hunters with darts, etc. The figures reach several meters in size.

In the IV millennium BC. e. giraffes, ostriches, antelopes remain from the rock carvings, but images of predators and the first figures of bulls appear. Bulls in different poses and angles, sometimes with long, sometimes short horns, with horns bent back or curved in the form of a lyre, become the main object of the image.
Around the middle of the IV millennium BC. e. cattle-breeding tribes settle in Tassilin, so large rock paintings appear depicting cattle driving, scenes of war, hunting, and gathering cereals.
Ancient artists carved their works in the rocks or painted them with mineral paints with a predominance of yellow, brown, blue and reddish tones. Egg white was used as a binder. Paints were applied by hand, brushes and feathers.

Nok culture

Nok area of ​​life

The oldest known African culture was discovered in 1944 in the town of Nok (Nigeria), between the Niger and Benue rivers. Sculptural portraits and details of figures made almost life-size from fired clay were found in tin mines. This culture was called the Nok culture. Since then, many objects of this culture have been found. They were dated using the radioactive carbon method. The Nok civilization originated in Nigeria around 900 BC. e. and mysteriously disappeared in 200 AD. e. (the end of the Neolithic (Stone Age) and the beginning of the Iron Age). It is believed that the Nok civilization was the first in the sub-Saharan region to make terracotta figurines.

Statuette of a Woman. Height 48 cm. Age: 900 to 1500 years

Terracotta sculpture Nok
The Nok civilization is also known for the spread of iron metallurgy in sub-Saharan Africa. Bronze sculptures also belong to their culture. They were made using the "lost wax method". A rough clay blank was smeared with a thick layer of wax, from which a model was molded. Then it was again covered with clay and molten metal was poured into a specially left hole. When the wax flowed out, the model was dried, the outer layer of clay was broken and the resulting bronze figurine was carefully polished. This method was known in ancient Egypt, but there is no convincing evidence of the connection between ancient Egypt and Nok.
The perfection of sculpting and firing suggests that the Nok culture developed over a long period. Perhaps it was preceded by some other, even more ancient culture.

Sao people

Legends about the mysterious Sao people who lived in the area of ​​​​Lake Chad have survived to this day. This archaeological culture existed in the X-XIX centuries. n. e. in the lower reaches of the Shari and Logone rivers (the territory of the modern Republic of Chad). According to legend, the Sao people came to the Lake Chad region from the Bilma oasis in the Sahara. The population was engaged in hunting, fishing and agriculture, knew the metallurgy of iron, copper and bronze; various crafts were developed. Excavations carried out in the mid-1920s 20th century the remains of numerous settlements have been explored. The ruins of city walls and adobe houses, a lot of clay products (sculpture, funeral urns, children's toys, jewelry, large vessels for storing grain), metals, bones, horns, mother-of-pearl were discovered. The most interesting works of clay sculpture (mainly of the 10th century) are heads and statues, striking with grotesque deformation of facial features.

sao sculpture
There is a legend about the Sao people - they were giants who blocked rivers with one hand, made bows from palm trunks and easily carried elephants and hippos on their shoulders. The finds of archaeologists have confirmed that indeed in the X-XVI centuries. the people who created their own culture lived here.
The Sao built large cities surrounded by adobe walls 10 meters high, created sculptures from clay and bronze, which usually combined the features of a person and an animal.
In addition to sculptural works, bronze reliefs with various subjects that adorned the pillars and walls of the palace galleries have also come down to us. Benin craftsmen also created works of ivory and wood: pendant masks, wands, salt shakers, etc.

Rock art (Southern Rhodesia)
Monuments of ancient African art have also been discovered in South Africa. In the 20s. 19th century in the mountains of Matopo were found rock carvings of mythological content. Among these images there are scenes of agricultural rites, making rain, killing the king, mourning, ascending to heaven.

Relief (Southern Rhodesia)

wooden sculpture

The most widespread form of art in Tropical Africa was folk sculpture made of wood. It was created by almost all peoples from the Sahara to South Africa, except for the eastern regions where Islam was widespread. Although the age of the most ancient works that have come down to us does not exceed 150-200 years, it is believed that wooden sculpture has existed in Tropical Africa for a long time, but in a humid tropical climate, the tree is very quickly destroyed.

Folk sculpture consists of two large groups: sculpture itself and masks. The sculpture was mostly cult (images of various spirits, ancestors), and masks were used during the rites of initiation of young men and women into members of the community, as well as during various ceremonies, holidays, masquerades, etc.

Each African people had their own original style of sculpture, but there are many common features. It was usually carved from fresh, uncured soft wood, painted with three colors - white, black and red-brown, sometimes green and blue. African masters greatly exaggerated the size of the head, while the rest of the figure remained disproportionately small. The masks often combined the features of man and animal.

Rich original artistic traditions have been preserved in the territory that flourished in the 16th-18th centuries. in the depths of the equatorial forests of the state of Bushongo (in the upper reaches of the Kassay River, a tributary of the Congo).
In many parts of Tropical Africa, the art of wooden sculpture still exists today.

Art of Medieval Africa

Culture of Ife

Ife is a city in southwestern Nigeria. This is one of the most important centers of ancient civilization in West Africa. In the XII-XIX centuries. Ife was a city-state of the Yoruba people. In Ife, terracotta heads, monumental bronze heads of gods and rulers, expressive bronze half-figures covered with ornamental decorations (most likely, these were the kings of Ife) were found.
The bronze sculpture of Ife had a great influence on the development of the artistic culture of Benin, a state that existed until the end of the 19th century. in the territory of Nigeria. The Yoruba still regard Ife as their ancestral home.
When, as a result of the expeditions of 1910 and 1938. bronze and terracotta sculptures were found here, which were not inferior to the best examples of ancient art, these finds amazed Europe. It is difficult to establish the time of execution of these figures, but tentatively it is the XII-XIV centuries.

The portrait sculptures from Ife are nearly life-sized. They are distinguished by proportionality and harmony - the embodied ideal of human beauty of that time. In addition, the bronze casting of these figures was as perfect as the forms.
According to legend, the art of bronze casting was in the XIII century. brought from Ife to the city-state of Benin. Here, as in Ife, it served the kings - both. Casters lived in a special quarter of the city, and special officials strictly monitored the preservation of the secret of bronze casting.
The city was destroyed during the English punitive expedition in 1897, and many works of art perished in the fire.

Bronze reliefs of Ife
In addition to sculptural works, bronze reliefs with various subjects that adorned the pillars and walls of the palace galleries have also come down to us. Benin craftsmen also created works of ivory and wood: pendant masks, wands, salt shakers, etc.
In some Ife sculpted heads, similarities can be seen.

Bronze figure of a king
By the 15th century the state of Benin began to dominate the Yoruba people. A lively trade with Benin was conducted by the Portuguese (XVII-XVIII centuries), so there is a description of this state, its magnificent palaces. The French traveler Landolf even compared Benin with the major French cities of that time. Bronze reliefs, heads and carved elephant tusks, now kept in museums in Europe and America, tell us about the former splendor of his palaces.

Benin bronze
Large bronze heads depict mainly the kings of Benin. Until now, in every house in Benin there is an altar where sacrifices are made to the ancestors, and above all to the deceased father. On the altars, carved wooden heads are usually placed, as accurately as possible conveying a portrait resemblance to the deceased.
According to legend, in the middle of the XIII century. (the reign of King Ogula) from the city of Ife, a foundry master Igwe-Iga was sent to Benin, he taught other masters who lived in a special quarter near the royal palace. The art of bronze casting was kept secret.

Bronze reliefs decorated the halls of palaces and galleries. They depicted various scenes from life, as well as kings, courtiers, etc.
The culture of Ife and Benin influenced the cultures of almost all the peoples of the Guinean coast.
For example, foundry workers in Ghana made miniature bronze castings of weights for weighing gold. Casting of gold was very common among the Baule peoples. Their golden masks are distinguished by grace. They were worn around the neck or at the waist. Perhaps they depicted the heads of dead enemies. Baule masks are varied, but they also have common features: an oval face, almond-shaped closed eyes, a long thin nose, hair in the form of twisted buns, etc.

Baule mask
The art of the ancient and medieval states of Tropical Africa suggests that the peoples of Africa reached a high level and created an original highly artistic culture.

Africa. Middle Ages

North and Northeast Africa. The Middle Ages of North Africa and Egypt are closely connected with the Northern Mediterranean. Starting from the III century. Egypt and the countries of North Africa, which were part of the Roman Empire, were in deep crisis. The aggravation of the internal contradictions of late antique society contributed to the success of the barbarian (Berbers, Goths, Vandals) incursions into the African provinces of Rome. At the turn of IV-V centuries. with the support of the local population, the barbarians overthrew the power of Rome and formed several states in North Africa: the kingdom of the Vandals with its capital in Carthage (439-534), the Berber kingdom of Jedar (between Muluya and Ores) and a number of smaller principalities of the Berber agellids (kings): Luata ( in the north of Tripolitania), Nefzaua (in African Castile on the territory of Bizacena, modern Tunisia), Jerahua (in Numidia), etc. The process of so-called deromanization included the restoration of the positions of local languages ​​​​and cultures gravitating to the east.

The power of Byzantium over Egypt and North Africa (conquered in 533-534) was fragile. The arbitrariness of the military authorities, the corruption of the state apparatus weakened the central government. The positions of the African provincial nobility (Latin in North Africa, Greek in Egypt) were strengthened, often entering into allied relations with the barbarians and external enemies of Byzantium. In 616-626 Persian Sassanid troops occupied Egypt; in North Africa, the lands belonging to the empire were seized by the Berber Agellids. In 646, the Carthaginian exarch (governor) of Byzantium, Gregory, announced the separation of Africa from Byzantium and proclaimed himself emperor. The situation of the masses, who suffered from fiscal oppression and exploitation by large landowners, worsened. Popular discontent found expression in the widespread spread of heresies [Arians, Donatists, Monophysites (Jacobites)] and the aggravation of the religious and communal struggle.

In the middle of the 7th century popular heretical movements found an ally in the face of Muslim Arabs. In 639 the Arabs appeared on the borders of Egypt. During military campaigns, the Arab commanders Amr ibn al-As, Okba ibn Nafi, Hasan ibn al-Noman, with the active support of the local population, who fought against the Byzantine "Rumi" and the landed aristocracy, defeated the troops of the Byzantine governor of Egypt, then the Carthaginian emperor Gregory, king Jedar Koseyla, Berber queens Ores Kahina and their allies (see). In 639-709 all the African provinces of Byzantium became part of the Arab Caliphate (up to 750 headed by the Umayyad dynasty, then by the Abbasids). Monophysites and representatives of ancient heretical movements supported the Arabs, who were close to the indigenous population in terms of language and cultural traditions. The strong power of the caliphs was in the developed regions of North Africa (Egypt, eastern and central Maghreb). In peripheral regions with strong remnants of tribal relations, the power and authority of the caliphs were very conditional, if not nominal.

The inclusion of North Africa in the caliphate contributed to the gradual leveling of the levels of socio-economic development of its various regions. The consequences of the economic decline of the III-VII centuries were overcome. In the era of the Umayyads in Egypt and the countries of North Africa, the rise of agriculture began, primarily agriculture, associated with mass construction in the 8th century. irrigation systems (reservoirs, underground, distribution and drainage canals, new dams and water-lifting mechanisms) and the transition to multi-field crop rotations. Along with the traditional branches of agriculture (grain production, olive growing, winemaking, horticulture), the production of so-called Indian crops (sugarcane, rice, cotton), as well as sericulture (in Ifriqiya), has become widespread. The extraction of silver, gold (in Sijilmas), copper, antimony, iron, tin fully provided for domestic needs. Handicraft production reached a high level, especially the manufacture of fabrics, the processing of glass, copper, iron, weapons, and various art crafts. Shipyards were built in Egypt and Ifriqiya, and siege equipment was manufactured. There was an upsurge in the commodity-money economy. The land and large manufactories belonged to the state; trade and handicraft production were concentrated in the hands of private individuals. The social structure of the population had an early feudal character. The ruling class of feudal lords (hassa) was made up of bureaucratic strata, the Arab military nobility, and the elite of the local population who joined with it. The bulk of the population was made up of the communal peasantry and the plebeian strata of the city (amma) - small proprietors and persons of hired labor. A large number of slaves (in Ifriqiya in the 9th century 20-25% of the population) were used in various industries and in the non-productive sphere. Trade-merchant strata and tax-farmers played an important role. Collective forms of exploitation of direct producers (rent-tax) prevailed. In Africa, there were significant centers of the Arab culture of the caliphate: in Ifriqiya, Egypt, from the 9th-10th centuries. - in Fez, which developed under the strong influence of Ifriqiya and Muslim Spain. Arabic became widespread and became the official language in 706. The Arabization of the population, primarily the process of introducing it to the values ​​of Arab culture, proceeded extremely unevenly. More quickly, it covered Tunisia and other coastal regions of North Africa, where the Semitic population predominated. Arabization proceeded more slowly in Egypt, Castile and other areas of North Africa, as well as in the interior Berber regions of Algeria and Morocco, where in the VIII-XI centuries. the population continued to speak respectively Coptic, Latin and various Berber languages. In Egypt, only at the beginning of the XIV century. the Coptic language was supplanted by Arabic (separate pockets of spoken Coptic remained until the 17th century). In Tunisia, the last inscriptions in Latin date back to the middle of the 11th century; the local Romance and Berber languages ​​existed until the 15th century. In the west of the Maghreb, the process of Arabization proceeded even more slowly. By the beginning of the XVI century. 85% of the Moroccan population and 50% of the Algerian population continued to speak Berber languages.

Islam was practiced by the ruling elite, the army, but the majority of Muslims were the plebeian layers of the city, the population of less developed areas. According to some estimates, 2 / 3 Muslim clergy in the VIII-XI centuries. were from the trade and craft sectors of the population. The agricultural population, the intelligentsia, and employees of government institutions were little affected by Islamization. The majority of the population of Morocco and other regions of Northern Sahara already at the beginning of the VIII century. considered themselves Muslims. In Morocco, the last centers of Christianity and paganism disappeared in the 10th century. However, in Egypt and Ifriqiya until the beginning of the 10th century. Muslims were a minority. The primary process of Islamization in these countries ended mainly at the beginning of the 11th century, when up to 80% of the population abandoned Christianity. In Ifriqiya, the last Christian communities ceased to exist in the middle of the 12th century. Social and political contradictions were reflected in the struggle of diverse religious schools and trends.

With the collapse of the caliphate in the 9th century. in the areas of Africa committed to the Sunnism, the power of the Abbasids weakened. Their African provinces became independent feudal states. They were headed by the Tulunids (868-905) and Ikhshidids (935-969) dynasties in Egypt, the Aghlabids (800-909) in Ifriqiya, who recognized the power of the caliphs only as the spiritual leaders of Islam. The Idrisid state (788-974) in northern Morocco did not recognize Abbasid suzerainty and was heavily influenced by the rulers of Muslim Spain.

The development of mass anti-feudal movements led to the first successes of the Fatimids, who at the turn of the 9th-10th centuries. became the head of the Ismaili Shiites, who preached the establishment of social justice and messianic ideas about the imminent coming of the Mahdi. The Fatimids established their power in Ifriqiya, conquered Morocco and Egypt (969) and founded a caliphate that also included a number of countries in the Middle East. In 973 his capital was moved from Mahdia to Cairo (Egypt). The social and political institutions of the Abbasid era underwent significant changes. Private trade and free craft were abolished, and peasant communities were placed under state control. The state monopolized various branches of handicraft and agricultural production, direct producers turned into state serfs. The Fatimids forcibly imposed Ismailism and put an end to the relative religious tolerance of the times of the Umayyads and Abbasids. In response to the disobedience of the Zirids, who restored (1048) an independent Sunni state in Ifriqiya, the Fatimids sent the Arab nomadic tribes of Banu Hilal and Banu Suleim to North Africa, who on April 14, 1052 in the battle of Haydaran (to the north of Gabes) defeated the troops of the Ifrik emirs. The Bedouin invasion changed the fate of North Africa. The nomads - the Arabs and the Berbers of the zenata who joined them - destroyed the cities, ravaged the fields and villages of Ifriqiya and the Algerian High Plateaus. The urban and agricultural population paid tribute to them. The western regions of the Maghreb were invaded by the Almoravid Berbers, who relied on the Saharan nomadic Sanhaja tribes. In 1054, the Almoravids captured the capital of Western Sahara, Audagost, conquered Tafilalt, Sousse, and the lands of Bergvat, took Fez (1069) and established their power in western Algeria. By the beginning of the XII century. the Almoravid state included Western Sahara, Morocco, Western Algeria, Muslim Spain.

From the middle of the XI century. Egypt and especially the Maghreb countries entered a period of economic and cultural decline. The extensive irrigation systems in them were completely destroyed by the nomads. In the same period, the balance of power in the Mediterranean changed: shipping and maritime trade began to pass into the hands of Europeans. The Normans conquered Sicily (1061-91), captured Tripoli (1140), Bejaia, Sus, Mahdia (1148), together with the crusaders made several attacks on Thinis, Alexandria (1155) and other cities on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. In the XII-XIII centuries. The crusaders waged a bitter war at sea and made several invasions of Egypt and the countries of North Africa. In 1168 their troops approached Cairo. The heavy defeats that the crusaders suffered in Egypt in 1219-21 and 1249-50 and in Tunisia in 1270 forced them to abandon their plans for conquest in Africa.

The struggle against the Normans and Crusaders under the flag of the protection and revival of Islam was launched by Ibn Tumart in the west and Salah ad-Din in the east. Ibn Tumart laid the foundations for the military-religious movement of the Almohads, who overthrew the power of the Almoravids, subjugated the Arab and Berber Zenatian tribes and created a powerful military power in North Africa (1146-1269). Its successors were the states of the Hafsids in Tunisia (1229-1574), the Zayanids in western Algeria (1235-1551) and the Marinids in Morocco (1269-1465). Salah ad-Din overthrew the Fatimid dynasty (1171), destroyed the social and political institutions of their caliphate, and established a Sunni state in Egypt led by the Ayyubid dynasty (1171-1250). In Egypt, the traditions of Salah ad-Din and the Ayyubids were adopted by the Mamluk sultans (1250-1517), who stood at the head of a powerful empire that claimed hegemony in the Muslim world. The states of the Ayyubids, Almohads and their successors managed to repel the threat from the crusaders and establish the religious unity of North Africa on the basis of Sunnism. A period of undivided domination of Sunni orthodoxy and a merciless struggle against the Gentiles began. There was a further economic regression in Egypt and North Africa. The destruction of irrigation systems predetermined the decline of agriculture. In the XII-XV centuries. rice and cotton crops, sericulture and winemaking gradually disappeared, the production of flax and industrial crops fell. The population of agricultural centers, including the Nile Valley, reoriented to the production of cereals, as well as dates, olives and horticultural crops. Huge areas were occupied by extensive cattle breeding. The process of the so-called Bedouinization of the population proceeded exceptionally fast. At the turn of the XI-XII centuries. Algerian High Plateaus, plains of central and southern Tunisia, later Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, in the XIV century. Upper Egypt turned into semi-desert dry steppes. Dozens of cities and thousands of villages disappeared. In Cyrenaica by the end of the XIV century. not a single urban-type settlement remained. The population fell rapidly (according to the estimates of Tunisian historians, the population of Ifriqiya in the 11th-15th centuries decreased by two-thirds; apparently, the population of Egypt decreased in approximately the same proportion).

The main social, political and military institutions of the late Middle Ages developed under the Ayyubids and Almohads. The importance of subsistence relations, especially in the Maghreb countries, has increased. The system of iqta - land and other awards for military service has become widespread. The holders of iqta - the Bedouin emirs, Mamluk and Almohad warriors - were the main social support of the late medieval states. In cities, the state monopolized the production and marketing of certain types of goods (while maintaining free craft and private trade in a number of industries), regulated economic life, often acting as the owner or co-owner (under the Almohads) of urban real estate (workshops, bakeries, shops, baths, etc.). . P.). In rural areas, especially in Upper Egypt and the countries of North Africa, the emirs and sheikhs of nomadic tribes (Arabs and Berbers of the Zenat), relying on their own military formations, acted as direct exploiters of the peasants and semi-nomads, who paid tribute to them and carried a number of other duties.

Feudal arbitrariness and tax oppression in the face of a sharp deterioration in environmental conditions and economic decline exacerbated social contradictions. At the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. The Hafsids, Zayanids, Marinids and the Mamluk sultans of Egypt were unable to suppress the discontent of the masses, restrain the separatist aspirations of local rulers and at the same time resist the external threat. In 1415 the Portuguese captured Ceuta, then Arcila and Tangier (1471), and in 1515 they attacked Marrakech, the capital of southern Morocco. The Spaniards in 1509-10 captured the cities of Oran, Algiers, Tripoli, subdued the interior regions of Algiers. Zayanids in 1509, Hafsids in 1535 recognized themselves as vassals of Spain. The fleet of the Order of St. John in 1509 attacked Egypt. The Portuguese, who appeared in the Indian Ocean in 1498, penetrated the Red Sea in 1507, and defeated the Egyptian fleet at Diu in 1509, threatening the holy Muslim cities of Mecca and Medina, pilgrimage and trade. Under these conditions, the Ottoman Empire, acting as the defender of Islam, with the support of the local population, defeated the Mamluks in 1516-17 and annexed Egypt and Cyrenaica. In 1512-15, the Ottoman ghazis - fighters against the "infidels" - Oruj and Khairaddin Barbarossa raised an anti-Spanish uprising in North Africa. The rebels, with the support of the Ottoman troops, defeated the Spaniards, overthrew the local rulers and recognized the suzerainty of the Turkish Sultan (1518). In 1533 Algeria, in 1551 Tripolitania, and in 1574 Tunisia became provinces of the Ottoman Empire. In Morocco, the "holy war" against the Portuguese was led by (1465-1554) and (1554-1659). The expulsion of the Spanish and Portuguese conquerors, the cessation of feudal wars and the restriction of nomadism by the Ottoman Turks contributed to the revival of cities and agriculture. An important role in the development of manufactories, handicraft production and the spread of new agricultural crops (corn, tobacco, citrus fruits) was played by the Moriscos expelled from Spain, who in the 16th - early 17th centuries. settled along the entire southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea from Morocco to Cyrenaica.

N. A. Ivanov.

In the first centuries A.D. e. a kingdom was formed on the territory of Northern Ethiopia. In the 4th-6th centuries, during its heyday, the hegemony of Aksum extended to Nubia (where states were formed on the site of the Meroitic kingdom, and Nobatia), to southern Arabia (the Himyarite kingdom), as well as to the vast territories of the Ethiopian highlands and the north of the Horn of Africa. During this period, Christianity began to spread in the countries of Northeast Africa (in the 4th-6th centuries in Aksum, in the 5th-6th centuries in Nubia). Nubia in the 7th century Nobatia and Mukurra united in a kingdom that repelled the invasion of the Arabs. In the X century. Mukurra and Aloa formed a new association, in which the leading role in the middle of the X century. passed from King Mukurra to King Aloa. In the country of the nomadic Beja people, Nubia and Ethiopia, Arabs settled - merchants, pearl seekers, gold diggers, who, mixing with the indigenous population, spread Islam among them. In the middle of the ninth century The Beja king recognized himself as a vassal of the Abbasid Caliphate. Muslim principalities arose in eastern, central and southern Ethiopia, until the 10th century. remained tributaries of Aksum. These principalities monopolized the trade of the states of the Ethiopian highlands with the outside world. In the VIII-IX centuries. The city of Aksum, the main port and other cities fell into decay in the first half of the 11th century. The Aksumite kingdom finally disintegrated. The civilization created by the Aksumites formed the basis of the culture of medieval Ethiopia. After the collapse of the Aksumite kingdom, independent kingdoms were formed in the southern part of the Ethiopian highlands, and others, in the north-west, in the area of ​​​​Lake Tana, the principality of the Falasha Jews, in the north - a number of Christian principalities (including the principality of agau Lasta). In the east and in the center of the highlands in the XII - the first half of the XIII centuries. The strongest of the Muslim states in Ethiopia was the Makhzumi Sultanate. In the XII century. Christian principalities united under the rule of Lasta (dynasty). At the end of the XIII century. Mucurra became a vassal of Egypt at the end of the 14th century. broke up into a number of small Christian and Muslim principalities; Aloa has fallen into disrepair. At the end of the XIII century. the Zague dynasty submitted to the Solomonic dynasty, and the Makhzumi sultanate fell apart under the blows of the sultanate. These two states entered into a fierce struggle, during which the Christian Ethiopian empire at times subjugated both the Muslim, and the pagan and Judaic states of the highlands. In the XV-XVI centuries. The Ethiopian empire was on the rise.

in Sudan in the fifteenth century. Christian kingdoms of Aloa and were conquered by the Arabs, in the XVI century. the Muslim sultanates of the Fuigs () and. At the beginning of the XVI century. Africa was invaded by the Portuguese, who captured most of the Swahili sultanates, and the Turks, who conquered Egypt and northern Nubia. In Ethiopia, the Portuguese and Turks intervened in the war between the Christian empire and the Muslim Sultanate (in the east of the highlands), which led to the weakening of both states. As a result, the influence of Portugal was established in the Ethiopian Empire.

Yu. M. Kobischanov.

Africa south of the Sahara. Sub-Saharan Africa has played a prominent role in the economic and cultural ties of the Mediterranean-Middle East region since the middle of the 1st millennium. In the zones of direct contact with the societies of this region, relatively developed African class societies were formed. At the same time, significant specifics were observed in the development of such societies in sub-Saharan Africa. Class society took shape here mainly through the monopolization of the “public official function” (F. Engels, see K. Marx and F. Engels, Works, 2nd ed., vol. 20, p. 184), and not the main means of production. The intermediary nature of trade with the class societies of the Mediterranean and Western and South Asia demanded increased attention specifically to the military-organizational aspects of the functioning of the social organism. However, this led to an increase in the lag among the peoples of Tropical Africa in comparison with development in Europe and the Middle East, since it did not create incentives for the accelerated development of social production in the African societies themselves. Tropical Africa, according to most scientists, did not know the slave-owning socio-economic formation; most of its peoples passed to a class society in its early feudal form. At the same time, the features of African early class societies are the significant role and stability of the community with a wide variety of its forms; the presence of huge tracts of land available for development with a low population density; the leading role of the political superstructure in the oppression and exploitation of direct producers; the absence (with rare exceptions) of vassalage in its developed forms, characteristic of Europe and Japan, force some scholars to consider these societies within the framework of the idea of ​​the "Asian mode of production", expressed by K. Marx in the 50s. 19th century The important class-forming role of trade gave some researchers reason to assume the existence in the past in Tropical Africa of a special "African mode of production" based on a combination of a subsistence community economy with simple reproduction with a monopolization by a small social elite of all foreign economic contacts of society. This question cannot be considered finally resolved. Nevertheless, it is obvious that the general direction of the social development of the peoples of Africa was the same as that of the peoples of other parts of the globe, that is, from a tribal society to a class society. One should keep in mind the certain inadequacy of the terminology familiar to us to the actual character of African pre-colonial societies outside North and Northeast Africa. In the vast majority of cases, even in the most developed of them, by the time the Europeans got to know them, the process of class formation had not yet been completed. The incompleteness of the class structure predetermined the absence of political organization in the full sense of the word, that is, the state as an instrument of class domination. Therefore, the use of such terms as "kingdom", "kingdom", "principality" and the like, when applied to these societies, is largely conditional and their use without appropriate reservations is fraught with a certain overestimation of the level of socio-economic development of pre-colonial Africa.

Outside North and Northeast Africa, there were several centers of political and cultural development during this period. The main ones are: ancient zones of contact with Asia Minor and Europe - Central and Western Sudan and the east coast; coast of the Gulf of Guinea and adjacent areas; the Congo basin; the Great Lakes region of East Africa; Southeast Africa, closely connected to the east coast. Each of these centers gravitated towards a greater or lesser number of peripheral societies.

The countries of Western and Central Sudan have reached the greatest development. In Western Sudan in the IV-XVI centuries. succeeded each other as a hegemon in the political and cultural life of the state, and. In addition to them, there were also several smaller ones, as a rule, who were in tributary dependence on them. Ghana in the 7th-9th centuries actively traded with North Africa, the basis of this trade was the exchange of Sudanese gold and slaves for salt mined in the northern part of the Sahara. At the end of the XI century. Ghana was significantly weakened in the clash with the Almoravids, although the latter's dominance over Ghana proper proved to be short-lived. In the XII - early XIII centuries. all dependent possessions disappeared from Ghana, and in the first half of the 13th century. the remnants of the territory of Ghana became part of the possessions of the Soso leader - Sumaoro Kante.

In the middle of the X century. Arab sources first mention the state created by the ancestors of the Fulbe, Wolof and Serer. After the 15th century mentions of the state of Tekrur cease and its name becomes the designation of areas of Western Sudan, lying approximately from the inner delta of the river. Niger to the Atlantic Ocean. It is also preserved in the name of modern tukuler in Senegal - one of the Fulbe groups. Around the 12th century on the territory of Tekrur, Jolof is also known - the state of the Wolof, and in the middle of the 15th century. European travelers mention states, and several smaller ones.

Soso hegemony in Western Sudan was short-lived. In the 30s. 13th century Sumaoro was defeated in the fight against the leader of the Malinke, Sunjata Keita. Sundiata became the creator of the second great power of the Sudanese Middle Ages - Mali. By the middle of the XIII century. he subjugated vast areas along the upper and middle reaches of the river. Niger. During its heyday (the second quarter - the beginning of the third quarter of the 14th century), the political influence of Mali spread from the city of Gao to the Atlantic Ocean. The significance of the most important class-forming factor in Mali was preserved by the caravan trade with North Africa. Inside Malian society since the 13th century. forms of exploitation close to the early feudal ones became widespread. The ideological expression of the acceleration of class formation in Mali was the conversion to Islam of the royal family and the elite of society already in the middle of the 13th century. From the second half of the XV century. Mali, weakened by internal strife and clashes with neighbors, fell into vassal dependence on the Songhai state, which replaced it as hegemon in Western Sudan. As a small principality in the upper reaches of the river. Niger Mali lasted until the 70s. 17th century, when it was conquered by the people of Baman, related to the raspberry.

The Songhai state was formed around the 7th century. In the second half of the XV century. Songhai subjugated the main trading centers of Western Sudan - the cities of Timbuktu and Djenne. By the second half of the XVI century. feudal society developed in Songhai. In the 90s. 16th century this state was defeated by Moroccan troops, who captured a significant part of the territory of the region of the middle reaches of the Niger River.

South of the big bend of the river. Niger, in the river basin. White, Black and Red Volta, a political and cultural center arose, the foundation of which is associated with the Mosi people. The oral tradition of the Mosi elevates the rulers of the states of this people to a certain Na Gbewa (Nedega). The first Mosi state of Ouagadugu arose around the 14th century, by the middle of the 15th century. - two other large states - and Fadan-Gurma, as well as smaller ones -, etc. Throughout the history of the states of Ghana, Mali and Songhai, the peoples of this region served as the object of military expeditions for slaves from their northern neighbors. Therefore, the Mosi developed a strong political and military organization. Their cavalry made successful campaigns to the north and northwest. The early feudal Mosi states lasted until the colonial division of Africa.

Throughout the 16th century there was a shift of the main trade routes from North Africa to the east. By the beginning of the XVII century. the role of the main centers of trans-Saharan trade passed from Djenne and Timbuktu to the city-states of the Hausa, Katsina, Gobiru, Zamfare, and others (see).

In Central Sudan, starting from the 7th century. Two centers of highly developed culture and statehood stood out: the Sudanese proper, fairly quickly Islamized, and the southern one, in the basins of the Shari and Logone rivers south of Lake Chad. The latter is usually associated with culture. In the XIII-XIV centuries. The Sao were a formidable military and political force in Central Sudan.

The state arose to the northeast of Lake Chad, apparently, in the 8th-9th centuries. In the middle of the 13th century, during the heyday of Kanem's power, vast areas of the Sahara were subordinated to him up to the Tibesti highlands, and the southern border passed in the basin of the river. Shari and Logone; part of the Hausan cities also paid tribute to him. The social system of Kanem is defined as early feudal, in many respects similar to that which existed in Mali and early Songhai. At the end of the 13th century the decline of Kanem began as a result of internal strife, as well as under the pressure of militant Bulala in the southeast. From the end of the XIV century. the center of the state moved southwest of Lake Chad, to the region of Borno, or Bornu (the same name was given to the state that existed until the second quarter of the 19th century). It reached its highest rise in the late 16th - early 17th centuries. under the ruler Idris Alauma.

Similar to Bornu was a public organization, a state southeast of Lake Chad, which arose in the first half of the 16th century. In the middle of the XVII century. Bagirmi's army made successful campaigns to the north, to Kanem, and to the northwest and northeast. Another large state of Central Sudan, Vadai, also developed in the 16th century, when the ruling elite of the Tunjurs (a people of mixed Negro-Arab origin) united the Maba and their kindred peoples under their rule.

At the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. the spread of pastoral nomads in the territory of Western and Central Sudan has noticeably accelerated. During the XII-XIII centuries. the fulbes moved east, usually occupying lands unsuitable for agriculture. The first Fulban state formation took shape at the end of the 14th century. in the Masina region (in the inner delta of the Niger River); in the XVI-XVII centuries. it constantly served as the object of military expeditions, first of the Songhai kings, then of the Moroccan pashas who were sitting in the city of Timbuktu, who became at the end of the first third of the 17th century. de facto independent rulers. These campaigns caused several Fulbe migrations; the largest of them at the beginning of the 16th century. originated from Masina on the Futa Djallon Plateau (in modern Guinea). The movement of individual Fulani groups to the east led to their appearance by the end of the 16th century. within Bornu and throughout present-day northern Nigeria up to the Adamawa Plateau in northern present-day Cameroon.

On the east coast of Africa, the development of a system of city-states continued, connected by regular trade and cultural ties with the countries of the Near East and South Asia. The foreign trade orientation of life in such cities (Mogadishu, Mombasa, Kilwa) is known from a description by Ibn Battuta. Most of these centers were formed at the turn of the 8th-9th centuries; as a rule, there was no noticeable expansion of these states into the depths of the mainland, although numerous agricultural settlements existed around the cities. Political dominance belonged to the merchant aristocracy, among which a prominent place was occupied by the descendants of migrants from the Arabian Peninsula and from the Persian Gulf region. The rulers of the East African city-states actively participated in trade operations. The Swahili civilization developed in the area; it was based on the culture of the African population of the coastal regions, enriched with many elements of Muslim culture brought by migrants. The largest centers of this civilization: Kilwa, Mombasa, Lamu, Pate. The appearance of the Portuguese at the end of the XV century. on the coast of the Indian Ocean was accompanied by the destruction of the existing system of ocean trade, in order to then monopolize this trade. Coastal cities were subjected to barbarian destruction. However, the population rebelled more than once against Portuguese domination; the largest performance took place in East Africa in the 30s. 17th century By the end of the XVII century. the general weakening of Portugal and the growth of the military power of the Sultanate of Oman in the east of the Arabian Peninsula led to the loss by the Portuguese of all strongholds on the east coast of Africa north of Mozambique.

There is almost no data on the history of the interior regions of this part of Africa. However, the first archaeological work allows, according to some researchers, to talk about the existence from about the 10th century. comparatively highly developed Azanian culture. Traces of a huge settlement in Engaruk (Tanzania), dating back to the 10th-16th centuries, have been found; throughout the territory of modern Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi, the remains of settlements, terraced hillsides were found, indicating a relatively developed agriculture and dating back to the 13th-15th centuries, traces of specially laid roads, the length of which is about 1000 km.

An independent center of statehood was also connected with the coast of the Indian Ocean, which developed on the territory of modern Zimbabwe (between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers). In this area, on the hill of Zimbabwe, in Inyanga, Dhlo-Dhlo and other places, numerous remains of large stone buildings for public and religious purposes have been preserved. Discovered around the settlement itself allow us to date the oldest cultural layers of the 4th century BC. The construction of large structures, begun around the 7th century, lasted almost a millennium: the latest buildings date back to the 17th century. Already in the X century. Arab authors report the existence of a strong state in the deep regions of Southeast Africa, which had large reserves of gold. Important export items were also iron and copper, which were exported not only to the interior of Africa, but also to the Arabian Peninsula, India and Southeast Asia.

The creators of Zimbabwe's civilization were the Karanga and the Rozvi, two branches of the Bantu-speaking Shona people. At the beginning of the XV century. one of the Karanga rulers took the title of Mwene Mutapa ("Mr. Mutapa"), according to which the state of Karanga and Rozvi began to be called. A devastating role in the fate of Monomotapa was played by the Portuguese slave trade, which gained momentum from the middle of the 16th century. At the end of the XVII century. Monomotapa ceased to exist as the great power of Southeast Africa.

Among the peoples of Africa, who in the Middle Ages did not come into direct contact with the Mediterranean-Middle Eastern world, the peoples of the Guinean coast, especially in the south-west of modern Nigeria and related ethnic groups on both sides of the border between Nigeria and Benin, achieved the greatest development. An original culture was formed - one of the richest in the history of Africa. The Yoruba city-state (see) consisted of a large urban settlement with an agricultural district subordinate to it. In fact, such a city-state represented an overgrown land community, within which the separation of crafts from agriculture proceeded relatively slowly. The bulk of the population consisted of free community members; slave labor was widely used, usually within large patriarchal families. At the turn of the XVI-XVII centuries. the power of the rulers of Oyo increased. This state has become the largest political association on the Guinean coast. To the southeast of the main Yoruba settlement area, on the territory of the Bini (Edo) people, a city-state arose - (Middle Ages) a historical period following antiquity and preceding modern times. Contents ... Wikipedia

Literature: Marx K., Economic Manuscripts 1857 1859, Marx K. and Engels F., Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 46, part 1 2; Engels F., Anti Dühring, ibid., vol. 20; Lenin V.I., Imperialism, as the highest stage of capitalism, Complete Works, 5th ed., ... ...

Africa (mainland)- Africa. I. General information Concerning the origin of the word "Africa" ​​there are great disagreements among scientists. Two hypotheses deserve attention: one of them explains the origin of the word from the Phoenician root, which, with a certain ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia - Exploration of Africa. The oldest geographical ideas about Africa, mainly about its northern part, are associated with Egypt. The knowledge accumulated in ancient Egypt was subsequently used by the Greeks, Romans and Arabs. But the Egyptians penetrated ... ... Encyclopedic reference book "Africa"

Africa- I ten years ago about A. it could be said that many parts of the inner mainland, vast coastal areas, river basins and inland lakes were still completely unknown to us, and there were only reports about many parts ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Africa- Africans carrying a European in a hammock. Statue from the Congo. Africans carrying a European in a hammock. Statue from the Congo. Africa is the mainland, the second largest after Eurasia (, sq. km, together with the islands). The population of Africa is 670 million people. ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary "World History"

AFRICA- the mainland in the Eastern Hemisphere, the second largest after Eurasia. The territory of the mainland is clearly divided into several regions. The countries of North Africa are washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean from the west, by the Mediterranean Sea from the north, and by the Red Sea from the east. Great current political encyclopedia

The verbal creativity of the peoples of Africa dates back to ancient times. Over the millennia, it has developed in oral collective (see.) and written (individual) forms. In ancient times, centers of written literature existed in the territories of … Encyclopedic reference book "Africa"

The development of African countries was very diverse. Its north was part of the Arab Caliphate, south of the Sahara, under the influence of Islam and trade with the Arabs, large states arose. Ethiopia has gone through a different historical path.

Nature itself divided Africa into two unequal parts. In the northern part, adjacent to the Mediterranean and Red Seas, centers of civilization arose from ancient times. Ancient Egypt, Phoenician and Greek colonies, Ancient Rome, the kingdom of the Vandals, Byzantium succeeded each other here. In the 7th century Arabs captured the entire coast of North Africa to the Atlantic. They called the lands to the west of Egypt the Maghreb, that is, the western lands. Huge cities flourished there, such as Fez and Tangier, outstanding monuments of Muslim architecture were created. From the Maghreb to the south, through the Sahara desert, caravan routes led to Tropical Africa. The Arabs called it Bilad as-Sudan (Country of Blacks) or simply Sudan. Numerous Negro peoples lived there.

Most of Africa is occupied by deserts, savannas, rainforests. Being in different natural conditions, the peoples of Africa developed in different ways. Rainforest dwellers such as stunted pygmies engaged in hunting and gathering. And to the north and south of them, in the savannas, lived farmers and cattle-waters.

At the turn of our era, many peoples of Tropical Africa learned how to produce iron. Iron tools made it possible to obtain higher yields and contributed to the development of handicrafts.

Western Sudan

Arabs from the Maghreb traded with Western Sudan - lands between the Sahara and the Gulf of Guinea, rich in gold. In addition to gold, they also traded in salt, cattle, and ivory. The cities of Timbuktu, Djenne and others grew along the trade routes.

The most ancient state of Western Sudan was Ghana, so rich in gold that even the title of its ruler meant "master of gold." This allowed the rulers to maintain a lush courtyard and army. The heyday of Ghana dates back to the 10th-11th centuries, then it weakened in the 13th century. was captured by the neighboring state of Mali. The power of Mali in the XIII - the first half of the XIV century. was also based on trading in gold. The gold coins that were in use in the Mediterranean at that time were minted primarily from the gold of Mali.

Duties from merchants enriched the local rulers; their power increased. They lived in palaces, surrounded by courtiers, officials and warriors. Their power was considered sacred, and they themselves were mediators between their people and the gods. When Islam began to penetrate into Western Sudan, it was the first to be accepted by the rulers, their entourage, residents of large cities. With Islam, Arab culture also penetrated here, mosques and madrasahs were built. And ordinary farmers and pastoralists retained pagan beliefs for a long time. Religious differences exacerbated property inequality.

The ruler of Mali was especially famous for his wealth Musa(1312-1337), a former zealous Muslim. His hajj to Mecca is perhaps the most expensive journey in history. For travel expenses, a camel caravan carried one hundred bales of gold, weighing 12 tons. The East for a long time remembered the wealth of the rulers of Mali, and Mali's ties with the countries of Islam were strengthened. material from the site

Christian Ethiopia

Ethiopia is located in northeast Africa. The Aksumite kingdom that existed here already in the 4th century BC. converted to Christianity and managed to defend it in the fight against Islam. Later it broke up into separate principalities, but in the XIII century. in Ethiopia, a strong state was revived. Its rulers traced their family back to the biblical Solomon. In Europe they were called emperors.

With the spread of Christianity in Ethiopia, churches and monasteries were built. Chronicles were compiled in the monasteries, works of ancient and medieval authors were translated. In the XII-XIII centuries. the flowering of Ethiopian art began. In the capital of Ethiopia, Lalibe-le, churches were usually not built, but were carved from stone and decorated on the outside with carvings, and inside with frescoes and icons.

In search of allies against the Muslims Ethiopia in the XV-XVI centuries. negotiated with Western countries, although Ethiopian Christianity was closer to Orthodoxy than to Catholicism. Her delegation participated in the work of the Ferrara-Florence Cathedral. In Europe, she was also seen as an ally against the Muslims.

On this page, material on the topics:

• Why the level of social development of the peoples of the Maghreb was higher

• Africa middle ages message

• Africa in the Middle Ages report

• What did Africa trade in the Middle Ages?

• Report on the history of Africa Middle Ages

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• slide 2

  Lesson plan

  1. Repetition of the past.
  2. Lesson assignment.
  3. Introduction.
     • The peoples of Africa;
     • West Africa;
     • East Africa;
     • Culture of Africa;
  4. Consolidation.

• slide 3

  Repetition of the past

  Complete the task.

  slide 4

  Assignment for the lesson

  Why did African states lag behind European countries in their development?

  slide 5

  Introduction.

  Many historians believed that the peoples of most of Africa, inhabited by blacks, did not create anything of value in culture, and their history began with the advent of Europeans. The study of the history of the African continent, which began relatively recently, refuted this theory.

  slide 6

  1. Peoples of Africa

  The peoples of Africa in different parts of the continent developed unevenly. Pygmies, Bushmen and others lived in the tropical forests of Central Africa. They were hunters and gatherers. The nomads of the South Sahara raised cattle and exchanged them for the products and things they needed.
  Photo. pygmies

  Slide 7

  peoples of africa

  Other peoples were engaged in agriculture. Most of all, millet and rice were sown, beans and vegetables were grown, cotton, sugar cane and coconut palms were planted. Africans have been smelting iron in clay ovens since ancient times. Craftsmen made tools, weapons, utensils, fabrics, glass and leather items. Africans early learned to tame elephants, used them for various jobs and battles.
  Photo. african house

  Slide 8
  

  In the expanses of the plain between the Niger and Senegal rivers, in the valleys of these rivers, Western Sudan is located. A lot of gold was mined here. There were legends about the wealth of Sudan in the Middle Ages. One of the Arab geographers reported that here "gold grows in the sand, just like carrots, and it is collected at sunrise." The most important trade routes from the Gulf of Guinea to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea passed through Western Sudan. Farmers traded with the nomads who lived on the border of the Sahara: in exchange for salt, skins and cattle, the nomads received grain and handicrafts. The path through the Sahara desert was difficult and dangerous. More than a dozen caravans died here from thirst or attacks by nomads.
  Photo. Port

  Slide 9

  West Africa

  The most ancient state of Sudan was Ghana, which reached power in the 10th century. The king of Ghana and the tribal nobility became rich from the trade in gold and salt. The king had a large army, consisting of detachments of archers and cavalry.
  In the capital of Ghana, a special royal quarter with a palace, a sanctuary and a prison was enclosed by walls. Solemn royal receptions were held here. Mosques and houses of Arab merchants were built in another part of the city.
  Photo. Archer Warriors

  Slide 10
  

  At the end of the XI century, the troops of the Sultan of the Arab state of Morocco (North Africa) captured and destroyed the capital of Ghana. The king undertook to pay tribute to the Sultan and, together with the nobility, converted to Islam. The rebellious population soon expelled the Moroccans, but the territory of Ghana was reduced, it submitted to the state of Mali.
  Photo. Settlement in Mali

  slide 11
  

  The heyday of Mali dates back to the 13th century, when its rulers conquered neighboring territories, where caravan routes passed and gold was mined. The ruler and his associates converted to Islam. After that, Muslim merchants from North Africa settled in the cities.
  rice. Mansa Musa - Ruler of Mali

  slide 12
  

  Later, in the 15th century, the Songhai state strengthened. The expansion of its borders was achieved during the reign of the energetic, militant Ali Ber (1464-1492). He built a large river fleet; severe discipline was introduced in the army. Ali Ber spent most of his life on campaigns. He managed to annex the main cities of Sudan to his possessions. In African tales and legends, Ali Ber appears as a magician who could fly, become invisible and turn into a snake.
  rice. Ali Ber

  slide 13
  

  The rulers and nobles kept 500-1000 dependent people on their lands, who were settled in special settlements. Dependent people paid dues to the owner, and taxes to the state. Free community members also depended on the nobility.
  Since the middle of the 16th century, Songhai has been rapidly weakening. The relatives of the ruler, occupying high positions, plotted, the influential Muslim nobility in the cities had little regard for the rulers. The outbreak of internecine wars led the state into decline. At the end of the 16th century, Songhai was defeated by the troops of the Sultan of Morocco.
  rice. Field work

  Slide 14

  East Africa

  In the north of present-day Ethiopia, in ancient times, there was the state of Aksum, which flourished in the 4th-5th centuries. The coast of South Arabia with caravan routes and part of Eastern Sudan fell under the rule of his kings.
  Photo. Castle in Ethiopia

  slide 15
  

  Aksum maintained close ties with the Roman Empire, and later with Byzantium. The king and his entourage adopted the Christian faith. Writing was created in the country. In the 7th century, the Arabs took possession of Aksum in South Arabia, and then attacked it. The state broke up into separate principalities; princes waged a fierce struggle for the throne. Aksum ceased to exist in the 10th century.
  Photo:
  Ethiopian Christian manuscript
  Ethiopian Orthodox clergy

  slide 16
  

  City-states sprang up on the east coast of Africa. Arabs, Iranians, Indians willingly settled in them. Large ships were built here, there were many experienced sailors. Merchants from these cities sailed on their ships in the Indian Ocean, traded with India, Iran and other Asian countries.
  rice. trade routes

  Slide 17

  African culture

  The peoples of Africa have preserved ancient legends, traditions and fairy tales, where real events of the past are mixed with fiction. The storytellers carefully kept these legends, passed them down from generation to generation.
  Photo. African in national dress

  Slide 18
  

  The most significant were the achievements of medieval culture among the peoples of Western Sudan. After the spread of Islam, Arab architects built mosques, palaces, and public buildings there.
  Photo. Mosque in Mali

  Slide 19
  

  Muslim schools arose, and in the city of Timbuktu - a higher school, where they studied theology, history, law, mathematics, and astronomy. Scientists have created writing based on local languages. Libraries were founded, where many handwritten books were stored. Books were sold in shops, and, according to a contemporary, they received "more profit than from other goods."
  Photo. Entrance to the mosque in Timbuktu
  rice. Tombuwho

  Slide 20
  

  When Moroccan troops conquered Timbuktu and other cities in Sudan, architectural structures and libraries were destroyed. Scientists and artisans were driven into slavery, and almost all of them died on the way through the desert.
  rice. Sudan. At the ruined temple

  slide 21
  

  Africans had considerable achievements in art. Ancient wooden and bronze sculptures and masks amaze with expressiveness. Bronze plaques with bas-reliefs (convex images) of kings and nobles, scenes of hunting, war and court life were found in the royal palace in Benin.
  Photo.ritual mask

  Anchoring

  Complete the task.

  Slide 25

  Used materials

  • Agibalova E.V., Donskoy G.M. History of the Middle Ages Grade 6 / textbook for secondary schools. - M.: Enlightenment, 2008
  • Illustrations: Devyataikina N.I. History of the Middle Ages: Textbook. 6th grade. Part 1 / Devyataikina N. I. - M .: OLMAPRESS, 2008.

• slide 26

  Kanku Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca

  Kanku Musa was the most famous ruler of Mali. His pilgrimage (hajj) to holy places in 1324 became known throughout the Muslim world. On the way, he was accompanied by a retinue of 8 thousand soldiers and no less number of slaves; camels were loaded with up to a hundred packs of gold weighing about 12 tons. In every city where Kanku Musa arrived on Friday, he ordered the construction of a mosque. Even in the center of the Sahara, he ate fresh fish, which messengers brought him, and for bathing his beloved wife they dug a huge pool and filled it with water from wineskins.
  Arriving in Cairo, Kanku Musa, without bargaining, paid any price for goods and distributed alms in huge sums. In Mecca, he bought houses and plots of land for black pilgrims. In the end, the money accumulated by generations of subjects, Musa ran out, but he was so trusted that the Cairo merchant lent a large amount. Hajj to Mecca strengthened the authority of the ruler of Mali among Muslims.

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