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African empires is an umbrella term used in African studies to refer to a number of pre-colonial African kingdoms in Africa with multinational structures incorporating various populations and polities into a single entity, usually through conquest.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Listed below are known African empires and their respective capital cities. Historical development[edit]Sahelian kingdoms[edit]The Sahelian kingdoms were a series of medieval empires centred on the Sahel, the area of grasslands south of the Sahara.
Empires of 15th–19th century Africa[edit]From the 15th century until the final Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century a number of empires were also established south of the Sahel, especially in West Africa. West Africa[edit]The West African empires of this period peaked in power in the late 18th century, paralleling the peak of the Atlantic slave trade. These empires implemented a culture of permanent warfare in order to generate the required numbers of captives required to satisfy the demand for slaves by the European colonies. With the gradual abolition of slavery in the European colonial empires during the 19th century, slave trade again became less lucrative and the West African empires entered a period of decline, and mostly collapsed by the end of the 19th century.[9]
Central Africa[edit]
Southern Africa[edit]The Mutapa Empire or Empire of Great Zimbabwe (1450–1629) was a medieval kingdom located between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers of Southern Africa in the modern states of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Remnants of the historical capital are found in the ruins of Great Zimbabwe.
East Africa[edit]
Horn of Africa[edit]
North Africa[edit]Ancient North African empires[edit]Pre-Islamic empires of North Africa:
Islamic North African empires[edit]
Comparison[edit]Vansina (1962) discusses the classification of Sub-Saharan African kingdoms, mostly of Central, South and East Africa, with some additional data on West African (Sahelian) kingdoms distinguishing five types, by decreasing centralization of power:
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What was the main source of the wealth and power of all the West African empires quizlet?Caravan trade contributed MOST to the growth and power of the West African empires of Ghana and Mali. The gold-salt trade in Africa made Ghana a powerful empire because they controlled the trade routes and taxed traders.
What was the source of wealth of the main West African kingdoms?Ghana's rulers gained incredible wealth from trade, taxes on traders and on the people of Ghana, and their own personal stores of gold. They used their wealth to build an army and an empire. Extensive trade routes brought the people of Ghana into contact with people of many different cultures and beliefs.
How did the empires of West Africa gain power?West Africa. Empires Rise- In West Africa, there were three great empires. They gained power by controlling the gold and salt trades. These three empires controlled the Sahel region of West Africa for more than 900 years.
What important resource made all of the kingdoms of West Africa very wealthy?rich in resources. West Africa had both fertile soils and valuable minerals, especially gold and iron. Ancient trade routes had connected Africa with the Middle East and Asia for hundreds of years.
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