1. AFRICAN EMPIRES:
GHANA
Social Studies for 10th E.G.B.
teacher: mauricio torres

2. Background
 Trade brought riches to
societies that would
later rise into
civilizations.

3. Fun Fact: Silent Barter
 Process in which people
exchange goods without
contacting each other
directly.
 The two reasons why
silent barter was used
might be because of:
 1. The trader(s) might not
be able to speak the
other's language.
 2. This was used to
protect the secrets of
where the valuable gold
and salt came from.

4. West Africa Emerges
 The Soninke, a group of
farmers, that lived along the
Niger River banded
together to fight off
invaders.
 They became the people of
Ghana, and they grew
stronger.
 With iron tools, they were
able to produce plenty of
food.
 Their population increased
 Towns and villages sprang
up.

5. Ghana: Land of Gold
 Located between the
Sahara and forests
that spread south.
 They were in an
strategic position on
trades routes.
 Its power was based
on the control of gold
and salt trade.

6. A Prosperous Empire

7. A Prosperous Empire
 The capital was Koumbi Saleh.
 By 800 the empire was held together by its riches and
because it controlled trade.
 They built armies armed with iron weapons.
 These armies kept trade routes safe.
 Iron weapons were superior than their neighbor’s.

8. No nuggets!
 The kings didn’t allow their subject to own gold
nuggets
 They could only use gold dust as currency.
 What did this ensure?

9. Expansion
 Powerful army
 Conquered leaders were left in place to act as
governors.
 Taxes were levied on traders.
 The empire’s height came under Tunka
Manin´s leadership.

10. Tunka Manin - 1068
 All we know from him
comes from the writings
of a muslim geographer
who wrote about
Ghana.
 He was the nephew of
a previous king named
Basi
 Kingship and property
was inherited by
nephews instead of
sons.

11. Decline
 The empire collapsed by the mid 1200s:
 Invasion: North African Muslims called the
Almoravids.
 Overgrazing: The Almoravids brought herds of
animals with them. This left the soil exposed to
hot desert winds.
 Internal Rebellion: Rebels from a conquered
country rose in rebellion and took over. They were
unable to hold the empire together.

12. Quick Exercise: The Silent
Barter
 Grab a piece of paper, and write down
something you own and would like to trade it
off.
 Fold it and give it to your classmate next to
you. He will give you one in return.
 Unfold his piece of paper and see if its worth
trading both items, between the two of you.
 A simple “yes” or “no” will suffice.

13. Chapter Review:
 Explain: How did the silent barter system
work?
 Identify: What were two major resources in
Ghana?
 Evaluate: Do you think trade was safer when
Ghana was in control?
 Analyze: How did Ghana’s rulers acquire
huge amounts of gold?
 Analyze: How did overgrazing help cause the
fall of Ghana?
 Recall: How did Ghana’s rulers raise money?

14. Bibliography
 Ellis, E. G., & Esler, A. (2009). World History.
(P. Hall, Ed.) Upper Saddle River, New
Jersey, US: Pearson Education INC.
 Burstein, S. M., & Shek, R. (2012). World
History (Teacher´s Edition) (1st Edition ed.).
(H. McDougal, Ed.) Orlando, Florida, US.:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing
Company.
 Images taken from Google.