The Ghana Empire
The Rise & Fall of West Africa's First Major State
![](https://cdn.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/57ae19421c9c4d80a41ec6ba1160fae5/resources/1582269170380.jpeg?w=20)
Time span: c. 300 CE - 1200 CE World zone: Afro-Eurasia
Several cities and small kingdoms were already in existence by the this time, but Ghana became West Africa's first major state:
- complex society
- a division of labor
- social classes
- great trade
![](https://cdn.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/57ae19421c9c4d80a41ec6ba1160fae5/resources/1582436466231.jpeg?w=20)
However, ancient Ghana had no writing system and most of its mysterious history relies on oral traditions. The story goes, though, that the king of the realm of Wagadou, Kaya Magar Cisse, rose to power in West Africa around 300 CE, and managed to extend his rule over several other kingdoms with the help of his sons and grandsons.
"The Land of Gold"
Ancient Ghana had control over three major gold fields to the south of the region. Certainly, Ghana's rulers took advantage of its riches, becoming substantially wealthy from the trans-Sahara trade and increasing its power inside and outside the empire.
This, in turn, increased Ghana's population and allowed for the state to become the center of trade-- something that bcame vital to the success of the empire.
The Ghana Empire became known as "The Land of Gold," and as its power and population increased, so did its complexity.
Ancient Ghana's trade routes.
le trade.
Competition of Agrarian States
As Ghana became wealthier and more populated, its power inside and outside its empire increased. With this, however, came the increase of competition between other agrarian civilizations.
Ghana's power was first challenged by the Almoravid Empire, around the 1100's. Fortunate for ancient Ghana, they were able to fend their challengers off.
But not for long.
West African Kingdoms
Reasons of Empire's Collapse
- climate change made water and successful harvests scarce
- lack of resources
- lack of proper leadership
- political problems
- decrease in trade
"Ghana’s long period as the dominant agrarian civilization of West Africa came to an end in the 1200's. Scholars have argued that climate change played a role. The wet climate that had once made farming prosperous in the Sahel continued to deteriorate. With dwindling resources and power, along with some political infighting, Ghana left a power vacuum that was soon filled."
Ghana's Legacies and Accomplishments
Though The Ghana Empire fell into the hands of other agrarian civilizations, these conquers allowed the region to get increasingly caught up in the story of the world of which its zones became increasingly unified.
Additionally, as more Muslims were incorporated into Ghana's government, the state didn't take long to convert to Islam completely. This allowed for Ghana to become more and more culturally incorporated into the Afro-Eurasian world zone as trade continued to share collective learning over time...
With Ghana's collapse, the unification of the world became evermore progressive-- a progress that definitely contributed to the rising complexity in all of Afro-Eurasia and the world.
Bibliography
- En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Ghana Empire. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana_Empire [Accessed 28 Feb. 2020].
- En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Sahel. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahel [Accessed 28 Feb. 2020].
- Web.kamihq.com. (2020). Kami. [online] Available at: https://web.kamihq.com/web/viewer.html?state=%7B%22ids%22:%5B%22130zBgWq7bTuWhj6opMCR8emdHE5K8eTG%22%5D,%22action%22:%22open%22,%22userId%22:%22117715758243158499853%22%7D [Accessed 28 Feb. 2020].
- En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Sahara. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara [Accessed 28 Feb. 2020].
- Sutori.com. (2020). Sutori. [online] Available at: https://www.sutori.com/story/ancient-west-african-kingdoms--X86yyxWoLXXdPnfsf6Fcg3ZR [Accessed 28 Feb. 2020