During the second era of history, Sub-Sahara Africa was home to several civilizations. Surprisingly, only 11 percent of the world's population lived on the continent even though the first people migrated out of there. Similar to the America's the continent of lacked domesticated animals at first to help with agriculture, but because its proximity to Eurasia, they became widely available to African peoples. For the Berber people of the western region, domesticated camels allowed them to live a nomadic life during the first three centuries C.E. Iron tools and weapons have developed here and they played a large role in economics and in the military. Africa is also has the most environmental diversity and culture. Small areas in the north experience Mediterranean climate, huge deserts are located in the Sahara and Kalahari desert, along with grasslands, mountain ranges, and rain forests. African interacted with Mediterranean people- specially ancient Egypt with Crete, the Roman Empire which spread Christianity, and Arabia.
A Nile Valley civilization that appeared south of Egypt of was Nubia. For hundreds of years both civilizations traded and fought, and on one occasion the Nubian kingdom of Kush ruled Egypt for a century Nubia's center then became the city of Meroe between 300 BCE and 100 BCE as Egypt increasingly fell under foreign control. Meroe was governed by an all-powerful and sacred monarch, which was a position held by a woman at least 10 times, and these queens had the same power as males whether she ruled alone or alongside him. Occupations that people had during this time was being merchants, weavers, potters, and masons as well as servants, and laborers. They smelted iron and manufacturing iron tools and weapons were especially prominent industries. Outside of Meroe, rural people practiced herding and farming, and rain-based agriculture was possible because farmers were less dependent on irrigation, which was not common in a lot of civilizations during this time. Mere's wealth and military power came mostly form its extensive long-distance trading connections of camel caravans north of the of the Nile. They also had their own style of writing, a script, which is still deciphered. After 100 CE, the kingdom declined due to deforestation for the need of wood to make charcoal to smelt iron, and completely fell apart when it was conquered by the kingdom of Axum in 340 BCE. One thing that I found the most fascinating about Meroe was how diversed it was culturally for a city. For almost a thousand years it was a Christian civilization, using the Greek language and constructing churches in Coptic of Byzantine fashion.
As Meroe declined, a new kingdom emerged called Axum that was located in present-day northern Ethiopia and Eritrea. Axum's economics relied heavily on agriculture. One thing that makes the way they farmed different from other places is that the people used a hoe or digging stick instead of a plow. The community grew great amounts of wheat, barley, millet and teff which is a grain unique to that region. As the Roman's demanded Indian pearls, textiles, and pepper, Axum's state grew immensely in 50 CE. Also, merchants who flocked to Adulis, the largest port in on the East Africa, wanting to purchase animal hides, rhino horns, ivory, and tortoiseshells. Taxes that were put on trading these goods were a major source of revenue. The capital city of Axum was the center or monumental building and royal patronage of the arts, having huge stone buildings over 100 feet tall and obelisks. The expansion of Christianity was also seen in this kingdom as well. During King Ezana's rule, Axum's coins had southern Arabia gods on them and towards the end it had the Christian cross. By the 4th and 6th century the civilization tried to expand imperially by invading Meroe and South Arabia.
In the Niger Valley in West Africa, a extremely long dry period after 500 BCE in the south Sahara had people migrate to the middle of Niger. This area was occupied by clusters of cities or urban centers that sprang up near the city of Jenne-jeno where over 40,000 people lived at one point. Just like the Indus River Valley, this civilization didn't have a distinct state structure which makes it unique. Archeologists have found very little evidence of domestic power, warfare or social inequalities, although these cities developed a caste system later on. One of the most prestigious occupations at this time was iron smithing, while villages of cotton weavers, potters leather workers, and griots emerged as well. By the second millennium CE, Ghana, Mali, and Songhay amongst other empires or large states appeared in West Africa. Camel-borne trans-Saharan commerce was becoming larger and this region became more connected to North Africa and the Mediterranean and Islam expanded here. The history of the African continent is very unique history compared to other parts of the world and I hope we get to learn about it in class, since most history classes do not talk about it enough.
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