Question

questions: 1. what geographic feature dominates north africa? 2. what is the process by which a desert expands, converting new territory into desert? 3. who were the bantu? how have we learned how they moved around africa? 4. where was nubia located? who forced the nubians out of egypt? 5. what was the capital of nubia? what factors made it an important city? 6. how did geography help ghana to develop a strong economy? 7. list and explain a few ways in which ghana became one of the most wealthy and powerful empires of the time period. 8. why did the kingdom of ghana suddenly need to trade gold for salt? 1. what weakened the kingdom of ghana? who finally conquered the ghana empire? 10. who is credited with founding the kingdom of mali?

Explanation:

These questions primarily relate to African history, including geographic features, historical processes, ethnic groups, ancient kingdoms, and their rise/fall.

Answer:

1. The Sahara Desert.
2. Desertification.
3. The Bantu are a group of related ethnic groups with common languages; we learned of their movement through linguistic evidence, archaeology, and oral traditions.
4. Nubia was located south of Egypt along the Nile River; the Assyrians forced the Nubians out of Egypt.
5. The capital of Nubia was Meroë; factors included trade (iron, gold), strategic Nile location, and cultural/religious significance.
6. Ghana's geography placed it at trans-Saharan trade crossroads, controlling gold and salt trade.
7. Ways included controlling gold-salt trade, taxing merchants, strong military, and strategic location.
8. Ghana lacked salt (essential for food preservation/health) and traded abundant gold for it.
9. Weakened by overgrazing, internal conflicts, and trade control loss; conquered by the Almoravids.
10. Sundiata Keita.