Name:______Block:______

Directions: Use pages 225-229 in the textbook to fill out the following outline. These will be your notes for this chapter

The Kingdom of Aksum

  1. The Rise of the Kingdom of Aksum
  1. Even though the Assyrians drove the Kushite pharaohs south, Kush remained powerful
  1. The Kingdom of ______arose and conquered the Kush
  1. Location:
  1. South of ______on the ______Sea in what is now the

countries of ______and ______

  1. This area of Africa is sometimes called the ______of Africa
  2. Arab traders traded with settlements here
  1. Origins of Aksum
  1. Legend says: the Kingdom of Aksum was founded by the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
  1. According the Greeks, the first king of Aksum was ______
  2. Under him, Aksum seized areas along the Red Sea and the Blue Nile in Africa
  1. Aksum Controls International Trade
  1. Aksum’s location made it a central hub for ______to Egypt and Meroe.
  1. It became and ______trading power with access to the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, and Mediterranean Sea.
  1. The chief sea port was ______
  1. A Strong Ruler Expands the Kingdom
  1. The kingdom of Aksum reached its height between 325 AD and 360 AD
  1. The exceptionally strong ruler, ______, occupied the throne during this time
  1. In 330 AD he turned his sights on the Kush
  1. In 350 AD he ______Meroe to the ground, defeating the Kush
  1. An International Culture Develops
  2. Aksum attracted people from all over the world
  3. Adulis was a cosmopolitan city including people from Egypt, Arabia, Greece, Rome, Persia, Indian, and Byzantium
  4. Aksumite Religion
  1. Originally believed in one God, and believed the king was directly descended from him
  2. They were also ______, worshipping the spirits of nature and honoring their dead ancestors
  1. Aksum Becomes Christian
  1. ______came to the throne as an infant after the death of his father
  2. While his mother was ruling, and young ______man from Syria educated Ezana
  3. When Ezana became ruler he converted to ______, making it the official religion of the kingdom.
  4. Today Ethiopia, the country that now is in the location where Aksum was, is still Christian
  1. Aksumite Innovations
  2. Written Language: The inscription on Ezana’s Stele: (The tablet discussing Ezana’s

rise to the throne) was written in ______

  1. Aksum was the only African Kingdom, besides Egypt and Meroe, to have written language

2. Terrace farming: a new method of farming which enabled them to increase the productivity of their land

a. Terraces are:

______

  1. Pillars of Aksum: Unique architecture. No mortar was put on the stone. Instead the stones were carved to fit together tightly
  1. Fall of Aksum
  2. Aksum thrived for 800 years
  3. The kingdom declined under invaders who practice the religion of ______.
  4. Islamic Invaders
  5. In ______, the Arab invaders destroyed Adulis, cutting Aksum off from major ports along the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea. The kingdom declined

Great Zimbabwe

  1. Established by the Shona –Bantu speaking people in 1000 BCE
  2. Located between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers
  3. It was over 100 acres, with a population of between 10 – 20,000 people
  4. Trade routes linked goldfields of Sofala and rest of Africa
  5. Taxed merchants traveling through Zimbabwe
  6. The Capital “Great Zimbabwe” was surrounded by a 180 foot granite wall
  7. Zimbabwe comes from the phrase dzimbaszamabwe- which means “House of Stone”
  8. Abandoned in 1450:

1. Possibly because the grass lands, soil, and salt deposits may have been depleted

  1. The Shona people, and leader Mutota, founded a new empire called Mutapa