Western African Kingdoms Essay

Comparing Western and Eastern African Kingdoms The two sides of the African continent, involved in two separate economic spheres, were bound to produce differences between their complex societies. The influence of the trade networks varied, however they both feature a relationship between political and social organizations. Religion played an important part in the kingdoms as well. While the west formed royal administrations under the Islamic religion, and the eastern city states also favored Islam, Ethiopia favored Christianity. Trade was vital to all of the kingdoms; with gold, salt, ivory and slaves being precious commodities.
The area known as the western Sudan encompasses the broad expanse of savanna that stretches between the vast Sahara
Aksum was a major naval and trading power from the first to the seventh century. As a civilization it had a profound impact upon the people of Egypt, southern Arabia, Europe and Asia. Aksum exported a wide range of agricultural products such as wheat and barley, and animals such as sheep, cattle, and camels. The kingdom was also rich in gold, iron, and salt. In exchange for these goods, it ferried tortoise shells, spices, silks, emeralds, and crafted goods between Rome and India. The Kingdom of Axum had a complex social hierarchy and its cities had elaborate settlement patterns. The society consisted of an upper elite class of kings and nobles, a lower elite class of lesser nobles as well as wealthy merchants, and finally a tier of ordinary people such as small farmers, craftsmen, and traders. Aksum embraced the Orthodox tradition of Christianity in the fourth century under the rule of King Ezana. The king had been converted by Frumentius, a former Syrian captive who was made Bishop of Aksum. On his return, Frumentius had promptly baptized King Ezana, who then declared Aksum a Christian state, followed by the king’s active converting of the Aksumites. In the 600s, however, Islam began spreading across North Africa and other regions surrounding Axum. Many African rulers embraced this new faith, but Axum remained Christian and thus became isolated from its own trade