Political+Africa

Postclassical Africa Politics - by Kristen D. Africa was divided up into three main geographical regions – North, west, east, and central/south.

Politically, by the standards of other classical and postclassical civilizations the northern part of Africa was the most developed, with cities and kingdoms on the Mediterranean such as Egypt, (formerly) Carthage and the Roman Empire, the Islamic States and Ethiopia.

The western region, while not as developed as the north, had three main, rather large, kingdoms, Ghana, Mali, and Songhay (in chronological order). Ghana was from the 4th – 11th centuries CE, Mali from the 13th – 15th, and Songhay from the 15th – 16th. All three, as stated before, were kingdoms – monarchies. Kings were considered holy and sacred, a few of the most well known kings from the west of Africa being Sudiata “the Lion King” and Mansa Musa, both of Mali. There was also typically a council of elders, however, and they adopted Sharia laws that were brought to them through the spread of Islam. Their courts also often held Muslim advisors. Lastly, gold was highly taxed to pay for the government, as gold trade was flourishing during this time period.

Next, the east was made up of smaller city states with monarchies. The three that were mentioned in our classes existed from the 13th to 15th centuries CE and were called Kilwa, Mombasa, and Mogadishu. Again, Islamic influence was strong in the governments, as Islamic laws were often used. Some ruling families also claimed to Persian, so as to legitimize their ruling status. Overall, this region consisted of about thirty city states total.

Lastly, like both the west and the east, central and south Africa was made up of monarchies. In the more central part of Africa, there was the Yoruba (13th century), the Benin (14th century), and then the Kongo (15th century). In southern Africa the most notable civilization was Great Zimbabwe, lasting from the 15th – 16th centuries. Like in the western regions, kings and their families were also thought to have special powers and were sacred. However, unlike the rest of Africa, due to the isolation that accompanied their location, the civilizations in south and central Africa did not have the influence of Islam. They may have had some contact, but not enough to significantly influence their culture and government, like Islam did the rest of Africa.