The Ghana Empire as a very long history. It was created by the Soninke. It had a great government, military, and economy. There was a Muslim city in the Ghana empire. The Ghana Empire fell about a millennium ago.
There was a kingdom called Wagadu. It became the Ghana Empire. The word Ghana means warrior. The kings/emperors were called Ghana. Most people in this empire spoke Soninke and other Mande languages.
Soninke was the tribe that founded Wagadu. They had a civilization in ancient times. They tend to be Muslim. They have a caste system in their society. There are castes for free people, nobility, workers, and slaves. One of their marriage customs is: the future husband has to pay the wife family for a month after the engagement. Women are forced to eat because fat women are seen as beautiful. Soninke does a lot of trading and farming.
The Emperor of Ghana Empire was just. That is one of the reasons it was so prosperous. The states that made up the Ghana Empire were ruled by their own kings. Those kings were subordinate to the emperor. The emperor had advisors from the other states. He also had Muslim advisors.
The Emperor was the commander-and-chief. The military followed his orders. There were elite troops, normal troops, and reserve troops. Normal troops were border patrol; they put down any revolts and kept the empire safe. Every man had to go through military training.
The Ghana Empire did a lot of trading. They exported 'kola nuts, hides, slaves, ivory, and gold'. They imported 'salt, copper, and cowrie shells'. Traders had to pay a tax if they wanted to trade with nations beyond the Ghana Empire. Northern and southern traders were taxed by the Ghana Empire. All of this trading and taxation caused the Ghana empire to become rich. If anyone found gold in the empire they would bring it to the emperor. The Amazigh called the Ghana Empire the Land of Gold.
The Muslim city had 12 mosques and it was inhabited by Berber and Arab Muslims. One of the Mosques was used for prayer on Friday. There were many Muslim scholars in this city. Most of the Muslims in the city were merchants.
The Almoavids took over the Ghana Empire in 1076. They ruled it for a decade. Then the Susu Kingdom tookover and ruled for a century. Then it became part of the Mali Empire.
The Republic of Ghana is named after this empire.
The Ghana Empire was amazing!!!! It has ancient roots and a long history. It was created and maintained by the Soninke. It had a great government and military. It got rich from trading and taxes. I give this empire an A.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana_Empire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soninke_people
https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana-historical-West-African-empire
http://www.ushistory.org/civ/7a.asp
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ghan/hd_ghan.htm
http://themedievalages.weebly.com/africa-ancient-ghana.html
https://sites.google.com/site/ancientkingdomofghana/
Ghana Empire
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