Caption: Mansa Musa depicted in the Catalan Atlas (1375). He is shown holding a large gold nugget, reflecting European awareness of Mali's extraordinary wealth from the Trans-Saharan gold trade.
West African empires: Mali and Songhai
Caption: The Great Mosque of Djenne in Mali, originally built in the 13th century. The largest mud-brick (adobe) structure in the world, it reflects the blend of Islamic architecture and West African building traditions.
The gold-salt trade in detail
East Africa: Swahili city-states
Caption: The Great Enclosure at Great Zimbabwe, built between the 11th and 15th centuries. These massive stone walls were constructed without mortar, demonstrating advanced building techniques.
Great Zimbabwe
Ethiopia
African political diversity
Social structures and gender
Primary sources
Al-Umari on Mansa Musa's visit to Cairo (c. 1337)
Ibn Battuta on Kilwa (c. 1331)
The Sundiata Epic (oral tradition, transcribed c. 1960s)
Key figures
Key events summary
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Vocabulary
Unit 1 topics
Unit 1 overview1.1Developments in East Asia from c. 1200 to c. 14501.2Developments in Dar al-Islam from c. 1200 to c. 14501.3Developments in South and Southeast Asia from c. 1200 to c. 14501.4Developments in the Americas from c. 1200 to c. 14501.5Developments in Africa from c. 1200 to c. 14501.6Developments in Europe from c. 1200 to c. 14501.7Comparison in the Period from c. 1200 to c. 1450