Ancient Africa Dbq

One of ancient Africa’s wealthiest kingdoms, Mali, traded with other kingdoms which introduced new ideas and ways of life advancing their civilization. This is an example of how African empires, kingdoms, and cities were advanced civilizations bringing in new ideas and ways of life before the arrival of Europeans. Ancient Africa was able to advance their cultures by their government, trade, and education without the introduction of ideas from the Europeans. The civilizations in Africa were able to advance due to their complex governments and law codes. Africa was populated mostly with tribes that controlled certain areas of land that became trading centers. Africa’s government was based on bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is a government that functions on multiple levels. The political structure in Ghana, described by Al- Bakri in document 2, was that there was a ruler, a king, with subordinate kings of the ruler’s country. The government in East Africa had made a set of laws that were effective,

Knowledge was a very valuable thing to have in these kingdoms. The education a person had determined what job they would have, which in all, decided what a person's life will be like in the future. Many cities like Timbuktu, located in west Africa, had doctors, judges, and priests that were being paid and taken care of by the king (Document 5). Education set apart other civilizations before the Europeans came into Africa because education could benefit and advance the civilization.
In all, ancient Africa was able to advance its civilization by having a complex government, multiple land and sea routes, and a strong education for those who could attend. Cultural diffusion played a part in Africa’s advancements introducing new ideas to an already diverse advanced cultures. Ancient Africa was able to proceed and create a great nation without the help of the