African History · Unit 1
Empires of Gold, Faith, and Iron
Four African states whose sophistication colonial history spent a century trying to explain away
Learning Objectives
- •Students will be able to describe Aksum's political, religious, and economic significance as a major ancient trading power comparable to Rome, Persia, and China.
- •Students will analyze how colonial-era racial assumptions, and later, specific mid-20th-century political interests in Rhodesia, delayed acceptance of Great Zimbabwe's indigenous African origins.
- •Students will compare the Kingdom of Kongo's alliance-based strategy with the Asante Empire's independence-based strategy for encountering European colonial and commercial power.
- •Students will evaluate primary source evidence, including King Afonso I's letters, documenting African rulers' direct historical experience of early contact with European powers.
Unit 1 Knowledge Check
Score 70% or higher to complete this unit. Answers stay hidden until you submit.
1. How did the Kingdom of Kongo's and the Asante Empire's initial strategies for encountering European power differ?
2. Why did colonial-era Europeans initially refuse to accept that Great Zimbabwe was built by indigenous Africans?
3. Why is the third-century Persian prophet Mani's ranking of Aksum alongside Rome, Persia, and China historically significant?
Analyzing Statecraft and Sovereignty in Pre-Colonial African Empires
Document-Based Task · scored with the essay rubric
Using the provided documents, compare how the Kingdom of Aksum, Great Zimbabwe, and the Kingdom of Kongo utilized architectural monumentality, diplomatic engagement, or geopolitical positioning to assert their sovereignty and regional influence. In your response, synthesize these examples to argue how African states navigated their relationship with the wider world before the era of intensive colonial intervention. Your essay should move beyond a mere description of these empires and instead analyze the strategic nature of their political and economic foundations.
Source Documents
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (Account of Adulis and the Aksumite Empire)
Primary SourceLetters of King Afonso I of Kongo to the Kings of Portugal (1526)
Primary SourceGreat Zimbabwe: The Construction of a Medieval African State (Secondary Analysis of Archaeological Evidence)
Secondary Source