- Why have historians paid more attention to Pharaonic Egypt than to the societies of sub-Saharan Africa?
History pays more attention to the Pharaonic Egypt than other Sub-Saharan Africa societies because it was Africa’s earliest literate and politically stable regime (Craig, Kagan & Graham, 2011). The empire had major activities like trade and military and was the center of slaves during the ancient times. The region was also a link to commerce for Arabs, European and Africa, trading in minerals, animal products, and iron mines (Craig, Kagan & Graham, 2011). The Pharaonic Egypt set the trend in different areas for the empires around Egypt and engaged in conquest with the neighboring kingdoms for a show of might, some of which conquered Pharaonic Egypt.
- Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the various sources and tools available to scholars of early African history.
The major advantage of the sources and means about African history is that they give accounts of earlier history and the events that occurred in ancient times that shape the modern African societies. The major weakness of the sources is bias in the accounts of ancient African history, as it is believed that Africa never had a history (Craig, Kagan & Graham, 2011). The revelations then get influence from the history of other regions with the tools available not giving the clear date and the purpose of some of the instruments in the ancient times. Even as the tools and sources available help in tracing back history, it is hard to identify the exact terms and purpose of some events and tools (Craig, Kagan & Graham, 2011).
- What does the diffusion of peoples and languages in Africa tell us about early African history?
The spread of people’s languages and cultures goes a long way through the movement of different ethnic groups across continent against the existing barriers. The distribution of the four major ethnic dialects of Africa to form close to 3000 languages that exist today portrays the ever increasing interchange that took place on the continent over the ages (Craig, Kagan & Graham, 2011). The continued movement of the people across the continent and the expansion of communities made it possible for different groups to interact and form new communities. Even when the languages may differ, their dialects are more similar to the languages that originate from the same language group with distinct cultures that result from the interaction of people.
- How does the political system of the Meroitic Empire compare to that of Egypt?
Meroitic Empire compares with Egypt due to its political organization, cultural stability, and religion. It acted as an area of an expansive trade network that linked the region, the Roman Empire and other empires. Just as the Egyptian empire, the Empire had military might, but differed with Egypt politically with kings ruling by customary laws and was elected through royal elections (Craig, Kagan & Graham, 2011). The empire had a religion similar to that of the Egyptians, with the societal structure having the same classification as that of the Egyptians.
- How did Aksum become a Christian state?
Aksum Empire of the northern Ethiopian highlands shared a border with Egyptian empire and served as an important ivory trade center. As Egyptians, they practiced the worship of natural phenomena even though Jews and Buddhist also formed a part of the society. When their king converted to Christianity in the 4th Century, the whole empire converted to Christianity with a unique view of Christ that the faith prophecy is having their unique brand of the religion even with the rise of other congregations (Craig, Kagan & Graham, 2011).
