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The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa

Patricia C. McKissack,

Fredrick L. McKissack

3.73 · Rating details · 153 ratings · 25 reviews

For more than a thousand years, from A.D. 500 to 1700, the medieval kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay grew rich on the gold, salt, and slave trade that stretched across Africa. Scraping away hundreds of years of ignorance, prejudice, and mythology, award-winnnig authors Patricia and Fredrick McKissack reveal the glory of these forgotten empires while inviting us to shar ...more

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Paperback, 160 pages

Published October 15th 1995 by Square Fish (first published December 1st 1993)

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Aug 21, 2012 Mike Edwards rated it really liked it

Shelves: africa, middle-east, history, kids-books

A history of three West African kingdoms, covering roughly the period between 800 and 1600--more or less it starts with the introduction of Islam and ends with the introduction of the European slave trade. The book is a very short--just over 100 pages--overview, and is written for a young audience; a 4th grader could easily read, understand, and appreciate everything said in it. For an adult reader, it is not worthless either--certainly this isn't the place to go for an in-depth understanding of ...more

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Jan 25, 2018 Heather rated it it was amazing

A rich history runs through Africa. Life in Medieval Africa describes the unique lives of those living in medieval Ghana, Mali, and Songhay. The book is easy enough for an upper elementary to middle schooler to understand while still giving lots of details and information. I highly recommend it to kids studying or interested in Africa during the medieval period.

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Mar 18, 2018 Joel rated it liked it

A petty noble emerges; a void or a vacuum, leftovers of a great war or famine is filled by his dominion and something new is born. It grows, consuming all in its path, for stability in empire is mostly secured through violence – expanding out in glory and power until it becomes unwieldy and unstable, obese and arrogant and finally brittle, collapsing in upon itself.

And another emerges.

Human history has been dominated by these cycles, the rise and fall of empire; patterns repeated in the north an A petty noble emerges; a void or a vacuum, leftovers of a great war or famine is filled by his dominion and something new is born. It grows, consuming all in its path, for stability in empire is mostly secured through violence – expanding out in glory and power until it becomes unwieldy and unstable, obese and arrogant and finally brittle, collapsing in upon itself.

And another emerges.

Human history has been dominated by these cycles, the rise and fall of empire; patterns repeated in the north and south, in the east and the west. Everything was the same for everyone in the pre-modern world. Empire, built by kings through invasion and conquest. Stratified society, kings and nobles and serfs and slaves: with artisans and merchants slipped between like lubricant which made the civilizations move. And this was the same the world over, from the Persians to the Inca; from the Vikings to the Celts and the Garamantians and the ancient Egyptians. Lords and peasants; Divine Right of Kings meeting noblesse oblige to the brief bitterness of the peasants.

Humans most usually consider our own histories, the stories of us and ours. Its natural, and there’s nothing wrong with that; which doesn’t mean there’s nothing to learn from the paths of those who are foreign, though they are not our paths. Sometimes, unfortunately, this ignorance leads to contempt, for we humans are a judgmental lot, aren’t we? This is often the case with Africa. A history-less place of tribal wars until the arrival of the Arabs, of the colonists. Right? Wrong. Truth of the matter is that medieval Africa is not that different of a place from medieval Europe, or medieval India, or medieval China. Empires and civilizations and the waxing and waning of significance. West Africa, Western Sudan as it was initially called, had all of this; linked more closely to the fate of the East – though the little Arab children in Riyadh probably don’t learn this. Islam and the caliphates of old – the Almoravids and the Almohads, the Berbers and Tuaregs and Arabs. Jihads to expand the reach of the Abbasids. Western Sudan is part of all these ancient stories.

I’ve been re-reading “The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali and Songhay”. This simple book is about three kingdoms we rarely read about in America – the old kingdoms of Western Sudan. Kingdoms which were built in gold and slaves and salt; kingdoms that expanded and shrank, invaded others and were themselves invaded. It’s a fascinating story. Of Mansa Musa, one of the most imposing emperors in world history, the richest monarch of all time with a kingdom larger than western Europe that rivaled the great Khans of Mongolia; decentralized and administered by civil servants, taxation and conscription. A Muslim king taking an entourage of 60,000 to Mecca with so much gold that it sparked a twelve-year inflationary period for Cairo. Stories of a privileged city beyond the sand which inspired 400 years of explorers.

Of course that was then; Mali and Ghana these days are desperately poor West African countries; Songhai disappeared, although Gao is still there, empty but for jihadis and a contingent of Chinese peacekeepers peering nervously through concertina wire to a desert they cannot understand.

So why the great divergence? Why did some societies recover from empire to build strata-less places that respond to the consent of their people, while others just fell away – never experiencing the benefits of modernity which itself has already passed away? Why did enlightenment create prosperity for so many; while others languished? Those, of course, are the greatest questions of all time. This book won’t answer them, no one book will because there is no one answer – but being reminded that 400 years ago almost everybody was miserable, cargo on the same brutal boat, should serve as a starting point to ask ourselves, “Why the divergence of our fates?” Especially for those who of us who would have been peasants and wish not to return the old days of empire. ...more

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Jan 01, 2014 Linda Mitchell rated it it was amazing

If the intention of the McKissacks was to change the reader's perception of Western Africa, they accomplished that goal and more in this remarkable book. As I read about the royal kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay, I kept wondering why I had never learned about Africa's history while growing up. I studied world history, but I was mainly fed information about western civilizations. How might this awareness of the rich and sophisticated medieval history of Africa changed the self-esteem of my y ...more

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Jul 13, 2021 Ardyth rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: zowned, format_hardcopy, set__africa, set_ghana, set_mali, t_history, club_gar, set_niger

A book full of interesting information, although sometimes stylistically more interesting than others.

Those of us raised in the US may flounder a bit at first -- the first section, on Ghana, was disorienting. I knew before starting that I knew almost nothing about West African history; I didn't know how little I knew about what I'll call "middle-man cultures" -- the links between Western Euro / Euro-heritage North America and West Africa. My knowledge of North African history is even thinner tha A book full of interesting information, although sometimes stylistically more interesting than others.

Those of us raised in the US may flounder a bit at first -- the first section, on Ghana, was disorienting. I knew before starting that I knew almost nothing about West African history; I didn't know how little I knew about what I'll call "middle-man cultures" -- the links between Western Euro / Euro-heritage North America and West Africa. My knowledge of North African history is even thinner than I'd realized...

As the book progressed, I felt better grounded because the portions on Mali and Songhay refer to peoples and events I picked up in the section on Ghana.

What I appreciate most about this book, though, is that it is very careful to point out the many situations in which history is not definitive but speculative. Scientists disagree, writers of the time disagree, thinkers of today disagree. Understanding the perspective (bias, if you prefer) of the source is an inherent and necessary act when consuming the source. Responding to that bias is also inherent and necessary. The writers guide the reader through dealing with ambiguities very well, and it sets an excellent example/standard for children.

Although not always the most engaging prose, it's still quite readable and hits that sweet spot of "not how much does she know, but how much does she care?" I gained enough new hooks for history that I feel ready to read more in-depth texts about West Africa and surrounds than I did before.

I can recommend this for pretty much any family in the US, since connections to West Africa run deep. Maybe someday I'll find a more narrative option, but for now this is significantly better than a textbook imo.

The rest of this review is mostly thoughts on how to use the book with US children -- personal thoughts which may be helpful for parents:

The maps are great, and really helped address that disoriented feeling I mentioned above. Keep them handy, maybe reproduced so young kids aren't distracted while flipping back and forth?

Hunt down proper pronunciation -- there are a number of words in this text which I'm pretty sure my US English would sound out incorrectly, and there is no pronunciation guide within the book. Margin notes is plenty. This doesn't need to be a ton of work, and isn't even a showstopper issue... just a recommendation to model basic courtesy and respect for whole personhood (i.e. nobody expects perfection but at least try to say things correctly.)

There is a timeline in the back, but I'd really recommend doing your own (in a notebook or century chart on the wall or whatever) to help kids hook what's in this book to what they know from elsewhere.

Although the subtitle of the book is "Life in Medieval Africa," each section talks about the origins of the people group, legendary or factual. As such, the first few portions of each section (Ghana, Mali and Songhay) would be suitable for inclusion earlier in chronological studies.

In terms of reading level, it's geared towards 9yo - 12yo, I guess. Read aloud would be fine younger. Regardless of age, plan to progress SLOWLY -- there is a lot of content in each couple of pages. Also strongly recommend looking for supplements on some of the passing references. ...more

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Jan 30, 2021 Orgeluse rated it liked it

Shelves: 2021-books-bought, african-literature, non-fiction, 2021-books-read

I have just finished Patricia C. McKissack's The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa. It was a 3.5 star read for me as it was an easy-to-read introduction into the three kingdoms mentioned in the title that were situated in West Africa.
Though it is a quick read, I would not recommend it for 9-12 year-olds but it is labeled as such by Amazon strangely enough. It was published in 1994 and thus it reflects the level of historical knowledge on African history at that ...more

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May 20, 2014 Omarion Ragas rated it it was amazing

HOW DO YOU READ THE BOOK? SOMEONE TELL ME HOW TO READ BOOKS ON THIS WEBSITE PLEAE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Jul 05, 2020 martin rated it really liked it

Shelves: history, non-fiction

The history of pre-colonial sub-Saharan Africa is not widely known or taught, even among the communities who own that legacy, those traditions and events. A lot of what is written is the work of outsiders, often with either too many preconceptions of “primitive” Africa or worse a desire to justify slavery, colonialism or apartheid. This book was intended to fill that gap.

It’s written to be accessible for schoolchildren and, I suspect, also for adults in the sub-Saharan diaspora whose educationa The history of pre-colonial sub-Saharan Africa is not widely known or taught, even among the communities who own that legacy, those traditions and events. A lot of what is written is the work of outsiders, often with either too many preconceptions of “primitive” Africa or worse a desire to justify slavery, colonialism or apartheid. This book was intended to fill that gap.

It’s written to be accessible for schoolchildren and, I suspect, also for adults in the sub-Saharan diaspora whose educational opportunities or achievements have been limited but who still wish to learn something about their past. That style sometimes makes it feel a little simplistic and superficial but a quick look at the sources shows the authors did plenty of research.

The history of the three great periods of black history in the then Sudan (now sub-Saharan west Africa) depends on two major sources, although archaeology and linguistics etc are recently providing more and more inputs.
The first is the oral history passed down through the generations by the griots - the custodians of traditional legends, stories and histories. This has its pitfalls obviously but we shouldn’t condemn it as unreliable without considering how much of our own dark age European history is dependent on people who wrote from a distance, often long after the event and on the basis of oral traditions. The other source is more conventional - the written records of primarily Arab Muslim scholars who knew of or visited Ghana, Mali and Songhay. As the authors point out these too often have their bias and their political objectives, supporting Muslim converts and denigrating local beliefs and traditions.

The various sources point to the three states having reached a significant level of culture and education and a developed economic and social structure. There is nothing primitive about what each kingdom built and managed. In fact the societies achieved levels comparable to their European contemporaries - with the key difference being in the area of military technology, which here as in Central and South America eventually led to disaster.

The book deliberately doesn’t offer much detail on the post Songhay period when pressure from Europe and the Arab world tore sub-Saharan African communities and social structure apart. I found that disappointing but it simply means I need to do more reading.

I learned a lot from this and recommend it to anyone who wants to learn why our historical tradition of pre-colonial African “savages” is unjust and wrong. However I am left wanting to read more and in more detail and complexity. This is a great starter, but now I need a main course.
...more

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Oct 07, 2020 Matt G rated it really liked it

This was a short book but by no means a poor quality book. I found the content highly informative and worth the read. I especially enjoyed reading about the folklore and the histories of the Songhay Empire. I'm new to learning about African histories and sought to expand my knowledge of it. I was not disappointed.

That said, Patricia McKissack is an African children's writer and for someone who has a deep understanding of Africa, this book may or may not appeal to them. I can't say either way be ...more

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Feb 07, 2020 Hannahcomb rated it it was amazing

Shelves: warlockd-reference

This book portrays a lot of information in an elegant manner. Especially interesting is the reconciliations between oral culture and archaeology, between mythology and technology. This book has given me some great keywords and names to lead me towards other books and articles about medieval Africa. I am confused as to why these histories never made it in to my high school and middle school history classes. I'd have been really into the seven-headed snake god, secret gold mines, and blacksmith ma ...more

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Mar 21, 2018 Mealz rated it really liked it

Very simple and quick history of medieval Africa, but a history I'm sure many people are not aware of and should educate themselves on! A bit dated at this point (published in 1994), but there are so very few books about medieval Africa. ...more

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Dec 31, 2021 Melissa Williams rated it liked it

3.5 stars. This was a good introduction to Medieval Africa. I am a middle school teacher, and we are going to study this for a bit before we dive into post Columbus American History. This gave me some good background knowledge that I can use in my classes.

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Feb 10, 2019 Michael Toler rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A brief introduction

This book provides a concise and interesting, if not necessarily compelling, history of the region. It could use more illustrations, especially maps.

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Jul 14, 2018 Malcom Jones rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018

A high level look at Medieval Africa. The book is a tad dated (1994), but gives a good look at a time period in Africa that is often overlooked.

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Dec 04, 2021 Danielle added it

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May 15, 2019 Maxine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Lots of information; easily accessible to the reader. Contains a timeline, endnotes, a bibliography, and an index.

Made me want to read more on the subject.

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Mar 30, 2021 Julian Abagond rated it really liked it

This is aimed at schoolchildren, but since most of us have never learned about this part of history, it serves as a good introduction. What we should have learned.

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Oct 08, 2020 Shaleen rated it liked it

This is worthwhile history, but it is not well written. The book is good about stating where the facts are coming from, but the narrative is not smooth nor interesting.

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Nov 13, 2021 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Read this with my 10 year old. We learned so much about the empires of Africa in the middle ages. I knew nothing about these impressive empires!

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Jul 25, 2019 Z. Zoe rated it it was amazing

Really easy read! There are so many things we are never told about Africa and it's mighty empires. I truly wish they taught this in schools. ...more

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Apr 20, 2011 Abby added it

I'm pretty sure Dr. Johnson threw this onto the stack of loaners he gave me just because it was sitting there. It's not my special interest or anything. But it looked like a quick read, so I started it...and couldn't very well put it down again. I always figured there was more going on in Africa than our history classes let on, and boy was I right.
I looked at modern Timbuktu on Google Earth, and was shocked. It is a small city by modern standards, and it suffers from a litany of ecological and e ...more

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Jun 08, 2016 Patrick Collins rated it it was ok

This book is a clean introduction to the Medieval kingdoms of West Africa - Perhaps a bit too much timeline toward the end, but it covers everything taught in 7th grade Californian history classes... Gold for salt... Salt for gold.

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Jun 24, 2015 Jillian rated it liked it

Shelves: history-culture-politics, for-edu-jobs, library, religion

It could have used smoother transitions and connections at points, but overall this is a solid account of a fascinating period of history that too often gets short thrift. 3.5 stars.

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Feb 26, 2015 Vincent T. Ciaramella rated it really liked it

This was a fun introduction to a topic most of us don't know about, but should. This also great as a classroom resource. If you teach about Africa then you need to grab this book (less) ...more

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Oct 01, 2013 Danny rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history

A great resource for the classroom!

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About Patricia C. McKissack

Patricia C. McKissack

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Patricia C. McKissack was the Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Award-winning author of The Dark-Thirty and Porch Lies an ALA Notable Book. She collaborated with Jerry Pinkney on Goin' Someplace Special (Coretta Scott King Award winner) and Mirandy and Brother Wind (Coretta Scott King Award winner and Caldecott Honor Book). ...more

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“Sumanguru was shaken by Sundiata’s self-confidence, although he was sure his magic would protect him. But Sundiata’s blacksmith was also a well-known wizard.” — 0 likes

“Mali means “the hippopotamus,” which is often used in association with Sundiata, as are the lion, the symbol of the Keita clan, and the buffalo of his mother’s clan.” — 0 likes

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