Social Sciences and History / Unit 5 SSH 0431 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Swahili Coast and Great Zimbabwe
Captions available
The idea
From the seventh century Arab traders and Bantu peoples built the Swahili city-states from Mogadishu to Sofala, sending gold, ivory and rare animals as far as China. Inland, Mapungubwe and then the Shona's Great Zimbabwe built medieval Africa's largest stone structures on that wealth.
In practice
Drystone walls, interlocking without mortar.
Where people slip
The Almoravids and Almohads reformed and fought in the Maghreb meanwhile.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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