Check Your Understanding Questions
1
.
Why was the Sahara vital to the prosperity of medieval West African kingdoms despite its hostile environment?
2
.
What were some of the controversies that gripped Christianity in medieval Africa?
3
.
Which were the most important factors that helped spread Islam in Africa?
4
.
What explains the origins of Ghana, the earliest Sudanic West African kingdom?
5
.
How did the success of Mali differ from that of Ghana?
6
.
In what ways did medieval African societies in West and sub-Saharan Africa develop along similar lines?
7
.
Why were nomadic Africans essential to the operation of the trans-Saharan trade?
8
.
What circumstances led to the rise of the Fatimid Caliphate?