Kindoms, Empires, Dynasties

Question 1

Kingdom

Answer 1

Has a single person that rules over their own people

Question 2

Empire

Answer 2

Has a single authority that rules over not only their own kingdom but all the other kingdoms they have conquered
(Larger in area than a kingdom)

Question 3

Is an empire always bigger than a kingdom?

Answer 3

From a historical perspective and an area as a measurement tool (km2), evidence shows that empires are bigger in area than kingdoms; Roman, Spanish, French, Mali, British, Mongol, Ottoman

Question 4

Dynasty

Answer 4

A dynasty is a line of hereditary rulers of a country/kingdom/empire. This means that the son of a ruler takes over as ruler when his father dies. A dynasty has to have a family who rules over a long period of time/over a number of generations.

(The Mali empire lasted for almost 800 years and it’s emperors were mostly sons or step sons of previous rulers)

Question 5

Dynasties are not meant to last?

Answer 5

Human nature and changing times show that dynasties rise and fall. There is not one family that has ruled a country indefinitely. Dynasties are kept going by marriages to their wealthy and powerful families, so there has to be an injection of an outside influence every generation. There is a tipping point beyond which it is not possible to rule over an area beyond a certain limit and maybe more importantly, how big the population is over which one rules.
The claim is wrong as the time limit is not clear. Maybe a number of generations should be specified by agreement: say 4 or 6 which would mean 100 or 150 years.

Question 6

Religion in Mali:

Answer 6

Before the arrival of Muslim merchants in West Africa, the indigenous people traditionally believed in “the spirits of the land” who ensured the success of crops. Since it was the ancestors who had developed the original agreement with the spirits, spiritual contact with the ancestors was essential. The village chief had the most direct link to the spirits of the land and was thus the guardian of the ancestors and the link to them. Rituals would have been performed to honor the ancestors.

Question 7

Religion in Mali (2)

Answer 7

With the influence of Islam through trade, Islam became the religion of the merchant elite: indigenous families who married with Muslim families and eventually converted fully to being Muslim. The indigenous practices were left to the majority of the population that was not part of the trading elite. Therefore there was a mixture of religions.

Question 8

Mansa means?

Answer 8

Emperor

Question 9

Describe Mansa Musa

Answer 9

• formidable
• extravagant
• autocratic
• puissant
• influential
• opulent
• puissant