Talk:Ghana Empire
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The timelines between this page and the Almoravids page do not match up. According to this page, the Ghana Empire flourished c. 1240 and was taken over by the Almoravids. But according to the Almoravids page, their dynasty ended in 1147. Am I reading something incorrectly? - Gantry 07:01, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC)
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[edit] Page move and remove
I don't think I'm sold on this page move to "Wagadou Empire". The standard Wikipedia policy for article titles is to use the most common English name, which in this case is pretty clearly "Ghana Empire" (9 Engl-lang Google hits for "Wagadou Empire" vs. 13,200 for "Ghana Empire"). Nor can I turn up any evidence of a scholarly consensus for "Wagadou Empire"; Google Scholar has one hit for Wagadou Empire and 47 for Ghana Empire, and the few African history books I have in the house go for "Ghana Empire" also. Since the page-mover didn't move any of the redirects, I'm moving it back for now to avoid the double redirects, but if there's a compelling reason to move everything back I'll be happy to help out! --Dvyost 16:49, 28 September 2005 (UTC)
- I agree, and I would have moved it back if you hadn't. The most common names are unquestionably "Ghana Empire" or "Kingdom of Ghana" - SimonP 17:43, 28 September 2005 (UTC)
im not to sure about this page it didnt have wat i was looking for and this was my last site to look at. out of all the pages i looked at i cant find anything and i was hoping i would finr sonthing good but i was wrongGhana."
[edit] Racial Bias
Added what little I know about the capital city of the empire (Koumbi). The name wasn't even in the article, it originally said the Arabs lived in stone structures in one section of the twin-city while the Africans lived in mud huts in the other, so I changed that too.
[edit] huh?
I don't get it... they say dou means "town and then say wagadou is "land of herds"... shouldn't it be "town of herds?"--Darkmusashi 02:05, 2 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Wagadou <> Ouagadougou ?
Would anyone more knowledgeable than me know if it is just a coincidence that the capital of nearby Burkina is Ouagadougou, which is pronounced exactly like Wagadou but with an added "goo" at the end?
According to Wikipedia, Ouagadougou comes from "Wogodogo", and was renamed that (from "Kumbi Tenga") in 1441, and means "where people get honour and respect"...
Whereas this article says Wagadou means "land of herds" in Mande, but existed as the name for the country (Ghana Empire, capital "Kumbi Saleh") somewhat earlier on (750-1240)...
Well the similar sounding names may really be a coincidence, but they sure sound similar to me! ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 02:44, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
I have found a number of internet sites that state the actual name is "Wagadugu" as well as some that support "Wagadou." Does anyone know which is correct?
Wagadou is the correct form. Wagadugu is only for the Mossi state in burkina faso. Scott Free 14:21, 23 January 2007 (UTC)
[edit] On some new scholarly info...
- I put in info from the study by Ray Kea. I think it's essential with all the bias inherent in academia concerning Africa to prove civilization in West Africa (where my ancestors hail from) was of indigenous, ancient roots, it just didn't start with some Arab guy arriving on a camel from the Sahara and saying to the locals "hey, let's trade!". Anyways, anyone else with more info on the Tichitt-Walata complex, Ghana's predecessor, as well as the early history of Ghana, is welcome to contribute. Peace. Teth22 01:53, 7 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Sucks
This page really needs some work. Every additional edit makes it more and more jumbled. I just finished with the Mali Empire page. i'll try to get to this one, too. in the meantime, can folks at least TRY to organize this into something resembling a respectable article. The Expansion section is one sentence for Christ's sake! Scott Free 01:14, 1 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Jihad
jihad is used in many ways, clearly western people try to twist it. But why put in anything. Why when Muslims go to war it is religious and when the west go to war it is just war? I dont think Muslim need religion to go to war, they can just go to war like any other human. I say bring a source that it was inspired by true religion or delete is an OR and an opinion.--Halqh حَلَقَة הלכהሐላቃህ 14:26, 15 March 2007 (UTC)
- I agree good friend. Howevever, in the instance of ghana's destruction, religion was the justifying factor the use of the lesser jihad against the Soninke. it would be improper to ignore this fact just as it would be wrong to omit economic or cultural factors. Upon further reading, I believe the main focus was not forced conversion but gaining access over the trade routes from Kumbi Saleh to Morocco. What made the war possible was the fact that the Ghana Empire was a traditionalist state despite its attempts to accomidate Muslim travelers. I will add this factor in as well because of its importance, but the religious factor should not be removed.
Scott Free 13:28, 16 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Aftermath
this small section looks like it was vandalized or soemthing was deleted at some point and hasn't been restored. I don't know what it was supposed to say.Corlyon 18:51, 31 March 2007 (UTC)Corlyon
[edit] "white" rule
this is likely to stir up a bit of controversy, but sources say that Ghana "after which the empire is named...is said to have had twenty-two kings before the Higira in A.D. 622. These kings are stated to have been 'white', which means Berber; and twenty two more Berber kings ruled in Ghana after the Hegira. Then there was a revolution; the king was killed, and a Negro dynasty succeeded to power. The new kings were of the Soninke branch of the mandingo race and they ruled until 1076. (W.E.F. Ward "A History of Ghana" p. 45-46.) (Lady Lugard, "A Tropical Dependency 90-116")
[edit] response
I'm familiar with this data. It's not entirely wrong either. The land that became the Ghana Empire was originally inhabited by desert nomads of Berber extraction (pretty much White). Problem is, the Berbers in this area didn't build or settle anything. The so-called Kings prior to Soninke rule (750 AD approx.) were little more than desert chieftains. It wasn't anything remotely resembling a centralized state let alone an "empire". The Soninke migrated to the area either shortly after or around the same time (after seems more likely). The Soninke conquered the area once their numbers grew large enough, killing the Berber ruler and building a capital (Kumbi Saleh). This info comes from...
- Stride, G.T & C. Ifeka: "Peoples and Empires of West Africa: West Africa in History 1000-1800". Nelson, 1971
Scott Free 13:46, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
