SocialThere were six social classes in Ancient Ghana. Firstly there was the King who ruled over everyone and was thought to have divine powers. Secondly there was the nobles, people who fought in the King's army and provided it with weapons. Next were the farmers. They were the largest social class throughout Ancient Ghana, and worked on land owned by the nobles. Craftspeople came next, and they produced things such as metal work, and pottery. Tradesmen came after crafts people, and were looked down upon due to the fact that they did not make their own goods. However, they were quite rich, most of them richer than farmers. Lastly, there were the slaves. Slaves worked for the richer people of Ancient Ghana, and were often traded for textiles, beads, or other finished goods. In Ancient Ghana it was very hard to move up in the social scale, however it was uncommon for people to be demoted from one class to another.
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Religion In the beggning, the Ancient Ghana religion consisted of supernatural and spiritual beliefs. The people believed plants and animals had spirits as well as humans and that the spirits co-existed with one another. They believed that if they neglected the worship of their ancestors, they would be brought bad luck. Therefore, they offered up sacrifices to their ancestors after anything bad happened to them. By the ninth century, Islam was introduced to Ancient Ghana when Muslims came for trading purposes. Around the year 1076 Muslims tried to make Islam the only practiced belief, but failed in doing so. In the end, half of the Ghana Empire consisted of people who practiced the traditional Ghanian religion, and the other half practiced the Islamic faith.
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politics Ancient Ghana had a very powerful government that ruled over many less worthy kingdoms. One king who had the title "Ghana", led the entire empire. The Ghana people were know as the Soninke, and whenever they faced the king they showed him great respect by kneeling and showering dust over their hands. The King also was head of an army containing 200,000 well trained men. There was also a council of ministers who assisted the king, although his decisions were absolute. The council consisted of judges, governors, generals, and counsellors, a majority of which were Muslims. Every day there would be court hearings to hear the people's complaints. These hearings were generally very peaceful, and the King would say his opinion which noone would be allowed to question. If someone was accused of either murder or denial of debt, they would be given a foul concoction to drink. If they threwup, they would be let off for their crimes. However, if they were able to finish the drink they would be considered guilty. Once the empire began to grow in wealth and size, the systen of government became much more complex. The King had to assign lesser kings to farther off territories, and there were many more rulers. In conclusion, the King had absolute power over the empire and was thought to posess a divine power.
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