History: Comparative Analysis of Great Zimbabwe, Axum, and Empires

This history assignment provides a detailed analysis of the Great Zimbabwe and Axum societies, exploring their development, societal structures, political systems, and interactions with the environment. The assignment covers various aspects, including the origins of Great Zimbabwe, its trade networks, and the role of religion. It also examines the changes experienced by both societies, their social hierarchies, gender roles, and political systems. The role of government, and how power was maintained. Furthermore, the assignment delves into the cultural aspects, including religions, art, and architecture, as well as the economic activities such as agriculture, trade, and labor systems. The assignment also compares the Mexica and Inca empires, highlighting similarities and differences in their political organizations. Finally, the assignment incorporates information from a PBS video, discussing the impact of Christianity, Islam, and trade on Africa, as well as comparing Byzantine and Feudal Europe.

Running head: HISTORY 1
History
Name
Institution

HISTORY 2
History
Unit1
Great Zimbabwe Ethiopia(Axum)
Development:
 How did this
society
develop?
 What enable
this society to
grow in power?
The construction of this society
started in the eleventh century as
well as continued for over three
hundred years.
The growth of Great Zimbabwe
has been linked to the fall of
Mapungubwe (Macheka, 2016).
The Great Zimbabwe started as a
centre for trading. It had a trade
network connected to Kilwa
Kiswani and extending to China.
Many people believe that
religion prompted the society’s
rise to power.
The local Agaw people first began
to expand and populate this
society (Fattovich, 2019). This
made it to develop into a
dominant kingdom.
The society prospered because of
agriculture, trade, and cattle
herding. Presence of strong
leaders also made the society to
grow in power.
CHANGE: What
changes did this
society experience
during the 1200 to
1450 time period
The first people to reside at
Great Zimbabwe were Bantu. It
remains difficult to illustrate the
changes that the society
experience because there remain
no records of this society
(Chirikure et al.2017).
One of the key changes that took
place in Axum was the practiced
of Christianity from polytheistic
religion.
Social
 Social classes
and social
hierarchy
 Who has power
in society?
 Gender roles
and
relationship
 Family and
kinship
The head of the family was the
father. The role of the mother
was to take care of the children.
The person who has power in
this society was the chief.
The boys in this society were
taught hunting and gathering
skills. They had to undergo
physical hardship as well as
endurance tests. The boys were
also taught customs and
traditions of the tribe. They were
The society was hierarchical with
the king at the top most position,
then nobles, as well as the general
population (Kidane-Mariam,
2018).
The king had the power in society.
Little is known about the role of
women as well as family in life.

HISTORY 3
circumcised immediately at the
end of training period. Girls were
given group education to prepare
them to become good wives and
mothers.
POLITICAL
 Type of
government
 Role of the
government
 Who rules?
 How do they
maintain
power?
The Great Zimbabwe was ruled
mainly by a hereditary monarchy
of Shona.
The role of the government was
to control the Zimbabwean
plateau located between the
Zambezi as well as Limpopo
rivers.
The person who rules the Great
Zimbabwe is the king. The post
is normally hereditary amongst
the Shona. Most rulers sought
the views of the senior males of
the community to maintain
power.
The government combined the
rule of a dynastic monarchy with a
system of decentralized provincial
administration.
The role of the government was to
protect its territories. The
government also controls trade.
The king rules the people.
The king gained their power from
trading. So, they maintained the
power by facilitating trade with
other colonies.
Interactions with the
environment
 How did the
environment
shape and
impact this
society?
 Patterns of
settlement
The environment made them to
practice faming, hunting and
gathering, and trade. The climate
favored faming activities.
This society practiced iron age
settlement patterns.
The Axum was situated along the
Red sea which allowed the king to
trade with people from different
places.
The people from Axum used the
natural environment mainly as a
means of tools and food. Also, the
Red sea allowed individuals to
move to other places. The people
mainly settle along the red sea.
Cultural
 Religions,
belief systems,
The Great Zimbabwe was an
important trading and religious
center. There were tall tower
Asum embraced Christianity
under the rule of Ezana (King
Ezana).

HISTORY 4
philosophies,
and ideologies
 The art and
architecture
 Written works,
theater, plays
mainly used for worship. It is
true that the people in this
society believed in the existence
of god known as Mwari. The
people worshipped Mwari who
acted as the supreme god in the
religion of the Shona.
The Hill Complex is believed to
be the spiritual as well as
religious center in the region.
Many researchers argue that
there was existence of finely
carved soapstone figures. A
soapstone figure was one of the
main artifacts.
Axum was able to generate 90ft
tall obelisk. They mainly
emphasize symmetry, antiquity
and proportion (Sullivan, 2019).
The book of Enoch is written in
Ge’ez which is the written
language of Axum.
Economic
 Agricultural
and pastoral
production
 Trade and
commerce
 Labor systems
 Tax collection
and purposes
The society prospered from
animal husbandry, faming
(especially of millet, sorghum,
watermelons, and pumpkins),
hunting, as well as localized
trade (using local copper, iron, as
well as gold deposits).
As the society prospered, trade
network expanded to different
places. The gold was easily
acquired from the Zimbabwean
plateau and used as a medium of
exchange (Vogel, 2019). The
ruler control ivory and gold trade
in the region. The poor in this
society work in the farm of rich
people. The tax was collected by
the rulers to help fund the
operation of the chiefs.
The society grew agricultural
produce such as Barley, Wheat,
teff, and millet. They also herded
sheep and goats (Bortolotto, S.,
Castiglioni, Cattaneo & Massa,
2019).
The Aksum traded with Roman
traders, Persian, and Egyptian
merchants.
The poor acquired their basic
needs by working for the rich
people.
Taxes on trade were levied by
provincial rulers. The government
used the tax collected to run its
operations.

HISTORY 5
Technology &
Innovation
Human adaptation and
innovation
The construction of Conical
Tower was one of the important
innovations in the Great
Zimbabwe.
The people of Ethiopia developed
numerous architectural
advancements for example palace
constructed atop platforms.
What I Have Learned From the PBS Video
Impact of Christianity Impacts of Islam Impacts of trade
Christianity played an
important role in ending
practices like sacrifice,
infanticide, slavery and
polygamy in Africa.
Islam increased trade in sub-
Saharan Africa.
Trade reduced poverty and created
jobs.
The Byzantine Empire Feudal Europe
Social
Social classes and
social hierarchy
 Social classes were king,
knights, and slaves/peasants.
 The individuals who have
power are the king, and the
LO how did agriculture affect social
organization?
 Wealth was equal to land

HISTORY 6
Who has power in
society
Gender roles &
relations
Family & kingship
Lord.
 Undefined gender roles
 Family was everything
What is the role of coercive labor?
 Convincing employees to accept
employment.
Political
Type of government
Role of the
government
Who rules?
How do they maintain
power?
 Feudalism-decentralized
political organization. A
monarch (king) rules. They
maintained power mainly by a
system of mutual obligation
(Laiou-Thomadakis, 2019).
Commander in chief remained
in charge they control
everything that the people did.
 Giving as well as taking away
wealth, finance, and land
 Function division between ruled
and ruler occurred within family
Interactions with the
environment
How did the
environment shape &
impact this society?
Patterns of settlement
 Orthodox church
 Roman and Greek studies
influenced the renaissance.
 When climate became warmer,
new agriculture opportunities
were introduced
 Population increase
 Muslim invasion
Cultural
Religious, Belief
systems, philosophies,
and ideologies
How did practices and beliefs of
Greek orthodoxy affect Byzantine
society?
LO: How did practices and beliefs of
Roman Catholicism affect medieval
European society?

HISTORY 7
The arts and
architecture
Written works, theater,
plays
 It was widely organized mainly
by the system of caste to go
with imperial orders
 No disruptors were made to the
culture of the catholic
Economic
 Agricultural
and pastoral
production
 Trade and
commerce
 Labor systems
Tax collection and
purposes
 Entire system was based on
Agriculture
 Traded wine, oil, fish, salt,
meat, etc
 River flow control over Euphrates
and Tigris
 Fields might be watered
downstream
Technology &
Innovation
Human adaptation and
innovation
 Tool like: pruning knife, axe,
spade, were used
 New crops such as sugar beets,
soybeans, grains
The Consequences and Causes of Political Decentralization
Causes of Political Decentralization Consequences of political decentralization
The main cause of political decentralization
was land owning process.
It promoted the spread of corruption
Create A Venn Diagram Comparing as well as Contrasting The Mexica And The Incas

HISTORY 8
Inca
Mexica
Compare (List Differences and Similarities) the Political Organization of the Mexica and
Incas
 The Mexica and Inca empires were extremely similar. The two empires were based on
managing goods and resources.
 The difference is that the government of Inca was extremely strict, whereas the Mexica
government was not that strict.
Learning objective: Describe how the Inca Empire developed as well as changed over time.
According to some mythical tales, the Incas were created by the sun god. He sent his son
who was known as Manco Capac to Earth.
References
.main food
source was
corn.
.main source of
food was
potatoes.

HISTORY 9
Bortolotto, S., Castiglioni, A., Cattaneo, N., & Massa, S. (2019). Past Landscapes to shape future
societies: research in the Horn of Africa. JUNCO| Journal of UNiversities and
international development COoperation, 1(1).
Chirikure, S., Bandama, F., Chipunza, K., Mahachi, G., Matenga, E., Mupira, P., & Ndoro, W.
(2017). Seen but not told: re-mapping Great Zimbabwe using archival data, satellite
imagery and geographical information systems. Journal of Archaeological Method and
Theory, 24(2), 489-513.
Fattovich, R. (2019). From Community to State: The Development of the Aksumite Polity
(Northern Ethiopia and Eritrea), c. 400 BC–AD 800. Journal of Archaeological
Research, 27(2), 249-285.
Kidane-Mariam, T. (2018). Ethiopia’s Material Culture: Some Notes on the Obelisks of Axum
and the Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela. Tourism Hospit Ope Acc: THOA-110.
DOI, 10.
Macheka, M. T. (2016). Great Zimbabwe world heritage site and sustainable
development. Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development.
Sullivan, K. (2019). The Kingdom of Axum: Facts and Legends of a First Millennium
Powerhouse.
Vogel, J. O. (2019). Great Zimbabwe: The Iron Age of South Central Africa. Routledge.