The kingdom of Ghana, famous to North Africans as the “land of gold” is the earliest known civilization in western Sudan. Ghana was said to hold complex systems of administrations and taxations, broad and powerful armies, and a wide array of legendary well-concealed gold mines. The monarch of Ghana, or the “ghana” didn’t entirely adopt Islam, however the kingdom maintained a great relationship along Muslim merchants. Ghana’s prosperity declined when the Almoravids invaded the Trans-Saharan trade centers. Despite ancient texts that discuss ancient Ghana, such as The Book of Routes and Kingdoms by the eleventh-century Andalusian geographer Abu Ubayd al-Bakri, as well as ancient artifacts, such as farming tools and cultural art, along with ancient…show more content… Ghanian art comes directly from the the inhabitants of both the time period, or reign and civilization.The purpose of Ghanian art is to represent the past and beliefs of civilization and people. The statuette of the ghana, or king is made out of gold. The gold represents that the country revolves around gold and its a easy resource to find because art, especially statuettes are not usually made out of gold. Both of the figures wear an extravagant golden head dress. The head dress could be a turban, a commonly worn headpiece of the Muslims, and could demonstrate the belief of Islam in the kingdom. The king appears to have accessories such as gold necklaces and ivory decorations that are attached at the hem of a belt like object. The gold necklace and ivory decorations are valuable items that are in the kingdom and can partially explain the trans-Saharan trade system because gold is a major export, and ivory also. The limitations of the two golden statues of the ghana and his wife is that you have to infer with the appearances on the art, it’s both very vague and unclear, and it does not have a direct description that describes what the art is and its purpose. Ghanian art is moderately useful because it does not directly state information on Ghana, although it is a visual demonstration of the key aspects of the…show more content… The most useful for trying to understand the main ideas and themes of the kingdom of Ghana is the Book of Routes and Kingdoms by Abu Ubayd al-Bakri, and the least useful are the ancient ruins that remain in the present day Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, west Sudan, and Ghana. The Book of Routes and Kingdoms, written by the Spanish Muslim, Abu Ubayd al-Bakri is the most useful because it contains full and direct descriptions on the lifestyle and society of Ghana. Ghanian art is moderately useful because it does not directly state information on Ghana, although it is a visual demonstration of the key aspects of the kingdom. The ancient ruins of Ghana is least useful because it does not really demonstrate the greater themes and key aspects of the kingdom of Ghana, except for the influence of the Muslim traders within the civilization. The themes and key aspects of the kingdom of Ghana was later on passed down to the following new kingdoms of Mali and Songhai. The significance of these themes allowed the following kingdoms of Mali and Songhai to prosper and pass down these aspects to each generation on to the next. The legacy of Ghana remains as the kingdom that prospered through its Saharan trade system of salt and gold and its extremely large abundance of
