1. Mali
1.1. Government & Military
1.1.1. President: Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (2013
1.1.2. Prime Minister: Moussa Mara (2014)
1.1.3. Republic government
1.1.4. Morocco conquered Timbuktu in 1591 and ruled over it for two centuries.
1.2. Religion
1.2.1. the country is open to other religious groups such as Christianity which peacefully coexisted with Islam
1.2.2. There are just under 200,000 Catholics in Mali, around 1.5% of the total population.
1.2.3. 8,000 believers in Christ from a Muslim background in the country.
1.2.4. "no recent reports of persecution, discrimination, or imprisonment on the basis of religious convictions or affiliation."
1.3. Geography & Agriculture
1.3.1. Mali is largely flat and arid. The Niger River flows through its interior, functioning as the main trading and transport artery in the country.
1.3.2. Mali is in West Africa, located southwest of Algeria, extending south-west from the southern Sahara Desert through the Sahel to the Sudanian savanna zone.
1.3.3. The territory has three natural zones: the southern cultivated Sudanese zone, central semi-desert Sahelian zone
1.3.4. Cotton and livestock make up 75%–80%
1.4. Economy & Social Structures
1.4.1. Landlocked Mali’s economy is mostly confined to the area irrigated by the Niger River, but the government is encouraging diversification
1.4.2. Trade is moderately important to Mali’s economy; the combined value of exports and imports equals 47 percent of GDP.
1.4.3. Mali is one of the least developed countries of the world. Mali trade routes changed its course with the arrival of the Europeans. The trade route shifted more towards the coastal region from areas across Sahara trading routes.
1.4.4. The main place for trading commodities were the markets in the villages. Mali trade products from the Salhelian grasslands included sheepskin, goatskin, books, cloth, iron, copper, salt, pearls, ivory, gold, rubber, leather, hides and slaves. Savannah region produced food crops and cash crops.
1.5. Social Structure & family life
1.5.1. The culture,language and customs of this empire were greatly influenced by the culture of Western African cities
1.5.2. the people were divided into sects or sections based on their social standing.
1.5.3. This social segregation of the empire was much like the caste system in which there was a king as the supreme power
1.5.4. classes kept decreasing leading down to the slaves who were merely in control of their own lives.
1.6. Science & Technology
1.6.1. Mali's key industry is agriculture. Cotton is the country's largest crop export and is exported west throughout Senegal and the Ivory Coast.
1.6.2. Mali relaxed the enforcement of mining codes which led to renewed foreign interest and investment in the mining industry. Gold is mined in the southern region and Mali has the third highest gold production in Africa
1.6.3. Mali has made efficient use of hydroelectricity, consisting of over half of Mali's electrical power.
1.6.4. Electricity and water are maintained by the Energie du Mali
1.7. Arts & Education
1.7.1. Mali’s actual primary school enrollment rate is low, in large part because families are unable to cover the cost of uniforms, books, supplies, and other fees required to attend.
1.7.2. Public education in Mali is in principle provided free of charge and is compulsory for nine years between the ages of seven and sixteen. The system encompasses six years of primary education beginning at age seven, followed by six years of secondary education
1.7.3. The most common cultural activities involve music and dancing.
1.7.4. The Bambara and other groups excel in the creation of wood carvings of masks, statues, stools, and objects used in traditional religions. The Tyiwara, or gazelle mask, of the Bambara is remarkable for its fineness of line and distinct style
2. Aztec
2.1. strong government and military
2.1.1. One time forgiveness law: Citizens could confess a crime that they did to a priest and wouldn’t be punished as long as they did it before they were caught. Worked once.
2.1.2. The aztecs were ruled by an empire, the empire placed one noble in charge of each city, nobles ran cities mainly how they wanted.
2.1.3. Many laws were strict and included the death penalty if broken
2.1.4. Aztec ranks were earned by capturing enemy soldiers, clothing and weaponry was given to ranked soldiers.
2.2. Religion
2.2.1. It is believed that it took the Gods 5 tries to create the world
2.2.2. The first creature, Named Tezcatlipoca destroyed the world
2.2.3. The Aztec region was highly focused on balancing nature, sun vs dark and keeping the sun moving.
2.2.4. The afterlife of a person depended on the way they died.
2.3. Geography & Agriculture
2.3.1. The cities original plans were for the city to have 4 parts that were symmetrical around the city.
2.3.2. Each quadrant would be divided up into 20 parts called Capullis
2.3.3. The city's capital was called Tenochtitlan which was a great large structure.
2.3.4. The Aztecs created Chinampas which were essentially small islands for crops to grow on.
2.4. Social Structure & Family Life
2.4.1. The Mayans had a social hierarchy with 4 general tires. Nobles, commoners, serfs, and slaves
2.4.2. There was no divorce, but people could go to court and reason for separation
2.4.3. The women did had a lot of power in the society but was mostly kept a secret.
2.5. Economy & Trade
2.5.1. The most important crop in the Aztec market society was corn.
2.5.2. Traders were classed only below the Nobles in society
2.5.3. Tianquiztli, was a huge trading center near the main temple, as many as 60,000 people visited it daily
2.5.4. The Aztecs main currency was cocoa beans.
2.6. Science & Tecnology
2.6.1. They developed mathematics independently
2.6.2. Invented canoes, and had great medicine advancements
2.6.3. Had advanced weapons from bones and reeds such as the macuahuitl, which was a wooden club with volcanic glass.
2.6.4. Dug canals for transportation because they didnn't have horses and roads.
2.7. Arts and Education
2.7.1. Education was mandatory for Aztec children
2.7.2. Military basic training was taught to boys in school because it was a militant empire
2.7.3. Aztecs used Jewelry, music, poetry, and sculptures to honor their Gods.
3. Ottoman
3.1. Strong Government & Military
3.1.1. The Sultan had ultimate power and religious leadership over the Empire.
3.1.2. Trained young Christian slaves into well trained, elite battle troops known as the Janissaries.
3.1.3. Extremely large, paid slave based army, allowed for dominance against smaller territories and riots.
3.1.4. The title of Sultan goes from father to eldest son, this made a successful and stable way to change power.
3.2. Religion
3.2.1. Mostly followed practices of Islam, however they did not force people to convert from other religions.
3.2.2. Create the devshirme system, which made 20% of captured Christian children to work as slaves for the empire and convert themselves to Islam.
3.2.3. Allowed free practice of Jewish or Christian beliefs without any sort of prejudice or hate.
3.2.4. The Empire had so much territory in the Middle East that the Sultan was said to be the leader of all Islam.
3.3. Geography & Agriculture
3.3.1. Lots of extremely fertile land on each side of the many rivers running through the Empire.
3.3.2. Mostly grew only grains, such as wheat, barley and rye, However in some areas there would dates.
3.3.3. Apart from the plenty rivers, the Empire was built on mostly dry, desert like terrain.
3.3.4. Ottoman farmers were selective in where to grow crops because of the many droughts and lack of reliable rainfall.
3.4. Social Structure & Family Life
3.4.1. Ottoman’s participated in Fratricide, which made when a new Sultan was crowned his brothers would be imprisoned, when he had a son his brothers and their sons would be executed.
3.4.2. People of muslim worship were viewed as higher in the social ladder than those practicing Christianity.
3.4.3. The Sultan, his wives and slaves would live in Topkapi, a massive palace with government buildings in Istanbul.
3.4.4. Lived in houses with 5-6 family members.
3.5. Economy & Trade
3.5.1. Traveled in caravans with over 300,000 animals.
3.5.2. Used a variety of pack animals to suit the terrain they were traveling on (Donkeys, camels etc.)
3.5.3. Traded in luxury goods such as silk and clothes as wheat and grain was a staple and was target to raids.
3.5.4. Along land routes were built Caravanserai, large walled inns to protect caravans and goods overnight.
3.6. Science & Technology
3.6.1. Engineered the mechanical alarm clock that would buzz at any time chosen
3.6.2. Used the mace, a stick with a blunt heavy ball on end used to crush enemy armor
3.6.3. Dardanelles Gun was a giant siege cannon that would fire a huge ball of stone in enemy walls
3.6.4. Created a great Observatory with the best telescopes and clocks in the Empire.
3.7. Arts & Education
3.7.1. Suleiman the magnificent, one of the Sultans welcomed new forms of art and literature.
3.7.2. Schooling was not discriminatory and individuals could achieve as high a level of education as they wanted without regard to race or religion.
3.7.3. Located in Topkapi palace was the Enderun school, which would provide high level education for the gifted people in the Empire.
3.7.4. Students were taught specific government jobs to ensure smart leaders.