Answer:
15. D) Songhai
16. A) Sunni Ali
17. B) Ibn Battutah
18. A) Desert
19. B) They controlled trade
20. A) Timbuktu
Explanation:
15. The Songhai Empire was the largest and last of the three major pre-colonial empires to emerge in West Africa. From its capital at Gao on the Niger River, Songhai expanded in all directions until it stretched from the Atlantic Ocean (modern Senegal and Gambia) to what is now Northwest Nigeria and central Niger.
16. Under the rule of Sonni Ali, the Songhai surpassed the Malian Empire in area, wealth, and power, absorbing vast areas of the Mali Empire and reached its greatest extent.
17. -Ibn Battutah was the most famous Muslim visitor to write about West Africa. -From 1353 to 1354 he traveled through the region. -Ibn Battutah's account of this journey describes the political and cultural lives of West Africans in great detail.
18. Today most cross-desert transport is through an extensive tarmac road network in addition to transport by air and sea. Tuareg camel caravans still travel on the traditional Saharan routes, carrying salt from the desert interior to communities on the desert edges.
19. The king of Ghana spread his power through trade. Gold, ivory, and slaves were bartered for salt from the Arabs. Horses, cloth, swords and books were bartered from North Africans and Europeans. Ghana achieved much of its wealth by trading with the Arabs.
20. Timbuktu, French Tombouctou, city in the western African country of Mali, historically important as a trading post on the trans-Saharan caravan route and as a centre of Islamic culture (c. 1400–1600).
