- Almoravids: Pious Muslims of North Africa
- Amina: Female ruler of the Hausa
- Askia Muhammad: Emperor after Sonni Ali; made pilgrimage to Mecca
- Bantu: African root language
- Desertification: Climate change that devours cropland and changes it into desert
- Mansa Musa: Greatest emperor of Mali
- Meroe: Capital of Nubia
- Savanna: Grassy plains
- Sonni Ali: Solider King of Songhai
- St. Augustine: Bishop of Hippo, a city near Carthrage; was a great Christian thinker
- Sundiata: Brilliant military leader that founded Mali