Africa fits into Western history because it helped spread culture and religion throughout neighboring lands. In the ancient world, Africa was the forefront for many developments such as agriculture, domesticating cattle, language, and iron-based technology. For example, the Egyptian language originated from part of Africa. Even the idea of hierarchy among rulers came from Africa. “Nevertheless, the picture of western African given in the early Muslim writings is of major interest. It is apparent that, right from the beginnings of Arab contact, the organization of the more northerly western African peoples was not solely tribal. They had considerable towns and cities that were supported by a developed agriculture. They had organized networks
