Chapter 9 African Civilizations and the Spread of Islam
Chapter Summary
Mansa Musa. In 1324 Mansa Musa, emperor of Mali, passed through Cairo on his way to Mecca. Writing a decade later, the chronicle al-Omari wrote that stories were still told of the emperor’s passage through the city. In particular, Mansa Musa’s lavish distribution of African gold had made an impression. Mali held a fascination for Muslims of north Africa. It owed its prominent position to control of caravan routes and access to gold, extending control from Niger to Senegal rivers. The Muslim traveler Ibn Batuta recorded his impressions of Mali as possessing both similarities and shocking differences with the Muslim heartland. Mali’s contacts with areas outside of Africa were typically intermittent and challenging. These contacts became more regular between 800 and 1500. Islam was crucial in linking Africa with the other world areas, particularly through trade. By 700CE North Africa was the first region converted to Islam
African Societies Diversity and Similarities
-Although Africans shared aspects of language and belief, their large continent’s large size and cultural diversity made diversity inevitable
-Political forms varied from hierarchy’s states to stateless societies organized on kinship principles and lacking concentration of power or authority
-Christianity and Islam sometimes influenced political and cultural development
Stateless Societies:
-Some societies werestateless societies where people were controlled by kinship institutions lacking political authority or power
-They lacked concentrated authority structure, but at times incorporated more peoples than more organized neighbors
-Stateless societies had a form of government, but authority was held by a council of families with no need to tax instead of one ruler
-In the west African forest, secret societies of men and women were important in social life and could limit rulers authority
-The secret societies settled village disputes and maintained authority in the community
-The main weakness of stateless societies was their delayed ability to respond to outside pressures, mobilize for war, undertake large building projects, or create stability for long-distance trade
Common Elements in African Societies
-There were many similarities among African cultures
-The migration of Bantu speakers produced widespread common linguistic base
-Animisticreligion (a belief in natural forces personified as gods) was common, with well-developed concepts of good and evil
-Priests guided religious practices for community benefit
-African religions provided a cosmetology and a guide to ethical behavior and a view on how the universe worked
-Many Africans believed in a creator deity whose power was expressed through lesser spirits and ancestors
-Families, lineages and clans has an important role in dealing with gods
-Deceased ancestors were a link to the spiritual world and the living
-African economies were extremely diversified. North Africa was integrated into the world economy, but sub-Saharan regions had varying structures
-Settled agriculture and iron working were present in many areas before postclassical times, with specialization encouraging regional trade and urbanization
-International trade increased in some regions, mainly toward the Islamic world.
-Both women and men were important in market life
-Little is known of the size of Africa’s population; by 1500 it may have totaled 30 to 60 million
-demography is the study of population
The Arrival of Islam in North Africa
-North Africa was an integral part of classical Mediterranean civilization
-between 640 and 700 CE Muslim armies pushed westward from Suez across the regions called Ifiqiya (Tunisia) by the Romans and Maghrib (the west) by the Arabs
-by 711 Arab and Berber armies had crossed from Morocco into Spain
-conversion to Islam was rapid, at first, but initial unity eventually declined and divided north Africa into competing Muslim states and groups
-the indigenous Berbers ( the people of the desert)were an integral part of the process; the Berbers formed states of their own in cities such as Sijilimasa – the oldest city of the trans-Saharan caravan trade
-in the 11th century reforming Muslim Berbers, the Almoravids of the western Sahara, controlled lands extending between southern savanna and into Spain
-the Almoravids launched jihad or holy wars to spread and protect the faith
-in the 12th century another group, the Almohadis succeeded them
-Islam with its principal of the equality of believers, won African followers
-the unity of the political and religious worlds appealed to many African kings
-the concept of umma put newly converted Berbers and Africans on equal terms
-Social disparities continued between ethnicities and men and women, the former later stimulating reform movements
-by 700 CE the region of N Africa first started conversion to Islam
The Christian Kingdoms: Nubia and Ethiopia
-Christian states were present in northern Africa and Ethiopia before the arrival of Islam (Axum, Egypt, Nubia, further up the Nile)
-Egyptian Christians, Copts, had a rich and independent tradition
-even when Arab armies conquered Egypt the Copts maintained their faith
-Coptic influence spread intoNubia (Kush)
-the Nubians resisted Muslim incursion until the 13th century
-the Ethiopian Kingdoms that grew from Axum we important Christian outposts
-the Ethiopian ancestors to Christian Axum formed their state during the 13th and 14th centuries
-thru warfare, conversion, and compromise a new kingdom emerged under King Lalibela in the 13th century. He built great rock churches
-Ethiopia remained Christian, it was the most important Christian kingdom in Africa; despite increasing pressure from Muslim neighbors
Kingdoms of the Grasslands
-Africa had 3 important coasts of contact: Atlantic, Indian Oceans and the savannah on the southern rim of the Sahara
-Islam spread peacefully into sub-Saharan Africa
-merchants followed caravan routes across the Sahara into the regions where Sudanic states such as Ghana had flourished by the 8th century
-Ghana came to power by taxing the salt and gold exchanged
-camels were unable to carry goods into humid forest zones (disease) and the Sahel, an extensive grassland belt bordering the southern edge of the Sahara, became a major exchange point between trading cities, though their open plains meant attacks were prominent.
-Ghana (3rd century) rose to power by taxing salt and gold exchange and was at height of power by 10th century
-by the 13th century, new states were emerging as successors to Ghana. Almoravid armies invaded Ghana from N Africa in 1076. Ghana declined in 1076 making way for new political organizations.
Sudanic States
-the Sudanic states had in common: 1. often were led by a patriarch or council of elders from a family or lineage 2. People of the same linguistic or ethnic backgrounds 3. Their power extended over subordinate communities
-Sudanic state power extended over subordinate communities- the conquest states drew on taxes, tribute and military support of the lineages and villages
-the rulers of Ghana, Mali and Songhay were considered sacred and fit the definition of Sudanic states
-Islam was used to reinforce indigenous ideas of kingship, so Islam became something of a royal cult
-even thought most of their population did not convert, the arrival of Islam after the 10th century reinforced ruling power
-two of the most important states were savannah states of Mali and Songhay
The Empire of Mali and Sundiata, the Lion Prince
-Mali, between the Senegal and Niger rivers. Formed among Malinke peoples who broke away from Ghana in the 13th century
-ruler’s authority was strengthened by Islam; they built mosques, attended public prayer in return for support to the king
-Mali was a model of Islamic Sudanic Kingdoms
-Mali was based on agriculture combined with gold trade was the economic base of the state
-Malinke merchants or traders were Juula, they formed small partnerships and groups to carry out trade
-the ruler (Sundjata) Sundiata (d.1260) received credit for Malinke expansion and for a governing system based on clan structure
-the griots, professional oral historians, advised the kings and began epic histories of Mali with Sundiata “The Lion Prince”
-Sundiata was considered the mansa or emperor and he was considered the originator of social arrangements (clans)
-the Arab traveler Ibn Batuta stated travel was safe
-Sundiata’s successor in this wealthy state extended Mali’s control throughmost of the Niger valley to near the Atlantic coast
-Mali grew wealthy from trade
-Mansa Kankan Musa’s, a successor of Sundiatahad a pilgrimage to Mecca during the 14th century – it became legendary because of the wealth distributed along the way
-Mansa returned with an architectIshak al Sahili from Muslim Spain, who created a distinctive Sudanic architecture utilizing beaten clay
City Dwellers and Villagers
-distinctive regional towns such as Jenne and Timbuktu whose residents included scholars, craft specialists, and foreign merchants developed in western Sudan
-Timbuktu was famous for its library and university, book trade was a lucrative business
-the military expansion of Mali and Songhay contributed to their prosperity
Mandinka Juula traders traveled throughout the Sudan
-most of Mali’s population and other Sudanic states lived in villages and were agriculturists (80%) were farmers
-life was hard with poor soils of savannah, primitive technology, droughts, insect pests and storage problems, the farmers working small family holdings barely supported themselves and their imperial states
-polygamy was common
-cities such as Jenne and Timbuktu flourished due to location along the Niger
The Songhay Kingdom
-Mali was replaced by the Songhay Kingdom
-the Songhay peoples dominated the middle reaches of the Niger valley
-Songhay became an independent state during the 7th century
-Askia is the military title taken by rulers of Songhay
-by 1010 Songhay rulers were Muslim and had a capital at Gao
-Songhay won freedom from Mali by the 1370’s and prospered as a trading state
-an empire was formed under Sunni Ali (1464-1492), a great military leader who extended rule over the entire middle Niger Valley
-Sunni Ali was tactical commander and ruthless, he developed a system of provincial administration to secure the conquests
-Suni Alli’s successors were Muslim rulers with the title askia;by the mid 16th century their state dominated the central Sedan
-Muhammad the Great extended the boundaries of the Songhay to dominate central Sudan
-daily life followed patterns in savannah states; Islamic and indigenous traditions combined, men and unveiled women mixed freely
-Songhay remained dominant until defeated by Moroccans Muslim Army equipped with firearms in 1591
-following the decline of Songhay, other smaller states combined Muslim and pagan ways rose among the Hausa of northern Nigeria
-in the 14th century the first Muslimruler of Kano made the Hausa city a center of Muslim learning
-along with other Hausa cities, Kano followed the Islamic social, political and religious forms present in earlier grassland empires
-traders and other Muslims widely spread influences even in regions without Islamic states
Political and social life in the Sudanic states
-when large Sudanic states emerged, their rulers represented a particular group or family
-indigenous social groups within the states continued to organize many aspects of life
-Islam in its early stages in the Sudan accommodated pagan belief and practices; large numbers of Mali and Songhay never converted
-Islam provided a universalistic faith and a fixed law that served common interests
-rulers reinforced authority through Muslim officials and ideology, but existing traditions show in the status of women
-many Sudanic societies were matrilineal and did not seclude women
-slavery and the slave trade developed quickly to the Islamic world, lasting over 700 years had a major impact upon women and children
-Muslims viewed slavery as a stage in the process of conversion- a way of preparing pagans to become Muslim- but in reality conversion did not mean freedom
The Swahili Coast of East Africa
A series of trading ports, part of the Indian Ocean network, developed along the coast and islands between the Horn of Africa and Mozambique. Town residents were influenced by Islam, but most of the population remained tied to traditional ways
The Coastal Trading Ports
-Bantu speaking migrants had reached and mixed with indigenous Africans early in the 1st millennium CE
-immigrants from southeast Asia had migrated to Madagascar from the 2nd century BCE; they introduced bananas and coconuts to the African coast
-with the rise of Islam, individuals from Oman and the Persian Gulf settled in coastal villages
-Zenj (zehnj) – an Arabic term for the East African coast
-by the 13th century, a mixed Bantu and Islamic culture speaking the Bantu Swahili language, emerged in a string of urbanized trading ports in east Africa
-they exported raw materials in return for Indian, Islamic and Chinese luxuries
-as many as 30 towns flourished, their number including Mogadishu, Mombasa, Malindi, Kilwa, Pate, and Zanzibar
-from the 13th to the 15th century the city Kilwa was the most important; Ibn Batuta described it as beautiful, it had access to gold and was one of the first cities located south
-all were tied together by coastal commerce and by an inland caravan trade
The Mixture of Cultures on the Swahili Coast
-the expansion of Islamic influence around the Indian Ocean facilitated commerce
-it built a common bond between rulers and trading families and allowed them to operate through a common culture
-the ruling families built mosques, and palaces
-apart from rulers and merchants, most of the population, even in the towns retained African beliefs and culture
-a dyanmic culture developed using Swahili as its language and Islam did significantly penetrate into the interior, ruling families conversed in Arabic Islam penetrated very little in the interior among hunter, pastoralists and farmers, even areas along the coast remained unaffected
-around 1500 the Portuguese arrived but were never able to control the trade in northern Swahili coast
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Thinking Historically: Two transitions in the History of World Population
(NOT ON NOTES PAPER) in text page 198-199
-even though determining the size and structure of historical populations is difficult, their study has become a valued tool for determining the past
-demographic research represents an opportunity for uncovering aspects of the political and economy of the past societies
-regular census taking only became common in some societies during the 18th century
-until then human population grew slowly, increasing as agriculture and other discoveries opened new resources
-by 1750 CE the earth had about 500 million inhabitants
-premodern economies maintained a rough equality between birth and death, with most people not living to 35 years old
-since 1750 with the onset of the Industrial Revolution and other developments a demographic transition began in Europe that sent the world population to over 5 billion at the end of the 20th century
People of the Forest Plains
Apart from the people of the Savannah and eastern coast, by 1000 CE most Africans were following their own lines of development
-Islam did not penetrate into the interior of Africa with the hunters, pastoralists and farmers
-Agriculture, herding, and the use of iron implements were wide spread
-some large and complex states formed; most were preliterate and transmitted knowledge by oral methods
-many African societies developed without the system of writing
Artist and Kings: Yoruba and Benin
-in the central Nigerian forests the Nok culture flourished between 500 BCE and 200 CE
-its members developed a realistic art style, they practiced agriculture and used iron tools
-after Nok disappeared there was a long hiatus before the reappearance of regional artistic traditions after 1000CE
-the Yoruba speaking peoples of Nigeria were highly urbanized agriculturists organized into small city-states, each controlling a radius of about 50 miles
-the city-states were under the authority of regional divine kings presiding over elaborate courts
-the king’s power was limited by other societal forces
-at Oyo, local lineages controlled provinces while paying tribute to the ruler
-in the capital, a council of state and a secret society advised the ruler
-Ile-Ife was the holiest Yoruba city; its subjects after 1200 created terra cotta and bronze portrait heads that rank among the greatest achievements of African art
-similar organizational patters are found among the Edo peoples to the east