Transcript Chapter 6 The Rise and Spread of Islam

Africa &
the Spread of Islam
Life on the Margins of Islam
Chapter 8
172-191
Consider reading relevant info
“Beyond Classical Civs” on pg. 101-103
Background (circa 600 CE)
Bantu
 Sedentary tribal group
– Population pressure
↳ Migration

Spread:
– Agriculture
– Language

Bantu
Impact:
– States arise, specialization, trade possible…
Diversity & Similarity
Stateless Societies

Common in Africa
– Governed by family & obligation
– No tax, bureaucracy, army
Disadvantage:
• Organizing public projects
Common Elements

Bantu-based language

Animistic religion
– Creator deity
– Personified natural forces
– Witchcraft
– Ancestors

Economies
– Increasing settled ag & specialized trade
N Africa: Arrival of Islam

Long part of Mediterranean world

Islam quickly spread
– Berbers

N. Af splintered as Abbasid weakened
– Puritanical movements
NE Africa: Christian Societies

Three persistent societies preceded Islam
– Egyptian Copts
– Nubia/Kush
– Ethiopia/Axum
W Africa: Grassland Kingdoms

Merchants brought
Islam from N. Af

Strategically
located b/t gold-rich
forests on coast &
salt-rich deserts &
markets to north

300: Ghana Empire
Question
Define:
 Sudan

Sahel

Savanna
Sudanic States

Commonly:
– Ruled by patriarch from prominent clan
– “Empires”
– Rulers use Islam to justify authority despite
few conversions among masses
Mali Empire

1200:
Replaced Ghana
– Agricultural w/ influential gold-salt trade
– Griots
– Specialized clans

Sundiata:

Mansa Musa:
City Dwellers & Villagers

Cities
– Cosmopolitan commercial centers

Villages
– Center of population & family
– Small farms
Songhay & Hausa

Songhay
– 1460s:
Replaced Mali
– .Strong provincial gov → expansion

Hausa
Political & Social Life

Consistently blended:
– Tradition =
• Clans
• Animism
• Women
– Islamic influence =
• Rulers political/religious authority
• Merchants
• Slave trade
E Africa: Swahili Coast

Islam further brings Af into fold w/
Indian Ocean trade
to Arabia
to S Asia
to SE Asia
Coastal Trading Ports

1200s:
City-states develop
– Traded ivory, gold, slaves from interior for
foreign silk & porcelain
– EX: Kilwa
Mixture of Cultures

Islamization was class-based
– Rulers
– Merchants
– Peasants maintains traditions

Blending of cultures common
– Swahili
– Tracing lineage
C Africa: Forest & Plains

Strategically located to profit from trade
– Source of goods traded in E & W Africa
– No direct contact with Muslims
C. African
Forests
Kongo & Great Zimbabwe

Kongo
– Agricultural but valued artisans
– Highly divided gender roles
– Governed via confederation

Great Zimbabwe (Mwene Mutapa)
– Complex stone structures
– Controlled gold reserves bound for E coast
Global Connections

Never fully isolated but Islam further
integrates Africa into networks

Some parts advance independently