Transcript File - Don Dickinson

Chapter Eight:
African Civilizations
and the Spread of Islam
African Regions
Pre-Islamic Africa
• Extremely diverse societies developed
• Political unity was difficult because of terrain
• Bantu: primary language spoken
• Oral traditions maintained by griots; very
few written records
• Most communities were preliterate (lacking
writing system)
Pre-Islamic Africa
• Animistic and polytheistic religions
• Power of natural forces; ritual and worship
• Dancing, drumming, divination, and sacrifice
• Witchcraft; cosmology; masks were used to
invoke spirits
• Ancestors are called upon
• Economies vary by region
• N. Africa: Islamic trade routes and
Mediterranean trade
• Sub-Saharan: agriculture; ironworking; tribes
and herders
• Africans exchanged abundant raw materials
(esp. salt) for manufactured goods
“Stateless” Societies
• Many small African communities were
politically organized in this way
• There were authoritarian and centralized
empires, however
• Lack concentration of power and
authority
• Authority and power normally exercised
by a ruler and court was held by a
council or families or community
• Not a “fulltime job”
“Stateless” Societies (cont.)
• Weakness of stateless societies
• No organization to collect taxes  no
effective militaries
• No consensus  Difficult to resist external
pressures
• No undertaking of large building projects
• Internal problems could be resolved by
allowing dissidents to leave and establish new
villages
Influence of Islam in Africa
• 640-700: Muslims moved west
from Arabia across N. Africa to
spread Islam
• Rapid conversions by Berbers
(Saharan nomads)
• Spread along pre-existing caravan
routes
Influence of Islam in Africa (cont)
• Maghreb: NW Africa (W of Egypt);
Islamized
• 11th-12th centuries: Almoravids and
Almohads (ultra-conservative
Muslim Berbers) grew in power
• Reformers: launched jihad (war to
spread and protect faith) against
“lax” Muslims
• Almohads defeat Almoravids
• Almohad Caliphate: 1121-1269
• These groups became essential to
the spread of Islam throughout
Africa.
Almoravids
1040-1147
Almoravids vs Almohads
10
Influence of Islam in Africa (cont.)
• Why was Islam attractive?
• It was egalitarian
• It reinforced kings’ authority;
• It put Africans on equal footing
politically/religiously/economically with
Arabs
Quick Review Question
What are some characteristics of PreIslamic Africa?
Why is Islam appealing to Africans?
West African Kingdoms
• Grasslands Kingdoms = West African Kingdoms=
Sudanic States = Ghana, Mali, Songhai
• Sahel Grasslands: transition zone between Sahara
Desert and savannahs to the south
• Point of exchange between North and Sub-Saharan
Africa; important region of trade once gold is found
West African Kingdoms
• Islam reinforced ideas of
kingship and power: “royal
cult”
• Joining Islam gave rulers
prestige and associated
them with other great
Muslim leaders
• Majority of population never
converted; retained their
polytheism/animism
• Rulers were more concerned
about political benefits of
Islam than conversion
West African Kingdoms (cont.)
• Trade gold for Berbers’ salt
• Cowrie shells: used as
currency
• Ghana, Mali, and Songhai
• Combined Islamic
religion/culture with local
practices
• Each incorporated the
previous kingdom; bigger than
last
• Each exerted power over
subordinate communities
through taxes, tribute, and
military support
Ghana Empire
Ghana Empire
• Believed to be the first of many empires that would rise in
this part of Africa.
• Began in the 8th century, when a dramatic shift in the
economy of the Sahel area south of the Sahara allowed
more centralized states to form
Ghana Land of Gold
• Introduction of camel, which
preceded Arabs and Islam by
several centuries, brought
gradual revolution in trade
• For first time, extensive gold,
ivory, and salt resources of
the region could be sent
north and east
• These were sent to
population centers in North
Africa, the Middle East and
Europe in exchange for
manufactured goods
Decline of Ghana
• The Almoravid
Muslim Empire
• Ghana's
preeminence faded
toward the end of
the eleventh century
• Its power was
broken by long
struggle with the
Almoravids led by
Abdullah ibn Yasin
Mali Empire
Mali
• Mali Empire was a
medieval West African
state of the Mandinka
from c. 1235 to c. 1610.
• Empire was founded by
Sundiata Keita --became
renowned for the wealth
of its rulers, especially
Mansa Musa I.
• Mali Empire had
profound cultural
influences on West Africa
• It allowed spread of its
language, laws and
customs along the Niger
River.
Sundiata
• Mali emerged against
the back-drop of a
declining of Ghana
under the dynamic
leadership of Sundiata
of the Keita clan.
• But the region he took
over had a past rich in
trade and powerful
rulers.
Mansa Musa
• 13th year of his reign (1324), he set
out on his famous pilgrimage to
Mecca.
• This pilgrimage awakened the
world to the stupendous wealth of
Mali.
• Traveling from his capital of Niani
on the Upper Niger River to Cairo,
Mansa Musa was accompanied by a
caravan consisting of 60,000 men.
• He also brought with him 80 camels
loaded with 300 pounds of gold
each.
Mali was an Islamic Empire
• Islamic Mosque at Djenne
Islamic University in Mali
• The Muslim city of Timbuktu was a center of
learning and scholarship.
City of Gao
• Gao would
become the
capital of Songhai
Empire
Songhai Empire
Songhai
• Songhai Empire was a precolonial African state centered in
eastern Mali.
• From early 15th to late 16th
century, Songhai was one of
largest African empires in history
• This empire bore the same name
as its leading ethnic group, the
Songhai.
• Its capital was the city of Gao,
where a small Songhai state had
existed since the 11th century
• Its base of power was on the
bend of the Niger River.
Sunni Ali
• When Sunni Ali came to
power, Songhai was a
small kingdom in the
western Sudan.
• But during his twentyeight-year reign, it grew
into the largest, most
powerful empire in
West Africa. Painting
by: Leo Dillon.
Muhammed Ture/Askia the Great
• Under Askia the Great's
rule, education in the
Songhai Empire,
especially Timbuktu,
flourished.
• He built a university in
Timbuktu for students.
• Djenne also became a
center of learning.
Decline of Sonhai
• 1591 Morocco invaded
Songhai
• Although the invaders were
not very numerous, perhaps
4,000 men, they were
armed with firearms, not
yet seen in West Africa
• They possessed an
enormous advantage over
their more traditionally
equipped foes.
• Ahmad al-Mansur
(1549-1603)
Influence of Islam
in West African Kingdoms
• Islam provided universal faith, sense of
community, and a strong political/legal system.
• Royal Cult: rulers reinforced authority through
Muslim ideology; spiritual and political leader
• Many who were exposed to Islam did not
convert but remain practitioners of their
indigenous religion
• Many Sudanic societies were matrilineal.
• Hesitancy over conversion to Islam since it
restricted women more than these societies
did
Influence of Islam
in West African Kingdoms (cont.)
• Islam supported interregional trade
• Slavery and slave trade grew in
prominence (7 million traded)
• Slave trade had existed since Classical
period; Islam helped globalize it
• Majority of Africa, even after introduction
of Islam, remained in isolation and not
connected to larger networks
Swahili States of East Africa
• Indian Ocean trade connecting
India and east coast of Africa go
back to 1st century CE
• By beginning of era 600 to 1450
CE Bantu speaking people had
reached coastal areas
• People on east coast of Africa
spoke Swahili with Arabic
influence & great trade took
place in coastal towns
Swahili States of East Africa
• By 13th century Chinese porcelains and
silks, Indian cotton fabrics, & glass beads
traded for African products: iron, timber,
ivory, & animal hides & shells
Swahili States of East Africa
• Gold from Great
Zimbabwe trade-made Kilwa wealthy
• Other trade cities:
Mogadishu,
Mombasa, Malindi,
and Zanzibar
flourished 13th to
15th century
Swahili States of East Africa
• Muslim foreigners & local
Bantu-speakers intermarried
along Swahili coast & often
children raised as Muslims
• Many on Swahili converted
to Islam to facilitate trading
opportunities
• Happened in Sudanic states
also
Swahili States of East Africa
• Cities on Swahili coast were
cosmopolitan
• Handsome stone mosques
• Multi-story buildings
• Efficient plumbing systems
• Ruling elites & wealthy merchants
• Wore silk & fine cotton
• Used porcelain dishes
• Muslim scholars from Arabia &
Persia lived in cities
• Ruled as city-states
• No central government
Indian Ocean Trade (cont.)
• Unlike the Silk Roads,
transportation costs much
lower
• Ships could carry much
more at one time than
camels
• Sea Routes carried more
bulk and staple goods (not
just luxury items like the
Silk Roads)
• Raw materials exported
(furs, ivory, gold, salt,
timber) in return for Indian,
Islamic and Chinese
luxuries
Indian Ocean Trade
• Monsoons = alternating wind
currents
• Summer: blow NE from SW
• Winter: blow SW from NE
• Trade occurred between
individual merchant towns,
not facilitated by major
empires
Great Zimbabwe
1100-1450 CE (peak)
• Inland from
coastal cities
on plateau
south of
Zambezi
River
Great Zimbabwe
• Earth around city yielded great quantities of
gold
• Mined and traded on Swahili coastal city of
Sofala
• Shipped across the Indian Ocean to join long
distance trading networks
• Wealth accumulated allowed the
constructions of a great wall size of a football
stadium
Great Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe
• Zimbabwe's kings controlled & taxed the trade
between the coastal areas and interior regions
• Zimbabwe’s inhabitants were non-Muslims
• Similar to most interior regions in Africa
• Zimbabwe had 18,000 inhabitants at its height
Nubia and Ethiopia:
Christianity in Africa
• Christian states are present in
North Africa, Egypt, and Ethiopia
before the arrival of Islam.
• Nubians
• Axum
• Ethiopians
• Egyptian Christians (Copts) had a
rich and independent tradition
(Coptic Christianity).
• Trade with Byzantium
• Christianity will come later to
the rest of the continent with
the presence of Europeans.
Ethiopia
• Many inhabitants in one
eastern Sub-Saharan region
were Christians – Ethiopia
• Christianity had been
founded in this region in 4th
century CE
• Ruling elite of Axum declared
their Christian faith to
enhance relations with
Christian Egypt
Ethiopia
• Most of northern Africa was
conquered by Muslims in 7th &
8th century, which cut off
Ethiopian Christians from other
Christians
• Many beliefs, therefore,
reflected native African
religions
• Recognized existence of evil
spirits & need to carry
amulets for protections
Ethiopia
• After decline of Axum, Islam
expanded to most areas
around Ethiopia
• Starting in 12th century CE,
Christianity became the
preferred religion of ruling
elite
Quick Review Question
What are the three Sudanic States? What
do they trade?
What does Islam provide to them?
Bantu Migrations in Central Africa
(1000 BCE – 1000 CE)
• One of the largest migrations
in human history
• Series of migrations of the
Bantu people from the Congo
area in central Africa to the
south and east.
• Why? Drought and famine,
population increase, need to
find fertile land, tribal
conflicts, and disease.
Bantu Migrations in Central Africa (cont.)
(1000 BCE – 1000 CE)
• Positive results:
• Introduction of iron
working throughout S/E
Africa
• New crops introduced
(bananas and yams)
• Centralized system of
government was
introduced to replace
stateless societies
• Agriculture (they now had
enough food to eat and
store for the future).
Bantu Migrations in Central Africa (cont.)
(1000 BCE – 1000 CE)
• Negative results:
• Loss of culture
(caused by cultural
absorption and intermarriage with other
groups)
• Some of the Bantu
languages died out
and were replaced by
Swahili.
Central Africa without Islam
• Often, developed
free of Islamic
contact
• Herders, farmers;
skilled with iron
• States formed;
replace small
kinship groups;
capable of huge
communities
Quick Review Question
Of the following regions, where has Islam
spread in Africa during the Post-Classical
period?
1–
North Africa
2 – West Africa
3 – Central Africa
4 – East Africa
Global Connections
• Spread of Islam brought large
areas of Africa into the global
community through increasing
contact from 700-1500 CE.
• Specifically, Sudanic states and
East Africa
• However, most of Africa evolved
in regions free of Islamic contact
(Central + Southern Africa).
• Organized their lives in
stateless societies.
Global Connections
• While no universal empires
and religions develop in
Africa, Christianity and Islam
impact the region through
political, economic, and
cultural development.
• Reality is there are more
written records in regions
affected by Islam; knowledge
is not even