Africa and the Arrival of Islam

1
Africa and the Arrival of Islam
2
African states 600-1450
3
The Swahili States

• Founded by Bantu settlers in 1st millennium CE
• Islamic merchants settle in coastal villages
• Swahili culture emerges by 13th century
• Major role in Indian Ocean trade network
• Trade raw materials for Indian, Islamic,
  Chinese luxuries

4
Great Zimbabwe

• Dominates central Africa from 9th-16th centuries
• Built massive stone enclosures (zimbabwe)
• Supplied gold to the Swahili coast
• Declined due to internal divisions by the 16th
  century

5
Trans-Saharan Trade

• 300 C.E. camels replaced horses and donkeys as
  transport animals
• Speeds travel across the Sahara
• Trade in gold, salt, and ivory flourishes
• Islam arrives in 7th century

6
Rise of Sudanic States

• Trans-Saharan trade led to the rise of the
  kingdoms in the Sudan
• Common characteristics
• Led by patriarch or council of elders
• Based upon ethnic core
• Rulers were considered sacred
• Islam reinforced kingship

7
Kingdom of Ghana (750-1076)

• Used territorial expansion to control
  Trans-Saharan trade routes
• Trade led urbanization
• Kings converted to Islam by the 10th century
• Did not force upon others
• Nomadic raids from the Sahara weakened Ghana in
  the early 13th century

Salt Mines
Gold Mines
8
Kingdom of Mali (1230-1620)

• Malinke people created an empire in the early
  13th century
• Sundiata the Lion Prince
• Agriculture, with the gold trade, was the base of
  the economy
• Mansa Musas hajj in the 14th century became
  legendary

9
Mansa Musas Pilgrimage
10
Malinke Economy

• Most of the people were rural farmers
• Small farms owned by families
• A special merchant class, called the juula,
  controlled trade
• Slave trade became common after the Islamic
  conquest of North Africa
• High demand for women and children
• Estimated 4.8 million slaves over 700 years

11
Malinke Society Culture

• Formation of the kingdom heightened social
  differences
• Society was organized according to clans
• Many societies were matrilineal
• Women enjoyed more freedom than most Eurasian
  cultures
• Polygamy was common

12
Malinke Culture

• Large portions of the population did not convert
  to Islam
• Many converts maintained some of their old
  beliefs
• History maintained by oral historian called
  griots

Drawing of a Malinke Griot
13
Djenne Timbuktu

• Timbuktu was famous for its library and university

• Djenne was famous for The Great Mosque
• Largest adobe building in the world

Madrasa Sankore in Timbuktu
14
Songhai Empire (1340-1591)

• From the early 15th to the late 16th century,
  Songhai was one of the largest African empires in
  history
• Founded by Sunni Ali and expanded by Askia
  Muhammad the Great
• Conquered by Moroccans, with muskets, in 1591

15
Kingdom of Benin

• City-state established by the Edo peoples in the
  15th century
• Known for its bronze and ivory sculptures
• Portuguese were impressed by Benin City and the
  quality of Benins artwork

16
(No Transcript)