Chapter 8 Outline – African Civilizations and the Spread of Islam
III. The Postclassical Era
B. African Civilization and the Spread of Islam
1. Overview
- Sub-Saharan Africa had some contact with the world, but not huge amount
 From 800 to 1500, African contact with rest of world increased (mostly from trade)
 Islam spread throughout Africa, but African civilizations retained their individuality
 Spread of Islam further linked Africans with the outside world, as trade increase greatly
- Several features characterize Africa in the postclassical period
 North and east Africa became closely linked with Arab world
 Sub-Saharan Africa saw rise of new centers of civilization emerge, but while parts of the area
were drawn into contact with world, it remained very distinct area
2. African Societies: Diversities and Similarities
- Africa very diverse, a big reason why there has been lack of political unity for long periods of time
 No dominant state or dominant religion to unite Africa
a. Stateless Societies – African societies formed around kinship, with no centralized political power
- States did emerge in Africa, but many African societies were stateless
 Stateless societies could be very large, and power was shared by different families (no kings),
and thus no need for taxes
 If dispute arose, there was plenty of land so people could just move away
 Stateless societies had difficulties (hard to raise army and raise money for public works)
b. Common Elements in African Societies
- Although diverse, similarity existed b/t Africa societies (language and religion)
 Bantu speaking people spread out, resulted in similar languages over wide area
 Animism (belief natural objects have souls) common religion, though local practices of varied
 Like Europeans, Africans believed in good and evil, and evil produced by witches that needed
to be eliminated (priests were believed to be able to combat these witches)
 Overall, African religion provided view of how the universe worked and a code of ethics
 Many African believed in a creator god, and a series of lesser gods
 Ancestors who found the land viewed as holy, so land itself viewed as religiously significant,
so religion, economics, and history closely linked
 Even as Christianity and Islam spread to Africa, these beliefs were still held by Africans
- African economy hard to describe
 North Africa linked to other parts of world through trade, so different than rest of Africa
 Sub-Saharan economy varied greatly from one region to the next
 Agriculture and skilled ironwork existed in Africa and spread rapidly at this time
 Trade increased greatly (especially with Arabs), led to rise of some large cities, and markets,
with professional merchants, became big part of culture (men and women both participated)
- African states at disadvantage in trade with other regions of world
 Africans traded valuable resources (gold, ivory, salt) for expensive manufactured goods
 Trade led to growth of merchants, but Africa didn’t gain much technology and manufacturing
c. The Arrival of Islam in North Africa
- Africa north of Sahara had long been a part of the classical world
 Christianity spread to north Africa toward end of Roman Empire
 By 670, Muslims controlled eastern north Arica (what they called Ifriqiya), and soon
controlled western north Africa (what they called Maghrib), people converted rapidly
 Muslims advanced all the way to Spain, until stopped in France at Poitiers by Charles Martel
The Berbers, (Africans from Sahara Desert), formed states in north Africa, like Fez in Morocco
 Almoravids – Reform movement amongst the Berbers, stricter form of Islam, launched holy
wars (jihads)
 Almohadis – Islamic reformers, launched jihads, key to spreading Islam to sub-Saharan
Africa and Spain
- Islam attractive to many Africans
 Islam preached everyone in community equal, so African converts would be equal to Arabs
 Kings converted b/c used Islam to reinforce their power (now political and religious leader)
 Even though equality preached, social stratification (divisions) existed in Muslim societies
(ex: punishment for killing man was twice as stiff as killing a woman)
d. The Christian Kingdoms: Nubia and Ethiopia
- Christianity reached Africa before Islam did
 Egyptians and Ethiopians converted to Christianity before many Romans did in 300s
 Copts – Christians of Egypt, they spread Christianity up Nile to Nubia and Kush
 Arabs conquered Egypt, but Copts able to remain Christian
- Ethiopia most important Christian kingdom in Africa
 Formed from land of Axum, Ethiopia grew when King Lalibela conquered surrounding lands
 Ethiopians lived in highlands used terrace farming, also had great buildings (churches
sculpted from rock)
 Ethiopia cut off from other Christians (Byzantium) so Christianity developed independently
 Used language of Axum (Geez) for religion and Amharic as common speech language
- Ethiopians (Christians) and Muslims surrounding them had much friction, even still today
 Ethiopia almost taken by Muslims in 1542, but Portuguese (also Christian) came and helped
 Portuguese tried to bring Ethiopians into Roman Catholic church, but failed
 Ethiopia remained isolated, Christian, and fiercely independent
3. Kingdoms of the Grasslands (Ghana, then Mali, then Songhay)
- Islam spread through north Africa more by merchants/travelers, not as much by invading armies
 3 areas affected by Islam: 1) Atlantic coast; 2) Indian Ocean coast; 3) savanna south of Sahara
- By the 700s, African states like Ghana formed along edge of the Sahara Desert
 States grew from trade (gold from west Africa for salt or dates from Sahara)
 Used camels for trade (good in desert, but couldn’t survive in humid forests)
 Sahel – grassland at south end of Sahara, along trade route so many states emerged, but had
many droughts, and was open to invasion b/c states located on open plains
- Ghana, (founded in 200s), grew into strong state by taxing gold and salt traded within its borders
 By 900s, Ghana rulers had converted to Islam, and Ghana at height of its power
 Almoravids attacked in 1076 and Ghana began declining in power
a. Sudanic States (Ghana, Mali, and Songhay)
- While Ghana was very powerful, other powerful states existed in the region
 These states were led by council of elders, would get control over neighboring states and tax
them to get even more powerful
 Rulers had converted to Islam, and used it to enhance their power (divine rule)
 Majority of populations never converted to Islam (shows Islam blending w/ local culture)
b. The Empire of Mali, and Sundiata, the “Lion Prince”
- Mali formed when the Malinke people broke away from Ghana and formed new state in the 1200s
 Had king who used Islam to enhance power – had mosques built, public prayer sessions, and
preachers had sermons about being loyal to the king
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 Mali economy based on agriculture and trade (had access to gold to the south)
 Juula – Malinke merchants who formed groups to carry trade through west Africa
 Sundiata – leader of Mali who greatly expanded it building its empire (called “Lion Prince”)
 Griots – professional oral historians and advisors to kings in Africa
 Sundiata able to overcome all the regional fighting and unite Mali as one powerful state
 Sundiata created basic rules and laws for Mali, and he became known as the mansa (emperor)
 Created social arrangement where each clan had different responsibilities (helped untie them)
 Created garrisons (forts) and severely punished crime to maintain security and protect trade
 Ibn Batuta – Arab traveler who described and recorded African societies and cultures
After Sundiata died in 1260, his successors expanded Mali even further
 Mansa Kankan Musa (led Ghana 1312-1337) – made legendary pilgrimage to Mecca and
brought attention of Muslim world to Mali (gave away tons of gold to show off Mali)
 Mansa Musa brought back architect Ishak al-Sahili who built important mosques, creating
distinctive form of Mali architecture using beaten clay (ex: the great mosque of Jenne)
 Mali’s contact with outside world thus brought change and innovation
City Dwellers and Villagers
Cities of western Sudan resembled those of north Africa, but with distinctive local architecture
 Towns were commercial (lots of trade and craftsmen), used large military to protect trade
(which encouraged merchants and scholars to come to places like Ghana, Mali, and Songhay)
 Timbuktu – city in Mali, had population of 50,000, had a library and a university
Still, most people (80%) in Mali lived outside of city in small farming villages
 Tough to farm b/c soils of savanna were sandy and shallow (plows rarely used)
 Grew rice, millet, wheat, fruit and vegetables; used this to supply merchants coming through
 Most farms owned individually and very small (less than 10 acres)
 Polygamy common (more wives and sons to work the farm), and is still to this day
 Hard to farm b/c bad soil on savanna, but w/ crop rotation, and irrigation, farmers able to
overcome the difficulties of farming in the region and supply the states with food
The Songhay Kingdom
As Mali empire began to crumble, Songhay (located within Mali empire) began to emerge
 At first dominated by Mali, by 1370s Songhay flourished, mostly b/c along gold trade route
 Songhay’s capital, Gao, was large city w/ mosques and many foreign merchants living there
 Rulers became Muslim, but majority of people remained pagan
 Sunni Ali – leader of Songhay (1464-1492) expanded Songhay to create an empire
 Sunni Ali was great military leader (used cavalry to capture cities of Timbuktu and Jenne)
 Set up bureaucracy to rule the far-flung areas of the empire
 Sunni Ali was Muslim, but persecuted anyone who opposed him, including Muslims
 Sunni Ali succeeded by a series of Muslim rulers, called askia
 Muhammad the Great - expanded Songhay so by mid 1500s it dominated the central Sudan
Life in Songhay empire similar to the states in the savanna previously (Ghana and Mali)
 Islam blended with local pagan traditions, which upset Muslim clerics who wanted stricter
Islamic society (ex: upset men and women went unveiled)
 1591 – Moroccans, using muskets, conquered the larger Songhay army
 The defeat set off internal revolts, and the Songhay empire began breaking apart
Even though Songhay Empire ended, traditions of the western Sudan remained the same
 Other states that combined Muslim and pagan traditions arose (ex: Hausa – people of
northern Nigeria, formed states after Songhay collapsed, blended Islam and pagan traditions)
 These states used large cavalries to expand and protect trade routes (salt, grains, and cloth)
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These states were relatively small, but continued the culture of previous grassland kingdoms
of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay)
- Islam spread beyond just the Sudan region in many ways
 Muslim merchants traded in most major cities, and religious communities developed there
 Intermarriage took place, so more became Muslim
 By the 1700s, Muslims had established minorities throughout west Africa, even in areas
where there never was an Islamic run state
e. Political and Social Life in the Sudanic States
- In the Sudan, Islam provided a universal faith that could unite people and groups
 Helped trade b/c merchants (who were mostly Muslim) felt comfortable doing business
 Ruling families used Islamic titles, like emir or caliph, to reinforce authority (divine rule)
 These leaders surrounded themselves with Muslim scholars who helped them rule
 Like elsewhere, as states formed, a social hierarchy emerged
 In all the Sudanic states, Islam mixed with existing traditions (rulers often became Muslim,
but kept local beliefs so people would be satisfied)
 Example of Islam and local traditions blending seen in treatment of women (many societies
matrilineal, while Sharia (or Islamic law) says it should be patrilineal (in fact women enjoyed
significant freedom in Songhay and the entire Sudanic region)
- Slave trade b/t black Africa and the rest of Islamic world had huge impact on women and children
 Slavery existed in Africa prior to coming of Islam
 With the Muslim conquests of Africa, slave trade increased on a large scale
 Muslims saw slavery as step to converting to Islam, but conversion didn’t guarantee freedom
 Slaves in Islamic world used in variety of ways – servants, laborers, soldiers, administrators,
and as eunuchs and concubines (so wanted to enslave women and children)
 Slave trade routes existed across the Sahara and throughout east Africa
 Slave trade lasted 700 years and was example of Islam having long-lasting impact on Africa
4. The Swahili Coast of East Africa
- East coast of Africa (Swahili coast) was another region in Africa affected by the spread of Islam
 Islamic trading cities emerged along the coast
 Islam provided people in these towns a set of beliefs and ethics that made it easier to trade
 Like in west Africa, Islam was slow to reach the general population
a. The Coastal Trading Ports
- Since 1st century east Africa had contact across the Indian Ocean
 People from Indonesia and Malaysia settled in Madagascar, introducing bananas and coconuts
 East Africa coast had many villages of fishers and farmers who made rough pottery and
worked with iron
 People from Oman and Persian Gulf moved to east Africa in by the 700s
 Zenj – Arab term for east coast of Africa which attracted people who wanted to trade
 East Africa went from homogenous villages to diverse, cosmopolitan communities
- From 1200-1400, over 30 cities emerged along east coast of Africa, flourishing b/c of trade
 Had beautiful and well-constructed towns such as Mogadishu, Mombasa, Malindi, Kilwa,
Pate, and Zanzibar
 Kilwa very wealthy town b/c controlled the port of Sofala, which had access to gold produced
in the interior, and it was furthest port south Indians could safely travel to
 Towns had mosques, tombs, and palaces of stone and coral, and exported ivory, gold, iron,
slaves, and exotic animals in exchange for silks from Persia and porcelain from China
 Arab traders brought textiles from India and porcelain from China
 Chinese sometimes came directly to east African coast to trade, but that stopped in 1431
b. The Mixture of Cultures on the Swahili Coast
- Islamic influence on east African towns helped increase trade and commerce
 In 1200s, Islam spread to India and S.E. Asia, and united traders along Indian Ocean
 Rulers in east Africa were Muslim, built mosques, and many claimed to be descendants of
immigrants from Shiraz in Persia (to legitimize their rule)
 While rulers and merchants tended to be Muslim, majority of people never converted, and
African culture remained strong throughout the region
 Swahili (meaning coastal) language used – mostly Bantu with Arab words mixed in
 Islam didn’t spread much to hunters, pastoralists, and farmers of interior Africa
 In the coastal towns, Muslim’s ruled and lived in stone and coral buildings, while the
unconverted masses lived in mud houses, a sign Islam was class-based
- By time Portuguese arrived around 1500, Islam and traditional African culture had mixed together
 By 1500, Malindi and Mombasa replaced Kilwa as dominant coastal city
 Portuguese eventually attacked Kilwa and Mombasa to control trade
 Overall, African patterns and traditions lived on more on east coast than in Sudanic kingdoms
5. Peoples of the Forest and Plains
- By 1000, people of interior Africa mostly farmers or herders who used iron tools and weapons
 Though most people lived in small villages, some states had formed in the interior of Africa
 Most people there were preliterate, but still made great strides in arts, building, and statecraft
a. Artists and Kings: Yoruba and Benin
- Nok – village in central Nigeria built terra-cotta objects, demonstrating advanced artistic skill
 People of Nok and the region were farmers and used iron tools
 Big gap in what we know about the region (from 200 to 1000)
- Ile-Ife, city in Nigeria where Yoruba speaking people lived (considered cultural center of region)
 Terra-cotta and bronze portrait heads found of rulers in period after 1200 (so well done they
rank as some of finest African art ever)
 Artists also worked in wood and ivory, and most of artwork about kings and their rule
 Yoruba states were agricultural based and dominated by a ruling family and an aristocracy
- Yoruba origins are obscure
 Ile-Ife seen as holiest city, their place of birth, (story was that Oduduwa, son of king of
Mecca, settled in Yoruba, though historians first people come from savanna south of Sahara)
 Yoruba spoke non-Bantu language
 Got along well with neighboring peoples such as Hausa, who spoke Afro-Asian languages
- Yoruba organized into small city-states each controlling about 50 mile radius
 Yoruba were highly urbanized, although many farmed in the surrounding countryside
 City-states ruled by kings who were thought to be divine
 King had royal courts w/ many wives, musicians, magicians, and bodyguards of soldier-slaves
 Though kings believed to be divine, their rule was not absolute
 Example was Oyo – king appointed princes to rule different provinces who used traditional
 Yoruba had urbanized areas with artisans, similar to city-states of medieval Italy or Germany
- Edo people lived east of Yoruba and were similar to Yoruba
 Benin – city-state formed in 1300s, had big population and large roads, ruler, called the Oba
 Benin produced magnificent art in ivory and cast bronze (learned bronze from Iguegha who
was from Ile-Ife, but Benin then developed its own style
 Art centered around celebrations of power and majesty and royal rule
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In 1480s, when Portuguese came to Benin, they were impressed with power of the ruler and
how much territory he controlled, and Benin artists began using images of Portuguese soldiers
b. Central African Kingdoms
- South of Lake Victoria and rainforests, Africa has big savanna w/ rivers like Kwango and Zambezi
 Bantu people from Nigeria had spread out into this region, and eventually all the way to the
east coast (by 1200s they spread out almost to southern tip of Africa)
 People in interior Africa mostly away from Muslim influence
 By 1000, kingdoms emerged in the interior, replacing kinship-based societies
 Katanga – state formed by Luba people, set up bureaucracy to rule, but only members of the
divine family hold leadership positions
c. The Kingdoms of Kongo and Mwene Mutapa
- Kongo – agricultural-based kingdom along lower Congo River that flourished by 1400s
 Though agricultural, had weaving, pottery, and blacksmithing
 Artisans, who used copper, wood, and iron, were highly esteemed
 Sharp division of labor in Kongo b/t men and women:
men = cleared forest, produced palm oil and wine, built houses, hunted and traded
women = raised domestic animals, household chores, collected seashells used as currency
 Capital was Mbanza, but many people lived in family-based villages
 Kongo was confederation of 8 local provinces controlled by king chosen through heredity
- Great Zimbabwe – Bantu confederation formed by Shona speaking people (b/t Zambezi and
Limpopo Rivers), had some of most advanced stone buildings in world (no relation to modern day
Zimbabwe)
- By the 1400s, a centralized state began to rule Great Zimbabwe
 Kingdom rapidly expanded in 1400s and controlled most of interior of southeast Africa all the
way to the Indian Ocean (controlled areas with gold, giving it huge trade advantage)
 King, had title of Mwene Mutapa
 By 1500s, internal divisions divided kingdom apart
 By 1800s, these Shona people had much smaller kingdom, on interior, and were mostly
farmers, not like the great cities they had previously
6. Conclusion: Internal Development and External Contacts
- Islam impacted the Sudanic states and Swahili (east) coast much more than sub-Saharan Africa
- Although Islam had big impact on Africa b/t 800-1500, can’t look at this era as just Islamic impact
 Great cities like Great Zimbabwe and Kongo grew independent of Islamic influence
 Same is true in Benin and among the Yoruba in west Africa
- By 1500, when first Europeans (Portuguese) arrived, they found well developed kingdoms
 By this time, much of Africa was part of larger world, though mostly b/c others had come to
Africa, not Africans seeking rest of world
 Trade even brought Africans who lived far from trading cities, into the world community