Spread of Islam to
Africa and Asia
What is “Dar al-Islam”?
• The collective regions of
Islam – “ Islam-dom”
(cf. Christendom)
• What do Mansa Musa’s Haj
& Ibn Battuta’s journals
reveal about the nature of
“Dar al-Islam”?
African trends 1200-1400
• State building
• 1) Mali, Songhay – created more from
military power than ethnic/cultural unity
• 2) Merchant city-states on west/East
coast
• 3) Portuguese in 15th century brought
Africans into world economy more
(slavery)
• 4) Bantu migration continued
African Societies: Diversities
and Similarities
• Diverse – some large centralized
states to stateless societies
• Differences in geography,
language, religion, politics
• Some spread of Judaism,
Christianity & Islam penetrated
continent, but not the norm
African Societies: Diversities
and Similarities
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Stateless societies/ local villages
1. kinship and other forms of obligation
2. council of families
3. little concentration of authority
- after internal dispute, can always
leave and form new village
• 4. But unable to mobilize for war,
organize large building projects, create
stable conditions for long distance trade
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African Societies: Diversities and
Similarities
religion – animistic religion
- power of natural forces
- ritual and worship
- dancing, drumming, divination,
and sacrifice
- cosmology – how universe worked
- belief in creator deity
Spread of Islam
Why was Islam attractive?
• Egalitarian teachings – all
Muslims are equal
• Reinforced African kings
authority
• Equal footing with Arab invader
• Mostly elite adopted it
Spread of Islam
The Christian Kingdoms: Nubia and
Ethiopia (influence of Egypt &
Axum)
• “Islands” of Christianity left behind
• Muslim invaders allowed them to
keep religion – tolerance
• Met resistance in Kush/Nubia –
couldn’t push Islam further south
WEST AFRICAN
SALT-GOLD
KINGDOMS
• GHANA
• MALI
• SONGHAI
Kingdoms of the
Sahel
Ghana, Mali, Songhay
• Power over subordinate
communities
• Collect taxes, tribute, military
support
• Rulers separated from commoners
through ritual – think “mandate of
heaven”
• The Niger is one of the great
rivers of Africa, stretching over
2,500 miles (4,000 km) in a great
arc that extends northward from
Guinea to Mali before turning
back toward the south and
making its way to empty into
the Gulf of Guinea.
• Makes the region
inhabitable
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• All 3 kingdoms
controlled some
aspects of the famous
Salt for Gold trade of Western
Africa around the northern peak of
the Niger River
• Economy: Gold/Salt trade &
agricultural production
• Caravans traded southern
GOLD for Sahara’s SALT
with Muslims traders
Blind Salt  Gold
Trade
•How did it work?
•How did the trade
benefit the Empires?
GHANA
• Gov’t based on
Kings called
“Ghanas”
• Capital at
Koumbi
Ghana culture
Culture
• Practiced tradition religions
• Muslim traders introduced Islam to
kingdom
• Cavalry & iron weapons enable
Ghana to dominate neighbors
• Great wealth of the king and formal
ceremony sets him apart
•"The King adorns
himself like a woman
wearing gold necklaces
round his neck and
bracelets on his
forearms and he puts on
a high cap decorated with
gold and wrapped in a
turban of fine cotton.”
•“He holds an audience in a
domed pavilion around
which stand ten horses
covered with goldembroidered materials
…and on his right, are the
sons of the vassal kings of
his country, wearing
splendid garments and
their hair plaited with gold.”
•At the door of the pavilion
are dogs of excellent
pedigree. Round their necks
they wear collars of gold
and silver, studded with a
number of balls of the same
metals."
• 10th century geographer Al-Bakri, quoted in
Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West
African History
Mali
• Mali means
“where the KING
resides””
• SUNDIATA: Early king - oral
tradition tells his story
• overcame great obstacles to oust an
“evil” king... (ca. 1235)
• Beginning of the Empire of Mali
• MANSA MUSA: Greatest King of
Mali - Hajj to Mecca; Introduced
Islamic culture to Mali
Mansa Musa’s haj
“put Mali on the Map”
Mansa Musa
Mali Culture
• Rulers became Muslim
• prosperous kingdom
• Timbuktu became center
of learning (university)
&Islamic cultural center contained Muslim
art, mosques
• Evidence of trip to
the Americas?
500 yr old manuscript from Timbuktu
SONGHAI
• SUNNI ALI: conquered cities of
Mali
• expanded empire to include
most of W. African savanna• Songhai controlled both ends of
the Salt-Gold Trade
• ASKIA MUHAMMAD: Empire
reached height - golden age of the
western Sudan
• Skilled traders, fishers, & farmers
• Went on hajj to Mecca
• Divided Songhai into 5 provinces,
each with gov’t, tax collector,
court & trade inspector
• Introduced laws based
on teaching of the Koran
• warships patrolled
Niger
The African Slave Trade
emerges
• “Here there
is a certain place
where slaves are sold,
especially on those days when
the merchants are assembled.
And a young slave of fifteen
years of age is sold for six
ducats, and children are also
sold. The king of this region
has a certain private palace
where he maintains a great
number of concubines and
slaves."
Leo Africanus, Moroccan writer/traveller
Weakening of Songhai
• Moroccan kingdom to the north
launched continuous attacks
• Moroccans wanted to control the
gold source
• destroyed the Empire
• economic decline
• internal fragmentation
The Empire of Mali
• Sundiata, the “Lion Prince”
• Rulers supported Islam –
encouraged obedience to ruler
• built mosques, attended public
prayers, supported preachers
• Created peace through loyalty,
severely punished crimes
• Mansa Musa…
The Songhay Kingdom
• “masters of the soil”; “masters of the
waters”
• 1370, Songhay broke from Mali – gold
trade
• Sunni Ali – ruthless, tactical commander
• Expanded borders, created administration
• Mid-16th century Songhay dominated
• Disrupted by Moroccan invaders
• created unique brand of Islam pagan/Muslim beliefs both believed
KILWA
• Located on East African Coast
• Independent City-State - not part
of kingdom
• Monopolized (controlled) gold
trade with interior
• Model drawing of Palace of Kilwa
- Palace was destroyed by the
Portuguese in early 16th century
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Swahili Culture:
Islamic & African culture blended
Swahili language
Beautiful
mosques
Hail Mary in Swahili
• Ruins of the
Great
Mosque at
Kilwa
Culture of the Grasslands
• Large states represented goals of
elite family/group
• leaders took names emir/caliph to
reinforce authority
• as advisors/scribes – Muslims helped
with administration
• maintained theocracy – spiritual and
political leader
Culture
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Many African societies matrilineal
Conflicted with Islam (patrilineal)
woman mixed freely in public, no veil
Slavery always existed, Muslims
saw slavery as process in conversion
Used slaves as servants, laborers,
soldiers, administrators, eunuchs,
concubines
• Led to desire to enslave women and
children; children of slave mothers
freed
Global Connections
• -more written records in Sudanic
states and Swahili coast – Islam
• Synthesis of African/Islamic values
changed some Africans lives
• Portuguese arrived in 15th century
• Muslims and Portuguese intensified
trade of ivory, slaves and gold
Islam comes to India
• How different from previous invaders ?
• Why the difference?
• How and why spread of Islam different
here than in Africa?
• Raiza Sultan?
• Impact of Tamerlane?
• 1500’s – establishment of the Mughal
Empire.