Spread of Islam to Spread of Islam to Africa and AsiaAfrica and Asia

What is “What is “Dar al-IslamDar 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 1200-1400African 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: African Societies: Diversities Diversities and Similaritiesand 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 African Societies: Diversities and Similaritiesand Similarities

• 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

African SocietiesAfrican Societies: Diversities and : Diversities and SimilaritiesSimilarities

• 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 IslamSpread 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 IslamSpread of IslamThe 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 Kingdoms of the SahelSahelGhana, 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 •

• All 3 kingdoms controlled some aspects of the famous

Salt for GoldSalt for Gold trade of Western Africa around the northern peak of the Niger River

•Economy: Gold/Salt trade & agricultural production

• Caravans traded southern GOLDGOLD 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 gold-embroidered 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 means “where the KING resides””

Mali

•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 Mansa Musa’s haj “put Mali on the Map“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 MaliThe 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 KingdomThe 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

•Swahili Culture: • Islamic & African culture blended

• Swahili language

• Beautiful mosques

Hail Mary in Swahili

• Ruins of the Great Mosque at Kilwa

Culture of the GrasslandsCulture 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

CultureCulture• 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 ConnectionsGlobal 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.