Transcript Africa and the Spread of Islam

Africa and the Spread of Islam
Societies – while some African
societies were organized in the traditional
hierarchy of officials – but others were
loosely linked through connections of
families or religion.
 Common Elements in African Societies:
 Stateless
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Bantu language based
Animism
Ancestor worship
North Africa
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Classical Antiquity
Cultural Diffusion through
invasion
IFRIQIYA – Roman term
for Africa – controlled by
the Muslims
MAGHRIB – Arabic term
for western Africa
“sunset”
Many of the native North
Africans disliked Arab
domination – BERBERS
– organized their own
cities in the west
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1000s - ALMORAVIDS –
a Berber dynasty that led
a holy war or JIHAD to
spread Islam into north
Africa and into Spain
1130 C.E. – the
ALMOHADIS followed the
same pattern into north
Africa and Spain
Kush
 In
the upper Nile was the kingdom of
Nubia which provided ancient Egypt gold,
ostrich feathers, and other riches. Nubia
was at times under Egyptian control and
sometimes independent.
 In the 800s B.C.E., the Nubians organized
their land into the kingdom of KUSH.
Influenced by Egyptian culture, the
kingdom of Kush prospered for centuries.
Axsum
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About 330 C.E./A.D., Kush was conquered by its
southeastern neighbor – the kingdom of
AXSUM.
 The people of Axsum were some of the earliest
Christians. They were a trading people –
providing the world with African luxuries.
 The trading importance of the Axsum was taken
over by the Arabs in the 700s A.D./C.E. – but the
kingdom and culture remain today – known as
ETHIOPIA.
Ethiopia
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Christianity was the first
universalist religion to take root
in north east Africa – Egypt
and Ethiopia
Ethiopian king Lalibela Ethiopian Christianity grew in
isolation from Orthodox or
Roman Christianity –
influenced by Judaism and
pagan neighbors
Geez – language of Axum for
religious speech
Amharis – secular speech
Isolation and Independence of
Ethiopia
Grasslands
Sahel – grass lands that spread across the
southern edges of the Sahara
 Merchants and caravans carried Islam and
Arabic culture
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Sudanic States
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Ghana
About 300 A.D./C.E., the
kingdom of GHANA was
one of the most important
regions of west Africa.
Ghana was known for its
gold and its high levels of
political organization.
1235 A.D./C.E.- the
kingdom of Ghana was
transformed into the MALI
EMPIRE
 Islam
and indigenous ideas of kingship
 Many of the African rulers adopted Islam
and used the religion as a royal cult.
Initially, the populace did not convert in
large numbers.
 The kingdoms of Mali and Songhay rose
as fusions of Islamic and indigenous
African cultures.
Mali
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Mali
 Malinke – name of the
people
 Juula – Malinke
merchants
 Sundiata – Malinke ruler
who led Mali to great
victories – the “Lion
Prince”
 Griots – oral historians
who spread the story of
Sundiata
 Mansa – Mali term for
emperor
Mansa Musa
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In the early 1300s, the Mali
emperor MANSA MUSA
converted to Islam. In 1324,
Mansa Musa traveled on
pilgrimage to Mecca. To
impress the world with the
riches of Mali, he traveled with
80,000 attendants carrying
gold bars and bags of gold
dust. Unfortunately for the
Middle East, that huge influx of
gold dropped gold prices and
ruined the economy.
Jenne
Timbuktu
Songhay
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After years of internal power
struggles – the Mali Empire was
taken over by the kingdom of
SONGHAY.
 The Songhay Empire was the
central of trade in Africa. Traders
from Europe, India, and China
traded in its capital of TIMBUKTU.
Timbuktu was also a center of
learning with an important
university.
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“masters of the soil”
“masters of the waters”
Sunni Ali – leader who forged the
Songhay empire – seized
Timbuktu and the Niger valley
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Muhammad the Great –
extended Songhay to
dominate central Sudan
In Songhay – Islam blended
with African culture – men and
women mingling in the streets
often shocked Muslim clerics
from outside the empire
1591 – Moroccan Muslim army
defeated Songhay forces and
led to the breakup of the
empire
Hausa – people of northern
Nigeria also combined Muslim
and pagan traditions
Swahili Coast of East Africa
Zenj – Arab term for east African coast
 Ibn Batuta – Moroccan Berber scholar and
explorer 1304-1368
 Indian-Chinese-African trade
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Bantu
 Swahili – Arabic influence – “coastal”
Nok
Yoruba - Oyo
Benin City – now part of Nigeria
Great Zimbabwe 11th-14th centuries