Africa and the Arrival of Islam

Mr. Fenlon

AP World History

NHSS

African states 600-1450

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

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

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

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

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

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 Musa’s hajj in the

14th century became legendary

Mansa Musa’s Pilgrimage

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

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

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

Djenne & Timbuktu

• Timbuktu was famous for its library and university

Madrasa Sankore in Timbuktu

• Djenne was famous for The Great Mosque• Largest adobe building

in the world

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

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 Benin’s artwork