Early AFrican Societies
Sudanic Kingdoms
States emerged in West Africa with the arrival of the domesticated camel in third century CE. With the camel as a beast of burden and war, lucrative trade developed across the Sahara Desert. Salt and manufactured goods were transported south and gold, kola nuts, and forest products were transported north. Merchants meet in the Sahel region just south of the Sahara Desert. This region was inhabited by the Soninke, and agricultural people ruled by a warrior chief called the ghana. The ghana grew wealthy and powerful by taxing this trade and by the 700s the ghana was a king and his title was used to describe the entire region. The Kingdom of Ghana, as it was now known, developed an extensive bureaucracy that allowed it to tightly regulate the highly lucrative salt and gold trade. This control, allowed the kings of Ghana to acquire vast wealth which they used to develop the military power necessary to become an empire in the 800s. Trade brought Islam to the region which spread slowly eventually leading to the conversion of the king in the eleventh century. In 1076 Almoravids from North Africa conquered Ghana and severally disrupted the salt and gold trade. The Kingdom of Ghana was unable to recover despite the withdrawal of the Almoravids.
With Ghana’s power severally reduced a new group of people emerged to dominate the region, the Malinke. New gold mines opened to the east, out of the reach of Ghana but easily accessible to the Malinke. The ruler of the Malinke, Sundiata, used this new found wealth to build an empire to replace Ghana. After a series of military victories, Sundiata established the Empire of Mali in around 1235. This empire was much larger than its predecessor and much more Islamic in character. Sundiata established his capital at Niani; from here he directed a highly effective bureaucracy that instituted successful reforms that promoted agriculture and the reestablishment of the salt and gold trade. The empire generally prospered for the rest of Sundiata’s reign but after his death in 1255 it slipped into a 50 year period of turmoil. Order was restored in 1312 when Mansa Musa took power. A highly effective administrator and military leader, Mansa Musa substantially increased the size of the empire. To administer this enlarged empire, Mansa Musa divided it into provinces with appointed governors. Mansa Musa also created important links between his empire the larger Muslim world. In 1324, Mansa Musa took a pilgrimage to Mecca. While traveling, he recruited Islamic scholars to return with him to Mali. With the help of these scholars and the vast wealth from the salt and gold trade, Mansa Musa transformed the city of Timbuktu into a center of Islamic scholarship. After Mansa Musa, Mali had a series of weak and ineffective leaders leading to its decline. In 1433 the city of Timbuktu was sacked by Tuareg invaders and by 1500 the Malinke controlled only their homeland.
The Songhai people stepped into the power vacuum left by the decline of Mali. Like Ghana and Mali, the Songhai used the wealth from the salt and gold trade to build a vast Islamic empire in 1464. This wealth paid for a highly effective professional military equipped with cavalry and freshwater naval units. The Songhai Empire surpassed Mali in size. To administer this territory the emperor established a highly centralized bureaucracy with ministries of the treasury, army, navy and agriculture. Technological advances made in the heart of the Islamic world proved to be Songhai’s undoing. Gunpowder diffused across the Silk Road and Muslim armies in the Middle East weaponized it. In 1591 a Moroccan army equipped with cannon and muskets invaded and defeated Songhai.
African Trade Networks
Trade between the Mediterranean and sub-Saharan Africa was quite limited until the camel came into regular use in the third century CE. As a beast of burden, the camel was and continues to be ideal for merchants in the Sahara. Able to travel up to 60 miles a day with 500 lbs. of cargo, a camel can go up to ten days without water. North African Berbers improved upon earlier advances by the Arabs to develop highly effective war saddles for camels. These technological developments made regular caravans safe and profitable in the Sahara Desert. This regular exchange of goods led to the slow diffusion of Islam into the region.
Trans-Saharan Trade
Trade across the Sahara had three basic production and consumption centers. The forest regions between the Niger and Senegal Rivers exported gold, slaves, kola nuts and palm oil to the north. In return they purchased salt which was essential for life in the tropic climate. This salt was mined in the Sahara near Taghaza. Metal ware, pottery and glass manufactured along the Mediterranean coast was purchased with gold from the Niger River region and flowed south to the communities in and below the desert. Much of this exchange was handled by middlemen in the Sahel region which led to the growth of major trading cities like Timbuktu.
Swahili Trade Cities
The east coast of Africa was also an import area for international trade. Highly predictable seasonal monsoon winds combined with the maritime technology of the dhow (a lateen-rigged ship with one or two masts, used in the Indian Ocean) and lateen sail developed by Arabs made open ocean navigation safe and profitable. Arab merchants of the Indian Ocean maritime system visited ports in Mogadishu, Mombasa, and Zanzibar among others. While visiting East African ports, merchants purchased ivory, gold, ebony, slaves, and exotic animal products and sold silk, cotton cloth, porcelain, metal ware, glass, and spices. Because the merchants of the Indian Ocean depended on seasonal winds, they generally spent several months in each port of call. These extended stays led many merchants to marry local women creating a unique culture in the region that blends West African and Arab customs. The Swahili language is an excellent example of this as it is a blend indigenous Bantu languages and Arabic.
African Beliefs
Most indigenous religious systems in sub-Saharan Africa focused on animism, the belief that divine forces resided in the elements of the natural world including the flora, fauna and natural geography. Many believed that shamans or witches could harness these powers for good and evil. As Islam spread to North, West and the Swahili Coast of East Africa and Christianity spread to Ethiopia and Egypt these traditions were sometimes replaced and sometimes blended with the new faith systems. While these new faith systems brought major changes to much of Africa like the introduction of written language, the establishment of new educational systems like the madras and monastery, and new moral codes like Sharia law, many native traditions endured. In West and East Africa the belief in and practice of magic continued despite the objection of orthodox Muslims. This is evident in the Malinke epic Sundiata in which Sundiata and his adversary use magic in battle despite both being Muslim. These regions also saw the modification of many Muslim traditions to better suit native customs. For example, Islamic traditions related to the seclusion and veiling of women did not take hold in West Africa despite their conversion to Islam. The traditional customs that allowed women to move freely in public endured well after the region’s conversion. Adaption also occurred as Christianity spread to Egypt and Ethiopia. The Egyptian Coptic Christian belief in the spiritual significance of the Nile is an excellent example.
States emerged in West Africa with the arrival of the domesticated camel in third century CE. With the camel as a beast of burden and war, lucrative trade developed across the Sahara Desert. Salt and manufactured goods were transported south and gold, kola nuts, and forest products were transported north. Merchants meet in the Sahel region just south of the Sahara Desert. This region was inhabited by the Soninke, and agricultural people ruled by a warrior chief called the ghana. The ghana grew wealthy and powerful by taxing this trade and by the 700s the ghana was a king and his title was used to describe the entire region. The Kingdom of Ghana, as it was now known, developed an extensive bureaucracy that allowed it to tightly regulate the highly lucrative salt and gold trade. This control, allowed the kings of Ghana to acquire vast wealth which they used to develop the military power necessary to become an empire in the 800s. Trade brought Islam to the region which spread slowly eventually leading to the conversion of the king in the eleventh century. In 1076 Almoravids from North Africa conquered Ghana and severally disrupted the salt and gold trade. The Kingdom of Ghana was unable to recover despite the withdrawal of the Almoravids.
With Ghana’s power severally reduced a new group of people emerged to dominate the region, the Malinke. New gold mines opened to the east, out of the reach of Ghana but easily accessible to the Malinke. The ruler of the Malinke, Sundiata, used this new found wealth to build an empire to replace Ghana. After a series of military victories, Sundiata established the Empire of Mali in around 1235. This empire was much larger than its predecessor and much more Islamic in character. Sundiata established his capital at Niani; from here he directed a highly effective bureaucracy that instituted successful reforms that promoted agriculture and the reestablishment of the salt and gold trade. The empire generally prospered for the rest of Sundiata’s reign but after his death in 1255 it slipped into a 50 year period of turmoil. Order was restored in 1312 when Mansa Musa took power. A highly effective administrator and military leader, Mansa Musa substantially increased the size of the empire. To administer this enlarged empire, Mansa Musa divided it into provinces with appointed governors. Mansa Musa also created important links between his empire the larger Muslim world. In 1324, Mansa Musa took a pilgrimage to Mecca. While traveling, he recruited Islamic scholars to return with him to Mali. With the help of these scholars and the vast wealth from the salt and gold trade, Mansa Musa transformed the city of Timbuktu into a center of Islamic scholarship. After Mansa Musa, Mali had a series of weak and ineffective leaders leading to its decline. In 1433 the city of Timbuktu was sacked by Tuareg invaders and by 1500 the Malinke controlled only their homeland.
The Songhai people stepped into the power vacuum left by the decline of Mali. Like Ghana and Mali, the Songhai used the wealth from the salt and gold trade to build a vast Islamic empire in 1464. This wealth paid for a highly effective professional military equipped with cavalry and freshwater naval units. The Songhai Empire surpassed Mali in size. To administer this territory the emperor established a highly centralized bureaucracy with ministries of the treasury, army, navy and agriculture. Technological advances made in the heart of the Islamic world proved to be Songhai’s undoing. Gunpowder diffused across the Silk Road and Muslim armies in the Middle East weaponized it. In 1591 a Moroccan army equipped with cannon and muskets invaded and defeated Songhai.
African Trade Networks
Trade between the Mediterranean and sub-Saharan Africa was quite limited until the camel came into regular use in the third century CE. As a beast of burden, the camel was and continues to be ideal for merchants in the Sahara. Able to travel up to 60 miles a day with 500 lbs. of cargo, a camel can go up to ten days without water. North African Berbers improved upon earlier advances by the Arabs to develop highly effective war saddles for camels. These technological developments made regular caravans safe and profitable in the Sahara Desert. This regular exchange of goods led to the slow diffusion of Islam into the region.
Trans-Saharan Trade
Trade across the Sahara had three basic production and consumption centers. The forest regions between the Niger and Senegal Rivers exported gold, slaves, kola nuts and palm oil to the north. In return they purchased salt which was essential for life in the tropic climate. This salt was mined in the Sahara near Taghaza. Metal ware, pottery and glass manufactured along the Mediterranean coast was purchased with gold from the Niger River region and flowed south to the communities in and below the desert. Much of this exchange was handled by middlemen in the Sahel region which led to the growth of major trading cities like Timbuktu.
Swahili Trade Cities
The east coast of Africa was also an import area for international trade. Highly predictable seasonal monsoon winds combined with the maritime technology of the dhow (a lateen-rigged ship with one or two masts, used in the Indian Ocean) and lateen sail developed by Arabs made open ocean navigation safe and profitable. Arab merchants of the Indian Ocean maritime system visited ports in Mogadishu, Mombasa, and Zanzibar among others. While visiting East African ports, merchants purchased ivory, gold, ebony, slaves, and exotic animal products and sold silk, cotton cloth, porcelain, metal ware, glass, and spices. Because the merchants of the Indian Ocean depended on seasonal winds, they generally spent several months in each port of call. These extended stays led many merchants to marry local women creating a unique culture in the region that blends West African and Arab customs. The Swahili language is an excellent example of this as it is a blend indigenous Bantu languages and Arabic.
African Beliefs
Most indigenous religious systems in sub-Saharan Africa focused on animism, the belief that divine forces resided in the elements of the natural world including the flora, fauna and natural geography. Many believed that shamans or witches could harness these powers for good and evil. As Islam spread to North, West and the Swahili Coast of East Africa and Christianity spread to Ethiopia and Egypt these traditions were sometimes replaced and sometimes blended with the new faith systems. While these new faith systems brought major changes to much of Africa like the introduction of written language, the establishment of new educational systems like the madras and monastery, and new moral codes like Sharia law, many native traditions endured. In West and East Africa the belief in and practice of magic continued despite the objection of orthodox Muslims. This is evident in the Malinke epic Sundiata in which Sundiata and his adversary use magic in battle despite both being Muslim. These regions also saw the modification of many Muslim traditions to better suit native customs. For example, Islamic traditions related to the seclusion and veiling of women did not take hold in West Africa despite their conversion to Islam. The traditional customs that allowed women to move freely in public endured well after the region’s conversion. Adaption also occurred as Christianity spread to Egypt and Ethiopia. The Egyptian Coptic Christian belief in the spiritual significance of the Nile is an excellent example.