1. Chapter 8 African Civilization and the Spread of Islam

2. African Geography
Africa’s enormous size is shaped by numerous geographic features, but perhaps none is as instrumental as the Sahara desert, the world’s largest.
Regions in the northern part of the continent shared similar language, religious ideals, and political systems.
Below the Sahara, a region known as sub-Saharan Africa, the diversity was enormous. Dense forests, torrid rivers, and mountainous terrain kept the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa very divided.

3. The result of African geography = Division

4. Stateless Societies (#1)
Much of Africa was governed by what historians call stateless societies.
Instead of a central ruler, stateless societies were organized around kinship groups and lacked the concentration of political power we normally see associated with the state.
Instead, authority and power within this form of government was held by a council of family elders or by the community.
There was no need to tax the population since the taxes did not have to support rulers, bureaucrats, armies, or nobles.

5. Disadvantages of Stateless Societies (#2)
These societies found it hard to stand up to outside pressures because they lacked unity and organization.
Mobilization for war was difficult.
Large scale building projects and long distance trade were also hard to establish.

6. Bantu Migrations
Though there was tremendous diversity between the different tribes of sub-Saharan Africa, there were some basic similarities in language, religion, and trade.
Many tribes of this region were largely influenced by Bantu migrations. The Bantu were a large people group from west Africa who migrated throughout sub-Saharan over the course of several centuries, spreading their language and technology.

7. Bantu Migrations
Though the real reason for their migration is unknown, it is believed that migrations escalated either due to climate change (desertification) or increased population through the introduction of new crops like the banana from Southeast Asia.
Along with the introduction of certain crops like bananas, yams, and millet, the Bantus also spread metallurgy to help improve farming and massive population increases in the first centuries A.D.

8. North Africa vs. sub-Saharan Africa (#3)
North African Economy
Sub-Saharan Economy
North African economy was fully involved in the Mediterranean and Arab trading zones.
As a result, it was more advanced, profitable, and more diverse.
Sub-Saharan trade differed from region to region.
Agricultural products and iron tools or weapons dominated trade in this area.
There were some cases of international trade between the eastern coast of Africa (Swahili coast) and the Arab trading regions of the Indian Ocean.

9. Ethiopia – caught between two worlds (#4)
Ethiopia was the most important Christian outpost in Africa.
It was cut off from the rest of Christendom by an Islamic Egypt, the Red Sea to the east, and its surrounding polytheistic neighbors.
Under the constant threat of attack, the kingdom turned inwards and built massive fortifications to protect themselves from conquest.

10. “Coasts” of Contact Atlantic Coast, Contact with Europeans
Indian Coast, Muslim and Indian Merchants
Savanna region

11. The “Sahel” (#5)
The sahel was the extensive grassland that ran along the southern border of the Sahara.
Ideally situated between the forests of central Africa and developed economies of north Africa, it served as an intermediary zone between the two, and therefore, grew quite wealthy.

12. Major Cities of the Sahel
Timbuktu, Jenne, and Gao
West African Port Cities

13. Salt and Gold (#6)
The two most important commodities in this region were salt and gold.
Salt was found in abundance throughout the Sahara and gold was plentiful in the forested regions of west Africa.
These two commodities were highly taxed as they passed through the grassland kingdoms of the Sahel.
The two products would remain staples of the economies for years to come and would contribute to an ever increasing Trans-Saharan trade network.

14. Trans-Saharan trade

15. Nature’s true nomad…the camel
The camel’s ability to travel long distances made them perfect for trade along these arid routes.
Because they live in the deserts, they have few predators and essentially all the resources to themselves.
They are omnivores and will eat most anything.
They can carry huge amounts of cargo vast distances and are easily domesticated.

16. Conquest States
Most of the empires in this region of west Africa were considered conquest states.
Conquest states ruled from the cities in the region and controlled territories that surrounded them and took taxes, tribute, and military support from them. (#7)
The three Sudanic states from the chapter are Ghana, Mali, and Songhay (#8)
The Arab traders referred to this region south of the Sahara as the Sudan, roughly translated as “land of the blacks”.

17. Religion and Rule (#9)
Rulers readily adopted Islam in Africa because it not only reinforced their political power, but also gave them religious authority as well.
Rulers built mosques, attended public prayer services and supported preachers financially. In return, sermons were delivered to the faithful emphasizing obedience to and support of the king. (#9)

18. Griots (#10)
One of the features of west African society prior to the introduction of Islam was a tradition of oral history.
Most west African peoples did not have writing systems, so their history was preserved through elaborate stories and songs.
Griots were professional oral historians who passed down the history of their people or region.
They preserved the traditions of the societies and also served as advisors to the king.

19. Sundiata (Mansa of the Malinke peoples)
Much of Mali’s rise to power and expansion is attributed to Sundiata. His accomplishments for his people were many, including:
He “divided up the world”, or provided the social arrangements by classifying people due to their occupations. (#11)
He created political institutions within his empire that allowed for regional diversity in rule, but also stationed garrisons in the provinces to maintain loyalty and security. (#11) Read Ibn Batuta’s quote on p.179
Firmly protected trade and commerce routes by severely punishing those who stole from or raided these routes. (#11)

20. Story of Sundiata’s rise
The stories of Sundiata’s rise to power is one passed down by griots and therefore a bit of fact and fiction mixed together. Nonetheless, here we go:
He was son of the ruler of the Madinka peoples in west Africa. His early life was difficult because he was born crippled with the inability to walk.
He and his mother were ridiculed endlessly by the other wives and sons of the king because of his crippled state. Sundiata developed a fierce determination to walk.
After he grew in strength and defeated his handicap, he became a brave and able warrior. But when his father died, one of his step- brothers turned against him and drove he and his mother into exile.
Taken in by a neighboring tribe because of his skill in battle, he steadily gains support until he returns home to overthrow an evil king that had taken his homeland.
Thus, Sundiata is seen as not only savior of his people, but founder of the Mali Empire.
DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR??

21. SUNDIATA….THE LION KING

22. Mansa Musa…the world’s richest man! (#12)
Sundiata’s grandnephew, Mansa Musa is probably the most famous king of Mali for his pilgrimage to Mecca.
Being a devout Muslim, he made this trip in 1324.
The caravan that accompanied him consisted of thousands of camels, slaves, soldiers, bureaucrats, griots, and ENORMOUS WEALTH.
News of this voyage made its way throughout Europe, and an obsession with west African wealth set in.

23. Ibn Batuta, World Traveler
Considered one of the greatest travelers of all time, Ibn Batuta criss-crossed the Islamic world during the 14th century.
Along the way, he recorded social and cultural customs of all of the lands into which he traveled.
His writings are highly revered as accurate, detailed, and unbiased

24. Farming in west Africa (#13)
While trade was an enormous part of the economy, farming was a challenge.
80% of the population in west Africa were farmers.
The soils were sandy and shallow. They grew rice, millet, wheat, fruits (bananas), and vegetables (yams).
Clearing of the land was done communally, but families owned the individual plots of land and farmed them.
It was beneficial to have large families to help with work, therefore polygamy developed to meet this need.

25. Women in west Africa (#14)
Women in west African societies had always been a part of the labor force and important within the family.
Though many women throughout the Islamic world had begun to lose their opportunities, this was not the case in west Africa.
Most west African societies were matrilineal and women were not expected to wear the veil or be confined to the home.

26. Islam’s impact on Slavery (#15)
Though slavery had been a very real part of African history before the introduction of Islam, it increased significantly upon the religion’s arrival.
Slaves were used for domestic service, laboring, soldiers, administrators, eunuchs, and concubines.
Read p. 182, last three paragraphs

27. The Eastern Coast of Africa (Zenj)
All along the eastern coast of Africa, major trading cities had existed long before the rise of Islam.
These cities were composed of both Bantu based language groups and Arab speaking peoples.
The combination of these two languages, Bantu and Arabic, created a new language still dominant in the region today, Swahili. (#16)
This area comes to be known as the Swahili coast. Cities here traded actively with regions in the Middle East, India, and China. (#17)