The Spread of Islam

Islamic States in Sub-Saharan Africa and India

Spread of Islam

• In the centuries after its birth, Islam spread quickly– Refer back to chapter 8 on Islam for refresher

• Trade and peaceful interaction helped to spread Islamic faith to Sub-Saharan Africa – Regional states in Africa thrived on Trans-

Saharan trade and adopted Islam

• Although less peaceful, Islam also spread to India

African Societies

• Huge Continent (See Overhead map of Africa)

– Sparsely populated relative to size– Unification of culture difficult due to geography– Regions develop at different rates

• Some develop large, complex societies while others remain foragers

• Much of the continent lies in the Tropics– Near equator (b/t Tropic of Capricorn and Tropic

of Cancer)– Diverse climates due to wind patterns, altitude,

and landforms

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Tropics

African Societies

• Although there is a great degree of diversity among the cultures of Africa, some commonalities can be observed– Language: Bantu Migrations (ch. 7) provide lang. base

for many African groups• Each with local variation, but similar structure

– Religion: animistic, belief in witchcraft and evil spirits, veneration of ancestors

– Govt: Stateless societies common• Governed by council from the community

• As time passed, external pressures from other groups created a need for larger, organized states– Trade major motivator

• Trans-Saharan trade conducted by Muslims

Islam Beyond the Sahara

• By 700, Islam dominated North Africa– Trade along caravan routes across the

Sahara encouraged the spread of Islam further south

• Regional Kingdoms emerged to take advantage of the trade– Ghana, Mali, Songhay– Served as “middle men” between the

Muslims and the African communities further south and in the interior

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Ghana

• Founded in W. Africa during 3rd Century– Dev. Of gold and salt-

based economy• At height of power in

900’s• Evetually, Ghana

converts to Islam• Went into decline in

1200’s– Vulnerable to attack

from those seeking wealth

• Other states rose up to take Ghana’s place– Refer to Chapter 7 for

more on Ghana

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Mali

• Founded by Muslims who broke from Ghana– Build economy based upon trade and ag.– Mali assumes power position after decline

of Ghana• Creates much larger state

• See map on page 331 for size and location of Mali

Mali

– Emphasis on trade• Harsh penalties for those who disrupt trade

routes

– Highly organized society• Each clan assigned specific occupations for

efficiency

– Gold and copper make Mali a very wealthy kingdom

Mali

• Mansa Musa (1312-1337)– Famous ruler, made pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324

• Opportunity to show Mali’s wealth to the rest of the world

– Floods markets with so much gold, its value declines

– Returns from Pilgrimage with Muslims architects and scholars

• Timbuktu became a center for Islamic learning and art

– Mosques– Construct Quranic schools to study Islam

Mali

• Mali began to disintegrate after 2 centuries– Lack of strong leadership in latter rulers– Rebellions by conquered peoples– Attacks from those seeking wealth

• As was the case with Ghana, Mali will then be replaced by another kingdom

Songhay

• Farmers, herders, and fishers in the Niger Valley began to organize a state in 7th century– 1010: est. capital at Gao

• Ruled by Muslims, but much of the populace retains tribal religion

– Attempts at instituting Shar’ia difficult b/c many people in empire were still non-Mulsim

• Gao grew into a wealthy city as a result of gold

• Sunni Ali forged the Songhay Empire in the 1400’s– Empire continues to expand into the mid-1500’s

Swahili Coast of East Africa

• Islam also thrived on Africa’s east coast– Swahili Coast

• Trading centers where Muslims engaged in trade along Indian Ocean

• Diverse peoples on the Swahili Coast– Bantu and Swahili-speaking peoples governed by

Muslim elites– Swahili most common language

• Major cities emerge on coast • Location made travel on monsoon winds easy• access to gold from Great Zimbabwe, a powerful

state in Southern Africa near the Zambezi River

Slave Trade

• Although the spread of Islam brought wealth to Africa, it also led to an increase in the slave trade

• Slavery had existed in pre-Islamic Africa, but Muslim rule led to a drastic increase in the trade– Estimates of up to 4.8 million slaves transported

along Muslim Caravans from Africa– Slaves fulfilled many tasks from household labor to

serving as concubines in harems• Slavery was usually not hereditary, leading to a

constant demand for more slaves

New Delhi Sultanate

• After fall of the Gupta, India fragmented into regional kingdoms– Invaders took advantage of lack of

political unity– Set up government in Delhi

• Recognized by the Muslim Caliph

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Delhi Sultanate

• Sultans in India often ruled with brutality– Maintained rule through fear

• Violent raids, looting, forcing Indian women into harems

– Instituted high taxes

• Min-14th Century, Sultanate in decline and new states rose up

Impact of Islam in India

• Introduction of papermaking in India• Urdu: new language

– Combination of Persian and Hindi written in Arabic characters

• Islam became second most popular religion in India– Buddhism largely pushed out

• Muslims burn Buddhist manuscripts and terrorize monks

• Patriarchy still firmly in place, but evidence suggests that the condition of women saw some improvement– “Sati”- widows burning themselves on their

husband’s funeral pyre became less common