The document discusses the spread of Islam in sub-Saharan Africa. It begins by providing demographic information about the global Muslim population, noting that approximately 20% live in sub-Saharan Africa. It then discusses the two main branches of Islam - Sunni and Shiite - and provides a brief overview of the early civilizations and influence of Islam in different regions of Africa, including West Africa along trade routes, and East Africa along coastal trading cities. Key empires discussed include Ghana, Mali, and Songhai in West Africa, which benefited from the trans-Saharan gold-salt trade. The document notes that while rulers often converted to Islam, most common people retained their traditional religious beliefs. Islam introduced new cultural and political

1. Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa
Lecture # 7
*
Islam Today: DemographicsThere are an estimated 1.2 billion
Muslims worldwideApproximately 1/5th of the world's
population Growth without missionary effortsWhere Do
Muslims Live?Only 18% of Muslims live in the Arab world 20%
are found in Sub-Saharan Africa 30% in the South Asian region
of Pakistan, India and BangladeshThe world's largest single
Muslim community is in Indonesia The Top 9: 1) Indonesia, 2)
Pakistan, 3) Bangladesh, 4) India, 5) Turkey, 6) Iran, 7) Egypt,
8) Nigeria, and 9) China
Two Main Braches of IslamThere are two main branches of
Islam today
Sunni recognize the male heirs of the first 4 elected (according
to Muhammad's instruction) caliphs (or spiritual heads) after
Muhammad’s death
Shiite recognize the decedents of only the 4th caliphs—Ali (M’s
son-in-law & cousin), the only true descendent of Muhammad

2. In all other ways Sunni and Shiite are very similar
African Civilizations
and the Spread of Islam
What is the geography of Africa?
How might this geography impact Africans?
African Regions
Pre-Islamic AfricaExtremely diverse societies
developedPolitical unity was difficult because of terrainBantu:
primary language spokenOral traditions; very few written
recordsMost communities are preliterate (lacking writing
system)Animistic and polytheistic religionsPower of natural
forces; ritual and worshipDancing, drumming, divination, and
sacrificeWitchcraft; cosmologyAncestors are called
uponEconomies vary by regionN. Africa: Islamic trade routes
and Mediterranean tradeSub-Saharan: agriculture; ironworking;
tribes and herdersAfricans exchanged abundant raw materials
(esp. salt) for manufactured goods

3. Geography of Africa
Africa’s geography was very diverse
& Africans were lived differently based on where
they lived
*
Geography of Africa
The Sahara is the world’s largest desert
& acted as a barrier to separate North Africa from sub-Saharan
Africa
Early Societies of Africa
By 750, North Africans were part of the Islamic Empire,
converted to Islam, & shared Arabic culture
Early societies of North Africa were influenced by
Mediterranean cultures such as the Phoenicians & Romans
Early Societies of Africa
African societies south of the Sahara were isolated & missed

4. out on the cultural diffusion of the Classical Era
Influence of Islam in Africa640-700: Muslims moved west from
Arabia across N. Africa to spread IslamRapid conversions by
Berbers (Saharan nomads)Spreads along pre-existing caravan
routesMaghreb: NW Africa (W of Egypt); Islamized11th-12th
centuries: Almoravids and Almohads (ultra-conservative
Muslim Berbers) grow in powerReformers: launch jihad (war to
spread and protect faith) against “lax” MuslimsAlmohads defeat
Almoravids Almohad Caliphate: 1121-1269These groups are
essential to the spread of Islam throughout Africa.Why is Islam
attractive?Egalitarian; reinforced kings’ authority; equal
footing politically/religiously/economically with Arabs
Almoravids
1040-1147
How did early people in Sub-Saharan Africa live?
Characteristics of Sub-Saharan AfricaWhile the societies of
sub-Saharan Africa were diverse, they shared some similarities:
Most societies lived in farming villages in family-based clans
Few societies had
written languages;
Histories were
shared orally by
storytellers (griots)

5. Made iron tools
Characteristics of AfricaSub-Saharan people
were polytheistic:
Practiced animism,
a religion in which
spirits exist
in nature &
play a role
in daily life
“Stateless” SocietiesMany small African communities are
politically organized in this wayThere are authoritarian and
centralized empires, howeverLack concentration of power and
authorityAuthority and power normally exercised by a ruler and
court is held by a council or families or communityNot a
“fulltime job”Weakness of stateless societiesNo organization to
to resist external pressuresNo undertaking of large building
projectsInternal problems could be resolved by allowing
dissidents to leave and establish new villages
The Bantu Migration
Over the course of 4,000 years, Bantu peoples of central Africa

6. migrated south in search of farmland
These Bantu migrations helped spread new farming &
ironworking techniques
What factors shaped the culture of East Africa?
East AfricaThe societies of East African participated
in the Indian Ocean trade network & were shaped by cultural
diffusion:
The kingdom of
Aksum trade with
Persia, India,
Arabia, & Rome;
Aksum became a
Christian kingdom
Axum Church
Swahili Coast of East AfricaIslamized trading ports along coast
by 13th c.Most merchants converted; financial motivationIbn
Battuta: Islamic scholar/writer who visits these cities; refers to
them as Muslim citiesSwahili language (Bantu + Arabic)

7. emerged in urbanized trading portsSyncretism: merging of
different culturesSwahili civilization = set of commercial city-
states stretching along the East African coastKilwa, Mogadishu,
Mombasa: large city-state and trading centers along coastEach
city-state was politically independent with its own kingSharp
class distinctions in each city-state: big gap between the
merchant elite class and the commoners
East AfricaArab merchants introduced Islam to East African
trade cities
The mix of African & Arab cultures led to a new Swahili
language
Towns had mosques & were ruled by a Muslim sultan
But many people kept their traditional religious beliefs
KILWALocated on East African CoastIndependent City-State -
not part of kingdomMonopolized (controlled) gold trade with
interior
Model drawing of Palace of Kilwa - Palace was destroyed by
the Portuguese in early 16th century
Swahili Culture: Islamic & African culture blendedSwahili
languageBeautiful mosques
Hail Mary in Swahili
What factors shaped the culture of West Africa?

8. West African KingdomsGrasslands Kingdoms = West African
Kingdoms= Sudanic States = Ghana, Mali, SonghaiSahel
Grasslands: transition zone between Sahara Desert and
savannahs to the southPoint of exchange between North and
Sub-Saharan Africa; important region of trade once gold is
found
West AfricaWest Africa was were shaped by the trans-Saharan
trade network:
West Africans had large deposits of gold, but lacked salt
The gold-salt trade connected North & West Africa
West AfricaThe gold-salt trade increased cultural diffusion with
Muslim merchants:
Islam was introduced in West Africa & slowed gained converts
Many Africans blended Islam with animism or never converted
West African KingdomsIslam reinforced ideas of kingship and
power: “royal cult”Joining Islam gives rulers prestige and
associates them with other great Muslim leadersMajority of
population never converted; retain their
polytheism/animismRulers were more concerned about political
benefits of Islam than conversionTrade gold and saltMali,
Ghana and SonghaiCombine Islamic religion/culture with local
practicesEach incorporates the previous kingdom; bigger than
lastEach will exert power over subordinate communities through
taxes, tribute, and military support

9. West AfricaThe gold-salt trade led to wealth & empires
in West Africa
By 800, Ghana became an empire by taxing merchants, building
a large army, & conquering surrounding people
Ghana kings served as religious leaders, judges, & generals
Ghana Empire
400? – 10761st great West African empireTrade salt and
gold10th c: rulers convert to Islam while common people
remain loyal to polytheism11th c.: political heightAlmoravid
armies invaded Ghana in 1076
West AfricaThe kings who ruled Mali after Sundiata converted
to IslamThe most important king was Mansa Musa:
He built a 100,000 man army to keep control over Mali
He divided Mali into provinces ruled by appointed governors
Mali Empire
(1230-1600)Broke away from Ghana in 13th c.Economy:
agriculture and gold tradeTraders spread beyond W AfricaVery
wealthy empireIslamized state in 13th c. when rulers
convertMosques built; public prayersFounder: Sundiata (dies
1260)“Lion Prince”Divides society into clans with different
jobsPeace created through loyalty; crimes severely
punishedCredited with Malinke expansion and creation of

10. unified state with each tribe having a representative at court
Heavily defended empire
Mali Empire
(1230-1600)Jenne and TimbuktuMajor cities of commercial
exchangeScholars, artisans, merchantsMosques, libraries,
universitiesMostly agricultural; polygamy allowed because of
Islamic beliefs and for the ability to have children
workIrrigation along Niger River
Mansa Musa
Mansa Musa was a devout Muslim & went on a hajj to Mecca in
1324
Mansa Musa passed out gold nuggets to the people he met along
the way
Mansa Musa: Malinke RulerSecond ruler of Mali1324: Hajj to
MeccaAligns himself with Islamic rulersBrings back scholars,
architects, artistsIshak al-Sahili: architect who builds great
Mosque of JenneInadvertently devastates economies he enters
as he passes out gold and spends itSymbol of existence of
wealthy, sophisticated empires in AfricaEstimated wealth: $400
billion

11. *
West AfricaWhen he returned
from Mecca, Mansa Musa built mosques throughout Mali,
including Timbuktu
This trade city attracted scholars, doctors, religious leaders
It had a university & became an important center for learning
West AfricaWhen he returned
from Mecca, Mansa Musa built mosques throughout Mali,
including Timbuktu
This trade city attracted scholars, doctors, religious leaders
It had a university & became an important center for learning
West AfricaAfter Mansa Musa,
Mali declined & was replaced by Songhai
Kings gained control of trade cities along the gold-salt routes
Songhai grew into
the largest of the West African empires
Its fall in 1591 ended a 1,000 year era of empires in West
Africa
Songhai Empire

12. (1464-1591)Independent from Mali in 1370sProspered as a
trading state and military power.Founded by Sunni Ali (1464-
1492)Great military leader; extended rule over the entire Niger
River valley.Rulers practice Islam; people maintain
polytheismMuslims are merchants (wealthy); become
eliteSonghai remained dominant until defeated by Moroccans in
1591 for practicing a lax form of Islam
Influence of Islam
in West African KingdomsIslam provided universal faith, sense
of community, and a strong political/legal system. Royal Cult:
rulers reinforced authority through Muslim ideology; spiritual
and political leaderMany who are exposed to Islam do not
convert but remain practitioners of their indigenous
religionMany Sudanic societies were matrilineal. Hesitancy
over conversion to Islam since it restricted women more than
these societies didIslam supports interregional tradeSlavery and
slave trade grew in prominence (7 million traded)Slave trade
has existed since Classical period; Islam helps globalize
itMajority of Africa, even after introduction of Islam, will
remain in isolation and not connected to larger networks
C- Islamic Influence
Islam is not an African religion; it was introduced from the
major source region, Arabia. Islam, however, is part of the
Africa's heritage and its social, cultural, and religious fabric.
Islam has existed in Sub-Saharan Africa since at least A.D. 700-
1300. Today, the religion has a major influence on the cultural,
economic, and political systems of regions, especially in the
Sahel and Savanna belts of West Africa and along the coast of

13. East Africa
(Diffusion of Islam in Africa, Rowntree and Al., 2000)
The first was by contact between Arabian traders and the people
along the coast of East Africa and its surrounding islands
(Zanzibar, Pemba, and the Comoros). This first wave of Islamic
influence began around 700 A.D. These contacts and the
subsequent spread of Islam were confined to the coast;The
second wave of Islamic diffusion began around A.D. 900 and
continued until the nineteenth century, For the most part, of the
diffusion process was enhanced by trade via Trans-Saharan
routes and Jihads, Holy Wars. The third way in which Islam
diffused to Sub-Saharan Africa was by trade between Egypt and
Arabia and within the horn of Africa (the easternmost African
extension of land between the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of
Aden): Islamization and Arabisation.
Islam introduced a new religion and an Arabic language, helped
in the formation of states, influenced the development of
Swahili as a trade language, established the basis for an Arabic
educational system, and influenced food choice and dress
patterns. The relationship between Islam and indigenous
cultures was more of a conversation than a domination:
"Wolofisation" of the religion in Senegal (Amadou Bamba);
“Pularization”of Islam in Fulani community of the Futa Toro
Kingdon (Umar Futiyu). Reaction against Christianity as the
colonial religion led to Islamic conversions:
The use of the African drum in religious practices, the
acknowledge of polygamy, Islam has been less critical of female
circumcision.

14. Global ConnectionsSpread of Islam brought large areas of
Africa into the global community through increasing contact
from 700-1500 CE. Specifically, Sudanic states and East Africa
However, most of Africa evolved in regions free of Islamic
contact (Central + Southern Africa). Organized their lives in
stateless societies. While no universal empires and religions
develop in Africa, Christianity and Islam impact the region
through political, economic, and cultural development.Reality is
there are more written records in regions affected by Islam;
knowledge is not even
African Colonial History
Colonialism and colonies
Colonialism and Colonies, is one country’s domination of
another country or people—usually achieved through
aggressive, often military, actions—and the territory acquired in
this manner
Colonial Motives
Economic Interpretation- raw materials, minerals and
agricultural products
Missionary Influence and abolitionism (Divide Religiously)
Pseudo-Scientific Racism
European Rivalries

15. Cultural Imperialism and Racism
Motives for Colonization
In general, strong countries dominated weaker ones to promote
their own national self-interest, out of economic, religious,
cultural, or other reasons. It has been said that the three primary
motives for establishing colonies were gold, God, and glory, but
the main incentives were usually economic.
Economic Motives
The colonizing country could control important markets for its
exports (such as cotton products) and deny these markets to its
competitors. Colonies were also important as sources of raw
materials (such as raw cotton) and as opportunities for
investment. A country often also increased its wealth by
conquering another civilization and taking its riches or by
exploiting the mineral wealth of another land
Strategic and political motives
Sometimes colonies were important for strategic reasons —for
example, the Cape of Good Hope, on the southern tip of Africa,
guarded European sailors’ southern route to Asia. Also, some
countries occupied colonies in order to protect previous
investments. In Egypt, a nationalist uprising in 1882 threatened
British investments in the Canal of Suez. They occupied Egypt
to control the situation.
Religious and cultural motives
European countries also wanted to spread their religious beliefs

16. and cultures that they believed are superior to natives ones.
Berlin Conference
The Berlin Conference of 1884–85 regulated European
colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism
period, and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence as an
imperial power. Called for by Portugal and organized by Otto
von Bismarck, the first Chancellor of Germany.It caused the
elimination of most existing forms of African autonomy and self
governance.
The ‘General Act’ fixed the following points:
The Free State of the Congo was confirmed as private property
of the Congo Society, property of Léopold II (King of Belgium)
The 14 signatory powers would have free trade throughout the
Congo basin.
The Niger and Congo Rivers were made free for ship traffic.
A Principle of Effectivity was introduced to stop powers
setting up colonies in name only.
The possession of any portion of the African coast gave right to
occupy the inland but must be notified to the other countries.
Africa was divided between the main powers of Europe.
Consequences of Colonialism
The implications of colonial rule on the colonies are
considerable, and there was a large impact on local economics,
culture and political systems. The manner in which
decolonization took place also led to problems. Many
geographers see a colonial past as probably the most important
initial condition for underdevelopment.

17. Deprivation of resources and exploitation of native labour force.
African imports were banned by the metropolitan powers of
Europe, but they flood the colonial market with cheap European
goods to destroy the local industries.
Slavery is probably the worst legacy of colonialism. It is
estimated that between 1601 and 1870, 15,200,000 left Africa
Racism. The natives of the country were made to feel inferior.
Countries of Southern Africa
Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Comoros, Madagascar,
Mauritius, Seychelles, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South
Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland
Colonialism
During this time, many European countries expanded their
empires by aggressively establishing colonies in Africa so that
they could exploit and export Africa’s resources.
Raw materials like rubber, timber, diamonds, and gold were
found in Africa.
Europeans also wanted to protect trade routes.
Europeans in Africa
During the 1800s, Europeans moved further into the continent in
search of raw materials and places to build successful colonies.
Great Britain, France, & Germany fought over control of land
that is now Egypt and Sudan.
Belgians took control of the Congo.

18. The natives often fought against the European powers; however,
they often lost because the European weapons were superior.
The Zulu nation fought the British in South Africa and the
Ashanti struggled to hold onto what is now Ghana.
Geographic Reasons
Europeans first became interested in Africa for trade route
purposes.
They were looking for ways to avoid the taxes of the Arab and
Ottoman empires in Southwest Asia.
Sailing around Africa was the obvious choice, but it was a long
voyage and could not be completed without “pit stops” along
the way.
Europeans created ports in southern and eastern Africa so
traders could restock supplies before crossing the Indian Ocean.
Economic Reasons
Economic motivation played a large part in the colonization of
Africa.
The 1800s was a time of great industrialization in Europe
(Industrial Revolution).
Factories required raw materials that could be manufactured
into marketable products.
When Europeans returned to Africa for more resources they
brought back the manufactured goods and sold them to Africans.

19. Africa became a new market for Europe to sell goods.
The Scramble for Africa
Triangular Trade to 1800
Legitimate Trade and Spheres of Influence
Spheres of Influence (the China Model)
The Role of the Trading Companies
German East African Company
French West African Trading Company
British East and British South African Companies
Political Reasons
Politics in Europe also led to the colonization of Africa.
Nationalism, a strong sense of pride in one's nation, resulted in
competition between European nations.
No major nation wanted to be without colonies, which led to
this “Scramble for Africa”.
The competition was particularly fierce between Great Britain,
France, and Germany, the strongest European nations in the
1800s.
Religious Reasons
Christian missionary work gained strength during the 1800s as

20. European countries were becoming more involved in Africa.
Many missionaries were supportive of the colonization of Africa
because they believed that European control would provide a
political environment that would help missionary activity.
The idea of “Christianizing” Africa also made many Europeans
look favorably on the colonization of the continent.
Origins of Colonialism: 1890-1914
West Africa: French vs. British and Assimilation vs. Indirect
Rule
From Company Rule to Indirect Rule
Smaller Powers
East Africa: Settlers and Imperialism
German Authoritarianism,
White Highlands
British East Africa Company
Origins of Colonialism
Central and Southern Africa
Jan van Riebeck and the Cape- 1652
Britain- Cape Colony: 1815
Cecil John Rhodes: British South Africa Company
The Rhodesias and Nyasaland- Company Rule to 1923
From Federation to UDI
Types of Territories
Without European Settlers- Nkrumah and the Mosquito

21. Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone
Without European Settlers- Protectorates
Uganda, Zanzibar, Nyasaland
With European Settlers (No Home rule)
Kenya, Tanzania, Northern Rhodesia
With European Settlers (Home rule)
Rhodesia, South Africa, South West Africa (after 1920)
Portuguese colonialism
Earliest explorers in Africa
Policy of trade, not settlement
Gold as part of mercantilism
Diseases harmful to Europeans
Developed slavery system in late 1400s
Laborers as commodities to be used up
Linking status and humanity with color
FIRST WHITE SETTLEMENT
Portuguese and Dutch explorers rounded the Cape of Good
Hope to find a trade route to the East.
The Dutch East India Company landed the first European
settlers in 1652.
They were known as Boers or Afrikaaners and spoke a Dutch
dialect known as Afrikaans.

22. The British settled in 1795 and took possession in 1815.
The Dutch made the Great Trek inland and established the
republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State.
Berlin Conference
By the 1880s, Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain,
and Portugal all wanted part of Africa.
To prevent a European war over Africa, leaders from fourteen
European governments and from the United States met in
Berlin, Germany, in 1884.
No Africans attended the meeting.
At the meeting, the European leaders discussed Africa’s land
and how it should be divided.
Berlin Conference
Political Boundaries after Berlin Conference
Artificial Boundaries
European powers organized Africa’s population in ways to make
the most efficient workforce, ignoring the natives’ cultural
groups or existing political leadership at the time of
colonization.
Sometimes they grouped together people who had never been
united under the same government before.

23. Sometimes they divided existing groups of people.
The creation of these borders had a negative impact on Africa’s
political and social structures by either dividing groups that
wanted to be together or combining ethnic groups that were
enemies.
Artificial Boundaries
Europeans placed colonies into administrative districts and
forced the Africans to go along with their demands.
In order to establish their indirect rule, Europeans used local
chiefs as their enforcers in the colonies.
Europeans also tried to assimilate Africans (have African
people give up their own African customs and adopt European
customs).
Protests and revolts were common and starvation and disease
became widespread.
Lasting Effects
Europeans took the best land by force.
African farmers were forced to grow cash crops like cocoa and
coffee, causing there to be a shortage of food in many areas of
Africa.
Africans were forced to work under terrible conditions on

24. plantations, railways, and logging.
In order to gain power, Europeans encouraged Africans to fight
against each other.
New political boundaries caused ethnic groups to clash.
This has led to ethnic and political unrest in Africa today.
There have been over 50 ethnic conflicts in Africa since WWII
as a result of the colonial lines drawn by Europeans.
African Unrest
By the mid-twentieth century, Africans began to openly oppose
European control of their countries.
It was obvious that colonialism was not fair, as it only
benefitted the Europeans.
Africans were tired of being treated like second-class citizens
on their own land.
They soon begin to demand freedom for themselves…
THE BOER WAR (1899 – 1902)
Diamonds and gold were discovered in these inland areas in
1867, bringing an influx of “outlanders”
Cecil Rhodes, PM of Cape Colony, tried to spark a rebellion of
outlanders to take over for the British.

25. When this failed, The Boer War broke out between the British
and the Dutch.
This was the first guerrilla war where the enemy wore no
uniform.
The Boers were defeated in 1910.
South Africa was now a British colony.
In 1910 the Union of South Africa was formed.
Louis Botha, a Boer, became the first PM and established the
African National Congress in 1912 to represent the Africans.
The grand African nations once led by Chaka Zulu had long
since been defeated and their culture forgotten
THE HOMELANDS
Jan Smuts took the nation into World War II on the side of the
Allies.
South Africa was a Charter Member of the United Nations but
refused to sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Apartheid (racial separation) dominated domestic politics as
the Nationalists gained power. Restrictions were placed on all
Coloreds (meaning any non-white person).
Black voters were removed from voter rolls in 1936.
The Group Areas Acts forced Africans to move from cities to
rural townships where they lived in poverty under repressive
laws.
Africans had lost their homeland and were forced to live in
Homelands
SHANTY-TOWNS
South Africa declared itself a republic in 1961.
The white supremacist National Party ruled for three decades.
Apartheid became an official policy for all.
Shanty-towns grew on the outskirts of major cities to first house
workers for the mines and other industries then as the only

26. refuge for the poor who could not survive on poor land.
This is the state of affairs which is the background to Cry, the
Beloved Country
Islam in North Africa
Introduction
This lecture covers the history of Islam in northern Africa from
the time of the first Muslim invasion in 639 to the Ottoman
Empire in 1600.
INTRODUCTION
Islam arrived in Africa as a unified external invasion, unlike the
piecemeal military and economic incursions of the Greeks and
the Romans.
In other words, all of the people who invaded Egypt around the
year 640 shared at least one motivation- -the spread of the true
religion.
Islam introduced a new concept of universalism.
Note that the first adherents of Islam were desert dwellers on
the edge of two large empires.
It was entirely logical that their first expansion would be into
another desert area (the Sahara) located away from the major
powers.
THE BIRTH OF ISLAM
Medina, located near the Red Sea coast of the Arabian
peninsula, was the first Muslim city. It was a trading center on a

27. caravan route that prospered when war between the Persian and
Byzantine Empires interrupted sea trade between Mediterranean
and India. Travel along this route was controlled by the
Quraysh, an extended family which had both nomadic and
sedentary members.
Mohammed was born in the Hashim clan of the Quraysh about
571. The Hashim were sedentary residents of Mecca, another
town on the overland caravan route. Mohammed married well
and prospered as a merchant until by the early 7th century, he
was a leading citizen of Mecca.
In 611, while resting in a cave, Mohammed heard a voice that
he believed came from an all-powerful diety. The voice offered
instructions on how to purify religion. In the town of Mecca,
there was a religious site called Kabaa, marked by a strange
black rock, but throughout the region, there were many other
religions including Judaism, Byzantine Christianity, and Persian
Zoroastrianism.
THE BIRTH OF ISLAM
Mohammed began to speak about his instructions in Mecca, and
was expelled in 622 by a coalition of forces led by priests of the
Kabaa. Mohammed left Mecca and followed the caravan route to
Medina. At the time, Medina was a fairly wild place compared
to . Its economy was booming thanks to the thriving caravan
trade, and its population included various ethnic groups who
resided in their own neighborhoods. There does not seem to
have been a town government in 622, because while the leaders
of each ethnic group could settle disputes among its own
members, there was no peaceful way to settle disputes between
members of different ethnic groups.
After Mohammed arrived, he showed himself to be a fair judge

28. of disputes and during the next eight years, he became an
influential citizen of Medina. As the residents accepted
Mohammed's rules about justice and his teachings about the
nature of the all-powerful diety, the population of the town
became the first Muslims. In 630, they followed Mohammed's
call to conquer Mecca.
The teachings of Islam: Mohammed did not leave behind a
written version of his teachings. Mohammed spoke to a lot of
people, however, and fortunately, many of his listeners recorded
his words. Over time, their contributions were assembled into a
book of scripture called the Quran. The main reforms introduced
by Islam included the idea of submission to a single universal
diety (monotheism) and a possibility of a direct relationship
between each human and the diety (personal religion).
THE BIRTH OF ISLAM
In practice, Islam created a greatly simplified religion. For
instance, there were no saints, no sacrements, no official clergy
and no religious buildings. Instead, people who learned the most
about Islam taught other people, and religious rituals could take
place almost anywhere. A practicing Muslim was required to do
only five things:
profess faith in Allah as the only god (universalism)
pray to Mecca five times a day
practice charity (payment of the Zakat or 1/50th)
pilgrimmage to Mecca (Hajj)
fasting during the month of Ramadan to commemorate the
conquest of Mecca in 630
If a Muslim followed the rules, s/he could expect to reach
paradise, which was described using metaphors like flowing
rivers, gardens, fountains, fruit, and no work. If not, then hell

29. was divided into boiling water and the abyss of fire, populated
by angels whose job was to torture sinners who were condemned
there.
DEVELOPMENT OF ISLAM AS A POLITICAL FORCE
Only two years after his followers conquered Mecca,
Mohammed died in 632. He left no instructions about who
would take his place, and in the following dispute over the
succession of leadership, Abu Bakr (father-in-law of
Mohammed's second wife) defeated Mohammed's son-in-law
Omar (married to Fatima).
Abu Bakr supported his authority by unleasing jihad against the
Byzantine and Persian empires to the north, and was aided when
peasants in the provinces revolted and joined the Muslim
invasion.
After Abu Bakr died in 634, Omar took over the jihad and it
continued, conquering Damascas in 636, Jerusalem in 638, the
Byzantine fortress of Babylon (Cairo) in 639, Alexandria in
640, and the entire Persian empire by 651. However, challengers
to Omar's rule continued to resist and he was assasinated in 644.
Members of the powerful Umayyid family (the family of Umar)
of Mecca took over in 660 and founded a dynasty that lasted
until 750.
ISLAMIC ADVANCE AFTER 660
After 660, followers of Islam continued to spread the religion
westward along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, which
exposed them to the Byzantine navy. They reached Tunisia by
670 and constructed their main base inland at Kairawan (south
of Tunis), where it was safe from both water-born Christian
Byzantines and inland Berbers of mountain and desert.

30. By 711, Ummayyid armies campaigned in the Magrib, but
couldn't totally subdue it. Coastal Berbers who resented
centralized Christianity converted readily to Islam, but interior
Berbers resisted Islam as strongly as they resisted Christianity.
Coastal Berbers joined the Muslim invasion and launched the
attack into Spain, followed later by Ummayyid Arab forces after
the success of the invasion was certain.
By 720, Muslim forces controlled everything south of the
Pyrennees mountains (modern border between France and
Spain). In 732, an expedition across the mountains was turned
back from Poitiers after it suffered defeat at the hands of a
Frankish army led by Charles Martel, the grandfather of
Charlemagne.
RESULTS OF THE NORTH AFRICAN CONQUEST
The early 8th century was the time when Muslim strength and
unity were at their greatest.
As a result of their efforts, Muslims cut off Africa from
Mediterranean Europe and cut off (Coptic) Christians in Nubia
and Ethiopia from Christians in Europe. T
he North African coastal territories provided points of departure
for Muslim expansion southward across the Sahara Desert.
However, the Muslim world was stretched out over an enormous
distance, making it difficult to maintain a centralized
government.
THE ABBASSIDS
The strains of constant expansion finally resulted in a revolt
against the Umayyids in 750. The new ruling dynasty, the
Abbassids, were more interested in eastern expansion, so the
spread of Islam in Africa slowed. The new dynasty moved the

31. capital from Damascas (located near the Mediterranean coast) to
Baghdad (located on the Tigris River which drains into the
Persian Gulf and thence to the Indian Ocean).
Under Abbassid rule, Egypt continued to be a rich producer of
food and people. However, as Abbassid rulers turned their
attention towards the east, two things happened: 1) Islam began
to spread by sea to the lower Red Sea Coast and 2) schisms
developed in western Islam that led to political unrest.
An Ummayyid dynasty continued to rule in Spain, creating a
schism in Islam. Although Abbassid governors and military
garrisons controlled cities along the Maghrib coast, they had
little direct control in the interior and the Berber clans of
Morocco were only nominally under Abbassid control. Within
two centuries, local Muslim brotherhoods formed and they
promoted a revival of Islam in the 10th century.
Muslim traders operating along the Red Sea Coast couldn't
reach the Upper Red Sea because the prevailing winds (out of
the north) prevented regular sail navigation, but they
established trading cities from Jiddah (the port city nearest to
Mecca, near the southern end of the Red Sea) as far south as
Mozambique.
FATIMID EGYPT (969-1171)
In a repeat of the pattern that followed the institutionalization
of Ummayyid rule, reform movements developed to challenge
Abbassid rule. After reformers expelled the Abbassid governor
in Yemen in 901, other reformers established a rival caliphate
among the Berbers in Tunisia in 908. Their movement spread
eastward, overthrew the Abbassid governor in Egypt in 969 and
created the Fatimid Muslim state which lasted until the 12th

32. century.
The first Fatimid caliph, Al-Mu'izz, established his capital in
Egypt in 973. He chose a site next to the Abbassid capital of
Fustat, which was located next to the former Byzantine fortress
of Babylon and just downriver from the ancient Egyptian capital
of Memphis near Giza, site of the Great Pyramid. The caliph
called his new capital al- Khaira, or Cairo.
Later Fatimid caliphs established the University of al-Azhar in
Cairo, and by the 11th century, the Cairo- based Fatimids were
more powerful than the Abbassids in Baghdad. The Fatimids
briefly occupied Baghdad in 1056 and captured Jerusalem in
1098, only to lose it the following year to soldiers of the First
Crusade. To protect their western flank, the Fatimids
encouraged nomads from the Arabian peninsula (ethnic bedouin
groups led by the Bani Hillal and Beni Sullaim) to cross the Red
Sea and invade northwest Africa. The bedouins began to arrive
in the mid-11th century and fought devastating campaigns
against sedentary Berber rebels.
THE RISE OF MILITARY CASTES IN ISLAM
While the Fatimids were establishing their dynasty in Cairo, the
nature of the leadership of the Abbassids changed. Gradually,
Seljuk military families descended from converted Turks
became dominant in Baghdad in 950s. The same thing took
place a bit later in Fatimid Egypt--military leaders became
dominant over religious leaders--and by the end of the 12th
century, Egypt was ruled by the Mamluks. In both cases,
military commanders and ordinary people all publicly
recognized the authority of the caliph of Islam, but army
commanders had the power to influence the choice of the new
caliph each time one died. Consequently, in the long run only
candidates who were favorable to military interests could be
chosen as caliph.

33. Who were the Mamluks? Mamluks were the descendants of
Black Sea slaves, imported as children by Fatimid caliphs and
converted to Islam beginning in the 11th century. The caliphs
had them trained to become loyal commanders and officials to
serve in the army and government bureaucracy. In exchange for
their service to the caliph, Mamluks (the word means "owned")
received tax exemptions, land grants and the right to control
"departments" of the government (such as tax collection in a
province).
By the end of the 11th century, their control over the army gave
the Mamluks the right to confirm the succession of caliphs.
Mamluk authority in Egypt declined into rivalries between
Mamluk nobles who only united in order to suppress peasant
resistance. Centralized authority was not restored until 1171,
when the Mamluk vizier Sarah al-Din (known in the west as
"Saladin"), ended the Fatimid dynasty and founded a Mamluk
dynasty by declaring himself ruler of Egypt.
THE MAMLUKS: RULE BY MILITARY NOBLES
Since their legitimacy of caliphs--be they Ummayyid, Abbassid
or Fatimid--derived from their knowledge of the Quran, their
powers included legislative and judicial functions, but no
executive power. In particular, there was no mandate to lead an
army, so the Fatimid caliphs, just like the Abbassid caliphs in
Baghdad, relied on professional military officers called sultans.
Mamluks took control in Egypt after the Mamluk Aybak
executed the last Fatimid caliph, Turanshah, in 1250 (Note: By
a similar process, Seljuk military leaders seized power in
Baghdad in 1055). There followed a succession of
assassinations as each Mamluk leader deposed his predecessor
until Baybar murdered the Mamluk sultan Qutuz (victor over the
Mongols in 1260) and established a dynasty of sultans that

34. lasted until the Ottoman conquest in 1516-17.
The life of Egyptian peasants under the Mamluks changed little.
Taxation was higher, thanks to all the warfare. They worked for
absentee Mamluk landlords who, as officers in the army,
received land in return for their military service. Mamluk
landowners appointed local officials to handle the day-to-day
administration. Mamluks were orthodox Muslims, but they
oppressed religious minorities. As a consequence, it was a bad
time to be a Coptic Christian in Egypt.
POLITICAL UPHEAVAL IN THE 13TH CENTURY
Fatimid Egypt fought the Abbassids in Baghdad from 1000-
1300. Both financed armies and produced claimants to the
caliphate of all Islam (umma).
To the west of Egypt, the bedouins were allies of the Fatimids
in theory, but in fact were beyond the control of all but their
local chiefs.
Christian crusaders threatened Egypt during the Fourth, Fifth
and Seventh Crusades with attempts to capture Cairo and
exchange it for Jerusalem.
Although the Mongol invasion of the 13th century crossed
Asia, killed the last Abbassid caliph in 1258 and overran
Palestine, it did not reach into Africa thanks to a Mamluk
victory at Ain Jalut (Palestine) on September 3, 1260 by a force
led by the Egyptian commander Qutuz, the successor to Aybak
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
The Ottoman dynasty was founded in 1300s by Turkish military
commanders. One of their leaders, Othman, was a Turkish
mercenary in the Abbassid Seljuk army. He converted to Islam
and conquered portions of the Byzantine Empire (1290-1326).
As a military conqueror, he received land holdings in his own
name and that formed the basis of the empire enlarged by his

35. descendants. One of them, Mohammed II, conquered
Constantinople in 1453 and made it his capital.
Unlike previous rulers of the Muslim world, the Ottoman
leaders did not take the title Caliph. Instead, they were content
to appoint puppet caliphs and rule as sultans. Like the Fatimids
and Seljuks, they imported Christian slaves from the Balkans to
serve as officers.
From 1481-1512 the sons of Mohammed II, Bayazid II and Jem,
fought for control over Ottoman lands. Bayazid won and Jem
fled, only to wind up as hostage of a succession of European
powers and then to die while a French captive at Naples in
1495. Bayazid's son Selim I "the Grim" (ruled 1512-1520), the
grandson of Mohammed II, forced his father to abdicate and
then defeated his brothers Corcud and Ahmed to become the
"Sultan of all Islam." Selim also conquered Persian land by
winning the Battle of Chaldrian on August 23, 1514, land in
Kurdistan and eastern Turkey in 1515, and finally, all of
Mamluk Egypt by defeating Sultan Qansaw al-Ghawri at the
Battle of Marj- Dabik (north of Aleppo) on August 24, 1516.
Selim's forces occupied Cairo on January 22, 1517, and from
then until the French invasion of 1798, Egypt was an Ottoman
province.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Ottoman rule in Egypt was similar to Roman rule, in that
foreigners held power and peasants were taxed to support
military administration and conquest in other parts of the
empire. It appears that the Egyptian peasants (the fellahin)
reacted to their increased exploitation by reducing their efforts
and that production declined during the Ottoman years.
Although there are no reliable statistics on agricultural output
during this period, it is certain that there were no improvement

36. in farming methods, few public works were constructed, and the
frequency of predatory raids by desert nomads increased.
During the lengthy reign of Selim I's son, Suleyman (known to
Europeans as "the Magnificent," ruled 1520-1566), the Ottoman
Empire completed the conquest of the Arabian coast in 1538 and
the North African coast to Tunisia by 1556. Suleyman
established a system of local military governors in coastal
towns known variously as beys and deys. Suleyman's forces also
invaded Europe several times in the mid-16th century and won
victories at Belgrade in 1521, Rhodes in 1522 (defeating the
Knights of St. John) and the Battle of Mohacs in Hungary on
August 29-30, 1526. The Muslim advance up the Danube River
valley ended at the siege of Vienna in September 1529, but
continued in the form of a naval war with Venice (1539-1540)
and an alliance with France's Francis I (1536) against the
Hapsburgs. Eventually, the Ottoman Empire began to decline
after 1585 thanks to the unification of Russia under Ivan the
Terrible (beginning in 1547) and the growth in the power of
European navies which led to the Ottoman defeat at the Battle
of Lepanto (1571)
WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF MUSLIM POLITICAL
STRUGGLES ON AFRICA?
The conflict in the center of the Muslim world had
repercussions at the extremities of the Muslim world, which
included not only Africa, but also southeast Asia.
Specifically,
1) factions in the center were reproduced in the extremities,
and
2) waves of refugees moved to the outer regions.
At the center of all the disputes was the question, "Who was
most faithful to the teachings of Mohammed?" In North Africa,
the struggles created rivalries between the inhabitants of

37. Muslim towns who followed different Muslim clerics. Along the
East African coast, a second wave of Muslim immigrants from
the Hijaz (Iran and Pakistan) settled coastal towns south of
Kilwa (in modern Tanzania) as far as Sofala (in modern
Mozambique). Since that region produced gold, the new towns
ultimately became rivals to the older towns located further north
between Kilwa and the mouth of the Red Sea.
HIS 350: The Making of Modern Africa
Quiz # 2
Question # 1 Compare a Middle-Passage slave ship to a
modern day cruise ship.
Question # 2
Question # 3 What was the legacy of colonialism in Africa?