State Building in Africa
Objective: Explain how and why states in Africa developed and changed over time.
Reading Questions:
Politics
Reading Questions:
Politics
- Where did Ethiopian kings claim they came from?
- What monumental architecture did the Ethiopian rulers create?
- How did they maintain their wealth?
- How did the people of Great Zimbabwe maintain their wealth?
- What type of government did the Hausa have?
- How did the Hausa city states depend on each other?
- How did the Hausa in general maintain wealth?
- Why did Ghana decline? What took over?
- Why did Mali become prosperous?
- Explain the significance of Timbuktu to Mali.
- Who was Sundiata and why was he important?
- Who was Mansa Musa and why was he important?
- How did Mansa Musa impact Mali through Islam?
- What was the Songhay Kingdom, and how did it become more powerful than Mali?
- How were most small communities organized?
- What is Swahili and were is it used?
- What are African masks used?
- What are griots?
- What were some changes and continuities for women in Africa?
- Why were most people enslaved prior to Islam's arrival?
- Why did Muslim merchants take slaves?
Introduction
As trade increased along the Eastern coast of the African continent, and West Africa, new states rose to power. States like Mali, Ethiopia, Great Zimbabwe and the Hausa developed various state building techniques and ways of legitimizing their rule. As these states grew, they would interact with Muslims in a variety of ways sometimes leading to continual conflict while in others instances leading to the adoption of Islam. The adoption of Islam led to cultural changes in Africa. In this section you will read about cultural changes and continuities in West Africa and East Africa.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia became Christian early on. Christianity spread from the Middle East to North Africa including Egypt. It got to Ethiopia around the year 300 CE.
At around the year 1200 the Ethiopian region was led a new kings. Those kings claimed direct lineage to Solomon. They claimed that their connection to Solomon gave them legitimacy to rule. They, like other monarchs, began to use monumental architecture to also legitimize their rule. The built a series of churches carved out of solid rock. King Lalibela built these churches around Ethiopia’s own stretch of the Jordan River, his intent being to legitimize his rule and to welcome Christians to a ‘New Jerusalem’. Ethiopia's economy was, like all regions during this time, based on agriculture. However a large portion of it was connected to the regional network organized around the Red Sea and the Nile valley and the trade of ivory, incense and exotic animals. Within Ethiopia, slaves and gold were exchanged for coffee. Although all of the surrounding lands converted to Islam, Ethiopia remained a Christian kingdom in the middle of an Islamic empire. The Ethiopian kings were to continually fight back Islam due to a series of garrisons created along Ethiopia. Ethiopia developed its own type of syncretic Christianity mixing local ancestor worship and belief in spirits with Christian teachings. |
Additional video on Lalibela found below
Great Zimbabwe
|
Great Zimbabwe rose to prominence in 1000 CE and reached its peak from 1250 CE to 1350 CE. The two reasons were gold and trade. Great Zimbabwe had vast mines of gold. The gold was in high demand along the Swahili coast. Also in high demand was ivory. Great Zimbabwe would supply gold and ivory and would get manufactured good like Chinese porcelain and Indian glass. Locally, Great Zimbabwe's growth was due to agriculture and cattle. Cattle were managed by the state. Architecturally, Great Zimbabwe was unique. There was no influence from any of the cultures that they traded with. They created stone structures called Zimbabwe the largest and oldest of which is Great Zimbabwe. Below is an account by a Portuguese captain named Vicente Pegado of the Sofala Garrison in 1531: Among the gold mines of the inland plains between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers there is a fortress built of stones of marvelous size, and there appears to be no mortar joining them ... This edifice is almost surrounded by hills, upon which are others resembling it in the fashioning of stone and the absence of mortar, and one of them is a tower more than 12 fathoms [22 m] high. The natives of the country call these edifices Symbaoe, which according to their language signifies court. — Vicente Pegado From the structure, it is clear that Great Zimbabwe had a social structure and a labor force. It was most probably also a kingdom. However not much is known about Great Zimbabwe. |
Hausa City States
Around the 9th century, the Hausa City states developed as a regional power. Unlike other places in Afro Eurasia, the Hausa did not have a centralized government led by an emperor. Instead they were seven city states connected by kinship ties and culture. They had a common language, laws, and customs. They were also depended on each other economically. Each city specialized in something. For example, Kano and Rano were known as the "Chiefs of Indigo." Cotton grew readily in the great plains of these states, and they became the primary producers of cloth, weaving and dying. Gobir, located to the west became the main supplier of soldiers responsible for protection.
The Hausa city states emerged as the southern portion of the Trans-Saharan caravan trade. Like the much larger city of Timbuktu in the Mali Empire, these city states began as centers of a long distance trade that included leather, gold, cloth, salt, kola nuts, and animal hides. Hausa merchants in each of these cities collected trade items from the rain forest region to the south. In the 14th Century, missionaries and northern traders would introduce Islam to the region. |
Swahili City States
Trade along the East Coast of Africa existed for a long time. Greek and Roman traders knew about the African coast since around the 8th century BCE. Coastal cities such as Kiliwa, Malindi and Mogadishu traded amongst themselves for a long period of time as well. Around the 10th century the first important commercial city-states emerged along the coast. They included Kilwa, Malindi, Gedi, Pate, Comoros, and Zanzibar. These early Swahili city-states were Muslim and politically independent of one another. The cities grew in wealth as the Bantu people acted as middle men for Arab, Persian, Indonesian, Malaysian, Indian, and Chinese merchants. The Swahili accumulated goods from the interior and would trade them for goods from India, China and the Middle East such as Chinese Porcelain and Persian rugs. Later they would be taken over by the Kilwa Sultanate.
The Kilwa Sultanate ruled, at its height, over the entire length of the Swahili Coast. The capital was Kilwa. was founded in 900 CE by the Persian prince Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi. His family ruled the Sultanate until 1277, when it was overthrown by Abu Moaheb. That family was then overthrown by a Portuguese invasion in 1505. We know that they had kings or sultans, who were very powerful. Sultans were advised by councils of princes, elders, and members of the ruling household. Sultans had their close relatives controlled the most important religious and military offices of the state. |
Mali
Mansa Musa
Mansa Musa was another famous Mali ruler. He, like other rulers, used religions to legitimize his rule. Mansa Musa helped spread Islam by building new Mosques and being a pious Muslim. Part of being a good Muslim is the Hajj or holy pilgrimage to Mecca. He undertook this pilgrimage with a huge entourage and enormous amounts of gold. When he got to Egypt he distributed so much gold that the value of gold in Egypt went down. His pilgrimage allowed Mansa Musa to bring back some of sharifs, prestigious members of Muhammad's family. The trip was most important because it made Mali known to the rest of the world. Europeans featured the king of Mali holding a golden globe above. |
Origins of Mali
Several kingdoms benefited from the increased wealth that the trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean trades brought to Africa. In West Africa the kingdoms of Ghana (800s-1200s CE) and Mali (1200s-1400s CE) emerged. Most in Ghana were farmers cultivating sorghum and rice. By the twelfth century, wars with neighboring societies had permanently weakened the Ghanaian state. In its place rose a new trading kingdom called Mali. The government of Mali profited from the gold trade across the Sahara, connecting West and North Africa through trade. It also taxed nearly all other trade entering West Africa. As a result, it became even wealthier than Ghana. Mali was sill mostly an agricultural society like most states in the foundations period. Their staple foods were sorghum and rice. However, the great cities of Timbuktu and Gao accumulated the most wealth and developed into centers of Islamic life in the region. Mali became instrumental in spreading Islam throughout West Africa. Timbuktu in particular became a world-renowned center of Islamic learning. By the 1500s, books created and sold in Timbuktu brought prices higher than most other goods. Mali's founding ruler, Sundiata, became the subject of legend. His father had ruled over a small society in West Africa in what today is Guinea. When his father died, rival groups invaded, killing most of the royal family and capturing the throne. They did not bother to kill Sundiata because the young prince was crippled and was not considered a threat. In spite of his injury, he learned to fight and became so feared as a warrior that his enemies forced him into exile. In 1235, Sundiata, “the Lion Prince," returned to the kingdom of his birth, defeated his enemies, and reclaimed the throne for himself. Sundiata became an intelligent and capable ruler. Most scholars believe he was a Muslim and used his connections with others of his faith to establish trade relationships with North African and Arab merchants. Sundiata cultivated a thriving gold trade in Mali. |
Sub-Saharan Africa Cultural Changes and Continuities
Muslim traders were pivotal to the introduction of Islam to Sub-Saharan Africa changing the culture and economics of the region. Muslim dominated trading centers quickly developed into large urban centers down the east coast of Africa. Arabs referred to this region as the Zenj. Most the commerce to this Eastern region came from the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf to the North. The commodities traded included ivory, gold, precious stones and slaves.
Laws
These coastal towns were strongly influenced by Arab Merchants. For example, many rulers began to adopt Islam and used Sharia Law to centralize power. Muslim legal codes were used eve though the majority of the population remained using local religious practices. At the same time, most people of Sub-Sharan Africa continued to live in small communities organized around kinship ties meaning people identified as members of their clan rather than members of a nation.
Laws
These coastal towns were strongly influenced by Arab Merchants. For example, many rulers began to adopt Islam and used Sharia Law to centralize power. Muslim legal codes were used eve though the majority of the population remained using local religious practices. At the same time, most people of Sub-Sharan Africa continued to live in small communities organized around kinship ties meaning people identified as members of their clan rather than members of a nation.
Language
Additionally, Muslims influenced the language and culture of the coast. Earlier people of the East coast of Africa spoke Bantu languages due to the Bantu Migration. The Bantu were farmers, iron workers, and pastoral people. As Muslim traders came to the region the region became more urbanized. Cities like Lamu, Mombasa, Kiliwa and Mozambique became important cities centered in trade. Some Muslim merchants settled permanently along the African coast creating diasporic communities. Many Africans along the coast became Muslim. One of the biggest impacts was the Swahili language. Swahili is a syncretic language that is written in Arabic but spoken like the Bantu languages. Swahili is currently the official language of many African countries. |
Religion
The arrival of Islam changed religious practices in West and East Africa. Many of the elite found it advantageous to convert to Islam. However, most of the common people continued religious practices such as ancestor veneration and belief in spirits. For example the use of masks continued in Africa. Mask wearers are meant to have a spiritual connection with either nature or ancestors. For more information on African Masks go here. Although Islam would become dominant along the Eastern coast of Africa and West Africa, Christianity remined in Ethiopia. Ethiopian Christians combined ancestor veneration and belief in the spirits with Christianity developing a unique syncretic form of Christianity in Ethiopia. Oral Traditions
Yet another cultural continuity were the griots. Africa possesses a deep oral tradition. Griots were the holders of the history of a community. They knew family lineages, and retold the great deeds of previous leaders. This knowledge and ability to tell stories gave the griots power. They were often sought out by rulers for council. |
Women
Women were negatively affected by the arrival of Islam. Although most African societies were patriarchal there were some matriarchal practices. For example men were supposed to pass on their inheritance to their sisters so that they could then pass it on to their sons. African women were seen as more complementary to men than their Eurasian counterparts. Common women were responsible for farming and gathering food while men were mostly iron workers and warriors. The arrival of Islam meant that most merchants, and public officials became males. However, earlier gender patterns remained. Women continued to mix freely among men. Women also continued to be advisers to rulers. African Women did not adopt the veiling practices. |
Slavery
Slavery was part of African culture and its economy prior to the arrival of Europeans or Muslims. In fact, slavery was a part of all ancient cultures. Prisoners of war, criminals and people who had debts were the ones enslaved. Women slaves were often household servants cleaning, cooking and doing other household chores. Often children of slaves in debt inherited their parents debt so they became slaves. Although slaves were whipped, branded and mistreated, some slaves did have some rights in ancient times depending on the culture. For example ancient Egyptian slaves were allowed to own property. Also, some slaves in ancient Rome became wealthy and gained their freedom. Because many kin based societies in Africa did not have private property and everything was community owned, people would amass slaves to increase their prestige.
The arrival of Islam increased the slave trade. Arab merchants took slaves from Africa to the Middle East and to other parts of the Abbasid Empire. Women were the most coveted and were used as servants and concubines. Males were used in the military or in sugar plantations. Sugar was first domesticated in New Guinea in 10,000 BCE but much later, by 700 CE, Muslims took the crop to Egypt and Spain and started to establish sugar plantations. These plantations were labor intensive so Muslims took African slaves for the purpose of growing and processing the highly profitable crop. Other crops spread by Muslims were artichokes, bananas, coconut palms, cotton, eggplants, lemons, limes, mangos, rice, spinach, sorghum, sour oranges, watermelons, wheat, and yam. .
Slavery was part of African culture and its economy prior to the arrival of Europeans or Muslims. In fact, slavery was a part of all ancient cultures. Prisoners of war, criminals and people who had debts were the ones enslaved. Women slaves were often household servants cleaning, cooking and doing other household chores. Often children of slaves in debt inherited their parents debt so they became slaves. Although slaves were whipped, branded and mistreated, some slaves did have some rights in ancient times depending on the culture. For example ancient Egyptian slaves were allowed to own property. Also, some slaves in ancient Rome became wealthy and gained their freedom. Because many kin based societies in Africa did not have private property and everything was community owned, people would amass slaves to increase their prestige.
The arrival of Islam increased the slave trade. Arab merchants took slaves from Africa to the Middle East and to other parts of the Abbasid Empire. Women were the most coveted and were used as servants and concubines. Males were used in the military or in sugar plantations. Sugar was first domesticated in New Guinea in 10,000 BCE but much later, by 700 CE, Muslims took the crop to Egypt and Spain and started to establish sugar plantations. These plantations were labor intensive so Muslims took African slaves for the purpose of growing and processing the highly profitable crop. Other crops spread by Muslims were artichokes, bananas, coconut palms, cotton, eggplants, lemons, limes, mangos, rice, spinach, sorghum, sour oranges, watermelons, wheat, and yam. .