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Change and Continuity Over Time Essay Topic: Describe and analyze the cultural, economic, and political impact of Islam on West Africa between 1000 CE and 1750 CE. Make sure to discuss continuities as well as changes. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Beginning The Ghana Empire (which never converted to Islam) lasts until 1224, and soon after the Mali Empire is established around 1235. Muslim merchants bring Islam to West Africa and it spreads! Abbasid Caliphate, “golden age of Islam”, falls in 1258 due to political disunity. Islam helps expand trading routes from just the Trans-Saharan to outside of Africa, like Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The “mixing phase” begins, in which Islamic practices are blended into tradition West African culture. Middle Timbuktu in both the Mali and Songhai Empires becomes a major trading hub, and renowned place for Islamic religious studies. Mansa Musa displays the wealth of the Mali Empire when he makes he pilgrimage to Mecca, and devalues gold in Egypt for about a decade because he spends so much. The Mali Empire falls around 1550. Culture flourishes under the Songhai, the state sponsored the building of mosques and libraries. The Songhai falls to Morrocans in 1591, and they take many people as slaves. End The first jihad, or holy war, movement led by Muslim scholars begins in Mauritania in the early 18th century. Their aim is to rid the population of “pagan” practices and turn all the small Islamic colonies of West Africa into Islamic states. Jihad movements gain more momentum in the 19th century. The main exports from West Africa gold, slaves, and salt. Slaves were taken for both the Islamic slave trade and Trans-Atlantic. This continues well past 1750. The economy remains prosperous due to Islam. Changes: West Africa’s economy is greatly stimulated by the appearance of Islam. They are able to trade not only across the Sahara (TransSaharan trade route), but also to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. There are also several changes in which empires are ruling, with the rise and fall of three major empires: Ghana, Mali, and the Songhai. Continuities: The traditional culture in West Africa continued to flourish during this time, adding to it some Islamic practices. Timbuktu was particularly known center for religious studies, and books were the most profitable import into the city. Islam also continues to spread across Africa. THESIS: Between 1000 and 1700, Islam caused West Africa to experience an increase in trade and economic activity, the rise and fall of several Islamic states and empires, and provided new practices to be blended with the traditional African culture.