Download Early Religious Encounters

Early Religious Encounters
Introduction to Early Religious Encounters
Ideas and beliefs traveled along with merchants as they attempted to expand their trading zones across deserts or oceans. Merchants
carried their belief systems with them wherever they traveled, and so trade was an important conduit of religious cultures as well as
commodities. Religious encounters similarly took place between nomadic and settled peoples as they engaged in mutually profitable
trade. War and conquest, too, created conditions for religious encounters. New religions could be forced on a conquered people, but
the religious traditions of lands incorporated into large empires also had an influence on the religion of the conquerors. For example,
when the Roman Empire conquered lands and peoples around the Mediterranean, local beliefs and practices were often assimilated
into cults surrounding the Roman emperors and their gods.
The material wealth derived from trade allowed the rulers of newly emerging states to surround themselves with the accoutrements of
power, such as symbols borrowed from wealthy societies. Southeast Asians emulated the Hindu and Buddhist princes of India, gaining
legitimacy with imported symbols and belief systems. Merchants carried Islam into sub-Saharan Africa, where it adjusted to the local
social norms, resulting in gender relationships that were often shocking to visitors from North Africa. The translation of Buddhist
concepts into Chinese brought about profound changes in the understanding of Buddhist doctrines. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam all
left lasting imprints on the religious traditions of Southeast Asia, where these imported religions blended with each other and with
indigenous beliefs distinct to the diverse cultures of the region.
We can only speculate about the influences of the Toltec, Olmec, Maya, or Mexica societies on the development of religions in the
Americas. There are physical signs--artistic motifs and vestiges of old rituals in current ceremonies--that indicate a wide diffusion of
beliefs. It appears that religious systems originated with the wealthy societies of Mesoamerica and drifted north and south along the
trade routes. The approximate dates of artifacts supports this sequence and verifies hypotheses we develop by making analogies with
the trading systems of the Old World. It is very likely that further study of the Americas will yield insights that will be of great benefit
in furthering our understanding of the processes through which human understanding of the spiritual realm develops.
Middle Nile and Christianity
In Africa, Christianity traveled down the Nile River and along the Red Sea, following along ancient trade routes. In the Middle Nile,
the new religion interacted with the African kingdom of Kush, still dominated by Pharaonic gods and ideology. The continued
importance of pre-Christian cities reveals that Christianity's embrace was tenuous and the traditional beliefs held validity both for
political rule and social and cultural interactions. Beginning in the eighth century CE, Islam also competed for control of the trade and
ideology of this region.
As Egypt and Nubia were increasingly in contact with Eurasia, religion was just one of the ways in which culture spread. Changes in
theology had dramatic political implications. Christianity was not compatible with ideas of divine kingship, but cultural transitions are
never simple matters of merely accepting or rejecting new ideas. Christianity, and later Islam would each have an impact on the Nile
civilizations, and the religions themselves would also adapt to fit into these cultures.
Reading: Religion in the Middle Nile
In the middle Nile, Christianity encountered the kingdom of Kush (ca. 900 B.C.E.—400 C.E.). Pharaonic gods continued to dominate
Kushite ideology until the demise of the kingdom, surviving in Kush much longer than they did in Egypt itself. Isis and Amon-Ra
were most prominent of these pharaonic gods; the rulers of Napata and Meroe, the centers of Nubia's Kushite kingdom, even took the
name of Amon-Ra as an element of their throne names. Rulers were personifications of gods and thus expressions of divine and
secular authority.
Source: Candice L. Goucher, Charles A. LeGuin, and Linda A. Walton, In the Balance: Themes in Global History. (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1998), 193
Southeast Asian Rulers Adopted Hinduism and Buddhism
Hindu culture spread with Buddhism along the trade routes of Asia. Rulers of the Mauryan empire of India, particularly Ashoka (r.
268-232 BCE), supported the expansion of trade, and were willing to protect or secure trade routes through military action. Ashoka
built a network of roads and provided comforts such as wells, shady areas, and inns for the convenience of traveling merchants.
Because of his policies, the regions of Northern India became integrated and commercial networks expanded steadily outward. After
Ashoka's death, his empire declined, but the regional kingdoms that succeeded were anxious to protect the revenues they realized from
commerce, and provided the order necessary to maintain the commercial routes. By this time, Indian merchants were visiting the
coastal areas of Southeast Asia. Merchants formed diaspora communities, bringing Hindu and Buddhist religious practices with them.
By the early centuries CE, Southeast Asian mariners were traveling to India as well. Trade and sustained contact with India brought
wealth to small, independent local rulers and inspired them to form affiliations with the Indian merchants. The voluntary conversions
to Hinduism and Buddhism by local elites interested in expanding their affiliations with the resident Indian communities had a
1
decisive influence on the intellectual and cultural developments of Southeast Asia. Religious beliefs and economic interests are not
necessarily mutually exclusive.
Reading: Religion and Rulership in Southeast Asia
As Buddhism spread north from India into central Asia and China, both Buddhism and Hinduism also began to attract a following in
southeast Asia. Once again, merchants traveling the silk roads--in this case the sea lanes through the Indian Ocean--played prominent
roles in spreading these faiths. Merchant mariners regularly plied the waters between India and southeast Asia during the late centuries
B.C.E. By the first century C.E., clear signs of Indian cultural influence had appeared in southeast Asia. In Java, Sumatra, and other
islands, as well as in the Malay peninsula and territories embraced by modern Vietnam and Cambodia, rulers of southeast Asian states
called themselves rajas ("kings"), in the manner of Indian rulers, and they adopted Sanskrit as a means of written communication.
Many rulers converted to Buddhism, while others promoted the Hindu cults of Shiva and Vishnu. They built walled cities around
lavish temples constructed in the Indian style. They appointed Buddhist or Hindu advisors, and they sought to enhance their authority
by associating themselves with honored religious traditions.
Image: Spread of Buddhism
Sufi Missionaries in Southeast Asia
The appeal of Islam to the commercial elite and would-be rulers of states--which appears to have grown from a desire to associate
themselves with the wealth and legitimacy of foreigners--was very different from its attraction for the general population. The
proliferation of Islam on the popular level, in Southeast Asia as elsewhere, seems to have been associated with a personal and mystical
form, such as that offered by the Sufi missionaries, who sought understanding through ecstatic experience. Followers of Sufi practices
attempt to experience divinity through rituals--including music and dance--and through meditation and worldly denial. These creative
mystics encouraged the development of piety and devotion through doctrinal flexibility, freely incorporating local beliefs and
practices into their teachings, and through personal kindness and close association with the peoples whose lands they entered. It is
noteworthy that Islam does not have a central authority to control and officially interpret doctrine. In the early years, groups struggled
to establish their views. Bitter factional conflicts marked the tenth through twelfth centuries before a high degree of doctrinal tolerance
set in. In many areas, especially those who had experienced a greater involvement with Sufis, Islamic practices became widely varied.
Islam successfully migrated with traders, but adapted freely to suit local tastes.
Reading: Islam in Southeast Asia
Muslim merchants had ventured into southeast Asia by the eighth century, but only during the tenth century did they become
prominent in the region. Some came from southern Arabia or Persia, but many were Indians from Gujarat or the port cities of southern
India. Thus Indian influence helped to establish Islam as well as Hinduism and Buddhism in southeast Asia.
For several centuries Islam maintained a quiet presence in southeast Asia. Small communities of foreign merchants observed their
faith in the port cities of the region but attracted little interest on the part of the native inhabitants. Gradually, however, ruling elites,
traders, and others who had regular dealings with foreign Muslims became interested in the faith. During the late thirteenth century,
the Venetian traveler Marco Polo visited the island of Sumatra and noted that many residents of the towns and cities had converted to
Islam, while those living in the countryside and the hills retained their inherited traditions.
Like Hinduism and Buddhism, Islam did not enter southeast Asia as an exclusive faith. Ruling elites who converted to Islam often
continued to honor Hindu, Buddhist, or native southeast Asian traditions. They adopted Islam less as an exclusive and absolute creed
than as a faith that facilitated their dealings with foreign Muslims and provided additional divine sanction for their rule. Rarely did
they push their subjects to convert to Islam, although they allowed Sufi mystics to preach their faith before popular audiences. As in
2
India, Sufis in southeast Asia appealed to a large public because of their reputation for sincerity and holiness. They allowed converts
to retain inherited customs while adapting the message of Islam to local needs and interests.
Source: Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past, 2nd Edition. (New
York: McGraw-Hill, 2003), 436.
Image: Early Southeast Asia
Buddhism and Trade in Central Asia
Buddhism promoted a degree of cultural unity as it was spread by both merchants and missionaries along the Silk Roads of Central
Asia. Buddhism was changed by this encounter, as much as the peoples and places Buddhism reached were transformed by this new
religion. Buddhist missionaries translated and interpreted Buddhist ideas into local languages and belief systems, and in doing so they
altered Buddhism. In addition to their teaching of Buddhism, missionaries achieved a reputation along the Silk Roads for good works,
such as charity and medical services, as well as impressive displays of magic and miracles. Missionaries and converts became adept at
adjusting for differences in language and cultural traditions. During the first few centuries, for instance, Buddhism seemed
incompatible with Chinese thought. The emphasis on celibacy, for instance, conflicted with the responsibility to act as a link in a chain
between ancestors and descendants. By incorporating familiar concepts, such as relating the concept of nirvana (enlightenment,
literally, "extinguishing") with the Daoist concept of wuwei (non-action), Buddhist beliefs became more familiar and therefore
acceptable.
Reading: Buddhism in Central Asia and China
By the third century B.C.E., Buddhism had become well established in northern India, and with the sponsorship of the emperor
Ashoka and the faith spread to Bactria and Ceylon. Buddhism was particularly successful in attracting merchants as converts. When
they traveled, Buddhist merchants observed their faith among themselves and explained it to others. Gradually, Buddhism made its
way along the silk roads to Iran, central Asia, China, and southeast Asia.
Buddhism first established a presence in the oasis towns along the silk roads--notably Merv, Bukhara, Samarkand, Kashgar, Khotan,
Kuqa, Turpan, and Dunhuang--where merchants and their caravans found food, rest, lodging, and markets. The oases depended
heavily on trade for their prosperity, and they allowed merchants to build monasteries and invite monks and copyists into their
communities. Since they hosted travelers who came in from different lands, spoke different languages, and observed different
religious practices, the oasis towns became cosmopolitan centers. As early as the second century B.C.E., many residents of the oases
themselves adopted Buddhism, which was the most prominent faith of the silk roads merchants for almost a millenium, from about
200 B.C.E. to 700 C.E.
From the oasis communities Buddhism spread to the steppelands of central Asia and to China. Nomadic peoples from the steppes
visited the oases regularly to trade animal products from their herds for grains and manufactured items. They often found Buddhism
intriguing, and in the early centuries C.E. they increasingly responded to its appeal. By the fourth century C.E., they had sponsored the
spread of Buddhism throughout much of central Asia.
By the first century B.C.E., Buddhism had also established a foothold in China. The earliest Buddhists in China were foreign
merchants--Indians, Parthians, and central Asian peoples--who observed their faith in the enclaves that Han dynasty officials allowed
3
them to inhabit in Chang'an and other major cities. For several centuries Buddhism remained the faith largely of these expatriate
merchants, and it did not appeal very strongly to the native Chinese. Yet the presence of monasteries and missionaries offered
Buddhism the potential to attract Chinese converts. Beginning about the fifth century C.E., Chinese began to respond enthusiastically
to Buddhism, which during the postclassical era became the most popular religious faith throughout all of east Asia, including Japan
and Korea as well as China.
Impact of the Crusades
The crusading expeditions by which Western European Christians sought to recapture Palestine were in part an outgrowth of contacts
between Muslims and Christian pilgrims visiting their "Holy Land." Beginning in 1095, European Christian monarchs launched a
series of eight crusades that were carried out over the next two centuries to restore Palestine to Christian control. They were initially
successful and established Christian kingdoms in Palestine, but by the end of the thirteenth century their kingdoms had been lost to the
Muslims.
The long-term effects of the Crusades were undoubtedly greater on Europe than on the Muslim world. Through their experiences and
contacts in the eastern Mediterranean, European Crusaders were able to regain from the Arabs much knowledge that had been lost
after the fall of Rome. In addition to making much Greek knowledge available to western Europe, Arab mathematics, science, and
medicine were more advanced than either knowledge or practice in western Europe, and European trade and agriculture had much to
learn from Arab business practices and horticulture. Common words such as algebra, alfalfa, and alcohol, and agricultural products
such as oranges, nectarines, and eggplants, are examples of what Arab contact provided western Europe.
Reading: The Crusades and Trade
As a result of the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century, trading relations between Europe, Asia, and Africa were severely
curtailed. Between the ninth and twelfth centuries, when the imperial ideal was resurrected in western Europe in the form of the Holy
Roman Empire and feudal monarchies began to take shape as well, European trade was principally a matter of local exchange and
barter, though Venice continued to trade with the Byzantine Empire. Only certain necessities, such as salt, and limited luxury goods
were traded over great distances. This began to change by the end of the eleventh century, when the First Crusade inaugurated a
process of trade revival that reconnected European economies to those of Asia and Africa and opened Europe to the world.
In the long run the most important impact of the Crusades was economic, since they were the means by which Europe was
reconnected to Asia and Africa, with the result that Italian cities became commercial centers of long-distance trade. The Italian
peninsula, unlike the rest of Europe, had maintained contact with the Byzantine Empire: Ravenna remained Byzantine until the eighth
century and parts of Sicily until the eleventh. Italian merchants continued to carry on limited trade with the east, essentially in such
luxury goods as spices, jewels, fabrics, and perfumes. By 1100 C.E., Venice commanded the routes to the eastern Mediterranean,
could supply the necessary transport for and reap large profits from European Crusaders bent on recovering their Holy Land, and
created a Venetian empire in the process.
Source: Candice L. Goucher, Charles A. LeGuin, and Linda A. Walton, In the Balance: Themes in Global History. (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1998), 451-452
Image: Arabs Doing Business with Medieval Merchants Trade
Source: Anonymous, Image donated by Corbin-Bettmann.
4
Quetzalcoatl Belief and Rituals Spread Along Turquoise Road
There are tantalizing suggestions that the religions of the Americas traveled with merchants and traders just as their Old World
counterparts had traveled along the Silk Roads. Anthropologists have observed many similarities in artistic and symbolic
representations that suggest a cultural diffusion from Mesoamerica. One of the most interesting examples is found the depictions in the
southwestern U.S. of the feathered serpent, Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl was multifaceted: the deity of priestly wisdom, agriculture, and
art, as well as a sky god associated with creation and with the blood offerings necessary to sustain life. We have been able to trace the
trade routes that connected the Toltecs of Mesoamerica with the Anasazi turquoise miners. Along these routes, we often find symbolic
designs representing a feathered serpent, such as those found in Anasazi art. It seems likely that aspects of Mesoamerican religious
beliefs flowed along in much the same manner that Buddhism and Islam moved across Southeast Asia. Anasazi societies were
disrupted about 1300, and the people abandoned their mining activities and disbursed, eventually forming or merging with the Zuni
and Hopi societies. Traces of Quetzalcoatl remain in the art and rituals of those successor societies. As anthropologists unravel the
legends and art work of the southwestern United States, we may well be able to determine more about the cultural interconnections
that ran through the continents.
Reading: Ritual Power of Turquoise
The turquoise trade did not end when the Chaco Canyon center and Toltec ceased participation. As had been the case throughout the
centuries before, the network simply shifted to accommodate new or different participants. Turquoise consumption in Mesoamerica
continued to increase; the demand was met by other supply centers. As old elite consumers--the Teotihuacan, Toltec and Aztec, in
turn--disappeared, new ones took their place. The Toltec had adopted many of the gods and habits of the Teotihuacan, including their
taste for turquoise. The successors to the Toltec, the Aztec (more properly known as the Mexica) retained both the pantheon and the
tastes. According to Spanish records, the gifts sent by Aztec emperor Montezuma II to Cortés, reveal the strong association of
turquoise with power and ritual. The chronicler described the gifts, "First was the array of Quetzalcoatl: a serpent mask made of
turquoise; a quetzal feather headband and a mirror for the small of the back--like a turquoise shield, of turquoise mosaic--encrusted
with turquoise, glued with turquoise." The magnificent mask is now ensconced in the British Museum, a testimony to the splendor of
pre-Columbian wealth. Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, was a god of the Mesoamerican pantheon, associated with wind by the
residents of Teotihuacan, and later with a benevolent ruler by the Toltecs. The Mexica associated him with arts, crafts, and agriculture.
He seems to have flown along the turquoise road; interesting traces of the feathered serpent remain in the rituals of people like the
Hopi and Zuni.
Of course, it is impossible to know whether successor societies absorbed Mesoamerican beliefs intact, but there is compelling physical
and artistic evidence that many of the ceremonies made their way through the Americas along the turquoise trail. It is very likely that
the beliefs expressed through the rituals underwent a degree of mutation or evolution in response to domestic cultural assumptions.
Physical, political, and cultural environments shape perceptions. We have learned from the spread of religious beliefs along the Silk
and Gold Roads that even though many of the cultural trappings associated with religions travel well, local interpretations can lead to
interesting transformations.
Source: Excerpted from original materials created for Bridging World History (Portland, OR: Oregon Public Broadcasting, 2004).
Image: Temple of Quetzalcoatl, Teotihuacan, Mexico.
Source: Courtesy of J. Q. Jacobs.
Image: Aztec Serpent Turquoise Inlaid Pin
Source: Anonymous, donated by CorbisBettmann.
5
Buddhism and the Northern Wei
Buddhist merchants in the oasis towns of the Silk Roads acted as a conduit linking the world of the sophisticated south Asian societies
and the steppe nomads of central Asia. These centers provided the northern nomads with exposure to the material and intellectual
world beyond China. Many of these nomads needed trade with China, yet held a deep animosity for the Chinese. The long-standing
"trade and raid" relationships were well established by the second millennium BCE. Unlike China's neighbors to the south, these
northern steppe people found Confucianism either incomprehensible or distasteful. The Indian merchants appeared to represent a
tradition as rich as that of China, and the land lay far enough from the steppes that no tradition of hostility had developed. The finer
philosophical debates of Buddhism held little attraction for the nomads, either, but occasionally ingenious missionaries made use of a
penchant for miracles to win fame among the nomads. Familiarity gradually bred conversion. The Tuoba were one of the northern
nomadic groups to which Buddhism held a deep appeal. By the end the fourth century CE, the Tuoba dominated a large territory north
of China, penetrating into the Tarim Basin by the next century. Political power always inspires cultural absorption. Buddhism and art
showing a definite Indian influence spread among the nomadic peoples who were restlessly pressing against Chinese borders.
Conversion in China proceeded even more slowly, gaining popularity in the north. Just as Buddhism seemed politically expedient, the
Tuoba conquered the area and ruled as the Northern Wei.
Reading: Nomads Adopt Buddhism in China
The Tuoba Wei, who ruled much of north China from the fifth to the early sixth centuries, were a proto-Mongolian people who
adopted Buddhism and extended their patronage of that faith over the northern Chinese population. They adapted their nomadic way
of life to rule the Chinese, as later nomadic peoples also learned to shift from life on the steppes to ruling the sedentary agrarian
population of China by adopting Chinese-style political institutions that centralized power in the hands of a ruler who distributed
administrative authority to his subordinates.
Source:Candice L. Goucher, Charles A. LeGuin, and Linda A. Walton, In the Balance: Themes in Global History. (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1998), 264.
Image: Northern Wei Stone Musician (ca 500-599)
Source: Anonymous, courtesy of World Art Kiosk/Kathleen Cohen.
Christianity and Islam in East Africa
The people of coastal Africa were well aware of the world beyond their immediate geographical vicinity. Small boats traveled up and
down the coasts of Africa, carrying merchandise, people, languages, and ideas. Conquest played a much less important role in the
spread of religious beliefs than merchant activities. Coastal traders of east Africa came into contact with early Muslims and Christians.
Egypt became a Christian center under the Roman Empire, and the influence drifted up the Nile. Around 350 CE, the Nubian kingdom
of Axum became officially Christian. Within two or three centuries, much of Nubia became Christian and remained so until the
fifteenth century. The sustained trading contacts with Arabia and the Persian Gulf promoted the spread of Islam down the coast. Small
mosques were built on the coast of Kenya by the ninth century, and soon elites were occasionally converting to Islam and marrying
into powerful Islamic trading families. Islam expanded extensively along the seaboard areas by the twelfth century, ultimately
becoming one of the most important elements of Swahili culture. Swahili trade networks, connecting central Africa with the great
markets of the Indian Ocean, where active conduits of trade promoted the development of family ties between trading partners as well
as the exchange of beliefs. Despite the frequent and sustained contact with Asia and north Africa, however, the primary cultural
influence along the Swahili coast was sub-Saharan African. The Swahili were creative innovators, drawing on available cultural
traditions, combining them into a rich fusion. Islam--like Christianity and Judaism--was interpreted in a uniquely African way.
Reading: Aksum Connects Afro-Eurasia
6
The experience of the kingdom of Axum (sometimes spelled Aksum) well illustrates the potential of trade to support political as well
as economic development. Founded in the highlands of northern Ethiopia about the first century C.E., Axum was originally a small
kingdom whose merchants traded from the port of Adulis on the Red Sea. Axum soon displaced Kush as Egypt's principal link to
southern lands and sent the Nubian kingdom into economic and political decline: about 360 C.E. Axumite forces even invaded Kush
and destroyed the capital city of Meroe. During the fourth and fifth centuries, Axumites adopted Christianity and established a
distinctive church that maintained relations with Christian communities in Egypt and the Mediterranean basin. During the sixth
century Axum embarked on a round of territorial expansion, building an empire that included most of modern-day Ethiopia as well as
Yemen in southern Arabia. Indeed, an Axumite army and elephant corps campaigned as far north as Mecca in the year 571 C.E., birth
year of the prophet Muhammad.
During the seventh and eighth centuries, Arab conquerors sought to bring Axum into the expanding realm of Islam, but the kingdom
maintained its independence and its Christian religion. Since neighboring lands mostly adopted Islam, Axum fell out of
communication with other Christian societies. Nevertheless, Axumite merchants not only maintained commercial ties with distant
lands, as ships from Adulis routinely sailed for India and the islands of southeast Asia, but also traded regularly with Muslim
merchants in neighboring lands. From the sixth to ninth centuries C.E., Adulis was perhaps the most prominent port in east Africa,
funneling gold, ivory, and slaves from sub-Saharan Africa to Egypt, the eastern Mediterranean region, and the Indian Ocean basin.
Thus, even though challenged by Muslim forces, Axum was able to maintain its independence and prosperity, largely because of its
participation in trading networks of the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
Source: Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past, 2nd Edition. (New
York: McGraw-Hill, 2003), 425.
Image: Aksum
Source: Courtesy of Martin Gray.
Mali Ruler Mansa Musa Embraces Islam
European maps of Africa before 1500 CE invariably included an image of the king of Mali seated on his throne, holding a gold nugget
nearly the size of his head. It was the fourteenth-century Malian ruler and his entourage who had given away so much gold while on
hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca that the price of gold on the Cairo market had collapsed shortly thereafter.
In Africa, the delegation of Mansa Musa, ruler of Mali (1312-1337), served multiple purposes: it was a religious pilgrimage, a trading
venture, and a diplomatic mission to lands beyond Mali's borders, namely Mecca and Cairo. The pathway connecting Mali, a large
west African state, and the wider Islamic world was one trodden by merchant-clerics, not just kings.
What impact did the conversion of rulers play in the spread of Islam? Traditional pre-Islamic beliefs such as the recognition of deities
and ancestral spirits persisted. Part of the reason for Islam's success in Africa was its adapatability to local cultural norms. Even the
conventional Islamic prohibition on masquerading was not widespread, and dances associated with the Islamic observance of
Ramadan are common in west Africa. For more than a thousand years, belonging to the Islamic world meant entering into larger
trading networks and sometimes larger political federations. Only the arrival of the Europeans in coastal Africa brought religion
(Christianity, in this case) and commerce in such a closely intertwined fashion.
Reading: Mansa Musa’s Pilgrimage to Mecca
The travels of Mansa Musa (King Musa), a fourteenth-century ruler of Mali, brought attention to the golden wealth of the African
empire. Like many of his predecessors, Mansa Musa had eagerly embraced Islam, in large part because of the international
commercial world the religion opened up. As the Islamic faith gradually spread across North Africa and south across the Sahara
(between about 750 and 1400 C.E.), it brought merchants and clerics, goods and ideas. Mali, with its capital at Niani not far from the
Niger, became the trading partner of merchants with connections to West Asia and beyond. Like any devout Muslim, Mansa Musa
was required to attempt the pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca, which he did in 1325. According to contemporary accounts, Mansa Musa
traveled with thousands of porters and servants bedecked with gold. In Cairo, his generosity and wealth were legendary. It was Mansa
Musa who gave away so much gold that he caused the market to crash and depressed world prices. From this time forward, European
and Arab cartographers depicted the Sudan with portraits of the African ruler holding a large gold nugget. Yet Mansa Musa is rarely
7
mentioned in the oral tradition. He is remembered for having been unfaithful to Mande traditions and having wasted the imperial
treasury.
The caravans of gold made the Mali Empire a celebrated name far beyond West Africa. The caravan routes met at Niani and other
staging posts, and their protection was a major function of the empire. Gold, salt, copper, and kola nuts were central to Mali's
economy. Following the reign of Sunjata, Mali became the world's largest producer of gold. Along with the movement of material
goods went the dissemination of Mande language, technology, and culture. Even later, the empire would serve as the major promoter
of Islamic ideology and culture across the West African savanna.
Source: Candice L. Goucher, Charles A. LeGuin, and Linda A. Walton, In the Balance: Themes in Global History. (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1998), 233.
Equestrian Figure, Inland Niger Delta Style, Inland Niger Delta Region, Mali (13 th – 15th
Century).
Source: Courtesy of the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Image: Arteries of Trade and Travel in the
Islamic World to 1500.
Source: Courtesy of Houghton Mifflin
Company.
Conclusion
Religious encounters that took place along the Silk Roads, across the Sahara and the Indian Ocean, and along the routes that connected
peoples in the Americas introduced new beliefs and practices that in time transformed both the new adherents and the religions
themselves. Assimilation of new religions, and their adaptation to diverse cultures and peoples, were the product of transmission by
missionaries and by merchants who traversed these routes as conduits of both culture and commerce.
8