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A General History of Iron Technology in Africa ca. 2000BC-1900AD.

The smelting and working of iron is arguably the best known among the pre-colonial technologies of Africa, and the continent is home to some of the world's oldest sites of ironworking.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A General History of Iron Technology in Africa ca. 2000BC-1900AD. ================================================================= ( Aug 11, 2024 16 The smelting and working of iron is arguably the best known among the pre-colonial technologies of Africa, and the continent is home to some of the world's oldest sites of ironworking. Iron metallurgy was an integral component of socioeconomic life across the continent, and has played a significant role in the sociocultural, economic, and environmental spheres of many African societies, past and present, not only for utilitarian items, but also in the creation of symbolic, artistic, and ornamental objects. The production, control, and distribution of Iron was pivotal in the rise and fall of African kingdoms and empires, the expansion of trade and cultural exchange, and the growth of military systems which ensured Africa’s autonomy until the close of the 19th century. This article outlines the General History of Iron technologies in Africa, from the construction of the continent's oldest furnaces in antiquity to the 19th century, exploring the role of Iron in African trade, agriculture, warfare, politics, and Art traditions. * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **On the invention of Iron technology in Africa.** Most studies of the history of Ironworking begin with the evolution of metallurgy in the Near Eastern societies and the transition from copper, to bronze and finally to iron. The use and spread of these metals across the eastern Mediterranean was a complex and protracted process, that was politically and culturally mediated rather than being solely determined by the physical properties of the metals.( Since the transition from copper to iron across most of the societies in the Near East was broadly similar, and the region was initially thought to be home to the oldest known iron-working sites, researchers surmised that iron technology had a single origin from which it subsequently spread across the old world from Asia to Europe, to Africa. In North Africa, ironworking was only known from historical documents, it was only recently that archeological investigations have provided firmer evidence for early iron smelting in the region. This includes sites such as Bir Massouda at Carthage in Tunisia between 760-480 BCE( , at Naucratis and Hamama in Egypt between 580-30BCE( , at Meroe and Hamadab in Sudan around 514 BCE( and in the Fezzan region of Libya around 500BCE( . _**Large iron slag mound at Meroe, Sudan.**_ photo by Jane Humpris. However, as it will become evident in the following paragraphs, the development of iron technology in the rest of Africa was independent of North African ironworking and is likely to have been a much older phenomenon. In contrast to the Maghreb, metallurgy in the rest of Africa kick-started with the simultaneous working of iron and copper between the late 3rd to early 2nd millennium BC, to be later followed by bronze, gold and other metals. A number of radiocarbon dates within the range of 2200 to 800 BCE have since been accumulated across multiple sites. This includes sites such as; Oboui and Gbatoro in Cameroon and Central Africa, where iron furnaces, bloom fragments, slag pieces, and at least 174 iron tools were found dated to c. 2200–1965 BCE; at Ngayene in the Senegambian megaliths, where iron tools were found dated to 1362–1195 BCE; and at Gbabiri (north of Oboui) where similar iron objects and forges were found dated to 900–750 BCE.( More extensive evidence for iron working in West Africa is dated to the period between 800-400 BCE, where the combined evidence for iron tools, furnaces, slag, and tuyeres was found at various places. These include the sites of Taruga and Baidesuru in the Nok culture of central Nigeria, In the northern Mandara region of Cameroon, at Dhar Nema in the Tichitt Neolithic culture of southern Mauritania, at Dia In the Inland Niger delta of Mali( , at Walalde in Senegal( , at Dekpassanware, in Togo( at the Nsukka sites of Nigeria,( and at Tora Sira Tomo in Burkina Faso( , among other sites. _**Slag blocks at Otobo-Dunuoka village square, Lejja, Nsukka area, Nigeria**_. The subsequent spread of ironworking technology to central, East and South Africa was linked to the expansion of Bantu-speaking groups, a few centuries after they had settled in the region.( For the period between 800-400BC Iron working sites, are found at Otoumbi and Moanda in Gabon, at the Urewe sites of; Mutwarubona in Rwanda, Mirama III in Burundi, at Katuruka in Tanzania.( By the turn of the common era, Ironworking had spread to the southeastern tip of the continent, with sites such as Matola in Mozambique and ‘Silver Leaves’ in South Africa being dated to between the 1st-2nd century CE.( While few studies have been conducted in the northern Horn of Africa, there’s evidence for extensive use of iron tools at Bieta Giyorgis and Aksum in Ethiopia, between the late 1st millennium BC and the early centuries of the common era. ( While proponents of an independent origin of iron technology in Africa rely on archeological evidence, the diffusionist camp is driven by the hypothesis that ironworking required pre-existing knowledge of copper smelting, they therefore surmise that it originated from Carthage or Meroe. However, there's still no material evidence for any transmission of ironworking technology based on the furnace types from either region( , and the recently confirmed dates from Cameroon, Central Africa, and Senegal significantly predate those from Meroe, the Fezzan, and Carthage.( Furthermore, there was no contact between the earliest West African Iron Age sites of the Nok Culture with North Africa; nor was there contact between Nok and its northern neighbor; the Gajiganna culture of Lake Chad (1800-400BCE) which had no iron at its main proto-urban capital of Zilum;( nor were there ( during this period. Even links between more proximate regions like the Fezzan in Libya (which had Iron by 500 BCE) and the Lake Chad basin before the common era remain unproven.( The site of Oboui in the Central African republic has been the subject of intense interest by archeometallurgists since it provides the **earliest known iron-working facility anywhere in the world**. So while it may _"never be possible to write a history of African metallurgy that truly satisfies the historian's inordinate greed for both generalization and specificity,"_ the most recent research weighs heavily in favor of an independent origin of Ironworking in Africa. _**1st millennium BC Nok furnace site at Janjala, Nigeria.**_ * * * **The process of Smelting and Smithing Iron in African furnaces.** The process of ironworking starts with the search and acquisition of iron ores through mining and collecting, followed by the preparation of raw materials including charcoal, followed by the building of the smelting installations, furnaces, tuyeres and crucibles, followed by the smelting itself which reduces the ores to metal, followed by bloom cleaning, smithing, and the forging of the finished product( . This was extremely labour-intensive and time-consuming, especially collecting the ore and fuel, which could at times last several weeks or months.( In nature, iron may be found in five different compounds: oxide, hydroxide, carbide, sulfide, and silicate, of which there are many different types of iron ores in Africa (lateritic, oolitic, magnetite-ilmenite, etc) which invariably influenced the smelting technology used. Ancient African bloomery furnaces exhibit remarkable diversity, suggesting constant improvisation and innovations. As one metallurgist observed, _**"every conceivable method of iron production seems to have been employed in Africa, some of it quite unbelievable."**_ African ironworkers adapted bloomery furnaces to an extraordinary range of iron ores, some of which cannot be used by modern blast furnaces and weren’t found anywhere else in the Old World.( African iron-smelting processes are all variants of the bloomery process, in which the air blast must be stopped periodically to remove the masses of metal (blooms), while the waste product (slag) may be tapped from the furnaces as a liquid, or may solidify within it. Most of the oldest African furnaces were shaft furnaces that ranged from small pit furnaces to massive Natural-draft smelting furnaces with tall shafts upto 7 meters high.( _**Natural draft furnaces in the Seno plain below Segue, Burkina Faso**_, 1957, Quai Branly. _**Earthen smelting furnaces in Ouahigouya, near the capital of Yatenga kingdom, Burkina Faso**_, 1911, Quai Branly. _**Examples of African bloomery furnace types**_ (by F. Bandama), _**Approximate distribution of bowl, shaft, and natural draught furnace types in Africa**_. (by S. Chirikure). Bloomery smelting operates around 1200°C; ie at a temperature below the melting point of iron (1540°C), which is high enough only to melt the gangue minerals in the ore and separate them from the unmolten iron oxides. Air is introduced to the furnace either through forced draft using bellows and tuyères (ceramic pipes), or by natural draft taking advantage of prevailing winds or utilizing the chimney effect. This enables the fuel (usually charcoal) to burn, producing carbon monoxide, which reacts with the iron oxide, ultimately reducing it to form metallic iron.( These furnaces could produce cast iron and wrought iron, as well as steel, the latter of which there is sufficient evidence in several societies, most notably in the 18th-century kingdom of Yatenga between Mali and Burkina Faso, where blacksmiths built massive furnaces upto 8m high to produce steel bars and composite tools with steel-cutting edges( . Steel is iron alloyed with between 0.2% and 2% carbon, and it has been found in archaeometallurgical studies of furnaces and slag from Buhaya in northern Tanzania,( and in northern Mandara region of Cameroon among other sites.( Most high-carbon steel could be produced directly in the bloomery furnace by increasing the carbon content of the bloom, rather than by subsequent smithing as in most parts of the Old World.( _**Iron smelting at Oumalokho near the border of Mali & Cote d’ivoire**_, illustration by Louis Binger, ca. 1892. _**steel sword with gold hilt, blade decorated with incised geometric and floral decoration, ca. 1900**_, Asante, Ghana, V&A museum Once smelting was complete, the bloom settled to the bottom of the furnace and was removed for further refinement through repeated heating and hammering into bars using large hammerstones. After which, the iron bars produced from this process were forged at high temperatures, and the blacksmith will use various hammers, tongs, quenching bowls, and anvils to work the iron into a desired shape. In a few cases, methods like lost wax casting and the use of molds which were common in the working of gold and copper alloys were also used for iron to produce different objects, ornaments, and ingots.( Like all forms of technology, the working of Iron in Africa was socially mediated. The role of blacksmiths was considered important but their social position was rather ambiguous and varied. Depending on the society and era, they were both respected or feared, powerful or marginalized, because they wielded social power derived from access to knowledge of metallurgy, divination, peacemaking, and other salient social practices( . The smith’s craft extended from the production of the most basic of domestic tools to the creation of a corpus of inventive, diverse, and technically sophisticated vehicles of social and spiritual power The various taboos and rituals associated with the craft were a technology of practice that enabled smelters to take control of the process through learned behavior.( One key feature of African metallurgy is that it resists homogenization, yet anthropologists who study the subject are more inclined to homogenize than to seek variations. In contrast to the making of pottery and sculptures, the apprenticeship of iron smelting has not been the focus of ethnological studies. While such studies can only provide us with information from the 20th century, the persistence of pre-industrial methods of iron production in some parts of the continent suggests that some of this information can be extrapolated back to earlier periods. A number of researchers have left ethnographic descriptions of smelting sessions that they attended, observing that there is a head smelter or an elder’s council, as well as young people or apprentices. Under the leadership of a master, the metallurgists seem to take part collectively in the smelting, and the associated rituals involved in the process. Each member of a smelting session detects the physical and chemical changes of the material being processed inside the furnace.( Ethnographic descriptions show the major importance of smith castes and ritual practice, as well as political control over resources like iron ore, wood, land, and labour.( In many parts of the continent, there's extensive evidence that iron smelting was considered ritually akin to the act of procreation and therefore was carried out away from or in seclusion from women and domestic contexts( . Yet there were numerous exceptions in southern and East Africa where women were allowed in the smelting area, procuring iron ores, and constructing furnaces.( Evidently, all available labour was utilized for iron working when necessary, depending on the cultural practices of a given society. * * * **The role of Iron in early African Agriculture and Trade.** Ironworking played a pivotal role in the advent and evolution of agriculture and long-distance trade across the African continent, as the widespread use of iron tools helped to increase food production and the exchanges of surpluses between different groups. In many societies, the various types of iron tools (such as plows and hoes) the design of furnaces, and the organization of labor, influenced and were influenced by developments in agriculture, trade, and cultural exchanges.( For example, the use of natural draught furnaces and the creation of a caste of blacksmiths frees up labour for working the raw iron to make iron objects and develop long-distance trade and exchange. Such high- fuel low-labour furnaces were particularly common in the West African Sudanic woodland zone from Senegal to Nigeria and in the miombo woodlands of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, where labour requirements for swidden agriculture may have reduced available labour for smithing.( Natural draft furnaces; _**Yeke, D.R.Congo, early 20th century**_, Royal Museum for Central Africa. _**‘A Bafipa natural draft furnace in Tanzania’**_, photo by S.T.Childs. _**Aushi, Zambia, early 20th century,**_ British Museum. In other regions, the demand for Iron objects beyond the immediate society in which specialist smiths lived facilitated the production of large quantities of Iron for export. For example, at least 15 sites used by Dogon smiths in south-central Mali produced a about 400,000 tonnes of slag – or 40,000 tonnes of iron objects over a period of 1,400 years, which is about 26 tones of iron objects per year; while the site of Korsimoro (Burkina Faso) yielded 200,000 tonnes of slag - or 20,000 tonnes of iron objects between 1000-1500 CE, which is about 32 tonnes of iron per year.( This scale of production doubtlessly suggests that the iron was intended for export to neighboring societies, albeit not at a scale associated with large states. For example, the dramatic rise in iron production from a small site of Bandjeli in Togo, from less than a tonne in the 18th century to over 14 tones per year by 1900 may have been associated with demand from sections of the kingdoms of Dagomba, Gonja, Mamprusi, although it was far from the only site( . It therefore appears that in most parts of Africa, specialization was based on pooling together surplus from various relatively small-scale industries which cumulatively produced bigger output, and may not have been concentrated even in the case of large states.( Several types of iron objects served as convenient stores of wealth and were at times used as secondary currencies in some contexts, primarily because of the ever-present demand for domestic and agricultural iron implements like hoes, knives, machetes, harpoons, as well as the general use of metals for tribute, social ceremonies, and trade.( In West Africa, iron blooms were traded and kept as heirlooms, while knives and iron hoes were both a trade item and a medium of exchange in parts of Southern Africa and west-central Africa( . In East Africa, where long-distance traders like the 19th century ( were required by local rulers to give iron hoes as a form of tax on their return journeys from the interior as a substitute for cowries and cloth. Similary In Ethiopia, iron plowshares were valued items of trade.( _**Illustration depicting an ‘Abyssinian Plough’. ca. 1868**_, Library of Congress. * * * **Iron in the History of Warfare and Politics in Pre-colonial Africa.** Given its centrality in agriculture and trade, the spread of iron working in Africa was closely associated with the emergence and growth of complex societies across the continent. The rise of African states resulted in an increased demand for symbols of prestige and power, among which iron, copper, and gold were prominent. Increase in metal production and changes in furnace construction in the Great Lakes region for example, were associated with the emergence of the kingdoms of Bunyoro, Buganda, and Nyiginya (Rwanda),( and similar developments in southern Africa and the East African coast were associated with the rise of the kingdoms at Great Zimbabwe and Kilwa.( A significant number of iron tools found at the oldest sites of ironworking across the continent included knives and arrowheads. Additionally, a number of historical traditions of societies in central Africa like the kingdom of Ndongo and Luba, either attribute or closely associate the founding of kingdoms to iron-wielding warrior-kings and blacksmiths( . Iron was often conceptually integrated within the organizing structures of these states, with iron symbolism frequently incorporated within iconography, mythology, and systems of tribute payment, all of which underscores the importance of iron weapons to the emergence and expansion of African kingdoms and empires, especially in warfare.( [![Number 307:1983\ ]( "Number 307:1983\ ")]( _**Sword made by a Ngala smith from Congo**_, Copper alloy handle with iron struts attached to iron blade, Late 19th century, Saint Louis art museum _**Iron Sword, 19th century,**_ Asante Kingdom, Ghana, British Museum * * * ( * * * ( and is too diverse to summarise here, but it suffices to say that the majority of weapons were made locally and most of them were made of Iron. The provision of weapons and the distribution of power were often strongly correlated, especially in larger complex societies where rulers retained large arsenals of weapons to distribute to their armies during times of war, and maintained a workforce of blacksmiths to provide these weapons.( In most parts of the continent, blacksmiths were numerous and usually worked in closely organized kin guilds associated with centers of political power, where rulers acted as their patrons, receiving protection and supplies in exchange for providing armies with swords, lance heads, chainmail, helmets, arrow points and throwing knives. In some exceptional cases, a few of these items were imported by wealthy rulers and subsequently reworked by local smiths to be kept as prestige items.( Among the most common iron objects in African ethnographic collections are the two-edged straight or gently tapering sword, which was common in West Africa( , as well as in most parts of central Africa, North-East Africa and the East African coast. Other collections include curved blades and throwing weapons with multiple ends, as well as axes, arrowheads, and javelin points. _**sword with Iron blade, sheath decorated with plant and zoomorphic motifs, 19th century, Dahomey, Benin.**_ Musée d'ethnographie, Genève. _**Iron and Ivory sword, undated**_, Kongo, Angola/D.R.Congo, Brooklyn Museum, _**Curved Iron sword, Mangbetu,**_ D.R.Congo, British Museum. _**Iron blades made by Ekonda smiths**_, late 19th century, D.R.C, Smithsonian museum By the 18th century, swords and lances had largely fallen out of use in the regions close to the Atlantic coast and were replaced by muskets.( The repair of guns and cannons, as well as the manufacture of iron bullets was also undertaken across many societies( , from ( and ( , to ( and ( . The casting of brass and iron cannons, in particular, was attested in many parts of West Africa, most notably in the 16th-century kingdoms of Benin and Bornu, ( , as well as in the 19th-century ( . Benin in particular is known to have made a number of firearms, some of which appear in western museum collections. _**Firearm made of Brass and Iron, ca. 18th century**_, Benin City, Nigeria, National Museum, Benin. _**Firearm made of Iron and Wood, ca. 18th century**_, Benin City, Nigeria, National Museum, Benin. The complete manufacture of firearms was accomplished in some societies during the 19th century such as the ( , the ( and the Ethiopian Empire under Tewodros( . In the 1880s Samori concentrated 300-400 ironworkers in the village of Tete where they succeeded in manufacturing flintlocks at a cost lower than the price paid for those bought from Freetown. Tete was evacuated in 1892 and its armament workers were reassembled at Dabakol under the direction of an artificer who had spent several months in a French arsenal. They succeeded in making effective copies of Kropatschek repeating rifles at a rate of two of these guns per day.( * * * **Iron in the making of African Art and Culture.** According to Cyril Stanley Smith, a founding father of archaeometallurgy, "aesthetic curiosity" was the original driving force of technological development everywhere, and the human desire for pretty things like jewelry and sculpture, rather than for "useful" objects such as tools and weapons, first led enterprising individuals to discover new materials, processes, and structures.( While many of the oldest iron tools found in the ancient metallurgical centers of Africa were agricultural implements and weapons, a number of them also included small caches of jewelry in the form of bracelets and anklets. Later sites include Iron ornaments such as earrings, earplugs, and nose rings. African jewelry made from metal primarily consisted of gold, copper alloys, and silver, with iron being relatively uncommon. However, there are a few notable exceptions such as the kingdom of Dahomey, where skilled blacksmiths produced a remarkable corpus of sculptural artworks made of Iron called _**asen**_. Historically, _**asen**_ were also closely identified with the belief systems of the Vodun religion and practices. Following the rise of the Dahomey kingdom, their function shifted toward a more specifically royal memorial use as each king was identified with a distinct asen. These royal asen were brought out during annual “custom” rites, placed near the _**djeho**_ (spirit house of the king), and given libations while fixed in the ground using long iron stems. The _**asen**_s feature figurative scenes depicting processions of titled persons in excellent detail, at the end of which are placed _**togbe**_ pendants around the edge of the platform.( _**Various Asen representing the Yovogan of Dahomey, from the mid-late 19th century**_, Benin,. New Orleans museum, Barbier Mueller museum, Museum of Fine arts. Iron sculptures from Dahomey; _**figure of the Fon deity Gu holding up a sword, late 19th century,**_ private collection. _**Asen altar with birds on a tree, early 20th century,**_ Fowler Museum. Iron sculptures and other artifacts made of composite materials that include iron are attested across multiple African art traditions, from West African figures made by the Yoruba of south-western Nigeria, as well as the Dogon and Mande of Mali, to the composite wood-and-iron sculptures of West central Africa, to the musical instruments of central and southern Africa, such as thumb pianos and rattles of the Chokwe artists of Angola and D.R.Congo. Iron sculptures of Yoruba artists, _**Opa Osanyín staff, 19th century**_, private collection. _**Rainmaking vessel, mid-20th century**_, Fowler Museum. composite iron and wood artefacts by the Chokwe; _**Lamellophone (chisanji), ca. 1890**_, Angola/D.R.Congo, Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix. _**Thumb piano with an equestrian figure, 19th century**_, Angola/D.R.Congo, Cleveland Museum The smelting of Iron in Africa gradually declined in the 20th century as local demand was increasingly met by industrial iron and steel, but smithing continues across most parts of the continent. This shift from smelting to smithing began in some coastal regions significantly earlier than on the African mainland, where smelting persisted well into the post-colonial era.( In response to shifts in local economies during the colonial and post-colonial era, African blacksmiths began incorporating salvaged materials into their work through creative recycling. Blacksmiths continue to serve as technology brokers who transform one object into another— truck wheels become bells and gongs; leaf springs from cars become axes and asen in Benin; and bicycle spokes become thumb pianos in western Zambia. Today, smiths forge work to accommodate new contexts and purposes. For example in southern Nigeria, where the Yorùbá deity of iron, Ògún, has become the patron of automobiles, laptops, and cell phones.( Iron continues to play a central role in the development of African societies, a product of centuries of innovations and developments in one of the continent’s oldest technologies. man carrying a massive sword dedicated to Gu; the god of iron and war. ca. 1950 Abomey, Benin, Quai Branly. * * * Recent archeological research has uncovered a series of stone complexes in the Mandara mountains of Cameroon which historical documents from the region associate with the expansion of complex societies and empires at the end of the Middle Ages. **Please subscribe to read about the DGB ruins and the Mandara kingdom here:** ( Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Metals in Past Societies: A Global Perspective on Indigenous African Metallurgy By Shadreck Chirikure pg 20-23) ( Ferrous metallurgy from the Bir Massouda metallurgical precinct at Phoenician and Punic Carthage and the beginning of the North African Iron Age by Brett Kaufman et al. ( Ancient Mining and Smelting Activities in the Wadi Abu Gerida Area, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt: Preliminary Results by Mai Rifai, Yasser Abd El-Rahman, Metals in Past Societies: A Global Perspective on Indigenous African Metallurgy By Shadreck Chirikure pg 71, ( Investigating the ironworking remains in the Royal City of Meroe , Sudan by Chris Carey, The ancient iron mines of Meroe by Jane Humphris et al., A New Radiocarbon Chronology for Ancient Iron Production in the Meroe Region of Sudan by Jane Humphris, Metals in Past Societies: A Global Perspective on Indigenous African Metallurgy By Shadreck Chirikure pg 72 ( Mobile Technologies in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond edited by C. N. Duckworth, A. Cuénod, D. J. Mattingly pg 239) ( Preindustrial Mining and Metallurgy in Africa by F Bandama pg 6, The Origins of African Metallurgies by A.F.C. Holl pg 7-8, 12-13, 21-31) ( Mobile Technologies in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond edited by C. N. Duckworth, A. Cuénod, D. J. Mattingly pg 238) ( Excavations at Walalde: New Light on the Settlement of the Middle Senegal Valley by Iron-Using People by A Deme ( The Early Iron Metallurgy of Bassar, Togo: furnaces, metallurgical remains and iron objects by PL de Barros ( Lejja archaeological site, Southeastern Nigeria and its potential for archaeological science research by Pamela Ifeoma Eze-Uzomaka et. al. ( Iron metallurgy in West Africa: An Early Iron smelting site in the Mouhoun Bend, Burkina Faso by Augustin Ferdinand Charles Holl ( Indigenous African Metallurgy: Nature and Culture by S. Terry Childs pg 321-322 ( The Archaeology of Africa: Food, Metals and Towns edited by Bassey Andah, Alex Okpoko, Thurstan Shaw, Paul Sinclair pg 302-306, Our Iron Smelting 14C Dates from Central Africa: From a Plain Appointment to a Full Blown Relationship" by Bernard Clist, A critical reappraisal of the chronological framework of the early Urewe Iron Age industry by Bernard Clist. ( Metals in Past Societies: A Global Perspective on Indigenous African Metallurgy By Shadreck Chirikure pg 22. ( Foundations of an African Civilisation by D. Philipson pg 142, 166-167. ( Book review essay: What do we know about African iron working? by D. Killick pg 107 ( The Origins of African Metallurgies by A.F.C. Holl pg 4, Metals in Past Societies: A Global Perspective on Indigenous African Metallurgy By Shadreck Chirikure pg 25 ( Zilum: a mid-first millennium BC fortified settlement by C Magnavita pg 166-167 ( Urbanisation and State Formation in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond by Martin Sterry, ‎David J. Mattingly pg 516, Landscapes, Sources and Intellectual Projects of the West African Past: Essays in Honour of Paulo Fernando de Moraes Farias pg 25-32) ( The Archaeology of Africa: Food, Metals and Towns pg 333-334 ( The Social Context of Iron Forging on the Kenya Coast by Chapurukha M. Kusimba pg 401-402) ( Did They or Didn't They Invent It? Iron in Sub-Saharan Africa by Stanley B. Alpern pg 85, Mobile Technologies in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond edited by C. N. Duckworth, A. Cuénod, D. J. Mattingly pg 292-294) ( Invention and Innovation in African Iron-smelting Technologies by David J Killick pg 312-313) ( African Iron Production and Iron-Working Technologies pg 2-3 ( Book review essay: What do we know about African iron working? by D. Killick pg 108 ( Cairo to Cape: The Spread of Metallurgy Through Eastern and Southern Africa by D. Killick pg 408 ( Metals in Mandara Mountains Society and Culture edited by Nicholas David pg 12-13, 174. ( Did They or Didn't They Invent It? Iron in Sub-Saharan Africa by Stanley B. Alpern pg 87, Preindustrial Mining and Metallurgy in Africa by F Bandama pg 11) ( Preindustrial Mining and Metallurgy in Africa by F Bandama pg 12, African Iron Production and Iron-Working Technologies pg 4-5. ( The Social Context of Iron Forging on the Kenya Coast by Chapurukha M. Kusimba, 386, Style, Technology, and Iron Smelting Furnaces in Bantu-Speaking Africa by S. Terry Childs pg 343-345 ( Metals in Past Societies: A Global Perspective on Indigenous African Metallurgy By Shadreck Chirikure pg 10, Indigenous African Metallurgy: Nature and Culture by S. Terry Childs pg 325-326, Warfare in Pre-Colonial Africa by C. G. Chidume et al pg 75-76 ( Mobile Technologies in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond edited by C. N. Duckworth, A. Cuénod, D. J. Mattingly 303-304, The Social Context of Iron Forging on the Kenya Coast by Chapurukha M. Kusimba, pg 390-393) ( Mobile Technologies in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond edited by C. N. Duckworth, A. Cuénod, D. J. Mattingly pg 295-302) ( Indigenous African Metallurgy: Nature and Culture by S. Terry Childs pg 327-328 ( Preindustrial Mining and Metallurgy in Africa by F Bandama pg 13-14, When the smith is a woman: innovation, improvisation and ambiguity in the organisation of African iron metallurgy by Ezekiel Mtetwa et. al. ( How Societies Are Born by Jan Vansina pg 65-66, 79-81. ( Invention and Innovation in African Iron-smelting Technologies by David J Killick pg 314-316) ( Mobile Technologies in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond edited by C. N. Duckworth, A. Cuénod, D. J. Mattingly pg 302, 305) ( A Comparison of Early and Later Iron Age Societies in the Bassar Region of Togo Philip de Barros pg 10-11 ( A technological and anthropological study of iron production in Venda, Limpopo Province, South Africa by Eric Ndivhuwo Mathoho pg 18, Early metallurgy and surplus without states in Africa south of the Sahara by Shadreck Chirikure ( Indigenous African Metallurgy: Nature and Culture by S. Terry Childs pg 332-333 ( Preindustrial Mining and Metallurgy in Africa Foreman Bandama pg 12, How Societies Are Born by Jan Vansina pg 126-127, 154-155 ( People of the Plow: An Agricultural History of Ethiopia, 1800–1990 By James McCann pg 130 ( Indigenous African Metallurgy: Nature and Culture by S. Terry Childs pg 330-331, Pre-colonial iron production in Great Lakes Africa by Louise Iles pg 60-63 ( Innovation, Tradition and Metals at Kilwa Kisiwani by Stephanie Wynne-Jones ( Blacksmiths of Ilamba: A Social History of Labor at the Nova Oeiras Iron Foundry (Angola, 18th Century) by Crislayne Alfagali ( Pre-colonial iron production in Great Lakes Africa by Louise Iles pg 58-60, Paths in the rainforests by Jan Vansina pg 60-61, ( Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa by Robert Sidney Smith pg 92, 101, Warfare in Pre-Colonial Africa by C. G. Chidume et al pg 78-79. ( Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa by Robert Sidney Smith pg 90-91, 103-105) ( Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa by Robert Sidney Smith pg 93-94) ( Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa by Robert Sidney Smith pg 107-108) ( Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa by Robert Sidney Smith pg 116) ( Africa and the Indian Ocean World from Early Times to Circa 1900 by Gwyn Campbell pg 202-208 ( Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa by Robert Sidney Smith pg 116 ( Did They or Didn't They Invent It? Iron in Sub-Saharan Africa by Stanley B. Alpern pg 87) ( Asen: Dahomey history, and Forged memories of Iron by S. Blier, Asen: Identifying Form, Style and Artists by S. Blier. ( The Social Context of Iron Forging on the Kenya Coast by Chapurukha M. Kusimba pg 400-401 ( Striking Iron The Art of African Blacksmiths by Allen F. Roberts and Marla C. Berns ### to African History Extra By isaac Samuel · Launched 3 years ago All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past

## A General History of Iron Technology in Africa ca. 2000 BC-1900 AD ### Introduction 1. **Iron Technology's Significance**: Iron metallurgy is a well-documented technology in pre-colonial Africa. The continent is known for hosting some of the oldest ironworking sites in the world. 2. **Role in Societies**: Iron production was vital for the socio-economic fabric of many African societies, influencing various spheres including socio-cultural, economic, and environmental aspects. ### Origin of Iron Technology in Africa 1. **Historical Context**: Early studies linked the beginnings of ironworking to Near Eastern societies, positing a singular origin from which the technology spread to other regions, including Africa. 2. **North African Evidence**: Historical sources once represented the primary evidence for ironworking in North Africa, but recent archaeological discoveries at sites like Bir Massouda and Meroe indicate earlier iron smelting activities (760-480 BCE in Carthage; 514 BCE in Sudan). 3. **Independent Development Elsewhere**: Evidence suggests that ironworking developed independently in West and Sub-Saharan Africa, predating North African practices. Key sites include: - Oboui and Gbatoro in Cameroon (c. 2200-1965 BCE). - Ngayene in Senegal (1362-1195 BCE). - The Nok culture in Nigeria (800-400 BCE). ### Spread and Techniques of Ironworking 1. **Bantu Expansion**: The spread of ironworking technologies coincided with the migrations of Bantu-speaking groups across central, eastern, and southern Africa. 2. **Regional Sites of Interest**: By the 1st century CE, ironworking was prevalent in southeastern Africa (e.g., Matola in Mozambique). 3. **Metallurgical Techniques**: Various furnace types were utilized, indicating technological innovation tailored to different iron ores. Bloomery furnaces were predominantly employed, which operated below iron's melting point to produce wrought iron and occasionally steel. ### Process of Iron Smelting 1. **Materials and Techniques**: Ironworking began with raw material acquisition and preparation. The process involved constructing furnaces, followed by smelting, bloom cleaning, and smithing. 2. **Diversity of Furnaces**: African furnaces exhibited significant diversity, demonstrating adaptability to local materials and conditions. Innovatively, some bloomery furnaces were capable of producing steel. 3. **Societal Role of Blacksmiths**: Blacksmiths held a complex social status—sometimes revered for their skills but also viewed with skepticism due to their associated mystical practices. ### Impact on Agriculture and Trade 1. **Agricultural Advancements**: The adoption of iron tools significantly boosted agricultural productivity, facilitating surplus production and trade across communities. 2. **Specialization and Trade Networks**: Blacksmithing specialization emerged, with iron objects serving as currency and symbols of wealth in trade. Sites such as Bandjeli in Togo saw increased iron production in response to external demands. ### Iron in Warfare and Political Structures 1. **Military Significance**: Iron technology underpinned the rise of complex societies, providing weapons essential for warfare and maintaining power hierarchies. 2. **Production of Weapons**: Many African states organized blacksmiths to produce iron weapons, maintaining arsenals necessary for military campaigns. 3. **Symbolism and Authority**: Iron symbols were integrated into the political structures and mythology of various kingdoms, reflecting its multifaceted role in governance and society. ### Iron and Cultural Expression 1. **Artistic Endeavors**: Iron also played a role in artistic expression. Notable works include jewelry and cultural artifacts, as seen in Dahomey’s iron sculptures associated with Vodun practices. 2. **Craft and Ritual**: The crafting of iron items often entailed rituals, highlighting the spiritual significance attributed to metallurgy in various cultures. ### Conclusion 1. **Evolution of Ironworking**: The decline of traditional iron smelting began in the 20th century with the rise of industrial production. However, the legacy of iron technology remains relevant. 2. **Contemporary Practices**: Modern blacksmiths continue to adapt by incorporating recycled materials, reflecting historical continuity and innovation in the metallurgy practices across Africa. ### Additional Notes - Current research continues to explore the social and economic implications of iron technology in ancient African societies and its lasting impact on contemporary practices.

a brief note on new discoveries in African archeology and the stone ruins of Cameroon.

Among the first ancient Egyptian accounts on its southern neighbors is an old kingdom inscription that describes a trading expedition to an unspecified region called the land of Punt. Egyptologists had long debated about the location of this mysterious territory before recent archeological discoveries at Mahal Teglinos in eastern Sudan and the Red Sea port of Mersa eventually solved the riddle of Punt’s precise location.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on new discoveries in African archeology and the stone ruins of Cameroon. ====================================================================================== ( Aug 04, 2024 25 Among the first ancient Egyptian accounts on its southern neighbors is an old kingdom inscription that describes a trading expedition to an unspecified region called ( . Egyptologists had long debated about the location of this mysterious territory before recent archeological discoveries at Mahal Teglinos in eastern Sudan and the Red Sea port of Mersa eventually solved the riddle of Punt’s precise location. Archeology plays a central role in reconstructing Africa's history, despite the rather complicated relationship between the two disciplines. On a continent where the limitations of written and oral histories have been acknowledged, archeologists and historians often work together to develop an interdisciplinary study of Africa's past.( Most of the latest research into the history of different African societies has been the product of interdisciplinary cooperation between archaeologists and historians. The locations of many African historical sites that were amply described by historians have since been identified and rediscovered by archeologists, helping to expand our understanding of Africa's past. For example in northern Ethiopia, where there are several historical accounts describing the highly urbanized ( , recent archeological excavations have uncovered many ruined cities and towns which include the kingdom’s capital, whose cemetery contained inscribed tombs of the kingdom's rulers. _**ruins of a mosque at Beri-Ifat**_ _**Partially excavated ruins of a 15th century building complex at Field A, Old Buipe, Ghana**_ In northern Ghana, there are multiple internal and external accounts describing the ( which was founded by migrant elites from the Mali empire. Recent archeological work has identified the old capital of the kingdom as well as several complex structures whose construction resembles the architectural style of medieval Mali. In South Africa, oral and written accounts about heterogeneous groups of Sotho-Tswana and Nguni-speakers referred to as "Koni" have helped historians and archeologists to identify the builders of ( , a widely distributed complex of terraced stone-walled sites in the escarpments of the Mpumalanga province. _**Bokoni ruins near near Machadodorp, South Africa.**_ Similar discoveries abound across most of the continent, from the ( , to the painted churches of ( , all of which demonstrate the usefulness of interdisciplinary studies. Recent archeological work in the mountains of northern Cameroon has uncovered more than sixteen complexes of stone ruins whose construction between the 14th and 17th centuries coincided with the expansion of the Bornu empire and the lesser-known kingdom of Mandara, during an era when the region’s history was well documented. **My latest Patreon article explores the history of the stone ruins of Cameroon within the context of the documented history of the Mandara kingdom during the 16th century.** **Please subscribe to read about it here:** ( * * * _**( , Medieval Nubia, Sudan**_. This is one of the most recent discoveries in African archeology. Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Trouble with Siblings: Archaeological and Historical Interpretation of the West African Past, By Christopher DeCorse and Gerard Chouin, The intersection of archaeology, oral tradition and history in the South African interior by Jan CA Boeyens. 25 Likes · ( 25 2 Comments ( ( Sep 4, 2021 • ( 30 ( ( Apr 9, 2023 • ( 17 ( ( Apr 7 • ( 48 See all Ready for more?

### Title: Recent Discoveries in African Archaeology and the Stone Ruins of Cameroon **1. Ancient Egyptian Accounts of Trade** - Ancient Egyptians recorded trading expeditions to a region called Punt, which was unlocated for many years. - Egyptologists debated the location of Punt until recent archaeological discoveries in eastern Sudan (Mahal Teglinos) and the Red Sea port of Mersa provided clarity on its position. **2. Role of Archaeology in African History** - Archaeology is essential for reconstructing Africa's history, especially where written and oral histories may be limited or lacking. - Interdisciplinary collaboration between archaeologists and historians has enhanced the understanding of Africa’s past. **3. Recent Archaeological Findings** - In northern Ethiopia, excavations have revealed ruined cities and towns that correlate with historical accounts of urbanization. These findings include the capital of a kingdom with inscribed tombs of its rulers. - In northern Ghana, archaeological work has identified the old capital of a kingdom founded by elites from the Mali Empire, uncovering structures that reflect medieval Mali's architectural style. - In South Africa, archaeological and historical records regarding diverse groups such as the Sotho-Tswana and Nguni speakers have identified the builders of the Bokoni ruins, characterized by terraced stone walls. **4. Discovery of Stone Ruins in Cameroon** - Recent archaeological work in northern Cameroon has uncovered over sixteen complexes of stone ruins dated between the 14th and 17th centuries. - The construction of these ruins aligns with the historical expansion of the Bornu Empire and the Mandara Kingdom, which are documented in historical sources from that era. **5. Conclusion** - The discoveries of stone ruins in Cameroon and the findings across Africa underscore the importance of interdisciplinary studies in reconstructing African history. - Further exploration of the history of these ruins, particularly in the context of the Mandara Kingdom during the 16th century, is available in detailed articles that delve deeper into this significant aspect of African heritage.

The empire of Kong (ca. 1710-1915): a cultural legacy of medieval Mali.

At the close of the 18th century, the West African hosts of the Scottish traveler Mungo Park informed him of a range of mountains situated in "a large and powerful kingdom called Kong".

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The empire of Kong (ca. 1710-1915): a cultural legacy of medieval Mali. ======================================================================= ( Jul 28, 2024 27 At the close of the 18th century, the West African hosts of the Scottish traveler Mungo Park informed him of a range of mountains situated in _**"a large and powerful kingdom called Kong".**_ These legendary mountains of Kong subsequently appeared on maps of Africa and became the subject of all kinds of fanciful stories that wouldn't be disproved until a century later when another traveler reached Kong, only to find bustling cities instead of snow-covered ranges( . The mythical land of Kong would later be relocated to Indonesia for the setting of the story of the famous fictional character King Kong( . The history of the real kingdom of Kong is no less fascinating than the story of its legendary mountains. For most of the 18th and 19th centuries, the city of Kong was the capital of a vast inland empire populated by the cultural heirs of medieval Mali, who introduced a unique architectural and scholarly tradition in the regions between modern Cote D'Ivoire and Burkina Faso. This article explores the history of the Kong empire, focusing on the social groups that contributed to its distinctive cultural heritage. _**approximate extent of the ‘Kong empire’ in 1740.**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **The early history of Kong and Dyula expansion from medieval Mali.** The region around Kong was at the crossroads of long-distance routes established by the Dyula/Juula traders who were part of the ( during the late Middle Ages. These trade routes, which connected the ( and Begho to later cities like Kong, Bobo-Dioulasso, and Bonduku, were conduits for lucrative commerce in gold, textiles, salt, and kola for societies between the river basins of the Niger and the Volta (see map above).( The hinterland of Kong was predominantly settled by speakers of the Senufu languages who likely established a small kingdom centered on what would later become the town of Kong. According to later accounts, there were several small Senufu polities in the region extending from Kong to Korhogo in the west, and northward to Bobo-Dioulasso, between the Bandama and Volta rivers. These polities interacted closely, and some, such as the chiefdom of Korohogo, would continue to flourish despite the profound cultural changes of the later periods.( These non-Muslim agriculturalists welcomed the Mande-speaking Dyula traders primarily because of the latter's access to external trade items like textiles (mostly used as burial shrouds) and acculturated the Dyula as ritual specialists (Muslim teachers) who made protective amulets. It was in this context that the city of Kong emerged as a large cosmopolitan center attracting warrior groups such as the Mande-speaking **Sonongui**, and diverse groups of craftsmen including the Hausa, who joined the pre-existing Senufu and Dyula population.( Throughout the 16th century, the growing influence of external trade and internal competition between different social groups among the warrior classes greatly shaped political developments in Kong. By 1710, a wealthy Sonongui merchant named Seku Umar who bore the Mande patronymic of "**Watara**" took power in Kong with support from the Dyula, and would reign until 1744. Seku Umar Watara’s new state came to be known as **Kpon** or K'pon in internal accounts, which would later be rendered as “Kong” in Western literature. After pacifying the hinterland of Kong, Seku's forces campaigned along the route to Bobo-Dioulassao, whose local Dyula merchants welcomed his rule.( _**view of Kong, ca. 1892**_, by Louis Binger. _**a section of Kong**_, ca. 1889, Binger & Molteni. _**Palace of the Senufu king Gbon Coulibaly at Korhogo**_, ca. 1920, Quia Branly. Despite the Dyula presence in Korhogo and the town’s proximity to Kong, it was outside the latter’s direct control. * * * **The states of Kong during the 18th century and the houses of Watara.** Seku Watara expanded his power rapidly across the region, thanks to his powerful army made up of local allies serving under Sonongui officers. Seku Watara and his commanders, such as his brother Famagan, his son Kere-Moi, and his general Bamba, conquered the regions between the Bandama and Volta rivers (northern Cote d’Ivoire) in the south, to Minyaka and Macina (southern Mali) in the north. They even got as far as the hinterland of Jenne in November 1739 according to a local chronicle. Sections of the army under Seku Umar and Kere Moi then campaigned west to the Bambara capital of Segu and the region of Sikasso (also in southern Mali), before retiring to Kong while Famagan settled near Bobo.( The expansion of the Kong empire was partly driven by the need to protect trade routes, but no centralized administration was installed in conquered territories despite Famagan and Kere Moi recognizing Seku Umar as the head of the state. After the deaths of Seku (1744) and Famagan (1749) the breach between the two collateral branches issuing from each royal house grew deeper, resulting in the formation of semi-autonomous kingdoms primarily at Kong and Bobo-Dioulasso (originally known as Sya), but also in many smaller towns like Nzan, all of which had rulers with the title of _**Fagama**_.( The empire of Kong, which is more accurately referred to as _“the states of Kong”_, consisted of a collection of polities centered in walled capitals that were ruled by dynastic _‘war houses’_ which had overlapping zones of influence. These houses consisted of their _**Fagama**_'s kin and dependents, who controlled a labyrinthine patchwork of allied settlements and towns from whom they received tribute and men for their armies.( The heads of different houses at times recognized a paramount ruler, but remained mostly independent, each conducting their campaigns and preserving their own dynastic histories.( In this complex social mosaic, many elites adopted the **Watara** patronymic through descent, alliance, or dependency, and there were thus numerous “Watara houses” scattered across the entire region between the northern Ivory Coast, southern Mali, and western Burkina Faso. At least four houses in the core regions of Kong claimed descent from Seku Umar; there were several houses in the Mouhoun plateau (western Burkina Faso) that claimed descent from both Famagan and Kere Moi. Other houses were located in the region of Bobo-Dioulasso, in Tiefo near the North-western border of Ghana, and as far east as the old town of Loropeni in southern Burkina Faso.( _**Friday Mosque of Kong**_, ca. 1920, Quai Branly. The mosque was built in the late 18th century. _**Street scene in the Marabassou quarter of Kong**_, ca. 1892, ANOM. _**Bobo Dioulasso’s Friday Mosque**_, ca. 1904, Quai Branly. The mosque was built in the late 19th century. _**section of Bobo-Dioulasso**_, ca. 1904, Quai Branly. * * * ( * * * **The influence of Dyula on architecture and scholarship in the states of Kong.** The dispersed Watara houses often competed for political and commercial influence, relying on external mediators such as the Dyula traders to negotiate alliances( . Although nominally Muslim, the Watara elites stood in contrast to the Dyula, as the former were known to have retained many pre-Islamic practices. They nevertheless acknowledged the importance of Dyula clerics as providers of protective amulets, integrated them into the kingdom's administration, and invited them to construct mosques and schools.( The cities of Kong and Bobo became major centers of scholarship whose influence extended as far as the upper Volta to the Mande heartlands in the upper Niger region. The movement of students and teachers between towns created a scholarship 'network' that corresponded in large part to their trading network.( Influential Dyula lineages such as the Saganogo (or Saganugu) acquired a far-ranging reputation for scholarship by the late 18th century. They introduced the distinctive style of architecture found in the region( , and are credited with constructing the main mosque at Kong in 1785, as well as in cities not under direct Watara control such as at Buna in 1795, at Bonduku in 1797, and at Wa in 1801. Their members were imams of Kong, Bobo-Dioulasso, and many surrounding towns. The Dyula shunned warfare and lived in urban settlements away from the warrior elite’s capitals, but provided horses, textiles, and amulets to the latter in exchange for protecting trade routes.( _**mosque in Kong**_, by Louis Binger, ca. 1892. The Saganogo scholars of Kong (also known as _**karamokos**_ : men of knowledge) are among the most renowned figures in the region’s intellectual history, being part of a chain of learning that extends back to the famous 15th-century scholar al-Hajj Salim Suware of medieval Mali.( The most prominent of these was Mustafa Saganogo (d. 1776) and his son Abbas b. Muhammad al-Mustafa (d. 1801), who appear in the autobiographies of virtually all the region’s scholars( . The former promoted historical writing, and, in 1765, built a mosque bearing his name, which attracted many students. His son became the imam of Kong and, according to later accounts, _**"brought his brothers to stay there, and then the 'ulama gathered around him to learn from him, and the news spread to other places, and the people of Bonduku and Wala came to him, and the people of the land of Ghayagha and also Banda came to study with him."**_( Descendants of Mustafa Saganogo, who included Seydou and Ibrahim Saganogo, were invited to Bobo-Dioulasso by its Watara rulers to serve as advisors. They arrived in 1764 and established themselves in the oldest quarters of the city where they constructed mosques, of which they were the first imams. Around 1840, a section of scholars from Bobo-Dioulasso led by Bassaraba Saganogo, the grandson of the abovementioned brothers, established another town 15 km south at Darsalamy (Dār as-Salām).( The Saganogo teachers were also associated with several well-connected merchant-scholars with the patronymic of Watara who gained prominence across the region, between the cities of Kong, Bonduku, and Buna.( Among these were the gold-trading family of five brothers, including; Karamo Sa Watara, who was the eldest of the brothers and did business in the Hausaland and Bornu; Abd aI-Rahman, who was married to the daughter of Soma Ali Watara of Nzan; Idris, who lived at Ja in Massina; Mahmud who lived in Buna and was married to a local ruler. Karamo's son, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, who provided a record of his family’s activities, later became a prominent scholar in Buna where he studied with his cousin Kotoko Watara who later became ruler of Nzan. The head of the Buna school was Abdallah b. al-Hajj Muhammad Watara, himself a student of Mustafa Saganogo. Buna was a renowned center of learning attracting students from as far as Futa Jallon (in modern Guinea), and the explorer Heinrich Barth heard of it as _**"a place of great celebrity for its learning and its schools."**_( _**An important marabout (teacher/scholar) in Kong, ca. 1920, Quai Branly. Neighborhood mosque in Kong**_, ca. 1892, ANOM. * * * **The states of Kong during the 19th century** In the later period, the Dyula scholars would come to play an even more central political role in both Kong and Bobo, at the expense of the warrior elites. When the traveler Louis Binger visited Kong in 1888, he noted that the ‘king’ of the city was Soukoulou Mori, but that real power lay with Karamoko Oule, a prominent merchant-scholar, as well as the imam Mustafa Saganogo, who he likened to a minister of public education because he managed many schools. He estimated the city’s population at around 15,000, and referred to its inhabitants’ religious tolerance —characteristic of the Dyula— especially highlighting their _**"instinctive horror of war, which they consider dishonorable unless in defense of their territorial integrity."**_ He described how merchant scholars proselytized by forming alliances with local rulers after which they'd open schools and invite students to study.( _**Arrival in Kong**_ by Louis-Gustave Binger, ca. 1892 _**copy of the safe conduct issued to Binger by the notables of Kong**_, ca. 1892, British Library. The main Watara houses largely kept to themselves, but would occasionally form alliances which later broke up during periods of extended conflict. The most dramatic instance of the shattering of old alliances occurred in the last decade of the 19th century when ( coincided with the advance of the French colonial forces.( Samori Ture reached this region in 1885 and was initially welcomed by the Dyula of Kong who also sent letters to their peers in Buna and Bonduku, informing them that Samori didn't wish to attack them. However, relations between the Dyula and Samori later deteriorated and he sacked Buna in late 1896.( In May of 1897, the armies of Samori marched against Kong, which he suspected of entering into collusion with his enemy; Babemba of Sikasso, by supplying the latter with horses and trade goods. Samori sacked Kong and pursued its rulers upto Bobo, with many of Kong's inhabitants fleeing to the town of Kotedugu whose Watara ruler was Pentyeba. Hoping to stall Samori's advance, Pentyeba allied with the French, who then seized Bobo from one of Samori's garrisons. They later occupied Kong in 1898, and after briefly restoring the Watara rulers, they ultimately abolished the kingdom by 1915, marking the end of its history.( The historical legacy of Kong is preserved in the distinctive architectural style and intellectual traditions of modern Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire, whose diverse communities of Watara elites and Dyula merchants represent the southernmost cultural expansion of Medieval Mali. _Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso._ * * * * * * **The kingdom of Bamum created West Africa’s largest corpus of Graphics Art during the early 20th century, which included detailed maps of the kingdom and capital, drawings of historical events and fables, images of the kingdom's architecture, and illustrations depicting artisans, royals, and daily life in the kingdom.** **Please subscribe to read about the Art of Bamum in this article where I explore more than 30 drawings preserved in various museums and private collections.** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( 'From the Best Authorities': The Mountains of Kong in the Cartography of West Africa by Thomas J. Bassett, Philip W. Porter ( The character's creator read many European travel accounts of Africa, traveled to the region around Gabon, was fascinated with African wildlife, and drew on 19th-century Western images of Africa and colonial-era films set in Belgian Congo to create the character. Biographers suggest that the name 'Kong' may have been derived from the kingdom of Kongo, although it is more likely that the legendary mountains of Kong which were arguably better known, and were said to have snow-covered peaks, forested slopes, and gold-rich valleys, provide a better allegory for King Kong's 'skull island' than the low lying coastal kingdom of Kongo. ( Rural and Urban Islam in West Africa by Nehemia Levtzion, ‎Humphrey J. Fisher pg 98-99, Islam on both Sides: Religion and Locality in Western Burkina Faso by Katja Werthmann pg 129) ( Les états de Kong (Côte d'Ivoire) By Louis Tauxier, Edmond Bernus pg 23-27) ( Rural and Urban Islam in West Africa by Nehemia Levtzion, ‎Humphrey J. Fisher pg 104-106, The War Houses of the Watara in West Africa by Mahir Şaul pg 545) ( Les états de Kong (Côte d'Ivoire) By Louis Tauxier, Edmond Bernus pg22, 39-41) ( Unesco general history of Africa vol 5 pg 358, The War Houses of the Watara in West Africa by Mahir Şaul pg 549-551) ( The War Houses of the Watara in West Africa by Mahir Şaul pg 550-551 ( The War Houses of the Watara in West Africa by Mahir Şaul pg 557-561, 566) ( Les états de Kong (Côte d'Ivoire) By Louis Tauxier, Edmond Bernus pg 64-69) ( The War Houses of the Watara in West Africa by Mahir Şaul pg 562-564) ( The War Houses of the Watara in West Africa by Mahir Şaul pg 565) ( Rural and Urban Islam in West Africa by Nehemia Levtzion, ‎Humphrey J. Fisher pg 106-8) ( Arabic Literature of Africa: The writings of Western Sudanic Africa, Volume 4; by John O.. Hunwick pg 539-541 ( Architecture, Islam, and Identity in West Africa: Lessons from Larabanga By Michelle Apotsos pg 75-78 ( Rural and Urban Islam in West Africa by Nehemia Levtzion, ‎Humphrey J. Fisher pg 109-115, The History of Islam in Africa edited by Nehemia Levtzion, Randall L. Pouwels pg 101) ( Arabic Literature of Africa: The writings of Western Sudanic Africa, Volume 4; by John O.. Hunwick pg 550-551. ( Wa and the Wala: Islam and Polity in Northwestern Ghana by Ivor Wilks pg 97-100. ( The History of Islam in Africa edited by Nehemia Levtzion, Randall L. Pouwels pg 102) ( Islam on both Sides: Religion and Locality in Western Burkina Faso by Katja Werthmann pg 128-136 ( Arabic Literature of Africa: The writings of Western Sudanic Africa, Volume 4; by John O.. Hunwick pg 570-571 ( The History of Islam in Africa edited by Nehemia Levtzion, Randall L. Pouwels pg 103-104) ( Literacy in Traditional Societies edited by Jack Goody pg 190-193, The History of Islam in Africa edited by Nehemia Levtzion, Randall L. Pouwels pg 107) ( The War Houses of the Watara in West Africa by Mahir Şaul pg 564) ( The History of Islam in Africa edited by Nehemia Levtzion, Randall L. Pouwels pg 107-108, Les états de Kong (Côte d'Ivoire) By Louis Tauxier, Edmond Bernus pg 73-74) ( Les états de Kong (Côte d'Ivoire) By Louis Tauxier, Edmond Bernus pg 75-83, The War Houses of the Watara in West Africa by Mahir Şaul pg 569-570) ### to African History Extra By isaac Samuel · Launched 3 years ago All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past 27 Likes · ( 27 14 Comments | | | | --- | --- | | | ( ( ( Sep 4, 2021 • ( 30 ( ( Apr 9, 2023 • ( 17 ( ( Apr 7 • ( 48 See all Ready for more?

### The Empire of Kong (ca. 1710-1915): A Cultural Legacy of Medieval Mali 1. **Introduction to the Empire of Kong** - At the end of the 18th century, the Scottish traveler Mungo Park was informed of a powerful kingdom called Kong, marked by rumored mountains. - This kingdom was later represented on maps of Africa and became associated with fantastical tales, which would not be disproved until the late 19th century when explorers encountered actual cities. 2. **Historical Context** - The Kong empire, which flourished from 1710 to 1915, is rooted in the cultural traditions of medieval Mali. - It was centered around the city of Kong, which emerged as a vital cosmopolitan hub in West Africa, particularly between modern Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso. 3. **Early History and Cultural Foundations** - The region of Kong was on major trading routes established by Dyula/Juula traders from medieval Mali. These routes facilitated commerce in gold, textiles, salt, and kola nuts. - The hinterland was predominantly settled by Senufu-speaking agriculturalists, who established small kingdoms and polities around Kong and interacted closely with Dyula traders. 4. **The Rise of the Kingdom** - By 1710, Seku Umar Watara, a Sonongui merchant, gained power in Kong, supported by Dyula merchants. His reign lasted until 1744. - Under his leadership, Kong expanded its territory, forming a state known as Kpon, which evolved into Kong in Western literature. 5. **Political Structure and Expansion** - Seku Watara's rule saw the conquest of territories for the protection of trade routes, leading to the establishment of semi-autonomous kingdoms. - Following the deaths of key leaders such as Seku Watara and his brother Famagan, the political landscape fragmented, resulting in multiple independent houses with overlapping influences. 6. **Cultural Influence of the Dyula** - The Dyula played a significant role in shaping the architectural and scholarly practices within the Kong states. - Although the Watara elites adhered to many pre-Islamic customs, they integrated Dyula clerics into their administrations and built mosques and schools, establishing Kong and Bobo as centers of scholarship. 7. **Intellectual and Architectural Development** - The Dyula, particularly the Saganogo lineage, gained prominence for their scholarship and architectural contributions, constructing significant mosques and educational institutions. - Notable figures like Mustafa Saganogo contributed to historical writing and the establishment of a scholarly network that attracted students across the region. 8. **19th Century Developments** - By the late 19th century, the influence of Dyula scholars overshadowed the warrior elites, with prominent figures like Karamoko Oule and Imam Mustafa Saganogo holding significant power. - The dynamics of power shifted as the French colonial forces began to advance into the region, leading to conflicts with local rulers, including Samori Ture. 9. **Decline and Legacy of the Kong Empire** - The Kong empire experienced significant turmoil in the late 19th century, culminating in its occupation by French forces in 1898. - By 1915, the kingdom was formally abolished, signifying the end of its historical legacy, which persists in the cultural and architectural influences seen in modern Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire. 10. **Conclusion** - The historical significance of the Kong empire is reflected in its rich cultural heritage, marked by the collective legacies of the Watara elites and Dyula merchants, representing the southward expansion of medieval Mali's influence in West Africa.

a brief note on themes in African art. - by isaac Samuel

Cartography, Culture and History in the artwork of the Bamum kingdom.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on themes in African art. ====================================== ### Cartography, Culture and History in the artwork of the Bamum kingdom. ( Jul 21, 2024 26 Sometime in the early 14th century, a skilled smith in the West African kingdom of Ife sculpted an image of a King's face into a mask of pure copper.( With its idealized features and naturalistic proportions, the copper mask of King Obalufon of Ife is considered one of the finest pieces of African art and is today one of many examples of African self-representation that informs our image of the continent's past. The rich heritage of African art represents a comprehensive visual document of the history of its many societies, each with its unique aesthetics and deep-rooted symbolism. The various art traditions that emerged across the continent —such as the famous ( , the ( , and the ( — include specific themes that expressed African concepts of power and religion, as well as depicting daily life in African societies. _**copper mask of King Obalufon Alaiyemore and crowned heads from the Wunmonije site of Ife. early 14th century. NCMM, Lagos, and British Museum.**_ _**carved ivory tusk depicting scenes of daily life, late 19th century, Loango Kingdom, Gabon. British Museum**_ While sculptural art features prominently in most African art traditions, several societies also produced painted artworks and drawings on different mediums including on walls, cloth, paper, wood, and pottery. ( primarily consist of mural paintings in buildings and tombs, paintings on canvas and panels, as well as illuminated manuscripts decorated with miniature illustrations and intricate designs. _**Ethiopian painting of "The Last Supper", tempera on linen, 18th century, Virginia museum of Fine Arts.**_ _**Swahili Qur’an, late 18th to early 19th century, Siyu, Kenya. Fowler Museum.**_ Many of the oldest forms of African paintings and drawings come from the regions of ( and Ethiopia, which produced a vast corpus of murals, canvas and panel paintings, and miniature artwork in manuscripts. However, the production of illuminated manuscripts was more widespread with several examples from East Africa's Swahili coast and most parts of West Africa. In the West African kingdom of Bamum, the reign of its progressive king Njoya (1887-1933) was the height of the kingdom’s artistic production and innovation that resulted in the creation of some of Africa's most celebrated artworks. The highly skilled artists of Bamum produced maps of their kingdom and capital, drawings of historical events and fables, images of the kingdom's architecture, and illustrations depicting artisans, royals, and daily life in the kingdom. **The artworks of the kingdom of Bamum are the subject of my latest Patreon article,** **Please subscribe to read about them in this article where I explore more than 30 drawings preserved in various museums and private collections.** ( * * * * * * _**The Flight into Egypt, Bamileke artist, early 20th century, Quai Branly Museum.**_ Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( [Ancient Ife and its masterpieces of African art: transforming glass, copper and terracotta into sculptural symbols of power and ritual

### Title: A Brief Note on Themes in African Art **Author:** Isaac Samuel **Description:** Cartography, Culture, and History in the Artwork of the Bamum Kingdom --- ### Introduction - African art serves as a comprehensive visual document of the continent's diverse societies. - Each society showcases unique aesthetics and symbolism through their artistic traditions. ### Historical Context of African Art 1. **Significant Artwork Example:** - **Copper Mask of King Obalufon of Ife:** - Date: Early 14th century. - Significance: Sculpted by a skilled smith in Ife, it features idealized characteristics and naturalistic proportions. - Importance: Recognized as one of the finest pieces of African art, reflecting African self-representation. 2. **Art Traditions:** - African art encompasses various forms such as: - Sculptural art. - Painted artworks on multiple mediums: walls, cloth, paper, wood, and pottery. - Art forms include: - **Mural Paintings:** Commonly found in buildings and tombs. - **Canvas and Panel Paintings:** Illustrated through intricate designs and miniature illustrations. ### Regional Contributions 1. **Early Forms of Painting:** - Notable regions for ancient paintings: - **Western Africa** and **Ethiopia.** - The production of illuminated manuscripts was prevalent, especially in: - The Swahili coast and various parts of West Africa. ### Bamum Kingdom's Artistic Contributions 1. **Kingdom of Bamum:** - Reign of **King Njoya (1887-1933):** - Period marked by artistic innovation and production. - Creation of celebrated artworks by skilled Bamum artists. 2. **Artistic Output:** - Artists in the Bamum Kingdom produced: - Maps depicting the kingdom and its capital. - Illustrations of historical events and fables. - Representations of the kingdom's architecture. - Depictions of artisans, royals, and daily life. ### Conclusion - The artworks of the Bamum Kingdom are explored in detail in a dedicated article, available for patrons. - This article examines over 30 drawings preserved in various museums and private collections. ### References to Notable Artworks - **Copper Mask of King Obalufon Alaiyemore:** Early 14th century, NCMM, Lagos, and British Museum. - **Carved Ivory Tusk:** Depicts daily life from the late 19th century, Loango Kingdom, Gabon, British Museum. - **Ethiopian Painting of "The Last Supper":** 18th century, tempera on linen, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. - **Swahili Qur'an:** Late 18th to early 19th century, Siyu, Kenya, Fowler Museum. - **The Flight Into Egypt:** Bamileke artist, early 20th century, Quai Branly Museum. --- This rewritten content presents a clear, step-by-step narrative focusing on factual accuracy regarding the themes in African art, particularly in the context of the Bamum Kingdom.

A complete history of the old city of Gao ca. 700-1898.

Journal of African cities: chapter 12

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A complete history of the old city of Gao ca. 700-1898. ======================================================= ### Journal of African cities: chapter 12 ( Jul 14, 2024 19 Located in northeastern Mali along the bend of the Niger River, the old city of Gao was the first urban settlement in West Africa to appear in external accounts as the capital of a large kingdom which rivaled the Ghana empire. For many centuries, the city of Gao commanded a strategic position within the complex political and cultural landscape of West Africa, as a cosmopolitan center populated by a diverse collection of merchants, scholars, and warrior-elites from across the region. The city served as the capital of the medieval kingdom of Gao from the 9th to the 13th century and re-emerged as the imperial capital of Songhay during the 16th century, before its later decline. This article explores the history of Gao from the 8th to the 19th century, focusing on the political history of the ancient West african capital. _**Map of west Africa’s empires showing the location of Gao( **_ * * * **The early history of Gao and its kingdom: 8th century to 13th century.** The eastern arc of the Niger River in modern Mali, which extends from Timbuktu to Gao to Bentiya (see map above), has been home to many sedentary iron age communities since the start of the Common Era. The material culture of the early settlements found at Tombouze near Timbuktu and Koima near Gao indicate that the region was settled by small communities of agro-pastoralists between 100-650CE, while surveys at the sites around Bentiya have revealed a similar settlement sequence.( Settlements at Gao appear in the documentary and archeological record about the same time in the 8th century. The first external writer to provide some information on Gao was the Abbasid geographer Al-Yaqubi in 872, who described the kingdom of Gao as the _**"greatest of the reals of the Sudan**_ \_**, the most important and powerful. All the kingdoms obey their king. Kawkaw**_ \ _**is the name of the town. Besides this there are a number of kingdoms whose rulers pay allegiance to him and acknowledge his sovereignty, although they are kings in their own lands**_.( About a century later, Gao appears in the work of the Fatimid Geographer Al-Muhallabi (d. 990) who writes: _**“KawKaw is the name of a people and country in the Sudan …**_ _**their king pretends before his subjects to be a Muslim and most of them pretend to be Muslims too."**_ He adds that the King's royal town was located on the western bank of the river, while the merchant town called Sarnāh was on the eastern bank. He also mentions that the King's subjects were Muslims, had horses and their wealth included livestock and salt.( Excavations undertaken within and near the modern city of Gao by the archeologists Timothy Insoll( and Mamadou Cissé at the sites of Gao Ancien and Gao Saney during the 1990s and early 2000s uncovered the remains of many structures including two large buildings and several residential structures at both sites built with brick and stone, as well as elite cemeteries containing over a hundred inscribed stele dating from the late 11th to the mid-14th century. Additionally, a substantial quantity of materials including pottery, and iron, objects of copper and gold with their associated crucibles, and a cache of ivory.( _**remains of the ‘Long house’ and the ‘Pillar house’ Gao Ancien**_. The latter was initially thought to be a mosque, but it has no _mirhab_, which may indicate that it was an elite residence/palace like the former. The bulk of the pottery recovered from excavations at Gao is part of a broader stylistic tradition called the _Niger Bend Eastern Polychrome zone_, which extends from Timbuktu to Gao to Bentiya, and is associated with Songhay speakers.( Radiocarbon dates obtained from Gao-Saney and Gao Ancien indicate that the sites were occupied between 700-1100 CE with the largest building complexes being constructed between the 9th and 10th centuries, especially the ‘pillar house’ Gao-Ancien that is dated to between 900-1000 CE.( The relative abundance of imported items at Gao (mostly glass beads, a few earthen lamps, fragments of glass vessels, and window-glass) as well as export items like gold and ivory, indicates that the city had established long-distance trade contacts with the Saharan town of Essouk-Tadmekka in the north( , which was itself connected to the city of Tahert in Algeria which was dominated by Ibadi merchants( . Many inscribed stele were also discovered at Gao Saney and Gao Ancien, most of which are dated to between the late 11th and mid-14th century and mention the names of several Kings and Queen-regnants who ruled the kingdom. 12th-century funerary stela from Gao-Saney( , a Commemorative stele for a Queen ‘M.s.r’ dated 1119( , and a funerary inscription from Bentiya. _Stele from Gao of a woman named W.y.b.y. daughter of K.y.b.w, and another of a woman named K.rä daughter Adam_. Moraes Farias suggests that her name was Waybiya (or Weybuy) daughter of Kaybu, and the second was Kara or Kiray, all of which are associated with Songhai names, titles, and honorifs, including those used by the daughters of the Askiyas who appear in the 17th century Timbuktu chronicles (Tarikh al-Sudan, and Tarikh al-Fattash).( * * * ( * * * Before the recent archeological digs provided accurate radiocarbon dates for the establishment of Gao Saney and Ancien, earlier estimates were derived from the inscribed stele of both sites. Based on these, the historians Dierk Lange and John Hunwick proposed two separate origins for the rulers of Gao, by matching the names appearing on the stele with the kinglist of the enigmatic 'Za'/'Zuwa' dynasty that appears in the 17th century Timbuktu chronicles. Lange argued Gao’s rulers were Mande-speakers before they were displaced by the Songhay in the 15th century, while Hunwick argued that they were predominantly Songhay-speakers from the Bentiya-Kukiya region who founded Gao to control trade with the north and, save for a brief irruption of Ibadi-berbers allied with the Almoravids at Gao-Saney in the late 11th century, continued to rule until the end of the Songhai empire.( However, most of these claims are largely conjectural and have since been contradicted by recent research. The names of the rulers (titled: _Muluk_ for Kings or _Malika_ for Queens) inscribed on the stele don't include easily recognizable ethnonyms (such as _nisba_s) that can be ascribed to particular groups, and their continued production across four centuries across multiple sites (_Gao-Saney from 1042 to 1299; Gao Ancien from 1130 to 1364; Bentiya from 1182 to 1489_ suggests that such attributions may be simplistic. The historian Moraes Farias, who has analyzed all of the stele of the Gao and the Niger Bend region in greater detail( , argues the rulers of the kingdom inaugurated a new system of government where kingship was circulated among several powerful groups in the area, and that the capital of Gao may have shifted multiple times.( Furthermore, the archeological record from Gao-Saney in particular contradicts the claim of a Berber irruption during the late 11th century, as the site significantly predates the Almoravid period (ca. 1062–1150), having flourished in the 9th-10th century. Additionally, the pottery found at Gao Saney was different from the Berber site of Essouk-Tadmekka and North African sites, (and also the Mande site of Jenne-Jeno) but was similar to that found in the predominantly Songhay regions of the Niger Bend from Bentiya to Timbuktu, and is stylistically homogenous throughout the entire occupation period of both Gao Saney and Gao Ancien, thus providing strong evidence that the city's inhabitants were mostly local in origin.( While the archeological record at the twin settlements of Gao ends at the turn of the 11th century, the city of Gao and its surrounding kingdom continue to appear in the historical record, perhaps indicating that there are other sites yet to be discovered within its vicinity (as suggested by many archeologists). The Andalusian geographer Al-Bakri, writing in 1068, describes Gao as consisting of two towns ruled by a Muslim king whose subjects weren't Muslim. He adds that _**"the people of the region of Kawkaw trade with Salt which serves as their currency"**_ which he mentions is obtained from Tadmekka.( A later account by al-Zuhri (d. 1154) indicates that the Ghana empire had extended as far as Tadmekka, in an apparent alliance with the Almoravids, but he says little about Gao( . The account of al-Idrisi from 1154 notes that the _**"town of Kawkaw is large and is widely famed in the land of the Sudan"**_. Adding that its king is _**"an independent ruler, who has the sermon at the Friday communal prayers delivered in his own name. He has many servants and a large retinue, captains, soldiers, excellent apparel and beautiful ornaments." His warriors ride horses and camels; they are brave and superior in might to all the nations who are their neighbours around their land.**_( * * * **Gao under the Mali empire: 14th to 15th century** During the mid-13th century, the kingdoms of Gao (as well as Ghana and Tadmekka) were gradually subsumed under the Mali empire. According to Ibn Khaldun, Mansa Sakura (who went on pilgrimage between 1299-1309) _**"conquered the land of Kawkaw and brought it within the rule of the people of Mali."**_( This process likely involved the retention of local rulers under a Mali governor, as was the case for most provinces across the empire. According to the Timbuktu chronicles, the rulers of Gao revolted under the leadership of Ali Kulun around the 14th century. Ali Kulun is credited in some accounts with founding the Sunni dynasty of Songhay, while others indicate that the Sunni dynasty were deputies of Mali at Bentiya.( Interestingly, the title of Askiya appeared at Gao as early as 1234 CE, instead of the title of Sunni, showing that some information about early Gao wasn’t readily available to the chroniclers of the Tarikhs.( However, the hegemony of the empire of Mali in the Gao Region would continue well into the 1430s, as indicated by Mansa Musa's sojourning in the city upon his return from his famous pilgrimage of 1324. The Tarikh al-Sudan adds that Mansa Musa built a mosque in Gao, _**"which is still there to this day"**_ \, something that is frequently recalled in Gao’s oral traditions and was once wrongly thought to be the ruined building found at Gao-Ancien.( When the globetrotter Ibn Batuta visited Gao in 1353, he mentioned that it was _**"one of the most beautiful, biggest and richest towns of Sudan, and the best supplied with provisions. Its inhabitants transact business, buying and selling, with cowries, as do the people of Mali"**_ He adds that Mali’s hegemony extended a certain distance downstream from Gao, to a place called Mūlī, which may have been the name for Bentiya and a diasporic settlement of Mande elites and merchants. ( _**Gao on the long-distance trade routes**_, map by Paulo Fernando de Moraes Farias _**astronomical manuscript titled "Kitâb fî al-Falak" (on the knowledge of the stars)**_, ca. 1731, Gao, Mamma Haidara Library, Mali. * * * **Gao as the imperial capital of Songhai from the 15th-16th century** Mali withdrew from the Niger Bend around 1434, and by the mid-15th century, the Suuni dynasty under Sulaymān Dāma had established its independence, his armies occupied Gao and campaigned as far as the Mali heartland of Mema by 1464. His successor, Sunni Ali Ber (r. 1464-1492) established Gao as the capital of his new empire of Songhai but maintained palaces across the region. Sunni Ali was succeeded by Askiya Muhammad, who founded the Askiya dynasty of Songhay and retained the city of Gao as his capital and the location of the most important palace. The city’s population grew as a consequence of its importance to the Askiyas, and it became one of the most important commercial, administrative, and scholarly capitals of 16th-century West Africa.( The 1526 account of the maghrebian traveler Leo Africanus, who visited Gao during Askiya Muhammad’s reign noted that it was a _**“very large town"**_ and _**"very civilized compared to Timbuktu"**_, and that the houses of the king and his courtiers were of _**"very fine appearance"**_ in contrast to the rest. He mentions that _**"The king has a special palace”**_ and _**“a sizeable guard of horsemen and foot soldiers**_”, adding that _**"between the public and private gates of his palace there is a large courtyard surrounded by a wall. On each side of this courtyard a loggia serves as an audience chamber. Although the king personally handles all his affairs, he is assisted by numerous functionaries, such as secretaries, counsellors, captains, and stewards.”**_( The various Songhay officers at Gao mentioned by Leo Africanus also appear extensively in the Tarikh al-Sudan, which also mentions that the Askiyas established "special quarters" in the city for specialist craftsmen of Mossi and Fulbe origin, that supplied the palace.( According to the Tarikh al-Fattash, a ‘census’ of the compound houses in Gao during the reign of Askiya al-Hajj revealed a total of 7,626 such structures and numerous smaller houses. Given that each of these compound houses had about five to ten people, the population of the city's core was between 38,000 and 76,000, not including those living on the outskirts and the itinerant population of merchants, canoemen, soldiers, and other visitors.( The city's large population was supplied by an elaborate system of royal estates established by the Askiyas along the Niger River from Dendi (in northern Benin) to Lake Debo (near Timbuktu). The rice and other grains that were cultivated on these estates were transported on large river barges along the Niger to Gao. The Timbuktu chronicles note that as many as 4,000 _sunnu_ (600-750 tons) of grain were sent annually during the 16th century, carried by barges with a capacity of 20 tonnes.( Gao, ca. 1935, ANOM. Gao, late 20th century, Quai Branly _**Map of Gao in 1951, showing Gao Ancien (broken outline), the old town, and the region of modern settlements (shaded).**_ Map by T. Insoll. _**The tomb of the Askiya**_, ca. 1920, ANOM. * * * ( * * * **Gao after the collapse of Songhay: 17th-19th century.** After the Moroccan invasion of 1591, many of the residents of Gao fled the city by river, taking the over 2,000 barges docked at its river port of Goima to move south to the region of Dendi. _**"none of its \ inhabitants remained there except the khatib Mahmud Darami, and the scholars, and those merchants who were unable to flee."**_ This group opted to submit to the invaders, who subsequently appointed a puppet sultan named Sulayman son of Askiya Dawud, to ruler over Gao, while they chose Timbuktu as the capital of their Pashalik.( Unable to defeat the Askiyas of Dendi as well as the Bambara and Fulbe rulers in the hinterlands of Djenne, the remaining Moroccan soldiers, who were known as the Arma, garrisoned themselves in Djenne, Timbuktu, and Gao and appointed their own Pashas. According to multiple internal accounts, the cities of Timbuktu and Gao went into steep decline during the late 17th to mid-18th century, largely due to the continued attacks by the Tuareg confederations of Tadmekkat and Iwillimidden in the hinterlands of the cities, which drove away merchant traffic and scholars. After several raids, Gao was occupied by the Iwillimidden in 1770, who later occupied Timbuktu in 1787, deposed the Arma, and abolished the Pashalik.( Multiple accounts from the early 19th century indicate that Timbuktu and its surrounding hinterland were conquered by the Bambara empire of Segu around 1800, before the power was passed on to the Massina empire of Hamdullahi.( However, few of the accounts describe the situation in Gao, which seems to have been largely neglected and doesn’t appear in internal accounts of the period. It wasn't until the visit of the explorer Heinrich Barth in 1853 that Gao reappeared in historical records. However, the city was by then only a _**"desolate abode"**_ with a small population, a situation which he often contrasted to its much grander status as the _**“ancient capital of Songhay”**_. Barth makes note of the mosque and mausoleum of the Askiya, where he set up his camp next to some tent houses, he also describes Gao's old ruins and estimates that the old city had a circumference of 6 miles but its section was by then largely overgrown save for the homes of the estimated 7,000 inhabitants including the tent-houses of the Tuareg.( Barth’s illustration of the Askiya’s tomb on the outskirts of Gao in 1854 as viewed from his camp next to the Tuareg tent-houses, and a photo from 1934 (ETH Zurich) showing the same tomb as seen from the Tuareg tents. _**Section of Gao showing the Tuareg tents within walled compounds.**_ ETH Zurich, 1934. Barth notes that the Songhay residents of Gao and its hinterlands comprised a _**“district”**_ (ie: small kingdom) called “_**Abuba”,**_ that had _**"lost almost all their national independence, and are constantly exposed to all sorts of contributions"**_. According to local traditions collected a century later, the reigning _arma_ of Gao (title: _**Gao Alkaydo**_) at the time was Abuba son of Alkaydo Amatu, who gave the kingdom its name. This indicates that Gao was still under the rule of the local Arma, who were independent of the then-defunct pashalik of Timbuktu, and were culturally indistinguishable from their subjects after centuries of intermarriage. These few Arma elites continued to collect taxes from the Songhay and itinerant merchants throughout the late 19th century, despite the presence of the more numerous Iwellemmedan-Tuareg on the city's outskirts.( Gao was later occupied by the French in 1898, marking the start of its modern history( , and it is today one of Mali’s largest cities. _Gao in 1920, ANOM; 1934, ETH-Zurich._ * * * * * * **Beginning in the 12th century, diplomatic links established between the kingdoms of West Africa and the Maghreb created a shared cultural space that facilitated the travel of West African envoys, merchants, and scholars to the cities of the Maghreb Marrakesh to Tripoli.** **READ more about West Africa's links with the Maghreb on the AfricanHistoryExtra Patreon account:** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Taken from Alisa LaGamma "Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara ( Excavations at Gao Saney: New Evidence for Settlement Growth, Trade, and Interaction on the Niger Bend in the First Millennium CE by Mamadou Cissé, Susan Keech McIntosh pg 31, Archaeological Investigations of Early Trade and Urbanism at Gao Saney by M. Cisse pg 43-44, Bentyia (Kukyia): a Songhay–Mande meeting point, and a “missing link” in the archaeology of the West African diasporas of traders, warriors, praise-singers, and clerics by Paulo Fernando de Moraes Farias prg 32-34 ( Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants by Nehemia Levtzion, Jay Spaulding pg 2) ( Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants by Nehemia Levtzion, Jay Spaulding pg 8) ( Islam, Archaeology and History: Gao Region (Mali) ca. AD 900 - 1250 by Timothy Insoll ( Archaeological Investigations of Early Trade and Urbanism at Gao Saney by M. Cisse pg 47-57, 108, 120-138, 268-269) ( Archaeological Investigations of Early Trade and Urbanism at Gao Saney by M. Cisse pg 63-265-267) ( Archaeological Investigations of Early Trade and Urbanism at Gao Saney by M. Cisse pg 140, 270-271, Discovery of the earliest royal palace in Gao and its implications for the history of West Africa by Shoichiro Takezawa pg 10-11, 15-16) ( Essouk - Tadmekka: An Early Islamic Trans-Saharan Market Town pg 273-280 ( Archaeological Investigations of Early Trade and Urbanism at Gao Saney by M. Cisse pg 22, 276-277) ( Exposition al-Sahili by Musée National du Mali, 15-20 th March 2023. ( Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara by Alisa. LaGamma pg 122 ( Urbanism, Archaeology and Trade: Further Observations on the Gao Region (Mali), the 1996 Fieldseason Results by Timothy Insoll, Dorian Q. Fuller pg 156-159) ( Excavations at Gao Saney: New Evidence for Settlement Growth, Trade, and Interaction on the Niger Bend in the First Millennium CE by Mamadou Cissé, Susan Keech McIntosh pg 12, ( Essouk - Tadmekka: An Early Islamic Trans-Saharan Market Town pg 42, n.2 ( Arabic Medieval Inscriptions from the Republic of Mali: Epigraphy, Chronicles and Songhay-Tuareg History by P. F. de Moraes Farias ( Excavations at Gao Saney: New Evidence for Settlement Growth, Trade, and Interaction on the Niger Bend in the First Millennium CE by Mamadou Cissé, Susan Keech McIntosh pg 12) ( Archaeological Investigations of Early Trade and Urbanism at Gao Saney by M. Cisse pg 31, 41, 265, Islam, Archaeology and History: Gao Region (Mali) ca. AD 900 - 1250 by Timothy Insoll pg 46-47, Excavations at Gao Saney: New Evidence for Settlement Growth, Trade, and Interaction on the Niger Bend in the First Millennium CE by Mamadou Cissé, Susan Keech McIntosh pg 19-24, 30-32, for pottery from Essuk, see: Essouk - Tadmekka: An Early Islamic Trans-Saharan Market Town pg 144-148 ( Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants by Nehemia Levtzion, Jay Spaulding pg 22) ( Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants by Nehemia Levtzion, Jay Spaulding pg 25-26 ( Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants by Nehemia Levtzion, Jay Spaulding pg 35) ( Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants by Nehemia Levtzion, Jay Spaulding pg 94) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Saʿdi's Taʾrīkh Al-Sūdān Down to 1613, and Other Contemporary Documents by John O. Hunwick pg xxxvii, Bentyia (Kukyia): a Songhay–Mande meeting point, and a “missing link” in the archaeology of the West African diasporas of traders, warriors, praise-singers, and clerics by Paulo Fernando de Moraes Farias prg 84-87 ( The Meanings of Timbuktu by Shamil Jeppie,pg 101-102 ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Saʿdi's Taʾrīkh Al-Sūdān Down to 1613, and Other Contemporary Documents by John O. Hunwick pg 10) ( The Travels of Ibn Battuta, AD 1325–1354: Volume IV by H.A.R. Gibb, C.F. Beckingham pg 971, Bentyia (Kukyia): a Songhay–Mande meeting point, and a “missing link” in the archaeology of the West African diasporas of traders, warriors, praise-singers, and clerics by Paulo Fernando de Moraes Farias prg 69-70 ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Saʿdi's Taʾrīkh Al-Sūdān Down to 1613, and Other Contemporary Documents by John O. Hunwick pg xxxviii ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Saʿdi's Taʾrīkh Al-Sūdān Down to 1613, and Other Contemporary Documents by John O. Hunwick pg 283 ) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Saʿdi's Taʾrīkh Al-Sūdān Down to 1613, and Other Contemporary Documents by John O. Hunwick pg 147-148) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Saʿdi's Taʾrīkh Al-Sūdān Down to 1613, and Other Contemporary Documents by John O. Hunwick pg xlix) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Saʿdi's Taʾrīkh Al-Sūdān Down to 1613, and Other Contemporary Documents by John O. Hunwick pg pg l-li) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Saʿdi's Taʾrīkh Al-Sūdān Down to 1613, and Other Contemporary Documents by John O. Hunwick pg 190-191, 202) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 4 pg 168-170) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 4 pg 178) ( Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa By Heinrich Barth, Vol. 5, London: 1858, pg 215-223) ( Les Touaregs Iwellemmedan, 1647-1896 : un ensemble politique de la boucle du Niger · C. Grémont pg 337-346) ( Saharan Frontiers: Space and Mobility in Northwest Africa edited by James McDougall, Judith Scheele pg 137.

### A Complete History of the Old City of Gao (ca. 700-1898) #### Introduction - **Location**: Gao is situated in northeastern Mali along the Niger River, and historically, it served as the capital of significant kingdoms in West Africa. - **Significance**: It was crucial in the political and cultural landscape of West Africa, being a cosmopolitan center populated by merchants, scholars, and warriors. #### Early History of Gao (8th to 13th Century) 1. **Settlements**: - Evidence suggests that the Niger River's eastern arc, including Gao, was home to sedentary iron age communities from 100-650 CE. - The first external records of Gao date to the 9th century. 2. **External Accounts**: - **Al-Yaqubi (872)**: Described Gao as the most powerful kingdom in the Sudan, with a king whose authority extended over multiple realms. - **Al-Muhallabi (990)**: Noted the existence of a Muslim king in Gao, emphasizing the wealth and trade in livestock and salt. 3. **Archaeological Evidence**: - Excavations identified large buildings and elite cemeteries in Gao Ancien and Gao Saney, dating from the late 11th to mid-14th centuries. - Artifacts included pottery and metallic objects, indicating a thriving trade. 4. **Rulers and Titles**: - Inscribed stelae indicated a lineage of kings and queens, suggesting a complex political structure from the 11th to 14th centuries. - Historians debated the ethnic origins of Gao's rulers, concluding they were likely local in origin, although prior theories proposed a Berber influence. #### Gao Under the Mali Empire (14th to 15th Century) 1. **Integration into Mali**: - By the mid-13th century, Gao was incorporated into the Mali Empire, which retained local rulers under a governor system. - Revolts occurred, notably led by Ali Kulun, suggesting tensions within the empire. 2. **Cultural Exchange**: - Gao experienced significant trade and cultural interaction, particularly noted during Mansa Musa's reign in the early 14th century. 3. **External Accounts**: - Ibn Batuta (1353) described Gao as a prosperous trade hub, highlighting its beauty and abundance of provisions. #### Gao as the Capital of Songhai (15th-16th Century) 1. **Rise of the Songhai Empire**: - After Mali's withdrawal around 1434, the Songhai Empire emerged, with Gao established as its capital under Sunni Ali Ber (r. 1464-1492). - The city flourished as a center of commerce, administration, and scholarship during the reign of Askiya Muhammad. 2. **Population and Infrastructure**: - Leo Africanus (1526) described Gao's impressive size and structure, including the king's elaborate palace. - The Askiyas maintained agricultural estates along the Niger to supply the city. #### Gao After the Collapse of Songhai (17th-19th Century) 1. **Moroccan Invasion (1591)**: - Following the invasion, many residents fled, and a puppet sultan was installed by the Moroccans. - Gao and Timbuktu faced decline due to continued attacks from regional groups like the Tuareg. 2. **Neglect and Decline**: - Gao's prominence diminished, described in the early 19th century as a "desolate abode" by explorer Heinrich Barth. - Despite this, local rulers continued to exert some influence, collecting taxes from remaining Songhai residents. 3. **Colonial Period**: - Gao was occupied by French forces in 1898, transitioning into modern history. #### Conclusion - Gao's history illustrates its pivotal role in West African politics, culture, and trade from its early settlement periods to colonial integration, showcasing its evolution from a powerful kingdom to a city in decline and its eventual resurgence in the modern era.

a brief note on the long history of African diplomacy.

historical links between west africa and the Maghreb.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on the long history of African diplomacy. ====================================================== ### historical links between west africa and the Maghreb. ( Jul 07, 2024 38 In 1415, an embassy from the Swahili city of Malindi on the coast of Kenya carried with them a giraffe as a present to the Chinese emperor Yongle. The majestic creature, which was transported along with the Malindi envoys on the ships of admiral Zheng He, caused a sensation at the imperial capital Nanjing where it was thought to be a unicorn.( About a decade prior in 1402, an Ethiopian embassy arrived at the floating city of Venice after a lengthy journey overland through Egypt and across the Mediterranean. Dressed in monastic attire and accompanied by live leopards, the small party gracefully cruised the city's canals as onlookers wondered whether they had come from the land of the semi-legendary king Prester John.( The history of Africa's engagement with the rest of the world is often framed in the context of imperial expansion and warfare, rather than the much older and more long-standing tradition of international diplomacy. While the practice of bringing exotic animals on diplomatic tours was quite rare, the dispatch of envoys by African states was a fairly common practice across the continent’s long history. Many of my previous articles on Africa's historical links to the rest of the old world often include the activities of African envoys in distant lands. Such as the embassies from ancient ( , the ( during the late Middle Ages, and the ( during the early modern period. _**Portrait of Dom Miguel de Castro, Emissary of the Kongo kingdom**_, 1643, National Gallery of Denmark. _**Tribute giraffe with attendant**_, _**Ming Dynasty, Yongle Period**_ (1403-1424), Philadelphia Museum of Art. The institution of diplomacy in Africa was a product of centuries of internal developments in its kingdoms and other complex societies. ( shows how its rulers' extensive foreign interests were incorporated into the complex bureaucracy of the kingdom with official diplomats, messengers, and non-official envoys. Asante’s ambassadors were provided with official attire and insignia, and were often accompanied by a large retinue whose gifts and expenses were paid for by the state. The frequency of Africa's diplomatic activities reveals the antiquity and scale of the development of the continent's institutions, which enabled many of its societies to establish and maintain peaceful relations in order to facilitate the movement of ideas, goods, and travelers in various capacities. This is most evident in the historical links between the kingdoms of West Africa and the Maghreb (north Africa), whose capitals were frequented by West African envoys since the 13th century. The intra-African diplomatic activities of these envoys provide further proof against the colonial myth of the separation of "sub-Saharan" Africa, by situating the political history of West Africa and the Maghreb within the same geographic and cultural space. **The history of West Africa's links with the Maghreb is the subject of my latest Patreon article, please subscribe to read about it here:** ( * * * _**bas-relief showing the arrival of the Ethiopian and (Coptic) Egyptian delegations in Rome in October 1441**_, ("Porta del Filarete" at the St. Peter's Basilica, Italy c.1445) **Portrait of Matheo Lopez, Ambassador of the kingdom of Allada to France in 1670.**

### A Brief Note on the Long History of African Diplomacy: Historical Links Between West Africa and the Maghreb 1. **Introduction to African Diplomacy** - The history of Africa's engagement with the world has been primarily characterized by imperial expansion and warfare. However, there exists a long-standing tradition of international diplomacy that is often overlooked. 2. **Notable Diplomatic Missions** - In 1415, an embassy from Malindi, a Swahili city on the coast of Kenya, traveled to present a giraffe to the Chinese emperor Yongle. This ceremony highlighted the significance of diplomatic gifts and the connections between African and Asian regions. - In 1402, an Ethiopian embassy arrived in Venice after a long overland journey through Egypt and across the Mediterranean. This delegation, dressed in monastic attire and accompanied by live leopards, captured the attention of Venetian onlookers, illustrating the fascination with African delegations in Europe. 3. **Understanding African Diplomacy** - The dispatch of envoys was a common practice among African states throughout history. Unlike the rarity of exotic animals accompanying diplomatic missions, sending envoys was standard, facilitating communication and relationships between states. - Many historical accounts detail the activities of African envoys in distant lands, showcasing the diplomatic relationships formed in various time periods including ancient times, the late Middle Ages, and the early modern period. 4. **Institution of Diplomacy in African Kingdoms** - African diplomacy developed from centuries of internal growth within kingdoms and complex societies. For instance, the Asante kingdom had a structured diplomatic system that included official diplomats and non-official envoys. - Asante ambassadors were provided with official attire and insignia. Their expeditions were supported by the state in terms of gifts and expenses, emphasizing the formal nature of diplomatic missions. 5. **Regional Diplomacy and Cultural Connections** - The historical links between the kingdoms of West Africa and the Maghreb (North Africa) reveal the interconnectedness of African societies. Since the 13th century, West African envoys frequently visited the capitals of the Maghreb, establishing region-wide diplomatic ties. - These intra-African diplomatic interactions challenge the colonial narrative that suggests a separation between "sub-Saharan" Africa and the north, situating both regions within a shared geographical and cultural framework. 6. **Continuing Exploration of African Diplomatic History** - The connections between West Africa and the Maghreb are explored further in contemporary studies, emphasizing the importance of understanding Africa's diplomatic history as a critical aspect of its overall historical narrative. 7. **Conclusion and Further Reading** - The history of diplomacy in Africa, particularly the links between West Africa and the Maghreb, illustrates the continent's rich political heritage. Ongoing research and articles continue to shed light on these significant historical relationships. In conclusion, the study of African diplomacy reveals a complex and established tradition that has existed for centuries, fostering relationships and cultural exchanges crucial to the continent's history.

The heroic age in Darfur: a history of the pre-colonial kingdom of Darfur ca. 1500-1916.

The political marginalization of the Darfur region since the creation of colonial Sudan has resulted in one of the continent's longest-standing conflicts, which threatens to destroy the country's social fabric and its historical heritage.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The heroic age in Darfur: a history of the pre-colonial kingdom of Darfur ca. 1500-1916. ======================================================================================== ( Jun 30, 2024 26 The political marginalization of the Darfur region since the creation of colonial Sudan has resulted in one of the continent's longest-standing conflicts, which threatens to destroy the country's social fabric and its historical heritage. Just as the plight of modern Darfur continues to receive little attention, its historical significance in shaping the political landscape of pre-colonial Sudan is equally overlooked. The modern region of Darfur derives its name from the pre-colonial kingdom/sultanate of Darfur, a vast multi-ethic state nearly twice the size of France that flourished for over four centuries between the end of medieval Nubia and the establishment of modern Sudan. As a central authority in the region since the end of the Middle Ages, the kingdom had a direct influence on all facets of life in Darfur's diverse society through the establishment of governance tools and structures, administrative institutions, customs, and traditions that sustained the region's autonomy for centuries. This article explores the history of the Darfur kingdom, its institutions, and its society before its marginalization during the colonial and post-colonial era. _**Map of Sudan during the 16th and 18th centuries**_, _**showing the kingdom of Darfur.( **_ * * * **Support Sudanese organizations working to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the country by donating to the community kitchen in Omdurman here:** ( **or reach out to ( , and follow ( for updates.** * * * **Background to the rise of Darfur: the kingdoms of Daju and Tunjur** Between the 10th and 15th centuries, new political formations emerged among the various Nubian-speaking groups in the semi-arid regions to the west of the Christian-Nubian kingdoms of Makuria and Alodia, which preceded the formation of the kingdoms of Daju and Tunjur. The rulers of the Daju were credited with establishing the first dynasty in the region that later became Darfur, according to most traditional accounts transcribed in later periods. Historians suggest that the Daju are likely to be the 'Tajuwa' in the 12th-century account of al-Idrisi, who located their capital of 'Tajawa' between the kingdoms of Nubia and Kanem. Later accounts from the 13th and 15th centuries by Ibn Sai’d and Al-Maqrizi mention that the ‘Tajuwa/Taju were absorbed by the Kanem empire, and identify them as part of the Zaghawa of Kanem ‘who work with stone’. There are a number of ruined sites with stone structures, palaces, and graves eg Dar Wona and Jebel Kilwa, which are attributed to the Daju, but remain undated.( At the end of the Middle Ages, societies in the region of modern Darfur became part of a broader cultural and political renaissance under Islamic auspices that extended from the Nile valley to the eastern shores of Lake Chad. Much of the available documentary and archeological record of this period comes from the Nubian Nile valley which was controlled by the Funj kingdom after the fall of Christian Nubia. a few fragmentary accounts and traditions relate to the Tunjur kingdom that succeeded the Daju, and laid the foundation for the emergence of the early Darfur state. A religious endowment in Medina by the Tunjur monarchs that's dated to 1576 indicates that the Tunjur rulers were Muslims. However, the institution of Islam coexisted with other pre-existing religious traditions, often associated with sacred hilltop sites and agricultural rites.( The history of the Tunjur is mostly known from traditions and written accounts about its collapse and the formation of the new kingdoms of the 17th century that replaced it, especially Darfur and Wadai, which claim that the Tunjur reportedly forced their subjects to remove the tops of mountains so that their castles could be constructed there.( While this likely exaggerates the Tunjur's coercive power, archeological surveys at the ruined sites of Uri , ‘Ayn Farāh and Dowda have uncovered the remains of these impressive red-brick structures, including palaces, paved roads, cemeteries, and two buildings that could be mosques, that were architecturally similar to elite residences in the Bornu empire, and in the Nile valley. The material culture recovered from these sites was predominantly local in origin, indicating that they were constructed by autochthons, but some of it shares some similarities with that found in the Nubian Nile valley, suggesting contacts between these regions during this period.( The 1582 account of the geographer Lorenzo d’Anania indicates that Tunjur was a large state, noting that _**"Uri, a very important city, whose prince is called Nina, or emperor, and who is obeyed by neighbouring countries, namely the kingdom of Aule, Zurla, Sagava \, Memmi \, Musulat \, Morga, Saccae and Dagio \. This prince, who is allied to the Turks, is very powerful and is supplied with arms by merchants from Cairo"**_.( _**ruins of the 16th century Tunjur capital Ain Fara in DarFur, Sudan, including sections of the mosque, palace, and a reception hall**_. Photos by A. J. Arkell, Peter Verney. * * * ( * * * **The kingdom of Darfur from the 17th to 18th century.** The era of the Tunjur was shortlived, as traditions recorded in the 19th century describe a shift in power from the Tunjur royals to the Keira royals of the Fur-speaking groups through intermarriage that produced the first Darfur king Daali and involved the activities of a _**fuqara**_ (holy-man/scholar) from the Nubian Nile valley. This description of the change of power from the Tunjur to the Keira condenses a complex history that indicates the existence of a Keira kingdom in Darfur contemporary with the Tunjur between the semi-legendary king Daali and the first historical Darfur sultan Sulayman.( The Keira royal lineage originated from the Kunjara section of the Fur people, who controlled a kingdom in the Jabal Marra that recognized the suzerainty of the Tunjur monarchs and was likely linked to it through intermarriage. There are several ruins at the site of Turra, associated by local tradition with a long line of Keira rulers from Daali upto the sultan Muḥammad Tayrāb (d. 1785), including palaces, tombs and mosques. A dynastic split forced some of the Keira royals eastwards to the region of Kordofan where they formed the kingdom of Musabba‘āt. Others fled to the southern kingdom of Masālīt, before one of them, Sulaymān returned to Jabal Marra.( Sultan Sulaymān is remembered in the traditions as a warrior and conqueror; in one version he is said to have led thirty-three campaigns, subsuming various neighboring kingdoms including the Masālīt, Oro and Marārīt to the west, the Zaghāwa to the north and the Birged, Beigo and Tunjur to the south and east. While most of the campaigns attributed to him were undertaken by his later successors, there is some documentary evidence for an expansionist Darfur in the late 17th century, particularly in the Kordofan region between Darfur and Funj, where a section of the army was reportedly captured by followers of a faqīh Ḥammad b. Umm Maryūm (1646-1729) before he sent them back as missionaries.( Sulayman and his successors reinvigorated the external trade developed by the Tunjur as well as the Islamization of the kingdom's institutions by constructing mosques and inviting scholary families from the Nubian Nile valley and west Africa that were given grants of land and exempted from paying tribute. It’s during this period that Darfur appears in external accounts from 1668 and 1689, with the former account describing _**'the land of the Fohr'**_ (Fur), as the terminus of an important trade route to Egypt, from where ivory, tamarind, captives, and ostrich feathers were obtained. These commodities would continue to feature in the kingdom’s external trade, although they represented a minor fraction of the domestic trade in agro-pastoral economy.( Firmer documentary evidence for the kingdom's expansion comes from the reign of Aḥmad Bukr (r. 1682-1722), who, according to accounts transcribed in the 19th century, moved his capital (_**fashir**_) as he campaigned outside Jabal Marra. Aḥmad Bukr conquered the kingdom of Dār Qimr, and formed marital alliances with the various Zaghāwa polities between Darfur and Wadai. This invited retaliation from Sultan Ya‘qūb of Wadai, who invaded Darfur but was later driven back by Aḥmad Bukr's army, which then turned east to campaign in Kordofan where he would later die.( By the time of Bukr’s death about 1730, the Darfur kingdom extended over 360,000 sqkm, bringing its borders closer to equally powerful kingdoms of Funj and Wadai, whose competition with Darfur would dominate the region's political landscape for the next two centuries.( Internal and regional contests for power characterized the reign of Ahmad Bukr’s successors, especially Umar Lel (r. 1732-1739), whose authority was challenged by disgruntled keira royals like his uncle Sulaymān alAbyad. The latter had fled to Kordofan which prompted an attack by Umar Lel, who forced Sulaymān to form an alliance with a group of herders on the Darfur frontier known as the Rizayqāt, who promptly invaded Darfur but were defeated. Umar Lel then attacked Wadai, whose king supported Sulaymān, but the sultan was defeated and imprisoned at the Wadai capital. He was succeeded by Abu’l-Qāsim (r. 1739-1752) who continued the war with Wadai but was abandoned by the nobles and deposed in favor of Muḥammad Tayrāb (r. 1752-1785) who established a fixed capital at El-Fashir, concluded a peace treaty with Wadai and delineated a border between the two kingdoms marked by stone cairns and walls, known as the _**tirja**_ (barrier).( _**interior of the Jadeed al sail mosque built by Sultan Tayrab in 1760 at Shoba, north of El-Fashir**_( , photo by Intisar Soghayroun el Zein _**ruins of the Shoba mosque and Sultan Tayrab’s Palace**_. photos by Andrew McGregor * * * **The administrative structure of Darfur: Politics, Land tenure, Military and Society.** The political organization of the sultanate evolved as it expanded and as the different sultans and the royal lineage gradually centralized their power at the expense of pre-existing title-holders and lineage heads. At the head of the kingdom's administration was the Sultan (_**aba kuuri**_) who only came from the Keira royal lineage, and whose installation was often confirmed by the most powerful nobles/titleholders at the capital. Besides the numerous titleholders, the Sultan was also assisted by other royals, most importantly the royal women such as the Queen (_**iiya kuuri**_), the king's sister (_**iiya baasi**_) and traditional religious heads, as well as the chosen heir (khalifa), that were later joined by non-royal dependants who populated the king’s capital at El-Fashir.( The sultans were surrounded by a complex and elaborate hierarchy of title-holders numbering several hundred, some of whom were appointed, some hereditary, some territorial, and others were religious figures. These offices, whose titles often included the term _**‘abbo’**_ or _**‘aba’**_, (eg the _**ába ǎw mang**_ and _**ába dima’ng**_) are too many to list here, but some of the most important among the appointed offices included the _**wazīr**_, the _**maqdūms**_ (commissioners), the _**jabbayīn**_ (tribute collectors), the _**takanyāwī**_ (the provincial governor in the north), etc( . The basis of administration was the quadrant division into provinces (_**dar al-takanawi**_ in the north, _**dar dali**_ in the east, _**dar urno**_ in the south, and dar diima in the southwest), each under a provincial governor (_**aba diimaŋ**_), sub-governors (_**shartay**_), local chiefs (_**dimlijs**_), and village heads (_**eliŋ wakīl**_), the first three of whom had their own administrative systems, raised armies for the sultan and sent taxes and tribute at the annual _**jalūd al-naḥās**_ festival,( According to one 19th century visitor, Gustav Nachitgal, records of taxes and tributes were kept at the Sultan’s palace, along with other government records, and books of laws containing the basic principles of administration( . _**Map of the Darfur kingdom’s administrative divisions**_ by al-Tunusi, redrawn by Rex O’Fahey. The maghrebian traveler Al-Tūnisī, who lived in Darfur from 1804-1814, and whose account provides much of the documentary record about the kingdom until that date, mentions various small kingdoms on Darfur's frontier, including Mīdawb, Bartī, Birqid, Barqū, Tunjūr, and Mīmah, noting that _**“Each of these kingdoms had a ruler called a sultan appointed by the Fur sultan".**_( He also describes how the title-holders were granted, in lieu of salary, estates, out of whose revenues they maintained their soldiers and followers. These estates (ḥākūra) developed out of local systems of land tenure, and would later be expressed in the terminology used in the Islamic heartlands when land charters began to be issued by the Darfur sultans in the 17th century.( The control of Land and regulation of its transfer and sale was central to the administration of the kingdom, the rewarding of loyal titleholders, and the integration of foreign scholars. \( \] The ḥākūra system became essential to the maintenance of a privileged class of title-holders, especially at the capital, and the land charters it produced provided the bulk of the surviving documents from pre-colonial Darfur which contain precious information on the kingdom’s official chancery, its legal system and its land tenure. ( _**land charter of Darfur king Muhammad al-Fadl to a Zaghawa nobleman's family in Darfur**_, ( , _**Court transcript of a land dispute**_, ( . * * * ( * * * The basis of Darfur's military strength were the levies (_**jureŋa**_) mobilized by the provincial governors and local chiefs, each under a war leader (_**ɔrnaŋ**_), who provided soldiers with fighting equipment. However, as the kingdom expanded, the Sultans also raised personal armies to reduce their dependence on the title holders, they thus equipped small units of horsemen and infantrymen with imported arms and armor. An account from 1862, reported that the kingdom’s army consisted of about 3,000 cavalry, of whom 600 to 1,000 were heavily armed, and some 70,000 infantry armed with swords, laces and javelins.( Besides the many sedentary groups that recognized the sultan's authority, the kingdom was surrounded from the east and south by many groups of mobile herders, including the Fulbe, and the Arab-speaking( Messiriya and Rizaigat groups, who were tributaries of the Sultan but not subjects of the kingdom, and often fled south to avoid the armies of Darfur. Tayrāb registered better success in the east, where he defeated the Musabba‘āt king Hashim and brought much of Kordofan under Darfur's control, campaigning as far as Ormdurman.( The kingdom reached its apogee during the reign of Abd Abd al-Raḥmān (r1785-1801) and his son, Muḥammad al-Faḍl (r. 1801-1838). These kings ruled over a vast state which now covered approximately 860,000 sqkm, they consolidated their predecessor's gains, and appointed qadis (_**judges**_) and scholars (_**Fuqara**_) as advisors. The kingdom’s domestic economy was largely based on exchanges of agro-pastoral products, textiles, and other crafts between regional markets, as well as larger towns and cities like el-Fashir and Nyala, while its relatively small external trade remained mostly the same as it had been described in the account of 1668 mentioned above.( The kingdom hosted many scholarly families from the Funj region and west Africa and became an important stop point along the pilgrimage route from the west African kingdoms of Bornu and Birgimi. As an inducement to settle, the sultans could offer the _**fuqara**_ land through the ḥākūra system or tax exemptions, and some of them, eg Alī al-Fūtūwī eventually became involved in the political contents at the capital.( While Darfur is a predominantly Muslim society, the adoption of Islam was gradual and varied, as practitioners of the religion continued to co-exist with other traditional belief systems and practices. In his description of Darfur’s society, Al-tunsi often contrasted it with his home country, especially regarding the role of women, noting that _**“the men of Darfur undertake no business without the participation of the women,”**_ and that _**“In all other matters**_ \_**, men and women are equal”**_( The kingdom's external contacts increased, likely as a consequence of its geographic importance in the pilgrimage route from West Africa and the growth of its local scholarly communities that were linked with Egypt. In 1792, the Darfur Sultan ‘Abd al-Raḥmān sent an embassy to the Ottoman sultan, who replied by awarding him the honorific title _al-rashīd_ (‘the just’) which duly appeared on his royal seals. Abd al-Raḥmān also corresponded with the French general Napoleon during the latter’s brief occupation of Egypt.( _**Letter from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān of Darfur to Selim III,.**_ Cumhurbaşkanliği Osmanli Arşivi, Istanbul_**, Letter from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān of Darfur to the ‘sultan of France’ Napoleon Bonaparte**_. Service historique de la Défense (Vincennes), gr B6 60, cl. M. Tuchscherer. * * * **Darfur in the 19th century** During the later half of Muḥammad al-Faḍl's reign, the kingdom lost the province of Kordofan in 1821 to the armies of Muḥammad ‘Alī, the Ottoman governor of Egypt who also invaded the Funj kingdom but failed to expand to Darfur. To the west of the Kingdom, Muḥammad al-Faḍl took advantage of the succession crisis in Wadai by installing one of the rival claimants, Muḥammad al-Sharīf, to claim the throne in exchange for recognizing the suzerainty of Darfur, which was later repudiated. Campaigns against the mobile herders in the north such as the Arab-speaking Maḥāmīd, Mahrīya, ‘Irayqāt, and Zayādīya brought the region under Darfur's control, but campaigns against the herder groups in the south saw limited success.( During the second half of the 19th century, the extension of direct trade routes between the Nile valley and the southern frontier of Darfur during the reign of Muhammad al-Husayn (r. 1838–1873), as well as the restriction of firearm sales from Egypt, gradually undercut some of the sources of the long-distance trade to the kingdom, and forced the sultans to raise taxes on their subjects, which proved unpopular. In the 1860s, militant traders like al-Zubayr Raḥma carved out their own empires in the region by building local alliances and raising armies, often acting independently of their overlords in Egypt.( The reigning sultan Muḥammad al-Ḥusayn (d. 1873) tried to weaken al-Zubayr's confederation by breaking up some of his alliances, prompting a diplomatic conflict with the latter that devolved into war. After the installation of Sultan al-Husayn's son Ibrāhīm, the armies of al-Zubayr advanced into Darfur and fought several battles with the Sultan's armies between November 1873 and October 1874, before the latter capitulated. Al-Zubayr then entered the capital, where he was joined a few days afterward by Ismā‘īl Pasha, who formally incorporated Darfur into the Khedive empire against al-Zubayr's wishes.( Al-Zubayr went to Cairo to protest but was detained by the Khedive’s officers, while the deposed sultans of Darfur retreated into Jabal Marra, where they sought to maintain the Kingdom, with some degree of success. The Ottoman-Egyptians were later expelled by the Mahdist movement in 1881 whose rulers took over much of the Khedive’s territories in modern Sudan, but the Keira sultan ‘Alī Dīnār b. Zakarīya, a son of Sultan Muḥammad al-Faḍl supported the anti-Mahdist forces before he surrendered in 1891 and spent 7 years detained at the court of the Mahdist rulers. After the British invasion of the Mahdist state in September 1898, ‘Alī Dīnār returned to el-Fashir with a group of Fur and other chiefs to Dār Fūr and declared himself sultan.( _**Palace of Ali Dinar at El-Fashir**_, Sudan. _**An embassy from Sultan Ali Dinar in Khartoum, capital of British Sudan**_, ca 1907, Quai branly. The newly established colonial government in Sudan had no immediate wish to annex Dār Fūr, and from 1898 to 1916 ‘Alī Dīnār ruled the sultanate, reviving the old administrative system, constructed a palace, regranted the old titles and ḥākūras, and drove back the Arab nomads who had encroached on the settled land during the chaos of the preceding period. Ali Dinar’s relations with the colonial government deteriorated, mainly over the threat of the French colonial expansion from modern Chad, and in 1916, influenced by the Pan-Islamic propaganda of the Turks and the Sanūsīya in Libya, he declared war on the British. Dār Fūr was invaded by the colonial armies which defeated ‘Ali Dīnār’s army at Birinjīya near al-Fāshir and formally incorporated the kingdom into colonial Sudan.( Darfur was largely neglected during the colonial period unlike the riverine regions of Sudan where many of the people of Darfur were compelled to travel for employment and education. This continued into the post-colonial period when the riverine elites inherited the colonial administration and the region’s neglect led to the rise of armed rebellions in the early 2000s.( The government responded to these rebellions by arming local militias (_janjaweed_) drawn from the Arab-speaking nomads, marking the start of a gruesome war that eventually led to the current conflict. << as of writing this article, the old city of ( , despite the brutal siege by the Janjaweed-RSF militia, its defenders consider it too strategically significant to abandon >> Ali Dinar’s palace. Like many of Sudan’s historic monuments in populated centers, the old palace is unlikely to have survived the war. * * * **Support Sudanese organizations working to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the country by donating to the community kitchen in Omdurman here:** ( or reach out to ( , and follow ( for updates. * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Map by /u/Redeyedtreefrog2 ( ( The archaeology of Central Darfur (Sudan) in the 1st millennium A.D by Ibrahim Musa Mohammed pg 3-6, The Stone Monuments and Antiquities of the Jebel Marra Region, Darfur, Sudan by Andrew James McGregor pg 34-57 ( The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia By Geoff Emberling, Bruce Williams pg 900-901) ( The Stone Monuments and Antiquities of the Jebel Marra Region, Darfur, Sudan by Andrew James McGregor pg 67-71, 85-87 ( The Stone Monuments and Antiquities of the Jebel Marra Region, Darfur, Sudan by Andrew James McGregor pg 95-121, The archaeology of Central Darfur (Sudan) in the 1st millennium A.D by Ibrahim Musa Mohammed pg 199-202 ( The Stone Monuments and Antiquities of the Jebel Marra Region, Darfur, Sudan by Andrew James McGregor pg 101 ( Sahara and Sudan. Volume Four: Wadai and Darfur Volume: 4 by Gustav Nachtigal; Allan G. B. Fisher, Humphrey J. Fisher, Rex S. O'Fahey pg 275-277, Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg \*100-104 \ ( Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg 105-107, In Darfur: An Account of the Sultanate and Its People by Muḥammad al-Tūnisī; R.S. O'Fahey; Humphrey Davies; Kwame Anthony Appiah pg 73-74 ( Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg 110) ( Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg 109) ( Sahara and Sudan. Volume Four: Wadai and Darfur Volume: 4 by Gustav Nachtigal; Allan G. B. Fisher, Humphrey J. Fisher, Rex S. O'Fahey pg 280-282 ( Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg 113-115) ( Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg 116-120, Sahara and Sudan. Volume Four: Wadai and Darfur Volume: 4 by Gustav Nachtigal; Allan G. B. Fisher, Humphrey J. Fisher, Rex S. O'Fahey pg 283-289 ( The archaeology of Central Darfur (Sudan) in the 1st millennium A.D by Ibrahim Musa Mohammed pg 218 ( Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg 117, 121, 125-127, 133-134, In Darfur: An Account of the Sultanate and Its People by Muḥammad al-Tūnisī; R.S. O'Fahey; Humphrey Davies; Kwame Anthony Appiah pg 151, Sahara and Sudan. Volume Four: Wadai and Darfur Volume: 4 by Gustav Nachtigal; Allan G. B. Fisher, Humphrey J. Fisher, Rex S. O'Fahey pg 328-329. ( In Darfur: An Account of the Sultanate and Its People by Muḥammad al-Tūnisī; R.S. O'Fahey; Humphrey Davies; Kwame Anthony Appiah pg 143-145 ( Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg 135-137, 140-141, In Darfur: An Account of the Sultanate and Its People by Muḥammad al-Tūnisī; R.S. O'Fahey; Humphrey Davies; Kwame Anthony Appiah pg 120-121, Sahara and Sudan. Volume Four: Wadai and Darfur Volume: 4 by Gustav Nachtigal; Allan G. B. Fisher, Humphrey J. Fisher, Rex S. O'Fahey pg 324-345. ( Sahara and Sudan. Volume Four: Wadai and Darfur Volume: 4 by Gustav Nachtigal; Allan G. B. Fisher, Humphrey J. Fisher, Rex S. O'Fahey pg 272-273 ( In Darfur: An Account of the Sultanate and Its People by Muḥammad al-Tūnisī; R.S. O'Fahey; Humphrey Davies; Kwame Anthony Appiah pg 118 ( Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg 138-139) ( Land in Dar Fur Charters and related documents from the Dar Fur Sultanate, Translated with an introduction by R. S. O'Fahey, Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg 139-140, Land documents in Dār Fūr sultanate (Sudan, 1785–1875): Between memory and archives ( Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg 115-117, 158) ( The ethnonym of ‘Arabs’ in Sudan (and indeed most of Africa below the Sahara) shouldn’t be confused with our modern/western concept of race. for example, Al-Tunisi mentions the people of Darfur “had never seen an Arab before” him, they were curious at his “ruddy” skin color, and thought he was “unripe”, similar to how their neighbors in the kingdom of ( . _see pg 126, In Darfur: An Account of the Sultanate and Its People by Muḥammad al-Tūnisī_. ( In Darfur: An Account of the Sultanate and Its People by Muḥammad al-Tūnisī; R.S. O'Fahey; Humphrey Davies; Kwame Anthony Appiah pg 118-119, Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg 121-122) ( In Darfur: An Account of the Sultanate and Its People by Muḥammad al-Tūnisī; R.S. O'Fahey; Humphrey Davies; Kwame Anthony Appiah pg xix-xx, 100-101, 108, Sahara and Sudan. Volume Four: Wadai and Darfur Volume: 4 by Gustav Nachtigal; Allan G. B. Fisher, Humphrey J. Fisher, Rex S. O'Fahey pg 290-304. ( Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg 148-151) ( The archaeology of Central Darfur (Sudan) in the 1st millennium A.D by Ibrahim Musa Mohammed pg 227-228, In Darfur: An Account of the Sultanate and Its People by Muḥammad al-Tūnisī; R.S. O'Fahey; Humphrey Davies; Kwame Anthony Appiah pg 167-172 ( An Embassy from the Sultan of Darfur to the Sublime Porte in 1791 by A.C.S. Peacock, ( Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg 153-157) ( Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg 158-159, Sahara and Sudan. Volume Four: Wadai and Darfur Volume: 4 by Gustav Nachtigal; Allan G. B. Fisher, Humphrey J. Fisher, Rex S. O'Fahey pg 306-318. ( Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg 160-161, Sahara and Sudan. Volume Four: Wadai and Darfur Volume: 4 by Gustav Nachtigal; Allan G. B. Fisher, Humphrey J. Fisher, Rex S. O'Fahey pg 321-323. ( In Darfur: An Account of the Sultanate and Its People by Muḥammad al-Tūnisī; R.S. O'Fahey; Humphrey Davies; Kwame Anthony Appiah pg xxii ( Kingdoms of the Sudan by R. S. O'Fahey, J. L. Spaulding pg 164) ( Darfur: Struggle of Power and Resources, 1650-2002, An Institutional Perspective by Yousif Suliman Saeed Takana.

### Title: The Heroic Age in Darfur: A History of the Pre-Colonial Kingdom of Darfur (ca. 1500-1916) #### I. Introduction - The Darfur region, known for its historical significance, has faced political marginalization since the establishment of colonial Sudan. - This marginalization has resulted in one of Africa's longest-standing conflicts, jeopardizing both social cohesion and historical heritage. - The historical relevance of pre-colonial Darfur is often overlooked despite its substantial influence on the political landscape of the region. #### II. Origins of the Kingdom of Darfur 1. **Predecessor Kingdoms (10th-15th centuries)** - The kingdoms of Daju and Tunjur emerged from Nubian-speaking groups. - Accounts suggest that the Daju established the first dynasty in what later became Darfur. - The Daju's capital was likely located between Nubia and Kanem, as documented by al-Idrisi in the 12th century. - The Tunjur kingdom succeeded the Daju and laid the groundwork for the Darfur state. 2. **Cultural and Religious Developments** - A cultural and political renaissance occurred in the region under Islamic influences during this historical period. - The Tunjur rulers were known to practice Islam while coexisting with earlier religious traditions. 3. **Archaeological Evidence** - Ruins at sites like Uri and ‘Ayn Farāh illustrate the architectural and cultural achievements of the Tunjur period. #### III. The Kingdom of Darfur (17th-18th centuries) 1. **Transition to Darfur Rule** - The Keira royal lineage rose to power through intermarriage with Tunjur royals, leading to the establishment of the first Darfur king, Daali. - Sulayman, a key figure in Darfur's history, expanded the kingdom through military campaigns against neighboring regions. 2. **Trade and Islamization** - Under Sulayman and subsequent rulers, Darfur developed external trade networks and enhanced the Islamization of governance. - Key trade routes connected Darfur to Egypt, facilitating commerce in ivory, captives, and agricultural products. 3. **Military Organization** - The kingdom expanded its military, transitioning from reliance on local title holders to establishing a personal army. #### IV. Administrative Structure of the Kingdom 1. **Political Organization** - The Sultan, who derived authority from the Keira lineage, was assisted by various title holders and royal women. - Complex hierarchy included appointed officials such as the wazīr and provincial governors. 2. **Land Tenure and Taxation** - The ḥākūra system governed land control and taxation, providing incentives to loyal title holders in exchange for military support. #### V. Darfur in the 19th Century 1. **Colonial Encroachment** - The kingdom faced territorial losses, notably Kordofan to Muḥammad ‘Alī, the Ottoman governor of Egypt. - Internal conflicts and external pressures from independent traders and military leaders like al-Zubayr challenged Darfurian authority. 2. **Sultan Ali Dinar's Rule (1898-1916)** - After the Mahdist uprising, Ali Dinar briefly reclaimed the sultanate and attempted to revive the administrative structure. - His declaration of war against British forces in 1916 led to the invasion and subsequent annexation of Darfur by colonial armies. #### VI. Impact of Colonial Rule - Colonial governance led to the neglect of Darfur compared to riverine regions. - Political neglect in the post-colonial period contributed to the rise of armed rebellions in the early 2000s, resulting in ongoing conflict and humanitarian crises. #### VII. Conclusion - The history of Darfur from ca. 1500 to 1916 illustrates a rich yet troubled legacy, shaped by complex political, social, and cultural dynamics. - The political marginalization initiated during colonial times has persisted, continuing to affect the region's stability and heritage today.

Voices of Africa's past: a brief note on the autobiographies of itinerant scholars.

an african description of turn-of-the-century Europe.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Voices of Africa's past: a brief note on the autobiographies of itinerant scholars. =================================================================================== ### an african description of turn-of-the-century Europe. ( Jun 23, 2024 30 Among the most significant works of African literature produced during the pre-colonial era were the autobiographies of itinerant scholars which included descriptions of important social institutions and recorded key events in the continent’s history. The autobiography of the Hausa ethnographer ( during the 19th century. al-Kanawi’s detailed account includes the amount of tuition paid to teachers, the length of time spent at each level of learning, as well as the core curriculum and textbooks used by students across the region. _**"al-Sarha al-wariqa fi'ilm al-wathiqa"**_ (_The thornless leafy tree concerning the knowledge of letter writing_), by Umaru al-Kanawi. ca. 1877, Kaduna National Archives, Nigeria. The autobiography of the ( provides a first-hand account of the social upheaval in the kingdom brought about by the presence of Portuguese priests and their Catholic converts at the capital. Zara Yacob describes the ideological conflicts between the various political and religious factions, which influenced his radical philosophy that rejected received wisdom in favor of rational proofs. The autobiography of ( includes important information on the scholars who taught him in West Africa before his career as a teacher at the Egyptian College of al-Azhar. The Mathematician lists at least five of his West African teachers whose level of scholarship and intellectual influence contradicts ( . _Folios from a copy of Muhammad al-Kashnāwī's mathematical treatise, titled **'Bahjat al- āfāq',** completed on 29th, January 1733_. Bibliothèque nationale de France . The careers of many African scholars often involved traveling between different cities and regions in their capacity as teachers, merchants, or diplomatic liaisons. Umaru al-Kanawi's account documents the conduct of trade along the complex commercial networks that linked the Asante kingdom (in modern Ghana) to the Sokoto empire (in northern Nigeria). Zara Yacob’s description of his flight from Aksum through various localities until the town of Emfraz is a precious first-hand account of asceticism in Gondarine Ethiopia. The travelogue of Muhammad al-Kashnāwī provides one of the earliest internal accounts documenting the journey of West African pilgrims to the cities of the Hejaz. The autobiographies of Africa's itinerant scholars therefore constitute important sources of Africa's past. In the second half of the 19th century, the emergence of scholarly communities in the East African kingdom of Buganda led to the production of some of the most remarkable accounts documenting the voices of Africa's past. In the late 19th century, one of the kingdom's most prolific scholars, Ham Mukasa, wrote an autobiography that documents many key events in the kingdom's history. He also wrote a lengthy travelogue of his journey to England in 1902, describing the various societies and peoples he met along the way in meticulous detail: from the Somali boatmen of Yemen, to the mistreatment of Jewish traders, to the "shameful" dances of the Europeans, to the coronation of king Edward, to medieval torture devices. He met with the Ethiopian envoy Ras Mokonnen, the Chinese prince Chun Zaifeng, the Lozi king Lewanika from Zambia, and Prince Ali of Zanzibar. **The autobiography of Ham Mukasa and his travelogue describing turn-of-the-century Europe are the subject of my latest Patreon article.** **please subscribe to read about it here:** ( * * * _**Timbuktu, Mali, ca. 1895**_, Archives nationales d'outre-mer. * * *

### Voices of Africa's Past: A Brief Note on the Autobiographies of Itinerant Scholars #### Overview of Autobiographies - **Significance**: The autobiographies of itinerant scholars produced during the pre-colonial era are crucial for understanding African history, as they document social institutions, key events, and individual experiences. - **Focus**: This note highlights notable works that reflect African perspectives on turn-of-the-century Europe and the complexities of their scholarly journeys. #### Notable Autobiographies 1. **Umaru al-Kanawi's Autobiography** - **Background**: A Hausa ethnographer active in the 19th century. - **Content**: Al-Kanawi's autobiography includes detailed information about: - Tuition fees paid to teachers in his region. - Duration of each educational level. - Core curriculum and textbooks utilized in West African education. - **Significance**: Provides insight into the educational practices and scholarly values of the time. - **Source**: _“al-Sarha al-wariqa fi'ilm al-wathiqa”_ (_The thornless leafy tree concerning the knowledge of letter writing_), written around 1877, preserved in the Kaduna National Archives, Nigeria. 2. **Zara Yacob's Autobiography** - **Background**: An Ethiopian scholar who discussed his experiences during a period of social upheaval. - **Content**: His autobiography presents: - The impact of Portuguese priests and their converts on his kingdom. - Ideological conflicts among various political and religious factions. - **Significance**: Highlights the clash of cultures and the emergence of rational thought challenging traditional beliefs. 3. **Muhammad al-Kashnāwī's Accounts** - **Background**: A mathematician who traveled extensively. - **Content**: - Lists prominent West African teachers who influenced his education. - A detailed travelogue documenting the pilgrimage of West Africans to Hejaz, one of the earliest records of such journeys. - **Significance**: Emphasizes the intellectual lineage and networks across Africa. #### Trade and Cultural Exchange - **Umaru al-Kanawi's Trade Documentation**: - **Details**: His accounts outline trade networks linking the Asante kingdom in modern Ghana to the Sokoto empire in northern Nigeria. - **Significance**: These records highlight the economic relationships and cultural exchanges within the continent. #### Ham Mukasa's Contributions - **Background**: A prolific scholar from the East African kingdom of Buganda in the late 19th century. - **Autobiography**: Documents key historical events in Buganda. - **Travelogue (1902)**: - **Details**: Provides observations from his journey to England, including: - Encounters with various peoples (e.g., Somali boatmen, Jewish traders). - Critique of European customs and events, such as King Edward's coronation. - Meetings with significant figures, including Ras Mokonnen, Prince Chun Zaifeng, Lewanika of Zambia, and Prince Ali of Zanzibar. - **Significance**: Offers a unique perspective on European society from an African scholar's viewpoint. #### Conclusion - **Importance of Autobiographies**: The autobiographies of African itinerant scholars serve as vital resources for understanding the continent’s history, providing personal insights into educational practices, cultural exchanges, and experiences during significant social changes. - **Further Reading**: A detailed exploration of these themes, particularly Ham Mukasa's autobiography and travelogue, is available in the latest article on Patreon. This structured breakdown presents a clear understanding of the significance of African itinerant scholars and their contributions to documenting history.

A muslim kingdom in the Ethiopian highlands: the history of Ifat and Adal ca. 1285-1520.

During the late Middle Ages, the northern Horn of Africa was home to some of the continent's most powerful dynasties, whose history significantly shaped the region's social landscape.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A muslim kingdom in the Ethiopian highlands: the history of Ifat and Adal ca. 1285-1520. ======================================================================================== ( Jun 16, 2024 22 During the late Middle Ages, the northern Horn of Africa was home to some of the continent's most powerful dynasties, whose history significantly shaped the region's social landscape. The history of one of these dynasties, often referred to as the Solomonids, has been sufficiently explored in many works of African history. However, the history of their biggest political rivals, known as the Walasma dynasty of Ifat, has received less scholarly and public attention, despite their contribution to the region’s cultural heritage. This article outlines the history of the Walasma kingdoms of Ifat and Adal, which influenced the emergence and growth of many Muslim societies in the northern Horn of Africa. _**Map of the northern Horn of Africa during the early 16th century.( **_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Background to the Ifat kingdom: the enigmatic polity of Šawah.** Near the end of the 13th century, an anonymous scholar in the northern Horn of Africa composed a short chronicle titled _**Ḏikr at-tawārīḫ**_ (ie: “the Annals”), that primarily dealt with the rise and demise of a polity called ‘Šawah’ which flourished from 1063 to 1290 CE. The text describes the sultanate of Šawah as comprised of several urban settlements, with the capital at Walalah, and outlying towns like Kālḥwr, and Ḥādbayah, that were controlled by semi-autonomous rulers of a dynasty called the Maḫzūmī.( The author of the _**Ḏikr at-tawārīḫ's**_ notes the presence of a scholarly elite in Šawah, was aware of the sack of Baghdad in 1258 by the _**‘Tatars’**_ (Mongols) , and mentions that the state’s judicial system was headed by a _**‘qāḍī al-quḍā’**_ (ie: “cadi of the cadis”). The text also mentions a few neighboring Muslim societies like Mūrah, ʿAdal, and Hūbat. The information provided in the chronicle is corroborated by a Mumluk-Egyptian text describing an Ethiopian embassy in 1292, which notes that _**“Among the kings of Abyssinia is Yūsuf b. Arsmāya, master of the territory of Ḥadāya, Šawā, Kalǧur, and their districts, which are dominated by Muslim kings.”**_( The composition of the chronicle of Šawah represents an important period in the emergence of Muslim societies in north-eastern regions of modern Ethiopia, which also appears extensively across the region’s archeological record, where many inscribed tombs, mosques, and imported goods were found dated between the 11th and 15th century, particularly ( . While the towns of Šawah are yet to be found, the remains of contemporaneous Muslim societies were generally urbanized and were associated with long-distance trade that terminated at the coastal city of Zayla. It’s in this context that the kingdom of Ifāt (ኢፋት) emerged under its founder Wālī ʾAsmaʿ (1285–1289), whose state eclipsed and subsumed most of the Muslim polities across the region including Šawā.( _**Important polities in the northern Horn during the late middle ages, including the Muslim states of Ifat, Adal, Hadya and Sawah.**_( * * * **The Walasma kingdom of Ifat during the 14th century.** In the late 13th century, Wālī Asma established an alliance with Yǝkunno Amlak —founder of the Solomonic dynasty of the medieval Christian kingdom of Ethiopia— acknowledging the suzerainty of the latter in exchange for military support. Wālī ʾAsma’s growing power threatened the last ruler of Šawah; Sultan Dilmārrah, who attempted to appease the former through a marital alliance in 1271. Ultimately, the armies of Wālī Asma attacked Šawah in 1277, deposed its Maḫzūmī rulers, and imposed their power on the whole region, including the polities at Mūrah, ʿAdal, and Hūbat, which were conquered by 1288.( The establishment of the Ifat kingdom coincided with the expansion of the power of the Solomonids, who subsumed many neighboring states including Christian kingdoms like Zagwe, as well as Muslim and 'pagan' kingdoms. By the 14th century, the balance of power between the Solomonids and the Walasma favored the former. The rulers of Ifat were listed among the several tributaries mentioned in the chronicle of the ʿAmdä Ṣǝyon (r. 1314-1344), whose armies greatly expanded the Solomonid state. The Walasma sultan then sent an embassy to Mamluk Egypt’s sultan al-Nasir in 1322 to intercede with Amdä Ṣǝyon on behalf of the Muslims.( It’s during this period that detailed descriptions of Ifat appear in external texts, primarily written by the Mamluks, such as the accounts of Abū al-Fidā' (1273-1331) and later al-Umari in the 1330s. According to al-Fidā' the capital of Ifat was _**"one of the largest cities in the Ḥabašā \. There are about twenty stages between this town and Zayla. The buildings of Wafāt are scattered. The abode of royalty is on one hill and the citadel is on another hill"**_. Al-Umari writes that Ifat was the most important of the _**"seven kingdoms of Muslim Abyssinia.**_" He adds that _**"Awfāt is closest to Egyptian territory and the shores facing Yemen and has the largest territory. Its king reigns over Zaylaʿ; it is the name of the port where merchants going to this kingdom approach."**_( The Sultanate of Ifat is the best documented among the Muslim societies of the northern Horn during the Middle Ages, and its archeological sites are the best studied. The account of the 14th-century account of al-Umari and the 15th-century chronicle of Amdä Ṣeyon (r. 1314-1344) both describe several cities in the territory of Ifat that refer to the provincial capitals of the kingdom. These textural accounts are corroborated by the archeological record, with at least five ruined cities —Asbari, Masal, Rassa Guba, Nora, and Beri-Ifat— having been identified in its former territory and firmly dated to the 14th century.( _**ruins of the mosques at Beri-Ifat and Nora.**_( _**Location of the archeological sites of Ifat and the kingdom’s center.**_ The largest archeological sites at Nora, Beri-Ifat, and Asbari had city walls, remains of residential buildings preserved to a height of over 2-3 meters, and an urban layout with streets and cemeteries, set within a terraced landscape. The material culture of the sites includes some imported wares from the Islamic world, but was predominantly local, and included iron rods that were used as currency. Each of the cities and towns possessed a main mosque in addition to neighborhood mosques (or oratories) in larger cities like Nora, built in a distinctive architectural style that characterized most of the settlements in Ifat.( The above archeological discoveries corroborate al-ʿUmarī’s account, which notes that _**“there are, in these seven kingdoms, cathedral mosques, ordinary mosques and oratories.”,**_ and the city layout of Beri-Ifat is similar to the account provided by al-Fidā', who notes that the capital’s buildings were scattered. The discovery of inscribed tombs of a _**“sheikh of the Walasmaʿ”**_ of Šāfiʿite school who died in 1364, also corroborates al-Umari's accounts of this school's importance in Ifat, as well as the providing evidence for the origin of the ( _**( **_ ( .( _**Mosque of Ferewanda, part of the city of Beri-Ifat.**_ _**Square house with a wall niche at the site of Nora**_ _**Tomb T8 near the sultan’s residence close to the mosque of Beri-Ifat. It belongs to sultan al-Naṣrī b. ʿAlī \ b. Ṣabr al-Dīn b. Wālāsma, and is dated Saturday 15 ṣafar 775 h., \**_ * * * **Trade, warfare, and the decline of Ifat.** According to Al-ʿUmarī, the kingdom of Ifat dominated trade because of its geographical position near the coast and its control of Zayla, from where imports of _**“silk and linen fabrics"**_ were obtained. Later accounts describe trading cities like “Manadeley” where one could _**"find every kind of merchandise that there is in the world, and merchants of all nations, also all the languages of the Moors, from Giada, from Morocco, Fez, Bugia, Tunis, Turks, Roumes from Greece, Moors of India, Ormuz and Cairo"**_.( Another important trading city of Ifat was Gendevelu, which appears in internal accounts as Gendabelo since the 14th century and likely corresponds to the archeological site of Asbari. External descriptions of the city mention _**"caravans of camels unload their merchandise"**_ and _**"the currency is Hungarian and Venetian ducats, and the silver coins of the Moors."**_ While the rulers of Ifat didn’t mint their own coins, most sources note the use of imported silver coins, as well as commodity currencies like cloth and iron rods.( _**The main mosque of Asbari.**_( Much of the political history of Ifat was provided in an internal chronicle titled _**'Taʾrīḫ al-Walasmaʿ**_ written in the 16th century, as well as an external account by the Mamluk historian al-Maqrīzī in 1438. Both texts describe a major dynastic split in the Walasma family of Ifat that occurred in the late 14th century, between those who wanted to continue recognizing the suzerainty of the Solomonids, and those who rejected it. According to al-Maqrizi, the Solomonids could install and depose the Walasma rulers at will, retain some of the Ifat royals at their court, and often provided military aid to those allied with them.( In the 1370s, sultan Ali of Ifat was aided by the armies of the Ethiopian emperor in fighting a rebellion led by Ali's rival Ḥaqq al-Dīn (r. 1376–1386), who established a separate kingdom away from the capital. After the destruction of the Ifat capital during the dynastic conflict, and the death of Ḥaqq al-Dīn in a war with the Solomonids, his brother Saʿd al-Dīn continued the rebellion but was defeated near Zayla around 1409( . In response to the continuous conflict, the Solomonids formerly incorporated the territories of Ifat, appointed Christian governors who adopted the name Walasmaʿ (in Gǝʿǝz, _wäläšma_), deployed garrisons of their own soldiers, and established royal capitals in Ifat territory.( _**The mosque of Jéʾértu**_.( * * * **The re-establishment of Walasma power in the 15th century until their demise in 1520.** After the death of Saʿd al-Dīn, his family took refuge in Yemen, at the court of the Rasūlid sultan Aḥmad b. al-Ašraf Ismāʿil (r. 1400–1424). Saʿd al-Dīn's oldest son, Ṣabr al-Dīn (r. 1415–1422), later came back to Ethiopia, to a place called al-Sayāra, in the eastern frontier of the province of Ifat, where the soldiers who had served under his father joined him. They established a new sultanate, called Barr Saʿd al-Dīn (“Land of Saʿd al-Dīn”) which appears as Adal in the chronicles of the Solomonid rulers, who were by then in control of the territory of Ifat.( Beginning in 1433, the Walasma rulers of Barr Saʿd al-Dīn established their capital at Dakar, which likely corresponds to the ruined sites of Derbiga and Nur Abdoche located near the old city of Harar. They imposed their power over many pre-existing Muslim polities including Hūbat, the city of Zaylaʿ, the Ḥārla region surrounding Harar, and parts of northern Somalia. An emir was appointed by the sultan to head each territory, with the prerogative of levying taxes (ḫarāǧ and zakāt) on the population.( _**The Derbiga mosque in 1922**_( The Walasma rulers at Dakar reportedly maintained fairly cordial relations with the Solomonids in order to facilitate trade, but wars between their two states continued especially during the reigns of the sultans Ṣabr al-Dīn (r. 1415–1422), Manṣūr (r. 1422–1424), Ǧamāl al-Dīn (r. 1424–1433) and Badlāy (r. 1433–1445). Repeated incursions into 'Adal' by the armies of the Solomonid monarchs compelled some of the former's dependents to pay tribute to the latter, and in 1480, Dakar itself was sacked by the armies of Eskender (r. 1478-1494).( However, by the early 16th century, the armies of the Walasma begun conducting their own incursions into the Solomonid state. The sultan Muḥammad b. Saʿd ad-Dıˉn, who had the longest reign from 1488 to around 1517, is known to have undertaken annual expeditions against the territories controlled by the Solomonids. After the death of Sultan Muḥammad, the kingdom experienced a period of instability during which several illegitimate rulers followed each other in close succession and a figure named Imām Aḥmad rose to prominence.( The tumultuous politics of this period are described in detail by two internal chronicles written during this period. The first one, titled _**Taʾrıkh al-Walasmaʿ**_, was in favor of Sultan Muḥammad’s only legitimate successor, Sultan Abū Bakr (r. 1518-1526), while the other chronicle, _**Taʾrıkh al-muluk**_, favored Imām Aḥmad’s camp. Both agree on the shift of the sultanate’s capital from Dakar to the city of Harar in July 1520, but the former text ends with this event while the latter begins with it. This shift marked the decline of Sultan Abū Bakr’s power and was followed by his death at the hands of Imām Aḥmad who effectively became the real authority in the sultanate, while the Walasma lost their authority( . Imām Aḥmad would then undertake a series of campaigns that eventually brought most of the territory controlled by the Solomonids under his control, briefly creating one of Africa’s largest empires at the time, and beginning a new era in the region’s history. _Panorama of Harar and its hinterland in 1944, quai branly_ * * * **The ancient coast of East Africa was part of an old trading system linking the Roman world to the Indian Ocean world, with the metropolis of Rhapta in Tanzania being one of the major African cities known to classical geographers.** **Read more about the ancient East African coast and its links to the Roman world here:** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Map by Matteo Salvadore ( Le Dikr at-tawārīḫ (dite Chronique du Šawā) : nouvelle édition et traduction du Vatican arabe 1792, f. 12v-13r by Damien Labadie, A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea, edited by Samantha Kelly pg 93-94) ( A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea, edited by Samantha Kelly pg 94-95) ( A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea, edited by Samantha Kelly pg 95-96) ( Map by Taddesse Tamrat ( A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea, edited by Samantha Kelly pg 94, 99) ( Ethiopia and the Red Sea The Rise and Decline of the Solomonic Dynasty and Muslim European Rivalry in the Region by Mordechai Abir pg 22-24, A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea, edited by Samantha Kelly pg 99-100) ( Le sultanat de l’Awfāt, sa capitale et la nécropole des Walasma by François-Xavier Fauvelle, Bertrand Hirsch et Amélie Chekroun, prg 6, 61-62) ( A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea, edited by Samantha Kelly pg 106, Le sultanat de l’Awfāt, sa capitale et la nécropole des Walasma by François-Xavier Fauvelle, Bertrand Hirsch et Amélie Chekroun prg 26-28) ( **this and all other photos (except where stated) are from the French Archaeological Mission, 2008, 2009, 2010 led by François-Xavier Fauvelle** ( Le sultanat de l’Awfāt, sa capitale et la nécropole des Walasma by François-Xavier Fauvelle, Bertrand Hirsch et Amélie Chekroun prg 29-40, 55-59) ( Le sultanat de l’Awfāt, sa capitale et la nécropole des Walasma by François-Xavier Fauvelle, Bertrand Hirsch et Amélie Chekroun prg 63, 77, A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea, edited by Samantha Kelly pg 106-107. ( A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea, edited by Samantha Kelly pg 108-109, 110-111) ( In Search of Gendabelo, the Ethiopian “Market of the World” of the 15th and 16th Centuries by Amélie Chekroun, Ahmed Hassen Omer and Bertrand Hirsch ( photo from the Nora/Gendebelo Program 2009 ( A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea, edited by Samantha Kelly pg 100) ( Entre Arabie et Éthiopie chrétienne : le sultan walasma‘ Sa‘d al-Dīn et ses fils by Amélie Chekroun ( Le sultanat de l’Awfāt, sa capitale et la nécropole des Walasma by François-Xavier Fauvelle, Bertrand Hirsch et Amélie Chekroun prg 66-73, Ethiopia and the Red Sea The Rise and Decline of the Solomonic Dynasty and Muslim European Rivalry in the Region by Mordechai Abir pg 26-27. ( Notes on the survey of Islamic Archaeological sites in South-Eastern Wallo (Ethiopia) by Deresse Ayenachew and Assrat Assefa ( A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea, edited by Samantha Kelly pg 102 ( Dakar, capitale du sultanat éthiopien du Barr Sa‘d addīn by Amélie Chekroun, A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea, edited by Samantha Kelly 108, Harar as the capital city of the Barr Saʿd ad-Dıˉn by Amélie Chekroun pg 27-28 ( photo by Azaïs & Chambard 1931 ( Ethiopia and the Red Sea The Rise and Decline of the Solomonic Dynasty and Muslim European Rivalry in the Region by Mordechai Abir pg 31-32, A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea, edited by Samantha Kelly pg 104, Dakar, capitale du sultanat éthiopien du Barr Sa‘d addīn by Amélie Chekroun prg 8) ( Harar as the capital city of the Barr Saʿd ad-Dıˉn by Amélie Chekroun pg 32-33 ( Harar as the capital city of the Barr Saʿd ad-Dıˉn by Amélie Chekroun pg 34-34, Dakar, capitale du sultanat éthiopien du Barr Sa‘d addīn by Amélie Chekroun.

### Title: A Muslim Kingdom in the Ethiopian Highlands: The History of Ifat and Adal ca. 1285-1520 ### Description During the late Middle Ages, northern Horn of Africa experienced the emergence of powerful dynasties, significantly influencing the region's social landscape. This narrative focuses on the less-explored history of the Walasma dynasty of Ifat, which played a crucial role in shaping Muslim societies in the area. --- ### The Historical Context of Ifat and Adal 1. **Emergence of Šawah (1063-1290 CE)**: - An anonymous scholar documented the history of the polity of Šawah in a chronicle titled *Ḏikr at-tawārīḫ*. - Šawah consisted of urban settlements, with its capital at Walalah and other towns like Kālḥwr and Ḥādbayah governed by semi-autonomous rulers of the Maḫzūmī dynasty. - The chronicles indicate a scholarly elite and a structured judicial system led by a *qāḍī al-quḍā’*. - The legacy of Šawah represents a foundational period for Muslim societies in the region. 2. **Transition to Ifat (Late 13th Century)**: - Wālī ʾAsmaʿ founded the Ifat kingdom around 1285, ultimately eclipsing Šawah and other Muslim polities by 1288. - An alliance with Yǝkunno Amlak, the Solomonic dynasty founder, was established, recognizing the latter's suzerainty in exchange for military support. 3. **Rise and Influence of Ifat (14th Century)**: - Ifat grew in power and became a significant tributary to the Solomonic dynasty. - The capital was described by Mamluk historians as one of the largest cities in the region, emphasizing its importance in trade and military. - The kingdom's structure and urban layout are confirmed by archaeological findings, which include well-preserved ruins of cities like Beri-Ifat and Nora. 4. **Trade and Cultural Exchange**: - Ifat's strategic coastal position facilitated control over trade routes, notably through the port city of Zayla, where diverse goods were exchanged. - Accounts from the era describe bustling trade cities, with merchants from various regions converging in Ifat. 5. **Dynastic Conflicts and Decline (Late 14th Century)**: - A major split occurred within the Walasma family regarding loyalty to the Solomonids, leading to internal strife. - Sultan Ali of Ifat received military aid from Ethiopian emperors to quell rebellions, but territorial losses ensued as rival factions emerged. - By the early 15th century, Ifat's political structure weakened, and Solomonids began incorporating its territories. 6. **Re-establishment of Walasma Authority (15th Century)**: - Following political turmoil, the Walasma family reestablished power in a new sultanate called Barr Saʿd al-Dīn after fleeing to Yemen. - This entity expanded influence over pre-existing Muslim polities and fostered trade, despite ongoing conflicts with the Solomonic dynasty. 7. **The Rise of Imām Aḥmad and Consolidation of Power (Early 16th Century)**: - The Walasma sultans faced increasing challenges from Imām Aḥmad, who eventually took control during a period of instability. - Imām Aḥmad's campaigns extended his territory significantly, with the creation of a large empire and the shift of the sultanate's capital from Dakar to Harar in 1520. --- ### Significance The history of Ifat and Adal presents a complex narrative of rivalry, trade, cultural exchange, and the political dynamics of the late medieval Horn of Africa. The interactions between the Walasma dynasty and the Solomonic state shaped the region's trajectory leading into the early modern period. The archaeological evidence and historical records provide critical insight into the societal and cultural fabric of this pivotal era.

a brief note on contacts between ancient African kingdoms and Rome.

finding the lost city of Rhapta on the east African coast.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on contacts between ancient African kingdoms and Rome. =================================================================== ### finding the lost city of Rhapta on the east African coast. ( Jun 09, 2024 25 Few classical civilizations were as impactful to the foreign contacts of ancient African states and societies like the Roman Empire. Shortly after Augustus became emperor of Rome, his armies undertook a series of campaigns into the African mainland south of the Mediterranean coast. The first of the Roman campaigns was directed into Nubia around 25BC, ( . While the Roman defeat in Nubia permanently ended its ambitions in this region and was concluded with a treaty between Kush's envoys and the emperor on the Greek island Samos in 21BC, Roman campaigns into central Libya beginning in 20BC were relatively successful and the region was gradually incorporated into the empire. The succeeding era, which is often referred to as '_Pax Romana_', was a dynamic period of trade and cultural exchanges between Rome and the rest of the world, including north-eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean world. The increase in commercial and diplomatic exchanges between Kush and Roman Egypt contributed to the expansion of the economy of Meroitic Kush, which was one of the sources of gold and ivory exported to Meditteranean markets.( By the 1st century CE, Meroe had entered a period of prosperity, with monumental building activity across the cities of the kingdom, as well as a high level of intellectual and artistic production. ( demonstrates the close relationship between the two state’s diplomatic and economic interests. _**the shrine of Hathor (also called the 'Roman kiosk') at Naqa, Sudan. ca. 1st century CE**_. _It was constructed by the Meroitic co-rulers Natakamani and Amanitore and served as a ‘transitory’ shrine in front of the larger temple of the Nubian god Apedemak (seen in the background). Its nickname is derived from its mix of Meroitic architecture (like the style used for the Apedemak temple) with Classical elements (like the decoration of the shrine’s columns and arched windows). The Meroitic inscriptions found on the walls of the shrine indicate that it was built by local masons who were likely familiar with aspects of the construction styles of Roman-Egypt or assisted by a few masons from the latter._( * * * ( * * * The patterns of exchange and trade that characterized _Pax Romana_ would also contribute to the expansion of Aksumite commercial and political activities in the Red Sea region, which was a conduit for the lucrative trade in silk and spices from the Indian Ocean world as well as ivory from the Aksumite hinterland. At the close of the 2nd century, the armies of Aksum were campaigning on the Arabian peninsula and the kingdom’s port city of Adulis had become an important anchorage for merchant ships traveling from Roman-Egypt to the Indian Ocean littoral. These activities would lay the foundation for the success of ( . _**Dungur Palace, Aksum, Ethiopia - Reconstruction, by World History Encyclopedia.**_ _This large, multi-story complex was one of several structures that dominated the Aksumite capital and regional towns across the kingdom, and its architectural style was a product of centuries of local developments. The material culture of these elite houses indicates that their occupants had access to luxury goods imported from Rome, including glassware, amphorae, and Roman coins._( The significance of the relationship between Rome and the kingdoms of Kush and Aksum can be gleaned from Roman accounts of world geography in which the cities of Meroe and Aksum are each considered to be a '_**Metropolis**_' —a term reserved for large political and commercial capitals. This term had been used for Meroe since the 5th century BC and Aksum since the 1st century CE, since they were the largest African cities known to the classical writers( . However, by the time Ptolemy composed his monumental work on world geography in 150 CE, another African city had been elevated to the status of a Metropolis. This new African metropolis was the **city of Rhapta,** located on the coast of East Africa known as _‘Azania’_, and it was the southernmost center of trade in a chain of port towns that stretched from the eastern coast of Somalia to the northern coast of Mozambique. **The history of the ancient East African coast and its links to the Roman world are the subject of my latest Patreon article.** **Please subscribe to read about it here:** ( * * * _**Fresco with an aithiopian woman presenting ivory to a seated figure (Dido of Carthage) as a personified Africa overlooks**_, from House of Meleager at Pompeii, MAN Napoli 8898, Museo Archaeologico Nazionale, Naples Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( The Kingdom of Kush: Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization pg 461-465, 398), The Image of the Ordered World in Ancient Nubian Art pg 466-467 ( Hellenizing Art in Ancient Nubia 300 BC–AD 250 and its Egyptian Models: A Study in “Acculturation” by László Török pg 301-308 ( Foundations of an African Civilization: Aksum & the Northern Horn By D. W. Phillipson pg 121-125, 197-200 ( Aksum and Nubia: Warfare, Commerce, and Political Fictions in Ancient Northeast Africa By George Hatke pg 29, Foundations of an African Civilization: Aksum & the Northern Horn By D. W. Phillipson pg 121

### Brief Note on Contacts between Ancient African Kingdoms and Rome #### Overview of Roman Expeditions into Africa 1. **Initial Roman Campaigns (25 BC)**: - Shortly after Augustus became emperor, Roman forces launched military campaigns into Africa, first targeting Nubia. - The Roman campaign in Nubia ended in defeat, leading to a treaty established in 21 BC between Kushite envoys and the Roman emperor on the island of Samos. 2. **Success in Central Libya (20 BC)**: - In contrast to the Nubian campaign, Roman efforts in central Libya were more successful, resulting in the gradual incorporation of this region into the Roman Empire. #### The Era of Pax Romana 3. **Trade and Cultural Exchange**: - The era known as Pax Romana was marked by an increase in trade and cultural exchanges between Rome and northeastern Africa. - The economic relationship between Kush and Roman Egypt flourished, enhancing Meroitic Kush’s economy, which was a vital source of gold and ivory for Mediterranean markets. 4. **Prosperity of Meroe (1st Century CE)**: - By the 1st century CE, Meroe experienced significant prosperity characterized by monumental architecture and a flourishing of intellectual and artistic endeavors. #### Architectural Significance 5. **The Shrine of Hathor (Naqa, Sudan)**: - Constructed in the 1st century CE by Meroitic co-rulers Natakamani and Amanitore, this shrine symbolizes the blend of Meroitic and Classical architectural styles. - Notable features include Meroitic inscriptions and construction techniques that reflect cultural exchanges with Roman Egypt. #### Expansion of Aksumite Influence 6. **Aksumite Trade Activities**: - The pattern of trade during Pax Romana also facilitated the expansion of Aksumite influence in the Red Sea region. - Aksum became a key player in the trade of silk, spices, and ivory, with its port city Adulis serving as a crucial anchorage for merchant ships. 7. **Material Culture in Aksum**: - Aksumite elite houses indicated access to luxury Roman imports such as glassware and coins, reflecting the kingdom's economic connections with Rome. #### Recognition of Meroe and Aksum 8. **Roman Geography and Cities**: - Roman accounts from the 1st century CE recognized Meroe and Aksum as 'Metropolises,' denoting their significance as major political and commercial centers in Africa. #### The Emergence of Rhapta 9. **Discovery of Rhapta (2nd Century CE)**: - By 150 CE, Ptolemy identified Rhapta as another significant African metropolis, located on the East African coast. - Rhapta served as the southernmost trade center in a network of port towns, facilitating commerce between the eastern African coast and other regions, including the Indian Ocean. ### Conclusion - The ancient African kingdoms of Kush and Aksum established substantial trade and cultural ties with the Roman Empire, contributing to their political and economic development. - Rhapta's recognition as a metropolis illustrates the importance of East Africa in the broader context of ancient trade networks, further emphasizing the interconnectedness of the ancient world.

The forgotten ruins of Botswana: stone towns at the desert's edge.

At its height in the 17th century, the stone towns of the ‘zimbabwe culture’ encompassed an area the size of France. The hundreds of ruins spread across three countries in south-eastern Africa are among the continent’s best-preserved historical monuments and have been the subject of great scholarly and public interest.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The forgotten ruins of Botswana: stone towns at the desert's edge. ================================================================== ( Jun 02, 2024 21 At its height in the 17th century, the stone towns of the ‘_zimbabwe culture_’ encompassed an area the size of France( . The hundreds of ruins spread across three countries in south-eastern Africa are among the continent’s best-preserved historical monuments and have been the subject of great scholarly and public interest. While the ruins in Zimbabwe and South Africa have been extensively studied and partially restored, similar ruins in the north-eastern region of Botswana haven’t attracted much interest despite their importance in elucidating the history of the _zimbabwe culture,_ especially concerning the enigmatic gold-trading kingdom of Butua, and why the towns were later abandoned. This article explores the history of the stone ruins in northeastern Botswana, their relationship to similar monuments across south-eastern Africa, and why they later faded into obscurity. _**Map of south-eastern Africa showing some of the largest known monuments of the ‘zimbabwe culture’**_( * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **The emergence of complex societies in north-eastern Botswana and the kingdom of Butua.** Among the first complex societies to emerge in south-eastern Africa was a polity centered at the archeological site of Bosutswe at the edge of the Kalahari desert in north-eastern Botswana. The ‘cultural sequence’ at Bosutswe spans the period from 700-1700CE, and the settlement was one of several archeological sites in the region that flourished during the late 1st to early 2nd millennium CE. These sites, which include Toutswe (in Botswana), Mapela Hill (in Zimbabwe), ‘K2’, and Mapungubwe (in South Africa), among several others, are collectively associated with the incipient states/chiefdoms of Toutswe in Botswana and Leopard's Kopje in Zimbabwe&Botswana, named after their ceramic traditions and largest settlements.( These early settlements often consisted of central cattle kraals surrounded by houses and grain storages and their material culture is associated with Shona-speaking groups, especially the Kalanga.( The emergence of states in this region is thus associated with the growth of the internal agro-pastoral economy as well as regional and external trade in gold( , and ivory, the latter of which is represented by a 10th-century ivory cache found at the site of Mosu in northern Botswana.( By the early second millennium, several states had emerged in southeast Africa, ( _**( **_( . While the walled tradition of Great Zimbabwe is often thought to have begun at Mapungubwe and Mapela Hill, recent archeological studies have found equally suitable precursors in north-eastern Botswana, where several older sites with both free-standing walls and terraced platforms were discovered in the gold-producing-Tati river basin. These include the sites of Tholo, Dinonkwe, and Mupanini, which are dated to the late 12th and early 13th century.( Many of the above settlements were gradually abandoned during the 14th century, coinciding with the decline of the polities of Mapungubwe and Toutswe during a period marked by a drier climate between 1290 and 1475. It is likely that part of the population moved to the wetter Zimbabwe plateau and contributed to the rise of Great Zimbabwe, as well as the Butua kingdom centered at Khami and the kingdom of Mutapa to the north, with the Butua kingdom having a significant influence on societies in north-eastern Botswana.( _**Sketch of the political landscape in south-east Africa before the 15th century.**_ Unlike the extensive documentation of the Mutapa state, there were relatively few contemporary records of the ( to its south. An account from 1512 by the Portuguese merchant Antonio Fernandez who had traveled extensively on the mainland to Mutapa mentions that: _**"between the country of Monomotapa and Sofala, all the kings obey Monomotapa, but further to the interior was another king, who had rebelled and with whom he was at war, the king of Butua. The latter was as powerful as the Monomotapa, and his country contained much gold."**_( However, since the ( , there were only a few references to Butua society between the 1512 account above, and the sack of the kingdom’s capital in 1644, in which one of the rival claimants to the throne utilized the services of a Portuguese mercenary named Sisnando Dias Bayao.( On the other hand, there’s extensive archeological evidence for the construction of Khami-style ruins dated to the ‘Butua period’ in the 15th-17th century with over 80 known sites in Zimbabwe and over 40 in Botswana.( As well as secondary evidence for gold trade from Butua that was exported to the Swahili coastal town of Angoche, which was described in 16th-century documents as bypassing the Portuguese-controlled Sofala.( _**the hill complex at Khami**_ in Zimbabwe, capital of the Butua kingdom. * * * **The Butua period in north-eastern Botswana: 15th-17th century.** The largest of these Butua-period sites in Botswana that have been studied include the ruins of; Sampowane, Vukwe, Domboshaba, Motloutse, Sojwane, Thune, Shape, and Majande, Lotsane whose free-standing walls are still preserved to the height of at least two meters. The walled settlements of the Butua period were built to be monumental rather than defensive, often in places with granite outcrops from which the stone blocks used in construction were obtained. The interior of the stone settlements often contained elevated platforms and terraces, both natural and artificial, that exposed rather than concealed the leader, in contrast to the screening walls of the Great Zimbabwe sites. And like many stone settlements in southeast Africa, the different settlement sizes often corresponded to different levels in the state hierarchy, and the amount of walling was often a reflection of the number of vassals who provided labor for their construction.( Archeologists identified four size categories for the Butua period settlements, representing a five-tiered settlement hierarchy. level 1, consists of unwalled commoner sites, level 2 sites consist of a stone wall with a platform for at least one elite house, level 3 sites (like Vukwe) have longer larger platforms for several elite houses as well as multiple tiers and entrances, level 4 sites (like Motloutse, Majande, Domboshaba, etc) have large platforms and long walling, this is where the highest of the Botswana sites fall. Levels 5 and 6, have all of these features on a monumental scale and are found in Zimbabwe (eg Khami and Zinjanja).( _**Butua-period walled settlements in Zimbabwe**_, Map and Table by Catharina Van Waarden Starting from the north, the largest among the best-preserved ruins is at Domboshaba, which consists of two complexes, with an almost fully enclosed hilltop ruin, and a lower section that is partially walled. Both complexes enclose platforms for elite houses, and their walls have rounded entrances and check designs in the upper courses. The site was radio-carbon dated to between the 15th-18th century making it contemporaneous with the Butua capital of Khami, with which it shares some architectural similarities, as well as a material culture like coiled gold wire and the bronze wire worn by the elites. To its south was the ruin of Vukwe which comprised a series of walled platforms, enclosing an elite complex in which iron tools and bronze jewelry were found.( _**collapsed perimeter walls of the Domboshaba ruin.**_( _**Vukwe ruin,**_ photo at Quai Branly South of the Domboshaba and Vukwe cluster are the ruins at Shape, which consist of several terrace platforms as well as a free-standing wall that bears a broken monolith and blocked doorway. Near these are the ruins of Majande which comprise two settlements known as Upper and Lower Majande. The two ruins have profusely decorated front walls with stone monoliths and raised platforms for elite houses. A short distance northwest of Majande is the Sampowane ruin, which comprises a complex of platforms and free-standing walls profusely decorated with herringbone, cord and check designs, and is likely contemporaneous with Majande.( _**Majande ruin.**_ photo by Mabuse Heritage Group _**Sampowane ruin,**_ photo by T. Huffman To the south of these is the ruin of Motloutse, which consist of a double-tiered platform complex with walls of check decoration built on and around a small granite kopje, which overlooks a walled enclosure that lies below the hill. Near this is the ruin of Sojwane, which consists of free-standing walls erected between the natural boulders of the granite batholith. Its small size and lack of occupation indicate that it was likely a burial place of the senior leaders in the Motloutse valley.( _**Motloutse ruin**_, photo by C. Van Waarden _**Sojwane Ruin,**_ photo by T. Huffman South of these settlements is the ruin of Thune, which consists of a double enclosure with several terraced platforms surrounding the summit, and a curved wall about 14 m long.( Much further south are the ruins of Lotsane, which were one of the earliest _dzimbabwes_ to be described. They comprise two sets of settlement complexes, both of which have a long curved wall with rounded ends and doorways.( _**sections of the Lotsane ruins**_( * * * **The transition period between the Butua and Rozvi kingdoms in North-eastern Botswana: late 17th-early 18th century.** The use of check designs, and the presence of retaining walls that formed house platforms similar to the Khami-style sites of Danangombe and Naletale, indicates that Majande, Lotsane and Sampowane were occupied during the later Khami period. This is further confirmed by radiocarbon dates from Majande that estimate its occupation period to be between 1644 and 1681, making it a much later site than Domboshaba.( The significance of the architectural similarities with other Khami settlements is connected with political developments associated with the fall of the Butua kingdom. After the sack of the Butua capital of Khami during the dynastic conflict of 1644, the victor likely moved his capital to Zinjanja, where a large settlement was built with walls covered in elaborate designs expressing various aspects of sacred leadership. Archeological evidence indicates that settlement at Zinjanja was shortlived, as the ascendancy of the Rozvi state (1680-1840) with its capital at Danangombe and Naletale eclipsed the former's power by the turn of the 17th century. Several of the ruins in N.E Botswana were built during this Interregnum Phase (AD 1650–1680) between the fall of Butua and the rise of the Rozvi, a period marked by dynastic competition, unchecked by the relatively weak rulers at Zinjanja. The striking wall decorations at Sampowane and Majande ruins are similar to those used by the rulers of Zinjanja, rather than the Butua rulers of Khami. They predominantly feature herring board and cord designs, rather than the profuse check designs seen at Khami and later at Danangombe.( _**check designs at the ruins of Danangombe in Zimbabwe,**_ photo at Quai Branly _**detail of a collapsed wall of the Zinjaja ruin in Zimbabwe, showing herringbone designs**_ _**herringbone designs on the Majande ruin in Botswana,**_ photos by T. Huffman * * * **Origins of the golden trade of the Butua kingdom** The majority of the ruined settlements in north-eastern Botswana were established near gold and copper mines. There are over 45 goldmines in north-eastern Botswana between the Vumba and Tati Greenstone Belts, each consisting of a number of prehistoric and historic mine shafts and trenches, flanked by milling sites containing cup-shaped depressions where the gold was extracted from the ore. Evidence for Copper mining and smithing is even more abundant, including mines, smelting furnaces, crucibles, tuyeres, and slag, that were found near several ruined towns including Vukwe, Matsitama, Majande, Shape. While most gold mines were found near level 1 (commoner) sites, some of the larger ruins such as Vukwe, Domboshaba, and Nyangani were all located near the edge of the gold belt. In this predominantly agro-pastoral economy, mining would have been carried out on a seasonal basis, just as it was documented in Mutapa.( Ivory and Ironworking, as well as the manufacture of cotton textiles, are all attested at several sites based on the presence of ivory artifacts, numerous iron furnaces and material, spindle whirls used in weaving cotton, and documentation of the use and trade of ivory, iron and local cloth, exchanged for imported glass and cloth. The lack of elite control over these specialist activities like ironworking and prestige/trading items like copper, gold, and ivory, suggests that power was obtained through a combination of religious authority, accumulating wealth and followers, as well as the construction of monumental palaces.( The political structure of societies in north-eastern Botswana thus resembled that in the Butua kingdom of Khami, which combined interpolity heterarchies and intra-polity hierarchies.( Additionally, the organization of trade, whether in domestic markets for agro-pastoral products or to external markets for commodities like gold and copper, would not have been centrally controlled but undertaken by independent traders, like those documented in 17th century Mutapa. Map of the gold-producing regions in north-eastern Botswana, and the rest of southeast Africa.( * * * **Collapse of the stone towns of north-eastern Botswana.** By the early 19th century, ( _( profoundly altered the cultural landscape of north-eastern Botswana. Rozvi traditions describe the decline of the Changamire state due to dynastic conflicts, which exacerbated its collapse after it was overrun by several groups including the Tswana-speaking Ngwato, and several Nguni-speaking groups like the Ndebele and Ngoni, all of whom subsumed the Kalanga-speaking societies.( The period of Ndebele ascendancy in North-Eastern Botswana in the mid-19th century was especially disruptive to the local polities. As recounted in Ndebele traditions and contemporary documents, some of the defeated Kalanga leaders often fled with their followers to hilltop fortresses, or outside the reach of the Ndebele to regions controlled by the Ngwato, while some were retained as vassals. The region remained a disputed frontier zone caught between two powerful states, many of the old towns were abandoned, and the authority of those who remained was greatly diminished.( There's documentary and archeological evidence for the rapid abandonment of these ruins, and the later re-occupation of a few of them. An account from 1870 mentions the abandonment of the Vukwe ruin by its Kalanga ruler following a Ndebele campaign into the region, and there’s archeological evidence for the partial re-settlement of Domboshaba during the mid-19th century, with the new settlement being established in a more elevated and defensible region of the hill, where further walling was added.( Additionally, many of the ruined settlements have blocked doorways that were sealed with stone monoliths, especially at Majande and Shape, which was a common practice attested at many _dzimbabwes_ across the region (eg at Matendere in Zimbabwe). These blocked doorways denied access to sacred spaces, especially when rulers moved their capital upon their installation, marking the end of the enclosed palace’s administrative use, and the abandonment of part or all of the site.( It is important to note that the construction of stone settlements in the region had mostly ended by the early 18th century, since no new settlements post-date this period, representing a cultural shift that was likely caused by internal processes. Nevertheless, the connection between the stone towns and their former occupants was largely severed. With the exception of Domboshaba, few of the Kalanga traditions collected in the 20th century could directly link the sites to specific lineages and rulers, as most of their counts were instead focused on the upheavals of the 19th century.( Unlike the monumental capitals in Zimbabwe where such traditions were preserved, memories of the stone towns of north-eastern Botswana were forgotten, as their ruins were gradually engulfed by the surrounding desert-shrub. section of the Lotsane ruin when it was first photographed in 1891.( * * * While there are few written accounts for pre-colonial south-east Africa, the expansion of trade contacts between south-central Africa and the Swahili coast led to the production of detailed documentation of the region's societies by other Africans. **subscribe to Patreon to read about the account of one of these visitors who traveled to Congo and Zambia in 1891:** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( taken from the introduction of “Zimbabwe Ruins in Botswana: Settlement Hierarchies, Political Boundaries and Symbolic Statements” by Thomas N. Huffman & Mike Main ( Map by Shadreck Chirikure et al, from “No Big Brother Here: Heterarchy, Shona Political Succession and the Relationship between Great Zimbabwe and Khami, Southern Africa.” ( Archaeological excavations at Bosutswe, Botswana: cultural chronology, paleo-ecology and economy by James Denbow et al., The Iron Age sequence around a Limpopo River floodplain on Basinghall Farm, Tuli Block, Botswana, during the second millennium AD by Biemond Wim Moritz pg 6-7, 65, 234) ( The Iron Age sequence around a Limpopo River floodplain by Biemond Wim Moritz pg 66, 125, 152, 162, Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 25-27 ( Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 32-33, ( An ivory cache from Botswana by Andrew Reid and Alinah K Segobye ( The Origin of the Zimbabwe Tradition walling by Catrien Van Waarden pg 59-69) ( Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 50, 356 ( Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 49) ( An archaeological study of the zimbabwe culture capital of khami by T. Mukwende pg 15 ( Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 79-81) ( A History of Mozambique By M. D. D. Newitt pg 10-12, 22 An archaeological study of the zimbabwe culture capital of khami by T. Mukwende pg 38 ( Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 82, 179-180) ( Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 84) ( Recent Research at Domboshaba Ruin, North East District, Botswana by Nick Walker, Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 91, 231) ( Facebook photo ( Zimbabwe Ruins in Botswana: Settlement Hierarchies, Political Boundaries and Symbolic Statements by Thomas N. Huffman & Mike Main pg 372, Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 90) ( Zimbabwe Ruins in Botswana: Settlement Hierarchies, Political Boundaries and Symbolic Statements by Thomas N. Huffman & Mike Main pg 373-4) ( Zimbabwe Ruins in Botswana: Settlement Hierarchies, Political Boundaries and Symbolic Statements by Thomas N. Huffman & Mike Main pg 373, Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 89 ( The Archaeology of the Metolong Dam, Lesotho, by Peter Mitchell, pg 15-18, Settlement Hierarchies in the Northern Transvaal : Zimbabwe Ruins and Venda History by T. Huffman pg 8-10 ( Reddit photo by /u/Hannor7 and Facebook photo by Mike Techet ( Zimbabwe Ruins in Botswana: Settlement Hierarchies, Political Boundaries and Symbolic Statements by Thomas N. Huffman & Mike Main pg 371-372, 376) ( Zimbabwe Ruins in Botswana: Settlement Hierarchies, Political Boundaries and Symbolic Statements by Thomas N. Huffman & Mike Main pg 379-384, Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 252) ( Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 230) ( Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 234-235 ( No Big Brother Here: Heterarchy, Shona Political Succession and the Relationship between Great Zimbabwe and Khami, Southern Africa by Shadreck Chirikure et. al. ( Maps by Catrien van Waarden, and Shadreck Chirikure ( Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 243-245, 353-354) ( Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 251-267) ( Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 267, 277-281, 334-335, 341) ( Zimbabwe Ruins in Botswana: Settlement Hierarchies, Political Boundaries and Symbolic Statements by Thomas N. Huffman & Mike Main pg 376-377) ( Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens by Catrien Van Waarden pg 354, 357 ( ‘Ruins at junction of Lotsina with Crocodile River’ by William Ellerton Fry, reproduced by Rob S Burrett and Mark Berry.

### The Forgotten Ruins of Botswana: Stone Towns at the Desert's Edge --- #### Overview of the Zimbabwe Culture 1. **Historical Context**: - At its peak in the 17th century, the stone towns collectively known as the "Zimbabwe culture" occupied an area comparable to France, spanning across southeastern Africa, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Botswana. - These stone ruins represent some of the best-preserved historical monuments and have attracted significant scholarly interest. 2. **Geographical Focus**: - While much attention has been given to the ruins in Zimbabwe and South Africa, the northeastern ruins in Botswana remain significantly under-studied. --- #### Importance of Northeastern Botswana Ruins 3. **Connection to Butua Kingdom**: - The ruins in northeastern Botswana are critical for understanding the Butua Kingdom, a gold-trading state that played a vital role in regional trade networks. - The reasons behind the abandonment of these towns remain a key area of research. --- #### Emergence of Complex Societies 4. **Bosutswe and Early Settlements**: - Complex societies first emerged at Bosutswe, an archaeological site in northeastern Botswana, spanning from 700–1700 CE. - The region included other significant sites like Toutswe and Mapela Hill, which were characterized by their unique ceramic traditions and chiefdom structures. 5. **Economic Foundation**: - The rise of these communities is associated with the internal agro-pastoral economy and external trade in gold and ivory. - Evidence includes a significant 10th-century ivory cache from Mosu, indicating valuable trade connections. --- #### Architectural Developments 6. **Walled Traditions**: - Important archaeological findings suggest that precursors to the traditional walled cities of Great Zimbabwe also existed in northeastern Botswana, particularly in the Tati River basin. - Older sites like Tholo and Dinonkwe date to the late 12th and early 13th centuries. --- #### Decline of Regional States 7. **Abandonment Trends**: - Many settlements in the region were abandoned during the 14th century due to climatic changes and political shifts, with populations possibly migrating to wetter areas that contributed to the rise of Great Zimbabwe. --- #### The Butua Period (15th-17th Century) 8. **Characteristics of Butua Settlements**: - Key archaeological sites in northeastern Botswana from the Butua period include Domboshaba, Vukwe, and Majande, which feature monumental stone constructions. - Settlement hierarchies are reflected in the varying sizes and complexity of these ruins. 9. **Cultural and Architectural Influences**: - The architectural style of the Butua period settlements shares similarities with Khami, the capital of Butua, highlighting a cultural continuity. --- #### Transition to the Rozvi Kingdom 10. **Political Shifts**: - Following the fall of the Butua Kingdom in 1644, many settlements in northeastern Botswana saw changes in political control, leading to the rise of the Rozvi state. - Architectural styles transitioned towards those of the Rozvi, marking a significant cultural shift. --- #### Trade and Economic Structures 11. **Mining Economy**: - Northeastern Botswana was rich in gold and copper mines, with over 45 sites identified, leading to a seasonal mining economy that supported both local and external trade networks. 12. **Craft Specialization**: - There is archaeological evidence of ironworking and ivory trade across several sites, demonstrating a complex socio-economic structure within the region. --- #### Collapse of the Stone Towns 13. **19th Century Changes**: - By the early 19th century, significant disruptions due to Ndebele incursions led to the rapid abandonment of the stone ruins, with the local Kalanga societies losing authority. - Accounts from the 1870s document the collapse of settlements like Vukwe. 14. **Cultural Memory Loss**: - The link between the ruins and their original inhabitants deteriorated after the 18th century, with few traditions surviving to connect the sites to past lineages. --- #### Conclusion 15. **Legacy of the Ruins**: - The ruins in northeastern Botswana remain largely forgotten but are integral to understanding the historical dynamics of southeastern Africa, trade networks, and the rise and fall of complex societies. 16. **Continuing Research**: - Ongoing archaeological studies seek to uncover the significance of these sites, contributing to a deeper understanding of the region's rich history. --- This structured narrative emphasizes the factual progression of events related to the stone towns of northeastern Botswana, illustrating their historical significance and the complex socio-economic dynamics at play during their peak and subsequent decline.

a brief note on African travel literature in history

a Swahili document on south-central Africa.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on African travel literature in history ==================================================== ### a Swahili document on south-central Africa. ( May 26, 2024 26 Travel writing constitutes a major primary source for reconstructing African history, and is especially important in supplementing internal accounts. While much of the African travel literature that historians have access to was written by external visitors, a significant volume of travel literature was composed by African themselves, who were discovering and documenting different parts of their vast continent. In 1338, ( in Sudan with his followers, where they assisted the Nubian king Siti in defeating a rival king. This account of the political rivalries in Nubia which is included in Ēwosṭātēwos' hagiography, matches with internal Nubian records from the same decade, which mention a pretender at its capital of Old Dongola named Kanz al-Dawla and another rebel named Anenaka, both of whom challenged King Siti's authority. _**13th-century painting in the church of Debra Maryam Qorqor in Ethiopia depicting a Nubian dignitary wearing the horned crown of Makuria.**_ In 1432, a family of ( against the wishes of its emperor and reached the Hausa city of Kano in the late 15th century. The arrival of the Wangara in Kano and their influence on the city's scholarly community was documented by one of their descendants in the Wangara Chronicle written in 1650. The chronicle mentions that the Wangara were given patronage by the Kano king Muhammad Rumfa (r. 1463-1499), and that Jakhite won an intellectual duel with a visiting Egyptian scholar. _**street scene in Kano, Nigeria, ca. 1925**_, Bristol Archives In 1806, ( in order to establish a direct route to the Indian Ocean coast at Mozambique. Like many of their neighbors in the kingdom of Kongo, Ndongo, and ( , these traders were literate, and they left a detailed description of their journey to the court of the Lunda King Yavu (r. 1800-1820), and his subordinate king of Kazembe in modern Zambia. The above examples come from African regions which had a long history of large centralized states, well-established travel routes, and an old tradition of writing. These three factors were central to the emergence of travel writing in Africa since antiquity, and provide crucial evidence for how Africans explored their continent. In the 19th century, the emergence of large states, trade routes, and literate travelers across south-central Africa led to the production of detailed documentation of the region's societies by other African visitors.

# A Brief Note on African Travel Literature in History ## Introduction to African Travel Literature - Travel writing serves as a crucial primary source for reconstructing African history. - It is particularly valuable for supplementing internal historical accounts. - While much African travel literature is authored by external visitors, a significant body of work originates from Africans themselves, who documented their explorations of the continent. ## Historical Accounts 1. **13th Century Account in Nubia** - In 1338, an African traveler engaged with the Nubian king Siti to help defeat a rival king. - This event is noted in the hagiography of Ēwosṭātēwos, aligning with Nubian records from the same period. - Internal records mention a pretender named Kanz al-Dawla and a rebel named Anenaka, both challenging King Siti's authority. - Significance: These accounts provide insights into Nubian political dynamics and the role of travel in shaping historical narratives. 2. **Wangara Chronicle (1650)** - In 1432, a family of Wangara travelers left their homeland, defying their emperor, reaching Kano in the late 15th century. - The Wangara Chronicle, authored in 1650, documents their influence on Kano’s scholarly community. - It notes patronage from the Kano king Muhammad Rumfa and an intellectual contest won by a Wangara scholar against an Egyptian. - Significance: This work illustrates the cultural and intellectual exchanges occurring between different regions through travel and trade. 3. **Journey to Lunda Kingdom (1806)** - In 1806, literate traders sought to establish a direct route to the Indian Ocean coast at Mozambique. - They documented their journey to the court of Lunda King Yavu, including interactions with Kazembe's subordinate king in modern Zambia. - Significance: Such travel literature reflects the complex social and political interactions among established states in south-central Africa and the role of trade in these connections. ## Conclusion - The exploration of south-central Africa during the 19th century, characterized by growing centralized states and established trade routes, facilitated robust documentation of regional societies by African travelers. - These narratives are essential for understanding the historical context and experiences of Africans as they navigated their continent.

Kingdoms at the forest's edge: a history of Mangbetu (ca. 1750-1895)

The northern region of central Africa between the modern countries of D.R.Congo and South Sudan has a long and complex history shaped by its internal cultural developments and its unique ecology between the savannah and the forest.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Kingdoms at the forest's edge: a history of Mangbetu (ca. 1750-1895) ==================================================================== ( May 19, 2024 24 The northern region of central Africa between the modern countries of D.R.Congo and South Sudan has a long and complex history shaped by its internal cultural developments and its unique ecology between the savannah and the forest. Among the most remarkable states that emerged in this region was the kingdom of Mangbetu, whose distinctive architectural and art traditions captured the imagination of many visitors to the region, and continue to influence our modern perceptions of the region's societies and cultures. This article explores the history of the Mangbetu kingdom and its cultural development from the 18th to the early 20th century. _**Map of D.R. Congo showing the Mangbetu homeland( .**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **The early history of Mangbetu: social complexity in the Uele river basin** The heartland of the Mangbetu kingdom is dominated by the Uele and Nepoko rivers, which cut across the northern region of the D.R.Congo. In this intermediate region between the savannah and the rainforest, diverse communities of farmers belonging to three of Africa's main language families settled and forged a new cultural tradition that coalesced into several polities.( Linguistic evidence indicates that the region was gradually populated by heterogeneous groups of iron-age societies whose populations belonged to the language families of Ubangi, western Bantu, and southern-central Sudanic. Each of these groups came to be acculturated by their neighbors, developing decentralized yet large-scale social economies and institutions that differed from their neighbors in the Great Lakes region and west-central Africa.( Among the groups associated with speakers of the southern-central Sudanic languages were the Mangbetu. The population drift of their ancestral groups southwards of the upper Uele basin began in the early 2nd millennium, and their communities were significantly influenced by their western Bantu-speaking neighbors such as the Mabodo and Buan. By the middle of the 18th century, incipient state institutions and military systems had developed among the Mangbetu and their neighbors as organizations structured around lineages became chiefdoms and kingdoms.( _**map showing the expansion of Mangbetu-speaking groups.**_( * * * **The Mangbetu Kingdom under King Nabiembali (r. 1800-1859) and King Tuba (r. 1859-1867)** Traditions and later written accounts associate the founding of the early Mangbetu polity with King Manziga, who is credited with overrunning several small polities along the Nepoko River during the late 18th century. His son and successor Nabiembali, undertook further conquests after 1800, expanding the kingdom northwards until the Uele River where he defeated the rival kingdom of Azande. Nabiembali's campaigns also extended east and west of the Magbentu heartlands, incorporating people from many different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds into the new state.( However, Nabiembali's rapidly expanded kingdom retained many of its early institutions of the pre-existing lineage groups. Royal ideology and legitimacy were highly personalized and were largely dependent on the success of the individual ruler in balancing military force with diplomacy rather than making dynastic claims or divine right. Political relationships continued to be defined in terms of kinship with the ruler's lineage (known as the ‘_**mabiti**_’) as well as his clients, forming the core of the court, and alliances were maintained through intermarriages between the leaders of subject groups.( The core of Nabiembali's military was the royal bodyguard comprising professional mercenaries, kinsmen, and dependents of the king, and it was sustained by revenues from the produce of its immediate clients and dependents. Lacking a centralized political system to maintain the loyalty of his newly conquered subjects, Nabiembali was overthrown by his sons in 1859, who established semi-independent Mangbetu kingdoms, the most powerful of which was led by Tuba who controlled the core regions of the kingdom.( As king of the Mangbetu heartland, Tuba was forced to fight the rebellious princes around him, who were inturn compelled to forge alliances with the neighboring Azande kingdom. A series of battles between Tuba and his rivals —who included Nabiembali's military commander Dakpala— culminated with his death in 1867, and he was succeeded by his son Mbunza. The latter was able to hold off his rivals, succeeded in defeating and killing Dakpala, and briefly forged commercial ties with ivory traders from the Sudanese Nile valley.( _**Mangebtu settlement at Nangazizi**_, ca. 1870, illustration by Schweinfurth * * * **Mangbetu kingdom under King Mbunza (r. 1867-1873): external contacts and descriptions of Mangbetu society.** King Mbunza established his capital at Nangazizi, where he resided in a large palace built entirely out of wood, an architectural tradition common in the region, whose royal/public halls rivaled some of the world's largest wooden structures( . In 1870, the Swiss traveler Georg Schweinfurth was briefly hosted in Mbunza's palace, whose grandeur and elegance captured the visitor's imagination. Schweinfurth's description of the Mangbetu politics, culture, and artworks would inform the writings of most of his successors.( The capital was bisected by a broad central plaza surrounded by the houses of the queens and courtiers, two large public halls, with the bigger one measuring 150ftx50ft and 50 feet high, and a large royal enclosure where the king had storehouses of ivory and weapons. The arches of the public halls' vaulted roofs were supported by five and three _**"long rows of pillars formed from perfectly straight tree-stems,"**_ its rafters and roofing were made from leafstalks of the palm-tree, its floor was plastered with red clay _**"as smooth as asphalt,"**_ and its sides were _**"enclosed by a low breastwork"**_ that allowed light to enter the building.( _**King Munza and the Mangbetu queens in the public hall**_, ca. 1870, illustration by Schweinfurth _**exterior of a large Mangbetu hall**_, ca. 1909, AMNH. this is a later structure built by the Mangbetu king Okondo (r.1902-1915), it has a gable roof instead of the arched roof of Mbunza’s hall but is otherwise structurally similar to the latter. The kingdom's craft industries were highly productive, and its artists were renowned for their sophisticated forging technology, particularly the making of ornaments and weapons in copper, iron, ivory, and wood. The manufacture of the weapons in particular was described glowingly by Schweinfurth, especially the scimitars (carved blades) of various types, as well as daggers, knives, and steel chains, which he calls _**"masterpieces"**_ and claims that Mangbetu's smiths _**"surpass even the Mohammedans of Northern Africa."**_ and rivals _**"the productions of our European craftsmen."**_( The Mangbetu king and his courtiers developed symbols of royal insignia( , including ornaments made of copper and ivory, as well as ceremonial weapons and vessels( , musical instruments (trumpets, bells, timbrels, gongs, kettle-drums, and five-stringed 'mandolins'/harps. These items, which are mentioned in several 19th century accounts and appear in many museums today, were part of the primary figurative tradition of the various societies of the Uele basin and were not confined to the royalty nor even to the Mangbetu.( Schweinfurth regarded Mbunza as a powerful absolute monarch, whose statecraft was influenced by the ( . He claims that the king ruled by divine kingship, commanded hundreds of courtiers and subordinate governors, required regular tribute, and imposed commercial monopolies on long-distance trade in ivory and copper.( Historians regard most of Schweinfurth's interpretations and descriptions of Mangbetu politics and kingship as embellished, being influenced as much by his preconceptions and personal motivations as by the observations he was able to make during his very brief 13-day stay at the capital where he hardly had any interpreters. However, with the exception of the usual myths and stereotypes about central Africa found in European travelogues of the time( , most of his accounts and illustrations of Mangbetu society were relatively accurate and conformed to similar descriptions from later traveler accounts and in traditional histories documented in the early 20th century.( _**Side-blown Trumpets from Mangbetu**_, 19th-20th century, Met museum, AMNH. the anthropomorphic figures with long heads adorned with elaborative hairstyles reflect Mangbetu cultural practices of the Mabiti royal lineage. _**Figurative Harps from Mangbetu**_, 19th-20th century, Met Museum, AMNH. _**brass and iron swords from Mangbetu**_, 19th-20th century, AMNH, British Museum. * * * ( * * * **Mangbetu under King Yangala (r. 1873-1895): decline and fall.** King Mbunza's rivals and their Azande allies continued to pose a threat in the northern frontier of the kingdom. By the early 1870s, these rivals —who included Dakpala's son; Yangala— allied with the Azande and a group of Nile traders whom Mbunza had expelled to form a coalition that defeated Mbunza in 1873. Yangala was installed as the king at Nangazizi but retained all of his predecessor's institutions in order to portray himself as a legitimate heir. He also married Mbunza's sister Nenzima, who acted as the 'prime minister' during his reign and his successor’s reigns.( Yangala largely succeeded in protecting Mangbetu from the brief but intense period of turmoil in which the societies of the Uele basin were embroiled in the expansionism of the Khedivate of Egypt and the Nile traders. Yangala's kingdom was now only one of several Mangbetu states, some of which were ruled by Mbunza's kinsmen like Mangbanga and Azanga who were equally successful in fending off external threats. All hosted later visitors like Wilhelm Junker and Gaetano Casiti who were also received in the large public hall described by Schweinfurth, and were equally enamored with Mangbetu art.( After the collapse of the Khedivate in Sudan, the Mangbetu king Yangala would only enjoy a decade of respite before a large military column of King Leopold's Congo State arrived at his capital in 1892. The internecine rivalries between the Mangbetu rulers and lineages compelled Yangala to submit to the Belgians inorder to retain some limited authority. But after his death in 1895, his successors such as king Mambanga (r. 1895-1902) and Okondo (r. 1902-1915) were chosen by the Belgians who transformed the role of the rulers in relation to their subjects and effectively ended the kingdom’s autonomy.( Around 1910, Mangentu’s artists produced more than 4,000 artworks which were among the 49 tons of cultural material collected by the American Museum of Natural History in northern D.R. Congo, whose curators had been drawn to Mangebtu’s art tradition, thanks to the artworks collected during the 19th century. These artworks and the evolution of their interpretation continue to influence how the history of Mangbetu and the northern D.R.C is reconstructed.( _**carved ivory spoons and forks**_, Okondo’s residence, Mangbetu, Congo, ca. 1913, AMNH. * * * The history of central African societies and kingdoms has been profoundly influenced by the evolution of social divisions such as the Tutsi and Hutu. **Read about the dynamic history of this Tutsi / Hutu dichotomy in the kingdoms of Rwanda and Nkore here:** ( Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( map by the ‘joshua project’ ( Paths in the Rainforests: Toward a History of Political Tradition in Equatorial Africa by Jan M. Vansina pg 169) ( Paths in the Rainforests: Toward a History of Political Tradition in Equatorial Africa by Jan M. Vansina pg 5-6, 171-172) ( Paths in the Rainforests: Toward a History of Political Tradition in Equatorial Africa by Jan M. Vansina pg 173-175, UNESCO history of Africa vol 5 pg 520-523) ( Map by Jan M. Vansina ( Paths in the Rainforests: Toward a History of Political Tradition in Equatorial Africa by Jan M. Vansina pg 176, Ten Years in Equatoria and the Return with Emin Pasha, Volume 1 By Gaetano Casati pg 115-117) ( Paths in the Rainforests: Toward a History of Political Tradition in Equatorial Africa by Jan M. Vansina pg 176-177, Long-Distance Trade and the Mangbetu by Curtis A. Keim pg 5) ( Long-Distance Trade and the Mangbetu by Curtis A. Keim pg 5) ( Long-Distance Trade and the Mangbetu by Curtis A. Keim pg 6-8) ( Precolonial African Material Culture. By V. Tarikhu Farrar, pg 219-222., junker’s account also mentions ‘assembly halls’ among the Zande as well; Travels in Africa during the years 1875\ by Junker, Wilhelm, Vol. 3, pg 7, 18, 26, 47, 88. ( The Scramble for Art in Central Africa edited by Enid Schildkrout, pg 137-147) ( The Heart of Africa: Three Years' Travels and Adventures in the Unexplored Regions of Central Africa from 1868 to 1871, Volume 2 by Georg August Schweinfurth pg 37-43, 65, 76-77, 97-99) ( The Scramble for Art in Central Africa edited by Enid Schildkrout, pg 111-112, The Heart of Africa by Georg August Schweinfurth pg 107-110) ( Unpacking Culture: Art and Commodity in Colonial and Postcolonial Worlds edited by Ruth B. Phillips, Christopher B. Steiner pg 197, 202-203. ( The Heart of Africa by Georg August Schweinfurth pg 41, 75, 117) ( Ten Years in Equatoria and the Return with Emin Pasha, Volume 1 By Gaetano Casati pg pg 188, 194-195, 244 ( The Scramble for Art in Central Africa edited by Enid Schildkrout pg 109-111, 121-124, Unpacking Culture: Art and Commodity in Colonial and Postcolonial Worlds edited by Ruth B. Phillips, Christopher B. Steiner pg 200-203 ( The Heart of Africa by Georg August Schweinfurth pg 95-96, 99) ( _The historian Curtis keim calls the discursive tradition pioneered by Schweinfurth the "Mangbetu myth"; which consists of a set of stereotypical elements such as the nobility of the royals and the splendor of courtly life that is then juxtaposed with erroneous references to their 'savagery' and 'cannibalism'. The latter of which ironically was an accusation the Mangbetu also leveled against Schweinfurth who was, after all, accumulating a vast collection of human skulls from across the world for his pseudoscientific studies of eugenics, and thus compelled the Mangbetu to sell him human skulls, something the Africans found bizarre, and insisted was proof of Schweinfurth's insatiable cannibalism, an accusation he ironically dismissed as stupid_. see: The Scramble for Art in Central Africa edited by Enid Schildkrout, Curtis A. Keim pg 137, The Heart of Africa by Georg August Schweinfurth pg 54-55, Mistaking Africa: Misconceptions and Inventions By Curtis Keim pg 107-111. ( Long-Distance Trade and the Mangbetu by Curtis A. Keim pg 2-3, The Scramble for Art in Central Africa edited by Enid Schildkrout, pg 136-138) ( Long-Distance Trade and the Mangbetu by Curtis A. Keim pg 9-10, 12, Ten Years in Equatoria and the Return with Emin Pasha, Volume 1 By Gaetano Casati pg 118, 146-147 The Scramble for Art in Central Africa edited by Enid Schildkrout pg 125) ( Long-Distance Trade and the Mangbetu by Curtis A. Keim pg 12-13, 17-21, Ten Years in Equatoria and the Return with Emin Pasha, Volume 1 By Gaetano Casati pg 82, The Scramble for Art in Central Africa edited by Enid Schildkrout pg 116 ( (_an aspect of the Mangebtu response to the Belgian atrocities can be glimpsed in the satirical figure of a saluting Belgian soldier on the third harp -shown above- who is naked all but his cap_) see: Methodology, Ideology and Pedagogy of African Art: Primitive to Metamodern edited by Moyo Okediji pg 83-85, Mangbetu Tales of Leopard and Azapane: Trickster as Resistance Hero by Robert Mckee ( The Scramble for Art in Central Africa edited by Enid Schildkrout pg 119, 125, Unpacking Culture: Art and Commodity in Colonial and Postcolonial Worlds edited by Ruth B. Phillips, Christopher B. Steiner pg 199-204.

### Title: Kingdoms at the Forest's Edge: A History of Mangbetu (ca. 1750-1895) #### I. Introduction - The northern region of Central Africa, situated between the Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R. Congo) and South Sudan, has a complex history characterized by internal cultural developments and its unique ecology, which lies between savannah and forest. - One of the notable polities that emerged in this region is the kingdom of Mangbetu, distinguished for its architectural and artistic traditions. #### II. Early History of Mangbetu 1. **Geographical Context**: - The Mangbetu kingdom is situated around the Uele and Nepoko rivers, which shaped the region's cultural and political landscape. 2. **Cultural Development**: - Populations in the region comprised diverse communities of farmers speaking languages from three major African language families: Ubangi, western Bantu, and southern-central Sudanic. - The area witnessed the gradual development of complex societies during the Iron Age, leading to decentralized social economies and institutions. 3. **Migration Patterns**: - The migration of southern-central Sudanic speakers, among whom were the Mangbetu, began in the early 2nd millennium, influenced significantly by neighboring western Bantu-speaking groups. 4. **Formation of Political Structures**: - By the mid-18th century, the Mangbetu and surrounding groups formed chiefdoms and kingdoms, establishing political systems based on lineage. #### III. Kingdom of Mangbetu: Kings Nabiembali and Tuba 1. **Foundation of the Polity**: - King Manziga is traditionally credited with founding the Mangbetu polity by conquering smaller states along the Nepoko River in the late 18th century. 2. **King Nabiembali (r. 1800-1859)**: - Under Nabiembali, the kingdom expanded north to the Uele River, capturing the rival Azande kingdom. - His rule merged various ethnic and linguistic communities into a single state while retaining many existing institutional structures. - Political legitimacy depended on personal rule rather than dynastic claims. 3. **King Tuba (r. 1859-1867)**: - Following the overthrow of Nabiembali by his sons, Tuba emerged as a prominent leader but faced significant challenges from rival princes and external pressures. - His reign included battles against these rivals and alliances with the Azande kingdom, ultimately leading to his death in 1867. #### IV. Cultural and Architectural Development 1. **King Mbunza (r. 1867-1873)**: - Established his capital at Nangazizi, built a grand wooden palace, and created public halls noted for their impressive architectural features. - The craftsmanship in metalwork, especially in weapons and ceremonial objects, gained recognition from travelers like Georg Schweinfurth, who noted its sophistication. - The artistic output included elaborate ornaments and musical instruments, integral to Mangbetu culture. 2. **Influence of External Visitors**: - Schweinfurth and other travelers documented the political structure, arts, and royal life, contributing to a burgeoning interest in Mangbetu culture. #### V. Decline of the Mangbetu Kingdom 1. **King Yangala (r. 1873-1895)**: - Yangala rose to power by defeating Mbunza’s successor with support from other rivals and external allies, including the Azande and Nile traders. - He preserved the administrative structures of his predecessor and attempted to maintain Mangbetu's autonomy despite internal divisions. 2. **External Pressures**: - The kingdom faced threats from the Khedivate of Egypt and eventually from colonial forces led by King Leopold’s Congo State. - Yangala’s submission to Belgian authorities aimed to retain some semblance of authority, but his death in 1895 initiated the end of the Mangbetu kingdom's autonomy. 3. **Cultural Legacy**: - Despite the decline, Mangbetu artists continued to produce a wealth of cultural material, which later attracted the interest of museums and researchers. - The evolution of Mangbetu art and society continues to shape historical interpretations of the region. #### VI. Conclusion - The history of the Mangbetu kingdom reflects significant social, political, and cultural developments influenced by internal dynamics and external pressures. - The legacy of the Mangbetu persists through ongoing interest in their artistic and cultural heritage, which informs contemporary understandings of Central African history.

a brief note on Ethnicity and the State in Africa

the evolution of the Tutsi/Hutu dichotomy in the precolonial Great Lakes.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on Ethnicity and the State in Africa ================================================= ### the evolution of the Tutsi/Hutu dichotomy in the precolonial Great Lakes. ( May 12, 2024 25 Africa is often considered the most culturally diverse continent, a fact that is thought to significantly influence state development. However, the identification and study of cultures and social complexity in pre-colonial African societies has hardly been known for its conceptual clarity and scientific rigour. In the early 20th century, colonial authorities confronted with the diversity of their subject population set about the task of classifying them inorder to determine the 'true rulers' of the past so they could add the legitimacy of tradition to the colony's 'Native Authority.'( Urged on by the colonial authorities, early anthropologists and linguists described cultures, languages, and ethnicities as discrete, bounded groups, whose distribution could be captured on an 'ethnic map' such as George Murdock's now infamous 1959 map of African "tribes". Similarly, early historians of Africa were preoccupied with finding the 'true origins' of these groups, their migration to their present territories, and the innovations they supposedly carried with them.( The disciplines of anthropology, linguistics, and history in Africa have since come a long way from their problematic foundations. Cultures and ethnicities( are now understood to be more fluid and variable social constructs that shape and are shaped by historical processes of social change and evolution. This new approach to Africa's social history has also revealed that languages are not the sole indicators of culture, since linguistic differences alone can’t determine social interactions.( Most African states and societies were recognizably heterogeneous —from small ( to ( — and interactions between different social groups could occur across multiple cultural zones. The existence of 'diasporic communities' across a vast region such as the ( and the ( in West Africa, and the ( in East Africa, also indicates that cultural convergence between different African societies wasn't infrequent, and could be facilitated by trade, religion and the state. ‘ethnic’ groups in the Mali empire (approx. 1 million sqkm) and the Kuba kingdom (approx. 27,000 sqkm).( As one historian succinctly puts it; _**"Political and ethnic boundaries rarely coincided in pre-colonial Africa. Human ambitions were too pressing to allow people to remain static over long periods. States expanded when they were sufficiently powerful to do so. Communities competed with one another to attract settlers and thereby gain supporters."**_( Ethnicities and cultures are therefore historical and not primordial phenomena. One of the most profound examples of the historical evolution of social identities in Africa comes from the Great Lakes region of East Africa, where the social divisions of Tutsi/Hima and Hutu/Iru have been particularly significant in shaping the history of states and societies from the colonial period to the present day, especially in the kingdoms of Rwanda and Nkore. **The history of the Tutsi/Hima and Hutu/Iru dichotomy is the subject of my latest Patreon article.** **please subscribe to read about it here:** ( * * * _**street scene in Gao, Mali**_, ca. 1935, ANOM. The city’s population was linguistically diverse, including speakers of the languages of Songhay, Fula, and Tamashek. a group of Comorians settled in the trading city of Majunga, Madagascar, ca. 1904, Quai Branly Museum. * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Ethnic Groups and the State edited by Paul R. Brass pg 65-83 ( Genetics and the Unsettled Past: The Collision of DNA, Race, and History edited by Keith Wailoo, Alondra Nelson, Catherine Lee pg 68-78, What Do You Mean There Were No Tribes in Africa?: Thoughts on Boundaries and Related Matters In Precolonial Africa by DR Wright pg 419-426, The Archaeology of Africa: Food, Metals and Towns edited by Bassey Andah, Alex Okpoko, Thurstan Shaw, Paul Sinclair pg 1-10. ( at its most basic definition; **ethnicity** is a social group, **culture** is a way of life, and **states**/kingdoms/empires are a form of organized society. These concepts can overlap or diverge depending on the context. ( Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800 By John Kelly Thornton pg 184-189 ( Maps by Nehemiah Levtzion and Jan Vansina ( Precolonial Legacies in Postcolonial Politics By Martha Wilfahrt pg 50.

### A Brief Note on Ethnicity and the State in Africa: The Evolution of the Tutsi/Hutu Dichotomy in the Precolonial Great Lakes #### Introduction 1. Africa is recognized as the most culturally diverse continent, which has significant implications for state development. 2. The study of cultures and social complexity in pre-colonial African societies lacks conceptual clarity and scientific rigor. #### Colonial Classification of Ethnicities 3. In the early 20th century, colonial authorities sought to classify diverse populations in Africa to identify the "true rulers" of the past. - This classification aimed to lend legitimacy to colonial governance through the concept of "Native Authority." 4. Early anthropologists and linguists categorized cultures, languages, and ethnicities as discrete, bounded groups, often represented on ethnic maps, such as George Murdock's 1959 map of African tribes. 5. Historians were focused on uncovering the "true origins" and migrations of these groups, neglecting the fluid nature of social identities. #### Evolving Understanding of Ethnicities and Cultures 6. Modern scholarship recognizes cultures and ethnicities as fluid and variable constructs influenced by historical processes. 7. Linguistic differences alone do not dictate social interactions, highlighting the complexity of cultural exchanges in Africa. 8. Many African states were heterogeneous, characterized by various interactions among different social groups across cultural zones. #### Cultural Convergence and Historical Context 9. Historical examples show that cultural convergence occurred between African societies, facilitated by trade, religion, and state interactions. 10. Significant ethnicities existed within large empires, such as the Mali Empire (approx. 1 million sq. km) and the Kuba Kingdom (approx. 27,000 sq. km). 11. Political and ethnic boundaries in pre-colonial Africa rarely coincided due to the dynamic nature of human ambitions and societal changes. #### Case Study: Tutsi/Hutu Dichotomy 12. The Tutsi/Hima and Hutu/Iru distinctions in the Great Lakes region of East Africa serve as profound examples of historical evolution in social identities. 13. These divisions significantly influenced the history of states and societies in Rwanda and Nkore, particularly during the colonial period and beyond. #### Conclusion 14. The understanding of ethnicity, culture, and state in Africa continues to evolve, revealing the complexities of historical narratives and social identities. 15. The historical evolution of the Tutsi/Hutu dichotomy is the subject of ongoing scholarly exploration, emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of pre-colonial African societies. #### References for Further Reading - "Ethnic Groups and the State" edited by Paul R. Brass - "Genetics and the Unsettled Past: The Collision of DNA, Race, and History" edited by Keith Wailoo, Alondra Nelson, Catherine Lee - "What Do You Mean There Were No Tribes in Africa?" by DR Wright - "The Archaeology of Africa: Food, Metals and Towns" edited by Bassey Andah, Alex Okpoko, Thurstan Shaw, Paul Sinclair - "Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800" by John Kelly Thornton - "Precolonial Legacies in Postcolonial Politics" by Martha Wilfahrt This structured approach highlights the factual basis and logical progression of ideas regarding ethnicity and state formation in Africa, particularly in the context of the Tutsi/Hutu dichotomy.

Life and works of Africa's most famous Woman scholar: Nana Asmau (1793-1864)

On the contribution of Muslim women in African history.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Life and works of Africa's most famous Woman scholar: Nana Asmau (1793-1864) ============================================================================ ### On the contribution of Muslim women in African history. ( May 05, 2024 23 Throughout its history, Africa has produced many notable women scholars who contributed greatly to its intellectual heritage.( But few are as prominent as the 19th-century scholar Nana Asmau from the Sokoto empire in what is today northern Nigeria. Nana Asmau was one of Africa's most prolific writers, with over eighty extant works to her name and many still being discovered. She was a popular teacher, a multilingual author, and an eloquent ideologue, able to speak informedly on a wide range of topics including religion, medicine, politics, history, and issues of social concern. Her legacy as a community leader for the women of Sokoto survives in the institutions created out of her social activism, and the voluminous works of poetry still circulated by students. This article explores the life and works of Nana Asmau, highlighting some of her most important written works in the context of the political and social history of west Africa. _**Map of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1850, by Paul Lovejoy**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Early life of Nana Asmau and the foundation of the Sokoto state.** Born Nana Asma'u bint Usman 'dan Fodio in 1793 into a family of scholars in the town of Degel within the Hausa city-state of Gobir, she composed the first of her approximately eighty known works in 1820. Many of these works have been translated and studied in the recent publications of Jean Boyd and other historians. The fact that Nana Asmau needed no male pseudonym, unlike most of her Western peers, says a lot about the intellectual and social milieu in which she operated. While Asmau was extraordinary in her prolific poetic output and activism, she was not an exception but was instead one in a long line of women scholars that came before and continued after her. Asmau was typical of her time and place with regard to the degree to which women pursued knowledge, and could trace eight generations of female scholars both before and after her lifetime. At least twenty of these women scholars can be identified from her family alone between the 18th and 19th centuries based on works written during this period, seven of whom were mentioned in Asmau’s compilation of women scholars, and at least four of whose works survive.( These women were often related to men who were also accomplished scholars, the most prominent of whom was Asmau's father Uthman dan Fodio who founded the Sokoto state. One of the major preoccupations of Uthman and his successors was the abolition of "innovation" and a return to Islamic "orthodoxy". Among the main criticisms that he leveled against the established rulers (and his own community) was their marginalization of women in Education. Disregarding centuries of hadiths and scholarly commentaries on the message of the Prophet, the shaykh emphasized the need to recognize the fact that Islam, in its pristine form, didn’t tolerate for any minimalization of women’s civic rights.( He writes that _**“Most of our educated men leave their wives, their daughters and their female relatives ... to vegetate, like beasts, without teaching them what Allah prescribes they should be taught and without instructing them in the articles of Law that concern them. This is a loathsome crime. How can they allow their wives, daughters, and female dependents to remain prisoners of ignorance, while they share their knowledge with students every day? In truth, they are acting out of self-interest”**_.( He adds; _**“One of the root causes of the misfortunes of this country is the attitude taken by Malams who neglect the welfare of the women. they \ are not taught what they ought to know about trading transactions; this is quite wrong and a forbidden innovation. It is obligatory to teach wives, daughters, and female dependants: the teaching of \ pupils is optional and what is obligatory has priority over what is optional.”**_( And in another text critical of some of the 'pagan' practices he saw among some of his own community, he writes that _**"They do not teach their wives nor do they allow them to be educated, All these things stem from ignorance. They are not the Way of the Prophet"**_.( Asmau’s creative talents were cultivated in the ( , in which learning was individualized under a specific teacher for an individual subject, relying on reference material from their vast personal libraries. Asmau was taught by multiple teachers throughout her life even as she taught other students, and was especially fortunate as her own family included highly accomplished scholars who were teachers in Degel. These teachers included her sister, Khadija, her father, Shaykh Uthman, and her half-brother, Muhammad Bello, all of whom wrote several hundred works combined, many of which survived to the present day.( Nana Asma'u mastered the key Islamic sciences, acquired fluency in writing the languages of Hausa, Arabic, and Tamasheq, in addition to her native language Fulfulde, and became well-versed in legal matters, fiqh (which regulates religious conduct), and tawhid(dogma). Following in the footsteps of her father, she became deeply immersed in the dominant Qadriyya order of Sufi mysticism. The first ten years of her life were devoted to scholarly study, before the beginning of Uthman’s movement to establish the Sokoto state. There followed a decade of itinerancy and warfare, through which Asma’u continued her studies, married, and wrote poetic works.( Around 1807, Asmau married Gidado dan Laima (1776-1850 ), a friend of Muhammad Bello who later served as wazir (‘prime minister’) of Sokoto during the latter's reign. Gidado encouraged Asmau’s intellectual endeavors and, as Bello’s closest companion, was able to foster the convergence of his wife’s interests with her brother’s. In Asmaus elegy for Gidado titled; _Sonnore Gid'ad'o_ (1848), she lists his personal qualities and duties to the state, mentioning that he _**"protected the rights of everyone regardless of their rank or status… stopped corruption and wrongdoing in the city and … honoured the Shehu's womenfolk."**_( * * * **Asmau’s role in documenting the history and personalities of Sokoto** Asmau was a major historian of Sokoto, and an important witness of many of the accounts she described, some of which she may have participated in as she is known to have ridden her horse publically while traveling between the cities of Sokoto, Kano, and Wurno( . Asmau wrote many historical works about the early years of Uthman Fodio's movement and battles, the various campaigns of Muhammad Bello (r. 1817-1837) eg his defeat of the Tuaregs at Gawakuke in 1836, and the campaigns of Aliyu (r. 1842-1859) eg his defeat of the combined forces of Gobir and Kebbi. She also wrote about the reign and character of Muhammad Bello, and composed various elegies for many of her peers, including at least four women scholars; Fadima (d. 1838), Halima (d. 1844), Zaharatu (d. 1857), Fadima (d. 1863) and Hawa’u (1858) —the last of whom was one of her appointed women leaders( . All of these were of significant historical value for reconstructing not just the political and military history of Sokoto, but also its society, especially on the role of women in shaping its religious and social institutions( . folio from the fulfulde manuscript _**Fa'inna ma'al Asur Yasuran**_ (So Verily), 1822, SOAS One notable battle described by Asmau was the fall of the Gobir capital Alƙalawa in 1808, which was arguably the most decisive event in the foundation of Sokoto. Folklore attributes to Asmau a leading role in the taking of the capital. She is said to have thrown a burning brand to Bello who used the torch to set fire to the capital, and this became the most famous story about her. However, this wasn’t included in her own account, and the only likely mention of her participation in the early wars comes from the Battle of Alwasa in 1805 when the armies of Uthman defeated the forces of the Tuareg chief Chief of Adar, Tambari Agunbulu, "_**And the women added to it by stoning \ - and leaving them exposed to the sun."**_( After the first campaigns, the newly established state still faced major threats, not just from the deposed rulers who had fled north but also from the latter's Tuareg allies. One of the first works written by Asmau was an acrostic poem titled, _**Fa'inna ma'a al-'usrin yusra**_ (1822), which she composed in response to a similar poem written by Bello who was faced with an invasion by the combined forces of the Tuareg Chief Ibrahim of Adar, and the Gobir sultan Ali. ( This work was the first in the literary collaboration between Asma'u and Muhammad Bello, highlighting their equal status as intellectual peers. The Scottish traveler Hugh Clapperton, who visited Sokoto in 1827, noted that women were _**“allowed more liberty than the generality of Muslim women”**_( . The above observation doubtlessly reveals itself in the collaborative work of Asmau and Bello titled; Kitab al-Nasihah (book of women) written in 1835 and translated to Fulfulde and Hausa by Asmau 1836. It lists thirty seven sufi women from across the Muslim world until the 13th century, as well as seven from Sokoto who were eminent scholars.( Asmau provided brief descriptions of the Sokoto women she listed, who included; Joda Kowuuri, _**"a Qur'anic scholar who used her scholarship everywhere,"**_ Habiba, the most revered _**"teacher of women,"**_ Yahinde Limam, who was _**"diligent at solving disputes"**_, and others including Inna Garka, Aisha, lyya Garka and Aminatu bint Ade, in addition to "as many as a hundred" who she did not list for the sake of brevity.( The poem on Sufi Women emphasizes that pious women are to be seen in the mainstream of Islam, and could be memorized by teachers for instructional purposes.( folios from the _**‘kitab al-nasiha’**_ (Book of Women), 1835/6, SOAS Library * * * ( * * * **Asmau’s role in women’s education and social activism.** The above work on sufi women wasn’t intended to be read as a mere work of literature, but as a mnemonic device, a formula to help her students remember these important names. It was meant to be interpreted by a teacher (jaji) who would have received her instructions from Asmau directly. Asmau devoted herself to extensive work with the teachers, as it was their job to learn from Asma'u what was necessary to teach to other teachers of women, whose work involved the interpretations of very difficult and lengthy material about Islamic theology and practices.( Asma'u was particularly distinguished as the mentor and tutor of a community of jajis through whom the key tenets of Sufi teachings about spirituality, ethics, and morality in the handling of social responsibilities spread across all sections of the society.( The importance of providing the appropriate Islamic education for both elite and non-elite women and girls was reinforced by the growing popularity ( , which competed for their allegiance.( One of Asmau’s writings addressed to her coreligionists who were appealing to Bori diviners during a period of drought, reveals the extent of this ideological competition.( Groups of women, who became known as the ‘Yan Taru (the Associates) began to visit Asma’u under the leadership of representatives appointed by her. The Yan Taru became the most important instrument for the social mobilization, these _**"bands of women students"**_ were given a large malfa hat that's usually worn by men and the _Inna (_chief of women in Gobir) who led the bori religion in Gobir. By giving each jaji such a hat, Asmau transformed it into an emblem of Islamic learning, and a symbol of the wearer’s authority.( Asmau’s aim in creating the ‘Yan Taru was to educate and socialize women. Asmau's writings also encouraged women's free movement in public, and were addressed to both her students and their male relatives, writing that: _**"In Islam, it is a religious duty to seek knowledge Women may leave their homes freely for this."**_( The education network of the ‘Yan Taru was already widespread as early as the 1840s, as evidenced in some of her writings such as the elegy for one of her students, Hauwa which read; _**"\ remember Hauwa who loved me, a fact well known to everybody. During the hot season, the rains, harvest time, when the harmattan blows, And the beginning of the rains, she was on the road bringing people to me… The women students and their children are well known for their good works and peaceful behaviour in the community."**_( Many of Asmau's writings appear to have been intended for her students( , with many being written in Fulfulde and Hausa specifically for the majority of Sokoto’s population that was unfamiliar with Arabic. These include her trilingual work titled _‘Sunago’_, which was a nmemonic device used for teaching beginners the names of the suras of the Qur'an.( Other works such as the _Tabshir al-Ikhwan_ (1839) was meant to be read and acted upon by the malarns who specialized in the ‘medicine of the prophet’( , while the Hausa poem _Dalilin Samuwar Allah_ (1861) is another work intended for use as a teaching device.( Asmau also wrote over eighteen elegies, at least six of which were about important women in Sokoto. Each is praised in remembrance of the positive contributions she made to the community, with emphasis on how her actions defined the depth of her character. These elegies reveal the qualities that were valued among both elite and non-elite women in Sokoto. In the elegy for her sister Fadima (1838), Asmau writes; _**“Relatives and strangers alike, she showed no discrimination. she gave generously; she urged people to study. She produced provisions when an expedition was mounted, she had many responsibilities. She sorted conflicts, urged people to live peacefully, and forbade squabbling. She had studied a great deal and had deep understanding of what she had read.”**_( Asma’u did not just confine her praise to women such as Fadima who performed prodigious tasks, but, also those who did more ordinary tasks. In her elegy for Zaharatu (d. 1857), Asmau writes: _**“She gave religious instruction to the ignorant and helped everyone in their daily affairs. Whenever called upon to help, she came, responding to layout the dead without hesitation. With the same willingness she attended women in childbirth. All kinds of good works were performed by Zaharatu. She was pious and most persevering: she delighted in giving and was patient and forbearing.”**_( A list of her students in specific localities, which was likely written not long after her death, mentions nearly a hundred homes.( Folio from the fulfulde manuscript _‘Sunago’_ 1829, ( . folios from the Hausa manuscript '_**Qasidar na Rokon Allah**_', early 19th century, SOAS Library * * * * * * **Asmau’s role in the political and intellectual exchanges of West Africa.** After the death of Muhammad Bello, Asmau’s husband Gidado met with the senior councilors of Sokoto in his capacity as the wazir, and they elected Atiku to the office of Caliph. Gidado then relinquished the office of Wazir but stayed in the capital. Asmau and her husband then begun to write historical accounts of the lives of the Shehu and Bello for posterity, including the places they had lived in, their relatives and dependants, the judges they had appointed, the principal imams of the mosques, the scholars who had supported them, and the various offices they created.( Besides writing extensively about the history of Sokoto's foundation, the reign of Bello, and 'text-books' for her students, Asmau was from time to time invited to advise some emirs and sultans on emergent matters of state and rules of conduct. One of her works titled '_Tabbat Hakiya_' (1831), is a text about politics, informs people at all levels of government about their duties and responsibilities. She writes that; _**"Rulers must persevere to improve affairs, Do you hear? And you who are ruled, do not stray: Do not be too anxious to get what you want. Those who oppress the people in the name of authority Will be crushed in their graves… Instruct your people to seek redress in the law, Whether you are a minor official or the Imam himself. Even if you are learned, do not stop them."**_( Asmau, like many West African scholars who could voice their criticism of politicians, also authored critiques of corrupt leaders. An example of this was the regional governor called ɗan Yalli, who was dismissed from office for misconduct, and about whom she wrote; _**"Thanks be to God who empowered us to overthrow ɗan Yalli. Who has caused so much trouble. He behaved unlawfully, he did wanton harm.. We can ourselves testify to the Robberies and extortion in the markets, on the Highways and at the city gateways".**_( folios from the Fulfulde poem _**‘Gikku Bello’**_ 1838/9. ( As an established scholar, Asmau corresponded widely with her peers across West Africa. She had built up a reputation as an intellectual leader in Sokoto and was recognized as such by many of her peers such as the Sokoto scholar Sheikh Sa'ad who wrote this of her; _**"Greetings to you, O woman of excellence and fine traits! In every century there appears one who excels. The proof of her merit has become well known, east and west, near and far. She is marked by wisdom and kind deeds; her knowledge is like the wide sea."**_( Asmau’s fame extended beyond Sokoto, for example, the scholar Ali Ibrahim from Masina (in modern Mali) wrote: _**"She \ is famous for her erudition and saintliness which are as a bubbling spring to scholars. Her knowledge, patience, and sagacity she puts to good use as did her forebears"**_ and she replied: **"It would be fitting to reward you: you are worthy of recognition. Your work is not inferior and is similar in all respects to the poetry you mention."**( She also exchanged letters with a scholar from ( named Alhaji Ahmad bin Muhammad al-Shinqiti, and welcomed him to Sokoto during his pilgrimage to Mecca, writing: _**"Honour to the erudite scholar who has left his home To journey to Medina. Our noble, handsome brother, the hem of whose scholarship others cannot hope to touch. He came bearing evidence of his learning, and the universality of his knowledge.**_( _**"**_ Asm’u died in 1864­ at the age of 73, and was laid to rest next to the tomb of the Shehu. Her brother and students composed elegies for her, one of which read that _**"At the end of the year 1280 Nana left us, Having received the call of the Lord of Truth.**_ _**When I went to the open space in front of Giɗaɗo’s house I found it too crowded to pass through Men were crying, everyone without exception Even animals uttered cries of grief they say.**_ _**Let us fling aside the useless deceptive world, We will not abide in it forever; we must die. The benevolent one, Nana was a peacemaker. She healed almost all hurt."**_( After Nana Asma’u’s death, her student and sister Maryam Uwar Deji succeeded her as the leader of the ‘Yan Taru, and became an important figure in the politics of Kano, an emirate in Sokoto.( Asmau’s students, followers, and descendants carried on her education work among the women of Sokoto which continued into the colonial and post-colonial era of northern Nigeria. Folios from the Hausa poem titled ‘Begore’ and a poem in Fulfulde titled ‘Allah Jaalnam’.( * * * **Conclusion: Asmau’s career and Muslim women in African history.** Nana Asmau was a highly versatile and polymathic writer who played a salient role in the history of West Africa. She actively shaped the political structures and intellectual communities across Sokoto and was accepted into positions of power in both the secular and religious contexts by many of her peers without attention to her gender. The career of Asmau and her peers challenge Western preconceptions about Muslim women in Africa (such as those held by Hugh Clapperton and later colonialists) that presume them to be less active in society and more cloistered than non-Muslim women.( The corpus of Asmau provides firsthand testimony to the active participation of women in Sokoto's society that wasn't dissimilar to the ( . Asmau's life and works are yet another example of the complexity of African history, and how it was constantly reshaped by its agents --both men and women. _**View of Sokoto from its outskirts**_., ca. 1890 * * * To the south of Sokoto was **the old kingdom of Benin, which had for centuries been in close contact with European traders from the coast. These foreigners were carefully and accurately represented in Benin’s art across five centuries as their relationship with Benin evolved.** **read more about the evolution of Europeans in Benin’s art here:** ( * * * Thank you for reading African History Extra. This post is public so feel free to share it. ( ( [Women Writing Africa: a catalogue of women scholars across the African continent from antiquity until the 19th century\ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------]( ( · June 19, 2022 ( ( ( Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd pg 174-179) ( Feminist or Simply Feminine ? Reflection on the Works of Nana Asma'u by Chukwuma Azuonye pg 67, Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd pg 29) ( Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd pg 29-30 ( The Fulani Women Poets by Jean Boyd pg 128) ( Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd pg 31) ( Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd pg 26-27) ( One Woman's Jihad: Nana Asma'u, Scholar and Scribe By Beverly B. Mack, Jean Boyd pg 7-10, 12-13. ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 198-202, Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd pg 34-35) ( Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd pg 85, 87) ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 18-20 ( One Woman's Jihad: Nana Asma'u, Scholar and Scribe By Beverly B. Mack, Jean Boyd pg 63-75 ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 147, n. 344, Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd pg 46) ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 28-31) ( Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd 69-70) ( Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd pg 81-84, Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 68-72) ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 81-82, One Woman's Jihad: Nana Asma'u, Scholar and Scribe By Beverly B. Mack, Jean Boyd pg 48-49 ( One Woman's Jihad: Nana Asma'u, Scholar and Scribe By Beverly B. Mack, Jean Boyd pg 83-85-88 ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 70) ( One Woman's Jihad: Nana Asma'u, Scholar and Scribe By Beverly B. Mack, Jean Boyd pg 76-79 ( Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd pg 94) ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 246, One Woman's Jihad: Nana Asma'u, Scholar and Scribe By Beverly B. Mack, Jean Boyd pg 40-43 ( Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd pg 90-100, One Woman's Jihad: Nana Asma'u, Scholar and Scribe By Beverly B. Mack, Jean Boyd pg 36-37, 89 ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg pg 245) ( Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd pg 101) ( One Woman's Jihad: Nana Asma'u, Scholar and Scribe By Beverly B. Mack, Jean Boyd pg 79-83 ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 38, One Woman's Jihad: Nana Asma'u, Scholar and Scribe By Beverly B. Mack, Jean Boyd pg 23-25 ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 97) ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 264) ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 95-96 ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 250 ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 375-377) ( Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd pg 88-95) ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 43, 49-50) ( Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd 107-108, 123, 130-131, Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 276) ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 285 ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 289) ( Collected Works of Nana Asma'u, Daughter of Usman Dan Fodiyo pg 283 ( Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd pg 137-138) ( Educating Muslim Women: The West African Legacy of Nana Asma u 1793-1864 By Beverley Mack, Jean Boyd pg 148) ( Listed at the SOAS with the title ( but is more likely to be the poem titled ‘Begore’ in Hunwick’s ALOA Vol.2, that opens with the line ‘Fa mu gode jalla da yayyi annur na Ahmada.’ The second poem is one of the recent discoveries by the ( ( Feminist or Simply Feminine ? Reflection on the Works of Nana Asma'u by Chukwuma Azuonye pg 72-73.

# Life and Works of Africa's Most Famous Woman Scholar: Nana Asmau (1793-1864) ## Contribution of Muslim Women in African History ### Overview Nana Asmau, born in 1793 in Degel, was a prominent scholar from the Sokoto Caliphate (northern Nigeria). Her extensive writings and teachings positioned her as a significant figure in African intellectual history, particularly for Muslim women. Asmau authored over eighty known works encompassing various disciplines, including religion, medicine, and politics. Her activism for women's education established a legacy that continues to impact women's roles in Islamic scholarship. ### Early Life and Educational Background 1. **Family Background**: Nana Asmau was born into a scholarly family, the daughter of Uthman dan Fodio, the founder of the Sokoto state. This familial environment cultivated her intellectual abilities. 2. **Access to Education**: She benefited from a system of intimate, individual learning from various teachers, which was facilitated by her family's scholarly tradition. 3. **Prolific Output**: Asmau began her writing career in 1820. She produced poetry and prose in multiple languages, including Hausa, Arabic, and Fulfulde. ### Role in the Sokoto Caliphate 1. **Historical Documentation**: Asmau documented key events in the Sokoto Caliphate, contributing to the understanding of its political and social history. This included accounts of battles and the reigns of significant leaders. 2. **Advocacy for Women's Education**: She campaigned for the educational rights of women, countering the prevailing attitudes that marginalized them. Uthman dan Fodio emphasized that Islam supported women's education, arguing against the "neglect" of female relatives. ### Contributions to Scholarship 1. **Literary Works**: Among her notable works is "Kitab al-Nasihah," which lists influential women scholars from across the Muslim world. Her poetic works often served didactic purposes, helping students memorize important teachings. 2. **Historical Poetic Accounts**: Asmau composed elegies for notable figures, both male and female, emphasizing their contributions to society. This highlights her role as a historian and social commentator. ### Social Activism 1. **Formation of the Yan Taru**: Asmau founded a network of female scholars and teachers called Yan Taru. This collective aimed to educate women and promote their active participation in society. 2. **Public Advocacy**: Asmau encouraged women's public engagement in education and knowledge-seeking. She wrote that seeking knowledge is a religious duty for women in Islam, underscoring the importance of education for both genders. ### Political Engagement 1. **Advisory Role**: Post her brother Muhammad Bello's death, Asmau's husband, Gidado, engaged in political matters, and they wrote historical accounts for future generations. Asmau’s political writings provided guidance on the responsibilities of rulers and citizens. 2. **Critiques of Authority**: She authored critiques of corrupt officials, showing her willingness to challenge political misconduct and advocate for justice. ### Lasting Legacy 1. **Death and Succession**: Nana Asmau passed away in 1864 and was buried alongside her father. Her work continued through her students and family, preserving her educational initiatives. 2. **Impact on Future Generations**: The educational structures she established persisted into the colonial and post-colonial periods, influencing women's roles in northern Nigeria. ### Conclusion Nana Asmau’s life and work exemplified the dynamic role of women in African Islamic scholarship. Her contributions challenged misconceptions about Muslim women's societal roles in historical narratives, highlighting their active engagement in intellectual and political spheres. Her legacy remains a vital part of African history, showcasing the importance of women's education and leadership.

a brief note on African agency in its historical contacts with the rest of the world.

the indigenous and the foreign in Benin art

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on African agency in its historical contacts with the rest of the world. ===================================================================================== ### the indigenous and the foreign in Benin art ( Apr 28, 2024 28 Contacts between people of different societies and cultures are one the most important subjects of research undertaken by historians and anthropologists. But in African historiography, most studies of cultural contacts and discovery used to be concerned with the study of foreign perceptions of Africa and Africans, with relatively few studies being devoted to the African view of non-African people and societies, and how they evolved over time, especially during the era of mutual discovery beginning in the late 15th century. _**Carved ivory salt cellars made by Sapi artists in early 16th century Sierra Leone, showing indigenous and foreign motifs.**_ This asymmetrical focus on the perspectives of non-Africans has created a false division between active and passive participants in cultural contacts, not just in research about the individual figures who participated in these exchanges, but also in the analysis of the "hybridized" objects, structures, and styles produced as a result of the contacts between African and non-Africans. Fortunately, the recent shift to studying the perspectives of Africans in their cultural contacts with the rest of the world has revised previous ideas about Africa's role in the era of mutual discovery. As more research re-evaluates the impact of Africa's international relations on global history in general and African history in particular, a more coherent perspective on the initiative of Africans and their artistic creativity has emerged. Recent publications such as David Northrup's '_**Africa's Discovery of Europe’**_ and Michał Tymowski's _**'Europeans and Africans'**_ have positioned Africans as fully articulated historical agents in the era of mutual discovery. While studies focused on the material impact of such interactions like Verena Krebs' _**‘Medieval Ethiopian Kingship’**_ and Manuel Joao Ramos' _**‘The Indigenous and the Foreign in Christian Ethiopian Art'**_ have reframed previous ideas about African agency in the creation of the 'hybridized' artwork and architecture of the period. _**18th century Ethiopian manuscript miniature depicting a long battlemented building similar to the Gondarine palace of Empress Mentewwab.**_ Mss Or. 791, British Library. My articles about the African diaspora in ( , ( , ( , ( , ( , ( , the ( , and ( , have continued this theme of highlighting African agency in its contacts with the rest of the world. Similar articles such as the ( , the West Africans in ( and ( , and the ( , explore the contribution of these diasporic Africans to the diverse cultural and intellectual traditions of their host societies. The impact of Africa's contacts with the rest of the world and the African perception of non-Africans appear in the art traditions of the kingdoms of ( , as well as in the artworks of the ( , all of which demonstrate the evolution in the image of the European in African art. Among these four African societies, the kingdom of Benin provides the most comprehensive visual document representing foreign objects and peoples in African art across five centuries of contact. The nature of cultural exchanges between the indigenous and the foreign in Benin’s art is the subject of my latest Patreon article. Please subscribe to read about it here: ( * * * (left) Crowned head from Ife, Nigeria, ca. 14th century (right) Head of Augustus found buried in Meroe, Sudan ca. 25BC. the ( were erroneously thought to be the product of an ancient society influenced by Greco-Roman tradition, but besides the similarity in sophistication, the kingdom of Ife had no contact with the ancient Mediterranean. Thank you for reading African History Extra.

## A Brief Note on African Agency in Its Historical Contacts with the Rest of the World ### Title: The Indigenous and the Foreign in Benin Art #### Introduction 1. **Significance of Cultural Contacts**: The interactions between different societies and cultures are crucial to understanding historical developments. 2. **Historical Focus**: Traditionally, African historiography emphasized foreign views of Africa, often neglecting African perspectives on non-African societies. 3. **Emergence of Mutual Discovery**: Starting in the late 15th century, there was a mutual discovery period that significantly shaped cultural exchanges. #### Shift in Perspective 4. **Re-evaluation of African Agency**: Recent scholarly work has shifted focus to the agency of Africans in their cultural contacts, altering the previously dominant narrative that positioned Africans as passive participants. 5. **Significant Publications**: - **David Northrup's "Africa's Discovery of Europe"**: Positions Africans as active historical agents during cultural exchanges with Europe. - **Michał Tymowski's "Europeans and Africans"**: Also emphasizes African agency in historical narratives. 6. **Material Impact Studies**: Research by Verena Krebs and Manuel Joao Ramos highlights the role of Africans in producing hybrid artworks and architecture resulting from cross-cultural interactions. #### Artistic Evidence of Cultural Exchange 7. **Example of Ethiopian Art**: - **18th Century Manuscript**: Illustrates the influence of foreign architectural styles on Ethiopian art, indicating a blend of indigenous and foreign elements. 8. **Diaspora Contributions**: Articles exploring the African diaspora reveal how African agents shaped the cultural and intellectual traditions of their host societies. 9. **Artistic Evolution in Benin**: - The art of the Kingdom of Benin represents one of the most comprehensive visual records of foreign influences over five centuries. - Benin art reflects evolving perceptions of European figures and objects over time. #### Conclusion 10. **Cultural Exchange in Benin Art**: The nature of interactions between indigenous and foreign elements in Benin’s art is pivotal in understanding Africa’s historical agency and the complexities of cultural exchanges. 11. **Visual Comparisons**: - Objects such as the **Crowned Head from Ife** and **Head of Augustus** demonstrate the sophistication of African societies like Ife, which showed no direct contact with ancient Mediterranean cultures despite superficial similarities. #### Call to Action 12. **Further Exploration**: For a deeper understanding of these dynamics, subscribe to the author’s upcoming articles that delve into the cultural exchanges and their significance in African history. ### Closing 13. **Acknowledgment**: Thank you for engaging with African History Extra, a platform dedicated to illuminating the continent's rich and often overlooked past.

The radical philosophy of the Hatata: a 17th century treatise by the Ethiopian thinker Zara Yacob

the historical context of the Hatata in African philosophy.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The radical philosophy of the Hatata: a 17th century treatise by the Ethiopian thinker Zara Yacob ================================================================================================= ### the historical context of the Hatata in African philosophy. ( Apr 21, 2024 23 The 'Hatata' treatise of the 17th-century Ethiopian scholar Zärä Yaqob and his student Wäldä Heywät is one of the best-known and most celebrated works of African philosophy. The radical ideas espoused by its authors have been especially useful in the study of pre-colonial African philosophy, and are often favorably compared to contemporary Enlightenment thinkers in the Western world like René Descartes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. However, the lively debate sparked by such comparisons has inadvertently obscured the historical context in which the Hatata was written, and the significance of its contribution to Africa's epistemic traditions. This article explores the Hatata in its historic context as a product of its authors' intellectual background and the competitive cultural landscape of Ethiopia during the '_Gondarine period_', and its similarities with other works of African philosophy. _**Map of Ethiopia a century before the time of Zara Yacob( **_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **The Historical Context of the Hatata.** Zara Yacob was an Ethiopian scribe born in August 1600 near the ancient city of Aksum( where he lived and studied for most of his early life and where he taught for at least four years. He fled from Aksum when Emperor Susenyos (r. 1607-1632) made Catholicism the state religion in 1626 and persecuted those still loyal to the Ethiopian church, before returning later to live in the town of Enfranz when the emperor abdicated in 1632. In the same year, he gained a patron named Lord Habtu who was the father to Walda Gabryel and Walda Heywat, the latter of whom became his student.( In 1668, Zara Yacob completed his Hatata ('inquiry'), at the request of his student Walda Heywat. Sometime after 1693, Walda Heywat wrote his own Hatata, exploring the same themes as his teacher but in greater detail. He later wrote an epilogue to Zara Yacob's Hatata during the early 1700s, and copies of both manuscripts were obtained in 1854 by an Italian visitor to Ethiopia and sent to his patron, who then passed them on to the ‘Bibliothèque Nationale de France’ where they’d be later translated.( The Hatata explores multiple interwoven themes using a method of philosophical inquiry that were deeply rooted in the Ethiopian cultural context of their authors. Zara Yacob and Walda Heywat lived during the ( a dynamic era in Ethiopian history marked by; the restoration of the state and church after its near annihilation; the ideological conflicts between the Ethiopian clergy and the Susenyos’ Portuguese (Jesuit) allies; and the civil war between Susenyos' supporters and those loyal to the Ethiopian church, which ended when his son Fasilidas become emperor in 1632 and expelled the Jesuits. Many of these events are mentioned in Zara Yacob’s biography. _**the 17th century castle of Guzara, built by Emperor Fasilidas overlooking the town of Enfranz where Zara Yacob and Walda Heywat completed the Hatata. These monuments were characteristic of the Gondarine period (see ( ), and are briefly mentioned in the Hatata.**_ * * * ( * * * Like all Ethiopian scribes, Zara Yacob received his education from the traditional schools of Ethiopia, with all its major stages of study, as well as the more advanced levels like the _Nebab Bet_, (house of reading), the _Zema Bet_ (house of music), the _Qeddase Bet_, (house of liturgy), the _Qene Bet_ (house of poetry). The various subjects taught in these stages, which include theology, law, poetry, grammar, history, and philosophy, and the extensive works memorized by the students; which include ‘the gospels’, commentaries, psalters, law, history, and other subjects, are all reflected in the Hatata which explicitly references some of them.( Influences from the broader corpus of Ethiopian literature are reflected in the Hatata, not just the more familiar works listed above on which students are trained in school, but also works circulating among the different monasteries. These include the _Mäşhafä fälasfa_ (The Book of the Wise Philosophers) a collection of classical philosophical texts translated into Ge’ez in the 16th century, the _Fisalgos_, which is a much older work of classical philosophy translated into Ge’ez in the 6th-7th century, and the ‘_Life and Maxims of Skəndəs_’, a lesser known work translated to Ge’ez around the 15th century.( Zara Yacob and Walda Heywat also comment on the ideological conflicts of the era between the different political and religious factions, including the Ethiopian-Christians, the Catholics (Portuguese), the Muslims (both Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian), the Betä Ǝsraʾel (Ethiopian Jews), and even the Indians (craftsmen and artisans who accompanied the Portuguese and the ancient religion of the ‘Sabaeans and Homerites’ (an anachronistic reference to the Aksumite vassals in Arabia). They also comment on the pre-existing social hierarchy and tensions between this diverse and cosmopolitan society of 17th-century Ethiopia.( So while Zara Yacob and Walda Heywat were radicals and free-thinkers whose writings were skeptical of established theology and philosophy in Ethiopia and beyond, they drew from a conceptual vocabulary and critical approach steeped in Ethiopian tradition.( The philosophy of Zara Yacob has been described by many scholars as ‘rational,’ ‘humanist,’ and ‘liberal,’ inviting comparisons (and contrasts) with Descartes and Rousseu,( as well as arguments that Zara Yacob in some ways pre-empted Enlightenment thought on the existence of God, rationalism, and natural rights.( While there are certainly many passages in the Hatata that warrant such comparisons, attempts to fit the treatise into Western philosophical categories risk obscuring the cultural and historical context in which its authors were writing, and may invite (uninformed) criticism from detractors, all of which ultimately overlook the remarkably radical contribution of Zara Yacob to Ethiopian and African thought.( Zara Yaqob's Hatata argues for putting one’s own rational thoughts and investigations at the center of one’s life and actions rather than uncritically following established wisdom, while the Hatata of Walda Heywat is a more didactic text on how we should live. For the sake of brevity, I will quote two chapters from the Hatata of Zara Yacob and the Hatata of Walda Heywat which I think stand out the most: * * * **Zara Yacob's Hatata; Chapter 7: "My Inquiry Regarding the Truth of Different Religions"** > And later, I thought, ‘Is all that is written in the sacred books true?’ I thought a lot, but \ I didn’t understand anything. > > So, I said \, ‘I will go, and I will ask learned people and those who question deeply, and they will tell me the truth’. > > And after this, I thought, ‘What answer will people give me except that which is already present in their hearts?’ > > In fact, everyone says, ‘My religion is correct, and those who believe in another religion believe in something false, and they are enemies of God’. > > Now, the färänǧ \ say to us, ‘Our creed is good, and your creed is evil’. But we \ answer them, ‘It is not evil; rather your creed is evil and our creed is good’. > > Now, suppose we asked Muslims and Jews \? They would say the same thing to us. > > Also, if they argued the case in this debate, who would be the judge? No human being \ because all human beings have become judgemental, and they condemn each other. > > First, I asked a färänǧ scholar about many things concerning our \ creed and he decided everything \ according to his own creed. > > Afterwards, I asked a great Ethiopian teacher, and he \ decided everything according to his creed. > > If we asked Muslims and Jews about the same things, they would also decide according to their own religion. > > Where will I find someone who will decide \ truthfully? Because \ my religion seems true to me, so does another’s religion seem true to them. But, there is only one truth. > > As I turned these things over in my mind, I thought, ‘O wisest and most righteous Creator, who created me with the faculty of reason, give me understanding’. > > For wisdom and truth are not found among human beings, but as David said \, ‘‘indeed, everyone is a liar’ > > I thought and said \, ‘Why do human beings lie about these vital matters \, such that they destroy themselves?’ > > It seemed to me that they lie because they know nothing at all, although they think they are knowledgeable. Therefore, because they think they are knowledgeable, they don’t search to find out the truth”...( **Walda Heywat's Hatata, Chapter 5: "My Inquiry regarding Religious Faith"** > Concerning what remains—human teachings and books—we should not believe them hastily, without inquiry. Rather we should \ accept these teachings intentionally, after extensive investigation, as long as we see them as being in harmony with our intelligence. That is to say, our intelligence will be the measure of whether we should believe in them, and what our intelligence affirms as untrue we should not believe. Neither should we hastily say, ‘It’s a lie!’—for we don’t know whether it’s true or false. Instead, because of this \ let’s say, ‘We won’t believe it because we don’t understand it’. > > If people say to me, ‘Why don’t you believe everything that is written in books, as those before us did?’ > > I would reply to them, ‘Because books are written by human beings who are capable of writing lies’. > > If people further say to me, ‘Why don’t you believe?’ I would reply to them, ‘Tell me why you believe? After all, no reason is needed for not believing, but it is needed for believing. What reason do you have to believe in everything that is written? You have no reason except this alone: that you have heard from human mouths that what’s written is true. But don’t you understand? \ because they tell you, “What’s written is true”, doesn’t mean they \ know whether it’s true or false. Rather, just as you heard this from them, they too heard it from those before them. In the same way, all those ancestors believed in human words, even though they might have been lies, and not in God’s words. \ God does not speak to you except through the voice of your intelligence’. > > If people say to me, ‘It’s not like that! Rather, God has spoken to human beings and revealed his truth to them!’ > > I would reply to them, ‘How do you know that God has spoken with human beings and revealed his truth to them? Isn’t it rather that you heard it from human mouths, who testified that they heard it from \ human mouths? Must you always believe human words, even though they could be lies? Whether it’s true or false, you believe \ unthinkingly’. > > So, inquire! Don’t say in your hearts, ‘We are steadfast in our religion, which cannot be false!’ Pay attention! For human beings lie about religious matters, because religions are utterly inconsistent. Human beings don’t give reasonable explanations about what’s right for us to believe. So, they put an inquiring heart into a total quandary. > > Look, one tells us, ‘Believe in the religion of Alexandria!’ > > Another tells us, ‘Believe in the religion of Rome!’ > > And a third tells us, ‘Believe in the religion of Moses!’ > > And a fourth tells us, ‘Believe in Mohammed’s religion, Islam!’ > > Further, Indians have a different religion! > > So do Himyarites and Sabeans, and \ other peoples. > > They all say, ‘Our religion is from God!’ > > But how can God, who is righteous in all his actions, reveal one religion to one group, and another to another group? And how can all these different religions be from God? Which of them is true, requiring us to believe in it? > > Tell me, if you know, because I don’t know! I will only believe what God has revealed to me \ through the light of my intelligence. That way I won’t be misled in my religious faith. > > If someone should say to me, ‘Unless you believe, God’s judgement will fall on you!’ > > I will say to them, ‘God can’t order me to believe in lies. And he can’t judge me for a religious faith that I have rejected because it doesn’t seem true to me. For he gave me the light of my intelligence to distinguish good from evil, and truth from lies. This intelligent light reveals absolutely nothing as to whether all human religions are true, but it does clarify for me that all religions arise from human error and not from God. Thus, for this reason I have rejected them \ > ’ Copy of the Hatata at the ( * * * ( * * * **The philosophy of the Hatata** Zara Yacob's chapter (and most of his Hatata) is presented in an autobiographical style of a writer recording the meaningful events of his life and the result of his meditations. Zara Yacob’s method can be called a discursive subjugation of faith to intelligence or natural reason( . The Hatata was a product of Zara Yacob's personal reflection upon events that affected his life, with each introspective moment being a ‘penetrating intuition into the sense of history as it conditions his life’.( On the other hand, Walda Heywat's chapter (and his Hatata) follows a dialectical 'box' pattern in which he develops a thesis; on how we ought to follow only what agrees with our reason, which he then follows up with a question-and-answer pattern; arguing that all faiths proceed from man's error, and he thus concludes by affirming his original thesis that he only believes what God demonstrated to him by the light of reason.( While there are parallels between the writing of Walda Heywat and his tutor, the former was more influenced by the pedagogical method of traditional Ethiopian teaching, as well as wisdom literature such as the _Mashafa falsafa_, from which he borrowed at least five short stories that are included in other chapters of his treatise. He reproduces the traditional oral style of a sage instructing his pupils, or a parent with their child, addressing his readers like they were his disciples without assuming a superior attitude.( I believe that these two chapters, out of a combined fifty-seven chapters of both Hatatas, provide the best summary of the philosophical arguments presented in the treatise, and inform us about the authors' perspectives on the themes they explore. For example; Zara Yacob describes his personal interpretation of religion as such: _**"As for me, I lived with human beings, seeming like a Christian to them. But, in my heart, I did not believe—except in God the creator of everything and the protector of everything, as he had given me to know",**_ adding that _**"I lived with people as if I was like them, and I dwelled with God in the way that he had given me to know”.**_( He later argues that although religious laws contain _**"lies mingled together with truth"**_ and _**"detestable wisdoms"**_, the basic commandments (nine in the Old Testament and six in the New Testament agree with the intelligence/reasoning of every human being. He therefore argues that religion _**"is desirable because it gets good things done, for it terrifies the wicked into not doing evil things and it consoles the good for their patient endurance"**_( . According to Zara Yacob, religion is a bilateral rapport between the individual and God, without any ecclesiastical restrictions in between( or, in his words, without the “pointless” commandments that man has added.( It’s in this context that Zara Yacob constructs his critique of all forms of religious laws by differentiating between what he considers 'God's law' and 'Man's law', with the latter being of limited use, while the former is ‘original’ and ‘illuminated by a total intelligence’.( He criticizes ascetic Christian monks who shun marriage, writing that _**"the Christians’ law says, ‘the ascetic monastic life is better than marriage’, it’s telling a lie and it’s not from God. For, how can the Christian law that violates the Creator’s law be better than his wisdom?"**_. He then turns to criticize Islamic law on polygamy, arguing that since there are equal numbers of men and women, marrying many women violates God's law( . He also criticizes the law of Moses on menstruation being impure, arguing that _**"This ‘law of Moses’ makes marriage and a woman’s entire life difficult because it annuls \ mutual help, impedes child rearing, and destroys love. Therefore, this ‘law of Moses’ cannot be from the Creator of women."**_ He then turns to criticize Islamic law on the slave trade, arguing that this law _**"cannot come from the Creator of human beings, the one who created us equal."**_( Zara Yacob's pattern of inquiry and criticism of established wisdom is followed in most chapters of his Hatata. It is also reflected in his personal philosophy regarding; the equality of men and women in marriage( ; the internecine and retributive violence between rival factions during Fasilidas' reign( ; and his role as the tutor of Walda Heywat for whom he wrote the Hatata( . In his Hatata, Walda Heywat faithfully follows Zara Yacob's teachings: _**"I don’t write what I have heard others say. Indeed, I have never accepted others’ teaching without inquiring into it and understanding whether it is good. I only write what appears true to me after inquiring into it and understanding it**_ … _**never believe what is written in books except that content which you have scrutinized and found to be truthful.**_( _**"**_ This is similar to Zara Yacob's criticism of those who follow established wisdom and religious law, to whom he addresses that: _**"They don’t believe in all these because they investigated them and found them to be true, rather they believe in them because they heard about them from their ancestors**_( _**"**_ The two philosophical works presuppose the power of comprehending and inferring, which is necessary for the reader to differentiate between the lies perpetuated by those who uncritically accept received wisdom and the truths acquired from independent thinking.( Walda Heywat continues Zara Yacob’s method of philosophical inquiry across the rest of the chapters of his book, covering a broad range of topics including; Human nature, religion, marriage, work, education, justice, equality of all people, acceptance of other cultures, and advice for leaders. For example, he writes; _**“Don’t be impressed with the teaching of those inferior in wisdom, who say \, ‘I don’t know who to call “neighbour”, except our relatives, our neighbours, our friends, and our fellow believers’. Don’t say what they say, since all human beings are our ‘neighbours’, whether they are good or evil; whether Christians, Muslims, Jews, or pagans. All of them are our equals and all of them are our siblings because we are all children of one Father, and we are all one creator’s creatures.**_( _**”**_ This was a very radical view for an Ethiopian scribe living in the 17th century when the tensions between the Ethiopian-Christians, Catholics, Muslims, Jews, and pagans were such that some settlements had begun to be segregated by faith, with official edicts enforcing these restrictions that would only be loosened at the end of the Gondarine period.( On tolerance of other cultures; _**“if you ‘desire to see good days’, be in harmony with everyone, in love and peace. To achieve this goal, the wisdom of the ancients is beneficial: ‘When you live among your own \, live according to the customs of your homeland, but should you go to a foreign land, be like them’… Don’t do anything which is not good according to that \ custom. Don’t say, ‘this action \ is not offensive’! Rather, on the contrary, praise the customs of the country that you are living in. Be united with the people of that country, and pray that God will be gracious to everyone according to their character, customs, and actions”**_. And in his advice to rulers; _**“If you are put in charge of others, don’t treat them with a heavy hand, or mistreat them with your power. Instead, be fair to everyone, high or low, rich, or poor, and without being timid in others’ presence, but administering justice with righteousness and impartiality. Don’t subjugate others with bitter servitude or enslavement. Instead, protect them as if they were your own children.**_( _**”**_ In response to his critics who rejected his questioning of established wisdom, Walda Heywat writes; _**"I won’t write anything which is inconsistent with our intelligence, but only what is present in the heart of all human beings. I write to turn the wise and intelligent toward inquiry, through which they may ‘seek and find’ truth. For inquiring into everything is beautiful wisdom.**_( _**"**_ * * * **Conclusion: the ‘Hatata’ in African philosophy.** Zara Yacob and Walda Heywat occupy an important place in the development of African philosophy. According to both philosophers, _Hatata_ (Inquiry) is the supreme criterion of philosophy, the only way to differentiate between the lies of established dogma and the self-evident truths revealed through the exercise of reason and independent thought. I find in Walda Heywat’s Hatata some parallels with the work of the 19th-century West-African philosopher Dan Tafa, who argued for the use of rational proofs in determining the existence of God and religious laws. ( , but retracted some of his radical arguments and promised not to teach philosophy to his students anymore. The fact that both African philosophers included a defense of their ideas against criticism underscores the competitive intellectual environment in which such ideas emerged, which allowed room for some scholars to challenge established wisdom, and in other cases even to ( y. However, it also points to resistance by established elites against such radical thinking, which was a common experience of many philosophers around the world before their ideas were gradually adopted. Criticism of Walda Heywat and Dan Tafa can be contrasted with the relatively “conformist” philosophical treatise of the ( , which was well-received in the intellectual communities of the East African coast, appearing in the works of later scholars. The Hatata is an excellent example of modern practical philosophy, and a monumental work of African philosophy that adds to the wealth of Africa’s intellectual heritage * * * The intellectual heritage of Africa includes not just philosophy, but also scientific works such as **the mathematical treatise of the 18th century West African scholar Muhammad al-Kashnāwī, which also drew comparisons with contemporary mathematicians in the Western world.** please subscribe to read about it here: ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Map by Matteo Salvadore ( [The complete history of Aksum: an ancient African metropolis (50-1900AD)\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------]( ( · October 2, 2022 ( ( ( Ethiopian Philosophy, Volume 3 by Claude Sumner pg 6-7, 20-25 ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 1-16) ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 5-7, Traditional Institutions and Traditional Elites by Paulos Milkias pg 81-82 ( Ethiopian Philosophy, Volume 2 by Claude Sumner pg 119-127, Perspectives in African Philosophy: Teaching and research in philosophy: Africa by UNESCO pg 160-163 ( The Archaeology of the Jesuit Missions in Ethiopia (1557–1632) by Andreu Martínez d'Alòs-Moner and Victor M. Fernández, pg 470-472 ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 37-38 ( Ethiopian Philosophy, Volume 3 by Claude Sumner pg 56-63, 72, 217, Tirguaamme: An Ethiopian Methodological Contribution for Post-Socialist Knowledge Traditions in Africa by Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes pg 275 ( ‘( ’ by Dag Herbjørnsrud, ( Ethiopian philosophy pg 56-63, 69, 72, 74-79, 93-94, 309-310, ( Ethiopian contention on the issue of Rationality by Belayneh Girma ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 70-73) ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 117-119) ( Explorations in African Political Thought: Identity, Community, Ethics edited by Teodros Kiros pg 70 ( Ethiopian Philosophy, Volume 3 by Claude Sumner pg 31, 49) ( Ethiopian Philosophy, Volume 3 by Claude Sumner pg 41-42) ( Ethiopian Philosophy, Volume 3 by Claude Sumner pg 37-40, 46) ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 107, ( ie; the Ten Commandments minus the Sabbath, which was a very contentious issue in Ethiopia and Zara Yacob also admits that “our intelligence does not confirm or deny it”. The 6 commandments of the New Testament are those mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 25:35–36, and are considered even more important than the Ten, see n. 6,9, pg 87 of the ‘The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob’ ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 75, 82, 87 ( Ethiopian Philosophy, Volume 3 by Claude Sumner pg 67, 81-83) ( Explorations in African Political Thought: Identity, Community, Ethics edited by Teodros Kiros pg 72 ( Explorations in African Political Thought: Identity, Community, Ethics edited by Teodros Kiros pg 74 Ethiopian Philosophy, Volume 3 by Claude Sumner pg 102-104) ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 75-77 ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 78-79) ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 100) ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 103) ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 105-106) ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 112-113) ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 74) ( Ethiopian Philosophy, Volume 3 by Claude Sumner pg 105) ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 131 ( A Social History of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 207-247, Muslim Partners, Catholic Foes by Matteo Salvadore pg 62, Early Portuguese Emigration to the Ethiopian Highlands by Andreu Martínez d'Alòs-Moner pg 24-29. ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 156 ( The Hatata Inquiries by Zara Yaqob, Walda Heywat, translated by Ralph Lee with Mehari Worku and Wendy Laura Belcher pg 119)

### Title: The Radical Philosophy of the Hatata: A 17th Century Treatise by the Ethiopian Thinker Zara Yacob --- ### Description: An exploration of the historical context of the "Hatata" within African philosophy, examining its contributions and significance. --- ### Historical Context of the Hatata 1. **Introduction to the Hatata**: - The **"Hatata"** is a philosophical treatise written by **Zara Yacob** and his student **Walda Heywat** in the 17th century. - It is recognized as one of the most celebrated works of African philosophy and is noted for its radical ideas, often compared to Enlightenment thinkers such as **René Descartes** and **Jean-Jacques Rousseau**. 2. **Authors and Historical Background**: - **Zara Yacob** was born in **August 1600** near **Aksum**, where he lived and studied. - After fleeing Aksum due to Emperor **Susenyos** converting the state religion to Catholicism in **1626**, he returned post-abdication of the emperor in **1632**. - He gained patronage from **Lord Habtu**, and later taught **Walda Heywat**, who became his student. 3. **Timeline of the Hatata**: - Zara Yacob completed his "Hatata" in **1668** at the request of Walda Heywat. - Walda Heywat wrote his own treatise, also titled "Hatata," after **1693**, further exploring similar themes. 4. **Philosophical Themes**: - The **Hatata** examines interwoven themes, utilizing methods of philosophical inquiry rooted in Ethiopian culture. - The text reflects the **Gondarine period** of Ethiopia, a time marked by the restoration of the state and church after significant turmoil, conflicts with Portuguese Jesuits, and a civil war. 5. **Education and Influence**: - Zara Yacob received education in traditional Ethiopian schools, covering various subjects such as theology, law, poetry, and philosophy. - Influences on the **Hatata** include classical philosophical texts and works circulated among monasteries, including **Mäşhafä fälasfa** and **Fisalgos**. 6. **Philosophical Context**: - The Hatata critiques established doctrines and reflects Zara Yacob and Walda Heywat’s views on the ideological conflicts of their era between various religious and political groups. - They challenged established norms through a critical approach rooted in Ethiopian tradition, emphasizing the importance of rational thought over blind adherence to dogmas. 7. **Comparative Analysis**: - While comparisons with Western philosophers are made, the unique cultural and historical context of the **Hatata** must be acknowledged to appreciate its radical contributions to philosophy. - Zara Yacob’s approach advocates for rational inquiry and skepticism towards established religious doctrines, a perspective which he argued is inherent in human nature. 8. **Notable Passages from the Hatata**: - **Zara Yacob's Inquiry on Religions**: He questions the validity of dogmas across different faiths, suggesting that all religions claim truth based on subjective beliefs. - **Walda Heywat's Inquiry**: Emphasizes the need for rigorous investigation and personal understanding of teachings, rejecting blind belief in texts authored by fallible humans. 9. **Contributions to African Philosophy**: - Both authors argue that **inquiry** (Hatata) is central to philosophy, allowing individuals to discern truths from established lies. - Their works advocate for equality, social justice, and respect for diverse cultures, presenting a radical vision for the time. 10. **Conclusion**: - Zara Yacob and Walda Heywat’s **Hatata** stands as a critical work in African philosophy, promoting rationalism and introspection in a historically rich yet tumultuous Ethiopian context. - Their contributions reflect a significant aspect of Africa’s intellectual heritage, influencing contemporary philosophical discussions on morality, human rights, and religious tolerance. --- This structured narrative provides a clear and factual account of the significance of the Hatata within the framework of African philosophy and its historical context, highlighting the relevant aspects of Zara Yacob and Walda Heywat's lives and works.

a brief note on the intellectual contributions of African scholars in the diaspora

the biography of a West African mathematician in Cairo.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on the intellectual contributions of African scholars in the diaspora ================================================================================== ### the biography of a West African mathematician in Cairo. ( Apr 14, 2024 30 Around the year 1198, the West African scholar Ibrahim al-Kanimi from the town of Bilma (in Niger) traveled to the Almohad capital Marakesh (in Morocco), and gained the audience of its sultan, before moving to Seville (in Spain) where he settled and became a celebrated grammarian and poet that appeared in many Andalusian biographies of the time.( Al-Kanimi’s career exemplifies the patterns of the global intellectual exchanges in which several African scholars in the diaspora played an important role. Historical inquiries into the African diaspora across the old world often pay less attention to the intellectual contributions of those Africans to the societies that hosted them, thus leaving us with an incomplete picture of the role of Africans in global history. Yet many diasporic Africans whose biographies are known were important scholars who left a significant intellectual legacy across the world. In the 16th century, ( turned their monastery of Santo Stefano degli Abissini (near the Vatican Basilica) into a center of Africanist knowledge, where theological, geographic, and political information regarding Ethiopia and the Eastern Christian world could be obtained from scholars like Täsfa Seyon —who had an influence on Pope Marcellus II and Jesuit founder Ignatius of Loyola.( _**Painting depicting Pope Paul III, the Jesuit founder Ignatius of Loyola (kneeling), and the Ethiopian scholar and cleric Tasfā Ṣeyon (standing behind the Pope with another priest)**_, 27th September 1540, anonymous painter, Chiesa del Gesu, Rome. Similarly, in Portugal's capital Lisbon, the Ethiopian envoy Sägga Zäᵓab wrote a critique of the dogmatic Catholic counter-reformation in his 'faith of the Ethiopians' in 1534, writing that _**"It would be much wiser to welcome in charity and Christian love all Christians, be they Greeks, Armenians, Ethiopians…because we are all sons of baptism and share the true faith."**_ The book was well received by European scholars in the regions opposed to the counter-reformation, most notably the Dutch theologian Desiderius Erasmus, and his student; the Portuguese philosopher Damião de Góis, who eventually published 'The Faith' in 1540.( In the 18th century, some of the West African scholars who had been visiting the pilgrimage cities of Mecca and Medina eventually settled in the region and became influential teachers in the scholarly community (_ulama_) of Medina. ( , an influential hadith teacher whose students include many prominent figures of the era, such as; the qadi of Mecca, Abd al-Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿUjaymī (d. 1820); the Moroccan Tijānī scholar Ḥamdūn al-Ḥājj (d. 1857); and the Indian scholar Muḥammad al-ʿAbīd al-Sindī (d. 1841) who became the qadi and shaykh of the _ulama_ of medina.( Among the most prominent diasporic communities of African scholars was the ( , whose presence extended from Yemen to Medina to Cairo, and who included prominent figures such as the historian Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti (d. 1825) who was one of the most prominent scholars in Ottoman Egypt. Al-jabarti was also acquainted with many of his peers, including the Timbuktu scholar Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al-Tunbuktī, whom he refers to as an eminent teacher in Medina.( Al-Jabarti's father, Hasan al-Jabarti penned a glowing tribute to the Kastina mathematician Muhammad al-Kashnāwī, who was also his teacher, describing him as _**"the cynosure, the theologian, the ocean of learning, the sea of knowledge, the unparalleled, the garden of science and disciplines, the treasury of secret and witticisms”**_( The biography and works of Muhammad al-Kashnāwī are the subject of my latest Patreon article, focusing on the West African scholar's contributions to the scientific writings of Egypt. please subscribe to read about it here: ( * * * _**Chessbook of Alfonso X the Wise, fol. 22r. Spain (1283).** "The paintings in a manuscript dating from 1283 show us how realistically the people of this mixed world of Spain were depicted after the conquest. Certain Muslim noblemen are sometimes depicted dark-skinned … among the servants is one playing a harp, another is engaged in a game of chess"._ Image of the black in Western Art, Volume 2, issue 1, pg 78. **\( **\] * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Ibrahim al-Kanimi figure illustre dans les relations culturelles entre le Maroc et Bilad as-Sudan by Mohammed Ben Cherifa pp. 131-132, Arabic Literature of Africa: The writings of central Sudanic Africa Vol.2) by John Hunwick pg 17-18. ( An Ethiopian Scholar in Tridentine Rome by Matteo Salvadore pg 29-30, A Companion to religious minorities in Early Modern Rome by Matthew Coneys Wainwright pg 154-155 ( Damião de Gois by Elisabeth Feist Hirsch, pg 58, 74, 121, 148-151, 153 ( Islamic Scholarship in Africa: New Directions and Global Contexts edited by Ousmane Kane pg 33 ( A Guide to ʻAbd Al-Raḥmān Al-Jabartī's History of Egypt: ʻAjāʼib Al-āthār Fī ʼl-tarājim Waʼl-akhbār, by Abd al-Raḥmān Jabartī, Thomas Philipp, Guido Schwald pg 342-343 ( The Arabic Literature of Nigeria to 1804 by ADH Bivar pg 136

### Title: A Brief Note on the Intellectual Contributions of African Scholars in the Diaspora #### Biography of a West African Mathematician in Cairo 1. **Introduction to Ibrahim al-Kanimi** - Around 1198, Ibrahim al-Kanimi, a West African scholar from Bilma (in present-day Niger), traveled to the Almohad capital of Marrakesh, Morocco. - After gaining the audience of the sultan, he moved to Seville, Spain, where he became a renowned grammarian and poet. His contributions were noted in various Andalusian biographies of the time. 2. **Global Intellectual Exchanges** - Al-Kanimi’s career exemplifies the pattern of global intellectual exchanges involving African scholars in the diaspora. - Historical narratives often overlook these scholars' contributions to the societies that hosted them, creating an incomplete picture of Africa's role in global history. 3. **16th Century Contributions** - In the 16th century, the monastery of Santo Stefano degli Abissini near the Vatican became a center for Africanist knowledge. Scholars like Täsfa Seyon influenced notable figures such as Pope Marcellus II and Ignatius of Loyola. - Meanwhile, Sägga Zäᵓab, an Ethiopian envoy in Lisbon, critiqued the Catholic counter-reformation in his 1534 work, "The Faith of the Ethiopians," advocating for Christian unity. - This critique was well-received, particularly by scholars opposed to the counter-reformation, such as Desiderius Erasmus and Damião de Góis, who published related works. 4. **18th Century Scholars** - In the 18th century, West African scholars who visited pilgrimage cities like Mecca and Medina became influential teachers in Medina's scholarly community (ulama). - Notable scholars from this community included influential hadith teacher Abd al-Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿUjaymī, Moroccan Tijānī scholar Ḥamdūn al-Ḥājj, and Indian scholar Muḥammad al-ʿAbīd al-Sindī. 5. **Prominent Diasporic Communities** - The diasporic community of African scholars extended from Yemen to Medina and Cairo, contributing significantly to various fields of knowledge. - Renowned historian Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti, a prominent scholar in Ottoman Egypt, interacted with numerous peers, including Timbuktu scholar Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al-Tunbuktī, whom he recognized as an eminent teacher. 6. **Recognition of Muhammad al-Kashnāwī** - Al-Jabarti’s father, Hasan al-Jabarti, praised mathematician Muhammad al-Kashnāwī of Katsina, describing him as a "cynosure" in learning and knowledge. - Al-Kashnāwī’s contributions to scientific writings in Egypt are noteworthy, and his biography forms the subject of further exploration in contemporary scholarship. 7. **Visual Representation** - Historical artworks, such as a painting from the manuscript of the Chessbook of Alfonso X the Wise (1283), depict the multicultural landscape of medieval Spain, illustrating the interactions between various ethnic groups, including Muslim noblemen. 8. **Conclusion** - The intellectual contributions of African scholars in the diaspora are significant and often overlooked. Their works and influence across different regions, from Africa to Europe, reflect a rich legacy that deserves recognition in historical narratives. In summary, the scholarly activities of figures like Ibrahim al-Kanimi, Täsfa Seyon, Sägga Zäᵓab, and Muhammad al-Kashnāwī illustrate the vital role that African scholars played in shaping intellectual discourse in diverse global contexts. Their legacies continue to be a crucial part of understanding the broader scope of African history and its contributions to a collective human knowledge.

The General History of Africa - by isaac Samuel

a comprehensive look at states and societies across the continent's entire history.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The General History of Africa ============================= ### a comprehensive look at states and societies across the continent's entire history. ( Apr 07, 2024 48 African historiography has come a long way since the old days of colonial adventure writing. Following the re-discovery of countless ( across ( , many of which ( and several of which have been studied, including ( , and lesser-known documents such as those written in the ( , the ( , and ( ; We are now sufficiently informed on ( , and can combine these historical documents with the developments in African archeology and linguistics, to discredit the willful ignorance of ( and ( This article outlines a general history of Africa. It utilizes hundreds of case studies of African states and societies from nearly every part of the continent that I have previously covered in about two hundred articles over the last three years, inorder to paint a more complete picture of the entire continent’s past. \ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by joining our Patreon community, and help keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Africa from the ancient times to the classical era.** Chronologically, the story of ( begins in the Nile valley (see map below) where multiple ( as part of a fairly uniform cultural spectrum which in the 3rd millennium BC produced the earliest complex societies such as the Egyptian Old Kingdom, the Nubian A-Group culture and the kingdom of Kerma. At its height in 1650 BC, the kings who resided in the capital of Kerma controlled a vast swathe of territory that is described as ( The rulers of Kerma also forged military and commercial alliances with the civilization of Punt, which ( . In West Africa, the neolithic culture of ( as Africa’s oldest complex society outside the Nile valley, and would lay the foundations for the rise of the Ghana empire. To its south were groups of semi-sedentary populations that constructed the ( beginning around 1350 BC. The central region of west Africa in modern Nigeria was home to the ( and is renowned for its vast corpus of terracotta artworks, as well as some of the oldest evidence for the independent invention of iron smelting in Africa. In the Lake Chad basin, the Gajigana Neolithic complex emerged around 1800BC in a landscape characterized by large and nucleated fortified settlements, the biggest of which was the ( and perhaps the aethiopian auxiliaries of Carthage that invaded Sicily and Roman Italy. _**Africa’s oldest Neolithic cultures as well as sites with early archaeobotanical evidence for the spread of major African crops**_. Map by Dorian Fuller & Elisabeth Hildebrand. In the Nile valley, the geographic and ( , with Nubian mercenaries and priestesses settling in Naqada, Hierakonpolis, and Luxor, all of whom were later joined Nubian elites from Kush who settled in Thebes, Abydos, and Memphis. By the ( and the eastern Mediterranean and left a remarkable legacy in many ancient societies from the ancient Assyrians, Hebrews, and Greeks who referred to them as _**'blameless aethiopians.'**_ After Kush's withdrawal from Egypt, the kingdom continued to flourish and eventually established its capital at Meroe, which became one of the largest cities of the ancient world, ( , and the birthplace of one of Africa's oldest writing systems; the Meroitic script. The Meroitic kingdom of ( , which were a product of Nubian mortuary architecture as it evolved since the Kerma period, and are attested across various Meroitic towns and cities in both royal and non-royal cemeteries. The kingdom of ( after successfully repelling a Roman invasion, thus beginning an extensive period of ( To the east of Kush was the Aksumite empire, which occupied an important place in the history of late antiquity when ( due to its control of the lucrative trade between Rome and India, and its formidable armies which conquered parts of Arabia, Yemen and the kingdom of Kush. ( , ruled by the illustrious king Abraha who organized what is arguably the first international diplomatic conference with delegates from Rome, Persia, Aksum and their Arab vassals. _**Queen Shanakadakheto’s pyramid**_, Beg. N 11, 1st century CE, Meroe, Sudan. * * * **The African Middle Ages (500-1500 CE)** After the fall of Kush in the 4th century, the Nubian kingdom of Noubadia emerged in Lower Nubia and was ( which had seized control of Egypt and expelled the Byzantines in the 7th century. Noubadia later merged with its southern neighbor, the Nubian kingdom of Makuria, and both armies defeated another Arab invasion in 651. The ( and planned an alliance with the Crusaders. The ( expanded the pre-existing patterns of ( , such that West African auxiliaries participated in the Muslim expansion into southern Europe and the ( By the 12th century, oasis towns such as ( that were engaged in localized trade with the southern kingdom of Kanem which eventually conquered them. The empire of ( , creating one of Africa's largest polities in the Middle Ages, extending southwards as far as ( , and eastwards to the western border of the kingdom of Makuria. _**ruins of Djado in the Kawar Oasis of Niger.**_ At its height between the 10th to 13th centuries, the kingdom of ( , facilitating the movement of pilgrims and religious elites between the two regions. The Zagwe kingdom emerged in the 11th century after the decline of Aksum and is ( East of the Zagwe kingdom was the sultanate of ( . The Zagwe kingdom later fell to the ‘Solomonids’ of Ethiopia in the late 13th century who inherited the antagonist relationship between the Christian and Muslim states of North-East Africa, with one Ethiopian king sending a warning to the Egyptian sultan that; _**( **_ African Christian pilgrims from ( , where some eventually resided, while others also visited the Byzantine capital Constantinople and the ( _**Church of Beta Giyorgis in Lalibela**_ In the same period, ( , often after a temporary stay in Egypt where West African rulers such as the kings of Kanem had secured for them hostels as early as the 13th century. In many cases, these West African pilgrims were also accompanied by their kings who used the royal pilgrimage as a legitimating device and a conduit for facilitating cultural and intellectual exchanges, with the best documented ( and ( in 1324. ( of the Middle Ages, thanks not just to the famous pilgrimage of Mansa Musa, but also to one of its rulers’ ( , as well as Mali’s political and cultural influence on the neighboring societies. To the East of Mali in what is today northern Nigeria ( . Most notable among these were the cities of Kano, Katsina, Zaria, and Gobir, ( significantly contributed to the region's cultural landscape, and the ( . In the distant south-east of Mali in what is today southern Nigeria was ( , its religious primacy over the Yorubaland region of southern Nigeria, and its status as one of the earliest non-Muslim societies in west Africa to appear in external accounts of the middle ages, thanks to its interactions with the Mali empire that included the trade in glass manufactured at Ife. _**Crowned heads of bronze and terracotta**_, ca. 12th-15th century, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The sculptural art of Ife had its antecedents in the enigmatic kingdom of Nri, which flourished in the 9th century and produced a ( . The sculptural art tradition of the region would attain its height under the Benin kingdom whose artist guilds created some of ( . In the immediate periphery of Mali to its west were the old ( , some of which were under the control of Mali’s rulers. On the empire’s southern border was the ( and influenced the spread of the distinctive architecture found in the Volta basin region of modern Ghana and Ivory Coast. Straddling Mali’s eastern border was the ( were within the political and cultural orbit of Mali and its successors like Songhai. _**Ruins of Wadan**_, South eastern Mauritania On the eastern side of the continent, ( that were largely populated by diverse groups of Bantu-speakers such as the Swahili and Comorians. Cosmopolitan cities like Shanga, Kilwa, Mombasa, and Malindi mediated exchanges between the mainland and the Indian Ocean world, including the ( . The early development of a dynamic maritime culture on the East African coast enabled further expansion into the offshore islands such as the ( . This ( , where city-states like ( along its northern coastline. The movement of people and exchanges of goods along the East African coast was enabled by the ( whose _**mtepe**_ ships carried gold and other commodities as far as India and Malaysia. The gold which enriched the Swahili city-states was obtained from the kingdoms of south-eastern Arica which developed around ( . One of the largest of the Zimbabwe-style capitals was the ( that characterized the political landscape of South-Eastern Africa during this period. Further north of this region in what is now southern Somalia, ( during the 16th century reinvigorated cultural and commercial exchanges between the coastal cities such as Mogadishu, and the mainland, in a pattern of exchanges that would integrate the region into the western Indian Ocean world. _**the Valley enclosure of Great Zimbabwe**_, Zimbabwe * * * **Africa and the World during the Middle Ages.** Africans continued their exploration of the old world during the Middle Ages, traveling as far as ( between the 7th and 14th centuries. Another region of interest was the ( , where there's extensive evidence for the ( , when Swahili merchants, scholars, craftsmen, pilgrims, and other travelers appeared in both archeological and documentary records. ( where they often initiated patterns of exchange and migration between the two regions that were facilitated by merchants from various African societies including Aksum, Ethiopia, and the Swahili coast, creating a diaspora that included prominent rulers of some Indian kingdoms. _**Foreign merchants (including Aksumites in the bottom half) giving presents to the Satavahana king Bandhuma, depicted on a sculpture from Amaravati, India**_ * * * **African society during the Middle Ages: Religion, Writing, Science, Economy, Architecture, and Art.** Political and cultural developments in Africa were shaped by the evolution of its religious institutions, its innovations in science and technology, its intellectual traditions, and the growth of its economies. The ( , being a product of a gradual evolution in religious practices of societies along the middle Nile, from the cult temples and sites of ancient Kerma to the mixed Egyptian and Nubian deities of the Napatan era to the gods of the Meroitic period. The more common religion across the African Middle Ages was Islam, especially in West Africa where it was adopted in the 11th century, and ( who are associated with some of the region's oldest centers of learning like Dia and Djenne, long-distance trade in gold, and the spread of unique architectural styles. ‘Traditional’ religions continued to thrive, most notably the ( that developed in close interaction with the religious practices of neighboring societies and eventually expanded as far as Tunisia and Burkina Faso. Similar to this was the Yoruba religion of Ifa, which is among Africa's most widely attested traditional religions, and provides a window into the Yoruba’s ( and the ( _**Temple reliefs on the South wall of the Lion temple at Naqa in Sudan, showing King Natakamani, Queen Amanitore and Prince Arikankharor adoring the gods; Apedemak, Horus, Amun of Napata, Aqedise, and Amun of Kerma.**_ The intellectual networks that developed across Africa during the Middle Ages and later periods were a product of its ( , while others were established as self-sustaining communities of scholars across multiple states producing ( The biographies of several African scholars from later periods have been reconstructed along with their most notable works. Some of the most prolific African scholars include ( , and ( . On the other side of the continent, the intellectual networks in the northern Horn of Africa connected many of the region’s scholarly capitals such as Zeila, Ifat, Harar, Berbera with other scholarly communities in the Hejaz, Yemen, and Egypt, where ( . Along the east African coast, ( , almost all of which were written in the Swahili language rather than Arabic. Some of Africa’s most prominent scholars had a significant influence beyond the continent. Ethiopian scholars such as Sägga Zäᵓab and Täsfa Sәyon who visited and settled in the cities of Lisbon and Rome during the 16th century engaged in intellectual exchanges, and ( The writings of West African scholars such as the 18th-century theologian, ( . _**copy of the 19th century ‘Utendi wa Herekali’, of Bwana Mwengo of Pate, Kenya,**_ now at ( . The growth of African states and economies was sustained by ( everything from metallurgy and glass manufacture to roadbuilding and shipbuilding, to intensive farming and water management, to construction, waste management, and textile making, to the composition of scientific manuscripts on medicine, astronomy, mathematics, and Geography. Africa was home to what is arguably ( . It contains mathematical equations inscribed in cursive Meroitic and drawings of astronomers using equipment to observe the movement of celestial bodies, which was important in timing festivals in Nubia. While popular mysteries of Dogon astronomy relating to the Sirius binary star system were based on a misreading of ( . A significant proportion of the scientific manuscripts from Africa were ( , especially in ( _**18th-century astronomical manuscript from Timbuktu showing the rotation of the planets**_ Besides manuscripts on the sciences, religion, philosophy, and poetry, Africans also wrote about music and produced painted art. ( and instruments that ( . Additionally, they also created an ( , being utilized in everything from royal inscriptions to medieval chronicles to the calculation of the Easter computus. African art was rendered in various mediums, some of the most notable include ( , as well as the ( . Contrary to common misconception, the history of wheeled transport and road building in Africa reflected broader trends across the rest of the world, with ( , while others such as ( Regional and long-distance trade flourished during the African Middle Ages and later periods. In West Africa, trade was enabled by the ( , that could ferry goods and passengers across 90% of the river's length Some of the best documented industries in Africa's economic history concern ( , and played a decisive role in the emergence of early industries on the continent. One of the regions best known for the production of high-quality textiles was the ( , some of which ended up in prestigious collections across the western world. _**Kongo luxury cloth: cushion cover, 17th-18th century**_, Polo Museale del Lazio, Museo Preistorico Etnografico Luigi Pigorini Roma The expansion of states and trade across most parts of the continent during the Middle Ages enabled the ( Some of the African cities whose history is well documented include the ( , the ( , the ( , the ( , the Hausa ( , the ( , the Swahili cities of; ( , ( , ( , and ( , and lastly, the Ethiopian capital of ( The growth of cities, trade, and the expansion of states was enabled not just by the organization and control of people but also by the control of land, as various ( The cities and hinterlands of Africa feature a ( , some of the best-known of which include the castles of Gondar, the Nubian temples of Kerma and Meroe, the Swahili palaces and fortresses, the West African mosques and houses, as well as the stone palaces of Great Zimbabwe. Some of the best-studied ( , whose constructions include; large palace complexes, walled compounds, double-story structures with vaulted roofs, and intricately decorated facades. _**Ruins of the Husuni Kubwa Palace**_, Kilwa, Tanzania * * * **Africa during the early modern era (1500-1800)** The early modern period in African history continues many of the developments of the Middle Ages, as older states expanded and newer states appear in the documentary record both in internal sources and in external accounts. While Africa had for long initiated contact with the rest of the Old World, the arrival of Europeans along its coast began a period of mutual discovery, exchanges, and occasional conflicts. Early invasions by the ( . Over the succeeding period, African military strength managed to hold the Europeans at bay and dictate the terms of interactions, ( . The ( . This strength was attained through combining several innovations including the rapid adoption of new weapons, and ( ( also played an important role in the evolution of the military system in parts of the continent during the early modern era, including the ( to handle them. Bornu's diplomatic overtures to Istanbul and Morroco, and its powerful army enabled it to avoid the fate of ( But the Moroccans failed to take over Songhai's vassals, thus enabling ( . In the northern Horn of Africa, Ethiopia was briefly conquered by the neighboring empire of Adal which was supported by the Ottomans, but the ( In Central Africa the coastal ( . _Dutch delegation at the court of the King of Kongo_, 1641, in Olfert Dapper, Naukeurige beschrijvinge van den Afrikaensche gewesten (Amsterdam, 1668) The ( . The ( , which allows us to reconstruct the kingdom's history as told by its own people. While Kongo crushed a major Portuguese invasion in 1622 and 1670, the kingdom became fragmented but was later ( , in ( . Another kingdom whose ( , which, despite its reputation as a 'black Sparta', was neither singularly important in the Atlantic world nor dependent on it. It’s important to note that the ( . However, the corpus of ( indicates a localized influence in some regions during specific periods. It is also important to note that ( , including in ( . To the east of Dahomey was the ( and was for some time the suzerain of Dahomey. West of these was the Gold Coast region of modern Ghana, that was dominated by the kingdom of Asante, which reached its height in the 18th and 19th centuries, ( . On the eastern side of the continent, the ( , as well as a reorientation of trade and travel, before the Portuguese were expelled by 1698. In south-east Africa, the kingdom of ( In south-western Africa, the ancient communities of ( , but the repeated threat of Dutch expansion prompted shifts in ( , as well as towns such as ( . In central Africa, the rise of the ( , and the lucrative trade in copper and ivory the Lunda controlled attracted Ovimbundu and Swahili traders who undertook the first recorded journeys across the region. Increased connectivity in Central Africa did not offer any advantages to the European colonists of the time, as the ( _**ruins of Naletale,**_ Zimbabwe In the far west of Rozvi was the kingdom of Ndongo and Matamba whose famous ( . * * * **Africa and the World during the early modern period.** ( during the early modern period. ( , some of whose envoys also visited Rome. By the 17th century, African travelers had extended their exploration to the region of western Europe, with several ( . Africans from the Sudanic ( often as envoys and scholars. While in eastern Africa, merchants, envoys, sailors, and royals ( , expanding on pre-existing links mentioned earlier, with some settling and attaining powerful positions as priests. The ( eventually ( _**detail of a 17th-century Japanese painting, showing an African figure watching a group of Europeans, south-Asians and Africans unloading merchandise**_. ( Internal exploration across the continent continued, ( where the ( The emergence of the ( as well as the kingdoms of Darfur and Funj in modern Sudan enabled the creation of new routes from West Africa, which facilitated regular ( . Along the Atlantic coast, ( * * * **Africa in the late modern period (18th to 19th centuries)** Safe from the threat of external invasion, the states and societies of Africa continued to flourish. In the Comoro Archipelago along the East African coast, ( . While ( didn't lead to the establishment of the mythical egalitarian ( , whose ruler's shifting alliances with the rulers of Nzwani initiated ( , before the ( subsumed it. In Central Africa, the 17th and 18th centuries were the height of the ( . In the far east of Loango was ( , and south of Kuba was the Luba kingdom, where sculptural artworks like the ( . In the eastern part of Central Africa, the Great Lakes region was home to several old kingdoms such as Bunyoro, Rwanda, and Nkore, in a highly competitive political landscape which in the 19th century was dominated by ( , that would play an important role in the region’s contacts and exchanges with the East African coast. In southern Africa, the old heterarchical societies such as ( built as early as the 16th century were gradually subsumed under ( that culminated in the so-called mfecane which gave rise to ( _**Bokoni ruins. a dense settlement near machadodorp, South Africa showing circular homes, interconnecting roads, and terracing.**_ In West Africa, the period between 1770 and 1840 was also a time of revolution, that led to the formation of large 'reformist' states such as ( and the ( , although other states survived such as the ( . The 'reformist' rulers drew their legitimacy in part from reconstructing local histories such as ( . Similarly in Sokoto, the empire’s founders and rulers such as Abdullahi Dan Fodio and Muhammad Bello ( contributing to the so-called ‘foreign origin’ hypothesis that would be exaggerated by European colonialsts. The 19th century in particular was one of the best documented periods of Africa’s economic history, especially for societies along the coast which participated in the commodities boom. In the Merina kingdom of Madagascar, an ambitious attempt at ( In Southern Somalia, the ( , just as the old kingdom of ( to the Red Sea region and India, while the ( to the red sea region. In East Africa, the emergence of Zanzibar as a major commercial entrepot greatly expanded pre-existing trade routes fueled by the ( as far as modern D.R.Congo _**Mombasa**_, Kenya, ca. 1890, Northwestern University In West-Central Africa, ( in contrast to the neighboring regions which were coming under colonial rule. In West Africa, participants in the commodities boom of the period included ( . * * * **Africa and the World during the late modern period.** The 19th century was the height of ( . African travelers produced detailed first-hand accounts of their journeys, such as the travel account of the ( , As well as ( The 19th century was also the age of imperialism, and the dramatic change in Africa's perception of Europeans can be seen in ( . _**Ivory box with two Portuguese figures fighting beside a tethered pangolin, Benin city**_, 19th century, Penn museum * * * **From Colonialism to Independence.** African states often responded to colonial threats by putting up stiff resistance, just like they had in the past. Powerful kingdoms such as the ( , the Wasulu empire of ( , the ( , while the ( . Some states such as the ( , while others such as the ( . But ultimately, only Ethiopia and Liberia succeeded in retaining their autonomy. After half a century of colonial rule that was marked by fierce resistance in many colonies and brutal independence wars in at least six countries (Angola, Algeria, Mozambique, Guinea, Zimbabwe, and Namibia), African states regained their independence and marked the start of a new period in the continent's modern history. * * * **Conclusion** Those looking for shortcuts and generalist models to explain the history of Africa will be disappointed to find that the are no one-size-fits-all theories that can comprehensively cover the sheer diversity of African societies.

# The General History of Africa - by Isaac Samuel ## Overview - **Objective**: To provide a comprehensive look at states and societies across Africa’s extensive history. - **Context**: African historiography has evolved from colonial adventure narratives to a more nuanced understanding that incorporates various historical and archaeological sources. ## Ancient Africa (3rd Millennium BC - 500 CE) 1. **Nile Valley Civilizations**: - **Egyptian Old Kingdom**: Formed as one of the earliest complex societies. - **Nubian Cultures**: Included the A-Group culture and the Kingdom of Kerma, which controlled significant territories by 1650 BC and had alliances with Punt. 2. **West African Early Societies**: - **Neolithic Culture**: Recognized as Africa’s oldest complex society outside the Nile, laying the foundations for the Ghana Empire. - **Terracotta Art**: The central region of Nigeria produced significant terracotta artworks and is notable for early iron smelting evidence. 3. **Kerma and Kush**: - **Kingdom of Kush**: Rose after Kush's withdrawal from Egypt, establishing Meroe as a major cultural center with one of Africa's earliest writing systems, the Meroitic script. 4. **Aksumite Empire**: - Controlled trade between Rome and India and engaged in military conquests in the surrounding regions. ## The African Middle Ages (500 - 1500 CE) 1. **Rise of Noubadia and Makuria**: - Emerged after Kush's fall; these kingdoms successfully resisted Arab invasions and had significant military alliances. 2. **West African Empires**: - Participation of West African auxiliaries in the Muslim expansion into Europe. - Establishment of the Kanem Empire, which became a powerful entity by the 12th century. 3. **Cultural exchanges**: - Travels by West African pilgrims facilitated cultural and intellectual exchanges with regions such as Mecca. 4. **Ethiopian Kingdom**: - The Zagwe kingdom's rise and later conquest by the Solomonids, highlighting the religious tensions between Christian and Muslim states. 5. **East African Coast**: - Swahili city-states like Kilwa engaged in trade and established connections as far as India and Malaysia. ## Africa and the World during the Middle Ages 1. **Exploration and Exchange**: - Africans explored vast regions, establishing trade connections across Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and beyond. 2. **Cultural Development**: - The development of religious institutions and intellectual networks was prominent, with notable scholars emerging from various regions. ## Early Modern Era (1500 - 1800) 1. **European Arrival**: - The arrival of Europeans along the African coast initiated complex interactions characterized by both trade and conflict. 2. **Military Adaptations**: - African states adapted by incorporating new military technologies and maintained military strength against European advances. 3. **Regional dynamics**: - The emergence of new kingdoms and the consolidation of power in existing states marked this period, with significant trade routes developing. ## Late Modern Period (18th - 19th centuries) 1. **Flourishing States**: - Many African states continued to thrive despite external pressures, with significant developments in trade and diplomacy. 2. **Resistance to Colonialism**: - Various kingdoms mounted resistance against colonial incursions, with only a few like Ethiopia and Liberia retaining independence. 3. **Imperialism**: - The narrative of Africa changed dramatically during the 19th century due to imperialist expansion, though African travelers documented their experiences and engagements. ## Conclusion - The complexity and diversity of African societies defy simplified narratives. Comprehensive understanding emerges from a careful examination of each state and society's unique historical context and contributions.

Anti-slavery laws and Abolitionist thought in pre-colonial Africa

the view from Benin, Kongo, Songhai and Ethiopia.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Anti-slavery laws and Abolitionist thought in pre-colonial Africa ================================================================= ### the view from Benin, Kongo, Songhai and Ethiopia. ( Mar 31, 2024 35 In 1516, the King of Benin imposed a ban on the exportation of slaves from his kingdom. While little is known about the original purpose of this embargo, its continued enforcement for over two centuries during the height of the Atlantic slave trade reveals the extent of anti-slavery laws in Africa.( A lot has been written about the European abolitionist movement in the 19th century, but there's relatively less literature outlining the gradual process in which anti-slavery laws evolved in response to new forms of slavery between the Middle Ages and the early modern period. For example, while many European states had anti-slavery laws during the Middle Ages( , the use and trade in slaves (mostly non-Christian slaves but also Orthodox Christian slaves continued to flourish, and the later influx of enslaved Africans in Europe after the 1500s( reveals that the protections provided under such laws didn't extend to all groups of people. The first modern philosopher to argue for the complete abolition of slavery in Europe was Wilheim Amo —born in the Gold Coast (Ghana)— who in 1729 defended his law thesis _**‘On the Rights of Moors in Europe’**_ using pre-existing Roman anti-slavery laws to argue that protections against enslavement also extended to Africans( . Amo's thesis, which can be considered the first of its kind in modern abolitionist thought, would be followed up by better-known abolitionist writers such as Ignatius Sancho, Olaudah Equiano, and William Wilberforce.( **Portrait of Sancho, ca. 1768.** The fact that the first and most prominent abolitionist thinkers in Europe were Africans should not be surprising given that it was they who were excluded from the anti-slavery laws of the time. However, such abolitionist thought would largely remain on paper unless enforced by the state. Official abolition of all forms of slavery that was begun by Haiti in 1807, followed by Britain in 1833 and other states decades later, often didn't mark the end of the institution's existence. Despite abolition serving as a powerful pretext to justify the colonial invasion of Africa, slavery continued in many colonies well into the 20th century.( Abolition should therefore be seen as a gradual process in which anti-slavery laws that were initially confined to the subjects/citizens of a society/state were extended to everyone. Additionally, the efficacy of the anti-slavery laws was dependent on the capacity of the state to enforce them. And just as anti-slavery laws in European states were mostly concerned with their citizens, the anti-slavery laws in African states were made to protect their citizens. In the well-documented case of the kingdom of Kongo, ( . During the 1580s and the 1620s, thousands of illegally enslaved Kongo citizens were carefully tracked down and repatriated from Brazil in response to demands by the Kongo King Alvaro I (r. 1568-1587) and King Pedro II (r. 1622-1624). Kongo's anti-slavery laws were well-known by most citizens, in one case, a Kongo envoy who had stopped by Brazil on his way to Rome managed to free a person from Kongo who had been illegally enslaved.( Anti-slavery laws at times extended beyond states to include co-religionists. In Europe, anti-slavery laws protected Christians from enslavement by co-religionists and export to non-Christians, despite such laws not always being followed in practice.( Similarly in Africa, Muslim states often instituted anti-slavery laws against the enslavement of Muslims. ( (again, despite such laws not always being followed in practice.) The protection of African Muslims against enslavement was best articulated in the 17th-century treatise of the Timbuktu scholar Ahmad Baba titled _Miraj al-Suud ila nayl Majlub al-Sudan_ (The Ladder of Ascent in Obtaining the Procurements of the Sudan). Court records from Ottoman Egypt during the 19th century include accounts of several illegally enslaved African Muslims who successfully sued for their freedom, often with the help of other African Muslims who were visiting Cairo.( Copy of _**Ahmad Baba’s treatise on slavery**_, Library of Congress( African Muslim sovereigns such as the kings of Bornu not only went to great lengths to ensure that their citizens were not illegally enslaved, but also demanded that their neighbors repatriate any enslaved citizens of Bornu( . Additionally, the political revolutions that swept 19th-century West Africa justified their overthrow of the pre-existing authorities based on the pretext that the latter sold freeborn Muslims to (European) Christians. After the ‘revolutionaries’ seized power, there was a marked decrease in slave exports from the regions they controlled.( The evolution of anti-slavery laws and abolitionist thought in Africa was therefore determined by the state and the religion, just like in pre-19th century Europe before such protections were later extended to all. In Ethiopia, anti-slavery laws and abolitionist thought followed a similar trajectory, especially during the 16th and 17th centuries. Pre-existing laws banning the enslavement and trade of Ethiopian citizens were expanded, and philosophers called for the recognition of all people as equal regardless of their origin. The anti-slavery laws and abolitionist philosophy of Ethiopia during the 16th and 17th centuries are the subject of my latest Patreon article; Please **subscribe to read more about it here**: ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Benin and the Europeans, 1485-1897 by A. F. C. Ryde pg 45, 65, 67, The Slave Trade, Depopulation and Human Sacrifice in Benin History by James D. Graham, A Critique Of The Contributions Of Old Benin Empire To The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade by Ebiuwa Aisien pg 10-12 ( The Cambridge World History of Slavery: Volume 2 pg 30-35) ( That Most Precious Merchandise: The Mediterranean Trade in Black Sea Slaves, 1260-1500 by Hannah Barker pg 12-38, The Cambridge World History of Slavery: Volume 2 pg 433-438, 466-470, 482-506) ( A Social History of Black Slaves and Freedmen in Portugal, 1441-1555 By A. Saunders pg 35-45 ( Belonging in Europe - The African Diaspora and Work edited by Caroline Bressey, Hakim Adi pg 40-41, Anton Wilhelm Amo's Philosophical Dissertations on Mind and Body pg 10-12 ( The Slave's Cause: A History of Abolition By Manisha Sinha pg 25-26, 123-126, Slavery and Race: Philosophical Debates in the Eighteenth Century By Julia Jorati 187-192, 267. ( The End of Slavery in Africa By Suzanne Miers 7-25 ( Abolitionism and Imperialism in Britain, Africa, and the Atlantic edited by Derek R. Peterson pg 38-53, Slavery and its transformation in the kingdom of kongo by L.M.Heywood, pg 7, A reinterpretation of the kongo-potuguese war of 1622 according to new documentary evidence by J.K.Thornton, pg 241-243 ( That Most Precious Merchandise: The Mediterranean Trade in Black Sea Slaves, 1260-1500 by Hannah Barker pg 39-55 ( Slaves and Slavery in Africa Volume 1 edited by John Ralph Willis pg 3-7) ( Slaves and Slavery in Africa Volume 1 edited by John Ralph Willis pg 125-137, Slaves and Slavery in Africa: Volume Two: The Servile Estate By John Ralph Willis pg 146-149) ( ( ( The Cambridge World History of Slavery: Volume 3 pg 66-67) ( Jihād in West Africa During the Age of Revolutions by Paul E. Lovejoy.

### Anti-slavery Laws and Abolitionist Thought in Pre-colonial Africa: Perspectives from Benin, Kongo, Songhai, and Ethiopia #### Introduction - In pre-colonial Africa, several states implemented anti-slavery laws and developed abolitionist thought, responding to the complexities of slavery within their societies. - This examination focuses on the kingdoms of Benin, Kongo, Songhai, and Ethiopia. #### Anti-slavery Laws in Benin 1. **Ban on Slave Exportation (1516)**: - The King of Benin enacted a prohibition against the exportation of slaves from his kingdom in 1516. - This ban was maintained for over 200 years, illustrating a strong stance against the Atlantic slave trade. 2. **Context of European Abolitionism**: - While European abolitionist movements gained traction in the 19th century, Africa had its own historical context of anti-slavery legislation. - Many European states had anti-slavery laws during the Middle Ages; however, they often did not extend protections to all groups, notably non-Christian individuals. #### Philosophical Developments 3. **Wilhelm Amo (1729)**: - Amo, born in the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana), argued for the abolition of slavery using Roman anti-slavery laws in his thesis "On the Rights of Moors in Europe." - His work laid foundational ideas that influenced later abolitionists such as Ignatius Sancho and Olaudah Equiano. #### The Kingdom of Kongo 4. **Enforcement of Anti-slavery Laws**: - In Kongo, anti-slavery laws were actively enforced, especially during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. - Kings Alvaro I and Pedro II sought the repatriation of illegally enslaved individuals from Brazil, showcasing the kingdom's commitment to protecting its citizens. 5. **Community Involvement**: - Citizens in Kongo were aware of the anti-slavery laws; for example, a Kongo envoy managed to free an enslaved compatriot during a visit to Brazil. #### Islamic Context in West Africa 6. **Anti-slavery in Muslim States**: - In various Muslim states, anti-slavery laws were enacted to protect Muslims from enslavement, even if these laws were not consistently enforced. - Ahmad Baba of Timbuktu articulated these protections in the 17th century through his treatise, emphasizing the rights of African Muslims. 7. **Political Context**: - The revolutionary movements in 19th-century West Africa leveraged anti-slavery rhetoric to justify the overthrow of rulers who sold free Muslims into slavery. #### Ethiopia's Stance 8. **Ethiopian Anti-slavery Laws**: - In Ethiopia, the evolution of anti-slavery legislation followed a path similar to that in Kongo, particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries. - Philosophers in Ethiopia advocated for equal rights regardless of origin, expanding the scope of anti-slavery laws. #### Conclusion - The anti-slavery laws and abolitionist thought in pre-colonial Africa were shaped by local contexts, religious beliefs, and political dynamics. - The gradual nature of these laws indicates an evolving understanding of human rights and citizenship beyond mere protection of specific groups within societies. - Overall, these historical developments illustrate the complexity and agency of African states in addressing slavery long before European interventions.

The complete history of Brava (Barawa) ca. 1000-1900: a Swahili enclave in southern Somalia

Journal of African cities: chapter 11

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The complete history of Brava (Barawa) ca. 1000-1900: a Swahili enclave in southern Somalia =========================================================================================== ### Journal of African cities: chapter 11 ( Mar 24, 2024 17 Tucked along the southern coast of Somalia, the old city of Brava preserves the remains of a once bustling cosmopolitan enclave whose influence features prominently in the history of the East African coast. Located more than 500 km north of the Swahili heartland, Brava retained a unique urban society whose language, architecture and culture distinguished it from its immediate hinterland. Its inhabitants spoke a dialect of Swahili called Chimiini, and organised themselves in an oligarchic republic typical of other Swahili cities. They cultivated commercial and political ties with societies across the Indian ocean world and the African mainland, mediating exchanges between disparate communities along the Swahili coast. This article explores the history of Brava and examines its place in the Swahili world between the 11th and 19th century. * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **The early history of Brava until the 15th century.** Archeological and Linguistic evidence for the early history of Brava indicates that it was part of the broader cultural developments occurring in the iron-age communities of the East African coast during the 1st millennium. These coastal settlements developed a distinct culture marked by mixed farming, commercial ties with the Indian Ocean and African interior, a gradual conversion to Islam, and a common material culture epitomized by local ceramics. Discoveries of '_kwale_'-type wares in the ruins of a rubble and lime house just outside Brava, indicate links with settlements further south in East Africa that are dated to the 3rd-5th century. More archeological surveys in Brava uncovered imported glazed pottery from the 9th century as well as a funerary inscription dated to 1104 and a mosque inscription dated to 1398, making Brava contemporaneous with the early settlements at Pate, Kilwa, Shanga, and Unguja Ukuu.( Such material culture characterizes the oldest settlements of the Sabaki-speakers of the Bantu-language family such as the Swahili, kiBajuni, and Comorian languages, thus indicating their presence in Brava and southern Somalia at the turn of the 2nd millennium. But as a consequence of its relative isolation from other Swahili centers, the Chimiini language also contains “archaic” Swahili vocabulary that was lost in other dialects, and it also includes some loan words from the Tunni-Somali language. ( Documentary evidence of Brava begins in the 12th century, with Al-Idrisi's description of the east African coast that includes a brief mention of the town of ‘Barua’ or ‘Maruwa’ which is usually identified as Barawa.( He describes it as _**“the last in the land of the infidels, who have no religious creed but take standing stones, anoint them with fish oil and bow down before them.”**_ Considering the discovery of Islamic inscriptions from a mosque at Brava that are dated to 1105, and the fact that Al-Idrisi never visited the city, this description likely refers to the mixed society characteristic of Swahili cities in which traditional religions and practices continued to exist alongside Islam( . _**Mosque with well outside the walls in Brava**_, ca. 1889, archivio fotografico -Italy. _**Mosque in the interior of Brava**_, ca. 1889, archivio fotografico * * * ( * * * A more detailed description of Brava is provided in Yemeni sources of the Rasulid era in the 14th century, where one Qadi describes Barāwa (Brava) as a "small locality" near Mogadishu, adding that _**“There is an anchorage sought by boats from India and from each small city of Sawāḥil,”**_ making Brava an important stop-point for the Swahili's transshipment trade directed towards Yemeni city of Aden.( The importance of Brava in the Swahili world is corroborated by its mention in the 16th century Chronicle of Kilwa as one of the first cities to emerge along the coast, as well as its later ‘conquest’ by the city of Pate in the 14th century, which is mentioned in the Pate chronicle.( While Brava wasn’t one of the ( , the city was visited during three of the voyages of Zheng He, a 15th century Ming-dynasty official. The two exchanged envoys during the time between his third and seventh voyages (1409-1433), with Zheng He being offered camels and ostriches as ‘tribute’. The latter’s companion, Fei Xin, described the people of Brava as honest.( A later Portuguese account from the mid-16th century describes Brava as _**"well walled, and built of good houses of stone and whitewash"**_. Adding that Brava didn't have a king but was instead ruled as an Oligarchic republic, _**"governed by its elders, they being honoured and respectable persons."**_ This is a similar structure to other Swahili cities like Lamu, Mombasa, Tumbatu, and the island of Ngazidja that were governed by a council of patricians (_waungwana_). Brava had been sacked by the Portuguese in 1506, and those who escaped _**"fled into the country"**_ only returning after the Portuguese had left.( _**Terraces in Brava**_, ca. 1891, archivio fotografico _**end of Brava’s city wall at the beach**_, ca. 1891, archivio fotografico * * * * * * **Brava from the 16th to the 18th century** From their base in Malindi, and later at Mombasa, the Portuguese gradually brought parts of the Swahili coast under their control, but Brava remained mostly independent, despite briefly pledging allegiance in 1529.( Near the end of the century, Oromo-speakers arrived in parts of Southern Somalia and northern Kenya, compelling some of Brava's hinterland partners such as the Majikenda, to move southwards. This disruption didn’t alter pre-existing patterns of trade, but reinvigorated the ivory trade between the mainland and the coast.( At the turn of the 17th century, the city of Pate in the Lamu archipelago emerged as a most powerful Swahili city, rivaling the Portuguese at Mombasa and bringing Brava into its political orbit. This was partly enabled by Pate's development of trade routes into Yemen and the Hejaz, as well as the arrival and acculturation of individual families of Hadrami-Sharifs, and Hatimi, these were merchant-scholars who counterbalanced Portuguese influence.( Portuguese accounts of the 17th and 18th centuries often differentiated between the "Mouros da terra" (the native Muslims, ie; Swahili) and the "Mouros de Arabia" (Arab Muslims), often identifying them by the differences in language but attimes by skin color.( Dutch and French accounts of the 18th century used the word ‘Moor’ to refer to speakers of the language of the coast (Swahili) as well as the recently arrived immigrants from southern Arabia and the Hejaz, in contrast to the 'Arabs' who were from Oman.( However, local constructions of identities in Brava were likely far more complex, as in the urban settlements on the Swahili coast. All immigrant groups —whether they were from the sea, the coast, or the mainland— were often acculturated into the more dominant Swahili-speaking society through matrimonial alliances, knowledge of the Chimiini dialect, and identifying themselves with individual localities, lineages, and cities, even as they retained prestigious claims of foreign ancestry.( For example, the chronicle of Pate chronicle mentions a section of Brava's residents called waBarawa (people from Barawa) some of whom traced their origins to the Hatimi, who apparently originated from Andalusia (Spain), before they settled in Pate during the reign of its king Bwana Mkuu (1586-1601) and are said to have “brought many goods” with them.( In Brava, These Hatimi married into established local families and began to speak Chimiini as their first language, and some sections of this mixed Bravanese population (attimes called Haramani/Aramani) then migrated further south to the city of Kunduchi, to Mafia Island and to the Mrima coast opposite Zanzibar where they left inscriptions with the _nisba_ (a name indicating a place of origin) of _**al-Barawi**_. Some also adopted the _**al-Shirazi**_ nisba common among the elite families of the region at Kilwa and Zanzibar in a pattern of population movements and intermarriage characteristic of the Swahili world.( _**Inscribed grave and pillar tomb in the ruined city of Kunduchi, Tanzania**_ * * * ( * * * A report by the Pate sultan to the Portuguese viceroy in 1729 mentions that merchants from Pate sold most of the white and black _dhoti_ (a type of Indian and Local cloth) in Brava in exchange for ivory brought over from the interior by the Oromo. Adding that ships sailed directly from Surat (India) to Brava to avoid Omani-Arab interference further south.( During the same period, envoys from Barawa arrived in Pate to offer the vassalage of their town, hoping for protection from the Oromo.( Pate had developed a substantial trade with the Indian cities under Portuguese control such as Surat, and the _**"shipowners of Barawe"**_ reportedly financed each army with a local ship loaded with ivory for Surat.( In 1744 Brava and other Swahili cities refused to recognize the sultan of Oman, Ahmed bin Said, who claimed to be suzerain of the Swahili cities after his predecessors had expelled the Portuguese. His brother, Saif, later traveled to the Swahili coast to collect the support of Brava, among other cities, which _**"appear to have submitted to him"**_ although this was temporary.( In 1770, Brava hosted a deposed Pate sultan named Umar who led a rebellion against the reigning Queen Mwana Khadija.( In 1776, a Dutch visitor accompanied by his Comorian interpreter and other Swahili pilots stayed two months in Brava. The Comorian described Brava as _**"the last safe anchorage"**_ before Mecca and that all the ships that went from Zanzibar and Pate to Mecca and Surat anchored at Brava. Brava was "ruled" by a 'duke' named Tjehamadi who exchanged gifts with the Dutch, and said that he was on _**"friendly footing**_ _**with the King of Pate”**_. Tjehamadi also warned the Dutch that Pate’s king had received information from Mogadishu about a European shipwreck off the coast of Mogadishu, whose entire crew was killed and its goods were taken. The Swahili pilots had also warned the Dutch to avoid Mogadishu, which they said was inhabited by _**"Arabs and a gathering of evil natives"**_ and that no Moorish or European ships went there.( In the later years, Barawa is mentioned in the account of a French trader Morice, along with other Swahili cities, as an independent kingdom governed by Moors (native Muslims) who had expelled the Arabs (Omanis). During his stay on the Swahili coast from 1776-1784, he observed that there were four small anchorages for small ships along the coastline between Pate and Brava, which were controlled by a group who _**"do not allow even the Moors or the Arabs to go to them, although they themselves come to Zanzibar."**_ He describes this group as different from the Swahili, Arabs, and the people of the East African mainland, indicating that they were Somali.( _**Old structure near the beach at Brava**_, ca. 1899, archivio fotografico. This could be a mosque, studies at Kilwa and Songo Mnara indicate that such Mosques near the coast would have aided navigation.( _**an isolated tower near Brava**_, ca. 1899, archivio fotografico. This tower was built about 3km from the shore, possibly by the Portuguese, most European visitors complained about Brava’s surf-battered beaches which prevented large ships from approaching it directly * * * * * * **Brava in the 19th century** The above descriptions of Brava's hinterland by the Dutch and French traders likely refer to the ascendancy of the Tunni clan of the Somali-speaking groups who became important in the Brava’s social landscape and politics during the 19th century, further accentuating Brava's cosmopolitan character. The different communities in Brava, which appear in the city's internal records between 1893-1900, included not just the Baravanese-Swahili (known as the Bida/Barawi) and the Hatimi, (these first two groups called themselves ‘_**waungwana’**_ and _**“Waantu wa Miini”**_ ie: people of Brava), but also the Tunni-Somali (about 2,000 of the total city population of 4-5,000). Added to this were a few families of Sharifs and later immigrants such as Hadramis and Baluchis, as well as itinerant European and Indian merchants. All groups gradually achieved a remarkable balance of power and a community of interests that led to a sustained peaceful coexistence.( While the city is of considerable antiquity, many of its surviving buildings in the old town appear to have been constructed during the early 19th century ontop of older ruins. The older town, often comprising two-story houses built with coral stone and rag, with lime-plastered walls, decorated niches, and carved doors, is bounded by the Jaama mosque on the sea, the Sarmaadi mosque to the southeast, and the Abu Bah Sissiq mosque to the northeast.( An early 19th-century account by a visiting British naval officer indicates that Brava remained in the political orbit of Pate despite the latter’s decline.( However, the city itself was still governed by a council of elders who in the late 19th century numbered 7 councilors, of whom five were now Tunni, while the other two were Barawi and Hatimi, reflecting the city's military dependence on the Tunni-Somali for defense against neighboring groups.( Brava was one of the major outlets for ivory, aromatic woods, gum, and myrrh and was a destination for captives that were brought overland from Luqq/Lugh and across the sea from the Mrima coast.( The city exported hides to American and German traders at sea, and had a lively real-estate market with the _**waungwana**_ selling and buying land and houses in the city. The city's business was mostly handled by the Barawi, Hatimi, and the Sharifs, while the sailors who carried Brava’s goods to Zanzibar and elsewhere were mostly Bajuni (another Bantu-speaking group related to the Swahili) and Omani-Arabs. ( _**Exterior and interior of two houses belonging to wealthy figures in Brava**_. photos from 1891, and 1985. * * * ( * * * Brava, like many of the East African coastal cities, later came to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Oman sultan at Muscat and Zanzibar, and the sultan sent a governor to the city in 1837. However, his authority was mostly nominal, especially in southern Somalia, where the Geledi sultan Yusuf was said to be in control over much of the hinterland just ten years later. In practice, effective authority within the city remained with the elders of Brava who switched their vassalage depending on the region’s political landscape.( In 1846, a French visitor found that the Zanzibar-appointed governor of Brava was a Tunni named Haji Awisa, who was wearing _**“le costume des Souahhéli de distinction”**_ (the costume of a Swahili of distinction). His son Sheikh Faqi was chosen by the council to be the spokesperson of Brava in Zanzibar, while the leader of the Tunni confederation; Haji Abdio bin Shego Hassan played an important role in the city's politics, and his sons purchased houses in the city, although some of Brava’s Tunni elites sold these properties during the local economic depression of the late 19th-century caused by the rinderpest epidemic that was introduced by the Italians.( Brava became a major center of Sufi scholarship in southern Somalia, closely linked with the scholarly community of Zanzibar, the Hejaz and Yemen. It produced prominent scholars like Muhyi ad-Din (1794-1869), Uways al-Barawi (1806-1909), Qassim al-Barawi (1878–1922) , Abdu’l-Aziz al-Amawy (1834-96), Nur Haji Abdulkadir (1881–1959), and the renowned woman-scholar Dada Masiti (c.1820–1919). Many of Brava’s scholars traveled widely and were influential across East Africa, some became prominent qadis in Lamu, Mombasa and Zanzibar, where they continued to write works in Chimiini, and the local Swahili dialects as well as Arabic.( Many of Brava's manuscripts (mostly poems) were written in both Arabic and the Bantu-language of Chimiini, not just by the Bravanese-Swahili who spoke it as their first language, but also by resident Tunni scholars who used it as their second language. Such include; Uways al-Barawi —who besides composing poems in Chimiini and Arabic, also devised a system of writing the Somali language in Arabic script— and Nur Haji Abdulkadir —who was one of the most prolific writers of religious poetry in Chimiini.( In the late 19th century, Barava's scholars who followed the Qadiriyya _tariqa_ produced didactic and didascalic poetry in Chimiini, in response to the intrusion of more fundamentalist schools from Arabia and European colonialists. The poetry was part of an intellectual movement and served as an anti-colonial strategy in Brava, contrasting with the inhabitants of Merca who chose to fight the Italians, and those of Mogadishu, who chose to leave the city. It also reaffirmed Qadiriyya religious practices, encouraged the rapid spread of Islam among the non-_**waungwana**_ and linked Brava's scholarly community closer with Zanzibar's scholars.( While external visitors often remarked that Swahili scholars preferred to write in Swahili rather than Arabic, which they read but didn't often write, Brava’s scholars were noted for their proficiency in writing both languages. The Brava-born scholar (and later Mombasa qadi) Muhyi al-Din was in the 1840s commissioned by the German visitor Johann Ludwig Krapf to translate the first book of Moses from Arabic to Swahili. He also served at the courts of the Omani sultan of Zanzibar as a mediator between the established elites and the Omanis.( folios from two 19th century manuscripts written in Chimiini by Qassim b. Muhyi al-Din al-Barawi (1878–1922). First is _**Nakaanza khṯuunga marjaani**_ (I start stringing coral beads). second is _**Hamziyyah, Jisi gani khpaandra mitume anbiya**_ (Hamziyyah or How could the other prophets rise)( In response to an attempted invasion by a Majerteen force from Kismayo in 1868, the people of Brava allied with the sultan of Geledi Ahmed Yusuf and pushed back the invaders. In 1875, Brava briefly submitted to the Khedive of Egypt when the latter's troops landed in the region but reverted to local control the following year after the Egyptians left. The Zanzibar sultan regained control and constructed a fort in the city, but would ultimately cede his suzerainty to an Italian company in 1893, which maintained a small presence in the city until 1908 when Brava formally became part of the colony of Somalia Italiana.( Over the first decades of the twentieth century, political changes in Somalia resulted in the increased importance of Mogadishu and Merka while Brava consequently declined. By 1950 most of Barawa's older houses, close to the shore, had fallen into disrepair and many of them had been vacated by the families that owned them. With just 10-20,000 speakers of Chimiini left in the 1990s, the language is in serious decline, so too is the knowledge of Brava's contribution to African history. Brava from beach, ca. 1899, Luigi Robecchi * * * The secluded harbors of Madagascar’s northeastern coast were a refuge for European pirates whose interactions with their Malagasy hosts influenced the emergence of the kingdom of Betsimisaraka. **read more about this fascinating chapter of African states and European pirates here:** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( An Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Horn by N Chittick pg 120-122, Settlement Patterns of the Coast of Southern Somalia and Kenya by T.H. Wilson pg 103, The Swahili world edited by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 366 ( The Swahili: Reconstructing the History and Language of an African Society By Derek Nurse, Thomas Spear pg 54, 58, Swahili and Sabaki: A Linguistic History By Derek Nurse, Thomas J. Hinnebusch, Gérard Philipson pg 725, Kenya's Past: An Introduction to Historical Method in Africa by Thomas T. Spear pg 56) ( Swahili Origins: Swahili Culture & the Shungwaya Phenomenon By James De Vere Allen pg 71) ( Primitive Islam and Architecture in East Africa by Mark Horton pg 103, n.7, Historic Mosques in Sub-Saharan Africa: From Timbuktu to Zanzibar By Stéphane Pradines pg 152 ( L’Arabie marchande: État et commerce sous les sultans rasūlides du Yémen, chapter9, prg 31. ( Swahili Origins: Swahili Culture & the Shungwaya Phenomenon By James De Vere Allen pg 117, Horn and Crescent: Cultural Change and Traditional Islam on the East African coast By Randall L. Pouwels pg 36, The Pate Chronicle edited by Marina Tolmacheva pg 48 ( A History of Overseas Chinese in Africa to 1911 By Anshan Li pg 39-48, Zheng He: China’s Greatest Explorer, Mariner, and Navigator By Corona Brezina pg 71 ( A Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar, Hakluyt Society, 1866, pg 15, The Swahili: Reconstructing the History and Language of an African Society By Derek Nurse, Thomas Spear pg 85 ( Les cités-États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu, 1585-1810: dynamiques endogènes, dynamiques exogènes by Thomas Vernet pg 84) ( Swahili and Sabaki: A Linguistic History By Derek Nurse, Thomas J. Hinnebusch, Gérard Philipson pg 492, 496, Les cités-États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu, 1585-1810: dynamiques endogènes, dynamiques exogènes by Thomas Vernet pg 140, n. 184) ( Les cités-États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu, 1585-1810: dynamiques endogènes, dynamiques exogènes by Thomas Vernet pg 159-160) ( Les cités-États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu, 1585-1810: dynamiques endogènes, dynamiques exogènes by Thomas Vernet pg 196, 168, n.44, 177, n.80) ( The Dutch on the Swahili Coast, 1776-1778 by R. Ross, pg 322-323, 333, The French at Kilwa Island: An Episode in Eighteenth-century East African History by Parker Freeman-Grenville pg 11-12 ( Translocal Connections across the Indian Ocean: Swahili Speaking Networks on the Move by Francesca Declich pg 54-65 ( The Pate Chronicle edited by Marina Tolmacheva pg 64-65, 259) ( Translocal Connections across the Indian Ocean: Swahili Speaking Networks on the Move by Francesca Declich pg 18, 55 n.24, The Swahili Coast, 2nd to 19th Centuries: Islam, Christianity and Commerce in Eastern Africa by Greville Stewart Parker Freeman-Grenville pg 147, East Africa and the Orient: Cultural Syntheses in Pre-colonial Times pg 41.Swahili Origins: Swahili Culture & the Shungwaya Phenomenon By James De Vere Allen pg 216, 218, 233. Writing in Swahili on Stone and on Paper by Ann Biersteker ( Arabian Seas By Rene J. Barendse 1700-1763, pg 187, Ivory and Slaves in East Central Africa By Edward A. Alpers pg 91, Les cités-États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu, 1585-1810: dynamiques endogènes, dynamiques exogènes by Thomas Vernet pg 146) ( Barawa, the coastal town in southern Somalia by Hilary Costa Sanseverino pg 18) ( Les cités-États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu, 1585-1810: dynamiques endogènes, dynamiques exogènes by Thomas Vernet pg 153) ( Tanganyika Notes and Records, Issues 1-5, pg 77, The French at Kilwa Island: An Episode in Eighteenth-century East African History by Parker Freeman-Grenville pg 216) ( The Pate Chronicle edited by Marina Tolmacheva pg 76-77) ( The Dutch on the Swahili Coast, 1776-1778 by R. Ross pg 343-346) ( The French at Kilwa Island: An Episode in Eighteenth-century East African History by Parker Freeman-Grenville pg 11-12, 122, 141, ) ( Inter-Tidal Causeways and Platforms of the 13th- to 16th-Century City-State of Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania Edward Pollard pg 109, Beyond the Stone Town: Maritime Architecture at Fourteenth–Fifteenth Century Songo Mnara, Tanzania by Edward Pollard pg 52, ( Translocal Connections Across the Indian Ocean: Swahili Speaking Networks on the Move by Francesca Declich pg 53-57) ( Barawa, the coastal town in southern Somalia by Hilary Costa Sanseverino pg 18-22. ( Lamu in the Nineteenth Century: Land, Trade, and Politics by Marguerite Ylvisaker pg 38-39) ( Translocal Connections Across the Indian Ocean: Swahili Speaking Networks on the Move by Francesca Declich pg 58) ( Translocal Connections Across the Indian Ocean: Swahili Speaking Networks on the Move by Francesca Declich pg 94-105) ( Barawa, the coastal town in southern Somalia by Hilary Costa Sanseverino pg 18, The Swahili Coast: Politics, Diplomacy and Trade on the East African Littoral, 1798-1856 by Christine Stephanie Nicholls pg 366, Translocal Connections Across the Indian Ocean: Swahili Speaking Networks on the Move by Francesca Declich pg 66, ) ( The Swahili Coast: Politics, Diplomacy and Trade on the East African Littoral, 1798-1856 by Christine Stephanie Nicholls pg 188, 297-230, ( Translocal Connections Across the Indian Ocean: Swahili Speaking Networks on the Move by Francesca Declich pg 59-60, 66-67) ( Translocal Connections Across the Indian Ocean: Swahili Speaking Networks on the Move by Francesca Declich pg pg 78-79, 83-89, Horn and Crescent: Cultural Change and Traditional Islam on the East African coast By Randall L. Pouwels pg 141-143, Islamic scholarship in Africa: new directions and global contexts Edited by Ousmane Oumar Kane 326-334 ( Translocal Connections Across the Indian Ocean: Swahili Speaking Networks on the Move by Francesca Declich 64, 'Stringing Coral Beads': The Religious Poetry of Brava by Alessandra Vianello ( Translocal Connections Across the Indian Ocean: Swahili Speaking Networks on the Move by Francesca Declich pg 72-78, 81-83) ( The Swahili Coast: Politics, Diplomacy and Trade on the East African Littoral, 1798-1856 by Christine Stephanie Nicholls pg 71, Horn and Crescent: Cultural Change and Traditional Islam on the East African coast By Randall L. Pouwels pg 142 ( photos by Alessandra Vianello ( Lamu in the Nineteenth Century: Land, Trade, and Politics by Marguerite Ylvisaker pg 97-101, Barawa, the coastal town in southern Somalia by Hilary Costa Sanseverino pg 18, 'Stringing Coral Beads': The Religious Poetry of Brava by Alessandra Vianello pg 9.

### The History of Brava (Barawa) ca. 1000-1900: A Swahili Enclave in Southern Somalia #### Introduction 1. **Location and Significance**: Brava, located on the southern coast of Somalia over 500 km north of the Swahili heartland, was a cosmopolitan enclave influential in the history of the East African coast. 2. **Cultural Distinction**: The city had unique urban characteristics distinguished by its dialect (Chimiini), architecture, and societal organization, forming an oligarchic republic similar to other Swahili cities. #### Early History (Up to the 15th Century) 1. **Cultural Development**: Archaeological evidence suggests Brava was part of the iron-age communities along the East African coast during the 1st millennium, marked by mixed farming and commercial ties with the Indian Ocean. 2. **Islamic Conversion**: Over time, the local population gradually converted to Islam, coexisting with traditional beliefs. 3. **Archaeological Discoveries**: Findings include: - **Kwale-type wares** indicating links to southern settlements (3rd-5th century). - Imported glazed pottery and inscriptions from the 9th to 15th centuries confirming its contemporaneity with other early Swahili settlements. 4. **Literary Evidence**: The first documentary mention of Brava emerged in the 12th century from Al-Idrisi, who described the city as populated by a mix of religious beliefs. #### 14th to 15th Century Developments 1. **Maritime Significance**: Yemeni sources describe Brava as a critical anchorage for Indian boats and explorer Zheng He’s visits indicated its role in regional diplomacy. 2. **Oligarchic Governance**: The city was governed by a council of elders without a centralized king, echoing structures in other Swahili cities. 3. **Portuguese Interaction**: Brava faced attacks from the Portuguese but maintained a degree of autonomy and engagement in regional trade. #### 16th to 18th Century Dynamics 1. **Portuguese Influence**: While the Portuguese aimed to control the Swahili coast, Brava largely remained independent, maintaining commercial and political ties with Pate. 2. **Trade and Vassalage**: The late 17th century saw increased trade with Indian cities and complex vassal relationships, reflecting the shifting power dynamics in the region. 3. **Cultural Interactions**: Different immigrant groups, including Hadrami-Sharifs and Baluchis, assimilated into the Swahili-speaking society, enhancing the city's cosmopolitan nature. #### 19th Century Overview 1. **Demographics**: Brava's populace included Baravanese-Swahili, Tunni-Somali, Sharifs, Hadramis, and European/Indian merchants, reflecting a diverse social fabric. 2. **Economic Activities**: The city was a vital hub for trade in ivory, woods, and textiles, with a robust market driven by local communities. 3. **Political Structure**: Despite nominal Omani suzerainty, local governance remained rooted in a council of elders, with significant involvement from the Tunni clans for defense and political stability. #### Educational and Cultural Contributions 1. **Sufi Scholarship**: Brava emerged as a center for Sufi scholarship, producing notable scholars who contributed to literature in both Arabic and Chimiini. 2. **Response to Colonial Intrusions**: The local scholarly community engaged in anti-colonial strategies through poetry and religious teachings, emphasizing Brava’s intellectual resistance. #### Conclusion 1. **Decline and Legacy**: By the late 19th century, Brava's prominence waned as political changes favored Mogadishu and Merka. The city formally became part of Somalia Italiana by 1908, leading to a decline in the Chimiini language and a loss of historical awareness regarding Brava's contributions to African history. 2. **Contemporary Relevance**: Understanding Brava's history is crucial for recognizing the complex interrelations within the Swahili coast and the broader Indian Ocean world, highlighting the region's rich cultural and economic tapestry.

a brief note on European pirates and African states during the 'golden age of piracy.'

a pirate stronghold and kingdom in 18th century Madagascar.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on European pirates and African states during the 'golden age of piracy.' ====================================================================================== ### a pirate stronghold and kingdom in 18th century Madagascar. ( Mar 17, 2024 25 For most of its history, maritime trade in the Indian and Atlantic ocean world was characterized by ‘**competitive chaos’**. Europeans visiting both regions had to contend with preexisting trade networks and cooperate with local rulers. The labeling of individuals as pirates was a means of advancing the economic and political goals of the European states operating in the oceans, and piracy was thus a manifestation of the rivalry and disorder that periodically impacted commerce in these dynamic zones of exchange. Along the African coast, repeated attempts by the Portuguese, and later by the Dutch, and English to monopolize maritime commerce failed, as the mainland regions remained under African control, with each state choosing their trading partners. During this age of mercantilism, European skippers were often encouraged by their home governments to raid the shipping of enemy powers indiscriminately. Many of these pirate raids occurred in the southern Atlantic and were against Iberian ships. For example, Between 1522 and 1539, over 300 Portuguese ships were captured by French privateers (read: pirates) who had been given letters of _marque_ which granted them permission to attack enemy vessels.( On the African coast, local rulers were under no obligation to respect Portugal's monopoly over external trade and could trade with anyone who served their interests. In the coastal region of Senegal facing the island of Cabo Verde, the Wolof people of the region regularly traded with pirates on the island rather than the Portuguese who controlled most of it, and had learned to **"speak French as if it was their native language"**. In the early 17th century, the two groups reportedly made off with as much as 200,000 _cruzados_ of goods a year, at the expense of the Portuguese.( _**19th-century engraving of a French shipwreck near Rufisque, Senegal.**_ On the coastline of African states, all foreigners, pirates or otherwise, were compelled to respect African laws and the strict policy of neutrality. Failure to respect these laws resulted in negative and often disastrous consequences for the visiting traders, including a ban from trade, and even the risk of enslavement of the European sailors by Africans who'd take them as prisoners on the mainland until they were ransomed. In 1525, a French privateer reached the coast of the kingdom Kongo to trade for copper and redwood, an action that was in violation of the Portuguese monopoly. After failing to follow the standard procedures of trade, King Afonso of Kongo sent two of his ships to fight with the French ship. The battle ended with several French sailors being captured and taken to Kongo where most were _**"taken down in irons"**_ and _**"put in prison,"**_ some of them died, while others were retained as artisans.( Conversely, a similar fate befell the Portuguese traders who reached the Bijagos islands in modern Guinea, whose inhabitants sheltered pirates (presumably French) and allowed them to set up a _**"lair and coastal strongpoint"**_ inorder to seize loot from passing ships. The Africans of the Bijagos islands regularly confiscated the goods of the Portuguese sailors, they were also known to _**"take the white crew as their prisoners, and they sell them in those places where they normally trade for cows, goats, dogs, iron bars."**_( Even in exceptional cases when Europeans became involved in coastal conflicts involving pirates and African states, the results were pyrrhic at best. In 1724, about two years after the defeat of the notorious pirate 'Black Bart' near Cape Lopez (in Modern Gabon), a combined Dutch and British force turned its attention against the most powerful supporter of pirates on the Gold Coast (in modern Ghana), an Akan ruler named Jan Konny (John Conny/John Canoe) who controlled the region of Axim and resided in the Prussian-built fort Fredericksburg. While they were successful in defeating John Conny, trade to the fort from the interior declined as the mainland kingdom of Asante avoided the merchants who had driven away their ally.( _**The pirate ‘Black Bart’ (Bartholomew Roberts) at Ouidah in modern Benin, with his ship and other captured ships in the background.**_ The impact of European piracy on Africa's coastal societies was therefore negligible and wasn't different from the 'official' trade.( However, one notable exception was the region of north-eastern Madagascar where several hundred pirates found refuge in the late 17th century. In the secluded harbors of the island's northeastern coast, these pirates formed communities whose interactions with their Malagasy hosts influenced the emergence of the kingdom of Betsimisaraka. **The history of the Betsimisaraka kingdom and the European pirates of Madagascar is the subject of my latest Patreon article.** **Please subscribe to read about it here:** ( * * * _**View of the coast of the Bijagos islands showing local mariners in large boats receiving European ships. ca. 1885.**_ Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Afonso I Mvemba a Nzinga, King of Kongo: His Life and Correspondence By John K. Thornton pg 113, A Cultural History of the Atlantic World, 1250-1820 By John K. Thornton pg 52 ( The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415–1670: A Documentary History edited by Malyn Newitt pg 83 ( Afonso I Mvemba a Nzinga, King of Kongo: His Life and Correspondenc By John K. Thornton pg 112-115, 204-205) ( The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415–1670: A Documentary History edited by Malyn Newitt pg 216-217) ( Pirates of the Slave Trade: The Battle of Cape Lopez and the Birth of an an American Institution By Angela C. Sutton ( [What were the effects of the Atlantic slave trade on African societies?: examining research on how the middle passage affected the Population, Politics and Economies of Africa.

### A Brief Note on European Pirates and African States During the Golden Age of Piracy #### Introduction - The maritime trade during the Indian and Atlantic Oceans in the early modern period was marked by **competitive chaos**. - European powers had to navigate preexisting trade networks and often cooperated with local rulers in Africa. #### The Role of Piracy - The term **pirate** was often used by European states to further their economic and political ambitions. - Piracy reflected the rivalry and disorder within these dynamic trading zones. - Despite attempts by the Portuguese, Dutch, and English to monopolize maritime trade, African states maintained control over their regions and chose their trading partners. #### European Privateers and Raids - European governments encouraged skippers to raid enemy shipping as part of their mercantilist policies. - A considerable number of pirate raids targeted Iberian ships; for instance, between 1522 and 1539, over 300 Portuguese vessels were captured by French privateers authorized by letters of marque. #### Local Trade Relations - African rulers were not obligated to uphold Portugal's trade monopoly and engaged with whoever suited their interests. - The Wolof people of Senegal often traded with pirates rather than the Portuguese, benefiting from these interactions significantly—reportedly taking as much as **200,000 cruzados** annually in goods. #### Impacts of European Actions - Foreign traders, including pirates, were required to respect African laws, which led to negative consequences for those who did not comply. - For example, in 1525, King Afonso of Kongo reacted aggressively to a French privateer's violation of trade protocols, resulting in captured French sailors facing imprisonment and forced labor. #### The Bijagos Islands - The inhabitants of the Bijagos Islands in modern-day Guinea allowed French pirates to establish a stronghold, leading to conflicts with Portuguese traders. - Portuguese crews were often captured and sold as slaves by the islanders, highlighting the precarious position of Europeans in these waters. #### Conflicts Involving Pirates and African States - Even when Europeans engaged in military actions against powerful African rulers, the outcomes were often detrimental to European trade interests. - After defeating Akan ruler Jan Konny in 1724, trade from the Asante kingdom to the Prussian-built fort in Axim declined, demonstrating the limited effectiveness of military might. #### The Exception of Madagascar - A notable case of pirates establishing a presence was in **northeastern Madagascar**, where several hundred found refuge in the late 17th century. - These pirates formed communities and interacted with Malagasy hosts, leading to the emergence of the **kingdom of Betsimisaraka**. #### Conclusion - European piracy had little impact on the coastal societies of Africa, as the effects were similar to those of sanctioned trade. - Overall, the interactions between European pirates and African states reveal a complex web of trade, resistance, and local governance that characterized this historical period. #### References - Sources include various historical texts documenting the interactions between European powers and African states, as well as specific case studies of piracy and trade dynamics in the regions discussed.

A history of the Lozi kingdom. ca. 1750-1911.

state and society in south-central Africa

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A history of the Lozi kingdom. ca. 1750-1911. ============================================= ### state and society in south-central Africa ( Mar 11, 2024 18 In the first decade of the 20th century, only a few regions on the African continent were still controlled by sovereign kingdoms. One of these was the Lozi kingdom, a vast state in south-central Africa covering nearly 250,000 sqkm that was led by a shrewd king who had until then, managed to retain his autonomy. The Lozi kingdom was a powerful centralized state whose history traverses many key events in the region, including; the break up of the Lunda empire, the _Mfecane_ migrations, and the colonial scramble. In 1902, the Lozi King Lewanika Lubosi traveled to London to meet the newly-crowned King Edward VII in order to negotiate a favorable protectorate status. He was met by another African delegate from the kingdom of Buganda who described him as **"a King, black like we are, he was not Christian and he did what he liked"**( This article explores the history of the Lozi kingdom from the 18th century to 1916, and the evolution of the Lozi state and society throughout this period. _**Map of Africa in 1880 highlighting the location of the Lozi kingdom (Barosteland)**_( * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Early history of the Lozi kingdom** The landscape of the Lozi heartland is dominated by the Zambezi River which cuts a bed of the rich alluvial Flood Plain between the _Kalahari_ sands and the _miombo_ woodlands in modern Zambia. The region is dotted with several ancient Iron Age sites of agro-pastoralist communities dating from the 1st/5th century AD to the 12th/16th century, in which populations were segmented into several settlement sites organized within lineage groups.( It was these segmented communities that were joined by other lineage groups arriving in the upper Zambezi valley from the northern regions under the Lunda empire, and gradually initiated the process of state formation which preceded the establishment of the Lozi kingdom.( The earliest records and traditions about the kingdom's founding are indirectly associated with the expansion and later break-up of the Lunda empire, in which the first Lozi king named Rilundo married a Lunda woman named Chaboji. Rulindo was succeeded by Sanduro and Hipopo, who in turn were followed by King Cacoma Milonga, with each king having lived long enough for their former capitals to become important religious sites.( The above tradition about the earliest kings, which was recorded by a visitor between 1845-1853, refers to a period when the ruling dynasty and its subjects were known as the Aluyana and spoke a language known as siluyana. In the later half of the 19th century, the collective ethnonym for the kingdom's subjects came to be known as the lozi (rotse), an exonym that emerged when the ruling dynasty had been overthrown by the Makololo, a Sotho-speaking group from southern Africa. ( King Cacoma Milonga also appears in a different account from 1797, which describes him as _**“a great souva called Cacoma Milonga situated on a great island and the people in another.”**_ He is said to have briefly extended his authority northwards into Lunda’s vassals before he was forced to withdraw.( He was later succeeded by King Mulambwa (d. 1830) who consolidated most of his predecessors' territorial gains and reformed the kingdom's institutions inorder to centralize power under the kingship at the expense of the bureaucracy.( Mulambwa is considered by Lozi to have been their greatest king, and it was during his very long reign that the kingdom’s political, economic, and judicial systems reached that degree of sophistication noted by later visitors.( _**the core territories of the Lozi kingdom**_( * * * **The Government in 19th century buLozi** At the heart of the Lozi State is the institution of kingship, with the Lozi king as the head of the social, economic and administrative structures of the whole State. After the king's death, they're interred in a site of their choosing that is guarded by an official known as _**Nomboti**_ who serves as an intermediary between the deceased king and his successors and is thus the head of the king's ancestral cult.( The Lozi bureaucracy at the capital, which comprised the most senior councilors (_**Indunas**_) formed the principal consultative, administrative, legislative, and judicial bodies of the nation. A single central body the councilors formed the National Council (_**Mulongwanji)**_ which was headed by a senior councilor (_**Ngambela)**_ as well as a principal judge (_**Natamoyo)**_ . A later visitor in 1875 describes the Lozi administration as a hierarchy of “officers of state” and “a general Council” comprising “state officials, chiefs, and subordinate governors,” whose foundation he attributed to “a constitutional ruler now long deceased”.( The councilors were heads of units of kinship known as the _**Makolo**_, and headed a provincial council (_**kuta**_) which had authority over individual groups of village units (_**silalo**_) that were tied to specific tracts of territories/land. These communities also provided the bulk of the labour and army of the kingdom, and in the later years, the Makolo were gradually centralized under the king who appointed non-hereditary Makolo heads. This system of administration was extended to newly conquered regions, with the southern capital at Nalolo (often occupied by the King’s sister _**Mulena Mukwai**_), while the center of power remained in the north with the roving capital at Lealui.( The valley's inhabitants established their settlements on artificially built mounds (_**liuba**_) tending farms irrigated by canals, activities that required large-scale organized labor. Some of the surplus produced was sent to the capital as tribute, but most of the agro-pastoral and fishing products were exchanged internally and regionally as part of the trade that included craft manufactures and exports like ivory, copper, cloth, and iron. Long-distance traders from the east African coast (Swahili and Arab), as well as the west-central African coast (Africans and Portuguese), regularly converged in Lozi’s towns.( _**Palace of the King**_ (at Lealui) ca. 1916, Zambia. USC Libraries. _**Palace of the Mulena Mukwai/Mokwae**_ (at Nalolo), 1914, Zambia. USC Libraries. * * * ( * * * **The Lozi kingdom under the Kololo dynasty.** After the death of Mulambwa, a succession dispute broke out between his sons; Silumelume in the main capital of Lealui and Mubukwanu at the southern capital of Nalolo, with the latter emerging as the victor. But by 1845, Mubukwanu's forces were defeated in two engagements by a Sotho-speaking force led by Sebetwane whose followers (_**baKololo**_) had migrated from southern Africa in the 1820s as part of the so-called _**mfecane**_. Mubukwanu's allies fled to exile and control of the kingdom would remain in the hands of the baKololo until 1864.( Sebetwane (r. 1845-1851) retained most of the pre-existing institutions and complacent royals like Mubukwanu's son Sipopa, but gave the most important offices to his kinsmen. The king resided in the Caprivi Strip (in modern Namibia) while the kingdom was ruled by his brother Mpololo in the north, and daughter Mamochisane at Nololo, along with other kinsmen who became important councilors. The internal agro-pastoral economy continued to flourish and Lozi’s external trade was expanded especially in Ivory around the time the kingdom was visited by David Livingstone in 1851-1855, during the reign of Sebetwane's successor, King Sekeletu (r. 1851-1864).( The youthful king Sekeletu was met with strong opposition from all sections of the kingdom, spending the greater part of his reign fighting a rival candidate named Mpembe who controlled most of the Lozi heartland. After Sekeletu's death in 1864, further succession crisis pitted various royals against each other, weakening the control of the throne by the baKololo. The latter were then defeated by their Luyana subjects who (re)installed Sipopa as the Lozi king. While the society was partially altered under baKololo rule, with the Luyana-speaking subjects adopting the Kololo language to create the modern Lozi language, most of the kingdom’s social institutions remained unchanged.( The (re) installation of King Sipopa (r. 1864-1876) involved many Lozi factions, the most powerful of which was led by a nobleman named Njekwa who became his senior councilor and was married to Sipopa's daughter and co-ruler Kaiko at Nalolo. But the two allies eventually fell out and shortly after the time of Njekwa's death in 1874, the new senior councilor Mamili led a rebellion against the king in 1876, replacing him with his son Mwanawina. The latter ruled briefly until 1878 when factional struggles with his councilors drove him off the throne and installed another royal named Lubosi Lewanika (r.1878-84, 1885-1916) while his sister and co-ruler Mukwae Matauka was set up at Nalolo.( _**The Royal Barge on the Zambezi river**_, ca. 1910, USC Library * * * **King Lewanika’s Lozi state** During King Lubosi Lewanika's long reign, the Lozi state underwent significant changes both internally as the King's power became more centralized, and externally, with the appearance of missionaries, and later colonialists. After King Lubosi was briefly deposed by his powerful councilor named Mataa in favor of King Tatila Akufuna (r. 1884-1885), the deposed king returned and defeated Mataa's forces, retook the throne with the name Lewanika, and appointed loyalists. To forestall external rebellions, he established regional alliances with King Khama of Ngwato (in modern Botswana), regularly sending and receiving embassies for a possible alliance against the Ndebele king Lobengula. He instituted several reforms in land tenure, created a police force, revived the ancestral royal religion, and created new offices in the national council and military.( King Lewanika expanded the Lozi kingdom to its greatest extent by 1890, exercising varying degrees of authority over a region covering over 250,000 sqkm( . This period of Lozi expansion coincided with the advance of the European missionary groups into the region, followed by concessioners (looking for minerals), and the colonialists. Of these groups, Lewanika chose the missionaries for economic and diplomatic benefits, to delay formal colonization of the kingdom, and to counterbalance the concessionaries, the latter of whom he granted limited rights in 1890 to prospect for minerals (mostly gold) in exchange for protection against foreign threats (notably the powerful Ndebele kingdom in the south and the Portuguese of Angola in the west).( _**The Lozi kingdom at its greatest extent in the late 19th century**_ Lewanika oversaw a gradual and controlled adoption of Christianity (and literacy) confined to loyal councilors and princes, whom he later used to replace rebellious elites. He utilized written correspondence extensively with the various missionary groups and neighboring colonial authorities, and the Queen in London, inorder to curb the power of the concessionaires (led by Cecil Rhodes’ British South Africa company which had taken over the 1890 concession but only on paper), and retain control of the kingdom. He also kept updated on concessionary activities in southern Africa through diplomatic correspondence with King Khama.( The king’s Christian pretensions were enabled by internal factionalism that provided an opportunity to strengthen his authority. Besides the royal ancestral religion, lozi's political-religious sphere had been dominated by a system of divination brought by the aMbundu (from modern Angola) whose practitioners became important players in state politics in the 19th century, but after reducing the power of Lewanika's loyalists and the king himself, the later purged the diviners and curbed their authority.( This purge of the Mbundu diviners was in truth a largely political affair but the missionaries misread it as a sign that the King was becoming Christian and banning “witchcraft”, even though they were admittedly confused as to why the King did not convert to Christianity. Lewanika had other objectives and often chided the missionaries saying; _**"What are you good for then? What benefits do you bring us? What have I to do with a bible which gives me neither rifles nor powder, sugar, tea nor coffee, nor artisans to work for me."**_( The newly educated Lozi Christian elite was also used to replace the missionaries, and while this was a shrewd policy internally as they built African-run schools and trained Lozi artisans in various skills, it removed the Lozi’s only leverage against the concessionaires-turned-colonists.( * * * **The Lozi kingdom in the early 20th century: From autonomy to colonialism.** The King tried to maintain a delicate balance between his autonomy and the concessionaries’ interests, the latter of whom had no formal presence in the kingdom until a resident arrived in 1897, ostensibly to prevent the western parts of the kingdom (west of the Zambezi) from falling under Portuguese Angola. While the Kingdom was momentarily at its most powerful and in its most secure position, further revisions to the 1890 concessionary agreement between 1898 and 1911 steadily eroded Lewanika's internal authority. ( Internal opposition by Lozi elites was quelled by knowledge of both the Anglo-Ndebele war of 1893 and the Anglo-Boer war of 1899-1902. But it was the Anglo-Boer war that influenced the Lozi’s policies of accommodation in relation to the British, with Lozi councilors expressing _**“shock at the thought of two groups of white Christians slaughtering each other”.**_( The war illustrated that the Colonialists were committed to destroying anyone that stood in their way, whether they were African or European, and a planned expulsion of the few European settlers in Lozi was put on hold. Always hoping to undermine the local colonial governors by appealing directly to the Queen in London, King Lewanika prepared to travel directly to London at the event of King Edward’s coronation in 1902, hoping to obtain a favorable agreement like his ally, King Khama had obtained on his own London visit in 1895. When asked what he would discuss when he met King Edward in London, the Lozi king replied: **“When kings are seated together, there is never a lack of things to discuss.”**( _**King Lewanika (front seat on the left) and his entourage visiting Deeside, Wales, ca. 1901**_, Aberdeen archives It is likely that the protection of western Lozi territory from the Portuguese was also on the agenda, but the latter matter was considered so important that it was submitted by the Portuguese and British to the Italian king in 1905, who decided on a compromise of dividing the western region equally between Portuguese-Angola and the Lozi. While Lewanika had made more grandiose claims to territory in the east and north that had been accepted, this one wasn’t, and he protested against it to no avail( After growing internal opposition to the colonial hut tax and the King’s ineffectiveness had sparked a rebellion among the councilors in 1905, the colonial governor sent an armed patrol to crush the rebellion, This effectively meant that Lewanika remained the king only nominally, and was forced to surrender the traditional authority of Kingship for the remainder of his reign. By 1911, the kingdom was incorporated into the colony of northern Rhodesia, formally marking the end of the kingdom as a sovereign state.( _**the Lozi king lewanika ca. 1901.**_ Aberdeen archives * * * A few hundred miles west of the Lozi territory was **the old kingdom of Kongo, which created an extensive international network sending its envoys across much of southern Europe and developed a local intellectual tradition that includes some of central Africa’s oldest manuscripts.** Read more about it here: ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Black Edwardians: Black People in Britain 1901-1914 By Jeffrey Green pg 22 ( Map by Sam Bishop at ‘theafricanroyalfamilies’ ( Iron Age Farmers in Southwestern Zambia: Some Aspects of Spatial Organization by Joseph O. Vogel ( Iron Age History and Archaeology in Zambia by D. W. Phillipson ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 By John K. Thornton pg 310, Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia by Mutumba Mainga pg 18-20) ( Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia by Mutumba Mainga pg 5, 10-15) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 By John K. Thornton pg 310) ( Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia by Mutumba Mainga pg 57-59) ( The Elites of Barotseland 1878-1969: A Political History of Zambia's Western Province by Gerald L. Caplan pg 2 ( Map by Mutumba Mainga ( Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia by Mutumba Mainga pg 30) ( Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia by Mutumba Mainga pg 38-41, The Elites of Barotseland 1878-1969: A Political History of Zambia's Western Province by Gerald L. Caplan pg 3-5 ( Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia by Mutumba Mainga pg 33-36, 44-47, 50-54) ( Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia by Mutumba Mainga pg 32, 130-131) ( Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia by Mutumba Mainga pg 61-71) ( Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia by Mutumba Mainga pg 74-82, The Elites of Barotseland 1878-1969: A Political History of Zambia's Western Province by Gerald L. Caplan pg 9-11 ( Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia by Mutumba Mainga pg 87-92, The Elites of Barotseland 1878-1969: A Political History of Zambia's Western Province by Gerald L. Caplan pg 11-12 ( Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia by Mutumba Mainga pg 103-113, The Elites of Barotseland 1878-1969: A Political History of Zambia's Western Province by Gerald L. Caplan pg 13-15 ( The Elites of Barotseland 1878-1969: A Political History of Zambia's Western Province by Gerald L. Caplan pg 19- 34 Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia by Mutumba Mainga pg 115- 136) ( Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia pg 150-161) ( The Elites of Barotseland 1878-1969: A Political History of Zambia's Western Province by Gerald L. Caplan pg 38-56, Barotseland's Scramble for Protection by Gerald L. Caplan pg 280-285 ( Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia by Mutumba Mainga pg 174-175) ( Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia by Mutumba Mainga pg 137-138) ( Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia by Mutumba Mainga pg 179-182) ( The Elites of Barotseland 1878-1969: A Political History of Zambia's Western Province by Gerald L. Caplan pg 76-81 ( The Elites of Barotseland 1878-1969: A Political History of Zambia's Western Province by Gerald L. Caplan pg 63-68, 74-75 ( The Elites of Barotseland 1878-1969: A Political History of Zambia's Western Province by Gerald L. Caplan pg 76 ( Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia by Mutumba Mainga pg 192) ( The Elites of Barotseland 1878-1969: A Political History of Zambia's Western Province by Gerald L. Caplan pg 88-89. ( The Elites of Barotseland 1878-1969: A Political History of Zambia's Western Province by Gerald L. Caplan pg 90-103.

### A History of the Lozi Kingdom (ca. 1750-1911) #### State and Society in South-Central Africa 1. **Introduction to the Lozi Kingdom** - The Lozi kingdom was one of the few regions in Africa maintaining sovereignty in the early 20th century. - It covered approximately 250,000 sq km in south-central Africa and was led by a resourceful king. 2. **Historical Context** - The kingdom's history includes significant events such as the disintegration of the Lunda empire, the _Mfecane_ migrations, and the European colonial scramble for Africa. - In 1902, King Lewanika Lubosi sought to secure a favorable protectorate status during a visit to London, emphasizing the kingdom's autonomy. 3. **Early History and Formation** - The Lozi heartland is characterized by the Zambezi River and a rich alluvial floodplain, with ancient Iron Age settlements dating back to the 1st-5th and 12th-16th centuries AD. - The process of state formation began with the joining of various lineage groups, influenced by the earlier Lunda empire. 4. **Founding Legends** - The kingdom's founding is linked to Rilundo, the first Lozi king, who married a Lunda woman, Chaboji. - Subsequent kings were Sanduro, Hipopo, and Cacoma Milonga, who established significant religious sites during their reigns. 5. **Transition to the Lozi Ethnonym** - The collective identity of the kingdom's subjects evolved from Aluyana to Lozi (rotse) following the Makololo's overthrow of the ruling dynasty. 6. **Economic and Political Structure** - King Mulambwa, who ruled until 1830, centralized power and institutionalized governance. - The Lozi state was characterized by a hierarchy of officers, with a National Council (_Mulongwanji_) led by the senior councilor (_Ngambela_). 7. **Lozi Governance** - The king held ultimate authority, symbolized by the burial practices where kings were interred at chosen sites, managed by an official known as _Nomboti_. - The administrative system extended to conquered regions, with significant labor provided by local communities. 8. **Trade and Economy** - The Lozi economy thrived on agriculture, fishing, and trade, exchanging surplus goods regionally, including ivory and copper. - Long-distance traders, including Swahili and Arab merchants, interacted with Lozi towns. 9. **Rule of the Kololo Dynasty** - After Mulambwa's death, a succession dispute led to the Kololo dynasty’s rise when Sebetwane defeated Mubukwanu in 1845. - The Kololo maintained existing institutions while imposing their leadership. 10. **King Lewanika’s Reforms and Challenges** - Under King Lewanika’s reign (1884-1916), the kingdom centralized power further and adapted to external pressures from missionaries and colonial interests. - He initiated land reforms, created a police force, and engaged with various diplomatic entities to protect the kingdom. 11. **Colonial Encroachment** - Despite Lewanika's efforts to maintain autonomy, the kingdom faced increasing incursions and challenges from concessionaries and colonial authorities. - The situation deteriorated with rising internal opposition and colonial taxation, leading to a rebellion in 1905. 12. **Final Incorporation into Colonial Rule** - By 1911, the Lozi kingdom was formally incorporated into Northern Rhodesia, marking the end of its sovereignty. - King Lewanika was left with nominal authority, facing the consequences of colonial governance. ### Conclusion The history of the Lozi kingdom from the 18th to the early 20th century reveals a complex interplay of internal governance, external pressures, and socio-economic dynamics that shaped its development and eventual decline. The kingdom’s attempts to maintain autonomy against colonial encroachment demonstrate the significant challenges faced by African states during this period.

a brief note on Africa in 16th century global history.

the international relations and manuscripts of Kongo

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on Africa in 16th century global history. ====================================================== ### the international relations and manuscripts of Kongo ( Mar 03, 2024 23 The 16th century was one the most profound periods of change in Africa's international relations. Africans had led the initiative in establishing international contact across Eurasia( , and the expansion of the Ottoman and Portuguese empires in the 16th century further accelerated Africa's engagement with the rest of the world, reshaping pre-existing patterns of regional alliances and rivalries. In the northern Horn of Africa, the armies of the Adal sultanate defeated the Ethiopian forces in 1529 as their leader, Imam Ahmad al-Ghazi, launched a series of successful campaigns that briefly subsumed most of Ethiopia. Al-Ghazi's campaigns eventually acquired an international dimension and became increasingly enmeshed in the global conflict between the Portuguese and the Ottomans. The Turks supplied al-Ghazi with firearms and soldiers, while the Portuguese provided the same to the Ethiopian ruler Gelawdewos, who eventually won the war in 1543. **‘Futuh al-Habasa’** (_Conquest of Abyssinia_) written by Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin Abd al-Qader in 1559, copy at the King Saud University.( Around the same time, the rulers of the Swahili city-states along the East African coast who were opposed to the Portuguese presence sent envoys to the Ottoman provinces in Arabia beginning in 1542, looking for allies to aid them in expelling the Portuguese. After several more embassies in the 1550s and 60s, Ottoman corsair Ali Beg brought his forces to the East African coast in 1585 and 1589, but was eventually forced to withdraw after an army from the mainland drove his forces from the coast.( On the other side of the continent the simultaneous expansion of the Portuguese and Ottomans into north-western Africa threatened the regional balance of power between the empires of Morocco and Bornu. After a series of diplomatic initiatives by Bornu’s envoys to Marrakech and Istanbul, the Moroccans defeated the Portuguese in 1578, just as Bornu's ruler Mai Idris Alooma was halting the Ottoman advance into Bornu’s dependancies in southern Libya.( _**the 16th century fortress of Murzuq in southern Libya’s Fezzan region, associated with the Awlad dynasty, a client state of Bornu**_. The fezzan remained the border between Bornu and the Ottomans and it was from this region that **( **. In all three regions, the globalized rivalries between the regional powers are mentioned in some of Africa's best known works of historical literature. The chronicle on Adal’s ‘_Conquest of Abyssinia’_ was completed in 1559, in the same decade that the chronicle of the Swahili city of Kilwa was written, and not long before the Bornu scholar Aḥmad Furṭū would complete the first chronicle of Mai Idris' reign in 1576. While all three chronicles are primarily concerned with domestic politics, they also include an international dimension regarding the diplomatic activities of their kingdoms.( Much further south in the region of west-central Africa, another African society entered the international arena, without engaging in the global rivaries of the period. The sudden entry of the kingdom of Kongo into global politics and the emergence of its intellectual tradition was one of the most significant yet often misunderstood developments in 16th-century Africa. **The international activities of the kingdom of Kongo and its intellectual traditions are the subject of my latest Patreon article.** **please subscribe to read about it here:** ( * * * _**The ambassador Antonio Emanuele Ne Vunda of the Kingdom of Kongo and the embassy of Hasekura Tsunenaga of Japan**_. Painting by Agostino Taschi. ca. 1616 in the Sala dei Corazzieri, Palazzo del Quirinale., Rome * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work.

### A Brief Note on Africa in 16th Century Global History: The International Relations and Manuscripts of Kongo 1. **Introduction to 16th Century Africa**: - The 16th century marked a significant period of transformation in Africa’s international relations. - This era was characterized by increased African initiative in establishing international contacts across Eurasia. 2. **Ottoman and Portuguese Empire Expansion**: - The expansion of the Ottoman Empire and the Portuguese Empire intensified Africa's connections with the global stage. - This expansion altered existing regional alliances and rivalries. 3. **Conflict in the Horn of Africa**: - In 1529, armies of the Adal Sultanate, led by Imam Ahmad al-Ghazi, defeated Ethiopian forces, briefly dominating most of Ethiopia. - Ahmad al-Ghazi’s campaigns gained international significance, intertwining with a global conflict between the Portuguese and the Ottomans. - The Ottomans supplied Ahmad al-Ghazi with military resources, while the Portuguese supported Ethiopian ruler Gelawdewos, who ultimately triumphed in 1543. 4. **Literary Contributions**: - The historical account “Futuh al-Habasa” (_Conquest of Abyssinia_) was authored by Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin Abd al-Qader in 1559, capturing the conflict's essence. 5. **Swahili City-States and Ottoman Relations**: - Rulers of Swahili city-states opposed Portuguese dominance and initiated diplomatic ties with the Ottoman provinces in Arabia starting in 1542. - These efforts were aimed at seeking support to expel Portuguese forces, leading to the intervention of Ottoman corsair Ali Beg in 1585 and 1589. - However, he was eventually expelled by local mainland forces. 6. **Northwestern Africa: Portuguese and Ottoman Threats**: - The simultaneous territorial aspirations of the Portuguese and Ottomans in northwestern Africa influenced the regional balance of power. - The Moroccan Empire faced threats from Portuguese encroachments, prompting diplomatic engagements with the Bornu Empire. - In 1578, Moroccan forces defeated the Portuguese, while Bornu’s ruler Mai Idris Alooma repelled Ottoman advances into Bornu’s southern dependencies. 7. **Chronicles of Regional Conflicts**: - Prominent historical texts from this era, such as the chronicles detailing Adal’s _Conquest of Abyssinia_, were completed in 1559. - Similar chronicles from the Swahili city of Kilwa and the Bornu Empire were written in the decades following, showcasing the political dynamics and international relations of the time. 8. **Emergence of the Kingdom of Kongo**: - In west-central Africa, the Kingdom of Kongo emerged as a significant player on the international stage, distinct from the rivalries that characterized other regions. - Kongo's entry into global politics and the development of its intellectual traditions highlight crucial yet often overlooked aspects of 16th-century African history. 9. **Conclusion**: - The international activities and intellectual heritage of the Kingdom of Kongo are detailed in a dedicated article available on Patreon, emphasizing the kingdom's role amidst the broader 16th-century global context. - The ambassadorial mission led by Antonio Emanuele Ne Vunda of Kongo to Japan illustrates the kingdom's diplomatic engagements beyond Africa. ### Further Reading: - For an in-depth exploration of Kongo's international relations and its historical significance, please subscribe to the additional content available on Patreon. **Note**: This structure provides a clear and factual narrative, facilitating an understanding of Africa's global interactions during the 16th century and the specific role of the Kingdom of Kongo within that context.

The Mali empire: A complete history (ca. 1250-1650)

At its height in the 14th century, the Mali empire was one of Africa's largest states, extending over an estimated 1.2 million square kilometers in West Africa.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The Mali empire: A complete history (ca. 1250-1650) =================================================== ( Feb 25, 2024 37 At its height in the 14th century, the Mali empire was one of Africa's largest states, extending over an estimated 1.2 million square kilometers in West Africa. Encompassing at least five modern African states, the empire produced some of the continent's most renowned historical figures like Mansa Musa and enabled the growth and expansion of many of the region's oldest cities like Timbuktu. From the 13th century to the 17th century, the rulers, armies, and scholars of Mali shaped the political and social history of West Africa, leaving an indelible mark on internal and external accounts about the region, and greatly influenced the emergence of successor states and dynasties which claimed its mantle. This article outlines the history of Mali from its founding in the early 13th century to its decline in the late 17th century, highlighting key events and personalities who played important roles in the rise and demise of Mali. _**Map of Imperial Mali in the 14th century**_.( * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Background to the emergence of Mali: west Africa during the early 2nd millennium and the Sudiata epic.** The region where the Mali empire would emerge appears in some of the earliest accounts about West Africa, which locate it along the southern fringes of the Ghana empire. The 11th-century account of Al-Bakri mentions the **“great kingdom”** of Daw/Do along the southern banks of the Niger River, and another kingdom further to its south named Malal. He adds that the king of Malal adopted Islam from a local teacher, took on the name of al-Muslimânî and renounced the beliefs of his subjects, who **“remained polytheists”**.( This short account provides a brief background on the diverse social landscape in which Mali emerged, between the emerging Muslim communities in the cities such as Jenne, and the largely non-Muslim societies in its hinterland. Archeological discoveries of terracotta sculptures from Jenne-Jeno and textiles from the Bandiagara plateau dated to between the 11th-15th centuries, in an area dotted with mosques and inscribed stele, attest to the cultural diversity of the region( . The complementary and at times conflicting accounts about Mali's early history were shaped by the divergent world views of both communities and their role in the emergence of Mali. Written accounts penned by local West African scribes (especially in Timbuktu) and external writers offer abundant information on the kingdom’s Muslim provinces in its north and east but ignore the largely non-Muslim regions. Conversely, the oral accounts preserved by the non-Muslim _**jeli**_ (griots), who were the spokespersons for the heads of aristocratic lineages and transmitted their histories in a consistent form, have very little to say about Muslim society of Mali, but more to say about its southern provinces. Both accounts however emphasize their importance to the royal court and the Mansas, leaving little doubt about their equal roles in Mali's political life.( _**Equestrian figures of elite horsemen from Jenne-Jeno, ca 12th-14th century**_, _Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Werner Forman_, _**Reclining figure from Jenne-Jeno, ca. 12th–14th century**, Musée National du Mali_ _**Tunic and Textile fragments from the "Tellem", 11th-12th century**_, Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen, and Musée National du Mali, Bamako The foundational epic of Mali as recounted by the griots mentions several popular characters and places in the traditions of Mande-speaking groups, with a special focus on Sudianta, who was born to a king of Manden (a region straddling the border between modern Mali and Guniea) and a woman from the state of Do (Daw) named Sogolon. The succession of a different son of the king forced Sogolon and Sudianta to move from Manden to the region of Mema (in the central region of modern Mali), just as Manden was conquered by a king named Sumanguru. Sudianta later travels back to Manden, allies with neighboring chieftains, defeats Sumanguru, and assumes the throne as the first _Mansa_ ( Sultan/King ) of Mali. Sunjata and his allies then undertake a series of campaigns that expand the embryonic empire.( The cultural landscape of the epic is indisputably that of traditional Mandinka society which, for seven centuries, has developed, worked on, and transmitted to the present day a story relating to events of the 13th century. Despite the authoritative estimates provided in many recent accounts about Mali's history, the dates associated with the events in Sudianta's epic are heavily disputed and are at best vaguely assigned to the first half of the 13th century. However, the association of Sudianta with the creation of the empire's institutions such as the ‘Grand council’ of allied lineage heads, represents a historical reality of early Mali’s political history.( _**Some of the archeological zones of the west African ‘sudan’ between the mid-3rd millennium BC and mid 2nd millennium AD.**_( _**Map of early Mali in the 13th century**_ * * * **Mali in the 14th century: from Sudiata to Mansa Musa** That the founding and history of Mâli were remembered in what became its southwestern province of Manden was likely due to the province’s close relationship with the ruling dynasty, both in its early rise and its later demise. Outside the core of Manden, the ruler of Mâli was recognized as an overlord/suzerain of diverse societies that were incorporated into the empire but retained some of their pre-existing power. These traditional rulers found their authority closely checked by Mali officers called _farba/farma/fari_ (governors), who regulated trade, security, and taxation. Because sovereignty was exercised at multiple scales, Mali is best described as an empire, with core regions such as Mande and Mema, and outlying provinces that included the former Ghana empire.( It was from the region of the former Ghana empire that a scholar named Shaykh Uthman, who was on a pilgrimage to Cairo, met with and provided a detailed account of the _Mansas_ to the historian Ibn Khaldun about a century and a half later. Uthman’s account credits the founding of the empire to Mârî Djâta, who, according to the description of his reign and his name, is to be identified with Sundiata.( Sudianta was succeeded by Mansa Walī (Ali), who is described as _**"one of the greatest of their Kings"**_, as he made the pilgrimage during the time of al-Zâhir Baybars (r. 1260-1277). Mansa Walī was later succeeded by his brothers Wâtî and Khalîfa, but the latter was deposed and succeeded by their nephew Mansa Abû Bakr. After him came Mansa Sakura, a freed slave who seized power and greatly extended the empire's borders from the ocean to the city of Gao. He also embarked on a pilgrimage between 1299-1309 but died on his way back. He was succeeded by Mansa Qû who was in turn succeeded by his son Mansa Muhammad b. Qû, before the throne was assumed by Mansa Musa (r. 1312–37), whose reign is better documented as a result of his famous pilgrimage to Mecca.( _**Detail of the Catalan Atlas ca. 1375, showing King Mûsâ of Mâli represented in majesty carrying a golden ball in his hand. The legend in Catalan describes him as “the richest and noblest lord of all these regions”.**_ The royal pilgrimage has always been considered a vector of integration and legitimization of power in the Islamic world, fulfilling multiple objectives for both the pilgrims and their hosts. In West Africa, it was simultaneously a tool of internal and external legitimation as well as a tool for expanding commercial and intellectual links with the rest of the Muslim world. In Mali, the royal pilgrimage had its ascendants in the pre-existing traditions of legitimation and the creation of political alliances through traveling across a ‘sacred geography’.( The famous account of Mansa Musa's predecessor failing at his own expedition across the Atlantic is to be contrasted with Mansa Musa's successful expedition to Mecca which was equally extravagant but was also deemed pious. More importantly, Mansa Musa's story of his predecessor's demise explains a major dynastic change that allowed his 'house' —descended from Sudianta's brother Abû Bakr— to take the throne.( Mansa Musa returned to Mali through the city of Gao which had been conquered by Mali during Mansa Sakura’s reign, but is nonetheless presented in later internal sources as having submitted peacefully. Mansa Musa constructed the Jingereber mosque of Timbuktu as well as a palace at the still unidentified capital of the empire. His entourage included scholars and merchants from Egypt and the Hejaz who settled in the intellectual capitals of Mali.( Some of the Malian companions of Musa on his pilgrimage returned to occupy important offices in Mali, and at least four prominent ‘Hajjs’ were met by the globe-trotter Ibn Battuta during his visit to Mali about 30 years later .( According to an account provided to al-‘Umarī by a merchant who lived in Mali during the reign of Mansa Musa and his successors, the empire was organized into fourteen provinces that included Ghana, Zafun (Diafunu), Kawkaw (Gao), Dia (Diakha), Kābara, and Mali among others. Adding that in the northern provinces of Mali **“are tribes of ‘white’ Berbers under the rule of its sultan, namely: the Yantaṣar, Tīn Gharās, Madūsa, and Lamtūna”** and that **“The province of Mali is where the king’s capital, ‘Byty’, is situated. All these provinces are subordinate to it and the same name Mālī, that of the chief province of this kingdom, is given to them collectively.**( **”** Later internal accounts from Timbuktu corroborate this account, describing provinces and towns as the basis of Mali's administration under the control of different officers, with a particular focus on cities such as Walata, Jenne, Timbuktu, and Gao.( _**The Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu, the original structure was commissioned by Mansa Musa in 1325**_( _**The city of Gao, ca. 1920, archives nationales d'outre mer.**_ * * * ( * * * **Mali under Mansa Musa and Mansa Sulayman** It’s from Gao that another Malian informant of Ibn Khaldun named Abû AbdAllah, a qadi of the city, provided an account of the 14th-century rulers of Mali that ended with the 'restoration' of the old house and the deposition of Abu Bakr's house. The rivalry between the two dynastic houses may explain the relative 'silence' in oral accounts regarding the reigns of the Abu Bakr house, especially Mansa Musa and his later successor Mansa Sulayman (r. 1341–60), who was visited by Ibn Battuta in 1352.( Ibn Battuta’s account includes a description of Mansa Sulayman's court and an outline of the administrative structure of the empire, mentioning offices and institutions that appear in the later Timbuktu chronicles about Mali's successor, the Songhai empire. He mentions the role of the Queen, who is ranked equal to the emperor, the _**nâ'ib**_, who is a deputy of the emperor, a royal guard that included mamluks (slaves bought from Egypt), the griots who recounted the history of his predecessors, the _**farba**_ (governors), the _**farâriyy**_a, a term for both civil administrators and military officers, as well as a litany of offices such as the _**qadis**_ (judges), the _**mushrif/manshājū**_ who regulated markets, and the _**faqihs**_ (juriconsult) who represented the different constituencies.( Ibn Battuta's account also highlights the duality of Mali's social-political structure when the King who had earlier been celebrating the Eid festival as both a political and religious event in the presence of his Muslim subjects and courtiers, but was later a central figure of another important festival by Mali's non-Muslim griots and other subjects, the former of whom wore facemasks in honor of the ancestral kings and their associated histories. The seemingly contradictory facets of Mali's political spaces were in fact complementary.( Mansa Musa initiated diplomatic relations with the Marinid sultanate of Fez (Morocco) during the reign of Abū ’l-Ḥasan (r. 1331–1348) that would be continued by his successors. During Mansa Musa’s reign, _**“high ranking statesmen of the two kingdoms were exchanged as ambassadors”**_. and Abū ‘l-Ḥasan sent back _**“novelties of his kingdom as people spoke of for long after”**_. The latter’s embassy was received by Mansa Sulayman, who reciprocated by sending a delegation in 1349, shortly before Ibn Battuta departed from Fez to arrive at his court in 1852.( Ibn Battuta remarked about an internal conflict between Sulaymân and his wife, Queen Qâsâ, who attempted to depose Sulayman and install a rival named Djâtil, who unlike Mansa Musa and Sulayman, was a direct descendant of Sudianta. The Queen's plot may have failed to depose the house of Abu Bakr whose candidates remained on the throne until 1390, but this dynastic conflict prefigured the succession crises that would plague later rulers.( After his death in 1360, Sulayman was briefly succeeded by Qāsā b. Sulaymān, who was possibly the king's son or the queen herself acting as a regent. Qasa was succeeded by Mārī Jāṭā b. Mansā Maghā (r. 1360-1373), who sent an embassy to the Marinid sultan in 1360 with gifts that included a **“huge creature which provoked astonishment in the Magrib, known as the giraffe”**( . He reportedly ruined the empire before his son and successor Mansa Mūsā II (r. 1373-1387) restored it. Musa II’s _**wazir**_ (high-ranking minister) named Mārī Jāṭā campaigned extensively in the eastern regions of Gao and Takedda. After he died in 1387, Mūsā II was briefly succeeded by Mansā Maghā before the latter was deposed by his wazir named Sandakī. The latter was later deposed by Mansa Maḥmūd who restored the house of Sudiata with support from Mali’s non-Muslim provinces in the south.( * * * * * * **The intellectual landscape of Mali.** Regarding the early 15th century, most accounts about Mali focus on the activities of its merchants and scholars across Mali's territories, especially the Juula/Dyuula who'd remain prominent in West Africa's intellectual traditions The Mali empire had emerged within an already established intellectual network evidenced by the inscribed stele found across the region from Ghana's capital Kumbi Saleh to the city of Gao beginning in the 12th century. Mali's elites and subjects could produce written documents, some of which were preserved in the region's private libraries, such as Djenne's oldest manuscript dated to 1394.( Additionally, the Juula/Jakhanke/Wangara scholars whose intellectual centers of Diakha and Kabara were located within the Mali empire’s heartland spread their scholarly traditions to Timbuktu, producing prominent scholars like Modibo Muḥammad al-Kābarī, whose oldest work is dated to 1450( . While writing wasn’t extensively used in administrative correspondence within Mali, the rulers of Mali were familiar with the standard practices of written correspondence between royals which required a chancery with a secretary. For example, al-‘Umarī mentions a letter from Mansa Mūsā to the Mamluk ruler of Cairo, that was **“written in the Maghribī style… it follows** **its own rules of composition although observing the demands of propriety”**. **It was written by the hand of one of his courtiers who had come of the pilgrimage. Its contents comprised of greetings and a recommendation for the bearer,”** and a gift of five thousand mithqāls of gold.( About a century later, another ruler of Mali sent an ambassador to Cairo in order to inform the latter’s ruler of his intention to travel to Mecca via Egypt. After the ambassador had completed his pilgrimage, he returned to Cairo in July 1440 to receive a written response from the Mamluk sultan. The Mamluk letter to Mali, which has recently been studied, indicates that the sultan granted Mansa Yusuf's requests, writing: **"For all his requests, we have responded to his Excellency and we have issued him a noble decree for this purpose."**According to the manual of al-Saḥmāwī, who wrote in 1442, the ruler of Mali at the time was Mansa Yūsuf b. Mūsā b. ʿAlī b. Ibrahim**.**( _**'Garden of Excellences and Benefits in the Science of Medicine and Secrets' by Modibbo Muhammad al-Kābarī, ca. 1450, Timbuktu, ( **_ * * * **An empire in decline: Mali during the rise of Songhai in the 16th century.** It’s unclear whether Mansa Yusuf succeeded in undertaking the pilgrimage since the last of the royal pilgrimages from Takrur (either Mali or Bornu) during the 15th century occurred in 1431( . Mali had lost control of Timbuktu to the Maghsharan Tuareg around 1433 according to _Ta’rīkh as-sūdān_, a 17th century Timbuktu chronicle. Most local authorities from the Mali era were nevertheless retained such as the qadis and imams. The Tuareg control of Timbuktu ended with the expansion of the Songhai empire under Sunni Ali (r. 1464-1492), who rapidly conquered the eastern and northern provinces of Mali, including Gao, Timbuktu, Jenne, and Walata.( The account of the Genoese traveler Antonio Malfante who was in Tuwat (southern Algeria) around 1447 indicates that Gao, Timbuktu, and Jenne were separate polities from Mali which was **“said to have nine towns.”** A Portuguese account from 1455-56 indicates that the **“Emperor of Melli”** still controlled parts of the region along the Atlantic coast, but mentions reports of war in Mali's eastern provinces involving the rulers of Gao and Jenne.( _**Mali in the 16th century**_ Between 1481 and 1495, King John II of Portugal sent embassies to the king of Timbuktu (presumably Songhai), and the king of Takrur (Mali). The first embassy departed from the Gambia region but failed to reach Timbuktu, with only one among the 8-member team surviving the journey. A second embassy was sent from the Portuguese fort at El-Mina (in modern Ghana), destined for Mali, after the ( The sovereign who received the Portuguese delegation was Mansa Maḥmūd b. Walī b. Mūsā, the grandson of the Mansa Musa II (r. I373/4 to I387). According to the Portuguese account; **"This Moorish king, in reply to our King's message, amazed at this novelty** \ **said that none of the four thousand four hundred and four kings from whom he descended, had received a message or had seen a messenger of a Christian king, nor had he heard of more powerful kings than these four: the King of Alimaem** \**, the King of Baldac** \**, the King of Cairo, and the King of Tucurol** \"( While no account of the envoys' negotiations at the capital of Mali was recorded, it seems that later Malian rulers weren’t too receptive to the overtures of the Portuguese, as no further delegations were sent by the crown, but instead, one embassy was sent by the El-mina captain Joao Da Barros in 1534 to the grandson of the abovementioned Mansa. By then, the gold trade of the Juula to el-Mina had declined from 22,500 ounces a year in 1494, to 6,000 ounces a year by 1550, as much of it was redirected northwards.( Between the late 15th and mid 16th century, the emergence of independent dynasties such as the Askiya of Songhai and the Tengella of Futa Toro challenged Mali's control of its northern provinces, and several battles were fought in the region between the three powers. Between 1501 and 1507, Mali lost its northern provinces of Baghana, Dialan, and Kalanbut to Songhai, just as the regions of Masina and Futa Toro in the northwest fell to the Tengella rulers and other local potentates.( Mali became a refuge for rebellious Songhai royals such as Askiya Muḥammad Bonkana Kirya who was deposed in 1537. He moved to Mali’s domains where his son was later married. But the deposed Aksiya and his family were reportedly treated poorly in Mali, forcing some of his companions to depart for Walata (which was under Songhai control) while the Bonkana himself remained within Mali’s confines in the region of Kala, west of Jenne( . It’s shortly after this that in 1534 Mansa Mahmud III received a mission from the Elmina captain Joâo de Barros, to negotiate with the Mali ruler on various questions concerning trade on the River Gambia.( Mali remained a major threat to Songhai and often undertook campaigns against it in the region west of Jenne. In 1544 the Songhai general (and later Askiya) Dawud, led an expedition against Mali but found the capital deserted, so his armies occupied it for a week. Dawud's armies would clash with Mali's forces repeatedly in 1558 and 1570, resulting in a significant weakening of Mali and ending its threat to Songhai. The ruler of Mali married off his princess to the Askiya in acknowledgment of Songhai’s suzerainty over Mali( _**Jenne street scene, ca. 1906.**_ * * * **From empire to kingdom: the fall of Mali in the 17th century.** Songhai’s brief suzerainty over Mali ended after the collapse of Songhai in 1591, to the Moroccan forces of al-Mansur. The latter attempted to pacify Jenne and its hinterland, but their attacks were repelled by the rulers of Kala (a Bambara state) and Massina, who had thrown off Mali’s suzerainty. The Mali ruler Mahmud IV invaded Jenne in 1599 with a coalition that included the rulers of Masina and Kala, but Mali's forces were driven back by a coalition of forces led by the Arma and the Jenne-koi as well as a ruler of Kala, the last of whom betrayed Mahmud but spared his life..( While Mali had long held onto its western provinces along the Gambia River, the emergence of the growth of the kingdom of Salum as a semi-autonomous polity in the 16th century eroded Mali's control over the region and led to the emergence of other independent polities. By 1620, a visiting merchant reported that the Malian province had been replaced by the kingdoms of Salum, Wuli, and Cayor.( Over the course of the early 17th century, Mali lost its suzerainty over the remaining provinces and was reduced to a small kingdom made up of five provinces that were largely autonomous. Mali’s power was eventually eclipsed by the Bambara empire of Segu which subsumed the region of Manden in the late 17th century, marking the end of the empire.( _**The Palace of Amadu Tal in Segou, late 19th century illustration after it was taken by the French**_ * * * **In the Hausaland region (east of Mali) two ambitious Hausa travelers explored Western Europe from 1852-1856, journeying through Malta, France, England, and Prussia (Germany). Read about their fascinating account of European society here** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Map by Michael Gomez ( Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants by Nehemia Levtzion, Jay Spaulding pg 18-19 ( Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara by Alisa LaGamma pg 48-78 ( The imperial capital of Mâli François-Xavier Fauvelle prg 7, Les masques et la mosquée - L'empire du Mâli by François-Xavier Fauvelle pg 53 ( In Search of Sunjata: The Mande Oral Epic as History, Literature and Performance edited by Ralph A. Austen ( African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa By Michael A. Gomez pg 62-63, Les masques et la mosquée - L'empire du Mâli by François-Xavier Fauvelle pg \*51, \*30-34 ( Map by Roderick McIntosh ( The imperial capital of Mâli François-Xavier Fauvelle prg 8) ( African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa By Michael A. Gomez pg 69, 82, 84, 87. In Search of Sunjata: The Mande Oral Epic as History, Literature and Performance edited by Ralph A. Austen pg 48 ( Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants by Nehemia Levtzion, Jay Spaulding pg 93-94 African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa By Michael A. Gomez pg 96-99) ( [Mansa Musa and the royal pilgrimage tradition of west Africa: 11th-18th century\ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------]( ( · January 1, 2023 ( ( ( Le Mali et la mer (XIVe siècle) by François-Xavier Fauvelle ( Les masques et la mosquée - L'empire du Mâli by François-Xavier Fauvelle pg \*64-65, African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa By Michael A. Gomez pg 124-125) ( Travels of Ibn Battuta Vol4 pg 951-952, 956, 967, 970-971 ( Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants by Nehemia Levtzion, Jay Spaulding pg 53-54 ( African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa By Michael A. Gomez pg 126-129 ( The great mosque of Timbuktu by Bertrand Poissonnier pg 31-34 ( Les masques et la mosquée - L'empire du Mâli by François-Xavier Fauvelle pg \*140-145) ( Les masques et la mosquée - L'empire du Mâli by François-Xavier Fauvelle pg \*145-156, African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa By Michael A. Gomez pg 139-141) ( Les masques et la mosquée - L'empire du Mâli by François-Xavier Fauvelle pp. 211-225) ( Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants by Nehemia Levtzion, Jay Spaulding pg 95, 100 ( African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa By Michael A. Gomez pg 148-149) ( Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants by Nehemia Levtzion, Jay Spaulding pg 96 ( African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa By Michael A. Gomez pg 150-151, Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants by Nehemia Levtzion, Jay Spaulding pg 97-98 ( From Dust to Digital: Ten Years of the Endangered Archives Programme, 2015, pg 173-188 ( [Foundations of Trade and Education in medieval west Africa: the Wangara diaspora.\ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------]( ( · September 18, 2022 ( ( ( Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants by Nehemia Levtzion, Jay Spaulding pg 63-64 ( Ressusciter l’archive. Reconstruction et histoire d’une lettre mamelouke pour le sultan du Takrūr (1440) by Rémi Dewière ( Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants by Nehemia Levtzion, Jay Spaulding pg 118 ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 30-31, African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa By Michael A. Gomez pg 183-185) ( African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa By Michael A. Gomez pg 151-153.) ( Wangara, Akan and Portuguese I by Ivor Wilks pg 338-339, D’ Asia by João de Barros pg 260-261. ( Wangara, Akan and Portuguese II by Ivor Wilks, pg 465-6 ( General History of Africa Volume IV by UNESCO pg 180-182, Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 108-110, 113 ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 134-135 ( African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa By Michael A. Gomez, pg 207 ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 140, 148, 153-154, ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 234-236) ( General History of Africa Volume IV by UNESCO pg 183-184) ( General History of Africa Volume IV by UNESCO pg 184, The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 4 pg 171-174 (\* _are not the exact page numbers_)

# The Mali Empire: A Complete History (ca. 1250-1650) ## Overview 1. **Height of the Empire**: The Mali Empire, at its peak in the 14th century, was one of Africa's largest states, covering approximately 1.2 million square kilometers across West Africa. 2. **Influence**: The empire incorporated at least five modern African states and was known for significant historical figures like Mansa Musa, contributing to the growth of cities such as Timbuktu. 3. **Timeline**: This history traces the empire's founding in the early 13th century to its decline in the late 17th century, discussing key figures and events crucial to its rise and fall. ## Emergence of Mali 1. **Geographical Context**: The area where the Mali Empire emerged was influenced by the Ghana Empire, with accounts from the 11th century describing the "great kingdom" of Daw and the kingdom of Malal, illustrating the region's cultural diversity. 2. **Islamic Influence**: The rise of Mali coincided with the expansion of Islamic communities, especially in cities like Jenne, while non-Muslim societies thrived in the hinterlands. 3. **Historical Accounts**: Both oral traditions by the _jeli_ (griots) and written accounts by African and external scholars provide insights into Mali's early history, emphasizing the roles of Muslim and non-Muslim communities in its political landscape. ### Foundational Epic 1. **The Sudiata Epic**: Central to Mali's foundation is the epic of Sundiata, detailing the life of Sundiata, a prince who becomes the empire's first ruler after overcoming adversity and defeating the king Sumanguru. 2. **Historical Significance**: Sundiata's establishment of the ‘Grand Council’ of lineage heads reflects the political structures that would influence Mali's governance. ## Mali in the 14th Century: From Sundiata to Mansa Musa 1. **Regional Authority**: The central region of Manden maintained a close relationship with Mali's ruling dynasty, establishing the Mansa as a suzerain over incorporated societies. 2. **Governance Structure**: Mali's governance involved traditional rulers and appointed officers (farba) who managed trade and security, illustrating a multi-layered sovereignty within the empire. 3. **Mansa Musa's Reign**: - Mansa Musa (r. 1312–1337) is noted for his famous pilgrimage to Mecca, which served as a means of legitimizing his power and strengthened Mali's ties with the Islamic world. - His return led to the establishment of significant architectural projects, including the Jingereber mosque in Timbuktu. ## Intellectual and Cultural Flourishing 1. **Cultural Exchange**: The empire fostered intellectual exchanges with scholars and merchants from various regions, expanding commercial and cultural links, particularly in Timbuktu. 2. **Literary Developments**: While writing was not commonly used in administration, letters between Mali's rulers and external powers indicate familiarity with written communication, signifying an advanced state of intellectual engagement. ## Decline of the Mali Empire 1. **Rise of the Songhai Empire**: By the 15th century, Mali faced challenges from the expanding Songhai Empire, losing significant territories including Gao and Timbuktu. 2. **Political Fragmentation**: The internal strife within Mali led to the emergence of independent local dynasties, further weakening Mali's political control and diminishing its prominence in regional affairs. 3. **Final Years**: The collapse of the Songhai Empire in 1591 due to Moroccan incursions marked a significant turning point, leading to Mali's reduction to a small kingdom, largely autonomous and fragmented. ## Conclusion The Mali Empire's historical trajectory from a vast, influential empire to a diminished kingdom highlights the complexities of West African political dynamics, the role of leadership in fostering cultural and intellectual advancements, and the impact of external pressures leading to its decline. The legacy of the Mali Empire continues to be significant in understanding the rich history of West Africa.

a brief note on European and African perspectives in travel literature

A Hausa explorer of western Europe.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on European and African perspectives in travel literature ====================================================================== ### A Hausa explorer of western Europe. ( Feb 18, 2024 22 The study of written history is in many ways, a study of perspectives. In the parts of Africa where the most accessible accounts about the region’s past used to be the travel literature of European visitors, the study of African history was a study of European perspectives of Africa. The Eurocentric perspective of travelers such as James Bruce in 18th century Ethiopia, and Heinrich Barth in 19th century West Africa, informed much of their understanding of African societies. However, there are a few sections in these European travelogues in which the African perspective of their guests is reproduced, revealing how the Europeans were seen by their hosts. The Scottish traveler James Bruce, who visited Ethiopia in order to find the source of the Nile, was hospitably received by the ruling Empress Mentewwab at her palace in QwesQwam near Gondar. But the empress found Bruce's reasons for travel to be rather odd; remarking to Bruce that **"life furnishes us with the perverseness and contradiction of human nature!, You have come from Jerusalem, through vile Turkish governments, and hot, unwholesome climates, to see a river and a bog, no part of which you can carry away."** _**Ruins of Empress Mentewab's QwesQwam complex near Gondar, Ethiopia.**_ It’s interesting that Mentewwab's critique of the main objective of James Bruce's entire adventure was retained. The queen wished to visit Jerusalem, which Bruce and many Ethiopian pilgrims had been to, but the Scottish traveler only wished to see the source of the Nile, which from Mentewwab's perspective was a frivolous goal. While the opinions of the African hosts about the European travelers were mostly positive, such as Heinrich Barth's stay in the west African states of Bornu and Sokoto, some instances of conflict blighted African perceptions of the European visitors, and by extension, of European society. During his stay in Timbuktu around 1851, Heinrich Barth was not so hospitably received by the Fulbe authorities of the ( , whose control over the city was contested by the Tuaregs. One Massina officer repeatedly pestered the German traveler with "insulting language". Barth writes that this Massina officer **"Spoke of the Christians** \ **in the most contemptuous manner, describing them as sitting like women in the bottom of their steamboats, and doing nothing but eating raw eggs; concluding with the paradoxical statement, which is not very flattering to Europeans, that the idolatrous Bambara** \ **were far better people and much farther advanced in civilization than the Christians."** The conflict between Massina and the Tuaregs near Timbuktu who protected Barth, likely influenced the Massina officer's negative opinion of European society, which he ranked lower than his 'pagan' rivals, the Bambara of Segu. Barth also blamed Mungo Park for propagating the stereotype that Europeans were fond of raw eggs, something that was disliked by their West African guests. _**Colorized engraving of Heinrich Barth's arrival at Timbuktu in 1853**_ Just like most European writers had formulated their perspective of Africa without actually traveling to the continent, similar perceptions about European society were mostly made by Africans who hadn't been there. Fortunately, a number of African travelers who had been visiting Europe began documenting their accounts in the 19th century, forming a more accurate perspective of European society. One such remarkable account was left by the ( , providing both an African perspective of Europe, and his European hosts' perspective of their African guest. For example, Selim notes that after refusing to order wine and pork, the servants of the Hotel where he was staying in st. Petersburg revealed that they were also Muslims to the astonishment of Selim, who wrote of the encounter; **"I remained silent! So in the countries of the whites, there were such Muslims!."** Traveling across the Russian countryside, he encountered people in Kalmykia who revered him as one of their spirits **"who had landed from his mountain,"** He met people in Samara who fled from him **"thinking he was the devil,"** and people in Semipalatinsk who **"acclaimed him as a King"** and thought he was the leader of his white companions. Selim's account is one of a handful of travelogues by Africans who visited Europe, but it’s mostly concerned with northern Europe. A few decades before Selim embarked on his journey, an adventurous African visitor from the Hausalands traveled to England and Germany, providing a rare description of Western European society by an African. The account of this Hausa traveler in Western Europe and his observations of European society are the subject of my latest Patreon article, Please subscribe to read about it here: ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. 22 Likes 22 Comments Top Latest Discussions ( ( Sep 4, 2021 • ( 30 ( ( Apr 9, 2023 • ( 17 ( ( Apr 7 • ( 48 See all Ready for more?

### A Brief Note on European and African Perspectives in Travel Literature #### Introduction - Travel literature has historically captured varying perspectives on societies. - In Africa, much of the prior historical understanding stemmed from European travel accounts. #### European Perspectives on Africa 1. **Eurocentric Travel Accounts**: - European travelers, such as James Bruce (18th century) and Heinrich Barth (19th century), documented their experiences in Africa. - Their accounts reflected their perceptions, often shaped by preconceived notions and limited understanding of African cultures. 2. **James Bruce in Ethiopia**: - Bruce sought the source of the Nile and was received by Empress Mentewwab in 18th century Ethiopia. - Mentewwab expressed confusion over Bruce’s motivations, critiquing his goal as frivolous: - **Quote**: "Life furnishes us with the perverseness and contradiction of human nature! You have come from Jerusalem... to see a river and a bog, no part of which you can carry away." - This interaction highlights how Bruce’s quest was viewed as trivial from an Ethiopian perspective. 3. **Heinrich Barth in West Africa**: - During his stay in Timbuktu, Barth faced hostility from local authorities, which reflected broader tensions between local groups. - A Massina officer insulted Barth, depicting Christians derogatorily and claiming that the Bambara were superior: - **Quote**: "Spoke of the Christians in the most contemptuous manner... that the idolatrous Bambara were far better people and much farther advanced in civilization than the Christians." - This underscores the negative perceptions some Africans held about European travelers, influenced by local political conflicts. #### African Perspectives on Europe 1. **Emergence of African Travelers**: - In contrast to European narratives, a number of African individuals began to document their travels to Europe in the 19th century, providing authentic insights into European society. 2. **Selim's Journey to Russia**: - An African traveler, Selim, shared his experiences in St. Petersburg, noting the surprise of discovering Muslims among the European population: - **Quote**: "So in the countries of the whites, there were such Muslims!" - His encounters in various Russian towns revealed diverse perceptions of him, such as being revered in Kalmykia or feared in Samara. 3. **Hausa Traveler's Account**: - A notable account by a Hausa traveler to England and Germany provides a rare African description of Western Europe. - Although details are sparse, this account complements other African perspectives and emphasizes the importance of these narratives in understanding historical interactions. #### Conclusion - The travel literature from both European and African explorers offers a complex interplay of perceptions. - While European accounts often portrayed Africa through a biased lens, emerging African narratives began to provide a more nuanced perspective on European societies, contributing to a richer understanding of cross-cultural encounters.

The colonial myth of 'Sub-Saharan Africa' in medieval Islamic geography: the view from Egypt and Bornu.

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=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The colonial myth of 'Sub-Saharan Africa' in medieval Islamic geography: the view from Egypt and Bornu. ======================================================================================================= ### . ( Feb 11, 2024 35 Few intellectual figures of the Muslim world were as prolific as the 15th-century Egyptian scholar Jalal al-Suyuti. A polymath with nearly a thousand books to his name and a larger-than-life personality who once claimed to be the most important scholar of his century, Jalal al-Suyuti is considered the most controversial figure of his time.( One of the more remarkable events in al-Suyuti's life was when he acted as an intermediary between the ruler of the west-African kingdom of Bornu, and the Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil II —an important figure descended from the Abbasid rulers whose empire fell in 1258 , but was reconstituted at Cairo without their temporal power. Recounting his encounter with the ruler of Bornu, al-Suyuti writes that; _**"In the year 889**_ **\**_**, the pilgrim caravan of Takrur \ arrived, and in it were the sultan, the qadi, and a group of students. The sultan of Takrur asked me to speak to the Commander of the Faithful**_ \ _**about his delegating to him authority over the affairs of his country so that his rule would be legitimate according to the Holy Law. I sent to the Commander of the Faithful about this, and he did it."**_( The Bornu sultan accompanying these pilgrims was Ali Dunama (r. 1465-1497), his kingdom controlled a broad swathe of territory stretching from southern Libya to northern Nigeria and central Chad. Bornu's rulers and students had been traveling to Egypt since the 11th century in the context of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, making stopovers at Cairo's institutions to teach and study. Their numbers had grown so large that by 1242, they had built a school in Cairo and were regularly attending the college of al-Azhar.( Al-Azhar hosted students from many nationalities, each of whom lived in their own hostel headed by a teacher chosen from their community, who was in turn under a rector of the college with the title of _Shaykh_ al-Azhar. In 1834, the _shaykh_ al-Azhar was Hasan al-Quwaysini, an influential Egyptian scholar whose students included Mustafa al-Bulaqi, the latter of whom was a prominent jurist and teacher at the college. Through his contacts with Bornu’s students, al-Quwaysini acquired a didactic work of legal theory written by the 17th-century Bornu scholar Muhammad al-Barnawi and was so impressed by the text that he copied it and asked al-Bulaqi to write a commentary on it. Mustafa's commentary circulated in al-Azhar's scholarly community and was later taken to Bornu in a cyclic exchange that characterized the intellectual links between Egypt and Bornu. _**'Shurb al-zulal' (Drinking pure water) by Muhammad al-Barnawi, ca. 1689-1707.**_( * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * There's no misconception more persistent in discourses about Africa's past than the historicity of the term sub-Saharan Africa; a geo-political term which ostensibly separates the African regions bordering the Mediterranean from the rest of the continent. Many proponents of the term's usage claim that it is derived from a historical reality, in which the ruling Arab elite of the southern Mediterranean created geographic terms separating the African territories they ruled from those outside their control. They also claim that the 'racial' and 'civilizational' connotations that this separation carries were reflected in the nature of the interaction between the two regions, purporting a unidirectional exchange in which cultural innovations only flowed southwards from "North" Africa but never in reverse. However, a closer analysis of the dynamic nature of exchanges between Egypt and Bornu shows that the separation of "North Africa" from 'Sub-Saharan' Africa was never a historical reality for the people living in either region, but is instead a more recent colonial construct with a fabricated history. _**Sketch of the Bornu Empire**_ * * * About a century before al-Suyuti had brokered a meeting between the Bornu sultan and the Abbassid Caliph, an important diplomatic mission sent by the Sultan of Bornu ʿUthmān bin Idrīs to the Mamluk sultan al-Ẓāhir Barqūq had arrived in Cairo in 1391. The Bornu ambassador carried a letter written by their sultan's secretary as well as a 'fine' gift for the Mamluk sultan according to the court historian and encyclopedist al-Qalqashandī (d. 1418). The letter related a time of troubles in Bornu when its rulers were expelled from its eastern province of Kanem after a bitter succession crisis. In it, the Bornu sultan mentions that a group of wayward tribes of “pagan” Arabs called the _judham_, who roamed the region between Egypt and Bornu had taken advantage of the internal conflict to attack the kingdom. He thus requested that the Mamluk sultan, whom he accords the title of _Malik_ (king), should _**"restrain the Arabs from their debauchery"**_ and release any Bornu Muslims in his territory who had been illegally captured in the wars.( In their response to the Bornu sultan, the titles used by the Mamluk chancery indicated that the Bornu sultan, whom they also referred to as _Malik_, was as highly regarded as the sultanates of Morocco, Tlemcen or Ifrīqiya and deserved the same etiquette as them. This remarkable diplomatic exchange between Bornu and Mamluk Egypt, in which both rulers thought of each other as equal in rank and their subjects as pious Muslims, underscores the level of cultural proximity between Egyptian and Bornuan society in the Middle Ages.( Bornu eventually restored its authority over much of Kanem, pacified the wayward Arabs who were reduced to tributary status, and established its new capital at Ngazargamu which had become a major center of scholarship by the time its sultan Ali Dunama met Al-Suyuti in 1484. The Egyptian scholar mentions that the pilgrims who accompanied Sultan Ali Dunama included a _qadi_ (judge) and _**"a group of students"**_ who took with them a collection of more than twenty of al-Suyuti's works to study in Bornu.( Al-Suyuti also mentions that he brokered another meeting between the Abbasid Caliph and another sultan of Takrur; identified as the Askiya Muhammad of Songhai (r. 1493-1528), when the latter came to Cairo on pilgrimage in 1498. Al-Suyuti was thus the most prominent Egyptian scholar among West African scholars, especially regarding the subject of theology and tafsīr studies (Quranic commentary). His influence is attested in some of the old Quranic manuscripts found in Bornu, which explicitly quote his works.( _**undated Borno Qur’an page showing the commentary on Q. 2:34 (lines 8–10) which was taken from Tafsīr al-Jalālayn of al-Suyuti. (translation and image by Dmitry Bondarev), SOAS University of London**_ * * * ( * * * The vibrant intellectual traditions of Bornu were therefore an important way through which its society was linked to Mamluk Egypt and the rest of the Islamic world, both politically and geographically. Works on geography by Muslim cartographers such as the _Nuzhat_ of al-Idrisi (d. 1165) and the _Kharīdat_ of Ibn al-Wardī (d. 1349) were available in Bornu where its ruler Muhammad al-Kanemi (r.1809-1837) showed a map to his European guest that was described by the latter as a _**“map of the world according to Arab nations”**_. Such geographic works were also available in Bornu’s southwestern neighbor; the empire of Sokoto, where they were utilized by the 19th-century scholar Dan Tafa for his work on world geography titled _‘Qataif al-jinan’_ (The Fruits of the Heart in Reflection about the Sudanese Earth (world)".( Both Dan Tafa and the classical Muslim geographers defined different parts of the African continent and the people living in them using distinct regional terms. The term _**Ifriqiyya**_ —from which the modern name of the continent of Africa is derived— was only used to refer to the coastal region that includes parts of Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, which used to be the Roman province of Africa. The term _**Maghreb**_ (West) was used to refer to the region extending from Ifriqiyya to Morocco. The region below the _Maghreb_ was known as _**"Bilad al-Sudan"**_ (land of the blacks), extending from the kingdom of Takrur in modern Senegal to the kingdom of Kanem \.( Providing additional commentary on the origin of the term Bilad al-Sudan, Dan Tafa writes that _**"Sudan means the southern regions of the earth and the word is the plural for ‘black’ stemming from the ‘blackness’ of their majority.”**_( The term _'Sudan'_ is indeed derived from the Arabic word for the color 'black'. Its singular masculine form is _Aswad_ and its feminine form is _Sawda_; for example, the black stone of Mecca is called the _'al-Ḥajaru al-Aswad'_. However, the use of the term _Sudan_ in reference to the geographic regions and the people living there wasn't consonant with 'black' (or 'Negro') as the latter terms are used in modern Europe and America. Some early Muslim **writers** such as the prolific Afro-Arab writer Al-Jahiz (d. 869) in his work ‘_Fakhr al-Sudan 'ala al-Bidan’_ (The Boasts of the Dark-Skinned Ones Over The Light-Skinned Ones) utilised the term 'Sudan' as a broad term for many African and Arab peoples, as well as Coptic Egyptians, Indians, and Chinese.( However, the context in which al-Jahiz was writing his work, which was marked by intense competition and intellectual rivalry between poets and satirists in the Abbasid capital Bagdad( , likely prompted his rather liberal use of the term _Sudan_ for all of Africa and most parts of Asia. A similarly broad usage of the term _Sudan_ can be found in the writings of Ibn Qutayba (d. 889) whose account of the ancient myth of Noah’s sons populating the earth, considered Ham to be the father of Kush who in turn produced the peoples of the ‘Sudan’; that he lists as the ‘Nuba’, Zanj, Zaghawa, Habasha, the Egyptian Copts and the Berbers.( which again, don’t fit the Euro-American racial concept of ‘Black’. On the other hand, virtually all of the Muslim **Geographers** restricted their use of '_Bilad al-Sudan_' to the region of modern West Africa extending from Senegal to the Lake Chad Basin, and employed different terms for the rest of Africa. Unlike the abovementioned writers, these Geographer’s use of specific toponyms and ethnonyms could be pinpointed to an exact location on a map. It was their choice of geographic terms that would influence knowledge of the African continent among later Muslim scholars. The middle Nile valley region was referred to as _**Bilad al-Nuba**_ (land of the Nubians) in modern Sudan. The region east of Nubia was referred to as _**"Bilad al-Habasha"**_ (land of the Habasha/Abyssinians) in modern Ethiopia and Eritrea, while the east African coast was referred to as _**"Bilad al-Zanj"**_ (land of the Zanj). The region/people between al-Sudan and al-Nuba were called _Zaghawa_, and between al-Nuba and al-Habasha were called _Buja_. On the other hand, the peoples living between al-Habasha and al-Zanj were called _Barbar,_ the same as the peoples who lived between the Magreb and Bilad al-Sudan.( _**A simplified copy of Al-Idrisi’s map made by Ottoman scholar Ali ibn Hasan al-Ajami in 1469, from the so-called “Istanbul Manuscript”, a copy of the Book of Roger.**_ _**A redrawing of al-Idrisi’s map of the world by German cartographer ( in 1923, is considered more accurate than the more simplified Ottoman map above.**_ \*both maps are originally oriented south but the images here are turned to face north\* These terms were utilized by all three geographers mentioned above to refer to the different regions of the African continent known to Muslim writers at the time. Most of the names for these regions were derived from pre-existing geographic terms, such as the classical terms for Nubia and Habasha which appear in ancient Egyptian and Nubian documents( , as well as the term 'Zanj' that appears in Roman and Persian works with various spellings that are cognate with the Swahili word ‘Unguja’, still used for the Zanzibar Island.( While Muslim geographers made use of pre-existing Greco-Roman knowledge, such as al-Idrisi’s reference to Ptolemy’s Geographia in the introduction to his written geography, the majority of their information was derived from contemporary sources. The old greco-roman terms such as ‘_**aethiopians**_’ of Africa that were vaguely defined and located anywhere between Morocco, Libya, Sudan, and Ethiopia, were discarded for more precise terms based on the most current information by travelers.( But their information was understandably limited, as they thought the Nile and Niger Rivers were connected; believing that the regions south of the Niger River were uninhabited, and that all three continents were surrounded by a vast ocean.( There was therefore no broad term for the entire African continent in the geographic works of Egypt and the rest of the Muslim world, nor was there a collective term for “black” Africans. The Arab sociologist Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406) who lived most of his later life in Cairo, was careful to caution readers about the specificity of these geographic terms and ethnonyms, noting in his _al-Muqaddimah_ that _**"The inhabitants of the first and second zones in the south are called Abyssinians, the Zanj and the Sudan. The name Abyssinia however is restricted to those who live opposite Mecca and Yemen, and the name Zanj is restricted to those who live along the Indian Ocean."**_( _**Translation of the toponyms found on the simplified copy of al-Idrisi’s world map by Joachim Lelewel.**_ * * * The names of the different peoples from each African region were also similar to the broad geographic terms for the places where they came from, such as the _'Sudan'_ from West Africa, the _‘Nuba_’ from Sudan, the ‘_Habasha’_ from Ethiopia, and the _Zanj_ from East Africa. While some writers used these terms inconsistently, such as the term ‘_Barbar_’ which could be used for Berber, Somali, and Nubian Muslims, or Zanj which could be used for some non-Muslim groups in 19th-century west-Africa; the majority of writers used them as names of specific peoples in precise locations on a map.( On the other hand, the Muslims who came from these regions were often named after the most prominent state, such as the Takruri of West Africa who were named after the kingdom of Takrur, and the Jabarti of the northern Horn of Africa who were named after the region of Jabart in the Ifat and Adal sultanate( . It’s for this reason that the hostels of Al-Azhar in the 18th century were named after each community; the _Riwāq al-**Dakārinah**_ for scholars from Takrūr, the _Riwāq Dakārnah Sāliḥ_ for scholars from Kanem, and the _Riwāq al-**Burnīya**_ for scholars from Bornu.( Others recorded in the 19th century include the _Riwāq al-**Djabartiya**_ for scholars from the Somali coast, _Riwāq al-**Barabira**_ for Nubian scholars (from modern Sudan).( While each community concentrated around their hostels and their respective shayks, the different scholars of al-Ahzar frequently intermingled as the roles of ''teacher' and 'student' changed depending on an individual scholar's expertise on a subject. For example, prominent West African scholars such as Muhammad al-Kashinawi (d. 1741) from the city of Katsina, southwest of Bornu, were among the teachers of Hasan al-Jabarti (d. 1774), the father of the famous historian ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Jabartī (d. 1825) whose family was originally from the region around Zeila in northern Somalia. Abd al-Raḥmān al-Jabartī included Muhammad al-Kashinawi in his biography of important scholars and listed many of the latter’s works. Another prominent West African scholar at Al-Azhar was the 18th-century Shaykh al-Burnāwī from Bornu whose students and contemporaries included prominent Egyptian and Moroccan scholars such as Abd al-Wahhab al-Tāzī (d. 1791) .( Both Muhammad al-Kashinawi and Shaykh al-Burnāwī acquired their education in West Africa, specifically in Bornu where most of their teachers were attested before they traveled to Cairo to teach. It’s in this context that the writings of scholars from Bornu such as the 17th-century jurist Muhammad al-Barnawi, mentioned in the introduction, became known in Egypt among the leading administrators of al-Azhar like Mustafa al-Bulaqi (d. 1847) who was the chief _Mufti_ (jurisconsult) of the Maliki legal school of Egypt and Hasan al-Quwaysini, who was the rector of the college itself.( The Bornu scholar Al-Barnawi, also known as Hajirami in West Africa, was the imam of one of the mosques in the Bornu capital Ngazargamu, and was a prominent teacher before he died in 1746. He is known to have authored several works, the best known of which was his didactic work of legal theory titled _**'Shurb al-zulal**_' (Drinking pure water) written between 1689 and 1707. The work follows the established Maliki tradition of Bornu, citing older and contemporary scholars from across the Muslim world including Granada, Fez, Cairo, and Timbuktu. In the early 19th century, the Maliki mufti al-Bulaqi wrote a commentary on al-Barnawi's which he titled _**Qaşidat al - Manhal al-Sayyāl li - man arāda Shurb al-Zulal**_. Many copies of the latter found their way back to the manuscript collections of northern Nigeria.( _**Copy of al-Mustafa al-Bulaqi’s commentary, ( **_ * * * After the Portuguese sailed around the southern tip of Africa in 1488, the classical geography of al-Idrisi was updated in European maps, along with many of the geographic terms of Muslim cartography. Over the centuries, additional information about the continent was acquired, initially from ( and Kongo who visited ( and ( , and later by European travelers such as James Bruce and Mungo Park who visited East and West Africa in the eighteenth century. As more information about Africa became available to European writers, it was included in the dominant discourses of Western colonialism —a political and social order that purported a racial and cultural superiority of the West over non-Western societies. Such colonial discourses were first developed in the Americas by writers such as John Locke( and were furthered by Immanuel Kant( and Georg Hegel in their philosophies of world history. Hegel in particular popularized the conceptual divide between "North Africa" (which he called “European Africa”), and the rest of Africa (which he called "Africa proper"), claiming the former owes its development to foreigners while condemning the latter as "unhistorical".( _**( in which ‘Negroland’, ‘Nubia’ and ‘Abissinia’ are separated from ‘Barbaria’, ‘Biledugerid’, and ‘Egypt’ by the ‘Zaara desert’ and the ‘desert of Barca’.**_ These writers provided a rationale for colonial expansion and their “racial-geographical” hierarchies would inform patterns of colonial administration and education, especially in the French-controlled regions of the Maghreb and West Africa, as well as in British-controlled Egypt and Sudan. The French and British advanced a Western epistemological understanding of their colonies, classifying races, cultures, and geographies, while disregarding local knowledge. Pre-existing concepts of ethnicity were racialized, and new identities were created that defined what was “indigenous” against what was considered “foreign”.( The institutionalization of disciplines of knowledge production in the nineteenth century transformed concepts of History and Geography into purely scientific disciplines, thus producing particular Geo-historical subjectivities such as the "Arab-Islamic" on the one hand, and "African" on the other. In this new conceptual framework, the spatial designations like ‘North Africa’ and ‘Sub-Saharan Africa’ were imaged as separate geographical entities. Any shared traditions they have are assumed to be the product of unidirectional links in which the South is subordinate to the North.( The modern historiography of the Islamic world also emerged in the context of European colonialism and largely retained its Euro-American categorization of geographic entities and peoples. The Sahara was thus re-imagined as a great dividing gulf between distinct societies separating North from South, the “Black/African” from “White/Arab”.( The old ethnonyms such as _'Sudan'_, _'Habash',_ and ‘Zanj’ were translated as 'Black' —a term developed in the Americas and transferred to Africa—, and the vast geographic regions of _Bilad al-Sudan, Bilad al-Habasha,_ and _Bilad-al-Zanj_ were collapsed into 'Sub-Saharan' Africa. Gone are the complexities of terms such as the _Takruri_ of Sudan, or the _Jabarti_ of Habash, and in come rigid terms such as 'Sub-Saharan Muslims' from 'Black Africa'. The intellectual and cultural exchanges between societies such as Egypt and Bornu, where rulers recognized each other as equals and scholars such as al-Suyuti and al-Barnawi were known in either region, are re-imagined as unidirectional exchanges that subordinate one region to the other. Contacts between the two regions are approached through essentialized narratives that were re-interpreted to fit with Eurocentric concepts of 'Race.'( While recent scholarship has discarded the more rigid colonial terminologies, the influence of modern nationalist movements still weighs heavy on the conceptual grammar and categories used to define Africa’s geographic spaces. Despite their origin as anti-colonial movements, some of the nationalist movements on the continent tended to emphasize colonial concepts of "indigeneity" and"national identity" and assign them anachronistically to different peoples and places in history. For this reason, the use of the terms ‘North-Africa’ and ‘Sub-Saharan Africa’ are today considered politically and culturally expedient, both negatively and positively —by those who want to reinforce colonial narratives of Africa's separation and those who wish to subvert them. Whether it was a product of the contradiction between the Arab nationalism championed by Egypt’s Abdel Nasser that sought to 'unite' the predominantly Arab-speaking communities, that clashed with —but at times supported— Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah whose Pan-Africansm movement included the North.( Or it is a product of the continued instance of UN agencies on the creation of new and poorly-defined geopolitical concepts like MENA ("The Middle East and North Africa")( and the other fanciful acronyms like WANA, MENASA, or even MARS( . The result was the same, as communities on both sides of the divide internalized these new identities, created new patterns of exclusion, and imbued them with historical significance. **But for whatever reason the term 'Sub Saharan' Africa exists today, it did not exist in the pre-colonial world in which the societies of Mamluk Egypt and Bornu flourished.** It wasn't found on the maps of Muslim geographers, who thought the West African kingdoms were located within the Sahara itself and nothing lived further south. It wasn't present in the geo-political ordering of the Muslim world where Bornu's ruler Ali Dunama, even in the throes of civil war, addressed his Egyptian peer as his equal and retained the more prestigious titles for himself. In the same vein, his successor Idris Alooma would only address the Ottoman sultan as 'King' but rank himself higher as _Caliph_( , similar to how Mansa Musa refused to bow to the Mamluk sultan, but was nevertheless generously hosted in Cairo. The world in which al-Suyuti and al-Barnawi were living had no concept of modern national identities with clearly defined boundaries, It had its own ways of ordering spaces and societies that had little in common with the colonial world that came after. It was a world in which scholars from what are today the modern countries of Nigeria, Somalia, and Morocco could meet in Egypt to teach and learn from each other, without defining themselves using these modern geo-political concepts. **It was a world in which Sub-Saharan Africa was an anachronism, a myth, projected backward in colonial imaginary.** _**students at the Al-azhar University in Cairo, early 20th-century postcard.**_ * * * The northern Horn of Africa produced some of Africa’s oldest intellectual traditions that include the famous historian Abdul Rahman al-Jabarti of Ottoman-Egypt. Read more about the intellectual history of the Northern Horn on Patreon: ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Al-Suyūṭī, a polymath of the Mamlūk period edited by Antonella Ghersetti ( Jalal ad-Din As-Suyuti's Relations with the People of Takrur by E.M. Sartain pg pg 195 ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 223, 249. ( ( ( Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants pg 106, Ethnoarchaeology of Shuwa-Arab Settlements By Augustin Holl pg 12-13 ( Mamluk Cairo, a Crossroads for Embassies: Studies on Diplomacy and Diplomatics edited by Frédéric Bauden, Malika Dekkiche pg 674-678) ( Jalal ad-Din As-Suyuti's Relations with the People of Takrur by E.M. Sartain pg 195) ( Tafsīr Sources in Annotated Qur’anic Manuscripts from Early Borno by Dmitry Bondarev pg 25-57 ( A Geography of Jihad. Jihadist Concepts of Space and Sokoto Warfare by Stephanie Zehnle pg 79, 85-101. ( A Geography of Jihad. Jihadist Concepts of Space and Sokoto Warfare by Stephanie Zehnle pg 89) ( A Geography of Jihad. Jihadist Concepts of Space and Sokoto Warfare by Stephanie Zehnle pg 94) ( The Image of Africans in Arabic Literature : Some Unpublished Manuscripts by by Akbar Muhammad 47-51 ( Reader in al-Jahiz: The Epistolary Rhetoric of an Arabic Prose Master By Thomas Hefter ( The Sahara: Past, Present and Future edited by Jeremy Keenan pg 96 ( Arabic External Sources for the History of Africa to the South of Sahara Tadeusz Lewicki ( Church and State in Ethiopia, 1270-1527 by Taddesse Tamrat pg 12 ( New Encyclopedia of Africa, Volume 1, edited by John Middleton pg 208) ( A Geography of Jihad. Jihadist Concepts of Space and Sokoto Warfare by Stephanie Zehnle pg 80-84, Cartography between Christian Europe and the Arabic-Islamic World pg 74-87 ( A Region of the Mind: Medieval Arab Views of African Geography and Ethnography and Their Legacy by John O. Hunwick pg 106-120 ( Ibn Khaldun, the maqadimma: an introduction to history, by Franz Rosenthal, pg 60-61) ( Models of the World and Categorical Models: The 'Enslavable Barbarian' as a Mobile Classificatory Label" by Paulo Fernando de Moraes Farias. ( Takrur the History of a Name by 'Umar Al-Naqar pg 365-370, Islamic principalities in southeast Ethiopia pg 31 ( Islamic Scholarship in Africa by Ousmane Oumar Kane pg 8) ( E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936. A - Bābā Beg, Volume 1 by E. J. Brill pg 533-534 ( Islamic Scholarship in Africa: New Directions and Global Contexts pg 30-32, PhD thesis) Al-Azhar and the Orders of Knowledge by Dahlia El-Tayeb Gubara pg 213. ( Islamic Reform and Conservatism: Al-Azhar and the Evolution of Modern Sunni Islam by Indira Falk Gesink pg 90, 28 ( The Arabic Literature of Nigeria to 1804 by A.D.H. Bivar pg 130-131, Arabic Literature of Africa Vol.2 edited by John O. Hunwick, Rex Séan O'Fahey pg 41) ( John Locke and America: The Defence of English Colonialism By Barbara Arneil ( Black Rights/white Wrongs: The Critique of Racial Liberalism By Charles Wade Mills ( Hegel and the Third World by Teshale Tibebu pg 224) ( The Invention of the Maghreb: Between Africa and the Middle East By Abdelmajid Hannoum, The Walking Qurʼan: Islamic Education, Embodied Knowledge, and History in West Africa by Rudolph T. Ware, Living with Colonialism: Nationalism and Culture in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan By Heather J. Sharkey. ( (PhD thesis) Al-Azhar and the Orders of Knowledge by Dahlia El-Tayeb Gubara, pg 189-192 ( On Trans-Saharan Trails: Islamic Law, Trade Networks, and Cross-Cultural Exchange in Nineteenth-Century Western Africa by Ghislaine Lydon pg 36-46 ( The Walking Qurʼan: Islamic Education, Embodied Knowledge, and History in West Africa by Rudolph T. Ware pg 21-36 ( Nkrumaism and African Nationalism by Matteo Grilli, The Arabs and Africa edited by Khair El-Din Haseeb) ( The Multidimensionality of Regions in World Politics by Paul J. Kohlenberg, ( Another Cartography is Possible: Relocating the Middle East and North Africa by Harun Rasiah ( [Historical links between the Ottoman empire and Sudanic Africa (1574-1880).

# The Colonial Myth of 'Sub-Saharan Africa' in Medieval Islamic Geography: The View from Egypt and Bornu ## Introduction to Jalal al-Suyuti and His Context 1. Jalal al-Suyuti was a prominent 15th-century Egyptian scholar known for his prolific contributions to Islamic scholarship, having authored nearly a thousand works. 2. He is recognized for his role as an intermediary between the ruler of the Bornu Empire and the Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil II. This interaction is significant for illustrating the diplomatic connections between North Africa and West African states. ## Diplomatic Relations Between Bornu and Egypt 1. In 1484, al-Suyuti recorded an encounter with Sultan Ali Dunama of Bornu, who sought legitimacy for his rule from the Abbasid caliph through a delegation of pilgrims. 2. The Bornu kingdom, which spanned regions from southern Libya to northern Nigeria and central Chad, had established educational ties with Egypt as early as the 11th century, with students attending Cairo’s al-Azhar University. 3. By 1242, students from Bornu built their own school in Cairo, indicating a rich cultural and scholarly exchange. ## Cultural and Scholarly Exchanges 1. Scholars from Bornu, including Muhammad al-Barnawi, made substantial contributions to Islamic theology and legal theory, influencing Egyptian scholars like Hasan al-Quwaysini. 2. The manuscript 'Shurb al-zulal' authored by al-Barnawi exemplifies the interconnectedness of legal scholarship between Bornu and Egypt, showcasing how ideas circulated between these regions. ## Critique of 'Sub-Saharan Africa' as a Historical Construct 1. The term 'sub-Saharan Africa' is critiqued as a colonial construct that inaccurately segregates the continent into distinct geopolitical regions. 2. This term is often portrayed as a historical reality reflecting the division created by the ruling Arab elites in the Mediterranean, which is misleading. 3. Detailed examination of historical texts reveals that medieval Muslim geographers did not conceptualize Africa in the binary terms of 'North' versus 'South'; they employed more specific regional terms. ## Geographic Terms and Historical Context 1. Medieval Muslim geographers, such as al-Idrisi and Ibn al-Wardī, used terms like 'Bilad al-Sudan' (land of the blacks) to describe regions in West Africa without implying a racial hierarchy. 2. The geographical understanding of the time did not include broad terms for Africa but rather precise toponyms and ethnonyms related to specific locations and peoples. 3. Terms such as 'Nuba' for Nubians, 'Zanj' for East Africans, and 'Habasha' for Abyssinians were employed to denote specific areas and communities. ## Intellectual Traditions in Bornu 1. The intellectual output of Bornu was significant and included a variety of works that linked its scholars to the wider Islamic world. 2. The presence of geographical and theological texts in Bornu indicated its connection to Mamluk Egypt and its standing within the Islamic intellectual tradition. 3. Diplomatic relations between the kingdoms fostered a shared cultural identity rather than a division based on the concept of sub-Saharan Africa. ## Colonial Narratives and Their Impact 1. European colonialism reinterpreted and redefined African geography, often minimizing the historical interactions between different regions. 2. Influential thinkers like Hegel propagated the view that 'North Africa' was historically developed due to foreign influence while labeling 'Africa proper' as stagnant and unhistorical. 3. The legacy of colonial terminology persists in contemporary discourses, where terms like 'North Africa' and 'sub-Saharan Africa' still carry racial and cultural implications that obscure historical realities. ## Conclusion on Historical Misconceptions 1. The notion of 'sub-Saharan Africa' did not exist in the medieval period and reflects a colonial mindset that overlooked the sophisticated interactions between regions like Egypt and Bornu. 2. Relationships were characterized by mutual recognition and respect rather than a hierarchical divide, which contradicts modern interpretations influenced by colonial legacies. 3. It is essential to understand that the complex historical context in which figures like al-Suyuti and al-Barnawi operated challenges the simplistic narratives imposed by later colonial discourse. By examining the intricate diplomatic, cultural, and intellectual exchanges between medieval Islamic societies, particularly between Egypt and Bornu, we can better appreciate the historical inaccuracies embedded in the contemporary use of terms like 'sub-Saharan Africa.'

a brief note on the Intellectual history of Africa

the Jabarti diaspora of North-Eastern Africa.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on the Intellectual history of Africa ================================================== ### the Jabarti diaspora of North-Eastern Africa. ( Feb 04, 2024 29 The African continent has historically been home to dozens of writing systems including some of the world’s oldest such as the Meroitic script of Kush, the Ge'ez script of Aksum, and the Old Nubian script of medieval Nubia, as well as some of the more recent scripts such as ( , Vai and Njoya's syllabary. Each of these writing systems produced its own literary traditions and contributed to the continent’s intellectual history. While many of these writing systems were created within the continent, their usage was often confined to the societies that invented them. The vast majority of writing in most African societies was done using the Arabic script which was also rendered into various African languages as the Ajami script. This was in large part due to the gradual adoption of Islam as a common religion across many African societies, which facilitated cross-cultural exchanges and the usage of the Arabic script without the need for extending political authority as was the case for Kush’s Meroitic script, Ethiopia’s Ge’ez script, or King Njoya’s script, that were all associated with royal power. Documents written in the Arabic script are thus attested in more than eighty languages across the continent from the Atlantic coast of Senegal to the East African coast in Tanzania to the forested regions of Eastern Congo. _**Map showing the languages in which the Arabic script is attested,**_ map by Meikal Mumin In virtually all these societies, the tradition of literacy and the use of the script was propagated by African scholars through complex intellectual networks that cut across varied social interactions and political boundaries. Over centuries, this African literary tradition has left a priceless heritage in manuscript collections from Timbuktu to Kano, to Lamu, which underscore the salient role played by Africa's scholarly diasporas in the spread of learning across the continent. In West Africa, the most dynamic of these scholarly diasporas were the Wangara of the Inland delta of central Mali. Appearing among the earliest documentary records about West Africa, ( . These merchant scholars are associated with many of the region's earliest centers of learning and the emergence of intellectual movements that continue to shape the region's social landscape. In East Africa, the Swahili were the region's equivalent of the Wangara. Initially confining their activities to the coast and its immediate hinterland, ( , crossing into Uganda, Zambia, and Congo, until they reached the Atlantic coast of Angola. They were integrated into the region's societies, and contributed to the region's intellectual culture, producing a large collection of manuscripts across many locations from Kenya to Mozambique to the D.R.C. _**Ruins of a mosque in Isangi, eastern D.R.Congo, ca. 1894, NMVW**_ While the intellectual history of West Africa and East Africa has attracted the bulk of attention from modern researchers, the northern horn of Africa was home to an equally vibrant literary tradition in Arabic and Ajami that is at times overshadowed by the focus on the Ge'ez literature of Ethiopia. The intellectual traditions of the northern Horn of Africa produced some of the continent’s oldest centers of learning such as Harar and Zeila, as well as many prominent scholars, most notably the Ottoman-Egyptian historian Abdul Rahman al-Jabarti. **The intellectual networks and scholars of the northern Horn of Africa are the subject of my latest Patreon article** **Please subscribe to read more about it here:** ( * * * _**ruins of an old mosque in Zeila, northern Somalia**_ * * *

### A Brief Note on the Intellectual History of Africa: The Jabarti Diaspora of North-Eastern Africa 1. **Historical Writing Systems in Africa**: - Africa has been home to numerous writing systems, some of the oldest being: - **Meroitic Script**: Originated in Kush. - **Ge'ez Script**: Developed in Aksum. - **Old Nubian Script**: Emerged in medieval Nubia. - Recent writing systems include Vai and Njoya's syllabary. - Each writing system contributed uniquely to Africa’s literary and intellectual heritage. 2. **Dominance of the Arabic Script**: - The Arabic script became predominant in Africa due to the spread of Islam, facilitating cross-cultural exchanges. - It was incorporated into various African languages using the **Ajami script**. - This script is attested across more than eighty African languages, spanning from Senegal in the west to Tanzania in the east, and including regions in Eastern Congo. 3. **Propagation of Literacy**: - African scholars played a crucial role in propagating literacy through complex intellectual networks. - These networks transcended social and political boundaries, fostering a rich tradition of scholarship. - Significant manuscript collections, such as those in Timbuktu, Kano, and Lamu, highlight the importance of these scholarly diasporas. 4. **West African Scholarly Diaspora**: - The **Wangara** merchants of the Inland delta in Mali were among the first significant scholarly communities in West Africa. - They are linked to some of the earliest centers of learning and major intellectual movements in the region. 5. **East African Intellectual Contributions**: - The **Swahili** served as the equivalent scholarly diaspora in East Africa. - Initially based along the coast, their influence expanded into Uganda, Zambia, Congo, and reached the Atlantic coast of Angola. - The Swahili contributed to the region’s intellectual culture, producing a vast collection of manuscripts from Kenya to Mozambique to the D.R.C. 6. **Northern Horn of Africa's Literary Tradition**: - The northern Horn of Africa, particularly regions like Harar and Zeila, fostered vibrant intellectual traditions in Arabic and Ajami. - This area produced important centers of learning that are sometimes overshadowed by the focus on Ethiopia's Ge'ez literature. - Notable scholars from this region include **Abdul Rahman al-Jabarti**, an Ottoman-Egyptian historian. 7. **Conclusion**: - The intellectual networks and contributions of the northern Horn of Africa are significant to the overall understanding of Africa's literary history. - These networks reflect the diverse historical contexts and cultural exchanges that have shaped Africa’s intellectual landscape.

State and society in southern Ethiopia: the Oromo kingdom of Jimma (ca. 1830-1932)

Modern Ethiopia is a diverse country comprised of many communities and languages, each with its history and contribution to the country's cultural heritage.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers State and society in southern Ethiopia: the Oromo kingdom of Jimma (ca. 1830-1932) ================================================================================== ( Jan 28, 2024 20 Modern Ethiopia is a diverse country comprised of many communities and languages, each with its history and contribution to the country's cultural heritage. While Ethiopian historiography is often focused on the historical developments in the northern regions of the country, some of the most significant events that shaped the emergence of the modern country during the 19th century occurred in its southern regions. In a decisive break from the past, several monarchical states emerged among the Oromo-speaking societies in the Gibe region of southwestern Ethiopia, the most powerful of which was the kingdom of Jimma. Reputed to be one of the wealthiest regions in Ethiopia, the kingdom's political history traverses several key events in the country's history. This article explores the history of the kingdom of Jimma from its emergence in 1830 to its end in 1932, reframing the complex story of modern Ethiopia from an Oromo perspective. _**Map of Jimma in southwestern Ethiopia**_ * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Background on the political landscape of southern Ethiopia between the 16th and early 19th century.** Around the 16th century, the Gibe region of south-western Ethiopia was dominated by Oromo-speaking groups, who, through a protracted process of migration and military expansion, created diverse societies and political structures over some pre-existing societies such as the Sidama-speaking polities of Kaffa and Enarea. By the mid-18th century, increased competition for land, livestock, markets, and trade routes, between these Oromo societies led to the emergence of several states in the region.( At the turn of the 19th century, there were at least five polities in the upper Gibe region that were known by contemporary visitors as the kingdoms of Limmu-Enarea; Gomma; Guma; Gera; and Jimma. The emergence of these kingdoms was influenced as much by internal processes in Oromo society; such as the emergence of successful military leaders, as it was by external influences; such as the revival of Red Sea trade and the expansion of trade routes into southern Ethiopia.( Initially, the most powerful among these states was the kingdom of Limmu-Enarea founded by Bofo after a successful defense of the kingdom against an invasion by the kingdom of Guma. Limmu-Enarea reached its height during the reign of Bofu's son Ibsa Abba Bagibo (1825-61), a powerful monarch with a well-organized hierarchy of officials. Its main town of Sakka was an important commercial center on the trade route between Kaffa and the kingdoms of Shewa and Gojjam (part of the Ethiopian empire). It attracted Muslim merchants from the northern regions, who greatly influenced the adoption of Islam in the kingdom and its neighbors including the kingdom of Jimma.( The polity of Jimma was established in the early 19th century by Abba Magal, a renowned Oromo warrior who expanded the kingdom from his center at Hirmata. By 1830, the kingdom of Jimma emerged as a powerful rival of Enarea, just as the latter was losing its northern frontier to the kingdom of Shewa. Jimma's king, Sanna Abba Jifar, had succeeded in uniting several smaller states under his control and conquered the important centers along the trade route linking Kaffa to the northern states of Gojjam and Shewa. In several clashes during the late 1830s and 1840s, Jimma defeated its neighbors on all sides, including Enarea. Abba Jifar transformed the kingdom from a congeries of small warring factions to a centralized state of growing economic and political power.( _**Map of the Jimma kingdom in the late 19th century, showing the principal towns and settlements.**_( * * * **The government in Jimma** Abba Jifar created many administrative and political innovations based on pre-existing institutions as well as external influences from Muslim traders. Innovations from the latter in particular were likely guided by the cleric and merchant named Abdul Hakim who settled near the king's palace at Jiren. However, traditional institutions co-existed with Islamic institutions, and the latter were only gradually adopted as more clerics settled in Jima during the late 19th century.( Administration in Jimma was centralized and controlled by the king through a gradually developed bureaucracy. The capital of Jimma was at Jiren where the palace compound of the King was established in the mid-19th century on a hill overlooking Hirmata, around which were hundreds of soldiers, servants and artisans.( The building would later be reconstructed in 1870 by Abba Jifar II after a fire.( Near the palace lived court officials, such as the prime minister, war minister, chief judge, scribes, court interpreters, lawyers, musicians, and other entertainers. There were stables, storehouses, treasuries, workshops, reception halls, houses for the royal family and visitors, servants, soldiers and a mosque.( The kingdom was divided into sixty provinces, called _**k'oro**_, each under the jurisdiction of a governor, called an _**abba k'oro**_, whose province was further divided into five to ten districts (ganda), each under a district head known as the _**abba ganda**_. These governors supplied soldiers for the military and mobilized corvee labor for public works, but retained neither an army nor the right to collect taxes.( Appointed officials staffed the administrative offices of Jimma, and none of the offices were hereditary save for the royal office itself. Officials such as tax collectors, judges, couriers, and military generals were drawn from several different categories including royals and non-royals, wealthy figures and men who distinguished themselves in war, as well as foreigners with special skills, including mercenaries, merchants, and Muslim teachers. These were supported directly by the king and through their private estates rather than by retaining a share of the taxes sent to the capital.( _**Aba Jifar’s palace in the early 20th century, and today.**_ * * * ( * * * **Expansion and consolidation of Jimma in the second half of the 19th century** Abba Jifar was succeeded by his son Abba Rebu in 1855 after the former's death. He led several campaigns against the neighboring kingdom of Gomma during his brief 4-year reign but was defeated by a coalition of forces from the kingdoms of Limmu, Gera, and Goma. His successor, Abba Bo'Ka (r. 1858-1864), also reigned for a relatively brief period during which Jimma society was Islamized, mosques were constructed near Jiren and land was granted to Muslim scholars. He also ordered his officials to build mosques in their respective provinces and to support local Sheikhs, making Jimma an important center of Islamic learning in southern Ethiopia.( Abba Bo'ka was succeeded by Abba Gommol (r.1864-1878), under whose long reign the kingdom's borders were expanded eastwards to conquer the kingdom of Garo in 1875. The latter's rulers were integrated into Jimma society through intermarriage and appointment as officials at Jiren, and wealthy figures from Jimma settled in Garo. After he died in 1878, Gommol was succeeded by his 17-year-old son Abba Jifar II, who was soon confronted with the southward expansion of the kingdoms of; Gojjam under Takla Haymanot; and Shewa under Menelik II.( _**mid-19th century manuscript of Sheikh Abdul Hakim, currently at the cleric’s mosque in Jimma**_.( _**Late-19th-century manuscripts of Imam Sidiqiyo (d. 1892) at the Sadeka Mosque**_( _**The old mosque of Afurtamaa (mosque of forty Ulama) was originally built as a timber structure by Abba Bo'ka, but was later reconstructed in stone by Abba Jifar II.**_( * * * ( * * * **Jimma during the reign of Abba Jifar II** At the time of Abba Jifar II's ascension, many who visited Jimma accorded him little hope of retaining his kingdom for long in the face of the expansionist armies of Shewa and Gojjam. But the shrewd king avoided openly confronting the armies of Gojjam, which were themselves defeated by the Shewa armies of Menelik in 1882. Abba Jifar then opted to placate Menelik's ambitions by paying annual tribute in cash and ivory, while Jimma's neighboring kingdoms would later become the target of Shewa's expansionist armies. Aside from a brief incident coinciding with Menelik’s enthronement as the Ethiopian emperor in 1889, Jimma remained firmly under the control of Abba Jifar II who would ultimately outlive his suzerain.( During Abba Jifar II's long reign, trade flourished, agriculture and coffee growing expanded, and Jimma and its king gained a reputation for wealth and greatness. It is described by one visitor in 1901 as **"almost the richest land of Abyssinia"** and its capital Jiren was visited by 20-30,000 merchants where **"all the products of southern Ethiopia are sold there, in many double rows of stalls about a third of a mile long**.( A later visitor in 1911 remarks that Abba Jafir was an intelligent ruler who **“takes great pride in the prosperity of his country.”** especially road-making( Another visitor in 1920 observed that **“Jimma owes its riches, not to any great natural superiority over the rest of the country, but to the liberal policy which encourages instead of cramping the industry of its inhabitants.”**( The markets of Jimma attracted long-distance caravans and were home to craft industries whose artisans furnished the palace and the army with their products. Hirmata, the trade center of Jimma's capital, was the greatest market of southwestern Ethiopia, attracting tens of thousands of people to it from all directions. Tolls were levied on caravans passing through the tollgates of the kingdom, while markets were under the control of a palace official.( The basis of the domestic economy in Jimma, like in the neighboring states, was agro-pastoralism, concentrating on grains such as barley, sorghum, and maize, as well as raising cattle for the household economy. The main exports from Jimma to the regional markets included ivory and gold that were resupplied from the south, and coffee that was grown locally.( While Coffee hardly featured in the agricultural products of Jimma in the 1850s( , it had become the dominant export by the late 19th century. In 1897, another visitor to Jimma observed **"very extensive"** farming of Coffee with "almost no fallow land", adding that the farmers produced **"not only to meet local needs and pay taxes but also for export of bread** \**"** The economic prosperity of Jimma brought about by its better-managed coffee production relative to neighboring Ethiopian provinces attracted migrant farmers, and would later become a major source of conflict between the kingdom, its neighboring provincial governors, and its suzerains at Addis.( _**High-class Oromo farmers in south-western Ethiopia**_, ca. 1920( _**section of the Jiren market in 1901, with baskets containing agricultural produce**_ * * * **The fall of Jimma in the early 20th century** In the later years, Abba Jifar's kingdom was surrounded on all sides by Ethiopian provinces directly administered by Menelik's appointees who intended to add Jimma to their provinces by taking advantage of Menelik's withdrawal from active government. Abba Jifar thus strengthened his army by purchasing more firearms and recruiting Ethiopian soldiers. The era of Menelik's successor Lij Iyasu (r. 1913-16) offered temporary respite. Still, relations became tense under Iyasu’s successor Empress Zewditu, as Haile Sellassie gradually took control of the government and eventually succeeded her in 1930. He then began centralizing control over the empire, especially its rich coffee-producing south.( By 1930, the aging king retired from active rule and left the government in the hands of his grandson Abba Jobir, who was faced with a combination of increased demand of tribute to Addis, the appointment of an Imperial tax collector, and falling coffee prices. Abba Jobir’s attempts to assert his autonomy by directly confronting the Imperial armies were stalled when he was imprisoned by Haile Selassie and a rebellion broke out in Jimma that was only suppressed in 1832. After this rebellion, a governor was directly appointed over Jimma, ending the kingdom's autonomy.( During the Italian occupation, Abba Jobir was freed and appointed sultan of the province of Galla-sidamo albeit without full autonomy. He was later re-imprisoned after the return of Haile Selassie who would later free him. By then, the kingdom of Jimma had been subsumed under the Ethiopian province of Kaffa, and is today part of the Oromia region. _**Portrait of ( , and his ( **_, early 20th-century photo * * * Many cultural developments along the East African coast are often thought to have been introduced by foreigners from southwestern Asia who migrated to the region, but recent research has revealed that **East Africans regularly traveled to and settled in Arabia and the Persian Gulf** where they established diasporic communities Read more about this **history of East African travel to Arabia here:** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( The Galla State of Jimma Abba Jifar by Herbert S. Lewis pg 323-322) ( The Emergence and Consolidation of the Monarchies of Enarea and Jimma in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century by Mordechai Abir pg 206-208, The Islamization of the Gibe Region, Southwestern Ethiopia from c. 1830s to the Early Twentieth Century by G Gemeda pg 68-70) ( The Cambridge History of Africa vol 5 pg 85, The Emergence and Consolidation of the Monarchies of Enarea and Jimma in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century by Mordechai Abir pg 208-210) ( The Emergence and Consolidation of the Monarchies of Enarea and Jimma in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century by Mordechai Abir pg 217-218, Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932 By Herbert S. Lewis pg 41 ) ( Map by Herbert S. Lewis ( Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932 By Herbert S. Lewis pg 41-42, The Islamization of the Gibe Region, Southwestern Ethiopia from c. 1830s to the Early Twentieth Century by G Gemeda pg 69-71) ( The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society: JRGS, Volume 25 By Royal Geographical Society pg 212 ( Heritages and their conservation in the gibe region (Southwest Ethiopia): a history, ca. 1800-1980 by Nejib Raya pg 73-77 ( Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932 By Herbert S. Lewis pg 68-76, The Galla State of Jimma Abba Jifar by Herbert S. Lewis pg 238) ( The Galla State of Jimma Abba Jifar by Herbert S. Lewis pg 331-332) ( The Galla State of Jimma Abba Jifar by Herbert S. Lewis pg 329-330) ( Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932 By Herbert S. Lewis pg 43, The Islamization of the Gibe Region, Southwestern Ethiopia from c. 1830s to the Early Twentieth Century by G Gemeda pg 72) ( Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932 By Herbert S. Lewis pg 43-44) ( photo by Nejib Raya, reading: Heritages and their conservation in the gibe region (Southwest Ethiopia): a history, ca. 1800-1980 ( photo by Nejib Raya ( Photo by ‘Jiren’ on Facebook, further reading: History of Islamic education in Jimma from 1830 to 2007 by Abdo Abazinab ( The Rise of Coffee and the Demise of Colonial Autonomy by Guluma Gemeda pg 53-54, Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932 By Herbert S. Lewis pg 45, Between the Jaws of Hyenas - A Diplomatic History of Ethiopia (1876-1896) By Richard Caulk pg 166 ( From the Somali Coast Through Southern Ethiopia to the Sudan By Oscar Neumann pg 390 ( A Journey in Southern Abyssinia by C. W. Gwynn, pg 133 ( Through South-Western Abyssinia to the Nile by L. F. I. Athill pg 355 ( The Galla State of Jimma Abba Jifar by Herbert S. Lewis pg 333-334) ( The Galla State of Jimma Abba Jifar by Herbert S. Lewis 325-326) ( On the Countries South of Abyssinia by CT Beke pg 260 ( The Rise of Coffee and the Demise of Colonial Autonomy: The Oromo Kingdom of Jimma and Political Centralization in Ethiopia by Guluma Gemeda pg 60-61) ( Photo by L. F. I. Athill ( The Rise of Coffee and the Demise of Colonial Autonomy: The Oromo Kingdom of Jimma and Political Centralization in Ethiopia by Guluma Gemeda pg 55-57) ( The Rise of Coffee and the Demise of Colonial Autonomy: The Oromo Kingdom of Jimma and Political Centralization in Ethiopia by Guluma Gemeda pg 62-66).

### Title: State and Society in Southern Ethiopia: The Oromo Kingdom of Jimma (ca. 1830-1932) #### Introduction - Modern Ethiopia is characterized by its diverse communities and languages, each contributing to the cultural heritage of the country. - Historical focus is often on northern regions, but significant developments occurred in southern Ethiopia, particularly among Oromo-speaking societies. #### Historical Background of Southern Ethiopia (16th – Early 19th Century) 1. **Dominance of Oromo-speaking Groups**: - By the 16th century, Oromo-speaking groups had established themselves in the Gibe region through migration and military expansions. - These groups created diverse societies and political structures, absorbing some Sidama-speaking polities, including Kaffa and Enarea. 2. **Emergence of Kingdoms**: - By the mid-18th century, competition for resources led to the formation of several polities, including the kingdoms of Limmu-Enarea, Gomma, Guma, Gera, and Jimma. 3. **Influences on Kingdom Formation**: - Internal factors included the rise of military leaders; external influences included the revival of Red Sea trade routes connecting southern Ethiopia to broader trade networks. #### Establishment of the Kingdom of Jimma (1830) 1. **Founding of Jimma**: - The kingdom was established in the early 19th century by Abba Magal, an Oromo warrior. - By 1830, Jimma had become a powerful state, rivaling Limmu-Enarea, especially under King Sanna Abba Jifar. 2. **Military Expansion**: - Abba Jifar centralized power and united smaller factions, achieving military victories over neighboring kingdoms in the late 1830s and 1840s. #### Governance in Jimma 1. **Administrative Innovations**: - Abba Jifar introduced innovations based on existing institutions and influences from Muslim traders. 2. **Centralized Bureaucracy**: - The kingdom had a centralized administration with the capital at Jiren, featuring various officials and a structured hierarchy. 3. **Provincial Administration**: - Jimma was divided into sixty provinces (k'oro), each managed by a governor (abba k'oro) and further subdivided into districts (ganda). 4. **Appointment of Officials**: - Officials were chosen based on merit rather than heredity, including tax collectors, judges, and military leaders. #### Expansion and Consolidation (Second Half of the 19th Century) 1. **Leadership Transitions**: - Abba Jifar was succeeded by his son Abba Rebu in 1855, followed by Abba Bo'ka and Abba Gommol. 2. **Islamization and Cultural Growth**: - Under Abba Bo'ka, Islam was promoted, and Jimma became a center of Islamic learning. 3. **Territorial Expansion**: - Abba Gommol expanded the kingdom's territory eastward by conquering Garo in 1875 and integrating its leadership into Jimma. #### Economic Prosperity under Abba Jifar II 1. **Conditions of Ascendancy**: - Abba Jifar II became king in 1878 during a time of expansionist threat from neighboring kingdoms. 2. **Strategic Diplomacy**: - He opted for diplomatic tribute to avoid direct conflict, which allowed Jimma to maintain autonomy for a time. 3. **Economic Growth**: - Trade flourished, particularly in coffee, which transformed into a significant export by the late 19th century. 4. **Agricultural Practices**: - The economy relied on agro-pastoralism, focusing on a variety of crops and livestock, which supported both local needs and exports. #### Decline of Jimma (Early 20th Century) 1. **Increased External Pressure**: - Under Empress Zewditu and later Haile Selassie, centralization efforts intensified, leading to increased demands from Addis Ababa. 2. **Leadership and Rebellion**: - Abba Jobir, who succeeded Abba Jifar II, attempted to assert autonomy but faced rebellion and was imprisoned. 3. **End of Autonomy**: - By 1932, Jimma lost its status as an independent kingdom, becoming part of the Kaffa province under direct imperial administration. #### Conclusion - The kingdom of Jimma played a significant role in the historical landscape of Ethiopia, showcasing the complexity of regional politics, economic developments, and cultural exchanges within the broader context of Ethiopian history. The eventual decline and absorption into the Ethiopian empire illustrate the challenges faced by independent states amid pressures from more centralized powers.

Reversing the Sail: a brief note on African travelers in the western Indian Ocean

The Swahili in Arabia and the Persian gulf

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Reversing the Sail: a brief note on African travelers in the western Indian Ocean ================================================================================= ### The Swahili in Arabia and the Persian gulf ( Jan 21, 2024 24 In December of 2000, a team of researchers exploring the island of Socotra off the coast of Yemen made a startling discovery. Hidden in the limestone caves of the island was a massive corpus of inscriptions and drawings left by ancient visitors from India, Africa, and the Middle East. At least eight of the inscriptions they found were written in the Ge'ez script associated with the kingdom of Aksum in the northern horn of Africa. The remarkable discovery of the epigraphic material from Socotra is of extraordinary significance for elucidating the extent and scale of the Indo-Roman trade of late antiquity, which linked the Indian Ocean world to the Meditterean world. Unfortunately, most historiography regarding this period overlooks the role played by intermediaries such as the ( , as evidenced by Aksumite material culture spread across the region from the Jordanian city of Aqaba to the city of Karur in south-Eastern India. The Aksumite Empire and the island of Socotra _**one of the stalagmites bearing Aksumite, Brāhmī, and Arabian inscriptions.**_ The limited interest in the role of African societies in ancient exchanges reifies the misconception of the continent as one that was isolated in global processes. As one historian remarks; _**"Narratives of Africa’s relation to global processes have yet to take full account of mutuality in Africa’s global exchanges. One of the most complicated questions analysts of African pasts have faced is how African interests figure into an equation of global interfaces historiographically weighted toward the effects of outsiders’ actions."( **_ For the northern Horn of Africa in particular, ancient societies such as the Aksumites were actively involved in the political processes of the western Indian Ocean. Aksumite armies sent several expeditions into western Arabia from the 3rd to 6th century to support local allies and later to subsume the region as part of the Aksumite state. ( . The recent discovery of royal inscriptions in Ge'ez commissioned by Abraha across central, eastern, northern, and western Arabia indicates that Aksumite control of Arabia was more extensive than previously imagined. A few centuries later, the red-sea archipelago of Dahlak off the coast of Eritrea served as the base for the ( . From 1022 to 1159, this dynasty founded by an Abyssinian administrator named Najah controlled one of the most lucrative trade routes between the Red Sea and the western Indian Ocean. The Najahid rulers established their capital at Zabid in Yemen, struck their own coinage, and received the recognition of the Abbasid Caliph. Around the same time the Abyssinians controlled western Yemen, another African community established itself along the southern coast of Yemen. These were the Swahili of the East African coast, a cosmopolitan community whose activities in the Indian Ocean world were extensive. The Swahili presence in Portuguese India in particular is well-documented, but relatively little is known about their presence in south-western Asia. Cultural exchanges between East Africa and southwestern Asia are thought to have played a significant role in the development of Swahili culture, and resident East Africans in Arabia and the Persian Gulf were likely the agents of these cultural developments. **My latest Patreon article focuses on the Swahili presence in Arabia and the Persian Gulf from 1000 CE to 1900.** **subscribe and read about it here:** ( * * * Illustration of a ship engaged in the East African trade in the Persian Gulf. 1237, Maqamat al-Hariri, The passengers are Arab, and the crew and pilot are East African and/or Indian. while the illustration doesn’t represent a specific type of ship, it is broadly similar to the sewn ships of the western Indian Ocean such as the mtepe of the Swahili.( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Domesticating the World: African Consumerism and the Genealogies of Globalization by Jeremy Prestholdt, pg5 ( Trade in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond edited by D. J. Mattingly pg 147.

### Reversing the Sail: A Brief Note on African Travelers in the Western Indian Ocean #### Title: The Swahili in Arabia and the Persian Gulf 1. **Discovery of Inscriptions on Socotra Island**: - In December 2000, researchers found inscriptions and drawings in limestone caves on Socotra, an island off Yemen's coast. - These inscriptions were created by ancient visitors from India, Africa, and the Middle East. - Notably, eight inscriptions were written in the Ge'ez script, linked to the kingdom of Aksum located in the northern Horn of Africa. 2. **Significance of the Inscriptions**: - The epigraphic material discovered on Socotra is crucial for understanding the Indo-Roman trade during late antiquity. - This trade network connected the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean, highlighting the importance of African intermediaries, which is often overlooked in historical narratives. 3. **Aksumite Empire's Role in Ancient Trade**: - The Aksumite Empire was involved in various political dynamics within the western Indian Ocean from the 3rd to 6th centuries. - Aksumite armies conducted expeditions into western Arabia to support local allies and eventually incorporated the region into the Aksumite state. 4. **Expansive Aksumite Control**: - Recent findings of royal inscriptions in Ge'ez, commissioned by Aksumite ruler Abraha, suggest that Aksumite influence in Arabia was broader than previously believed. - During the period between 1022 and 1159, the Najahid dynasty, established by an Aksumite administrator Najah, controlled important trade routes between the Red Sea and the western Indian Ocean. 5. **Swahili Presence in Southwestern Asia**: - During the same era, the Swahili people, a cosmopolitan community from the East African coast, became prominent in trade across the Indian Ocean. - Their interactions in Portuguese India are well-documented, although their activities in southwestern Asia require further study. 6. **Cultural Exchanges and Implications**: - Cultural exchanges between East Africa and southwestern Asia were significant contributors to the development of Swahili culture. - East Africans residing in Arabia and the Persian Gulf likely played a key role in fostering these cultural developments. 7. **Illustrative Representation of Trade**: - An illustration from the 1237 work "Maqamat al-Hariri" depicts a ship involved in East African trade within the Persian Gulf, showcasing a diverse crew that included East Africans and/or Indians. - The vessel shared similarities with the sewn ships used by the Swahili, indicating the interconnectedness of maritime trade routes. 8. **Prominent Work on Swahili Presence**: - A recent article focuses on the Swahili presence in Arabia and the Persian Gulf from 1000 CE to 1900, highlighting their historical significance in the region. 9. **Conclusion**: - The limited focus on African societies in historical narratives creates a misunderstanding of Africa's role in global exchanges. - Greater recognition of the interactions, influences, and contributions of African travelers, particularly from the Swahili and Aksumite communities, offers a more nuanced understanding of the historical dynamics in the Indian Ocean world.

A history of Grande Comore (Ngazidja) ca. 700-1900.

State and society on a cosmopolitan island

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A history of Grande Comore (Ngazidja) ca. 700-1900. =================================================== ### State and society on a cosmopolitan island ( Jan 14, 2024 14 Situated a few hundred miles off the East African coast are a chain of volcanic islands whose history, society, and urban settlements are strikingly similar to the coastal cities of the mainland. The Comoro archipelago forms a link between the East African coast to the island of Madagascar like a series of stepping stones on which people, domesticates, and goods travelled across the western Indian Ocean. The history of Comoros was shaped by the movement and settlement of different groups of people and the exchange of cultures, which created a cosmopolitan society where seemingly contradictory practices like matriliny and Islam co-existed. While the states that emerged on the three smaller islands of Nzwani, Mwali, and Mayotte controlled most of their territories, the largest island of Ngazidja was home to a dozen states competing for control over the entire island. This article explores the history of Ngazidja from the late 1st millennium to the 19th century. _**Location of Grande Comore on the East African Coast.**_( * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Early history of Grande Comore from the 7th-14th century.** The Comoro Archipelago was settled in the late 1st millennium by speakers of the Sabaki subgroup of Bantu languages from the East African coast. From these early populations evolved the Comorian languages of Shingazidja, Shimwali, Shindzuani, and Shimaore spoken on the islands of Ngazidja, Mwali, Nzwani, and Mayotte respectively. In the later centuries, different parts of the archipelago would receive smaller groups of immigrants including Austroneasian-speakers and Arabs, as well as a continued influx from the Swahili coast.( Archeological evidence suggests that Comoros' early settlement period is similar to that found along the East African coast. Small settlements of wattle and daub houses were built by farming and fishing communities that were marginally engaged in regional trade but showed no signs of social hierarchies. At Ngazidja, the 9th-12th century settlement at Mbachilé had few imported ceramics (about 6%), while another old village contained an Islamic burial but little evidence of external contact.( The ruins of later settlements on Ngazidja in the 13th-14th century include traces of masonry buildings of coral lime and more imported pottery, especially in the town of Mazwini. According to local tradition, this early settlement at Mazwini was abandoned and its inhabitants founded the city of Moroni. It was during this period that the Comoros islands first appeared in textural accounts often associated with the Swahili coast. The earliest of these accounts may have been al-idrisis’ probable reference to Nzwani (Anjouan), but the more certain reference comes from the 15th-century navigator Ibn Majid who mentions Ngazidja by its Swahili name.( _**Moroni, early 20th century.**_ * * * **The emergence of states on Grande Comore (15th-17th century)** The Comoro Islands were part of the 'Swahili world' of the East African coastal cities and their ruling families were often related both agnatically and affinally. Beginning in the 13th century, the southernmost section of the Swahili coast was dominated by the city of Kilwa, whose chronicle mentions early ties between its dynasty and the rulers of Nzwani. By the 15th century, the route linking Kilwa to Comoros and Madagascar was well established, and the cities lying along this route would serve as a refuge for the Kilwa elite who fled the city after it was ( . It was during this period between the 15th and 16th centuries that the oldest states on Ngazidja were founded.( Traditional histories of Ngazidja associate the oldest dynasties on the Island with the so-called 'Shirazi', a common ethnonym that appears in the early history of the Swahili coast —In which a handful of brothers from Shiraz sailed to the east African coast, married into local elite families, and their unions produced the first rulers of the Swahili cities—. Ngazidja’s oral tradition is both dependent upon and radically different from Swahili tradition, reflecting claims to a shared heritage with the Swahili that were adapted to Ngazidja’s social context.( Ngazidja’s Shirazi tradition focuses on the states that emerged at Itsandra and Bambao on the western half of the island. In the latter, a ‘Shirazi’ **princess** from the Swahili coast arrived on the island and was married to Ngoma Mrahafu, the pre-existing ruler (bedja) of the land/state (_**Ntsi**_) of southern Bambao, the daughter born to these parents was then married to Fe pirusa, ruler of northern Bambao. These in turn produced a son, Mwasi Pirusa, who inherited all of Bambao. A later shipwreck brought more 'Shirazis' from the Swahili city of Kilwa, whose **princesses** were married to Maharazi, the ruler of a small town called Hamanvu. This union produced a daughter who was then married to the ruler of Mbadani, and their daughter married the ruler of Itsandra, later producing a son, Djumwamba Pirusa, who inherited the united state of Itsandra, Mbadani and Hamanvu.( This founding myth doubtlessly compresses a long and complex series of interrelationships between the various dynastic houses in Comoros and the Swahili coast. It demonstrates the contradictions inherent in establishing prestigious origins for local lineages that were culturally matrilineal; where the sons of a male founder would have belonged to the mother's lineage and undermined the whole legitimation project. ( _**( **_ ( , the Ngazidja traditions claim that it was Shirazi **princesses** who were married off to local rulers (mabedja), and were then succeeded by the product of these unions, whether sons or daughters, that would take on the title of sultan ( mfaume/mflame).( These traditions also reflect the genetic mosaic of Comoros, as recent studies of the genetic heritage of modern Comorians show contributions predominantly from Africa, (85% mtDNA, 60% Y-DNA) with lesser amounts from the Middle East and South-East Asia.( But as is the case with the Swahili coast, the process of integrating new arrivals from East Africa and the rest of the Indian Ocean world into Comorian society was invariably complex, with different groups arriving at different periods and accorded different levels of social importance. _**Ruins of an old mosque on Grande Comore, 1884, ANOM**_ _**‘miracle mosque’ north of Mitsamiouli, Grande Comore**_ * * * ( * * * Traditional accounts of Comorian history, both written and oral, stress the near-constant rivalry between the different states on Ngazidja, as well as the existence of powerful rulers in the island's interior. Portuguese accounts from the early 16th-century note that there were around twenty independent states on Ngazidja, they also remark on the island’s agricultural exports to the Swahili coast, which included "millet, cows, goats, and hens" that supply Kilwa and Mombasa.( The Comoro ports became an important stopping point for European ships that needed provisions for their crew, and their regular visits had a considerable political and economic impact on the islands, especially Nzwani. While the islands didn't fall under ( , several Portuguese traders lived on the island, carrying on a considerable trade in livestock and grain, as well as Malagasy captives. By the middle of the 16th century, Ngazidja was said to be ruled by Muslim dynasties "from Malindi"( —a catchall term for the Swahili coast. Later arrivals by other European ships at the turn of the 17th century had mixed encounters with the rulers of Ngazidja. In 1591 an English crew was killed in battle after a dispute, another English ship in 1608 was warmly received at Iconi, while a Portuguese crew in 1616 reported that many of their peers were killed. Ngazidja's ambiguous reputation, and its lack of natural harbors, eventually prompted ( ( However, the pre-existing regional trade with the Swahili coast, Madagascar and Arabia continued to flourish. _**The island of Anjouan (Nzwani)**_ * * * **State and society on Grande Comore: 17th-19th century.** By the 17th century, the sultanates of Ngazidja had been firmly established, with eleven separate states, the most powerful of which were Itsandra and Bambao. Each sultanate was centered around a political capital, which generally included a palace where the sultan (_**Mfaume wa Nsti**_) resided next to his councilors. Sometimes, a powerful sultan would succeed in imposing his hegemony over all the sultanates of the island and thus gain the title of _**Sultan Ntinbe.**_ Power was organized according to a complex hierarchy that extended from the city to the village, with each local leader (_**mfaume wa mdji**_) providing its armies, raising taxes, and settling disputes, while religious scholars carried out social functions and also advised the various rulers.( The choice of the sultan was elective, with candidates being drawn from the ruling matrilineage. The sultan was assisted by a council comprised of heads of lineages and other patricians, which restricted his powers through assemblies. The various local sultans nominally recognized the authority of the _**sultan ntibe**_, an honorific office that was alternatively claimed by the two great clans; the Hinya Fwambaya of Itsandra (allied with Washili and Hamahame), and the Hinya Matswa Pirusa, of Bambao (allied with Mitsamiouli, Hambou, Boudé and Boinkou).( while other clans included the M'Dombozi of Badgini (allied with Domba and Dimani) _**the states (Ntsi) of Grande Comore in the late 19th century**_( _**Kavhiridjewo palace ruins in Iconi, dated to the 16th-17th century**_( _**Sultan Ali’s army parading in front of the great mosque of Moroni, ca. 1884, MNHN**_ * * * * * * The second half of the 17th century was a period of prosperity for Ngazidja, particularly the state of Itsandra, which, under the rule of Sultan Mahame Said and his successor Fumu Mvundzambanga, saw the construction of the Friday mosques in Itsandramdjini and Ntsudjini. Sultan Fumu was succeeded by his niece, Queen Wabedja (ca. 1700-1743) who is particularly remembered in local traditions for her lengthy rule both as regent for her three short-lived sons and as a Queen regnant for nearly half a century.( A skillful diplomat, Queen Wabedja married off her daughters to the ruling families of the rival clan of Hinya Matswa Pirusa, which controlled the cities of Mitsamihuli, Ikoni, and Moroni. Trade with the Swahili coast boomed with Itsandramdjini as the island’s premier commercial centre. Itsandra became a center of learning whose scholars included Princess Mmadjamu, a celebrated poet and expert in theology and law.( The period of Wabedja's rule in the early 18th century is remembered as a golden age of Ngazidja's history. Like most of the Swahili coast, the island of Ndazidja received several ( . They married locally and were acculturated into the dominant Comorian culture, particularly its matriclans. These families reinvigorated the society's Islamic culture and learning, mostly based in their village in Tsujini, but also in the city of Iconi. However, unlike the Swahili dynasties and the rulers of Nzwani, the Alawi of Ngazidja never attained political power but were only part of the Ulama.( Most cities (_**mdji**_) and towns in Ngazidja are structured around a public square: a bangwe, with monumental gates (mnara) and benches (upando) where customary activities take place and public meetings are held. The palaces, mosques, houses, and tombs were built around these, all enclosed within a series of fortifications that consisted of ramparts (ngome), towers (bunarisi), and doors (goba).( In Ngazidja, each city is made up of matrilineages ordered according to a principle of precedence called kazi or mila( . The Comorian marital home belongs to the wife, but the husband who enters it becomes its master. It is on this initial tension that broader gender relationships are built, and the house's gendered spaces are constructed to reflect Comorian cultural norms of matrilocality. Larger houses include several rooms serving different functions, with some that include the typical _zidaka_ wall niches of Swahili architecture and other decorative elements, all covered by a mix of flat roofs and double-pitched thatched roofs with open gables to allow ventilation.( _**Bangwe of Mitsudje, and Funi Aziri Bangwe of Iconi**_ _**View of Moroni, ca. 1900, ANOM. with the bangwe in the middle ground**_ _**Mitsamiouli street scene, early 20th century**_ * * * ( * * * At the end of her reign, Wabedja handed over power to her grandson Fumnau (r. 1743-1800), a decision that was opposed by Nema Feda, the queen of the north-eastern state of Hamahame. Nema Feda marched her army south against Fumnau’s capital Ntsudjini, but was defeated by the combined forces of Bambao and Itsandra. The old alliance between the two great clans crumbled further over the succession to the throne of Washili. This conflict led to an outbreak of war in which the armies of Itsandra's king Fumnau and Bambao's king Mlanau seized control over most of the island's major centers before Fumnau turned against Mlanau's successor and remained sole ruler of Ngazidja with the title of _**sultan ntibe**_.( During this period, ( , prompting sultan Fumnau to construct the fortifications of Itsandramdjini, a move which was copied by other cities.( The island remained an important center of trade on the East African coast. According to a visitor in 1819, who observed that the Ngazidja had more trade than the other islands, exporting coconuts to Zanzibar, cowries to India, and grain to Nzwani.( _**West rampart, Ntsaweni, Grande Comore**_ _**Northern rampant of Fumbuni, Grande Comore**_ _**Gerezani Citadel, Itsandra, Grande Comore**_ * * * ( * * * **Grande Comore in the 19th century** The sultans of Ngazidja maintained close ties with Nzwani and Zanzibar, and the island's ulama was respected along the Swahili coast. While both Nzwani and Zanzibar at times claimed suzerainty over the island, neither was recognized by any of Ngazidja's sultans. The island's political fragmentation rendered it impossible for Nzwani's rulers to claim control despite being related to some of the ruling families, while Zanzibar's Omani sultans followed a different sect of Islam that rendered even nominal allegiance untenable.( The 19th century in Ngazidja was a period of civil conflict instigated in large part by the long reign of the Bambao sultan Ahmed (r. 1813-1875), and his ruinous war against the sultans of Itsandra. In the ensuing decades, shifting political alliances and wars between all the major states on the island also came to involve external powers such as the Portuguese, French, and Zanzibar (under the British) whose military support was courted by the different factions. In the major wars of the mid-19th century, sultan Ahmed defeated sultan Fumbavu of Itsandra, before he was deposed by his court in Bambao for allying with Fumbavu's successor Msafumu. Ahmed rallied his allies and with French support, regained his throne, but was later deposed by Msafumu. The throne of Bambao was taken by Ahmed's grandson Said Ali who rallied his allies and the French, to defeat Msafumu's coalition that was supported by Zanzibar. Said Ali took on the title of _**sultan ntibe**_, but like his predecessors, had little authority over the other sultans. This compelled him to expand his alliance with the French by inviting the colonial company of the french botanist Leon Humblot, to whom he leased much of the island (that he didn't control).( In January 1886, against all the traditions of the established political system, Said Ali signed a treaty with France that recognized him as sultan of the entire island and established a French protectorate over Ngazidja. This deeply unpopular treaty was met with stiff opposition from the rest of the island, forcing Said Ali to flee in 1890 and the French to bring in troops to depose the Sultans. By 1892, the island was fully under French control and the sultanate was later abolished in 1904, marking the end of its autonomy.( _**Potrait of Saïd Ali, the last sultan of Grande Comore, ca. 1884**_, MNHN _**Moroni beachfront**_ * * * **The Portuguese invader of Kilwa, Francisco de Almeida, met his death at the hands of the Khoi-San of South Africa,** **Read more about the history of one of Africa’s oldest communities here:** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Map by Stephanie Wynne-Jones and Ian Walker ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones, Adria Jean LaViolette pg 267-268, Islands in a Cosmopolitan Sea: A History of the Comoros By Iain Walker pg 36) ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones, Adria Jean LaViolette pg 271, 273-274 ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones, Adria Jean LaViolette pg 281-282, The Comoro Islands in Indian Ocean Trade before the 19th Century by Malyn Newitt pg 144) ( The Comoro Islands in Indian Ocean Trade before the 19th Century by Malyn Newitt pg 142-144) ( The Comoro Islands: Struggle Against Dependency in the Indian Ocean by M. D. D. Newitt pg 16, The Making of the Swahili: A View from the Southern End of the East African Coast by Gill Shepherd pg 140 ( Becoming the Other, Being Oneself: Constructing Identities in a Connected World By Iain Walker pg 60-61, Cités, citoyenneté et territorialité dans l’île de Ngazidja by Sophie Blanchy ( Becoming the Other, Being Oneself: Constructing Identities in a Connected World By Iain Walker pg pg 59-64) ( Genetic diversity on the Comoros Islands shows early seafaring as a major determinant of human bicultural evolution in the Western Indian Ocean by Said Msaidie ( The Comoro Islands: Struggle Against Dependency in the Indian Ocean by M. D. D. Newitt pg 16) ( The Comoro Islands: Struggle Against Dependency in the Indian Ocean by M. D. D. Newitt pg 146-151, Islands in a Cosmopolitan Sea: A History of the Comoros By Iain Walker pg 53) ( Islands in a Cosmopolitan Sea: A History of the Comoros By Iain Walker pg 54-55) ( Cités, citoyenneté et territorialité dans l’île de Ngazidja by Sophie Blanchy ( Islands in a Cosmopolitan Sea: A History of the Comoros By Iain Walker pg 68, 44) ( Map by Charles Viaut et al, these states constantly fluctuated in number from anywhere between 8 to 12 ( This and similar photos by Charles Viaut et al ( Islands in a Cosmopolitan Sea: A History of the Comoros By Iain Walker pg 71) ( Islands in a Cosmopolitan Sea: A History of the Comoros By Iain Walker pg 71) ( Sufis and Scholars of the Sea: Family Networks in East Africa, 1860-1925 by Anne K. Bang pg 27-31, 47-53) ( Le patrimoine bâti d’époque classique de Ngazidja (Grande Comore, Union des Comores). Rapport de synthèse de prospection et d’étude de bâti by Charles Viaut et al., pg 40-41) ( Cités, citoyenneté et territorialité dans l’île de Ngazidja by Sophie Blanchy ( La maison urbaine, cadre de production du statut et du genre à Anjouan (Comores), XVIIe-XIXe siècles by Sophie Blanchy ( Islands in a Cosmopolitan Sea: A History of the Comoros By Iain Walker pg 72-73) ( The Comoro Islands: Struggle Against Dependency in the Indian Ocean by M. D. D. Newitt pg 22) ( Islands in a Cosmopolitan Sea: A History of the Comoros By Iain Walker pg 73, 102) ( Islands in a Cosmopolitan Sea: A History of the Comoros By Iain Walker pg 102) ( Islands in a Cosmopolitan Sea: A History of the Comoros By Iain Walker pg 103-104, The Comoro Islands: Struggle Against Dependency in the Indian Ocean by M. D. D. Newitt pg 32) ( Comoro Islands: Struggle Against Dependency in the Indian Ocean by M. D. D. Newitt pg 32).

### A History of Grande Comore (Ngazidja) ca. 700-1900: State and Society on a Cosmopolitan Island 1. **Geographical Context**: - Grande Comore, also known as Ngazidja, is part of the Comoro archipelago located off the East African coast. - The islands functioned as a link between the East African coast and Madagascar, facilitating the movement of people, goods, and cultures across the Indian Ocean. 2. **Early Settlement (7th-14th Century)**: - The Comoros were initially settled by Bantu-speaking populations from the East African coast, particularly speakers of the Sabaki subgroup. - The settlement patterns included fishing and farming communities with no apparent social hierarchies, evident from archaeological findings. - By the 9th to 12th centuries, Ngazidja had simple settlements with minimal external trade and imported goods. - The 13th-14th centuries saw a transition to more complex societies with evidence of masonry and increased pottery imports, particularly in the area of Mazwini, which local tradition claims was abandoned in favor of Moroni. 3. **Emergence of States (15th-17th Century)**: - The Comoros were integrated into the broader Swahili world, sharing historical ties with the East African city of Kilwa, which had influence over local dynasties. - In the 15th and 16th centuries, the first states in Ngazidja emerged, attributed to the arrival of 'Shirazi' migrants—the descendants of Persian traders who intermarried with local elites. - Ngazidja's oral traditions reflect these interconnections, detailing the establishment of states in Itsandra and Bambao and the royal lineage through matrilineal succession. 4. **Political Fragmentation and Economy (17th Century)**: - By the 17th century, Ngazidja was home to eleven established sultanates, with Itsandra and Bambao being the most prominent. - Local governance involved a complex hierarchy, with the elective position of sultan influenced by matrilineal lineage and supported by councils of local leaders. 5. **Cultural Developments**: - During the reign of Sultan Mahame Said and his successors in Itsandra, the island saw significant architectural and cultural advancements, including the construction of mosques and the flourishing of Islamic scholarship under influential figures like Queen Wabedja. 6. **19th Century Conflicts and External Relations**: - The 19th century was marked by civil strife, primarily due to the rivalry between sultans and external influences from European powers. - Sultan Ahmed of Bambao engaged in conflicts against Itsandra and sought alliances with external powers, including the Portuguese and French. - In 1886, Sultan Said Ali signed a treaty establishing a French protectorate over Ngazidja, leading to widespread opposition and his eventual flight in 1890. 7. **Conclusion**: - By the end of the 19th century, the political landscape of Grande Comore was characterized by fragmentation and conflict, culminating in the establishment of French control by 1892 and the abolition of the sultanate in 1904. - The historical trajectory from early settlement to the colonial period highlights the island's cosmopolitan nature and the complex interplay of local and external influences shaping its societal evolution.

a brief note on the ancient Herders and Foragers of South Africa.

a social history of the KhoiKhoi community (2000BP - 1880)

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on the ancient Herders and Foragers of South Africa. ================================================================= ### a social history of the KhoiKhoi community (2000BP - 1880) ( Jan 07, 2024 16 At the start of the common era, much of southwestern Africa was populated by an ancient group of foragers and herders collectively known as the Khoe-San; a diverse community that is often divided into the hunter-gatherers (San) and herder (Khoekhoe) populations. The Khoe-San have a complex and enigmatic history that spans thousands of years and isn’t well recorded, but recent advances in archeological, linguistic, and genetic research have begun to clarify their history. Popular historiography of southern Africa is often biased in favor of the more complex societies established by sedentary farmers, as is often the case for most of the world. In this region, such states are often associated with the sedentary Bantu-speaking agro-pastoralists in south-eastern Africa, such as ( and ( . While the history of the later periods largely focuses on these kingdoms’ interactions with the colonial states founded by the Dutch and British settlers, which were also predominantly farming societies. Scholars who perpetuate this bias unknowingly legitimize the myth of the 'empty land' which served as the main rationale for colonial expansion. In this historically inaccurate but politically convenient myth, the nomadic Khoe-san communities supposedly did not utilize the land they lived on, and it was thus left vacant for European expansion and settlement. _**Narudas ruins in Namibia, built by the Nama-speaking Khoe-San.**_ Parallel to this myth was the claim that the kingdoms dominated by the Bantu-speaking sedentarists (whom the Europeans considered to be utilizing their land) were supposedly recent arrivals in the 18th and 19th centuries. The colonialists thus legitimized their expansion by claiming to be protecting the rights of the ‘indigenous’ Khoe-San communities —the very same groups whom they were displacing. At the heart of this myth is the notion that only large, sedentary communities organized as kingdoms possessed the capacity to utilize the land they lived on, and that the nomadic Khoe-San populations were too small to utilize their land, nor form complex societies that could defend their claims. But like all colonial myths, this falsity isn't grounded in the historical realities of the Khoe-San. When European ships landed on the South African coast in November 1497, their leader, Vasco Da Gama, found the Khoe-San living along the shores of the Atlantic. He quickly learned that the Khoe-San didn't take kindly to strangers who took their resources without permission when an initially peaceful encounter turned violent and he was chased back to his ship by the Khoe-San. In 1510, his successor, Francisco de Almeida was killed in battle with the Khoe warriors, along with 50 of his crew, after they had invaded a coastal community of the Khoe-San and kidnapped some of their children. _**Death of Francisco d’Almeida, engraving by Pieter van der Aa, ca 1700.**_ In the background is a Khoe-San settlement. In the succeeding centuries, Khoe-San communities fought a seemingly never-ending series of wars against waves of colonial invasions by the Dutch and later by the British. Some of the Khoe-San succeeded in establishing much larger and more complex societies across southern Africa, including ( , and several constitutional monarchies in South Africa that would last until the 1870s. My latest Patreon article focuses on the history of the Khoe community of South Africa, from its earliest appearance in the archeological record around 2,000 years ago to the collapse of the last independent Khoe kingdom in 1880. **Please subscribe and read more about it here:** ( * * * _**18th-century drawing of a village in the Khoe Kingdom of Gonaqua,**_ by François le Vaillant * * *

### A Brief Note on the Ancient Herders and Foragers of South Africa: A Social History of the KhoiKhoi Community (2000 BP - 1880) 1. **Introduction to the Khoe-San Community:** - At the start of the Common Era, southwestern Africa was inhabited by a group known as the Khoe-San, which includes both hunter-gatherers (San) and herders (Khoekhoe). - The Khoe-San share a complex and extensive history that spans thousands of years, although this history is not well-documented. 2. **Bias in Historical Narratives:** - The historiography of southern Africa tends to favor complex sedentary societies, often associated with Bantu-speaking agro-pastoralists of southeastern Africa. - Colonial narratives have led to the perpetuation of the myth of the 'empty land,' suggesting that the nomadic Khoe-San did not effectively utilize the land they inhabited. 3. **Colonial Misunderstandings:** - This myth legitimized colonial expansion as it portrayed the Khoe-San as incapable of defending their land against European settlers, thus rendering their displacement politically convenient. - European settlers claimed to protect the rights of the Khoe-San while simultaneously displacing them. 4. **Initial Contact with Europeans:** - When Vasco Da Gama arrived in South Africa in 1497, he discovered the Khoe-San living along the Atlantic coast. - An initial peaceful encounter turned violent, showcasing the Khoe-San’s resistance to foreign encroachment on their resources. 5. **Conflict with Colonizers:** - Francisco de Almeida faced resistance in 1510 when his attempt to invade a Khoe-San community led to his death and significant loss of life among his crew. - This incident illustrates the Khoe-San’s organized resistance against colonial forces. 6. **Ongoing Resistance and Social Structure:** - Throughout the succeeding centuries, Khoe-San communities engaged in numerous wars against Dutch and later British invasions. - Some Khoe-San groups successfully established larger and more complex societies, including notable kingdoms and constitutional monarchies until the 1870s. 7. **Historical Significance:** - The narrative surrounding the Khoe-San challenges the simplistic view of nomadic communities lacking complex societal structures. - The resilience and agency of the Khoe-San highlight their significant role in the historical landscape of southern Africa. 8. **Research and Understanding:** - Recent archaeological, linguistic, and genetic studies are beginning to clarify the long-neglected history of the Khoe-San. - The study of the Khoe community from its archaeological emergence around 2,000 years ago to the collapse of the last independent Khoe kingdom in 1880 is essential to understanding the broader historical context of South Africa. 9. **Conclusion:** - The history of the Khoe-San demonstrates the complexities of indigenous land use and societal organization. - Acknowledging their historical contributions is crucial for a comprehensive narrative of South African history.

Seafaring, trade and travel in the African Atlantic. ca. 1100-1900.

historical links between West Africa and Central Africa. (Africans exploring Africa chapter 4)

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Seafaring, trade and travel in the African Atlantic. ca. 1100-1900. =================================================================== ### historical links between West Africa and Central Africa. (Africans exploring Africa chapter 4) ( Dec 31, 2023 19 Like all maritime societies, mastery of the ocean, was important for the societies of Africa's Atlantic coast, as was the mastery of the rest of their environment. For many centuries, maritime activity along Africa's Atlantic coast played a major role in the region's political and economic life. While popular discourses of Africa's Atlantic history are concerned with the forced migration of enslaved Africans to the Americas, less attention is paid to the historical links and voluntary travel between Africa's Atlantic societies. From the coast of Senegal to the coast of Angola, African seafarers traversed the ocean in their own vessels, exchanging goods, ideas, and cultures, as they established diasporic communities in the various port cities of the African Atlantic. This article explores the history of Atlantic Africa's maritime activity, focusing on African seafaring, trade, and migration along the Atlantic coast. _**Political map of Atlantic Africa in the 17th century( **_ * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **State and society along the African Atlantic.** The African Atlantic was both a fishery and a highway that nurtured trade, travel, and migration which predated and later complemented overseas trade. Africans developed maritime cultures necessary to traverse and exploit their world. Coastal and interior waters enabled traders, armies, and other travelers to rapidly transport goods, people, and information across different regions, as well as to seamlessly switch between overland, riverine, and sea-borne trade to suit their interests. Mainland West Africa is framed beneath the river Niger’s arch and bound together by an array of watercourses, including the calm mangrove swamps of Guinea and Sierra Leone. The Bights of Benin and Biafra’s lagoon complex extends from the Volta River, in what is now Ghana, to the Nigerian–Cameroonian border. Similarly, West-Central Africa was oriented by its rivers, especially the Congo and Kwanza rivers, in a vast hydrographic system that extended into the interior of central Africa. ( In many parts of West and Central Africa, different kinds of vessels were used to navigate the waters of the Atlantic, mainly to fish, but also for war and trade. When the Portuguese first reached the coast of Malagueta (modern Liberia) in the early 1460s they were approached by _**"some small canoes"**_ which came alongside the Portuguese ships. On the Gold Coast (modern Ghana), it was noted of Elmina in 1529, that _**"the blacks of the village have many canoes in which they go fishing and spend much time at sea."**_ While on the Loango coast, a visitor in 1608 noted that locals _**“go out in the morning with as many as three hundred canoes into the open sea”.**_( Canoes were Atlantic Africans’ solution for navigating diverse waterways between the ocean, lagoons, and rivers. Many of these canoes were large and sea-worthy, measuring anywhere between 50-100ft in length, 5ft wide, and with a capacity of up to 10 tonnes. The size and design of these vessels evolved as Africans interacted with each other and with foreign traders. In the Senegambia and the Gold Coast, large watercraft were fitted with square sails, masts, and rudders that enabled them to sail out to sea and up the rivers.( For most of its early history, the Atlantic coast of West Africa was dominated by relatively small polities on the frontiers of the large inland states like the Mali empire, and the kingdoms of Benin and Kongo, which were less dependent on maritime resources and trade than on the more developed resources and trade on the mainland. The relatively low maritime activity by these larger west and central African states —which conducted long-distance trade on the mainland— was mostly due to the Atlantic Ocean’s consistent ocean currents, which, unlike the seasonal currents of the Indian Ocean, only flowed in one direction all year round. This could enable sailing in one direction eg using the Canary Current (down the coast from Morocco to Senegal), the Guinea Current (eastwards from Liberia to Ghana), and the Benguela Current (northwards from Namibia to Angola), but often made return journeys difficult( . _**Map of Africa’s ocean currents**_( The African Atlantic was thus the domain of the smaller coastal states and societies whose maritime activities, especially fishing, date back a millennia before the common era.( While many of their coastal urban settlements are commonly referred to as “ports,” this appellation is a misnomer, as the Atlantic coast of Africa possesses few natural harbors and most “ports” were actually “surf-ports,” or landings situated on surf-battered beaches that offered little protection from the sea, and often forced large ships to anchor 1-5 miles offshore. Canoemen were thus necessary for the transportation of goods across the surf and lagoons.( * * * **An overview of African maritime activity in the Atlantic** The maritime activities of African mariners appear in the earliest documentation of West African coastal societies. As early as the 15th century coastal communities in Atlantic Africa were documented using surf-canoes to transport goods to sea. Portuguese sailors off the coast of Liberia during the 1470s reported: _**“The negroes of all this coast bring pepper for barter to the ships in the canoes in which they go out fishing.”**_ While another trader active in the Ivory Coast during the 1680s, noted that _**“Negroes in three Canoa’s laden with Elephant’s Teeth came on Board”**_ his ship.( Senegambian mariners transported kola nuts down the Gambia river, into the ocean, and along the coast to **“the neighborhood of Great and Little Scarcies rivers,** \ **a distance of three hundred miles.”** Similarly**,** as early as the 12th century, watercraft from the mouth of the Senegal River could journey up the Mauritanian coast (presumably to Arguin) from where they loaded salt brought overland from Ijil( . Overlapping networks of maritime and inland navigation sustained coastwise traffic from Cape Verde (in Senegal) to Cape Mount (in Liberia), bringing mainly kola nuts and pepper northwards.( _**View of Rufisque, the capital of Cayor kingdom, Senegambia region, in 1746, showing various types of local watercraft.**_ Similarly in west-central Africa, traders from as far as Angola journeyed northwards to Mayumba on the Loango coast, a distance of about 400 miles, to buy salt and redwood (tukula) that was ground into powder and mixed with palm oil to make dyes.( The Mpongwe of Gabon carried out a substantial coastal trade as far north as Cameroon according to an 18th century trader. Mpongwe canoes were large, up to 60ft long, and were fitted with masts and sails. With a capacity of over 10 tonnes, they regularly traveled 300-400 miles, and according to a 19th-century observer, the Mpongwe’s boats were so well built that they **"would land them, under favorable circumstances, in South America"**.( However, it was the mariners of the Gold Coast region who excelled at long-distance maritime activity and would greatly contribute to the linking of Atlantic Africa’s regional maritime systems and the founding of diasporic communities that extended as far as west-central Africa. Accounts indicate that many of these mariners, especially the Akan (of modern Ghana and S.E Ivory Coast), and Kru speakers (of modern Liberia), worked hundreds of miles of coastline between modern Liberia and Nigeria. ( * * * **The seafarers of the Gold Coast.** The practice of recruiting Gold Coast canoemen for service in the Bight of Benin appears to have begun with the Dutch in the 17th century. The difficult conditions on the Bight of Benin (between modern Togo and S.W Nigeria) made landing impossible for European ships, and the local people lacked the tradition of long-distance maritime navigation. The Europeans were thus reliant on canoemen from the Gold Coast for managing the passage of goods and people from ship to shore and back through the surf.( _**“Surf-Canoes. Capturing the difficulty of launching and landing surf-canoes in storm-swept breakers, scenes like this convinced ship captains not to attempt such passages in their slower, less responsive shipboats, or longboats, but to instead hire African canoemen.”**_( Gold coast mariners journeying beyond their homeland were first documented in an anonymous Dutch manuscript from the mid-17th century, in a document giving instructions for trade at Grand Popo (in modern Benin): _**"If you wish to trade here, you must bring a new strong canoe with you from the Gold Coast with oarsmen, because one cannot get through the surf in any boat".**_( In the 18th century, the trader Robert Norris also observed Fante canoemen at Ouidah (in modern Benin), writing that _**“Landing is always difficult and dangerous, and can only be effected in canoes, which the ships take with them from the Gold Coast: they are manned with fifteen or seventeen Fantees each, hired from Cape Coast or El Mina; hardy, active men, who undertake this business, and return in their canoe to their own country, when the captain has finished his trade.”**_( Another 18th-century trader, John Adams who was active at Eghoro along the Benin river in south-western Nigeria, wrote that _**"A few Fante sailors, hired on the Gold coast, and who can return home in the canoe when the ship's loading is completed, will be found of infinite service in navigating the large boast, and be the means of saving the lives of many of the ship's crew."**_( These canoemen who traversed the region between south-eastern Ivory Coast and south-western Nigeria, were mostly Akan-speaking people from the gold coast and would be hired by the different European traders at their settlements. Most came from the Dutch fort at El-mina, but some also came from the vicinity of the English fort at Anomabo. At the last port of call, the canoemen would be released to make their way back to the Gold Coast, after they had received their pay often in gold, goods, and canoes.( Gold Coast mariners were also hired to convey messages between the different European forts along the coast. Their services were particularly important for communications between the Dutch headquarters at El-Mina and the various out-forts in the Gold Coast and beyond. This was due to the prevailing currents which made it difficult for European vessels to sail from east to west, and in instances where there were no European vessels. Communication between Elmina and the outforts at Ouidah and Offra during the late 17th century was often conducted by canoemen returning home to the gold coast in their vessels( . _**18th century engraving of El-mina with local sail-boats.**_ _**Regular route of the Gold coast Mariners**_ * * * ( * * * **African Trade and Travel between the Gold Coast and the Bight of Benin.** The long-distance travel between the Gold Coast and the Bight of Benin stimulated (or perhaps reinvigorated) trade between the two regions. This trade is first documented in 1659 when it was reported that ‘for some years’ the trade in ‘akori’ beads (glass beads manufactured in Ife), which had earlier been purchased by the Europeans from the kingdoms of Allada and Benin, for re-sale on the Gold Coast in exchange for gold, had been monopolized by African traders from the Gold Coast, who were going in canoes to Little Popo and as far as Allada to buy them. Another French observer noted in 1688 that Gold Coast traders had tapped the trade in cloth at Ouidah: _**‘the Negroes even come with canoes to trade them, and carry them off ceaselessly.’**_( Mariners from the Gold Coast were operating as far as the Benin port of Ughoton and possibly beyond into west-central Africa. In the 1680s, the trader Jean Barbot noted that Gold Coast mariners navigated _**“cargo canoes”**_ using _**“them to transport their cattle and merchandise from one place to another, taking them over the breakers loaded as they are. This sort can be found at Juda \ and Ardra \, and at many places on the Gold Coast. Such canoes are so safe that they travel from Gold Coast to all parts of the Gulf of Ethiopia \, and beyond that to Angola.”**_( Some of these mariners eventually settled in the coastal towns of the Bight of Benin. A document from the 1650s mentions a ‘Captain Honga’ among the noblemen of the king of Allada, serving as the local official who was the _**“captain of the boat which goes in and out.”**_ By the 1690s Ouidah too boasted a community of canoemen from Elmina that called themselves 'Mine-men'. Traditions of immigrant canoemen from El-mina abound in Little Popo (Aneho in modern Togo) which indicates that the town played an important role in the lateral movement of canoemen along the coast. The settlement at Aneho received further immigrants from the Gold Coast in the 18th century, who created the different quarters of the town, and in other towns such as Grand Popo and Ouidah.( As a transshipment point and a way station where canoemen waited for the right season to proceed to the Gold Coast, the town of Aneho was the most important diasporic settlement of people from the Gold Coast. External writers noted that the delays of the canoemen at Aneho were due to the seasonal changes, particularly the canoemen’s unwillingness to sail at any other time except the Harmattan season. During the harmattan season from about December to February, winds blow north-east and ocean currents flow from east to west, contrary to the Guinea current’s normal direction.( _**Sailboat on Lake Nokoue, near the coast of Benin, ca. 1911, Quai branly**_ * * * * * * **African seafaring from the Gold Coast to Angola.** The abovementioned patterns of wind and ocean currents may have facilitated travel eastwards along the Atlantic coast, but often rendered the return journey westwards difficult before the Gold Coast mariners adopted the sail. That the Gold Coast mariners could reach the Bight of Benin in their vessels is well documented, but evidence for direct travel further to the Loango and Angola coast is fragmentary, as the return journey would have required sailing out into the sea along the equator and then turning north to the Gold coast as the European vessels were doing.( The use of canoemen to convey messages from the Dutch headquarters at El-mina to their west-central African forts at Kakongo and Loango, is documented in the 17th century. According to the diary of Louis Dammaet, a Dutch factor on the Gold Coast, in 1654, small boats could sail from the Gold Coast to Loango, exchange cargo, and return in two months. Additionally, internal African trade between West Africa and west-central Africa flourished during the 17th century. Palm oil and Benin cloth were taken from Sao Tome to Luanda, where it would be imported into the local markets. Benin cloth was also imported by Loango from Elmina, while copper from Mpemba was taken to Luanda and further to Calabar and Rio Del Rey.( While much of this trade was handled by Europeans, a significant proportion was likely undertaken by African merchants, and it’s not implausible that local mariners like the Mpongwe were trading internally along the central African coast, just like the Gold Coast mariners were doing in the Bight of Benin, and that these different groups of sailors and regional systems of trade overlapped. For example, there is evidence of mariners from Lagos sailing in their vessels westwards as far as Allada during the 18th century where they were regular traders( . These would have met with established mariners like the Itsekiri and immigrants such as those from the Gold Coast. And there's also evidence of mariners from Old Calabar sailing regularly to the island of Fernando Po (Bioko), in a pattern of trade and migration that continued well into the early 20th century. It is therefore not unlikely that this regional maritime system extended further south to connect the Bight of Benin to the Loango Coast.( _**Map of the Loango coast in the 17th century,**_ By Alisa LaGamma * * * **Travel and Migration to Central Africa by African mariners: from fishermen to administrators.** There is some early evidence of contacts between the kingdoms of Benin and Kongo in the 16th century, which appear to have been conducted through Sao Tome. In 1499, the Oba of Benin gifted a royal slave to the Kongo chief Dom Francisco. A letter written by the Kongo king Alfonso I complained of people from Cacheu and Benin who were causing trouble in his land. In 1541 came another complaint from Kongo that Benin freemen and slaves were participating in disturbances in Kongo provoked by a Portuguese adventurer. ( But the more firm evidence comes from the 19th century, during the era of 'legitimate trade' in commodities (palm oil, ivory, rubber) after the ban on slave exports. The steady growth in commodities trade during this period and the introduction of the steamship expanded the need for smaller watercraft (often surfboats) for ship-to-shore supplies and to navigate the surf. Immigrant mariners from Aneho came to play a crucial role in the regional maritime transport system which developed in parallel to the open sea transport. By the late 19th century, an estimated 10,000 men were involved in this business in the whole of the Bight of Benin as part much broader regional system. Immigrant mariners from Aneho settled at the bustling port towns of Lome and Lagos during the late 19th century and would eventually settle at Pointe-Noire in Congo a few decades later, where a community remains today that maintains contact with their homeland in Ghana and Togo.( Parallel to these developments was the better-documented expansion of established maritime communities from the Gold Coast, Liberia, and the Bight of Benin, into the Loango coast during the late 19th century, often associated with European trading companies. Many of these were the Kru' of the Liberian coast( , but the bulk of the immigrant mariners came from Aneho and Grand Popo (known locally as 'Popos’), El-Mina (known locally as Elminas), and southwestern Nigeria (mostly from Lagos). A number of them were traders and craftsmen who had been educated in mission schools and were all generally referred to by central Africans as _**coastmen**_ ("les hommes de la côte").( Most of these _**coastmen**_ came with the steamers which frequented the regions’ commodity trading stations, where the West Africans established fishing communities at various settlements in Cabinda, Boma, and Matadi.( Others were employed locally by concessionary companies and in the nascent colonial administration of French Brazaville( and Belgian Congo. One of the most prominent West African _**coastmen**_ residing in Belgian Congo was the Lagos-born Herzekiah Andrew Shanu (1858-1905) who arrived in Boma in 1884 and soon became a prominent entrepreneur, photographer, and later, administrator. He became active in the anti-Leopold campaign of the Congo Reform movement, providing information about the labour abuses and mass atrocities committed by King Leopold’s regime in Congo. When his activism was discovered, the colonial government banned its employees from doing business with him, which ruined him financially and forced him to take his life in 1905.( _**( (1858-1905) and ( (1858-1913). Both were Yoruba speakers from Lagos and they moved to Boma in Congo, during the 1880s, the second photo was taken by Herzekiah.**_ The immigrants from West Africa who lived in the emerging cities of colonial Congo such as Matadi, Boma, and Leopodville (later Kinshasha) also influenced the region’s cultures. They worked as teachers, dock-hands, and staff of the trading firms that were active in the region. These _**coastmen**_ also carried with them an array of musical instruments introduced their musical styles, and created the first dance ochestra called 'the excelsior'. Their musical styles were quickly syncretized with local musical traditions such as maringa, eventually producing the iconic musical genres of Congo such as the Rumba.( While the population of West African expatriates in central Africa declined during the second half of the 20th century, a sizeable community of West Africans remained in Pointe Noire in Congo. The members of this small but successful fishing community procure their watercraft from Ghana and regularly travel back to their hometowns in Benin, just like their ancestors had done centuries prior, only this time, by air rather than by ocean. _**Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo**_ * * * **Did Mansa Musa’s predecessor sail across the Atlantic and reach the Americas before Columbus**? Read about Mansa Muhammad's journey across the Atlantic in the 14th century, and an exploration of West Africa's maritime culture on Patreon ( * * * Why was the wheel present in some African societies but not others? **Read more about the history of the wheel in Africa here:** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Map by J.K.Thornton ( Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800 by John Thornton pg 17-20 ( West Africa's Discovery of the Atlantic by Robin Law pg 3, Africa and the Sea by Jeffrey C. Stone pg 79 ( West Africa's Discovery of the Atlantic by Robin Law pg 4-5) ( A Cultural History of the Atlantic World, 1250-1820 By John K. Thornton pg 11-14, Remote Sensing of the African Seas edited by Vittorio Barale, Martin Gade, pg 6-9, ( Map by Vittorio Barale and Martin Gade ( A Cultural History of the Atlantic World, 1250-1820 By John K. Thornton pg 13 ( Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora by Kevin Dawson pg 101) ( Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora by Kevin Dawson pg 121-122) ( A Cultural History of the Atlantic World, 1250-1820 By John K. Thornton pg 12) ( West Africa's Discovery of the Atlantic by Robin Law pg 7, Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora by Kevin Dawson 125, Eurafricans in Western Africa By George E. Brooks pg 166 ( Kongo power and majesty by Alisa LaGamma pg 47-48) ( Red Gold of Africa: Copper in Precolonial History and Culture By Eugenia W. Herbert, pg 216, Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo,: Volume 1 By Sir Richard Francis Burton, pg 83, Precolonial African Material Culture By V Tarikhu Farrar, pg 243 ( Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora by Kevin Dawson pg 126) ( Afro-European Trade in the Atlantic World by Silke Strickrodt pg 68, Africans and Europeans in West Africa By Harvey M. Feinberg pg 67) ( Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora by Kevin Dawson pg 112 ( Afro-European Trade in the Atlantic World by Silke Strickrodt pg 69) ( Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora by Kevin Dawson pg 126-127) ( Remarks on the Country Extending from Cape Palmas to the River Congo By John Adams pg 243) ( Afro-European Trade in the Atlantic World by Silke Strickrodt pg 69-70, Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora by Kevin Dawson pg 127) ( Afro-European Trade in the Atlantic World by Silke Strickrodt pg 70, Africans and Europeans in West Africa By Harvey M. Feinberg pg 68-70) ( Afro-European Trade in the Atlantic World by Silke Strickrodt pg 71, West Africa's Discovery of the Atlantic by Robin Law pg 23) ( Afro-European Trade in the Atlantic World by Silke Strickrodt pg 147, 158, Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora by Kevin Dawson pg 126) ( Afro-European Trade in the Atlantic World by Silke Strickrodt pg 70-74, 78-88, Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora by Kevin Dawson pg 132) ( Afro-European Trade in the Atlantic World by Silke Strickrodt pg 74) ( West Africa's Discovery of the Atlantic by Robin Law pg 6, 7-9) ( The External Trade of the Loango Coast and Its Effects on the Vili, 1576-1870 by Phyllis M. Martin (Doctoral Thesis) pg 111-115 ( Remarks on the Country Extending from Cape Palmas to the River Congo By John Adams, pg 96 ( Studies in Southern Nigerian History by Boniface I. Obichere pg 209, The Calabar Historical Journal, Volume 3, Issue 1 pg 48-50 ( Benin and the Europeans, 1485-1897 by Alan Frederick Charles Ryder pg 36, n.1) ( Migrant Fishermen in Pointe-Noire by E Jul-Larsen pg 15-16) ( Navigating African Maritime History pg 117-138, Travel and Adventures in the Congo Free State pg 44 ( In and Out of Focus: Images from Central Africa, 1885-1960 by Christraud M. Geary pg 103-104) ( Les pêcheries et les poissons du Congo by Alfred Goffin pg 16, 181, 208) ( Leisure and Society in Colonial Brazzaville By Phyllis Martin pg 27 ( In and Out of Focus: Images from Central Africa, 1885-1960 By Christraud M. Geary pg 104-106) ( Rumba on the River: A History of the Popular Music of the Two Congos By Gary Stewart, 'Being modern does not mean being western': Congolese Popular Music, 1945 to 2000 by Tom Salter Pg 2-3).

# Seafaring, Trade, and Travel in the African Atlantic (ca. 1100-1900) ## Introduction - The African Atlantic coastline, stretching from Senegal to Angola, was a hub of maritime activity and cultural exchange. - While much focus has been on the forced migration of enslaved Africans, there were significant voluntary movements and trade exchanges among African societies. ## African Maritime Cultures - Mastery of the ocean was crucial for coastal societies along Africa’s Atlantic coast. - Coastal and riverine navigation facilitated trade, military movement, and cultural exchanges. - Traders and travelers utilized a network of watercourses, vital for transporting goods and ideas. ### Vessel Construction and Usage - Diverse vessels were constructed for navigation, primarily used for fishing, war, and trade. - Early Portuguese accounts from the 15th century noted the presence of small canoes alongside their ships. - Larger canoes, measuring 50-100 feet and capable of carrying up to 10 tonnes, were designed to navigate both open seas and coastal waters. - The evolution of these vessels was influenced by interactions with foreign traders. ## Political Geography - Smaller coastal polities dominated maritime activity, as larger inland states focused on overland trade. - The Atlantic Ocean’s consistent currents made return journeys challenging, impacting maritime trade dynamics. ### Surf-Ports and Navigation - Many African "ports" were actually surf-ports, lacking natural harbors, requiring canoemen to facilitate docking and unloading. - Early Portuguese documentation confirms efficient use of canoes for transport and trade. ## Trade Networks - Coastal communities engaged in trade as early as the 15th century, transporting pepper, kola nuts, and goods between major rivers and ports. - The movement of goods facilitated a network linking various regions and cultures across the Atlantic. ### The Gold Coast's Maritime Activity - From the 17th century, Gold Coast mariners played a key role in coastal trade, especially in the Bight of Benin. - European reliance on Gold Coast canoemen grew as they navigated difficult surf conditions, transporting goods between ships and shore. ## Inter-regional Trade Expansion - The trade between the Gold Coast and the Bight of Benin flourished during the 17th century, with documented exchanges of beads and cloth. - Many mariners from the Gold Coast migrated and settled in Bight of Benin towns, fostering diasporic communities. ### Migration and Cultural Exchange - Seasonal shifts influenced the travel patterns of canoemen, aligning with favorable winds and currents. - Gold Coast mariners occasionally reached as far as Angola, although return journeys remained difficult due to ocean currents. ## Central Africa Connections - Contacts between kingdoms such as Benin and Kongo were documented as early as the 16th century. - By the 19th century, increased demand for commodities led to expanded maritime migration from West Africa to Central Africa. - Immigrant mariners from West Africa played significant roles in the emerging coastal towns of Central Africa. ### Societal Impact and Legacy - The migration of West Africans to Central Africa influenced local cultures, contributing to the development of unique musical styles and social structures. - Communities established by West Africans in Central Africa maintained cultural ties to their homelands. ## Conclusion - African seafaring between West and Central Africa illustrates a rich maritime history characterized by trade, migration, and cultural exchange. - These activities shaped the socio-economic landscapes of the African Atlantic, highlighting the resilience and agency of African societies.

Roads and wheeled transport in African history.

Why the kingdoms of Kush and Dahomey used wheels while Asante did not.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Roads and wheeled transport in African history. =============================================== ### Why the kingdoms of Kush and Dahomey used wheels while Asante did not. ( Dec 24, 2023 25 The wheel is often regarded as one of humanity's greatest inventions, yet its historical significance remains a subject of considerable debate. Vehicles with wheels require good roads, but in most parts of the world, road construction could only be undertaken by large hegemonic states whose primary interest in building those roads was improving the mobility of their armies, rather than increasing civilian transport. Road building and maintainence in Africa appears to have been more extensive than has been previously understood. The list of Africa's road-building states wasn't just confined to the 'great road system' of Asante and the paved roads of the Aksumite kingdom and Gondarine Ethiopia, it also includes the ( used for transporting people and their cattle, the ( which has drawn parallels with Asante, as well as the less extensive road networks in Dahomey. Yet in all these African road-building societies, there was a noted absence of wheeled transport. The stone blocks used in constructing the great obelisks of Aksum were not moved in wagons, nor were Aksumite armies campaigning along the kingdom's paved roads in chariots, even though Aksum was familiar with societies that had both wagons and chariots such as the kingdom of Kush. Similary, the Asante did not utilize wheeled transport, despite being in contact with Dahomey where wheeled vehicles were relatively common, and with the Europeans at the coast, for whom wheel technology was becoming increasingly important. _**an ancient paved road at Aksum and a gondarine-era bridge on the blue Nile, built by emperor Fsilides in 1660 but blown up during the Italian invasion of 1935.**_ The history of wheeled transport in the African kingdoms of Kush and Dahomey, as well as the absence of wheels in the road-building kingdom of Asante shows that the historical significance of the wheel in pre-industrial transport and technology is far more complex than is often averred. In this **two-part article**, I outline the history of the wheel in Kush and Dahomey by placing it in the global context of wheeled transport from its invention around 4,000BC to the industrial era. Using recent research that shows how the wheel was first spread across the ancient world, before it was abandoned for over a millennia, only to later re-emerge in the 17th century, **I argue that Africa wasn't exempt to these trends**. The kingdom of Kush adopted wheeled transport just like the rest of the ancient world, and that its sucessors (such as the Aksumites, the Arabs, and even post-Roman Europe) largely abandoned the wheel just as it was disappearing everywhere else, before early modern kingdoms like Dahomey re-discovered wheeled transport as a consequence of the wheel’s re-popularization in western Europe. **The second half the article, which is included below**, explains why the Asante kingdom did not adopt wheeled transport despite posessing an extensive road system. Using comparisons with the road system of the kingdom of Burma which had wheeled transport in the 19th century, its shown that **Asante's road users would not have seen any significant improvements in travel speed had they adopted wheeled transport**. I also include a section of the colonial governor Lord Lugard's failed ox-cart project in nothern Nigeria, showing that the non-adoption of wheeled transport wasn't due to Africans’ ignorance of its benefits —as colonialists often claimed— but because the cost of wheeled transport greatly outweighed the returns. **PART I; on wheeled transport in Kush and Dahomey:** ( * * * * * * **PART II** * * * * * * **Built roads but absent wheels: why wheeled transport wasn't fully adopted in precolonial Asante, comparisons with Burma and lord Lugard's failed ox-cart project in northern Nigeria** The absence of wheeled transportation in sub-Saharan Africa is a topic most Africanists tend to avoid despite it being frequently mentioned as an example of Africa's technological backwardness. This has created an asymmetry between non-specialists on African history who exaggerate the wheel's centrality In pre-modern technology (especially in transport), versus Africanists who either; avoid it the "wheel question" altogether or downplay the wheel's importance without offering convincing explanations. It's important to note that the wheel was present in sub-saharan Africa, especially in ancient Nubia; from the Kerma era's representations of wheeled chariots in lower Nubia; to the extensive use and depictions of chariots in Kushite warfare; to the medieval era where the _saqia_ water-wheel was used in agriculture. However, this extensive use of the wheel was mostly confined to the region of Sudan, even though many parts of Africa were familiar with the wheel since antiquity. One particulary notable society that was familiar with the wheel was the kingdom of Asante in what is now Ghana. Considering Asante's extensive road network and the kingdom's contacts with europeans in coastal forts, it may on first sight appear to be rather surprising that Asante didn't adopt the use of wheeled transport. However, a comparison of Asante with the 18th century kingdom of Burma (Myanmar) which also had a road system but used wheeled transport, reveals that using wheels offered no significant advantages in logistics. This article explores the history of transportation in Asante, comparing it with the Konbaung dynasty of Burma to explain why wheeled transportation was absent in most of Africa, and why colonialists like lord Lugard failed to implement wheeled transport in northern Nigeria. _**19th century Asante treasure box made of brass mounted on a 4-wheeled stand, Pitt rivers museum**_ ( * * * **A summary of Antony Hopkins' and Robin Law's arguments on the absence of wheeled transport in precolonial Africa:** Atleast two west Africanists have studied the history of wheel in west Africa; the first was a brief comment on the wheeled transport in Antony G. Hopkins’ _Economic history of west Africa_, the second is a monograph on _wheeled transport in pre-colonial west Africa_ by Robin Law. Hopkins argues that besides the tsetse infested areas where the value of wheeled vehicles was reduced by the high mortality of draught animals, even in places where draught animals were available and used in transportation, wheeled vehicles were considered uneconomic because its greater cost was not justified by the proportionately greater returns because the poor quality of the roads would have greatly reduced the efficiency of wheeled vehicles and the cost of improving the system would have been prohibitive, he concludes that pack animals predominated because they were cheap to buy, inexpensive to operate and well suited for the terrain.( Robin law on the other hand, argued that wheeled transport could not be adopted without improved roads, but the roads would not be improved as long as there was no wheeled transport to use them, he observed that improving roads solely to accommodate wheeled vehicles would be a speculative gamble on the future profits to be realized from such improvements, the kind of gamble the Asante were in no position to make, but one that colonial governments with a more aggressive ideology of economic progress (or exploitation) could undertake.( He goes over the history of the wheel in Africa, particularly the disappearance of the horse drawn chariot in the Sahara that was replaced by the camel, and thus ushering in the caravan trade which rendered wheeled transportation all but obsolete, he then covers the ceremonial wheeled carriages in the coastal kingdoms of Asante and Dahomey from the 17th to the 19th centuries, and the practice of rolling barrels down roads rather than using carts which one west African trader found would be too expensive to maintain due to the poor quality of the roads that were built for foot travel rather than wheeled carriages, he also covers the use of the wheeled gun carriages in much of west Africa.( This article follows both Antony Hopkins and Robin law's argument that the Asante government appreciated the necessity of good roads and undertook their construction to such an extent that they were central to its administration, but the cost of building roads good enough for wheeled transport was prohibitive because of the speculative nature of such an infrastructure investment. Using a recent study by Michael Charney comparing the kingdom of Asante with the kingdom of Burma, I advance the argument that the adoption of the wheel by itself wouldn't greatly improve the speed or robustness of Asante's road system since its presence in the fairly similar kingdom of Burma didn't result in a better or faster overland transportation system there, and that discourses on the history of wheeled transportation overestimate its importance in pre-modern transport, instead, the real transportation revolution happened with the internal combustion engine of trains and cars, both of which would be adopted much faster under the colonial and post-independence era governments. _**Locations of the Asante kingdom in Ghana and the kingdom of Burma (Myanmar)**_ * * * **The Asante kingdom's great roads system** The Asante kingdom was a precolonial state near the southern Atlantic coast of west Africa that was established in 1701 until its fall to the British in 1900 after which its territory was ruled under the gold coast colony, and at independence became the modern country of Ghana. The great roads of the Asante were "conduits of authority" beginning at the capital and ending at the frontier, the road system radiated out of Kumasi - the Asante capital, and was central to Asante expansion, the empire followed the road rather than the road system following the empire's expansion, but also importantly, these roads augmented the old established trade routes connecting the Asante capital Kumasi to the commercial cities of the west Africa, ie: Bonduku, Daboya, Yendi to its north -which would then meet the caravan routes to Jenne, Timbuktu and Katsina; and to its south, the great roads linked Kumasi to the coastal ports such as Accra and Elmina thus joining the maritime routes terminating in Europe and the Americas.( Before this road system was built in the early 18th century, travel in the interior of the gold coast was virtually impossible, the road systems were thus built to make overland travel less arduous, the road building process followed the imperial expansion of the Asante, and their salience in Asante's administration was such that opposition to road building in conquered states (eg the closure of existing roads) was the earliest indication of rebellion Asante roads were constructed by clearing the vegetation, leveling the soil, lining the sides with trees and for a few in the metropolitan Kumasi, the roads were paved with stones. Bridges were also built along the major highways, using posts that are sunk into the centers of the river, on these posts are placed strong beams that are fasted onto the posts, poles are then placed on top of the beams and covered with earth 6 inches thick.( The road building process involved negotiations of agreements between local chiefs where these roads passed and control posts manned by highway police were set up at strategic points along these roads, usually at the halting places , these halting places, were central to the administration of the empire, not only serving to provision and accommodate passing travelers but also as centers for local authority to which reference could be made whenever cases of banditry were reported on these highways. The majority of these halting places would then grew into sizable towns and it was the authorities in these towns that were tasked with repair work along the highways; all were paid a significant sum in gold to carry out these works.( _**Map of Asante’s great roads system by Ivor Wilks**_ _**Illustration of Road Travel in Ashanti published in the 'Illustrated London News', 28 February 1874**_, photo from M. Charney’s collection The state official in charge of maintaining highways was the akwanmofohene, this roads "minister" was authorized to make payments to laborers who cleared the roads and to fine those committing nuisances (such as highway robberies) revenues from such amounted to 6,750 ounces of gold. Another state official was the nkwansrafo, who headed the highway police, garrisoned control points on the routes close to the frontiers of the kingdom, monitored the flow of commodities and taking custom duties.( One such repair of a highway was undertaken by Asante king Osei Bonsu in 1816, the roads were straightened, cut to a standard width of 30-40 feet and roots dug up, this repair work was complete by 1817 , one traveler named Huydecoper who used this road said of it _**"the highway is fairly good, despite the roots and tree stumps that still remain"**_ As a result of these improvements, the roughly 210 km long journey between cape coast and kumasi was reported to have been accomplished by William Hutton in 6 days, at an average speed of 35 km per day in 1820.( However, records from the 1840s indicate that travel speeds had greatly improved. _**Summary of two detailed itineraries for Asante, recorded in the 1840s, the journey speeds shown here vary anywhere between 107km per day to for the Manso-Foso road to 45km per day for the Moase-Ankase road.**_( The rate of repairing these roads however couldn't be maintained to the same degree of the modern state as environmental factors made the cost of maintain them quite heavy, Ghana experiences heavy seasonal rains such that the cost benefit of regularly clearing such roads was untenable (save for the annual repair of the highways) an example of this limitation can be seen in Bowdich's account of one of the Kumase-Bosompora river road one of the main highways in the system; Bowdich had found the road to be well cleared and it was in many places about 8 feet wide, this he observed in May of 1817, but on his return journey using the same road in September of that year, the rainy season had set in violently and the pristine road had been reduced to "a continued bog" so much that Bowdich's Asante escort was reluctant to travel on it.( Throughout their interactions with European travelers and missionaries, the Asante got to learn of ways of improving their transportation, the four wheeled carriage that had been gifted to him and transported by the missionary Freeman in 1840s was just one of the items that aroused the Asante king's curiosity , even more so when he was told of the transportation system that was in England **"the rapidity with which travelling is performed by railroads and steam-packets, very much interested and astonished him"**( As Wilks writes **"the Asante government begun to explore the possibilities of utilizing European capital ad skills to create a railroad system in Asante"**. But the defeat of 1874 and the disintegration of the kingdom in the 1890s forced them to abandon these plans. Fortunately, the Asante's road building legacy continued into the colonial and independent era; two thirds of the Asante road network would become motor roads under the later governments.( * * * **Asante vs Burma : wheeled transportation in a tropical kingdom** Michael Charney's study offers an excellent comparison of transportation systems the Asante and the Konbaung kingdom of Burma. While Burma lies on a much higher latitude than Asante (at 21° N vs 7° N), and is us capable of supporting draught animals, it has a fairly similar climate with heavy seasonal rainfall. Burma adopted wheeled transportation and had a similar road system as the Asante although it was markedly less robust since the Burmese state was more focused on restricting the mobility of its agriculturalist population than the on exporting gold, kola and slaves like the Asante, for whom good mobility was paramount.( Perhaps the most enabling feature of Burma's adoption of wheeled transportation was the terrain, thin vegetation and the dry climate of much of its northern heartland As charney writes **"Much of the Burmese heartland was flat and dry and easily traversable on buffalo carts, even off of the tracks and roads. In wetter areas of the kingdom, such as the Lower Burma delta, the overgrowth was not nearly as impenetrable as the West African jungle and any road controls in the former would have been easily circumvented"** _**Pre-colonial Burmese cart with one type of slab-wheel, published in the 'Illustrated London News', 22 June 1889**_, photo from M. Charney’s collection. These conditions also existed in Asante's northern tributaries but were absent in much of its central and southern regions, which only 200 years before Asante's ascendance were covered in dense tropical rainforests that required the **importation** of slave labor from west-central Africa to clear the forests and transform the land into terrain more suitable for agriculture. But more importantly, Burma had extensive contacts with the Chinese empires and various western Asian empires among whom, wheeled transportation was known unlike the Asante who northern contacts were the Hausa and _Juula_ traders from the Sahel who only used pack animals. Charney writes that highway robbery in Burma was a significant problem for overland transport unlike in Asante, in part because the Burmese government was less focused on policing and maintaining its road system primarily because the traffic couldn't be restricted to these roads unlike in Asante, this meant less customs revenues could be collected by the Burmese state from roads thus obviating the need to maintain them. with no central infrastructure for road repair nor any highway police focus was instead placed on the irrawaddy river whose traffic was much easier to control and thus collect customs from traders.( While Charney doesn't provide figures for the speed of road transportation in precolonial Burma, the speed of its road travel can be derived from the neighboring Chinese province of Yunnan where ox-drawn carts are used, in the 19th century the distance between the cities of Xundian and Weining averaged 17km and 12.3km per day, which is roughly half the travelling speed in Asante of 35 km a day.( In both states , transportation and communication systems can be seen to be fairly sufficient relative to each state's capacity to control trade traffic. The adoption and use of wheeled transport in Burma didn't by itself result in a more robust or even faster overland transportation system than in Asante, and its therefore unlikely that Asante's transportation would be significantly improved by a wide scale adoption of animal powered or human-powered wheeled vehicles. _**Location of the Xundian to Weining route relative to the Burma kingdom capital.**_ while relatively more mountainous, the region’s road system shared many similarities with Burma’s and even allowing for thrice the speed would still barely match the best of Asante’s travel time. It should be noted that the travel time estimates provided use ‘day-stages’ similar to the Asante itineraries, they are not the exact distance that could be travelled without stopping for a day. * * * **Lugard's failed ox-cart project in northern Nigeria: a counter-factual on the adoption of the wheel in pre-colonial Africa** While the significance of the internal combustion engine in revolutionizing transport in western Europe during the industrial period is beyond the scope of this article, it's important to note that before its introduction in west Africa, early colonial administrators complained about the prohibitive cost required to maintain roads in the gold coast colony. as Robin law writes; **"Even the British colonial government in the Gold Coast baulked at the gamble in 1870, concluding that roads suitable for wheeled traffic would be too expensive to build and were in any case undesirable since 'even if good roads were built, there would be no vehicles to travel on them",** or as As the Reverend C. C. Reindorf succinctly put it in the 1880s: **“We have the wheel-wrights but where are the roads?"**.( Additionally, the Europeans in their various forts and small coastal protectorates made little use of wheeled transportation either, and made little effort in building roads in their nascent colonies. It should be noted that it was the Asante who built the best roads in the gold coast region, not the British colony of the Fante. An example of what would have happen if wheeled transport in the form of ox-drawn or human-drawn carts had been introduced in Asante could be seen in lord Lugard's failed attempt to use such vehicles in northern Nigeria where transport was dominated by mules and other pack animals. Frustrated with the labor costs for pack animals and head porterage, which the colonial government and state monopolies such as the Niger company primarily relied upon in transport, Lugard purchased 1538 oxen and 100 carts in 1904-05 and brought drivers and mechanics from India to operate a transport service, the acting commissioner Wallace also promoted Lugard's transport scheme by quoting rates of 1/9d per ton mile for ox carts vs double for carriers. However, the Niger company deemed the scheme unworkable knowing that the oxcarts could only operate for 9 months being useless in the wet season, something which Lugard had ignored. In reality, the Ox-cart transport in fact ended up costing slightly more per ton mile than other carriers, the cart road being operational only 5 months a year afterwhich the carts wore out and the animals died of pleuropneumonia. By the end of the decade , the scheme was abandoned, and the government reverted back to using pack animals and head porterage by 1908, having failed at using a quick fix of wheeled carts.( It's important to note that Lugard's scheme involved no significant investment in road infrastructure particularly bridges which would have vindicated Wallace's estimates, but the advantages Wallace claimed in his estimates hinged on improving the methods of transport without significant improvement in roads; the later improvements would no doubt cancel out whatever advantages would have been realized. * * * **conclusion: the (in) effeciency of wheeled transport.** It was therefore not the absence of the wheel that placed a constraint on transportation in Asante, nor the lack of draught animals or wheeled vehicles themselves (as we have seen that the regions which had these still fared no better in robustness of transportation) but as with all pre-industrial technologies, it was the discovery of new sources of power (in this case, the fuel used in the internal combustion engine) that would result in significant improvement in transportation. As Hopkins concluded: before the industrial revolution, the use of wheeled vehicles in western Europe was just as constrained as it was in Africa, and often due to the same causes. (**( **) Hopkins provides the example of 18th century Spain, where pack animals like donkeys were the most important means of transport, and that even though oxcarts were widely available, they were used in short haul work. He adds that the same century in England, a writer commented on the use of pack animals in the country: **"Long trains of these faithful animals, furnished with a great variety of equipment … wended their way along the narrow roads of the time, and provided the chief means by which the exchange of commodities could be carried on’."**( It can therefore be concluded that Africa's transportation systems were fairly robust and were best suited for African conditions, and that the wheel's non-adoption was solely because it wouldn't offer significant advantages to offset its costs, it was due to this inefficiency that other means of transportation such as pack animals and head porterage proved more efficient for both pre-colonial and colonial governments before the widespread use of the trains and cars. * * * _**Nubians bringing tribute, Tomb of Huy, Viceroy of Kush under Tutankhamen (ca 1341- 1323 BC)**_ * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( An Economic History of West Africa By A. G. Hopkins pg 117-120 ) ( Wheeled Transport in Pre-Colonial West Africa by Robin Law pg 258) ( Wheeled Transport in Pre-Colonial West Africa by Robin Law pg 255) ( Asante in the Nineteenth Century by Ivor Wilks, pg 1-3) ( Journal of Various Visits to the Kingdoms of Ashanti, Aku, and Dahomi, in Western Africa by Freeman pg 57, pg 118 ( Asante in the Nineteenth Century by Ivor Wilks pg 34) ( Asante in the Nineteenth Century by Ivor Wilks pg 35) ( Asante in the Nineteenth Century by Ivor Wilks pg 37) ( Asante in the Nineteenth Century: By Ivor Wilks pg 9 ( Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee by T. Bowdich, pgs 29, 30, 152 and 150-5) ( Journal of Various Visits to the Kingdoms of Ashanti, Aku, and Dahomi, in Western Africa by Freeman pg 132) ( Asante in the Nineteenth Century by Ivor Wilks pg 41, 13) ( Before and after the wheel : Precolonial and colonial states and transportation in West Africa and mainland Southeast Asia by Michael W. Charney 2016, pg 14-16) ( Before and after the wheel : Precolonial and colonial states and transportation in West Africa and mainland Southeast Asia by Michael W. Charney pg 16) ( Mountain Rivers, Mountain Roads: Transport in Southwest China, 1700‐1850 By Nanny Kim pg 379) ( Wheeled Transport in Pre-Colonial West Africa by Robin Law pg 257) ( The Struggle for Transport Labor in Northern Nigeria, 1900-1912 by Ken Swindell pg 149-152) ( An Economic History of West Africa By A. G. Hopkins pg pg 121).

# Roads and Wheeled Transport in African History ## Title: Why the Kingdoms of Kush and Dahomey Used Wheels While Asante Did Not ### Introduction The wheel is considered one of humanity's greatest inventions. Its historical significance, especially in African history, is complex. Vehicles that utilize wheels require well-constructed roads, which were typically built by larger hegemonic states for military purposes rather than civilian transport. Recent research indicates that road construction in Africa was more extensive than previously recognized. ### 1. Presence of the Wheel in African Kingdoms - **Kush and Dahomey**: The Kingdom of Kush, located in modern-day Sudan, used wheels extensively for transport and warfare (e.g., chariots). The Kingdom of Dahomey also utilized wheeled vehicles for various purposes. - **Absence in Asante**: Despite its extensive road network, the Asante Kingdom (in present-day Ghana) did not adopt wheeled transport. This absence is notable given its interactions with Dahomey and European traders who employed wheeled technology. ### 2. Historical Context of Wheeled Transport - **Global Perspective**: The history of the wheel indicates that after its initial invention around 4000 BC, it saw a decline in use until its revival in the 17th century. Africa was not exempt from this trend, with societies like Kush adopting wheeled transport, while others, including Asante, did not. ### 3. Asante's Road System - **Development of the Road System**: The Asante Kingdom had a robust road network that served both administrative and commercial purposes. This system radiated from the capital, Kumasi, and connected various urban centers, facilitating trade and military movement. - **Construction Techniques**: Roads were constructed by clearing vegetation, leveling soil, and, in some cases, paving with stones. Significant repairs and maintenance were conducted to improve travel conditions. ### 4. Comparisons with Other Kingdoms - **Burma's Adoption of Wheeled Transport**: The Kingdom of Burma during the 18th century had a similar road system but successfully adopted wheeled transport. However, transport efficiencies did not significantly differ from those of Asante. - **Environmental and Economic Factors**: Asante’s climate and geography posed challenges to wheeled transport, making pack animals a more viable option due to their adaptability in varied terrains and lower maintenance costs. ### 5. Economic Constraints on Wheeled Transport - **Cost vs. Benefits**: The high costs of maintaining roads suitable for wheeled vehicles outweighed the potential benefits. Historical analyses by scholars like Antony G. Hopkins and Robin Law illustrate that economic considerations played a critical role. Inadequate road quality and maintenance budget constraints inhibited the adoption of wheeled transport in precolonial Africa. ### 6. Lord Lugard's Experiment in Northern Nigeria - **Failed Ox-Cart Project**: In the early 20th century, British colonial administrator Lord Lugard attempted to introduce ox-drawn carts in Northern Nigeria. This endeavor failed due to high maintenance costs and the seasonal limitations of roads, ultimately reverting back to pack animals for transport. ### 7. Conclusion - **No Significant Advantage**: The lack of wheeled transport in the Asante Kingdom was not due to ignorance but was rooted in practical considerations. The established systems of transport—primarily pack animals and head porterage—proved more efficient in the context of Asante’s environmental conditions, road quality, and economic realities. - **Robust Transportation Systems**: The transportation systems in African kingdoms like Asante were adapted to their unique circumstances, demonstrating that Africa’s transportation was functional and effective, contrary to perceptions of technological backwardness. This structured analysis emphasizes the complexities surrounding the use of wheeled transport in African history, particularly the contrasting practices of different kingdoms and the underlying economic, environmental, and infrastructural factors that influenced these choices.

The empire of Samori Ture on the eve of colonialism (1870-1898)

a revolution with a contested legacy.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The empire of Samori Ture on the eve of colonialism (1870-1898) =============================================================== ### a revolution with a contested legacy. ( Dec 17, 2023 18 For many centuries, political systems in the societies of the west-African savannah were sustained by a delicate but stable relationship between the influencial merchant class and the ruling nobility. But in the last decades of the 19th century, a revolution among the merchant class overthrew the nobility and created one of the largest empires in the region. The empire of Samori Ture, which at its height covered an area about the size of France, was the first of its kind in the region between eastern Guinea and northern Ghana. Unlike the old empires of west Africa, Samori's vast state was still in the ascendant when it battled with the colonial armies, and found itself constantly at war both within and outside its borders. This article explores the history of Samori's Ture's empire from its emergence as a militant revolution to its collpase after the longest anti-colonial wars in French west-Africa. _**Map of west Africa in the 19th century highlighting the empire of Samori Ture**_ * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Genesis of a merchant revolution.** At the time of Samory's birth in 1830, his Mande-speaking birthplace of Konya (in southern Guinea) was controlled by a symbiotic alliance between the _**Juula**_ Muslim elites and the traditional nobility which was mostly non-Muslim. The relationship between the Juula families —to whom Samori belonged— and the nobility was symptomatic of the former’s Suwarian tradition, which placed emphasis on pacifist commitment, education and teaching as tools of proselytizing, but rejected conversion through warfare (jihad).( The Juula of Konya, who were part of west Africa’s wangara diaspora, practiced an Islam that was no different from their co-religionists across west and north Africa: they built mosques for their community and established schools for their kinsmen, but they also advised the nobility in political matters and entered marital alliances with them. _**dispersion of the wangara diaspora across west Africa.**_ But the emerging reform movements of 18th-19th century west Africa inspired new political ideologies which upended the established relationship between Muslim elites and the ruling nobility across the region. These reform movements and ideologies prompted sections of the Juula merchants to agitate for the formation of their own state independent of the traditional dynasties. The Juula reform movements thus produced their own local leaders such as the Juula family of Moli Ule Sise, which defeated the pre-existing dynasties and took over much of Konya by 1835.( While Samori received some rudiments of Islam in his youth from other Juula teachers, his early career was mostly concerned with long-distance Kola trade, which the Juula merchants excelled at. This trade, often in kola-nut from the southern forest regions, gold from the Bure gold-fields, local cloth and other items, was carried on between the various cities such as Kankan and the Niger valley where horses were bought, and also the coast where firearms and other items were bought. The Juula were thus often pre-occupied with trade than with proselytization, while the political and military hegemony remained with the traditional aristocrats and later with their Sise suzerains.( Samori initially fought with the Sise armies as a mercenary from 1853-1859, later fighting for a rival Juula dynasty of the Berete in 1861 until 1861 when they expelled him, forcing him to turn to his non-Muslim maternal family, the Kamara, from whom he raised an army that fought with the Sise to defeat the Berete in 1865. Samori later took on the aristocratic title of _**fama**_ (sword bearer) rather than _**mansa**_ (ruler) to symbolize his political ambitions independent of the Kamara who had given him his army. He then established his capital at Bisandugu in 1873 and begun a series of campaigns across the region, ostensibly aimed at opening trade routes, and relieving the Juula from the traditional aristocracy.( _**Illustration of Samori made after his capture in 1898.**_ From 1875-1879, Samori's armies had advanced as far as the upper Niger valley (southern Mali) from where he extended his control over Futa Jallon to the west, the Bure goldfields to the north, and the Wasulu region to the east. He then launched two major campaigns that defeated the Sise suzerains of Konya as well as the Kaba dynasty of Kankan between 1880 and 1881. Samori had arrived at the borders of the declining Tukulor empire of Umar Tal's successors which was being taken over by the French forces.( In February of 1882, the French ordered Samori to withdraw his armies from the trading town of Kenyeran where one of Samori’s defeated foes was hiding, but Samori refused and sacked the town. This led to a surprise attack on his army by a French force which was however forced to retreat after Samori defeated it. Samori's brother, Kémé-Brema, then advanced against the French at Wenyako near Bamako in April, winning a major battle on 2 April, before he lost another in 12 April. After Samori took control of Falaba in Sierra Leone in 1884, he dispatched emissaries to British-controlled Freetown in the following year, to propose to the governor that he place his country under British protection inorder to stave off the French advance. This initiative failed however, as the French seized Bure in 1885, prompting Samory raise a massive army led by himself, as well as his brothers Kémé-Brema and Masara-Mamadi. Samori's formidable forces forced the French to withdraw from Bure, but later concluded a treaty with them in March 1886. The two parties later signed another treaty in March 1887 that laid down the border between the French colonies and his empire.( _**Map of Samori’s first empire in 1885**_ * * * ( * * * **State and society in Samory’s first empire.** Having come from a non-royal background, Samori's legitimacy initially rested on his military success and personal qualities, before he claimed to be a divinely elected ruler charged with brining order to the region. Lacking the traditional prerogatives of a ruler, Samori chose to institute a theocratic regime led by himself as the Almamy (imam), a title he took on in 1884 after years of study. The state was administered by a council from the capital (Bisandugu) consisting of top military leaders, and pre-existing chiefs, but later included muslim elites from Kankan. This largely military adminsitration was adopted across the territories from 1879, but differed significantly from place to place as traditional customary law as well as Juula and Islamic law were applied dissimilarly.( The empire was divided into ten districts under civilian governors, while the two in the center and the capital itself being under Samory's control. The latter were home to the army’s elite corps of about 500 soldiers, which served as the source of most of the officers for the rest of the army. This army was divided into the infantry wing (_sofa_) which by 1887 of about 30,000 and a cavalry wing of 3,000 in the 1880s. During peacetime, the soldiers and other workers were engaged on plantations, especially around the capital, with some farms reportedly as large as 200sqkm.( An annual tax was levied on all subjects, following a traditional practice utilized by his predecessors. Samori also instructed his subjects to pay their local Shaykhs an annual stipend, enabling him to establish teachers in each community as auxiliaries to his political agents. The latter exercised surveillance over the population while the former provided primary education for children in Koranic schools. Internal trade rested on the usual commodities of gold, kola, ivory, agricultural produce, and captives, used to purchase horses from the Upper Niger valley region and guns from British sierra leone.( However, Samori’s experimentation with a theocratic government did not last long, as it ran counter to his Juula subject's symbiotic partnership with their non-Muslim allies. Samori thus faced a major internal conflict when his own father (who had since become non-Muslim) and traditional nobility of the Kamara expressed their opposition to Samori's plans of removing the customary law, and making Islam the state religion. These plans involved the end of the traditional nobility’s festivals (from which they drew their social power) and the designation of Samori's sons as his sucessors instead of his brothers. A comprise was later found where some non-Muslim festivals would continue as long as the nobility joined Samori and his peers in Friday prayers, but tensions would remain and be further exacerbated as Samori recruited more men for his seige of Sikasso.( _**the tata (fortification) of Sikasso before and after the two-week French artillery barrage breached it.**_ _**ruins of the Fortified residence of Tieba and his sucessor Babemba, in Sikasso, ca. 1897**_, archives nationales d'outre mer * * * **Fall of Samori’s first empire and the move to the east.** In 1887, Samori mustered all his forces to attack Sikasso, the capital of king Tieba's Kenedugu kingdom. Failing to force Tieba's army out of the fortified city for open battle, Samori besieged the city for over a year. The walls of Sikasso, like most fortified cities across west Africa, enclosed a lot of farmland, which allowed the defenders to withstand a siege much longer than the lightly provisioned attackers could sustain it. So when local rebellions broke out in Wasulu, Samori lifted the siege, and the ensuing wars forced him to end his theocratic experiment. Samori had afterall recruited non-Muslims in his armies who he used against Muslim strongholds such as Kankan, and in 1883 he defended the non-Muslim Bambara of Bana against the Tukulor armies. So following the mass rebellions of 1888, and Samori's observation of the Muslims' betrayal, he abandoned his northward push to Sikasso, and reverted to his more pragmatic policies for his eastern expansion into the predominatly Muslim societies of Gyaman and Gonja.( **‘**_**Alhabari Samuri daga Mutanen wa**_**’ (the story of samori and the people of wa), an account of Samori’s eastern conquests written by the Wa scholar Ishaq b Uthman in 1922.**( Samori reorganized the army, concluded a treaty with the British in May 1890 which enabled him to buy modern weapons. In April 1891, the French forces attacked Kankan and sacked Bisandugu, but were defeated by Samory at the battle of Dabadugu on 3 September 1891. The French invaded the core regions of Wasulu and managed to defeat Samory in January 1892 and capture Bisandugu, gradually forcing Samory to move his empire eastwards.( In the last decade of the 19th century, Samory's forces campaigned over a vast swathe of territory extending upto to the upper Volta basin of Ghana. Samori's eastern advance begun with the establishment of a forward base in the Jimini region of north-eastern Ivory Coast. After protracted negotiations, Samori obtained the support of the kingdom of Kong in April 1895. He then thus turned his attention to the Juula town of Bunduku in the kingdom of Gyaman. However, the Gyaman ruler rejected Samori's calls for alliance, beginning a series of battles that ended with the fall of Gyaman's army and the abandonment of Bunduku. But once Samori assured the Juula of Bonduku of his wish for peace, they returned and surrender to him in July 1895.( _**Marabout (Islamic teacher) in Bonduku, 1892,**_ archives nationales d'outre mer Shortly after his occupation of Bonduku, Samori dispatched envoys to the Asante king Prempeh to explain that he invaded Gyaman because of its ruler's refusal to allow him to open a trade path in that territory, and offered to assist the Asante king to pacify his fragmented kingdom. The ( , with 300 officials and gifts of gold inorder to negotiate a mutual defense pact. Alarmed by the possible resurgence of Asante power, the British hastened plans to invade Asante, and duly informed Samori to not intervene. After their occupation of Asante's capital Kumase, Samori sent an assuring message to the British that he only wished for peaceful trade, but the British remained wary of his intentions and French expansion from the north.( Samori retuned to Jimini at the end of the year, leaving the newly conquered regions of Gyaman under the care of his son Sarankye Mori who later established himself at Buna. Sarankye Mori entrusted the invasion of Gonja to his subordinate, Fanyinama of Korhogo. The state of Gonja was a confederation of rivaring chiefdoms, one of these was the chiefdom of Kong whose ruler requested Kanyinama's support to defeat its rival, the chiefdom of Bole. Fanyinama's forces quickly occupied Bole by early 1896, and entered a complex pattern of relationships with neighboring states such as the kingdom of Wa which briefly recognized Samori's suzeranity.( _**section of Bonduku near one of samory’s residences, photo from the early 1900s**_ **View of Bonduku with one of its mosques.** _**residence of the ruler of Wa in northern Ghana**_ * * * ( * * * **State and society in Samory’s second empire until its collapse in 1898.** Like in Wasulu, Samori's new empire in the Upper Volta was mostly administered by a military government and derived its strength from its formidable army. Samori's armies were reputed to be the most disciplined, the best trained and the best armed in west Africa. Samori was able to equip his army with repeating rifles and ammunition. His officers were armed with Kropatschek rifles (in use by the French army in 1878) and other Gras rifles, (in use by the French army in 1874) while the bulk of the army carried breechloaders, some of which were manufactured locally. The gunsmiths of Samori manufactured single-shot breechloading rifles from scratch at a rate of about a dozen per week. The demand for locally made weapons became more acute as Samori was cut off from Sierra leone. The only other African armies that manufactured guns locally were the Merina kingdom and Tewodros' Ethiopia, although both utilised foreign craftsmen while Samori used local smiths who had worked undercover in St. Louis. Samori’s gunsmiths also made gunpowder, cartridges and spare parts.( Samori's strength lay not simply in his efficient military but also in his intention to use it as an instrument of radical social reform. Mosques and schools were opened even in small villages where Islamic law introduced, and new converts were recruited into the army. Its also likely that Samory intended to reform agricultural production, replacing the old system of lineage farming with large plantations. But these reforms were poorly received by Samori’s Juula subjects, who rebelled against his rule, prompting him to sack Buna in 1896, executing both its non-Muslim ruler and his Muslim allies.( _**Map of Samori’s second empire**_ Samori's new state also embroiled itself in the internal rivaries of the region's various kingdoms, which inevitably attracted the attention of the French in the north and the British in the south. Central to this rivary were fears on Samori's side that the ruler of Wa was attempting to form an alliance with the French against him, only for the ruler of Wa to host the British in January 1897. Added to this were rebellions by the Juula of Kong who rejected Samori's legitimacy and were allying with the French. In March 1897 Sarankye Mori defeated a British column under the command of Henderson at Dokita, near Wa, and the threat of Samory's retribution forced Wa to turn to the British. At the same time, Samori sacked the city of Kong in May 1897, executed its senior Ulama, and pushed on to Bobo-Dioulasso where he encountered a French column and retreated.( Caught between the French and the British, and having vainly attempted to sow discord between the British and the French by returning to the latter the territory of Buna coveted by the former, Samori fled to his allies in Liberia. On the way, he was captured in a surprise attack by the French on 29 September 1898 and deported to Gabon where he died in 1900.( _**street scene in Kong, 1892, archives nationales d'outre mer**_ _**the 18th century mosque of Kong**_ * * * * * * **Samori’s legacy: a struggle for legitimacy.** After the collapse of Samory's state, several dissonant narratives emerged which attempted to characterize its nature, Some of his French foes considered him a 'black Napoleon,' and the archetypal enemy of their "civilizing mission", while the subjects of the formally independent kingdoms he conquered recalled his punitive campaigns in the upper Volta as a period of calamity. However, none of these perspectives bring us any closer to the internal nature of the state Samori had built. Samori had no sucessors and left no chroniclers or griots to disseminate his propaganda, all that remained after his army was broken were the Juula merchants he was supposedly fighting for, who were at best ambivalent towards his low standing as a scholar and at worst opposed to his use of arms. It is very difficult to characterize the organization of Samori's state since its structure was in continuous modification. What initially begun as a bourgeoisie revolution evolved into a theocratic empire that later became an anti-colonial state. The common thread uniting these distinctions appears to have been Samori’s struggle for legitimacy. Despite being a great military strategist, Samori’s rule was never fully accepted as legitimate, unlike the nobility he deposed, he thus found himself constantly at war not just with the colonialists but also with his own subjects, leaving behind a contested legacy of triumph and tragedy. _**Samory Ture in Saint Louis, Senegal, January 1899,**_ Edmond Fortier * * * In the 5th century BC, the armies of Carthage invaded the Italian island of Sicily with an army that included _**aethiopian**_ contigents, around the same time that a proto-urban settlement was flourishing in northern Nigeria, and the Garamantian civilization in the central Sahara. **Read more about the probable links between these three societies and the origins of Carthage’s ‘black African’ armies**, on our Patreon: ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( [Foundations of Trade and Education in medieval west Africa: the Wangara diaspora.\ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------]( ( · September 18, 2022 ( ( ( Traders and the Center in Massina, Kong, and Samori's State by Victor Azarya pg 427-428, Studies in West African Islamic History: Volume 1 By John Ralph Willis pg 263-264) ( Studies in West African Islamic History: Volume 1 By John Ralph Willis pg 262-263, 265) ( Studies in West African Islamic History: Volume 1 By John Ralph Willis pg 265-266, Traders and the Center in Massina, Kong, and Samori's State by Victor Azarya pg 436-437) ( Studies in West African Islamic History: Volume 1 By John Ralph Willis pg 266) ( UNESCO General History of Africa, Volume VII pg 125) ( Studies in West African Islamic History: Volume 1 By John Ralph Willis pg 268-271) ( UNESCO General History of Africa, Volume VII pg 123, Wars of imperial conquest in Africa by Bruce Vandervort pg 130 ( Studies in West African Islamic History: Volume 1 By John Ralph Willis pg 268, 270-271, UNESCO General History of Africa, Volume VII pg 124) ( Traders and the Center in Massina, Kong, and Samori's State by Victor Azarya 438-439, Studies in West African Islamic History: Volume 1 By John Ralph Willis pg 272) ( Studies in West African Islamic History: Volume 1 By John Ralph Willis pg 269, 273) ( Wa and the Wala: Islam and Polity in Northwestern Ghana By Ivor Wilks pg 121 ( UNESCO General History of Africa, Volume VII pg 126) ( Wa and the Wala: Islam and Polity in Northwestern Ghana By Ivor Wilks pg 120) ( Asante in the Nineteenth Century By Ivor Wilks pg 302-304, Making History in Banda: Anthropological Visions of Africa's Past By Ann Brower Stahl pg 98) ( Wa and the Wala: Islam and Polity in Northwestern Ghana pg 121-122) ( Wars of imperial conquest in Africa by Bruce Vandervort pg 132-133, UNESCO General History of Africa, Volume VII pg 123) ( History Of Islam In Africa by N Levtzion pg 107-108) ( Wa and the Wala: Islam and Polity in Northwestern Ghana pg 128-140, History Of Islam In Africa by N Levtzion pg 108, West African Challenge to Empire By Mahir Şaul pg 71-72 ( UNESCO General History of Africa, Volume VII pg 127).

# The Empire of Samori Ture on the Eve of Colonialism (1870-1898) ## 1. Background of West African Political Systems - For centuries, West African societies, particularly in the savannah, relied on a stable relationship between influential merchant classes and ruling nobility. - The last decades of the 19th century witnessed a revolution among the merchant class that overthrew the nobility, leading to the rise of the empire of Samori Ture. ## 2. Emergence of Samori Ture's Empire - Samori Ture was born in 1830 in Konya, Guinea, where the Juula Muslim elite and traditional non-Muslim nobility coexisted. - As part of the Juula community, Samori’s early life was influenced by the Suwarian tradition, prioritizing education and pacifism over military conflict. - During the 18th and 19th centuries, reform movements among Juula merchants inspired a demand for an independent state away from traditional dynasties. ### 2.1 Military Beginnings - Samori initially fought as a mercenary for the Sise army (1853-1859) and later for the rival Berete dynasty until he was expelled in 1861. - He then allied with his non-Muslim maternal family, the Kamara, raising an army to defeat the Berete in 1865. - In 1873, he established his capital at Bisandugu and began military campaigns aimed at expanding trade routes and consolidating power. ## 3. Expansion and Conflict with Colonial Powers - From 1875 to 1879, Samori’s forces extended control over regions including present-day southern Mali, Futa Jallon, and the Bure goldfields. - A confrontation with French forces occurred in February 1882 when he defied orders to withdraw from Kenyeran, leading to a battle in which Samori's troops emerged victorious. - Despite setbacks, Samori managed to repel the French in subsequent conflicts and signed treaties that defined borders between French territories and his empire. ## 4. Administration of the Empire ### 4.1 Governance Structure - Lacking traditional claims to royalty, Samori implemented a theocratic regime, assuming the title of Almamy (imam) in 1884. - His administration included military leaders, traditional chiefs, and Islamic elites, but varied significantly in application across different regions. ### 4.2 Economic Policies - The empire relied on taxation and trade in commodities such as gold, kola, and ivory, with a focus on agriculture through large plantations. - The military was structured with approximately 30,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry, with soldiers also participating in agricultural production during peacetime. ## 5. Internal Challenges and Shifts - Tensions arose within the empire as Samori's Islamic reforms conflicted with traditional customs, leading to opposition from his own father and former allies. - Following rebellions in 1888, Samori shifted his focus from the Islamic theocracy to pragmatic policies, expanding eastward into predominantly Muslim communities. ## 6. Decline of Samori's Empire - In 1887, after a protracted siege of Sikasso, local rebellions forced him to abandon this campaign, marking the beginning of his eastern expansion. - By the early 1890s, French incursions into Samori's territory escalated, leading to his eventual defeat and retreat towards Liberia. - Samori was captured by French forces on September 29, 1898, and subsequently deported to Gabon, where he died in 1900. ## 7. Legacy of Samori Ture - The fall of Samori's empire spurred various interpretations of his rule; French colonial narratives portrayed him as a militant against civilization, while local populations remembered his conquests with ambivalence. - Samori's state was characterized by its continuous evolution—from a merchant-driven revolution to a theocratic regime and finally an anti-colonial entity. - His struggle for legitimacy throughout his rule left a contested legacy, reflecting both military prowess and unfulfilled aspirations for acceptance among his subjects. This structured overview emphasizes the historical factuality and logical development of events surrounding Samori Ture's empire in the context of West African colonialism.

a brief note on Trade and Travel in the ancient Sahara and beyond.

uncovering the origins of Carthage's aethiopian auxiliaries.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on Trade and Travel in the ancient Sahara and beyond. ================================================================== ### uncovering the origins of Carthage's aethiopian auxiliaries. ( Dec 10, 2023 17 Covering nearly a third of the African continent, the Sahara Desert conjures visions of torrid heat waves rising over an endless sea of burning sand dunes where only the bravest nomads dared to tread. Discourses on the Sahara throughout history have been dominated by the persistent belief that the desert was largely uninhabited and uninhabitable. Closely related to these discourses was the diffusionist hypothesis that African societies depended on exogenous contact in order to achieve social evolution. Combining these two presumptions about the Sahara and African societies, early scholarship introduced the concept of a habitable 'corridor', that was understood to be a narrow stretch of land across the desert and the only route through which Mediterranean influences could reach "inner Africa". It was in this context that Nubia was imagined to be a corridor through which technological and cultural innovations were "transmitted" from the Mediterranean world to Africa. The same concept of a corridor through the desert was applied to the Fezzan and Kawar oases of the central Sahara. All these corridors were thought of as routes through which everything from iron technology to statecraft were transmitted from Egypt and Carthage to the rest of Africa. _**Ruins of Djado in the ( **_. this medieval town is located at the very center of the Sahara. As later research uncovered the ancient foundations of social complexity in Africa, the diffusionist paradigm was largely discarded by most scholars. The ancient ( in central Nigeria had no connections to Carthage, nor were the forms of Nubian statecraft similar to Egypt. As one scholar summarized: **"Surely corridors usually lead to a few rooms, but the Nubian corridor, in which so much happened, does not seem to have led anywhere."( ** Yet the concept of a corridor cutting through the barren desert persisted, no longer as a conduit for transmitting "civilization" from North to south, the Saharan oases were now imagined to be highway stations along ancient routes which supposedly begun on the mediteranean coast and terminated in the old towns of west Africa and Sudan. Maps of medieval Africa are today populated with lines crisscrossing the desert, that are meant to represent fixed routes taken by carravans in the centuries past. However, like its diffusionist precursor, this notion of oases as fixed highway stations along direct lines in the desert has not stood up to closer scrutiny. As one historian of the Sahara cautions; **"It is thus hazardous and inexact to depict Saharan trails on maps as though they were established as major highways. The historical geography of Saharan trails is in fact very complicated, with numerous variants on routes followed depending on the shifting geopolitical realities as well as the natural limitations of travel across a hyper-arid zone."**( _**The world of the Sahara**_, map by D. J. Mattingly Trans-Saharan travel and exchanges proceeded by regional stages, with the eventual long-distance transport being accomplished by numerous local exchanges. The societies and economies of Saharan communities were largely sustained by local resources and regional trade, rather than depending on tolls from long-distance trade. Such was the case for the Kawar Oasis towns, as well as the ( , both of whose domestic economies did not significantly rely on long-distance trade with north-Africa, but from regional trade with neighboring states. However, travel and trade did occur across the Sahara, often utilizing well-known itineraries through which goods and technologies were exchanged. How far back Trans-Saharan travel and exchanges begun is a matter of heated debate, with most scholars asserting that it started with the introduction of the camel at the start of the middle ages, while others claim that wheeled chariots were crossing the Sahara during the age of the Romans and the Carthaginians. The ancient links between Carthage and West Africa is the subject of **my latest Patreon article, in which I explore the evidence for ancient exchanges in the central Sahara, inorder to uncover the origins of the aethiopian auxiliaries of Carthage’s armies.** **read more about it here:** ( * * * **Join the African history Patreon community and support this website** ( * * * _**Ruins of Carthage in Tunisia.**_ * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. * * *

## Title: Trade and Travel in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond ## Description: Uncovering the Origins of Carthage's Aethiopian Auxiliaries ### 1. The Nature of the Sahara Desert - The Sahara Desert encompasses nearly one-third of the African continent. - It has historically been perceived as uninhabitable and largely uninhabited. - This perception influenced early scholarly discussions about African societies, suggesting that they required external contact for social development. ### 2. The Concept of Corridors - Early scholarship introduced the idea of "corridors" through the Sahara, which were thought to be narrow stretches of land facilitating Mediterranean influences into "inner Africa." - Nubia was considered a key corridor for transmitting technologies and cultural practices from Egypt and Carthage. - Similar concepts were applied to the Fezzan and Kawar oases. ### 3. Reevaluation of the Corridor Theory - Advances in research revealed significant ancient social complexity in Africa, contradicting the diffusionist hypothesis. - Evidence showed that societies in regions like central Nigeria were not connected to Carthage, and Nubian statecraft was distinct from Egyptian models. - One scholar noted, “Surely corridors usually lead to a few rooms, but the Nubian corridor, in which so much happened, does not seem to have led anywhere.” ### 4. Oases as Trade Stations - The notion that Saharan oases served as established trading posts along fixed routes has also been challenged. - Historical geography of Saharan trails is complex, influenced by geopolitical factors and natural challenges. - Trade in the Sahara was largely sustained by local economies and regional exchanges, rather than relying heavily on long-distance trade. ### 5. Local Economies and Trade Dynamics - Towns such as those in the Kawar Oasis did not significantly depend on trade with North Africa; their economies were grounded in regional exchanges with neighboring states. - Despite this, trans-Saharan travel and trade did occur, often along recognized itineraries. ### 6. Historical Context of Trans-Saharan Trade - The origins of trans-Saharan travel and trade are debated among scholars. - Some argue that the introduction of the camel in the Middle Ages marked the beginning of significant trans-Saharan trade. - Others suggest that wheeled chariots were utilized across the Sahara during the Roman and Carthaginian periods. ### 7. Focus on Carthage and West Africa - The interactions between Carthage and West Africa are explored in-depth in a recent article focused on the ancient exchanges within the central Sahara. - The article investigates evidence regarding the origins of the Aethiopian auxiliaries in Carthage’s military. ### Conclusion - Understanding ancient trade and travel in the Sahara is essential for repainting the historical narrative of Africa, focusing on local resources, regional interactions, and the nuanced complexities of Saharan societies. By exploring these aspects, we gain insights into the importance of the Sahara as a crossroads of cultural and economic exchange, rather than merely a barrier to development.

The myth of Mansa Musa's enslaved entourage

"Stories about his [Mansa Musa's] journey have numerous anecdotes which are not true and which the mind refuses to admit".

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The myth of Mansa Musa's enslaved entourage =========================================== ### "Stories about his \ journey have numerous anecdotes which are not true and which the mind refuses to admit". ( Dec 03, 2023 27 The pilgrimage of Mansa Musa in 1324 is undoubtedly the most famous and most studied event in the history of the west-African middle ages. The ruler of the Mali empire has recently become a recognized figure in global history, in large part due to recent estimates that was the wealthiest man in history. Thanks to the abundance of accounts regarding his reign, Musa has become a symbol of a prosperous and independent Africa actively participating in world affairs, leaving an indelible mark not just on European atlases, but also in the memories and writings of West Africa. But as is often common with any interest in Africa’s past, there's a growing chorus of claims that Mansa Musa was escorted by thousands of enslaved people to Egypt, which would make him one of the largest slave owners of his time. While many who make these claims don't ground them in medieval accounts of Musa's pilgrimage, they have found some support in the book '_African dominion_' written by the west-Africanist Michael Gomez, who asserts that the Mansa travelled with an entourage of 60,000 mostly enslaved persons. However, other specialists in west African history such as John Hunwick find these numbers to be rather absurd, arguing that they were inflated in different accounts and were based on unreliable sources. Indeed, the multiplicity of historical accounts regarding Musa's pilgrimage seem to have favored the emergence of dissonant versions of the same event, which were eventually standardized over time. This article outlines the various accounts on Mansa Musa's entourage, inorder to uncover whether the Malian ruler was the largest slave owner of his time or he was simply the subject of an elaborately fabricated story. _**Detail from the 14th century Catalan Atlas showing Mansa Musa**_ * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more on African history and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **The Limits of west-African sources on Mansa Musa.** Most claims that Mansa Musa was followed by a large entourage of slaves rely on the west African chronicle titled _Tarikh al-Sudan_, written by a scholar named Abd al-Rahman Al-sa'di in 1655. Al-Sa'di's chronicle was one of three important 17th century west African manuscripts —the others being; the _Tarikh al-Fattash_ and the _Notice Historique_— which modern historians call the Timbuktu chronicles. The Timbuktu chronicles were written not long after the fall of Mali’s sucessor; the Songhai empire, by scholars whose families were prominent during its heyday. In their desire to construct a coherent and legitimating narrative of the ‘western Sudan’ (an area encompassing modern Mali to Senegal), the chroniclers offer a special place to the Mali empire. They include details on both the former empire which had fallen to the Askiya dynasty of Songhai, as well as the contemporaneous state which was at almost constant war with Songhai before the latter’s collapse. ( As some of the oldest internal sources written by west Africans about their own history, modern historians had long considered them to be more reliable reconstructions of the region’s past compared to external accounts written outside the region. However, specialists on west African history have recently acknowledged the limitations of the Timbuktu chronicles and their authors regarding the earlier periods of the region's history. The historian Paulo de Moraes Farias, who uncovered a number of inscribed stelae from the medieval city of Gao from which the Askiya title and the first Muslim west-African rulers are first attested, has shown that Al-Sa'di was not aware of Gao significance but dismissed it as a center of 'undiluted paganism'. Cautioning modern historians, Paulo de Moraes writes that: _**"They**_ (the Timbuktu chroniclers) _**were not mere informants but historians like ourselves, and they had their own difficulties in retrieving evidence and reconstructing the past from the point of view of their novel intellectual and political stance".**_( _**Commemorative Stela of a King and Queen from Gao, Mali, dated to the 12th century, first one is at the Musée national du Mali, second one is at Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal**_ _**The old city of Gao in 1920, archives nationales d'outre mer**_ Similary, the historian Mauro Nobili has shown that the Tarikh al-Fattash was mostly a 19th century chronicle that utilised information from two 17th century chronicles; _Tarikh Ibn al-Mukhtar_ of the west African chronicler Ibn al-Mukhtar and the _Tarikh al-Sudan_ of Al-Sa’di . He also argues that the Timbuktu chronicles were not mere repositories of hard facts waiting to be mined by modern historians, but were, like all historical documents, ( .( The Timbuktu chroniclers, like all historians past and present, were themselves aware of the limitations of their sources, with one Timbuktu chronicler for example, mentioning that there were no internal documents on the Kayamagha dynasty of the Ghana empire.( This limitation of textural sources wasn't alleviated by the oral sources available to the Timbutku historians. For example, Ibn al-Mukhtar's chronicle, which was written in 1664, includes many anecdotes about Mansa Musa derived from oral accounts, but he also relayed the fact that there were a significant number of stories said about Mansa Musa's pilgrimage that seemed fabricated, warning his readers that; **"Stories about his \ journey have numerous anecdotes which are not true and which the mind refuses to admit".** He adds that **"Among these, the fact that every time he was in a town on Friday on his way here towards Egypt, he did not fail to build a mosque there the same day"** Others include having his servants dig a pool for his wife in the middle of the desert, and one of his scouts descended into a well to capture a highway robber who was cutting the buckets from the ropes that they were lowering into the well, so that Musa’s carravan couldn’t draw water.( Even though such stories were evidently exaggerated and fabricated, the anecdotes about Mansa Musa's pilgrimage show that the era of the Mali empire was a turning point in the Islamic and imperial identity of the western Sudan —an identity which the Timbuktu writers were furthering despite their objections to the unreliability of their sources. Besides internal accounts, the Timbuktu chroniclers also utilized external sources from the “East”, especially those coming from Mamluk Egypt and Morocco. In his account of Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage for example, al-Sa'di specifically mentions his source to be Ibn Battuta's _Riḥla_ (Travels) which contains a section on the famous globe-trotter's stay in Mali from 1352-1353. However, al-Sa'di only used Ibn Battuta as a source regarding a short anecdote on the place Musa stayed while he was in Cairo, but other details about Musa's entourage were clearly derived from another unamed source since Ibn Battuta makes no mention of Musa's companions besides naming several 'black Hajjis' who accompanied their sovereign to Mecca.( We therefore turn to the so-called 'Eastern' sources to uncover the documents which the Timbuktu chroniclers used for their information on Musa's entourage. * * * ( * * * **The earliest accounts of Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage and entourage from Egypt, Syria and Mecca.** _**Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage route in 1324, Map by Juan Hernandez**_ The oldest Egyptian account of Mansa Musa's pilgrimage comes from a text by the Mamluk official Šihāb al-Nuwayrī in his Nihāyat al-arab that was written around 1331. A high administrator and controller of the financial office during the reign of Mamluk sultan Al-Malik al-Nāṣir (r. 1293 to 1341), al-Nuwayri had access to state documents and provides us with what is so far the earliest account of Musa’s arrival in Egypt and his entourage. Al-Nuwayri writes that; **"During this year \ King Musa, ruler of the country of Takrur, arrived in the Egyptian lands with the aim of making the pilgrimage. He went to the noble Hejaz. He returned to his country in the year 25 \. His company had brought in a considerable sum of gold. Thus he had spent it all, had scattered it, had exchanged part of it for fabrics so that he needed to go into debt for a large sum to merchants and others before his journey \.**( This account doesn't identify the status of Musa's entourage, which he calls his ‘company’, but simply mentions that they came with a lot of gold and spent it lavishly in Egypt. Another, much longer account about Musa's time in Egypt was written by a son of a Mamluk official named, Ibn al-Dawādārī, in his _kanz al-durar_, that was written around the year 1335. **"During this year \ the king of Takrur arrived, aspiring to the illustrious Hejaz. His name, Abū Bakr b. Mūsā. He appeared before the noble stations of the holy places of Mecca and kissed the ground. He stayed for a year in the Egyptian regions before going to Hejaz. He had with him a lot of gold, and his country is the country that grows gold … Then the king of Takrur and his companions bought all sorts of things in Cairo and Egypt. We thought their money was inexhaustible"** His account —which I have shortened for the sake of brevity, as i will most accounts mentioned below— is similar to the one of al-Nuwayri, but adds more details about Mali’s gold sources and Musa’s meeting with the Mamluk sultan. However, Al-Dawadari also doesn't describe the status of Musa's entourage, but simply refers to them as 'companions'.( Another early account on Musa’s pilgrimage was written by the Syrian historian Šams al-Dīn al-Ḏahabī in his _Duwal al-Islām_, completed before 1339, but it only describes Musa's entourage in Cairo as a **"large crowd"**. Al-Dahabi's section on Musa's pilgrimage was repeated verbatim by the Mamluk official Šihāb al-ʿUmarī in the first version of his _Masālik al-Absâr_, before he later wrote a more detailed account using his own sourcs in the second version of the same work that is now famous in the historiography of Musa's pilgrimage.( In the second version of al-ʿUmarī's _Masālik al-Absâr_, the Mamluk official provides a more detailed account of Musa's stay in Cairo, based on interviews with officials who hosted the Malian ruler. In a very lengthy account which includes details of Musa arriving with **"a hundred camel-loads of gold"**, and his meeting with the Mamluk sultan where both parties exchanged gifts, al-Umari writes that **"He \ continued to send him \ Turkish slaves and abundant provisions throughout his stay"** and that **"He had a quantity of provisions purchased for his \ companions and his suite."** Like the previous authors, al-Umari simply describes Musa's entourage as companions, and the only mention of 'slaves' in the context of Musa's pilgrimage were the **"Turkish slaves”** gifted to Musa by the Egyptian sultan. The first reference to slaves in Musa’s entourage appears to be the Turkish slaves gifted to him by the Egyptian ruler. Al-Umari’s account on Mansa Musa would be repeated almost verbatim by other Egyptian scholars, including Aḥmad al-Muqrī (fl. 1365) who also refered to them simply as 'companions'.( Our next source on Mansa Musa's pilgrimage comes from the 'Holy city' of Mecca, where an exceptional eyewitness account is provided by the Meccan scholar Abd Allāh al-Yāfiʿī (d. 1367) in his _Mirʾāt al-ǧinān_ completed some time before his death. The people of Mali arrived in the Hejaz at a time following years of unrest in Mecca, and against a backdrop of strengthening Mamluk-Egyptian control over the holy cities. There had been several conflicts over the control of the city between the Rasulid dynasty of Yemen, the Mamluks of Egypt and a few independent figures who all claimed protection over the city. Mansa Musa's carravan arrived under the protection of the Mamluks, and this is the description of his time in the Holy city that al-Yāfiʿī witnessed: "**During this year, the king of Takrūr Mūsā b. Abī Bakr b. Abī al-Aswad presented himself for the pilgrimage with thousands of his soldiers** (ʿaskar) **…** **I add, concerning his spirit of common sense and wisdom, that I saw him while he was at the latticed window rising above the Ka'ba of the building from ribāṭ al-Ḫūzī. He had calmed his restless companions following a discord (**fitna**) which had arisen between them and the Turks. They had brandished, during this discord, the swords in the Sacred Mosque (**al-masǧid al-ḥarām**), while Musa, being in an overhanging position, had seen upon them. He had ordered them to reconsider their intention to fight showing an intense anger towards them because of this fitna. It is a sign of the superiority of his \ intelligence because he had no place of retreat or helper apart from those of his fatherland and his people, if the broad strength of his cavalry and his infantry had come to be reduced. The king of Takrūr Mūsā returned to Egypt. The sultan clothed him in a royal robe of honor, a circular turban, a black ǧubba, and a golden sword."**( The Meccan author specifically uses "I add" and “I saw” to mark this passage out as his own eye-witness account, making his account the only primary source that retells specific events which were seen by the author. Importantly, the description of the fitna (quarrel/discord) which he recounts provides the first rough estimate of Mansa Musa's companions, and their status. Such violent quarrels were relatively common in the _Ḥaram_ of Mecca in the context of pilgrimages, as they often reflected political struggles over the control of the Holy cities, but this one in particular was an internal dispute between the Malians and the Mamluks (Turks). This account indicates that Mansa Musa's entourage numbering in the thousands was heavily armed, and were it not for Musa's wise intervention, this would have been added to the 7 fitnas in Mecca that were recorded in the 14th century. Al-Yāfiʿī's account would be copied verbatim by later Meccan scholars such as Taqī al-Dīn al-Fāsī (d. 1429) .( _**the Ka’aba at Mecca during the early 20th century**_ * * * * * * **Later accounts of Musa’s pilgrimage and the first estimates of his entourage: from ‘Companions’ to ‘Maids’.** Our next source on Mansa Musa's entourage in Egypt comes from the Syrian qadi Zayn Ibn al-Wardī in his _Tatimmat al-muḫtaṣar_ which was completed in the late 1340s. He writes that: **"King Šaraf al-Dīn Mūsā b. Abī Bakr, king of Takrūr, arrived for the pilgrimage. His company numbered more than 10,000 Takrūrī."** While he also doesn't specify the status of Musa's companions, he identifies them as Takruri, a term often used to refer to pilgrims from west-Africa when they were in Egypt and the Hejaz. It is derived from the medieval kingdom of Takrur (in modern Senegal), which was allied to the Almoravid conquerors of Andalusia (Spain). This term, which specifically marks out Musa’s entourage as pious free-born Muslims, fits well with the prestigious title of Šaraf al-Dīn (“Eminence of the faith”) that the author gave to Mansa Musa. This text also marks the first time Musa's entourage is estimated to be 10,000, an absurdly high figure that would be repeated further exaggerated in later accounts.( Just like Al-Ḏahabī —the other Syrian historian mentioned before— Al-Wardi never met Musa and his entourage, nor did he have access to Mamluk officials or archives, but instead based his story on oral accounts and hearsay circulating in the region. This approach to collecting information on Musa’s pilgrimage was similary taken by another Syrian historian, named Ibn Kaṯīr in his 1366 work _al-Bidāya wa alnihāya_. The Syrian writes that **"the king of Takrur arrived in Cairo on account of the pilgrimage on the 25th of Ragab. He established his camp at Qarafa. He had with him Maghribīs** (North Africans?) **and servants** (khadam) **numbering around 20,000."**( This is the only mention of 'North Africans' in Musa's entourage which is now said to number 20,000, and it’s also the first mention of the presence of 'servants' using the specific term _Kadam_ that usually refered to male attendants.( However, this particular deviation is only encountered in this account, as other writers, especially those in Egypt, continue to refer to Musa's entourage as 'companions' or 'large crowds'. These include; Zayn al-Dīn ʿUmar Ibn al-Wardī (d. 1349) who calls them a **"company of 10,000 Takruri"**, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Ṣafadī (d. 1363) who refers to them as a **“large crowd”**, Badr al-Dīn (d. 1377) who refers to them as a company made up of 10,000 of his **“subjects”**, and the Meccan historian Taqī al-Dīn al-Fāsī (d. 1429) who refers to them as **"15,000 Takārura"**.( Later accounts focus more on Musa's meeting with the Mamluk sultan, without mentioning anything about his 'companions', with the exception of the Mamluk-Egyptian encyclopedist Al-Qalqašandī who in his 1412 book Ṣubḥ al-aʿšā, wrote that: **“It is said that 12,000 maids** (waṣāʾif) **dressed in brocade tunics carried his effects."** This specific sentence, which again begins with the characteristic 'it is said' to indicate that its based on hearsay, provides a figure not based on any previous estimate but on an attempt to reconcile different estimates of Musa's entourage. The author claims to have taken this particular estimate from the _Kitab al-ʿIbar_ of the historian Ibn Ḫaldūn (1406), but the latter did not in fact provide any figures on Mansa Musa's companions in his section on the Malian king's pilgrimage.( The use of the term waṣāʾif which was used for female servants in domestic contexts in Mamluk-Egypt (instead of jawārī for female slaves)( , is yet more evidence that this anecdote was simply a fabrication by Al-Qalqašandī, whose sources refered to Mansa Musa’s entourage as his “companions" who were by all indications entirely male and well-armed, and not some roving harem of medieval fantasy. However, the brief detail on Musa acquiring servants/slaves in Egypt is again brought up by the Mamluk-Egyptian historian Al-Maqrīzī (d. 1442) in his al-Sulūk li-maʿrifat duwal almulūk, which he completed later in his life. He writes that **"He \ stayed in Cairo and spent a lot of gold on the purchase of servants, clothes and other products to such an extent that the dinar fell by six dirhams"**( This passage is evidently copied directly from earlier accounts on Musa's initial stay in Cairo, specifically al-ʿUmarī’s mention of Turkish slaves sent by the Mamluk sultan, although its not implausible that Musa and his companions acquired other slaves in Egypt on their own account (as will be mentioned below). Al-Maqrīzī later provides a more detailed account of Mansa Musa's entourage in his monograph on the pilgrimages made by Muslim sovereigns, titled _al-Ḏahab al-masbūk_. He writes that; **"It is said that he \ came with 14,000 maids for his personal service. His companions showed consideration by purchasing Turkish and Ethiopian servants, singers and clothing."** Writing more than a century after Musa's arrival in Cairo, Al-Maqrizi seems to have taken a lot of liberties with his description of Musa's entourage. The expression "it is said that" which is followed by an inflated number of Musa's maids indicates that this passage was based on hearsay that had been exaggerated. However, this exceptional account on Musa's supposedly all-female entourage, who now included ‘Ethiopians’ wouldn't appear in later Egyptian accounts of the 15th and 16th century, such as the description of Musa's pilgrimage by al-Maqrizi's rival Badr al-Dīn al-ʿAynī (d. 1451), nor did they appear in the work of Ibn Ḥaǧar (d. 1449), nor in the work of Ibn Iyās (d. 1524).( * * * ( * * * **The disputed estimates of Musa’s entourage and their status in pre-colonial and modern western African historiography.** It was this estimate of over 10,000 companions of Mansa Musa that would be uncritically copied in later accounts, and further exaggerated to absurd proportions, that were eventually reproduced in the Timbuktu chronicles. The Ta’rīkh al-fattāsh claims that the Mansa embarked **“with great pomp and vast wealth \ a huge army”** numbering **8,000 people**. While Ta’rīkh as-sūdān uses a much larger estimate, claiming that Musa **“set off in great pomp with a large party, including 60,000 soldiers and 500 slaves, who ran in front of him as he rode. Each of the slaves bore in his hand a wand fashioned from 500 mq. of gold.”**( Its important to note that the _Tarikh al-Sudan_ of Al-Sa’di mentions that there were only 500 slaves in the entire entourage numbering 60,000. Some specialists on west African history who take these figures at face value, such as Michael Gomez, claim the 'disparity' between the two Timbuktu chronicles is due to Mansa Musa having begun his journey with many more followers than actually arrived with him in Cairo. Other specialists, such as John Hunwick, rightly dismiss both estimates as **"grossly inflated"**, explaining that "**logistical problems of feeding and providing water during the crossing of the Sahara rule out numbers of this order"**( Indeed the outline of external sources on Musa's entourage provided above supports Hunwick's argument that these numbers were deliberately fabricated, and this was mostly like done by different authors inorder to paint a laudatory portrait of Mansa Musa’s remarkable pilgrimage. None of the early sources provide estimates of Musa's entourage or their exact status, with the exception of the eye-witness account from Mecca which describes them as 'thousands' of well-armed men. All accounts that include exact estimates of Musa's entourage mention that it was based on hearsay, and later accounts would add more absurd fabrications, claiming that Musa's entourage was an all-female troop of servants. While Musa's companions did acquire 'Turkish' slaves that were brought back to Mali (and were met by Ibn Battuta), we can be certain based on the available evidence that Musa's entourage consisted almost entirely of free west African Muslims who accompanied their emperor on a journey that many of them were very familiar with. This undermines the Michael Gomez's claim that "the vast majority of the royal retinue was enslaved", an assertion that relies on him ignoring the multiple sources that specifically identify Musa's companions as west-African muslims (Takruri), to instead focus on the few sources that claim Musa entourage was made up of servants termed; _waṣāʾif_ and _khadam_, both of which Gomez also mistranslates as ‘slaves’, not to mention his willful misrepresentation of Al-Sa’di’s passage which explicitly mentions that there were only 500 slaves in the 60,000 strong entourage. Also relevant to these accounts of Musa’s entourage are the estimates of '100 camel-loads' of gold (about 12 tonnes) on which Musa's title for history's wealthiest man rests, some of which were supposedly carried by his retinue. The amount of gold itself doesn’t seem out of the ordinary if we consider that not all the gold was his, and with the exception of Al-Sa’di’s chronicle, there is no mention of people carrying this gold but only camels. ( , and they often left their properties in the form of gold, luxury cloth and camels under the care of Egyptian officials for their return journey after visiting Mecca. With one pilgrim leaving behind 200 mithqals of gold and camels in 1562, while another group of six west Africans left 500 mithqals gold, cloth and several personal effects. During his visit to Mali, Ibn Battuta met atleast four Hajjis, some of whom had accompanied Mansa Musa to Mecca, these include; Hajj Abd al-Rahman who was the royal Qadi and lived in the capital of Mali; Hajj Farba Margha who was a powerful official that lived near Mema; Hajj Farba Sulaiman who was another official that lived near Timbuktu (he also owned an Arab slave girl from Damascus presumably acquired while on pilgrimage), and Hajj Muhammad al-Wajdi who was a resident of Gao and had visited Yemen.( Its therefore likely that many of Mansa Musa's companions were free west African Muslims, and that a significant share of the ruler’s golden treasure belonged to them. The above outline shows that despite the abundance of accounts regarding Musa’s pilgrimage, the event was not recorded from authoritative informants but from a combination of only partially reliable sources that were inturn altered by the different interpretations of multiple writers with their own authorial intentions. A more objective account of Musa’s pilgrimage can thus only be obtained after untangling the web of fabrications and biases which colour the works of past historians as well as modern ones. _**A fanciful illustration of Musa’s pilgrimage, complete with an implausibly large entourage that includes maids carrying sacks of gold**_ * * * Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage was one of several occasions where Africans explored their own continent and some accounts claim he passed by the great pyramids of Giza. More than 3,000 years before Musa, **people from the North-East African kingdoms of Kush and Punt also regulary travelled to and settled in ancient Egypt.** **Read more about this on our Patreon:** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Meanings of Timbuktu by Shamil Jeppie pg 95-98 ( Meanings of Timbuktu by Shamil Jeppie 98-105) ( Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith : Aḥmad Lobbo, the Tārīkh al-fattāsh and the Making of an Islamic State in West Africa by Mauro Nobili ( Meanings of Timbuktu by Shamil Jeppie pg 96) ( Le sultanat du Mali - Histoire régressive d'un empire médiéval XXIe-XIVe siècle by Hadrien Collet pg 195-196) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 10 The Travels of Ibn Battuta Vol. 4 pg 967, 969) ( Le sultanat du Mali - Histoire régressive d'un empire médiéval XXIe-XIVe siècle by Hadrien Collet pg 215-216) ( Le sultanat du Mali - Histoire régressive d'un empire médiéval XXIe-XIVe siècle by Hadrien Collet pg 217) ( Le sultanat du Mali - Histoire régressive d'un empire médiéval XXIe-XIVe siècle by Hadrien Collet pg 219-220) ( Le sultanat du Mali - Histoire régressive d'un empire médiéval XXIe-XIVe siècle by Hadrien Collet pg 221-222, 226) ( Échos d’Arabie. Le Pèlerinage à La Mecque de Mansa Musa by Hadrien Collet pg 115-116 ( Échos d’Arabie. Le Pèlerinage à La Mecque de Mansa Musa by Hadrien Collet pg pg 117-119) ( Le sultanat du Mali - Histoire régressive d'un empire médiéval XXIe-XIVe siècle by Hadrien Collet pg 224-225) ( Le sultanat du Mali - Histoire régressive d'un empire médiéval XXIe-XIVe siècle by Hadrien Collet pg 225-226 ( A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic By Hans Wehr pg 267, The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia edited by Oliver Leaman pg 579, Race and Slavery in the Middle East by Terence Walz pg 58, _**Gomez himself occasionally translates the word khadam as servant in Ibn Battuta’s description of Mali’s court**_, African dominion by M. Gomez, pg 160 ( Le sultanat du Mali - Histoire régressive d'un empire médiéval XXIe-XIVe siècle by Hadrien Collet pg 224-5, 227, 229, Échos d’Arabie. Le Pèlerinage à La Mecque de Mansa Musa by Hadrien Collet pg 120) ( Le sultanat du Mali - Histoire régressive d'un empire médiéval XXIe-XIVe siècle by Hadrien Collet pg 232-245) _**«Post-publication note: Ibn Khaldūn’s mention of 12,000 maids comes from another section of the Muqaddima, from a source which he thought not to include in his section relating to the pilgrimages of the kings of Takrur in which he makes no mention of Musa’s entourage»**_ ( Slave Trade Dynamics in Abbasid Egypt by Jelle Bruning ( Le sultanat du Mali - Histoire régressive d'un empire médiéval XXIe-XIVe siècle by Hadrien Collet pg 236) ( Le sultanat du Mali - Histoire régressive d'un empire médiéval XXIe-XIVe siècle by Hadrien Collet pg 236-237, 240) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 11 ( African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa By Michael Gomez pg 106, Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 11, n.3 ( Travels of Ibn Battuta Vol4 pg 951-952, 956, 967, 970-971 ### to African History Extra By isaac Samuel · Launched 3 years ago All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past 27 Likes · ( 27 4 Comments | | | | --- | --- | | | I think you need to dig into Gomez' entire argument about interpreting these sources more carefully, and to take note that he published considerably after Hunwick, who died in 2015. E.g. Hunwick's analysis is not a reply to Gomez, but Gomez' arguments about how to read these sources is in many ways an argument against Hunwick's interpretations. To some extent Hunwick's response to this specific issue (the number of people in Mansa Musa's entourage and the type of people in it) rested on a sort of common-sense empiricism, which is often how modern historians react to estimates of numbers in medieval and classical sources. Gomez is very invested in seeing the Tarikh in particular but other Islamic sources as scholarly and careful rather than fabulistic or exaggerated, and in arguing that Islamic scholars of that era had a distinctive methodological commitment to a kind of historical accuracy that derived from training in how to read hadith and evaluate their legitimacy. Which among other things did create a fairly specific attention to whether something was hearsay or not, as you note in this essay.<br><br>2) Following on this point, I do think there's an interesting general debate about how to read numbers in medieval and classical sources from all over the Mediterranean, West Africa and Near Eastern world. Historians are often confronted with numerical claims that seem improbable or exaggerated, and when we trace out where those claims come from, we often find that various chroniclers are just repeating something that another chronicler said with none of them being direct eyewitnesses to the event whose numerical size is being estimated. In general, as a non-specialist in medieval and classical history, I'd say that the importance we put on direct eyewitnessing in terms of accuracy is something that almost no medieval or classical source from that vast range of regions was invested in. Even travellers' accounts like Battuta's sometimes mix in reports from other travellers \*as if the author experienced that directly\* and it takes careful attention to note that. (You even see this in European exploration from the 15th-19th C.,) We tend to think this makes the source less reliable, but I think we have to be careful about that assumption. When you're reading Herodotus, for example, you can't just generically regard his reports as unreliable because he was simply reproducing what he was told by other people--the complexity is that some of those reports seem closer to reality than others, as we might expect if we sat down in the company of a set of well-travelled people today and asked them to tell us about what they'd seen.<br><br>My feeling is that numbers are the same thing--sometimes they're fabulistic or get distorted by the way various medieval chroniclers (Islamic or otherwise) reproduced what they'd heard or seen in other writings, and sometimes not so much. In this case, when you look at the rich variety of sources you're discussing here, you see the Tatimmat al-muḫtaṣar as creating a specific large number when the sources written earlier declined to do so, which you take to then be the source of later exaggerations and amplifications. The problem is that the slightly earlier accounts indicate amounts that aren't necessarily in sharp contradiction to "10,000": "thousands of his soldiers" and "a large crowd" and moreover, if you look carefully, the "thousands of his soldiers" is what Mansa Musa "presents for the pilgrimmage"--it may well be precisely not the entirety of the party travelling with him from Mali. (Which might have included some people who were not Muslims who supported the pilgrimmage but were not participants; most especially perhaps people who had servile status of some kind--the duality of Mali's population and of the way its rulers had to signify power in both Muslim and non-Muslim idioms in this era is a major theme in Gomez and other recent historical scholarship.)<br><br>Some of it comes down to whether observers and then later chroniclers would have been particularly observant about or attentive to fine-grained distinctions between the types of people in Mansa Musa's entourage; or would bother to comment on the specific composition of it. It's possible to imagine his group arriving, for example, and instantly losing some portion of its size because some of them were Tuaregs who were managing the caravan but were not Mansa Musa's direct subjects, and with them might have gone some portion of people in the entourage who were not slaves or servants of Mansa Musa but who were brought by the caravan to be sold in Cairo or between Cairo and Mecca. E.g., what Mansa Musa's entourage was in terms of its composition is itself a complicated question that in turn has a lot of implications for how big it might have been, and whether even the eyewitness chroniclers were viewing all of what we might consider to have been the full group is an open question.

### Step 1: Introduction to Mansa Musa and His Pilgrimage - Mansa Musa, the ruler of the Mali Empire, is renowned for his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, which is a significant historical event in West Africa. - Recent estimates suggest that Musa might have been the wealthiest individual in history, contributing to his prominence in global history. - Mansa Musa has come to symbolize a prosperous and independent Africa engaged in international affairs. ### Step 2: Myths Surrounding His Entourage - A persistent myth claims that Mansa Musa traveled with a large entourage of enslaved individuals. - This claim, although prevalent, often lacks grounding in medieval accounts of his pilgrimage. - Michael Gomez, a west-Africanist, estimated that Musa had 60,000 mostly enslaved persons in his entourage, a figure that has been widely debated. ### Step 3: Critique of Historical Sources - John Hunwick and other historians find Gomez's numbers excessive and argue they are based on unreliable sources. - The accounts of Mansa Musa's pilgrimage come from various historical texts, collectively known as the Timbuktu chronicles, which were written after the decline of the Mali Empire. - The _Tarikh al-Sudan_, authored by Abd al-Rahman Al-Sa'di in 1655, is one of the key texts, but its reliability has been questioned. ### Step 4: Limitations of the Timbuktu Chronicles - Historians have acknowledged that the Timbuktu chronicles may contain biases and inaccuracies, shaped by the political and intellectual contexts of their authors. - Paulo de Moraes Farias notes that Al-Sa'di’s work reflects a misunderstanding of significant historical elements, suggesting that chroniclers faced challenges in accurately reconstructing the past. ### Step 5: External Accounts of Mansa Musa's Pilgrimage - The earliest external account of Mansa Musa's pilgrimage comes from the Mamluk official Šihāb al-Nuwayrī, who wrote about Musa's arrival in Egypt around 1331. - Al-Nuwayrī reported that Musa's company spent lavishly during his stay in Egypt, but did not provide specific details about the status of his entourage. - Similar accounts from other Egyptian historians during this period also referred to Musa's companions as "companions" or a "large crowd," without labeling them as slaves. ### Step 6: Eyewitness Accounts from Mecca - The Meccan scholar Abd Allāh al-Yāfiʿī provides an eyewitness account of Musa's pilgrimage, noting thousands of soldiers with him. - This account indicates that Musa's entourage was armed, reinforcing the notion that they were not merely slaves but rather part of a military or royal retinue. ### Step 7: Later Accounts and Exaggeration of Numbers - Later historical texts further inflated the size of Musa’s entourage, with reports of figures exceeding 10,000 or even 60,000. - Historians like Zayn Ibn al-Wardī reported 10,000, while subsequent narratives continued to exaggerate these numbers, often relying on hearsay. - Al-Qalqašandī later claimed Musa had 12,000 maids, suggesting an all-female entourage, yet such claims appear unfounded and lack credible sources. ### Step 8: Conclusion on the Nature of Mansa Musa's Entourage - Despite the multitude of accounts, they often reflect inflated figures and exaggerated claims, especially regarding slavery. - The majority of Musa’s entourage likely consisted of free west African Muslims, accompanying their ruler for the pilgrimage, contrary to claims of them being predominantly enslaved individuals. - Historical analysis shows that while Musa may have had a significant retinue, evidence does not support the notion that a majority were enslaved, contradicting claims made by modern historians who rely on selective interpretations. ### Final Thoughts - The pilgrimage of Mansa Musa was pivotal in shaping perceptions of the Mali Empire, yet its legacy has been clouded by myths and misinterpretations in both historical and modern contexts. - Accurate historical understanding requires careful analysis of the sources, acknowledging biases and the potential for exaggeration in accounts from both earlier chroniclers and contemporary interpretations.

a brief note on the history of Africans exploring their own continent

plus: Ancient Egypt in Africa.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on the history of Africans exploring their own continent ===================================================================== ### plus: Ancient Egypt in Africa. ( Nov 26, 2023 16 Africa is world's second largest continent and arguably the most difficult to traverse. Historically, many parts of the continent that were conducive to human settlement and activity were home to large, complex societies which rank among some of the world's oldest civilizations. These include ancient kingdoms of the Nile valley and the northern Horn of Africa, the empires along the Niger river, the kingdoms of west-central Africa and the lakes region, as well as the city-states of the East African coast and kingdoms of south-eastern Africa. In between these densely populated regions were pockets of relatively inhospitable land covered with thick forests and barren deserts. Yet despite this seemingly insurmountable barrier, Africans suceeded in creating vast networks of communication that cut across the deserts and forests between them, facilitating cross-cultural exchanges and expanding Africans' knowledge of their own continent. In west-Africa, ( extended from the shores of the Atlantic in Senegal to the forest region of central Ghana and across the shifting sands of the Sahara into North-Africa. By the early 2nd millennium, Wangara traders and scholars had established urban settlements along different nodes of this complex network, easily switching goods between various cities as they interacted with other commercial diasporas. _**dispersion of the Wangara diaspora across west Africa.**_ In central Africa the Ovimbundu traders of central Angola pioneered cross-continental routes that moved goods between the city of ( . Here, they encountered the established network of the Yao and Nywamwezi, whose own trading routes connected the Swahili cities of the East African coast to the kingdoms of the Lakes region. Eventually, the Swahili would expand these trade routes with the first recorded cross-continental journey in the region that begun at Bagamoyo in Tanzania and arrived at Luanda in 1852. Long-distance trade was not the only activity undertaken along these routes. Envoys, scholars, pilgrims and other travelers also utilized the same routes to visit and settle different parts of the continent and beyond. The Djenne-born scholar Muhammad Salma al-Zurruq (b. 1845) for example, travelled across west Africa and the Ottoman domains before returning to Mali, only to embark on another trip that saw him ending up in Sudan. But arguably the most fascinating case was that of the Bornu scholar al-Faki Ahmad Umar who ( following long-established pilgrimage and trade routes. But long before these west African and Central African networks emerged, the region of North-eastern Africa was arguably the most interconnected part of the continent. The rise of ancient states of Egypt, Kush and Punt was largely enabled by the robust exchange of ideas, technologies and goods across the region, brought by the people who visited and settled within the different communities. **The history of ancient Egypt in its north-east African context is the subject of my latest Patreon article, in which I explore the regional interaction and population movement between Egypt and its neighbors; Kush and Punt, from the perspective of the latter.** Read more about it here; ( * * * _**Ibn Khaldūn asserts that prior to entering Cairo, Mansa Musa of Mali “came out near the Pyramids in Egypt,” while al-Maqrīzī states “Mansā Mūsā, king of Takrūr . . . stayed for three days beneath the Pyramids as an official guest.”**_ If Mansa Musa did pass by Giza, _**“it suggests medieval Mali was well aware of Pharaonic Egypt’s illustrious past, with the mansā purposely seeking to connect with it”**_ \-Michael Gomez * * *

### A Brief Note on the History of Africans Exploring Their Own Continent #### Introduction - Africa is the world's second-largest continent and has historically presented challenges for traversal due to its diverse geography, including deserts and thick forests. - Despite these barriers, Africans developed extensive networks of communication and trade, facilitating exploration and cultural exchanges across the continent. #### Ancient Civilizations 1. **Complex Societies**: - Major regions with significant human settlement and activity included ancient kingdoms along the Nile Valley, the northern Horn of Africa, empires on the Niger River, and city-states on the East African coast, among others. - These areas were often home to some of the world's oldest civilizations. 2. **Geographical Distribution**: - Between populated areas were inhospitable regions, which included thick forests and barren deserts, yet these did not hinder the interactions among African societies. #### Trade Networks 1. **West African Trade Routes**: - By the early 2nd millennium, Wangara traders had established urban settlements throughout West Africa, from Senegal to central Ghana and extending into North Africa across the Sahara. - This network allowed for the exchange of goods and culture, linking various cities and facilitating trade. 2. **Central African Trade**: - In Angola, the Ovimbundu traders created routes that connected their region to the Swahili city-states on the East African coast. - A significant journey was recorded in 1852, connecting Bagamoyo in Tanzania to Luanda in Angola, illustrating the extent of these trade networks. 3. **Movement of People**: - Alongside trade, various travelers, including scholars and pilgrims, utilized the same routes for exploration and settlement. - Notable figures include Muhammad Salma al-Zurruq from Djenne, who traveled across West Africa and beyond, and al-Faki Ahmad Umar, who followed established trade and pilgrimage routes. #### Ancient North-Eastern Africa 1. **Interconnected Regions**: - Before the emergence of later trade networks, North-eastern Africa was highly interconnected, particularly through the ancient states of Egypt, Kush, and Punt. - The interactions among these civilizations were marked by exchanges of ideas, technologies, and goods. 2. **Egypt’s Historical Context**: - The history of ancient Egypt is significant when considering its relationships with neighboring regions like Kush and Punt. - This interaction highlights how ancient Egypt was not an isolated civilization but part of a larger web of regional connections. #### Notable Historical Figures 1. **Mansa Musa’s Legacy**: - Mansa Musa of Mali is historically noted for traveling to Egypt, where he reportedly visited the Pyramids, as recounted by historians Ibn Khaldūn and al-Maqrīzī. - His journey reflects Mali’s awareness of Pharaonic Egypt’s historical significance, suggesting a desire to connect with its illustrious past. #### Conclusion - The exploration and understanding of Africa by its own people involved intricate networks of trade and cultural exchange, covering vast distances across diverse geographical landscapes. - The history of ancient Egypt, particularly in relation to neighboring kingdoms, is an essential part of this narrative, illustrating the continent's complex interconnections long before colonial influences.

Historical links between Africa and Armenia (ca. 600-1900)

Travelers, merchants and scholars from Nubia, Ethiopia and Armenia who visited the southern Caucasus and North-eastern Africa.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Historical links between Africa and Armenia (ca. 600-1900) ========================================================== ### Travelers, merchants and scholars from Nubia, Ethiopia and Armenia who visited the southern Caucasus and North-eastern Africa. ( Nov 19, 2023 16 Africans travelled across most parts of the Old world prior to the modern era, from the cities of Islamic Spain to the Imperial courts of China, and many places between. Among the lesser-known regions visited by Africans was the southern Caucasus, a region between the Caspian and Black sea that was under the control of various empires and kingdoms. In the early centuries of the common era, this region was controlled by the kingdom of Armenia, which was itself part of several ‘Eastern’ Christian societies that extended to the Nubian kingdoms of the Nile valley and the Aksumite kingdom in the Horn of Africa. Pilgrims, scholars and traders travelled across this region, fostering cultural exchanges that can be gleaned from the influences of the Ethiopic script in the Armenian script as well as the influences of Armenian art in Ethiopian art. The kingdom of Armenia was later gradually subsumed under the Roman (Byzantine) and Persian (Sassanian) empires by the 5th century, remaining under the control of suceeding Islamic empires, with the exception of the independent kingdoms of Bagratuni (885-1045) and Cilicia (1198-1375). Armenian speakers would thereafter constitute an influencial community in the eastern Mediterranean, where they would interact with their African co-religionists and eventually establish cultural ties that led to Africans visiting the southern Caucasus and Armenians visiting and settling in Ethiopia. This article explores the history of cultural exchanges between the southern Caucasus and North-east Africa focusing on the historical links between Armenia, and the kingdoms of Makuria and Ethiopia. _**Map showing the kingdoms of Armenia, Makuria and Ethiopia as well as the probable route taken by Ewostatewos from Ethiopia to Armenia.**_ * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more on African history and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Early Contacts between the Nubian, Ethiopian and Armenian diasporas the eastern Mediterranean.** Diasporic communities of Africans from the Nubian kingdoms and Aksum, were first established in Egypt which was home to many important sites of Christian asceticism since antiquity, and from here spread out into the eastern Mediterranean and eventually into the southern Caucasus. One of the earliest mentions of 'Ethiopians' in Egypt (an ethnonym that was at the time used for both Nubians and Aksumites) is first made in a 7th century text by the Armenian scholar Anania Shirakatsi, who mentions that an 'Ethiopian' named Abdiē contributed to the joint project of the Alexandrian scholar Aeas in establishing the 532-year cycle. Anania also mentions Ethiopians (presumably Aksumites) in other works concerned with the calendar as well as providing an accurate Armenian transcription of Gǝʿǝz month names which he faithfully reproduced from his Ethiopian informants. This remarkably early encounter between Armenian and Aksumite scholars indicates that the links between the two regions were much older than the few available sources can reveal.( Both Aksum/Ethiopia and Nubia had a long history of connections with the 'Holy lands' where Nubian pilgrims are identified as early as the 8th century. One of the earliest mentions of African Christians in the eastern Mediterranean comes from the Syriac patriarch Michael Rabo (r. 1166–99) who suggests the presence of Nubians and Ethiopians in Syria, Palestine, Armenia, and Egypt during the late 1120s. Descriptions of the diasporic community of both Nubians and Ethiopians reach their peak during the 13th to 15th century, where they are identified by many Latin (crusader) accounts who mention an 'infinite multitude' of these African Christians in the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem), Nazareth, Bethlehem, as well as in Cyprus, Lebanon and Syria.( _**copy of a Psalter written in multiple scripts, 12th-14th century, monastery of saint macarius, wadi al-Natrun, Egypt**_( _**.**_ **Beginning with ethiopic/ge’ez on the extreme left column, followed by Syriac, Coptic in the center, Arabic on the right and ending with Armenian.** _These polygot texts facilitated comparative study of the bible by different groups as well as common reading in the liturgy, since Nubians used Greek and Coptic (alongside Old Nubian) in liturgical contexts, such texts attest to the presence of Ethiopians, Nubians and Armenians in Egyptian monasteries._ * * * ( * * * **Nubians and Ethiopians in the Cilician kingdom of Armenia.** It was during their stay in the 'Holy lands' that the Nubian and Ethiopians interacted with their Armenian peers as part of the shifting alliances and conflicts over the control of holy sites and places of worship between the various Christian factions, as well as the intellectual and cultural exchanges which prefigured such interactions. There is some fragmentary evidence of Nubians in Cilician Armenia during the 13th century. This can be gleaned from a statement by the Armenian prince Hayton of Corycus, who, whilst in France, wrote in his Crusade treatise that Armenians could be used as messengers between the Latin Papacy and the Nubians. It may be presumed that some Nubians travelled to Armenia as messengers at various times in order for Hayton, who was also a prince of Armenia, to advertise seemingly strong communication networks between Nubia and Armenia. There is afterall, evidence of a Nubian king travelling with his entourage to the Byzantine capital Constantinople in 1203 from Jerusalem, likely using an overland route through Armenia.( Stronger evidence for Africans in Armenia however, comes from Ethiopia. In the early 14th century, the Ethiopian scholar named Ewosṭatewos created a powerful, yet dissenting, movement in northern Ethiopia about the observance of the Christian and Jewish sabbath, which eventually led to his banishment. In 1337-8, he left Ethiopia with some of his followers, beginning a long journey that led them through the kingdom of Makuria (in Sudan), Egypt, Palestine, and Cyprus before he finally arrived in Cilician Armenia.( Ewostatewos had left Ethiopia with a significant entourage of other monks and scholars, who briefly assisted the king of Makuria in a battle against an enemy, before they proceeded to Egypt. While staying in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, Ewostatewos met the Armenian Patriarch Katolikos Jacob II of Cilicia, who had been exiled by his king for his refusal to submit to the Roman Catholic Papacy. Ewostatewos thus decided to visit Armenia without fail, the monk and his followers made a stopover at Cyprus before reaching mainland Armenia. The Ethiopian monk settled and eventually died in the 'Armenian lands' in 1352 and was reportedly buried by the Patriarch himself. His followers, who included the scholars Bäkimos, Märqoréwos and Gäbrä Iyasus later returned to Ethiopia with an Armenian companion and contributed to the composition of their leader's hagiography titled gadla Ēwosṭātēwos (Contending of Ēwosṭātēwos).( _**Painted Icon, Double Triptych, 19th century, No. 76.132, Brooklyn museum**_. inset is Ewostatewos _**Icon Triptych: Ewostatewos and Eight of His Disciples, 17th century No. 2006.98, Met museum.**_ Stylized depiction of the Ethiopian monk and his followers In the suceeding centuries, Ewostatewos' followers became influencial in the Ethiopian church, and would ultimately comprise a significant proportion of the Ethiopian scholars who travelled to the Eastern and Northern Mediterranean in the 15th and 16th century, where they established themselves at the Santo Stefano monastery in Rome. During this time, the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia had fallen to the Mamluks of Egypt, whose expansion south had also led to the collapse of Makuria, leaving Ethiopia as the only remaining Christian kingdom between the eastern mediteranean and the red sea region. Travel by pilgrims, envoys and scholars neverthless continued and contacts between Armenians and Ethiopians remained. One of the well-travelled Ethiopian scholars at Santo Stefano was Yāʿeqob, a 16th century scholar whose journey took him to the tomb of Ewostatewos in what was then Ottoman Armenia. In his travelogue, which he composed while at Santo Stefano, Yaeqob wrote that; _**"I went to Jerusalem, the Holy City, me son of abuna Ēwosṭātēwos and son of Anānyā, who came to the city of Kwalonyā, tomb of the holy ʾabuna Ēwosṭātēwos, me, Yāʿeqob, pilgrim (nagādi), who came down**_ \ _**and when I converted**_ \_**, my name became Takla Māryām, I, dānyā of Dabra Ṣarābi, who wrote trusting in the name of Mary"**_.( This city of Kwalonya that is mentioned by Yaeqob, which contained the tomb of Ewostatewos, has been identified by some scholars to be the city of Şebinkarahisar in Turkey. However, this location is far from certain and seems to have been on the frontier of the Cilician kingdom. Neverthless, it indicates that the followers of Ewostatewos were atleast familiar with Armenia where their founder was buried, despite the entire region being under the control of the Ottomans by the 16th century. Ewostatewos' tomb would remain a crucial link between Armenians and Ethiopians over the suceeding centuries. **from my article on the history and legacy of Ethiopian scholars in pre-modern Europe, read more about it here:** ( * * * **The beginnings of Armenian travel to Ethiopia.** While the diplomatic contacts between Ethiopia and Cilicia were rendered untenable after the fall of the latter, cultural and commercial contacts between the two regions flourished thanks to interactions between their diasporic communities. Beginning in the 16th century, there were a number of Armenians in Ethiopia who, because of their shared religion, gained the confidence of the Ethiopian elites, and served as the latter's trade agents. Several Armenians in particular served a succession of monarchs as businessmen, and by extension as ambassadors. The best known of them in this period was Mateus, who in 1541, travelled alongside the Ethiopian envoy Yaʿǝqob to India and Portugal on behalf of Ethiopian Empress Eleni. Mateus had conducted business between Cairo and Ethiopia for many years as a trader and informant for the Ethiopian court, which had co-opted him like many foreigners before and after him.( Between the 1646 and 1696, the Armenian merchant Khodja Murad served as emissary and broker to three successive Ethiopian emperors, on whose behalf he traveled several times to Yemen, India and as far as Batavia, Insulindia, while his nephew Murad Ibn Mazlum, was delegated to head the embassy designated to the court of the French king Louis XIV. He was later followed by the Armenian bishop Hovannès Tutundji, who travelled from Cairo to Gondär in 1679, where he **brought back a relic of the Ethiopian saint Ewostatewos**. Another Armenian visitor to Ethiopia from this period was the monk Avédik Paghtasarian, who reached Gondar in 1690. and wrote a work titled “This is the way to travel to Abyssinia” ( Some of the Armenian travelers to Ethiopia left detailed descriptions of their journey across the kingdom which increased external knowledge about the region. _**Medieval Armenian T-O map, 13th-15th century, Yerevan, Matenadaran, MS 1242. Ethiopia is shown on the extreme east as ‘hapash’**_( The most detailed of these accounts was written by the Armenian traveler Yohannes Tovmacean. He was born in Constantinople but mostly resided in the Armenian monastery in Venice, afterwhich he became a merchant in his later life and travelled widely. He reached Massawa in 1764 and proceeded via Aksum and Adwa to Gondär Where he was appointed as one of the treasurers to Empress Mentewwab before making his way back to the coast in 1766. His travelogue describes many aspects of Ethiopian society that he observed and also mentions several Armenians he found in Gondar such as Stephan, a jeweler from Constanipole and another treasurer named Usta Selef.( The journey of T'ovmacean took place a few decades before the better known visit of Ethiopia by James Bruce, who also encountered some Armenians at the Ethiopian capital Gondar, writing that; _**"These men are chiefly Greeks, or Armenians, but the preference is always given to the latter. Both nations pay caratch, or capitation, to the Grand Signior**_ \ _**whose subjects they are, and both have, in consequence, passports, protections, and liberty to trade wherever they please throughout the empire, without being liable to those insults and extortions from the Turkish officers that other strangers are."**_( * * * * * * **The creation of an Armenian diaspora in Ethiopia** Armenians had been, along with the Greeks and the Arabs, among the only foreigners allowed to travel or stay regularly, and with relative freedom, in Ethiopia during the 17th and 18th centuries when the Gondarine rulers severed relationships with the Latin Christians of southern Europe. The Armenian presence in Ethiopia eventually took on a diasporic dimension with the arrival and establishment of the first real immigrants followed by their families, from the last quarter of the 19th century, especially in northern regions such as Tigray.( The town of Adwa in Tigray, which was a major center for crafts production, was home to a number of Armenian jewelers and armorers who served the Ethiopian court and church elites. One such Armenian jeweler in the mid 19th century was Haji Yohannes, who was said to have formerly been an illegal coiner, another was an armorer named Yohannes. Armenian craftsmen could be found in other towns such as in Antalo, the capital of Ras Walda Sellase, where there was an Armenian leatherworker named Nazaret, and in Ankobar, where there was an Armenian silversmith named Stefanos. While these goldsmiths and silversmiths did not command a high social position in Ethiopia, they were vital to its urban economy.( The Armenian community in 19th century Ethiopia weren't only craftsmen but also included influencial figures that played a role in the Ethiopian church. In the 1830s, for example, the provincial ruler of Tigray, Sebagadis, and his successor, had involved an Armenian in a mission to urge the Coptic patriarch of Egypt to appoint an _**abuna**_ (Patriach of the Ethiopian church).( The doctrinal relationship between the Armenian and Ethiopian Churches, as well as the antiquity of their exchanges, ensured that regular contacts were maintained between Ethiopian and Armenian diasporas in the Holy lands. This was especially true for Jerusalem, which remained one of the few foreign destinations of interest to Ethiopians after in the 17th century, and where the local Ethiopian community was placed under the protection of the Armenian community by the Ottoman sultan. The relationship between the Armenian, Ethiopian and Coptic communities in Jerusalem was however, less than cordial, with all claiming control over important sites of worship while leveraging their connections with international powers to support their claim or mediate their disputes.( **From my article on the history of Ethiopians and Nubians in Jerusalem, read more about it here:** ( * * * One such mediator in the 19th century were the British, who mostly leaned towards the Ethiopian community's side in Jerusalem even as their relationship with Tewodros, the Ethiopian ruler at the time, was in decline. The British thus worked with the Armenian patriarch in Jerusalem who organized a mission to Ethiopia in 1867 that was led by two Armenian clergymen; Dimothéos Sapritchian and Isaac. The two visitors left a detailed description of Ethiopia and were briefly involved in the issue of finding a new abuna, with Isaac almost assuming the role, but the appointment was ultimately made in the time-honored way, following nomination by the Alexandrian Patriarch. The two Armenian clergymen eventually left Ethiopia in 1869.( The Armenian community in Ethiopia would continue to flourish under Tewodros' sucessors, especially during the reign of Menelik II (1889-1913) when they numbered around 200 and later exceeded 1,000 by the 1920s, following the genocide of Ottoman-Armenians and a major wave of migration of Armenians to Ethiopia. Just like their predecessors, many of the Armenians served in various capacities both elite and non-elite, often as craftsmen, traders and courtiers. Under the patronage of Menelik and his sucessors, the Armenian community in Ethiopia was naturalized and eventually came to regard Ethiopia as a ‘diasporic homeland’, a sentiment which continues to the present day. ( _**Members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, holding the Ethiopian flag in 1910**_. (Photo courtesy of Alain Marcerou) _**the 'Arba Lijoch', imperial brass band of Haile Selassie**_, early 20th cent. The Arba Lijoch were 40 Armenian orphans who escaped the Armenian genocide and were adopted by Selassie while he was in Jerusalem in 1924. _**Historic postcard of the Kevorkoff Building in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia.**_ associated with the Armenian businessman Matig Kevorkoff _**Saint George Armenian Apostolic church, Addis Ababa**_, built in 1935 * * * **Ethiopia is one of the few places in the world that developed its own notation system, and is home to an one of the world’s oldest musical traditions.** read more about it in my latest Patreon essay; ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Armeno-Aethiopica in the Middle Ages by Zaroui Pogossian pg 117-119) ( Nubia, Ethiopia, and the Crusading World by Adam Simmons, A Note towards Quantifying the Medieval Nubian Diaspora by Adam Simmons pg 27-29, A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea by Samantha Kelly pg 434) ( Africa and Byzantium By Andrea Myers Achi pg 157, 165 ( A Note towards Quantifying the Medieval Nubian Diaspora by Adam Simmons pg 29) ( Écriture et réécriture hagiographiques du gadla Ēwosṭātēwos Olivia Adankpo ( Dictionary of African Biography, Volumes 1-6 pg 320, The History of Ethiopian-Armenian Relations by R. Pankhurst, ( A companion to religious minorities in Rome by Matthew Coneys Wainwright pg 177-185) ( Les Arméniens dans le commerce asiatique au début de l'ère moderne: Armenians in asian trade in the early modern era by Sushil Chaudhury, pg 121-127 ( Foreign relations with Ethiopia: human and diplomatic history (from its origins to present) by Lukian Prijac pg 14, Les Arméniens dans le commerce asiatique au début de l'ère moderne: Armenians in asian trade in the early modern era by Sushil Chaudhury pg 128-145 ( A Medieval Armenian T-O Map by Rouben Galichian ( The Visit to Ethiopia of Yohannes T'ovmacean: An Armenian Jeweller in 1764-66 by V. Nersessian and Richard Pankhurst ( A Social History of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 103) ( Les Arméniens en Éthiopie, une entorse à la « raison diasporique » ? by Boris Adjemian pg 108-113) ( A Social History of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 235-238) ( An Armenian Involvement in Mid-Nineteenth-Century Ethiopia by David W. Phillipson pg 142) ( The Monk on the Roof: The Story of an Ethiopian Manuscript Found in Jerusalem (1904) by Stéphane Ancel ( An armenian involvement Mid-Nineteenth-Century Ethiopia by David W. Phillipson pg 137-143) ( Immigrants and Kings Foreignness in Ethiopia, through the Eye of Armenian Diaspora by Boris Adjemian.

### Historical Links Between Africa and Armenia (ca. 600-1900) #### Overview - There were significant interactions between travelers, merchants, and scholars from Nubia, Ethiopia, and Armenia between approximately 600 and 1900. - The southern Caucasus, particularly the Kingdom of Armenia, served as a key region for cultural exchange, influenced by its connections to African kingdoms like Makuria and Ethiopia. #### Early Contacts and Influences 1. **Early Cultural Exchanges**: - African travelers frequently engaged with various locations across the Old World, including the southern Caucasus. - The Kingdom of Armenia was a central hub for these exchanges, particularly from early centuries of the common era. - There were notable influences of Ethiopic script on Armenian script and vice versa in art, illustrating cultural intermingling. 2. **Initial Interactions**: - The Armenian scholar Anania Shirakatsi mentioned an Ethiopian named Abdiē in the 7th century, indicating early scholarly exchanges. - Ethiopian informants helped Anania with accurate Armenian transcriptions of Gǝʿǝz month names. 3. **Nubian Pilgrims and Scholars**: - Nubian Christians were documented as early as the 8th century as pilgrims in the Holy Land. - The presence of Nubians and Ethiopians in places like Syria, Palestine, and Armenia was noted by the Syriac patriarch Michael Rabo in the late 1120s. #### Nubians and Ethiopians in Cilician Armenia 4. **Interactions in Cilicia**: - Armenian and Nubian communities interacted in the Holy Lands, especially regarding the control of religious sites. - Reports from the 13th century, including by Armenian prince Hayton of Corycus, indicate Nubians acted as messengers between Armenia and the Latin Papacy. 5. **Ewostatewos' Journey**: - The Ethiopian scholar Ewostatewos traveled through the Kingdom of Makuria, Egypt, and Palestine before settling in Cilician Armenia around 1337-8. - His interactions with Armenian Patriarch Jacob II during his stay in Alexandria further consolidated ties. 6. **Impact on Ethiopian Church**: - Ewostatewos’ followers returned to Ethiopia and contributed to his hagiography, demonstrating the lasting impact of these exchanges. #### Armenian Travelers to Ethiopia 7. **Armenian Trade and Diplomacy**: - From the 16th century, Armenians began to serve as trade agents and ambassadors in Ethiopia. - Influential figures like Mateus and Khodja Murad facilitated commerce and diplomatic missions on behalf of Ethiopian monarchs. 8. **Cultural Documentation**: - Armenian travelers, like Yohannes Tovmacean in the 18th century, documented their journeys in Ethiopia, providing insights into Ethiopian society. #### Armenian Diaspora in Ethiopia 9. **Establishment of Armenian Communities**: - Armenian immigrants arrived in Ethiopia during the late 19th century, particularly in Tigray. - They primarily engaged in crafts and trade, impacting local economies. 10. **Involvement in the Ethiopian Church**: - Armenians played a role in Ethiopian ecclesiastical matters, facilitating relations with the Coptic patriarchate. 11. **Continued Cultural Exchanges**: - Relations persisted between Armenian and Ethiopian communities, particularly in Jerusalem, where Armenians protected Ethiopian interests under Ottoman rule. #### Conclusion - The historical interactions between Africans and Armenians from the 7th century to the 19th century demonstrate a rich tapestry of cultural exchange, marked by scholarly, commercial, and religious connections. - The diaspora established by Armenians in Ethiopia laid the groundwork for a lasting relationship that continues to influence both cultures today.

a brief note on the history of Music in Africa

plus an overview of Ethiopian musical traditions

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on the history of Music in Africa ============================================== ### plus an overview of Ethiopian musical traditions ( Nov 12, 2023 18 The continent of Africa is home to some of the oldest and most diverse range of musical traditions, instruments and performances in world history Evidence of music in Africa appears long before the emergence of complex societies and states. The stone age paintings of tassili n'Ajjer in southern Algeria, which was occupied during the green-Sahara period, include depictions of figures dancing and playing musical instruments that are dated to around 6,000-4,000 BC. In Eastern Africa, the earliest evidence of music appears in the rock art paintings from Kondoa in Tanzania dated to around 4,000-1,000BC, which include depictions of figures playing musical instruments. By the time the first states emerged in the Nile Valley, the northern Horn of Africa, and the West African Sahel, Music had become a salient feature of political and social in Africa. A combination of archeological evidence, oral traditions, and written sources attest to the broad range of instruments, dances and performances of music across much of the African continent, demonstrating the connection between music and other aspects of daily life. Representations of musicians and musical instruments abound in many African artworks, from the wall paintings of Ancient Kush and medieval Nubia, to the illustrated manuscripts of Ethiopia, to the sculptural art of the west African kingdoms of Ife and Benin. Processions of musicians and dancers populate the painted scenes on the temple walls in Kush and the monasteries of medieval Nubia, representations of musical instruments appear frequently in the vast corpus of sculptural art produced by the artists of Benin and ife, while manuscripts written by Ethiopian scribes include illustrations of biblical figures playing local musical instruments. _**Painting depicting a dance scene, Kom H monastery, ca. 12th-14th century, Old Dongola, Sudan.**_ _**18th century Illustration showing Mandinka dancers at a festival in Dramanet, Kingdom of Galam (upper Senegal River)**_ Written documents of poetry and songs in African societies date back to the earliest internal and external accounts about the continent since antiquity. From the musical manuscripts of Ethiopia to the written poetry of the Swahili coast and Islamic west Africa, these internal accounts document how music was conceived and transmitted by Africans in various contexts. External accounts written by classical writers such as Hanno, medieval Arab travelers like Ibn Battuta and later European explorers, leave little doubt about the centrality of Music to various African cultures. Increased interactions between various African regions and external societies brought together a diverse range of cultures and traditions, which were then dispersed by the African diaspora across parts of the Old world and the Americas. New music forms, instruments, and dances emerged as different societies interacted with one another, influencing their practices of religion, political institutions, cultural festivals and identities. Nowhere is this dynamism in Africa’s musical history more evident than in the musical traditions of Ethiopia. The 'Solomonic' state of Ethiopia which flourished from 1270-1974 was home to some of Africa's oldest music traditions and a unique notation system for recording music that is one of a few of its kind in the world. The musical history of Ethiopia is the subject of my latest Patreon article, **Please read more about it here:** ( * * * King Munza of the Mangbetu kingdom (in North-eastern D.R.C) dancing before his wives and courtiers in the royal hall. _**"every musical accompaniment to which the resources of the court could reach had all been summoned and here was a melee of gongs and kettle drums, timbres and trumpets, horns and bells, Dancing there in the midst of all, a wondrous sight was the king himself"**_ Georg August Schweinfurth, 1874 * * *

# A Brief Note on the History of Music in Africa with an Overview of Ethiopian Musical Traditions ## Introduction Africa is home to some of the oldest and most diverse musical traditions in world history. The continent's musical heritage can be traced back to prehistoric times, evidenced by archaeological finds and artifacts that indicate early forms of musical expression. ## Early Evidence of Music in Africa 1. **Prehistoric Artifacts**: - Evidence of music in Africa predates the emergence of complex societies. - Stone age paintings in Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria, dating from approximately 6,000 to 4,000 BC, depict figures dancing and playing instruments. 2. **Eastern Africa Evidence**: - In Kondoa, Tanzania, rock art dating from 4,000 to 1,000 BC features figures with musical instruments. 3. **Music and Early Societies**: - By the time the first states were established in regions like the Nile Valley and West African Sahel, music had already become integral to social and political life. ## Musical Instruments and Cultural Representation 1. **Cultural Significance**: - A vast array of musical instruments and performances are documented across Africa, linking music to daily life. 2. **Art and Music**: - Representations of musicians are prevalent in ancient artworks, such as: - Wall paintings from Ancient Kush. - Manuscripts from Ethiopia featuring biblical figures with local instruments. - Sculptures from the West African kingdoms of Ife and Benin, depicting musicians. 3. **Notable Examples**: - The Kom H monastery’s paintings (12th-14th century) show dance scenes. - An 18th-century illustration of Mandinka dancers highlights the cultural significance of music in festivals. ## Historical Documentation of African Music 1. **Written Records**: - Music and poetry in African societies are documented from antiquity through written accounts. - Ethiopian musical manuscripts represent some of the oldest recorded traditions. 2. **External Accounts**: - Classical writers and travelers, such as Hanno and Ibn Battuta, documented the importance of music in various African cultures, reinforcing its central role in social practices. ## Interactions and Cultural Exchange 1. **Cultural Fusion**: - Increased interactions between different African regions and external societies led to the blending of musical forms and practices. - The African diaspora facilitated the spread of these musical traditions across the Old World and the Americas. 2. **Emergence of New Styles**: - Unique styles, instruments, and dances evolved from these interactions, influencing religious practices, political institutions, and cultural identities. ## Ethiopian Musical Traditions 1. **Historical Context**: - The 'Solomonic' state of Ethiopia (1270-1974) preserved some of Africa's oldest musical traditions. - Ethiopia developed a unique notation system for music, which is among very few globally. 2. **Significance of Ethiopian Music**: - The country’s musical history reflects a rich cultural heritage and continuity despite external influences. - It plays a crucial role in communal and religious ceremonies, demonstrating the connection between music, identity, and social life. 3. **Cultural Practices**: - In the royal courts, music accompanied various events. For example, King Munza of the Mangbetu kingdom was noted for grand performances involving a mix of instruments, highlighting the elaborate role of music in royal celebrations. ## Conclusion The history of music in Africa is deeply intertwined with the continent's cultural heritage and social practices. From ancient rock art to the sophisticated musical traditions of Ethiopia, music remains a vital expression of African identity and history.

The African diaspora in Portuguese India: 1500-1800.

Sailors, Merchants and Priests.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The African diaspora in Portuguese India: 1500-1800. ==================================================== ### Sailors, Merchants and Priests. ( Nov 05, 2023 25 The Indian sub-continent has historically been home to one of Africa's best documented diasporic communities in Asia. For many centuries, Africans from different parts of eastern Africa travelled to and settled in the various kingdoms and communities across India. Some rose to prominent positions, becoming rulers and administrators, while others were generals, soldiers and royal attendants. The arrival of the Portuguese in the Indian ocean world in 1498 was a major turning point in the history of the African diaspora in India. Political and commercial alliances were re-oriented, initiating a dynamic period of cultural exchanges, trade and travel by Africans. Sailors and merchants from the Swahili coast, royals from the Mutapa kingdom, and crewmen from Ethiopia established communities across the various cities of the western Indian coast who joined the pre-existing African diaspora on the subcontinent. This article explores the history of the African diaspora in Portuguese India from the 16th to the 18th century, focusing on Africans who travelled to India out of their own volition, and eventually resided there permanently. _**Map showing the cities and kingdoms of the western Indian Ocean mentioned below( **_ * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more on African history and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Background on the Swahili city-states, the Portuguese and the western India coast at the turn of the 16th century.** The earliest African diaspora in Portuguese India was closely associated with the Portuguese arrival in the western Indian ocean. When the ships of Vasco Dagama rounded the cape and landed on Mozambique-island in 1498, the rivaling Swahili city-states were alerted to the presence of a new player in the coast’s factious political environment. Malindi quickly took advantage of the Portuguese presence to overpower its rival, Mombasa. Malindi’s sultan hosted Vasco Da gama, whose hostile encounter at Mozambique-island and Mombasa had earned him a bad reputation among many of the Swahili elites. Malindi boasted a cosmopolitan population that included not just the Swahili and other African groups, but also itinerant Indian and Arab merchants. Among these was an experienced sea-captain named Malema Cana who agreed to direct the Portuguese crew to the Indian city of Calicut. Later Portuguese expeditions would eventually battle with the rulers of Calicut and Goa, seizing both by 1510 and making Goa the capital of their possessions in the Indian ocean. In the suceeding decades, a number of Indian cities would fall under Portuguese control including Diu, Daman, Surat, Bassein, Bombay, and Mangalore.( On the East African coast, a similar pattern of warfare led to the capitulation of Mombasa, Kilwa, Zanzibar, Mozambique island, and Sofala to the Portuguese over the course of the 16th century. Malindi leveraged its alliance with the Portuguese to become the capital of the Portuguese posessions on the east African coast and thus the seat of the “captain of the coast of Malindi”. Like many of the large Swahili cities, the merchants of Malindi were engaged in trade with the Indian ocean world, primarily in ivory and gold —a lucrative trade which continued after the Portuguese occupation of Goa.( _**ruins of Old town, Malindi**_ * * * ( * * * **Swahili voyages to Portuguese India: trading expeditions of Sultans and Merchants.** Prior to the Portuguese arrival, Swahili traders had been carrying goods on locally-built mtepe ships and on foreign ships to the coasts of Arabia, India and south-east Asia as far as the city of Malacca( . This trade continued after the Portuguese ascendancy but was re-oriented. The Malindi sultan thus pressed his advantage, as early as 1517, by sending a letter to his suzerain, the king of Portugal, requesting a letter of protection to allow him free travel in his own ship throughout the Portuguese possessions from al-Hind (India) to Sofala (Mozambique). This was the first of several requests of safe passage made on behalf of Swahili sailors who were active in Portuguese India.( There are similar letters from the late 16th century of a Malindi sultan, king Muhammad, sending a ship to the Portuguese settlement of Bassein (India) in 1586, as well as to Goa during the same year to warn the Portuguese about the Ottoman incursion of Abi Bey who had allied with some Swahili towns led by Mombasa and Pate. And around the year 1596, the same Malindi sultan wrote to Philip II of Spain, asking that his ships should sail freely throughout the Iberian possessions in India without paying taxes, He also asked for the free passage for a Malindi trading mission to China (likely, to Macau), to improve his finances. These requests were granted, the latter in particular may have been a consequence of the decline in Malindi's trade during the late 16th century and the eventual shift of the Portuguese administration of east Africa to Mombasa in 1593.( Such requests of safe passage and duty free trade also taken up by private merchants who sailed on their own ships to India. For example the Mozambique-island resident named Sharif Muhammad Al-Alawi, who passed on the 1517 Malindi letter to the Portuguese, also requested a letter of safe passage for his own ship. Several later accounts mention East African merchants sailing regulary to India. An account from 1615 mentions a Mogadishu born Mwalimu Ibrahim who is described as an expert in navigation from “Mogadishu to the Gulf of Cambay”, his brother was involved in Portuguese naval wars off the coast of Daman. While another 1619 account mentions itinerant traders from the Malindi coast visiting Goa regulary, including a trader from Pate named Muhammad Mshuti Mapengo who was _**“well-known in Goa, where he often goes.”**_( _**Letters by the Malindi sultan and the Mozambique merchant Muhammad Al-Alawi, adressed to the Portuguese king Manuel**_, Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo * * * * * * **Swahili voyages to Portuguese India: Envoys and Political alliances.** The activities of the Swahili elites in Portuguese India were partly dependent on their city's political relationship with local Portuguese authorities. When the Portuguese captured Mombasa in 1593, a more complex relationship was developed with the Swahili cities both within their direct control such as Mombasa, Pemba and Malindi, and those outside it such as Pate. Regular travel by Swahili elites to India were undertaken in the early 17th century as the nature of Portuguese control was continously re-negotiated. This was especially the case for the few rulers who adopted Catholism and entered matrimonial alliances with the Portuguese such as the brother of the king of Pemba who in the 1590s travelled to Goa but refused the offer to be installed as king of Pemba.( A better known example was the sending of the Mombasa Prince Yusuf ibn al-Hasan to Goa in 1614 after a power struggle with the Portuguese governor at Mombasa had ended the assassination of his father. The prince was raised by the ‘Augustinian order’ in Goa where he was baptized as Don Jeronimo Chingulia. While in Goa, he married locally (albeit to a Portuguese woman) and was active in the Portuguese navy, before he was later crowned king of Mombasa in 1626 in preparation for his travel back to his home the same year. He would be the first of many African royals who temporarily or permanently resided in Goa, among whom included his cousin from Malindi named Dom Antonio.( Swahili factions allied with the Portuguese often travelled to Goa and some lived there permanently. These include Bwana Dau bin Bwana Shaka of Faza, a fervent supporter of the Portuguese who settled in Goa after 1698 and kept close ties with the administration. In 1724, Mwinyi Ahmed Hasani Kipai, an ambitious character from Pate, took a ship in Barawa to meet the Portuguese in Surat and later on in Goa.( In 1606, two Franciscan friars met a _mwalimu_ (ship pilot) from Pemba whom they described as a Swahili "old Muslim negro", that in 1597 had guided the ship of Francisco da Gama, the future viceroy of India, from Mombasa to Goa. Others included emissaries who travelled to Goa on behalf of their sultans, such include the Mombasa envoys Mwinyi Zago and Faki Ali wa Mwinyi Matano, that reached Goa in 1661 and 1694 respectively.( _**Mombasa beachfront, ca. 1890**_, Northwestern University * * * ( * * * **Mutapa priests in India: royal Africans of the Dominican order.** Contemporaneous with the Portuguese presence on the east African coast was their expansion into the interior of south east Africa, especially in the kingdom of Mutapa in what is now Zimbabwe. From the early 17th century when the Portuguese were extending their control into parts of this region, members of the royal courts who allied with the Portuguese and adopted Catholicism often travelled to Goa and Lisbon for religious studies. These travels were primarily facilitated by the ‘Dominican order of preachers’, a catholic order that was active in the Mutapa capital and the region's trading towns, establishing religious schools whose students also included Mutapa princes. Unlike the itinerant nature of the Swahili presence in India, the presence of elites from Mutapa in India was a relatively permanent phenomenon.( . Among the first of Mutapa princes to be sent to India was Dom Diogo, son of the Mutapa king Gatsi Rucere, he was sent to Goa in 1617 for further education by the Dominican prior, with the hope that he might suceed his ageing father. However, Dom Diogo died a few years after his arrival in Goa, becoming the first of the Mutapa elites who remained in Portuguese India. He had likely been accompanied to Goa by a little-known prince who later converted and became a priest named Luiz de Esprito Santo. This priest would later return to Mutapa to proselytize but died in the sucession wars after king Gatsi’s death.( He was soon followed by other Mutapa princes including Miguel da Presentacao, son of Gatsi's sucessor, king Kapararidze. Miguel spent most of his life in Goa from May 1629, where he would be educated and later earn a degree in theology. The young prince also travelled to Lisbon in 1530, where he received a Dominican habit and accepted into the order as a frair. The unusual circumstances in which this young old African prince was accepted into the order was likely due to royal intervention.( Miguel returned to Goa in 1533 and was ordained as a priest, serving in the Santa Barbara priory in Goa, teaching theology and acting as a vicar of the Santa Barbara parish. In 1650, the Portuguese king requested that he return to Mutapa to suceed king Mahvura but Miguel chose to stay in Goa, where he would later be awarded the title master of theology in 1670 shortly before his death.( _**engraving titled; ‘Le grand Roy Mono-Motapa’ by Nicolas de Larmessin I (1655-1680) depicting a catholic king of Mutapa**_ Two other Mutapa princes were also sent to India at the turn of the 18th century by the Mutapa king Mhande (Dom Pedro). The first of these was Mapeze, who was baptized as Dom Constantino in 1699 and sent to the Santa Barbara priory in Goa the following year. Shortly after, Constantino was joined in Goa by his brother Dom Joao. Both of the princes' studies and stay in India were financed by the Portuguese crown, which influenced the local Dominican order to accept them, with Constantino receiving a Dominican habit. After reportedly committing an indiscretion, Constantino was briefly banished to Macao (in China) by the vicar general of Goa, before the Portuguese king ordered that the prince be returned to Goa in 1709. When the Mutapa throne was taken by a king opposed to the Portuguese in 1711, the Portuguese king asked Constantino to return to Mutapa and take up the throne, but the later refused, claiming that he had renounced all worldly ambitions, an excuse that the Portuguese accepted. Constatino received a pension from the crown but was in conflict with his local religious superiors, which forced him to request safe passage to Lisbon for him and his brother. Constantino died en route but his brother opted to go to Brazil where he was eventually buried in the cathedral of Bahia.( More African elites and students were sent to Goa during the 18th century, despite the great decline of the Portuguese presence in Mutapa, Eastern Africa and India. Atleast one Mutapa prince is known to have been sent to Goa around 1737 to enter the Dominican order, but he died shortly after his arrival. In the late 18th century, there were a number of Africans from Mozambique who received training in the Dominican priory at Goa, many of whom remained in India. Unlike the princes, these were youths whose families lived next to the mission stations in Mozambique, atleast 6 of them are known to have been admitted in 1770, but its unknown if they completed their training.( * * * ( * * * **Establishing an African diaspora in India: the East Africans and Ethiopian community in India.** Besides the itinerant merchants, royals, and priests, the African population of Portuguese India also included the families of merchants, sailors, crewmen, dockworkers and other personalities, all of whom worked in various capacities in the various port cities. Alongside the relatively small numbers of African elites who resided permanently in India, these Africans comprised the bulk of the African diaspora in Portuguese India. The abovementioned requests for letters of safe passage by Swahili sultans, hint at the predominantly African crew of the ships which sailed to India. Internal Swahili accounts such as the Pate chronicle mention atleast two sultans who organized trading expeditions to India, especially along the Gujarat coast, during the 16th and 17th century. In 1631, a sultan of Pate sent a ship to Goa whose crew mostly consisted of his wazee (councilors/elders of Pate), and in 1729, another sultan of Pate asked of the Portuguese the right to send “one of his ships” loaded with ivory to Diu.( The African merchants who sailed to India were not all itinerant traders, but included some who stayed for long periods and married locally. In 1726, a letter from the king of Pate cited one Bwana Madi bin Mwalimu Bakar from Pate _**“who goes each year to Surat where he is married.”**_( Matrimonial alliances were a common feature of commercial relationships in the Indian ocean world -including among the Swahili, and it would not have been uncommon for Swahili merchants who travelled to India to have engaged in them and raised families locally. But the Swahili were not the only African group which permanently resided in Portuguese India. According to Jan Huygen van Linschoten, who lived in Goa in the 1580s, _**“free Muslim Abyssinians**_ _**are employed in all India as sailors and crew aboard the trading ships which sail from Goa to China, Japan, Bengal, Malacca, Hormuz and all the corners of the Orient.”**_ These sailors and often took their family aboard and comprised the bulk of the crew, such that the Portuguese who owned and/or captained the ship were often the minority. Some these African sailors also held high offices, such as in the India city of Dabhol in 1616, where the captain of a large ship was a Muslim “black native” from “Abyssinia”, and a pilot of a Mughal trading ship docked in Goa’s habour in 1586 was an Abyssinian who chided a Portuguese captain for losing to the Ottoman corsair Ali Bey on the Swahili coast.( The use of the ethnonym “Abyssinians” here is a generic reference to various African groups from the northern Horn of Africa, who had long been active in India ocean trade. While the above references are concerned with Muslim Abyssinians, there are atleast two well known Christian Ethiopians who travelled to India in the early 15th century. They include a well-travelled scholar named Yohannes, who journeyed across much of southern Europe and reached Goa on his return journey in 1526, where he met with another Ethiopian named Sägga Zäab, who was the Ethiopian ambassador to Portugal( . _**Yohannes' travels to Europe and India**_. Map by Matteo Salvadore _**Right Street in the City of Goa, Portuguese India, between 1579 and 1592. by Jan Huygen van Linschoten.**_ The painting includes African figures. Many Christian Ethiopians also reached Portuguese India during the period when the two nations were closely allied against the Ottomans. These Ethiopians not only travelled for trade but for permanent settlement, the latter of which was often sponsored by the Portuguese. For example in the 1550s, the viceroy Dom Constantino de Braganca granted villages in the Daman district to Christian Abyssinians. This community proved quite sucessful and produced prominent benefactors for the local Jesuit missions such as one named catholic Ethiopian named Ambrosio Lopes, who left a significant fortune for the Jesuit church in Bassein( . Another is the ‘Abyssinian Christian matron’ named Catharina de Frao, who proselytized among local Muslim and Hindu women.( As a testament to the dynamic nature of the African diaspora in Portuguese India, the resident ‘Abyssinian’ community of India, called the _Siddis_, who had arrived to the subcontinent some centuries before the Portuguese, was attimes involved in conflict with the latter, who were themsleves supported by other Ethiopians. Before the abovementioned viceroy Constantino De Braganca acquired Daman in 1558, he had to battle with the forces of a _siddi_ named Bofeta, who was incharge of the city’s garrison comprised of mixed Turkish and Ethiopian soldiers. And the city of Diu was itself guarded by a force comprised mostly of _Siddis_ before it was taken by the Portuguese in 1530 ( The African community in Portuguese India therefore occupied all levels of the social hierachy; from transient envoys and merchants to resident royals, priests, soldiers, sailors and crewmen. This community was borne out of the complex political and commercial exchanges between Africa and India during the era of Portuguese ascendance in the Indian ocean, and was part of the broader patterns of cultural exchange that eventually saw Africans arriving on the shores of Japan in 1543. _**detail of a 17th century Japanese painting, showing an African figure watching a group of Europeans, south-Asians and Africans unloading merchandise.**_ * * * **READ more about the African diaspora in 16th century Japan here:** ( * * * **Around 3,5000 years ago, a complex culture emerged in the region of central Nigeria that produced Africa’s second largest collection of sculptural art during antiquity, as well as the earliest evidence for iron smelting in west Africa** **READ about it here:** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Map by Thomas Vernet ( Empires of the monsoon: A history of the Indian Ocean and its invaders by Richard Seymour pg 163-178) ( Les cités-États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 81-82) ( [Maritime trade, Shipbuilding and African sailors in the indian ocean: a complete history of East African seafaring\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------]( ( · October 16, 2022 ( ( ( The Suma oriental of Tome Pires by Tomé Pires pg 46, A Handful of Swahili Coast Letters, 1500–1520 by Sanjay Subrahmanyam pg 270 ( East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean by Thomas Vernet 169-170 pg 167-169, Les cités-États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 101 ( East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean by Thomas Vernet pg 180, 184-185, Les cités-États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 143) ( Identidade pessoal, reconhecimento social e assimilação: a inclusão de membros de famílias reais africanas e asiáticas na nobreza portuguesa by Manuel Lobato pg 123-124, Les cités-États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 194 ( The Swahili Coast, 2nd to 19th Centuries, by G. S. P. Freeman-Grenville pg 94, The Church in Africa 1450-1950 by Adrian Hastings pg 128, Identidade pessoal, reconhecimento social e assimilação by Manuel Lobato pg 125-126 ( East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean by Thomas Vernet pg 189) ( East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean by Thomas Vernet pg 184) ( The Church in Africa 1450-1950 by Adrian Hastings, 120-121) ( The Dominican Friars in Southern Africa: A Social History (1577-1990) By Philippe Denis pg 19-20, Iberians and African Clergy in Southern Africa by Paul H. Gundani pg 183-184 ( Iberians and African Clergy in Southern Africa by Paul H. Gundani pg 180-181 ( The Dominican Friars in Southern Africa: A Social History (1577-1990) By Philippe Denis pg 31-33) ( The Dominican Friars in Southern Africa: A Social History (1577-1990) By Philippe Denis 42-44) ( The Dominican Friars in Southern Africa: A Social History (1577-1990) By Philippe Denis pg 49, 61) ( Les cités-États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 151, 153) ( Les cités-États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 152) ( East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean by Thomas Vernet pg 185, The Ottoman Age of Exploration By Giancarlo Casale pg 167 ( African cosmopolitanism in the early modern Mediterranean by M. Salvadore pg 68-69 ( The Portuguese in India and Other Studies, 1500-1700 By A.R. Disney, The History of the Diocese of Damaun by Manoel Francis X. D'Sa pg 46 ( History of Christianity in India: From the middle of the sixteenth to the end of the seventeenth century, 1542-1700 by Church History Association of India, pg 321 ( Indian Ocean and Cultural Interaction, A.D. 1400-1800 by Kuzhippalli Skaria Mathew pg 37.

## The African Diaspora in Portuguese India: 1500-1800 ### Overview The African diaspora in Portuguese India occurred from the 16th to 18th centuries, characterized by the migration of Africans from eastern Africa to the Indian subcontinent, particularly after the arrival of the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean in 1498. This movement led to the formation of vibrant African communities, where individuals held various roles, including sailors, merchants, and priests. ### Historical Context 1. **Arrival of the Portuguese (1498)**: - Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrived at Mozambique Island in 1498, marking the beginning of Portuguese involvement in the Indian Ocean trade. - The presence of the Portuguese shifted pre-existing political alliances and prompted the Swahili city-states to leverage their relationships with Portugal for trade and dominance. 2. **Swahili City-States Dynamics**: - The city-state of Malindi, in particular, used the Portuguese alliance to overpower rival Mombasa. - Malindi’s population was diverse, including Swahili, Indian, Arab merchants, and other African groups. Notably, Malema Cana, a sea captain, aided the Portuguese in navigating to Calicut. 3. **Expansion of Portuguese Control**: - Over subsequent decades, Portuguese expansion extended to several Indian cities, including Goa, which became the capital of their possessions in the region. ### Swahili Trade Expeditions 1. **Continuation of Trade**: - Swahili traders continued traditional trade routes to Arabia and India, adapting to the new geopolitical landscape. - By 1517, the Sultan of Malindi formalized his request for protection from the Portuguese, indicating a reliance on Portuguese support for trade safety. 2. **Letters of Safe Passage**: - Various letters from Swahili rulers, including requests for tax exemptions and safe passages for trading ships, highlight the integration of Swahili merchants into the Portuguese-controlled trade networks. 3. **Notable Swahili Merchants**: - Accounts from the early 17th century detail Swahili merchants like Mwalimu Ibrahim and Muhammad Mshuti Mapengo, indicating regular travel and trade between Malindi and India. ### Political Alliances and Envoy Visits 1. **Swahili Elite Engagement**: - After the Portuguese captured Mombasa in 1593, they formed a complex relationship with Swahili rulers, prompting regular visits by Swahili elites to India. - Some Swahili rulers converted to Catholicism and entered marriages with the Portuguese, facilitating their travel and residence in Goa. 2. **Prominent Figures**: - Prince Yusuf ibn al-Hasan of Mombasa traveled to Goa in 1614 for education and later became King of Mombasa in 1626. - Figures such as Bwana Dau and Mwinyi Ahmed Hasani Kipai maintained lasting relationships with Portuguese authorities. ### The Influence of the Mutapa Kingdom 1. **Mutapa Royal Visits**: - The Mutapa Kingdom, located in present-day Zimbabwe, established ties with the Portuguese, particularly through Catholic missionaries. - Mutapa princes, such as Dom Diogo and Miguel da Presentacao, traveled to Goa for education and religious purposes, often becoming priests. 2. **Continuity of Mutapa Presence**: - Many princes from Mutapa remained in India, contributing to the socio-religious landscape and maintaining connections with their homeland. ### Establishment of an African Community 1. **Demographics of African Diaspora**: - The African population in Portuguese India encompassed a wide range of individuals, including sailors, merchants, dockworkers, and their families, alongside the elites. - Requests for letters of safe passage by Swahili rulers indicate that many Africans participated in maritime trade. 2. **Ethiopian Community**: - The presence of Ethiopians, both Muslim and Christian, contributed to the growing African diaspora in India. - Ethiopian sailors held important positions and often settled in India, supported by Portuguese patronage. 3. **Interactions with Local Communities**: - The African community in India involved intermarriages with local populations and included notable figures who influenced religious missions and local politics. ### Conclusion The African diaspora in Portuguese India from 1500 to 1800 represents a significant historical phenomenon shaped by trade, political alliances, and cultural exchange. The interactions between Africans and Portuguese in India demonstrate the complexity of transoceanic relationships and the diverse roles Africans played in the socio-economic dynamics of the region.

a brief note on the origin of African civilizations

plus, the Nok Neolithic culture.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on the origin of African civilizations =================================================== ### plus, the Nok Neolithic culture. ( Oct 28, 2023 28 Beginning around 12,000 years ago, a wide-ranging set of developments emerged independently in several societies across the world. Plants and animals were domesticated, pottery and advanced tools appeared, and settlements were established. This archeological period, often refered to as the 'Neolithic' or 'Late stone Age', was protracted and diverse, with different features appearing in different regions at different time periods —and no region exhibits this diversity more than Africa. The earliest domesticates, advanced tools and permanent settlements in Africa first appear in the Upper and Middle Nile Valley in what is today Egypt and Sudan between 9,000-5,000 BC. This region was home to ( that eventually gave rise to the first states, with dynastic Egypt around 3,000BC and the Kerma kingdom around 2,500BC. A similar process in the Northern Horn of Africa saw ( , prior to the rise of the D'MT polity around 900BC and the Aksumite kingdom by the turn of the common era. In West Africa, Neolithic cultures emerged between the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC. This was a dynamic period with substantial changes of settlement systems, economy, technology, and land use. Due to increasing aridity, human occupation gradually shifted from the drying Sahara into the more humid areas of West Africa. There was considerable variability in these developments, with pottery, livestock and cereal agriculture appearing as early as the 6th millennium BC, thus preceeding permanent settlements and iron tools by several millennia. The period was later suceeded by the emergence of large sedentary communities, the first cities (eg; Jenne-Jeno) and early states (eg; the Ghana empire) during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium CE. _**Map showing Africa’s oldest Neolithic cultures as well as sites with early archaeobotanical evidence for the spread of major African crops. (**_original map by Dorian Fuller & Elisabeth Hildebrand_**)**_ Only a few West African Neolithic cultures with complete archaeological traditions, including material culture, settlement and socio-economic systems, have been studied for this period. The most distinctive are the ( (2200-400 BC), the Kintampo culture of Ghana (2100–1400 BC), the Gajiganna culture of North-east Nigeria (1800–800 BC), and the Nok culture of central Nigeria (1500–1 BC). The Nok culture is unique and renowned because of its elaborate terracotta sculptures, as well as providing the earliest evidence of iron smelting in west Africa. My latest Patreon article explores the history and significance of the Nok culture in the origins of African kingdoms, institutions and inventions: ( * * * Ruins of the ancient town of Dakhlet el Atrouss-I in south-eastern Mauritania, that was built during the classic Tichitt phase (1600BC-1000BC). Measuring over 300ha and with an estimated population of 10,000 at its height, the town is one of Africa’s oldest urban settlements. (photos by Robert Vernet).

### The Origin of African Civilizations and the Nok Neolithic Culture #### 1. Introduction to the Neolithic Period - **Timeframe**: The Neolithic period began around 12,000 years ago. - **Key Developments**: This era saw the domestication of plants and animals, the advent of pottery, advanced tools, and the establishment of settlements. - **Geographical Diversity**: The Neolithic transition was varied by region, with Africa exhibiting significant diversity in developments. #### 2. Early Developments in Africa - **Regions of Early Development**: - Upper and Middle Nile Valley (modern-day Egypt and Sudan). - **Time Period**: Evidence of early domesticates and settlements dates from 9,000 to 5,000 BC. - **Subsequent Advances**: - Emergence of dynastic Egypt around 3,000 BC. - Formation of the Kerma kingdom around 2,500 BC. #### 3. The Northern Horn of Africa - **Cultural Developments**: Following the Nile Valley, a similar evolution occurred in the Northern Horn of Africa. - **Key Polities**: - The D'MT polity arose around 900 BC. - The Aksumite kingdom emerged at the turn of the common era. #### 4. West Africa Neolithic Cultures - **Timeframe**: West African Neolithic cultures developed between the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC. - **Environmental Changes**: - Increasing aridity led to a migration of human populations from the drying Sahara to more humid regions in West Africa. - **Cultural Variability**: This period experienced significant changes in settlement systems, economy, technology, and land use. - **Early Developments**: Pottery, livestock, and cereal agriculture appeared as early as the 6th millennium BC, predating permanent settlements and iron tools. #### 5. Emergence of Large Settlements and States - **Late Neolithic to Early Historical Period**: - The 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium CE saw the rise of large sedentary communities, cities (e.g., Jenne-Jeno), and early states (e.g., the Ghana empire). #### 6. Key West African Neolithic Cultures - **Notable Cultures**: - The ( ) culture (2200-400 BC). - Kintampo culture of Ghana (2100–1400 BC). - Gajiganna culture of Northeast Nigeria (1800–800 BC). - **Nok Culture**: Central Nigeria's Nok culture (1500–1 BC) is particularly renowned for its elaborate terracotta sculptures and is significant for providing the earliest evidence of iron smelting in West Africa. #### 7. Significance of the Nok Culture - **Cultural Contributions**: The Nok culture’s terracotta sculptures are an important part of African art history. - **Technological Advances**: The earliest evidence of iron smelting in West Africa originates from this culture, highlighting its role in technological innovation. #### 8. Conclusion - **Urban Development**: The ancient town of Dakhlet el Atrouss-I in Mauritania (1600 BC - 1000 BC), covering over 300 hectares and supporting a population of approximately 10,000 at its peak, exemplifies early urban settlement in Africa. ### Summary This overview emphasizes the significant milestones in the origin of African civilizations, from early Neolithic developments to the rise of distinct cultures and urban centers. The Nok culture stands out for its artistic and technological contributions, shaping the continent's historical narrative.

Guns and Spears: a military history of the Zulu kingdom.

Popular history of Africa before the colonial era often divides the continent’s military systems into two broad categories —the relatively modern armies along the Atlantic coast which used firearms, versus the 'traditional' armies in the interior that fought with arrows and spears.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Guns and Spears: a military history of the Zulu kingdom. ======================================================== ( Oct 22, 2023 20 Popular history of Africa before the colonial era often divides the continent’s military systems into two broad categories —the relatively modern armies along the Atlantic coast which used firearms, versus the 'traditional' armies in the interior that fought with arrows and spears. And it was the latter in particular, whose chivalrous soldiers armed with antiquated weapons, are imagined to have quickly succumbed to colonial invasion. Nowhere is this imagery more prevalent than in mainstream perceptions of the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879. Descriptions of Zulu armies armed with short spears and shields, bravely rushing over open ground in the face of heavy fire in an attempt to get to grips with the redcoats, has come to dominate our understanding of colonial warfare. It casts this 'traditional' African army as an atavistic warrior people in their twilight, whose supposed failure to innovate doomed them to their seemingly inevitable fall. Like all simplified narratives, the popular division between traditional and modern military systems is more apparent than real. The guns of Queen Njinga’s army in Matamba (Angola) were just as effective at defeating the Portuguese colonial armies in the 17th century( , as the arrows of Chagamire Dombo were at crushing the colonialists forces in Mutapa (Zimbabwe).( And as the the 19th century colonial expansionism intensified, the Zulu armies defeated the British in the field on no less than three occasions. This article explores the history of Zulu military innovations within their local context in south-east Africa, and the overlooked role of firearms in Zulu warfare. _**Map of southern Africa in the early 19th century showing the Zulu kingdom.**_ * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more on African history and keep this blog free for all:** ( * * * **Genesis of the Zulu military system: Southern African armies and weapons from the 16th to the 18th century.** The Zulu kingdom emerged in the early 19th century, growing from a minor chiefdom in Mthethwa confederation, to become the most powerful state in south-east Africa. Expanding through conquest, diplomacy and patronage, the kingdom subsumed several smaller states over a large territory measuring about 156,000 sqkm. The Zulu state owed much of its expansion to its formidable army during the reign of King Shaka (1812-1828), the kingdom's first independent ruler. The Zulu military developed during Shaka's reign utilized a distinctive form of organization, fighting formations and weapons, that were popularized in later literature about colonial warfare in Africa. Chief among these was the regiment system, and the short-spears known as assegai that were utilized in the famous cow-horn formation of close-combat fighting.( Like most historical traditions which attribute important cultural innovations to the kingdom's founder, these innovations are thought to have been introduced by king Shaka. However, they all predate the reign of the famous Zulu king, and most of them were fairly common among the neighboring states of south-east Africa. Among such states was the Thuli chiefdom, which, during its expansion south of the Thukela River in the late 18th century, employed the short-spear in close combat. Another tradition relating the the Mtehthwa king Dingiswayo also attributes the use of short stabbing spears to his armies, replacing the throwing spear. The line of transmition then follows both of these innovations from Dingiswayo's son to a then prince Shaka, when the Zulu were still under Mtehthwa's suzerainty.( The short spear often associated with king Shaka was itself a relatively ancient weapon among the polities of south-east Africa. The earliest descriptions of armies in the region from the mid 16th century include mentions of warriors armed with wooden pikes _**"and some assegais \ with iron points.”**_ These descriptions came from shipwrecked Portuguese sailors whose desperation attimes drove them to cannibalism against the Africans who they found near the coast, and thus invited severe retaliation from the African armies. One such incident of cannibalism by the Portuguese crew at Delagoa bay (Maputo Bay) resulted in the shipwrecked crew being attacked by an African army _**“throwing so many assegais**_ \ _**that the air was darkened by a cloud of them, though they seemed afterwards to be as well provided with them as before.”**_ A similar attack is described by another shipwrecked crew in 1622 whose camp was showered with more than 530 assegais and countless wooden spears.( The type of assegais used in the region where the Zulu kingdom would later emerge would have been fairly similar to the ones associated with Shaka. One account from 1799 mentions that the armies in Delagoa bay region were _**"armed with a small spear"**_ which they _**"throw with great exactness thirty or forty yards**_". The account also describes their armies' war dress, their large shields and their form of organization with guard units for the King. These were all popularized in later accounts of the Zulu army but were doubtlessly part of the broader military systems of the region. ( The above fragmentary accounts of military systems in south-east Africa indicate that traditions attributing the introduction/invention of the Zulu’s military formations and weapons to Shaka were attimes more symbolic than historical, although they would be greatly improved upon by the Zulu. * * * **Development and innovation of the Zulu military system from Shaka to Dingane: Assegais and Firearms.** According to the Zulu traditions recorded in the late 19th century, Shaka trained his warriors to advance rapidly in tight formations and engage hand-to-hand, battering the enemy with larger war-shields, then skewering their foes with the short spear. Shaka's favorite attack formation was an encircling movement known as the _impondo zankomo_ (beast's horns), in which the the _isifuba_, or chest, advanced towards the enemy’s front, while two flanking parties, called _izimpondo_, or horns, surrounded either side.( There were many types of assegais in 19th century Zululand, including the _isijula_, the larger _iklwa_ and _unhlekwane_, the _izinhlendhla_ (barbed assegais), and the _unhlekwana_ (broad-bladed assegai) among others. Assegais were manufactured by a number of specialized smiths, who enjoyed a position of some status, and were made on the orders of, and delivered to, the king, who would distribute them as he saw fit. The assegai transcended its narrow military applications as it epitomized political power and social unity of the state. It also played an important part in wedding and doctoring ceremonies, as well as in hunting. It acquired an outsized position in Zulu warfare and concepts of honor that emphasized close combat battle.( The Zulu army originally formed during the reign of Shaka's predecessor, Senzangakhona (d. 1812), was an age-based regimental force that developed out of pre-existing region-based forces called _amaButho_. These regiments were instructed to build a regional barracks (_Ikhanda_) where they would undergo training. The barracks served as a locus for royal authority as temporary residences of the King and a means to centralize power. Shaka greatly expanded this regimental system, enrolling about 15 regiments, with the estimated size of his army being around 14,000 in the early 19th century, which he sent on campaigns/expeditions (_impi_) across the region.( _**Zulu Soldiers of King Panda's Army, 1847.**_ ( _**‘Zulu Braves’ in ceremonial battle dress**_, ( , late 19th/early 20th century. _**the Zulu in ceremonial war dress**_, early 20th century photo, ( * * * ( * * * The exact size of the regiment, the location of their barracks and the number of regiments varied under sucessive rulers. When a new regiment was formed, the king appointed officers, or _izinduna_ to command it. These were part of the state officials, specifically chosen by the king to fulfil particular roles within the administrative system. Regiments consisted of companies (_amaviyo_) under the command of appointed officers, which together formed larger divisions (_izigaba_) also commanded by appointed officers, who were in turn under the senior commanders of the Zulu army.( The creation of the different regiments was largely determined by the King, while the military training of the cadets who joined them was mostly an informal process. Some of the regiments dating back to Shaka's time were still present at the time of the Anglo-Zulu war, others had been created during the intervening period, while others were absorbed. The regiments were distinguished by their war dress and shields, although these two changed with time. These regiments were armed with both the short spear and large shield, but they also carried guns —an often overlooked weapon in Zulu historiography. One particular regiment associated with this weapon in the Anglo-Zulu war were the _abaQulusi_, a group which eventually came to consider themselves to be directly responsible to the King.( The Zulu had been exposed to firearms early during kingdom's creation in the 1820s. Shaka was keenly intrested in the guns carried by the first European visitors to his court and acquired musketry contigents to bolster his army.( He also sent Zulu spies to the cape colony and intended to send envoys to England inorder to learn how to manufacture guns locally. His sucessors, Dingane (r. 1828-1840) and Mpande (r. 1840-1872), acquired several guns from the European traders as a form of tribute in exchange for allowing them to operate within the kingdom.( * * * **<<the journey from Zululand to England wouldn't have been an unusual undertaking, since African explorers —including from southern Africa— had been ( >>** * * * While firearms acquired by the Zulu during Dingane’s reign were not extensively used in battle before the war between the Boers and the Zulu between 1837-1840, they quickly became part of the diverse array of weaponry used by his army. The Zulu had innovated their fighting since Shaka’s day, bringing back the javelin (_isiJula_) for throwing at longer distances, as well as knobkerries (a type of mace or club). Dingane also armed some of his soldiers with firearms, the majority of which seem to have been captured from the Boers after some Zulu victories. The Zulu army of Dingane also rarely fought using the cow-horn formation but frequently took advantage of the terrain to create more dispersed formations, often seeking to surprise the enemy and prevent them from making any effective defense.( The Zulu developed an extensive vocabulary reflecting their familiarity with the new technology, with atleast 10 different words for types of firearm, each with its own history and origin, as well as a description of its use. These included a five-foot long gun called the _ibala_, a large barreled gun known as the _imbobiyana_, a double barreled shotgun known as the _umakalana_ which was reserved for the elite, two other shotguns known as _isinqwana_ and _ifili_ (the first of which was used in close range fighting), and the "elephant gun" known as the _idhelebe_ which unlike the rest of the other guns was acquired from the Boers rather than the Portuguese. Other guns include the _iginanda_, _umhlabakude, igodhla,_ and _isiBamu_.( The bulk of firearms in the kingdom arrived from the British colony of Natal and the Portuguese station at Delagoa Bay, especially during the reign of Cetshwayo (r. 1872-1879/1884). The king utilized the services of a European trader named John Dunn whose agents transshipped the weapons from the Cape and Natal to Delagoa Bay and into Zululand. In the 1860s and 70s, the exchange price of a good quality double-barrel muzzle loader dropped from 4 cows or £20 to just one, while an Enfield rifle that was standard issue for the British military in the 1850s cost even less. This trade was often prohibited by the British in the Cape and Natal who feared the growing strength of the Zulu, but the "illegal" sales of guns carried on until the Portuguese were eventually forced to prohibit the trade in 1878.( Portuguese accounts indicate that between 1875 and 1877, 20,000 guns, including 500 breech-loaders, and 10,000 barrels of gunpowder were imported annually, the greater proportion of which went to the Zulu kingdom. This indicates a total estimate of 45,000 guns including 1,125 breech loaders and 22,500 barrels of gun powder. Another account from 1878 mentions the arrival of 400 Zulu traders at Delagoa who purchased 2,000 breech loaders. Zulu smiths learned how to make gunpowder under the supervision of the king's armorer, Somopho kaZikhala with one cache containing about 1,100 lb of gunpowder in 178 barrels.( _**Flintlock Brown Bess musket bearing the Tower mark, typical of the firearms carried by the Zulu in 1879**_, Zululand Historical Museum, Ondini (left) _**illustration of a Zulu attack formation at Isandlwana, with shields, guns and short spears**_ . (right) '_**Followers of the Zulu king, Cetshwayo, including his brother, Dabulamanzi, all carrying long rifles**_. photo taken in 1879 after the war, ( * * * * * * **Firearms and Assegais in the Zulu victory over the British.** By the time of the Anglo-Zulu war in 1878, the majority of Zulu fighters were equipped with firearms, although they were unevenly distributed, with some of the military elites purchasing the best guns while the rest of the army had older models or hardly any. King Cetshwayo became aware of this when a routine inspection of members of one of the regiments revealed that they had few guns, and he ordered them to purchase guns from John Dunn. While the number of guns was fairly adequate, ammunition and training presented a challenge as they often had to use improvised bullets, and not many of them were drilled in good marksmanship.( From the Zulu army's perspective however, the kingdom was at its strongest despite some of the constraints. The British estimated King Cetshwayo’s army at a maximum strength of 34 regiments of which 7 weren't active service, thus giving an estimate of 41,900, although this was likely an over-stated. The force gathered at the start of the Anglo-Zulu War, which probably numbered about 25,000 men, was the largest concentration of troops in Zulu history.( With about as many guns as the Asante army (in Ghana) when they faced off with the British in 1874. The perception of the Zulu army by their British enemies often changed depending on prevailing imperial objectives and the little information about the Zulu which their frontier spies had collected. One dispatch in November 1878 noted that the _**“introduction of firearms”**_ wrought _**“great changes, both in movements and dress”**_, upon the _**“ordinary customs of the Zulu army”**_. Another dispatch by a British officer in January 1879 observed that Zulu armies _**“are neither more bloodthirsty in disposition nor more powerful in frame than the other tribes of the Coast region”.**_ The slew of seemingly contradictory dispatches increased close to the eve of the battle, with another officer noting that the Zulu army's "_**method of marching, attack formation, remains the same as before the introduction of fire arms.".**_( The above assessments, and the other first-hand accounts provided below must all be treated with caution given the context in which they were made and the audience for which they were intended. Throughout January 1879, a low-intensity war raged in the northwestern marches of the kingdom, culminating with a major clash at Hlobane. One account of the first battle of Hlobane on 21st January details the abaQulusi regiment's careful charges to minimize losses and their extensive use of firearms. The officer noted that his force was _**"engaged with about 1,000 Zulus, the larger proportion of whom had guns, many very good ones; they appeared under regular command, and in fixed bodies. The most noticeable part of their tactics is that every man after firing a shot drops as if dead, and remains motionless for nearly a minute. In case of a night attack an interval of time should be allowed before a return shot is fired at a flash".**_ He also noted that they fired guns when the British advanced but utilized the assegai when the enemy was in retreat.( While the first engagement at Hlobane ended in a British victory, this minor defeat for the Zulu was reversed the next day once they engaged with the bulk of the colonial forces at Isandlwana. Instead of a wild charge down the hill and across the wide plain, the Zulu regiments filed down the gullies of the escarpment and made a series of short dashes from one ridge to another toward the British position, only rising up to charge at the enemy once they were within a very short distance of the camp. The battle of Isandlwana, on 22 January 1879, was an imperial catastrophe, and a monumental victory for the Zulu, resulting in the loss of over 1,300 soldiers, including 52 officers and 739 Colonial and British men, 67 white non-commissioned officers and more than 471 of the Natal Native Contingent.( _**a fairly accurate Illustration of a Zulu charge, made by Charles E. Fripp in 1879, showing the complete array of weapons.**_ * * * ( * * * **Firearms in Zulu military strategy.** The role of firearms in the Zulu victory was understated in later accounts for reasons related to the changing purposes to which depictions of the Zulu were put by the British over the course of the war. The dispatch by the colonial commissioner who had ordered the invasion, Henry Frere, suggested that the defeat resulted from the British having faced _**“10 or even 20 times their own force, and \ exposed to the rush of such enormous bodies of active athletes, perfectly reckless of their own losses, and armed with the short stabbing assegai"**_. Another dispatch noted that _**"every Zulu is a soldier, and as a nation they are brave, fond of fighting, and full of confidence in themselves … There can be no doubt of the warlike character of the Zulu race. Their present military organization would also show that they are capable of submitting to a severe discipline."**_ ( Yet there are reports of the same battle which accurately describe the Zulu advance using firearms, before the last charge with assegais. One officer notes that the Zulu army advanced carefully, noting that _**"it was a matter of much difficulty to do really good execution among the ranks of the enemy, owing to the fact that with marvelous ingenuity they kept themselves scattered as they came along"**_, another observed that _**"From rock and bush on the heights above started scores of men; some with rifles, others with shields and assegais. Gradually their main body; an immense column opened out in splendid order upon each rank and firmly encircled the camp”**_.( This contradicts the notion that the Zulu were simply throwing hordes of spearmen into the battle, something that would've been extremely costly given the kingdom's relatively low population (of just 100-150,000 subjects and very limited manpower compared to what the British could muster from the neighboring colonies. This tactic was also witnessed at a later battle at Gingindlovu, on 2 April. The officer observed that once the Zulu were within 800 yards of the British camp, _**"they began to open fire. In spite of the excitement of the moment we could not but admire the perfect manner in which these Zulus skirmished. A knot of five or six would rise and dart through the long grass, dodging from side to side with heads down, rifles and shields kept low and out of sight. They would then suddenly sink into the long grass, and nothing but puffs of curling smoke would show their whereabouts."**_( A later interview with Zulu war veterans in 1882 summarizes their preferred tactics as thus; _**"They went through various manoeuvres for my entertainment, showing me how they made the charges which proved so fatal to our troops. They would rush forward about fifty yards, and imitating the sound of a volley, drop flat amidst the grass; then when firing was supposed to have slackened, up they sprung, and assegai and shield in hand charged like lightning upon the imaginary foe, shouting ‘Usutu’."**_ Its likely that Henry Frere's account of charging athletes with assegais was an oversimplification of this final advance, when the initial slow advance with firearms gave way to a swift charge with assegais.( The choice to utilize both firearms and assegais was influenced as much by cultural significance of the assegai as it was by the relatively low quality of the firearms and marksmanship. Zulu guns were of diverse origins, including German, British and American muskets, but some were old models having been made in 1835, in contrast to the British's Martini-Henry which was made just 8 years before the war. While these Zulu guns had been relatively effective in the earlier wars, they constrained the range at which Zulu marksmen could accurately fire their weapons and increase enemy causalities. The Zulu captured 1000 Martini-Henrys and 500,000 rounds of ammunition at Isandlwana which they put to good use in later battle of Hlobane which they won on 28th March 1879 and as well as the defeat at Khambula the next day. As one British officer at Khambula observed, the Zulu he encountered were _**"good shots"**_ who _**"understood the use of the Martini-Henry rifles taken at Isandlwana"**_. However, the captured weapons weren't sufficient for the whole army to use in later engagements and were distributed asymmetrically among the soldiers.( King Cetshwayo had hoped his victory at Isandlwana would persuade the British to reconsider their policies, but it only provoked a bitter backlash, as more British reinforcements poured into the region. Isandlwana had been a costly victory, a type of fighting which the Zulu army had not before experienced, and the terrible consequences of the horrific casualties they suffered became more apparent with each new battle, with the successive defeats at Gingindlovu and Ulundi eventually breaking the army.( _**The King Cetshwayo in exile,**_ London, 1882. * * * ( * * * **Conclusion.** The Zulu army was a product of centuries in developments in the military systems of south-east Africa. The Zulu’s amaButho system and fighting formations were well-adapted to the South African environment in which they emerged, and were continuously innovated in the face of new enemy forces and with the introduction of new weapons, including guns. While the Zulu did not kill most of their enemy with firearms, references to the Zulu’s mode of attack suggest that their tactical integration of firearms reflected a greater familiarity and skill in their use than is often acknowledged. The Zulu frequently demonstrated adaptive skills in their tactical deployment of a diverse array of weapons and fighting styles that defy simplistic notions of traditional military organization. The gun-wielding regiments that quietly crept behind the hill of Isandlawana, with their shields concealed behind the bushes, were nothing like the charging hordes of imperial adventure that blindly rushed into open fields to be mowed down by bullets. The Zulu army was a highly innovative force, acutely aware of the advantages of modern weaponry, the need for tactical flexibility in warfare, and the limits of the kingdom’s resources. In this regard, the Zulu were a modern pre-colonial African army par excellence. _**Isandlwana and graves of the fallen of 1879.**_ * * * **In the 16th century, Africans arrived on the shores of Japan, many of them originally came from south-east Africa and eastern Africa, and had been living in India**. read more about this African discovery of Japan here: ( nn Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( [The kingdom of Ndongo and the Portuguese: Queen Njinga and the dynasty of women sovereigns (1515-1909)\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------]( ( · January 8, 2023 ( ( ( [The kingdom of Mutapa and the Portuguese: on the failure of conquistadors in Africa (1571-1695)\ -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------]( ( · August 14, 2022 ( ( ( The Creation of the Zulu Kingdom, 1815–1828 By Elizabeth A. Eldredge pg 76 ( The Creation of the Zulu Kingdom, 1815–1828 By Elizabeth A. Eldredge pg 27, 31, 61-62) ( Kingdoms and Chiefdoms of Southeastern Africa by Elizabeth A. Eldredge pg 62, 81) ( Kingdoms and Chiefdoms of Southeastern Africa by Elizabeth A. Eldredge pg 145-146) ( The Anatomy of the Zulu Army by Ian Knight pg 32, 192-209) ( A Cultural History of Firearms in the Age of Empire pg 144, 147) ( The Creation of the Zulu Kingdom, 1815–1828 By Elizabeth A. Eldredge pg 35-41, The Anatomy of the Zulu Army by Ian Knight pg 33-34, 51-54) ( The Anatomy of the Zulu Army by Ian Knight pg 60, 64, 82) ( The Anatomy of the Zulu Army by Ian Knight pg 61, 84, 105-107, A Cultural History of Firearms in the Age of Empire by Karen Jones pg 146,) ( A Note on Firearms in the Zulu Kingdom with Special Reference to the Anglo-Zulu War, by J. J. Guy pg 557-558 ( The Creation of the Zulu Kingdom, 1815–1828 By Elizabeth A. Eldredge pg 152, 166, 243, 256, Companion to the Anglo-Zulu War By Ian Knight pg 183) ( The Zulu-Boer War 1837–1840 By Michał Leśniewski pg 97-100 ( The James Stuart Archive of Recorded Oral Evidence Relating to the History of the Zulu and Neighbouring Peoples pg 63, Zulu–English Dictionary Alfred T. Bryant pg 20 ( Kingdom in crisis By John Laband pg 62-63, A Note on Firearms in the Zulu Kingdom with Special Reference to the Anglo-Zulu War, by J. J. Guy pg 560 ( A Cultural History of Firearms in the Age of Empire by Karen Jones pg 131, Kingdom in crisis By John Laband pg 63) ( Companion to the Anglo-Zulu War By Ian Knight pg 184 ( The Anatomy of the Zulu Army by Ian Knight pg 35) ( A Cultural History of Firearms in the Age of Empire by by Karen Jones pg 132) ( A Cultural History of Firearms in the Age of Empire by by Karen Jones pg 136-137, The Anatomy of the Zulu Army by Ian Knight pg 210) ( Companion to the Anglo-Zulu War By Ian Knight pg 118 ( A Cultural History of Firearms in the Age of Empire by by Karen Jones pg 132) ( Witnesses at Isandlwana by Neil Thornton, ‎Michael Denigan, A Cultural History of Firearms in the Age of Empire by by Karen Jones pg 139) ( The Zulu-Boer War 1837–1840 By Michał Leśniewski pg 97 ( The Anatomy of the Zulu Army by Ian Knight pg 212) ( The Anatomy of the Zulu Army by Ian Knight pg 213) ( Kingdom in crisis By John Laband pg 64-65, Companion to the Anglo-Zulu War By Ian Knight pg 185) ( The Anatomy of the Zulu Army by Ian Knight pg pg 42).

### Guns and Spears: A Military History of the Zulu Kingdom #### Overview of African Military History Pre-Colonial Era 1. **Division of Military Systems**: Popular history categorizes African military systems into two groups: - Modern armies along the Atlantic coast using firearms. - Traditional armies in the interior using arrows and spears. 2. **Historical Misconceptions**: This binary view often portrays ‘traditional’ armies, such as the Zulu, as outdated and doomed to fail against colonial invaders, particularly during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. #### The Zulu Military Context 3. **Independence of Zulu Kingdom**: The Zulu kingdom emerged in the early 19th century, evolving from a minor chiefdom within the Mthethwa confederation into a dominant state in southeast Africa, covering approximately 156,000 square kilometers. 4. **King Shaka's Contributions**: - Shaka (1812-1828) was the first independent Zulu ruler who significantly reformed the Zulu military. - Innovations during his reign included: - The regiment system. - The use of the assegai (short spear) in close combat, particularly in a tactic known as the cow-horn formation. - Many of these innovations predated Shaka and were common among neighboring states. 5. **Early Military Traditions**: Historical accounts from the mid-16th century indicate the use of wooden pikes and assegais among nearby African armies, suggesting a long-standing tradition of specialized military practices in the region. #### Development of Zulu Military Innovations 6. **Shaka to Dingane**: Shaka's military tactics involved rapid advances in tight formations leading to hand-to-hand combat. After Shaka, his successor Dingane continued to innovate: - Introduction of diverse weaponry, including firearms. - Adoption of javelins and knobkerries alongside firearms. 7. **Firearms Acquisition**: - The Zulu began acquiring firearms in the early 1820s. Shaka sought European weaponry and sent spies to learn about gun manufacturing. - Dingane and Mpande, Shaka's successors, received firearms as tribute from European traders, enhancing the Zulu arsenal. #### Firearms in the Anglo-Zulu War 8. **Military Strategy and Firearm Utilization**: By 1878, many Zulu fighters wielded firearms, though distribution was uneven. King Cetshwayo ensured the acquisition of guns for his regiments, but challenges remained in training and ammunition supply. 9. **Battle of Isandlwana**: The Zulu army utilized a mix of firearms and assegais effectively during the Anglo-Zulu War: - Initial Zulu movements incorporated firearms before engaging in close combat with assegais. - The tactics employed involved careful advance, often using terrain for cover. 10. **Tactical Advances**: Accounts from the battles reveal the Zulu's tactical prowess, emphasizing their ability to blend traditional and modern warfare strategies: - Reports of Zulu soldiers demonstrating coordinated maneuvers and effective use of firearms. - Victories at Isandlwana highlighted their innovative combat strategies that contrasted with the British expectations. #### Conclusion on Zulu Military Effectiveness 11. **Legacy of Zulu Warfare**: - The Zulu military reflected centuries of development, adapting to new technologies and threats. - They demonstrated tactical flexibility, integrating firearms into traditional combat methods, which contributed to their initial successes against colonial forces. - The perception of the Zulu as simply traditional warriors overlooks their capacity for military innovation and adaptation to modern warfare. This logical progression highlights the complexities of Zulu military history and counters simplified narratives that depict the Zulu kingdom as outdated in the face of colonial expansion. The Zulu were not merely a tribal force; they were a highly organized and innovative military power.

a brief note on the African exploration of Asia

plus; the African presence in Japan (1543-1639)

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on the African exploration of Asia =============================================== ### plus; the African presence in Japan (1543-1639) ( Oct 14, 2023 13 For much of Africa’s history, many of its travelers who ventured outside the continent often went to western and southern Asia. In antiquity, the North-East African kingdoms of Kush and Aksum which were closest to Asia, extended their control over parts of western Asia and Arabia. African rulers, soldiers, merchants, pilgrims and other settlers established communities across the region —from Nineveh in Iraq to ( — and engaged in cultural exchanges which linked societies on either shores of the red sea. Over the middle ages, envoys and merchants from Aksum travelled further into south Asia, ( and the south-western parts of India. Their exploratory initiative was later taken over by the Swahili who plied the routes between the Persian gulf and India, eventually travelling to the south-east Asian islands of Malaysia, and reaching the east-Asian state of China. What initially begun as sporadic contacts between China and the kingdoms of Aksum and Makuria, rapidly grew into regular diplomatic exchanges involving several African envoys from many different Swahili, Somali and Ethiopian states travelling to China during the Song dynasty. In the 10th-14th century period alone, ( . Chinese travelers reciprocated these visits, sending two major exploratory missions that reached eastern Africa in the early 14th and early 15th century, a few decades prior to the European irruption in the Indian ocean. The African exploration of Asia wasn't halted by the arrival of Portuguese interlopers, but was instead re-oriented to exploit the changes in the political and commercial landscape of the Indian ocean world. As political alliances shifted between different regional and global powers, African kingdoms alternated their external interests between western Asia and south Asia, depending on their relationship with the Portuguese. Africans converged in the Portuguese city of Goa in India, creating a diasporic community that included visiting royals and envoys, catholic priests, mercenaries, and servants. It was from this African community in south-Asia that the first Africans who travelled to Japan originated, arriving on the island nation in the 1540s.

### A Brief Note on the African Exploration of Asia 1. **Historical Context of African Exploration**: - For much of Africa's history, travelers from the continent primarily ventured into western and southern Asia. - The ancient kingdoms of Kush and Aksum, located in Northeast Africa, extended their influence into western Asia and Arabia. 2. **Cultural Exchange and Community Establishment**: - African rulers, soldiers, merchants, pilgrims, and settlers established communities across regions such as Nineveh (in present-day Iraq). - These communities facilitated cultural exchanges that linked societies across the Red Sea. 3. **Medieval Period Trade and Diplomacy**: - During the middle ages, envoys and merchants from Aksum expanded their travels into South Asia and southwestern India. - The Swahili people later took over trade routes connecting the Persian Gulf and India, eventually reaching Southeast Asian islands and China. 4. **Diplomatic Relations with China**: - Initial sporadic contacts between Chinese dynasties and African kingdoms like Aksum and Makuria evolved into regular diplomatic ties. - Numerous African envoys from Swahili, Somali, and Ethiopian states traveled to China during the Song dynasty. 5. **Reciprocal Visits from China**: - Between the 10th and 14th centuries, Chinese travelers reciprocated these engagements by sending exploratory missions to eastern Africa during the early 14th and early 15th centuries. 6. **Impact of European Arrival**: - The Portuguese arrival did not halt African exploration of Asia; instead, it shifted the focus to adapt to new political and commercial landscapes in the Indian Ocean. - African kingdoms adjusted their external interests between western and southern Asia based on evolving relationships with the Portuguese. 7. **African Diaspora in Goa**: - In Goa, India, a diasporic community formed, comprising visiting royals, envoys, Catholic priests, mercenaries, and servants, all of African descent. - This community was significant as it served as a launching point for further movement towards other regions, including Japan. 8. **Arrival of Africans in Japan (1543-1639)**: - The first Africans to travel to Japan arrived in the 1540s from the African community in South Asia, marking the beginning of the African presence on the Japanese islands. Through this structured outline, the historical narrative of the African exploration of Asia and the presence in Japan is presented clearly and logically, maintaining factual accuracy throughout.

A history of Women's political power and matriliny in the kingdom of Kongo.

In the 19th century, anthropologists were fascinated by the concept of matrilineal descent in which kinship is traced through the female line.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A history of Women's political power and matriliny in the kingdom of Kongo. =========================================================================== ( Oct 08, 2023 21 In the 19th century, anthropologists were fascinated by the concept of matrilineal descent in which kinship is traced through the female line. Matriliny was often confounded with matriarchy as a supposedly earlier stage of social evolution than patriarchy. Matriliny thus became a discrete object of exaggerated importance, particulary in central Africa, where scholars claimed to have identified a "matrilineal belt" of societies from the D.R. Congo to Mozambique, and wondered how they came into being. This importance of matriliny appeared to be supported by the relatively elevated position of women in the societies of central Africa compared to western Europe, with one 17th century visitor to the Kongo kingdom remarking that _"the government was held by the women and the man is at her side only to help her"_. In many of the central African kingdoms, women could be heads of elite lineages, participate directly in political life, and occasionally served in positions of independent political authority. And in the early 20th century, many speakers of the Kongo language claimed to be members of matrilineal clans known as ‘Kanda’. Its not difficult to see why a number of scholars would assume that Kongo may have originally been a matrilineal —or even matriarchal— society, that over time became male dominated. And how this matrilineal African society seems to vindicate the colonial-era theories of social evolution in which “less complex” matriarchal societies grow into “more complex” patriarchal states. As is often the case with most social histories of Africa however, the contribution of women to Kongo’s history was far from this simplistic colonial imaginary. * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more on African history and keep this blog free for all:** ( * * * Scholars have often approached the concept of matriliny in central Africa from an athropological rather than historical perspective. Focusing on how societies are presently structured rather than how these structures changed through time. One such prominent scholar of west-central Africa, Jan Vansina, observed that matrilineal groups were rare among the foragers of south-west Angola but common among the neighboring agro-pastoralists, indicating an influence of the latter on the former. Vansina postulated that as the agro-pastoral economy became more established in the late 1st millennium, the items and tools associated with it became highly valued property —a means to accumulate wealth and pass it on through inheritance. Matrilineal groups were then formed in response to the increased importance of goods, claims, and statuses, and hence of their inheritance or succession. As leadership and sucession were formalised, social alliances based on claims to common clanship, and stratified social groups of different status were created.( According to Vansina, only descent through the mother’s line was used to establish corporate lineages headed by the oldest man of the group, but that wives lived patrilocally (ie: in their husband's residence). He argues that the sheer diversity of kinship systems in the region indicates that matriliny may have developed in different centers along other systems. For example among the Ambundu, the Kongo and the Tio —whose populations dominated the old kingdoms of the region— matrilineages competed with bilateral descent groups. This diverse framework, he suggests, was constantly remodeled by changes in demographics and political development.( Yet despite their apparent ubiquity, matrilineal societies were not the majority of societies in the so-called matrilineal belt. Studies by other scholars looking at societies in the Lower Congo basin show that most of them are basically bilateral; they are never unequivocally patrilineal or matrilineal and may “oscillate” between the two.( More recent studies by other specialists such as Wyatt MacGaffey, argue that there were never really any matrilineal or patrilineal societies in the region, but there were instead several complex and overlapping forms of social organization (regarding inheritance and residency) that were consistently changed depending on what seemed advantageous to a give social group.( Moving past contemporary debates on the existance of Matriliny, most scholars agree that the kinship systems in the so-called matrilineal belt was a product of a long and complex history. Focusing on the lower congo river basin, systems of mobilizing people often relied on fictive kinship or non-kinship organizations. In the Kongo kingdom, these groups first appear in internal documents of the 16th-17th century as political factions associated with powerful figures, and they expanded not just through kinship but also by clientage and other dependents. In this period, political loyalty took precedence over kinship in the emerging factions, thus leading to situations where rivaling groups could include people closely related by descent.( Kongo's social organization at the turn of the 16th-17th century did not include any known matrilineal descent groups, and that the word _**'kanda**_' —which first appears in the late 19th/early 20th century, is a generic word for any group or category of people or things( . The longstanding illusion that _**'kanda'**_ solely meant matrilineage was based on the linguistic error of supposing that, because in the 20th century the word kanda could mean “matriclan” its occurrence in early Kongo was evidence of matrilineal descent.( In documents written by Kongo elites, the various political and social groupings were rendered in Portuguese as _**geracao**_, signifying ‘lineage’ or ‘clan’ as early as 1550. But the context in which it was used, shows that it wasn’t simply an umbrella term but a social grouping that was associated with a powerful person, and which could be a rival of another group despite both containing closely related persons.( In Kongo, kinship was re-organized to accommodate centralized authority and offices of administration were often elective or appointive rather than hereditary. Kings were elected by a royal council comprised of provincial nobles, many of whom were themselves appointed by the elected Kings, alongside other officials. The kingdom's centralized political system —where even the King was elected— left a great deal of discretion for the placement of people in positions of power, thus leaving relatively more room for women to hold offices than if sucession to office was purely hereditary. But it also might weaken some women's power when it was determined by their position in kinship systems.( [![detail of the Parma Watercolors; "PW070: Black male and female aristocrats"\ read about these images of Kongo here: "detail of the Parma Watercolors; "PW070: Black male and female aristocrats"\ read about these images of Kongo here: _**Aristocratic women of Kongo, ca. 1663, ( .**_ * * * ( * * * Kongo's elite women could thus access and exercise power through two channels. The first of these is appointment into office by the king to grow their core group of supporters, the second is playing the strategic role of power brokers, mediating disputes between rivalling kanda or rivaling royals. Elite women appear early in Kongo's documented history in the late 15th century when the adoption of Christianity by King Nzinga Joao's court was opposed by some of his wives but openly embraced by others, most notably the Queen Leonor Nzinga a Nlaza. Leonor became an important patron for the nascent Kongo church, and was closely involved in ensuring the sucession of her son Nzinga Afonso to the throne, as well as Afonso's defeat of his rival brother Mpanzu a Nzinga.( Leonor held an important role in Kongo’s politics, not only as a person who controlled wealth through rendas (revenue assignments) held in her own right, but also as a “daughter and mother of a king”, a position that according to a 1530 document such a woman _**“by that custom commands everything in Kongo”**_. Her prominent position in Kongo's politics indicates that she wielded significant political power, and was attimes left in charge of the kingdom while Afonso was campaigning.( Not long after Leonor Nzinga’s demise appeared another prominent woman named dona Caterina, who also bore the title of '_**mwene Lukeni**_' as the head of the royal _**kanda**_/lineage of the Kongo kingdom's founder Lukeni lua Nimi (ca. 1380). This Caterina was related to Afonso's son and sucessor Pedro, who was installed in 1542 but later deposed and arrested by his nephew Garcia in 1545. Unlike Leonor however, Caterina was unsuccessful in mediating the factious rivary between the two kings and their supporters, being detained along with Pedro.( In the suceeding years, kings drawn from different factions of the _lukeni_ lineage continued to rule Kongo until the emergence of another powerful woman named Izabel Lukeni lua Mvemba, managed to get her son Alvaro I (r. 1568-1587) elected to the throne. Alvaro was the son of Izabel and a Kongo nobleman before Izabel later married Alvaro's predecessor, king Henrique, who was at the time still a prince. But after king Henrique died trying to crush a _jaga_ rebellion in the east, Alvaro was installed, but was briefly forced to flee the capital which was invaded by the _jaga_s before a Kongo-Portugal army drove them off. Facing stiff opposition internally, Alvaro relied greatly on his mother; Izabel and his daughter; Leonor Afonso, to placate the rivaling factions. The three thereafter represented the founders of the new royal _**kanda**_/house of _kwilu_, which would rule Kongo until 1624.( Following in the tradition of Kongo's royal women, Leonor Afonso was a patron of the church. But since only men could be involved in clerical capacities, Leonor tried to form an order of nuns in Kongo, following the model of the Carmelite nuns of Spain. She thus sent letters to the prioress of the Carmelites to that end. While the leader of the Carmelite mission in Kongo and other important members of the order did their best to establish the nunnery in Kongo, the attempt was ultimately fruitless. Leonor neverthless remained active in Kongo's Church, funding the construction of churches, and assisting the various missions active in the kingdom. Additionally, the Kongo elite created female lay associations alongside those of men that formed a significant locus of religiosity and social prestige for women in Kongo.( As late as 1648, Leonor continued to play an important role in Kongo's politics, she represented the House of _kwilu_ started by king Alvaro and was thus a bridge, ally or plotter to the many descendants of Alvaro still in Kongo. One visiting missionary described her as _**“a woman**_ _**of very few words, but much judgment and government, and because of her sage experience and prudent counsel the king Garcia and his predecessor Alvaro always venerate and greatly esteem her and consult her for the best outcome of affairs"**_. This was despite both kings being drawn from a different lineage, as more factions had appeared in the intervening period.( * * * * * * The early 17th century was one of the best documented periods in Kongo's history, and in highlighting the role of women in the kingdom's politics and society. Alvaro's sucessors, especially Alvaro II and III, appointed women in positions of administration and relied on them as brokers between the various factions. When Alvaro III died without an heir, a different faction managed to get their candidate elected as King Pedro II (1622-1624). Active at Pedro's royal council were a number of powerful women who also included women of the _Kwilu_ house such as Leonor Afonso, and Alvaro II's wife Escolastica. Both of them played an important role in mediating the transition from Alvaro III and Pedro II, at a critical time when Portugual invaded Kongo but was defeated at Mbanda Kasi.( Besides these was Pedro II's wife Luiza, who was now a daughter and mother of a King upon the election of her son Garcia I to suceed the short-lived Pedro. However, Garcia I fell out of favour with the other royal women of the coucil (presumably Leonor and Escolastica), who were evidently now weary of the compromise of electing Pedro that had effectively removed the house of Kwilu from power. The royal women, who were known as “the matrons”, sat on the royal council and participated in decision making. They thus used the forces of an official appointed by Alvaro III, to depose Garcia I and install the former's nephew Ambrosio as king of Kongo.( However, the _kwilu_ restoration was short-lived as kings from new houses suceeded them, These included Alvaro V of the _'kimpanzu'_ house, who was then deposed by another house; the ‘_kinlaza’_, represented by kings Alvaro VI (r. 1636-1641) and Garcia II (r. 1641-1661) . Yet throughout this period, the royal women retained a prominent position on Kongo's coucil, with Leonor in particular continuing to appear in Garcia II's court. Besides Leonor Afonso was Garcia II's sister Isabel who was an important patron of Kongo's church and funded the construction of a number of mission churches. Another was a second Leonor da Silva who was the sister of the count of Soyo (a rebellious province in the north), and was involved in an attempt to depose Garcia II.( In some cases, women ruled provinces in Kongo during the 17th century and possessed armies which they directed. The province of Mpemba Kasi, just north of the capital, was ruled by a woman with the title of _'mother of the King of Kongo'_, while the province of Nsundi was jointly ruled by a duchess named Dona Lucia and her husband Pedro, the latter of whom at one point directed her armies against her husband due to his infidelity. According to a visiting priest in 1664, the power exercised by women wasn't just symbolic, _**"the government was held by the women and the man is at her side only to help her"**_. However, the conflict between Garcia II and the count of Soyo which led to the arrest of the two Leonors in 1652 and undermined their role as mediators, was part of the internal processes which eventually weakened the kingdom that descended into civil war after 1665.( In the post-civil war period, women assumed a more direct role in Kongo's politics as kingmakers and as rulers of semi-autonomous provinces. After the capital was abandoned, effective power lay in regional capitals such as Mbanza Nkondo which was controlled by Ana Afonso de Leao, and Luvota which was controlled by Suzanna de Nobrega. The former was the sister of Garcia II and head of his royal house of _kinlaza_, while the latter was head of the _kimpanzu_ house, both of these houses would produce the majority of Kongo's kings during their lifetimes, and continuing until 1914. Both women exercised executive power in their respective realms, they were recognized as independent authorities during negotiations to end the civil war, and their kinsmen were appointed into important offices.( _**Map of Kongo around 1700.**_ The significance of Kongo's women in the church increased in the late 17th to early 18th century. Queen Ana had a reputation for piety, and even obtained the right to wear the habit of a Capuchin monk, and an unamed Queen who suceeded Suzanna at Luvota was also noted for her devotion. It was in this context that the religious movement led by a ( , which ultimately led to the restoration of the kingdom in 1709. Her movement further "indigenized" the Kongo church and elevated the role of women in Kongo's society much like the royal women had been doing. ( For the rest of the 18th century, many women dominated the political landscape of Kongo. Some of them, such as Violante Mwene Samba Nlaza, ruled as Queen regnant of the 'kingdom' of Wadu. The latter was one of the four provinces of Kongo but its ruler, Queen Violante, was virtually autonomous. She appointed dukes, commanded armies which in 1764 attempted to install a favorable king on Kongo's throne and in 1765 invaded Portuguese Angola. Violante was later suceeded as Queen of Wadu by Brites Afonso da Silva, another royal woman who continued the line of women sovereigns in the kingdom.( Women in Kongo continued to appear in positions of power during the 19th century, albeit less directly involved in the kingdom's politics as consorts of powerful merchants, but many of them were prominent traders in their own right( . Excavations of burials from sites like Kindoki indicate that close social groups of elites were interred in the same cemetery complex alongside rich grave goods as well as Christian insignia of royalty. Among these elites were women who were likely consorts or matriarchs of the male relatives buried alongside them. The presence of initiatory items of _kimpasi_ society as well as long distance trade goods next to the women indicates their relatively high status.( It’s during this period that the matrilineal ‘kandas’ first emerged near the coastal regions, and were most likely associated with the commercial revolutions of the period as well as contests of legitimacy and land rights in the early colonial era.( The social histories of these clans were then synthesized in traditional accounts of the kingdom’s history at the turn of the 20th century, and uncritically reused by later scholars as accurate reconstructions of Kongo’s early history. While a few of the clans were descended from the old royal houses (which were infact patrilineal), the majority of the modern clans were relatively recent inventions.( _**17th century illustration of Kongo titled “( **_, showing a woman with a gourd of palm wine. During the later centuries, women dominated the domestic trade in palm wine especially along important carravan routes in the kingdom.( * * * ( * * * The above overview of women in Kongo's history shows that elite women were deeply and decisively involved in the political and social organization of the Kongo kingdom. In a phenomenon that is quite exceptional for the era, the political careers of several women can be readily identified; ranging from shadowy but powerful figures in the early period, to independent authorities during the later period. This outline also reveals that the organization of social relationships in Kongo were significantly influenced by the kingdom's political history. The kingdom’s loose political factions and social groups which; could be headed by powerful women or men; could be created upon the ascension of a new king; and didn't necessary contain close relatives, fail to meet the criteria of a historically 'matrilineal society'. Ultimately, the various contributions of women to Kongo's history were the accomplishments of individual actors working against the limitations of male-dominated political and religious spaces to create one of Africa’s most powerful kingdoms. * * * The ancient libraries of Africa contain many scientific manuscripts written by African scholars. **Among the most significant collections of Africa’s scientific literature are medical manuscripts written by west African physicians** between the 15th and 19th century. **Read more about them here:** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( How Societies Are Born by Jan Vansina pg 92-95, 99 ( How Societies Are Born by Jan Vansina pg 88-97) ( The Kongo Kingdom: The Origins, Dynamics and Cosmopolitan Culture of an African Polity by Koen Bostoen, Inge Brinkman pg 50) ( Changing Representations in Central African History by Wyatt Macgaffey pg 197-201) ( Elite women in the kingdom of Kongo by J.K.Thornton pg 440) ( Changing Representations in Central African History by Wyatt Macgaffey pg 200 ( The Kongo Kingdom: The Origins, Dynamics and Cosmopolitan Culture of an African Polity by Koen Bostoen, Inge Brinkman pg 50, A note on Vansina’s invention of matrilinearity by Wyatt Macgaffey pg 270-271 ( Elite women in the kingdom of Kongo by J.K.Thornton pg 439-440 ( Elite women in the kingdom of Kongo by J.K.Thornton pg pg 439) ( Elite women in the kingdom of Kongo by J.K.Thornton pg 442-443) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 40 ( Elite women in the kingdom of Kongo by J.K.Thornton pg 444-445) ( Elite women in the kingdom of Kongo by J.K.Thornton pg 446) ( A Kongo Princess, the Kongo Ambassadors and the Papacy by Richard Gray, Elite women in the kingdom of Kongo by J.K.Thornton pg 447, The Kongo Kingdom: The Origins, Dynamics and Cosmopolitan Culture of an African Polity by Koen Bostoen, Inge Brinkman pg 155-156) ( Elite women in the kingdom of Kongo by J.K.Thornton pg 452-453) ( Elite women in the kingdom of Kongo by J.K.Thornton pg 449) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 148-149 ( Elite women in the kingdom of Kongo by J.K.Thornton pg 452-453) ( Elite women in the kingdom of Kongo by J.K.Thornton pg 454) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 24-39, Elite women in the kingdom of Kongo by J.K.Thornton pg 455-456 ( Elite women in the kingdom of Kongo by J.K.Thornton pg 457, The Kongo Kingdom: The Origins, Dynamics and Cosmopolitan Culture of an African Polity by Koen Bostoen, Inge Brinkman pg 153) ( Elite women in the kingdom of Kongo by J.K.Thornton pg 459-460) ( Kongo in the age of empire by Jelmer Vos pg 47, 53 ( The Kongo Kingdom: The Origins, Dynamics and Cosmopolitan Culture of an African Polity by Koen Bostoen, Inge Brinkman pg 157-158) ( A note on Vansina’s invention of matrilinearity by Wyatt Macgaffey pg 279, Kongo Political Culture: The Conceptual Challenge of the Particular By Wyatt MacGaffey pg 62-63 ( Origins and early history of Kongo by J. K Thornton. pg 93-98. ( Kongo in the age of empire by Jelmer Vos pg 43, 53.

### A History of Women's Political Power and Matriliny in the Kingdom of Kongo 1. **Introduction to Matriliny** - In the 19th century, anthropologists studied matrilineal descent, a system where kinship is traced through the female line. - Matriliny was often mistaken for matriarchy, suggesting an evolutionary social hierarchy favoring female leadership before transitioning to male dominance. 2. **Central Africa's Matrilineal Context** - Scholars identified a "matrilineal belt" across central Africa, from the D.R. Congo to Mozambique, suggesting a distinct cultural pattern. - The relative status of women in these societies was often perceived as higher than in western Europe. A 17th-century observer noted that women held significant power in the Kongo kingdom. 3. **Women's Roles in Kongo Society** - Women in central African kingdoms could become heads of elite lineages, participate in political life, and hold positions of authority. - Early 20th-century Kongo speakers claimed membership in matrilineal clans called ‘Kanda’, leading to assumptions about Kongo's original societal structure. 4. **Anthropological and Historical Perspectives** - Scholars like Jan Vansina viewed matrilineal systems anthropologically, analyzing present-day structures instead of their historical evolution. - Vansina noted matrilineal groups were rare among foragers but common among agro-pastoralists, linking the establishment of matrilineages to the rise of a wealth-based economy. 5. **Complex Kinship Systems** - Kongo's social organization at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries lacked clear matrilineal groups; kinship was restructured to accommodate centralized authority. - Political factions based on loyalty emerged, often overlapping with kinship ties, indicating a fluid social organization rather than a rigid matrilineal system. 6. **Women in Political Power** - Elite women accessed political power through appointments by kings or by mediating between rival factions. - Historical figures such as Queen Leonor Nzinga played pivotal roles in political and religious changes in Kongo, influencing succession and church patronage. 7. **Prominence of Women in Governance** - During the 17th century, women like Leonor Afonso continued to play significant roles in Kongo's governance, appearing in royal councils and mediating transitions of power. - Women ruled provinces and commanded their own armies, demonstrating that their authority was not merely symbolic. 8. **Post-Civil War Period** - Following internal strife, women took on more direct political roles, ruling provinces and exercising executive power. - Figures such as Ana Afonso de Leao and Suzanna de Nobrega emerged as independent authorities, and their influence persisted into the 18th century. 9. **Continued Female Influence** - In the late 17th to early 18th centuries, women maintained significant roles in the church and governance, helping to restore the kingdom. - Women like Violante Mwene Samba Nlaza ruled semi-autonomous provinces and commanded armies, asserting political agency. 10. **19th Century Dynamics** - By the 19th century, while fewer women directly participated in politics, many became influential merchants, and women’s social status was still prominent. - Matrilineal clans, or ‘kandas’, emerged, likely tied to the economic transformations and land rights disputes of the early colonial period. 11. **Conclusion** - The history of Kongo reveals that women were deeply involved in its political and social organization. - Rather than conforming to a purely matrilineal framework, the complex kinship and political systems of Kongo allowed elite women to navigate and influence the male-dominated political landscape, shaping one of Africa's powerful kingdoms. - The legacy of women’s contributions in Kongo reflects a nuanced understanding of gender roles in African history, challenging simplistic narratives of matrilineality and patriarchy.

a brief note on Africa's Scientific Manuscripts

plus; the history of Medicine in Africa.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on Africa's Scientific Manuscripts =============================================== ### plus; the history of Medicine in Africa. ( Sep 30, 2023 20 Among the oldest manuscripts and inscriptions written by Africans are documents relating to the study of science. The writing and application of scientific knowledge on the continent begun soon after the emergence of complex societies across the continent, from the ancient kingdoms of the middle Nile and the Ethiopian highlands, to the west African empires and East African city-states of the middle ages. The continent is home to what is arguably the world's oldest astronomical observatory at the ancient Nubian capital of Meroe —the first building of its kind exclusively dedicated to the study of the cosmos. ( _( _ ( inorder to time events and predict meteorological phenomena. Their observatory complex was complete with inscriptions of astronomical equations and illustrations of people handling astronomical equipment. Besides this fascinating piece of ancient technology, many of the continent's societies were home to intellectual communities whose scholars wrote on a broad range of scientific topics. From the Mathematical manuscripts of the 18th century scholar Muhammad al-Kishnawi, to the Geographical manuscripts of the 19th century polymath Dan Tafa, to the Astronomical manuscripts found in various private libraries across the cities of Timbuktu, Jenne, and Lamu. The history of science in Africa was shaped by the ( , as ideas spread between different regions and external knowledge was adopted and improved upon in local contexts. This interplay between innovation and invention is best exemplified in the development of medical science in Africa. **The history of medical writing in Africa encompasses the interaction of multiple streams of therapeutic tradition**, these include 'classical' medicine based on the humoral theory, 'theological' medicine based on religious precedent, and the pre-existing medical traditions of the different African societies. West Africa has for long been home to some of the continent's most vibrant intellectual traditions, and was considered part of the Islamic world which is credited with many of the world's most profound scientific innovations. The well established and highly organized regional and external commercial links which linked the different ecological zones of the region, encouraged the creation of highly complex societies, but also brought the diseases associated with nucleated settlements and external contacts. West African societies responded to these health challenges in a variety of ways, utilizing their knowledge of _materia medica_ and pharmacopeia to treat and prevent various diseases which affected their populations. Many of these treatments were procured locally, but others were acquired through trade between regional markets and across the Sahara.

### A Brief Note on Africa's Scientific Manuscripts and the History of Medicine in Africa #### 1. Introduction to African Scientific Manuscripts - **Historical Context**: The documentation of scientific knowledge in Africa dates back to the emergence of complex societies. This period includes the ancient kingdoms along the Nile, the Ethiopian highlands, and various West African empires as well as East African city-states during the Middle Ages. - **Significant Discoveries**: Africa boasts one of the world’s oldest astronomical observatories located at the ancient Nubian capital of Meroe. This site was specifically designed for celestial studies and featured inscriptions of astronomical equations, indicating a sophisticated understanding of the cosmos. #### 2. Intellectual Contributions - **Diverse Manuscripts**: Various scholars contributed to scientific knowledge through manuscripts. Key figures include: - **Muhammad al-Kishnawi (18th century)**: Known for mathematical manuscripts that reflect advanced knowledge of mathematics. - **Dan Tafa (19th century)**: A polymath who produced geographical manuscripts that enriched the understanding of the African landscape and its peoples. - **Timbuktu, Jenne, and Lamu Libraries**: These locations housed astronomical manuscripts that illustrate a rich tradition of scientific inquiry. #### 3. Interplay of Knowledge - **Cultural Exchange**: The history of science in Africa showcases the interaction between indigenous knowledge systems and external ideas. This exchange fostered innovation and local adaptations. - **Medical Science Development**: The evolution of medical science in Africa is a prime example of this innovative interplay. #### 4. The History of Medicine in Africa - **Therapeutic Traditions**: The development of medical writing reflects a mixture of different therapeutic approaches: - **Classical Medicine**: Based on humoral theory, it incorporated Greek and Roman medical principles. - **Theological Medicine**: Rooted in religious traditions, emphasizing spiritual healing. - **Indigenous Medical Practices**: Included traditional healing methods based on local knowledge and practices. #### 5. West Africa’s Role - **Intellectual Hub**: West Africa has historically been recognized as a center of intellectual activity and was integrated into the broader Islamic world, renowned for significant scientific advancements. - **Trade and Health**: Established trading networks facilitated the exchange of goods and knowledge, influencing societal complexity. However, these interactions also introduced various diseases. #### 6. Local Health Responses - **Utilization of Local Resources**: West African societies employed their knowledge of _materia medica_ and pharmacopeia to develop treatments for local diseases. - **Acquired Treatments**: Medical practices were supplemented by treatments sourced through trade across regional markets and the Sahara, illustrating a dynamic health response to emerging challenges. #### Conclusion The rich history of scientific manuscripts and the evolution of medical practices in Africa reveal a complex tapestry of knowledge, innovation, and cultural exchange that has significantly shaped the continent’s intellectual heritage.

How Africans wrote their own history: Debates and dialogues between four west African historians in the 16th and 19th century.

Facts, myths and royal propaganda.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers How Africans wrote their own history: Debates and dialogues between four west African historians in the 16th and 19th century. ============================================================================================================================== ### Facts, myths and royal propaganda. ( Sep 24, 2023 22 The nineteenth-century in West Africa was a time of revolution and intellectual renaissance. A political movement that had begun a century before in the region of modern Senegal fanned out along the banks of the Niger river to the shores of lake Chad, overthrowing old governments and replacing them with clerical authorities of high intellectual caliber. The movement expanded rapidly east into the region of northern Nigeria, conquering the pre-existing kingdoms and subsuming them under the empire of Sokoto in 1804. But the newly formed Sokoto empire soon met its match further east when its advance was halted by the old empire of Bornu on the shores of lake Chad. Having failed to expand east, a splinter movement advanced west into central Mali, it quickly overwhelmed the divided aristocracies of the region and subsumed them under the empire of Massina in 1818. Having run out of new lands to conquer, the three empires of Massina, Sokoto and Bornu became embroiled in an ideological conflict; one that produced some of Africa's most remarkable accounts of written history. _**Map showing the empires of Massina, Sokoto and Bornu in the 19th century.**_ * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more on African history and keep this blog free for all:** ( * * * The Massina empire was founded by Ahmad Lobbo, a charismatic leader who rose from relative obscurity in the intellectual community of Jenne, an ancient city in Mali. Extending from Jenne to the old city of Timbuktu, the Massina state was one of the largest empires in West Africa since the collapse of Songhai in 1591, and its establishment reversed the political fragmentation of the preceding centuries. ( was led by a parliament known as the 'Great council', which consisted of about a hundred scholar-administrators who assisted Ahmad Lobbo. The most prominent figure on the 'Great council' was Nuh al-Tahir, a prolific man of letters who is one of Africa's most influencial historians. The year is 1838 in the walled city of Hamdullahi, capital of the Massina Empire in central Mali. One of the city's founding residents and administrators is writing a short text whose opening paragraph reads _**"This is the chronicle of the needful one, Nuh ibn al-Tahir ibn Musa”**_ Once he was finished writing it, he gave it the title _'Tarikh al-Fattash'_ (_The chronicle of the inquisitive researcher_). As a scholar, Nuh al-Tahir was a prominent figure who is credited as a teacher of several important scholars in the intellectual communities of Jenne and Hamdullahi. Among his students was a particulary excellent scholar named Uthman dan Fodio who'd later became the founder of the Sokoto Empire in what is now nothern Nigeria. Nuh al-Tahir specialized in history and grammar, the latter of which earned him the honorific title 'master of literacy'. As an administrator, Nuh al-Tahir was a top member of Massina's 'Great council' for much of its early history. The Great council of a hundred scholars was divided into two houses, the more powerful of which comprised about forty permanent members and was in turn led by two councilors of whom Nuh al-Tahir was one. His office at the head of Massina's government placed him in charge of mediating disputes between the council and the military, electing provincial governors for the empire's various districts, and leading the school system of Hamdullahi. Nuh al-Tahir's position made him one of the foremost scholar-administrators in revolutionary West Africa, and incidentally, the unofficial spokesperson of the Massina Empire and its ruler Amhad Lobbo. Nuh al-Tahir’s partisan career is echoed throughout his extant writings, including the '_Tarikh al-Fattash_'. Initially, Nuh al-Tahir wrote the _Tarikh al-Fattash_ as a ( focusing on the life of the Songhai emperor Askiya Muhammad who reigned from 1493 to 1528. First, he presents the Askiya as a 'Caliph' —a powerful title only claimed by rulers of the largest Muslim empires in history who styled themselves as the political and religious sucessors of the prophet. He then writes about the prominent Muslim figures of the 16th century who recognized the Askiya as a caliph while he was on pilgrimage to mecca. In the semi-fictional account that follows, Nuh al-Tahir describes many prophetic and miraculous events that the Askiya witnessed on his pilgrimage journey through Mamluk Egypt and Mecca. The most significant of these prophetic encounters was one which the Askiya had with the sixteenth century Egyptian scholar Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti. According to the chronicle, Al-Suyuti is said to have told Askiya Muhammad that one of the latter's distant descendants named ‘Ahmad of Massina’ will inherit the title of Caliph. Evidently, this inexplicably prophesied figure of 'Ahmad of Massina' was none other than Nuh al-Tahir's patron, Amhad Lobbo. According to Nuh al-Tahir's short chronicle, all events surrounding Askiya Muhammad's pilgrimage and reign shared one thing in common; that the Askiya was the eleventh Caliph in the list of Muslim emperors who suceeded the prophet Muhammad, and that there would be a twelfth caliph named ‘Ahmad of Massina’ who will come after him. Nuh al-Tahir would then greatly expand the chronicle, to provide more context of the political and social life in Songhai during Askiya's reign. Fortunately for his bold project, the vibrant intellectual community of Songhai had produced several remarkable scholars who composed detailed chronicles about its history. After Songhai's fall to forces from the Saadi dynasty of Morocco in 1591, the deposed Songhai emperors who retained the title of Askiya, established themselves in Dendi in what is now northern Benin. The Askiyas then begun a decades-long reconquest of Songhai territories, pushing the Moroccans out of many provinces and confining them to the large cities such as Jenne and Timbuktu. After losing thousands of men but failing to pacify the fallen empire's provinces, the Moroccans pulled out of the region, abandoning the remaining soldiers to their fate. These remaining soldiers were known as the Arma, and they began a long series of peaceful negotiations with the Askiyas in Dendi that were mediated by Songhai's scholary families. Among these peace-making Songhai scholars living in the seventeenth century was one named Ibn al-Mukhtar, who was based in Dendi, and another named Al-Sa'di who was based in Jenne. ( . Al-Sa'di completed his chronicle on Songhai's history in 1656 while Ibn al-Mukhtar finished his in 1664, the two documents were original compositions which relied on different sources to reconstruct a similar story. Al-Sa'di's chronicle was widely circulated in nineteenth century West Africa and survived in complete form with its title as _Tarikh al-Sudan_ (_The chronicle on West Africa_). On the other hand Ibn al-Mukhtar's chronicle wasn't widely circulated, it only survived in a fragmentary form that had no title. _**Copies of the ( of Al-Sa’adi, and the untitled ( , both at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. images from the met museum**_. Nuh al-Tahir utilized information from the two seventeenth century chronicles to reconstruct the history of Songhai, which he then embellished with his own semi-fictional account about Askiya Muhammad. One particular historical figure he focused on was Mahmud Ka‘ti, a sixteenth century scholar who was close to the Askiya Muhammad, and who also happened to be the grandfather of Ibn al-Mukhtar. Then, taking advantage of Ibn al-Mukhtar's untitled chronicle, Nuh al-Tahir gave his own chronicle the title Tarikh al-Fattash and intentionally misattributed its authorship to Mahmud Ka‘ti. The final version of the Tarikh al-Fattash chronicle was a very lengthy document, covering over a hundred leaves. Nuh al-Tahir therefore wrote a short summary of the chronicle for wider circulation which he titled _'Letter on the Appearance of the Twelfth Caliph'_ (or _'Risala'_). This summary document outlined the main claims contained in the Tarikh al-Fattash which it attributed not to Nuh al-Tahir, but to the sixteenth century scholar Mahmud Ka‘ti. The original short chronicle which Nuh al-Tahir wrote with his name in the title was hidden away in his personal library, while the _'Risala'_ was circulated widely circulated throughout West Africa and North Africa. This ingenious process of textural manipulation has long eluded modern researchers who worked on the _Tarikh al-Fattash_, but has since been meticulously uncovered by the historian ( . Folios from a copy of Nuh al-Tahir’s _**Tarikh al-Fattash**_ (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images). * * * ( * * * In the study of Africa's past, modern historians bewailed the paucity of internal accounts written by Africans, and they were often forced to rely on biased and inadequate external sources written by non-Africans who were unfamiliar with the internal dynamics of the continent. But the recent discovery of countless African manuscripts from thousands of archives and private libraries across the continent has created an invaluable wealth of information on Africa's past. The cities of Timbuktu and Jenne are among the dozens of intellectual capitals across the continent whose corpus of old manuscripts have been catalogued and digitized by several institutions over the last few decades. However, as scholars rushed to translate these precious documents and mine them for hard evidence on Africa’s past, they soon discovered another challenge —Africa's internal sources contained their own unique biases and perspectives. The existence of biases in primary sources isn't unique to African history, it is a ( by all societies across the world. Writers of history in many regions of the world since antiquity, were cognizant of their own biases and a few of them strived to appear non-partisan in their works. As such, part of the work done by modern historians and philologists is to critically examine historical works for such biases inorder to reconstruct a more objective account of history. What makes the internal biases in African accounts relatively unique was that since African documents had only recently been discovered, the process of translating and analyzing them to resolve the biases is still in its early stages. Such was the case with the _Tarikh al-Fattash_, which contains a contested account about the life of a historical personality that was hotly debated by West African intellectuals of the nineteenth century. In debating the accuracy of the _Tarikh al-Fattash_'s interpretation of Songhai's history, Nuh al-Tahir's fiercest critic was Dan Tafa, a scholar from the Sokoto Empire in what is now northern Nigeria. Dan Tafa, who is formally known as Abd al-Qādir al-Turūdī, was a prolific intellectual who ranks among Africa's polymaths. His literary production includes over seventy two extant books covering a broad range of subjects from ( . Unlike Nuh al-Tahir who was an administrator, Dan Tafa didn't serve in the Sokoto government and he briefly alludes to this lack of a government office his 1855 philosophical apologia titled _'Covenants and Treaties'_. While Dan Tafa wasn't an administrator, he was in all respects Nuh al-Tahir's intellectual peer when it came to being an accomplished scholar. Dan Tafa was the most prominent member of Sokoto's intellectual community, he run an important school, and was the unofficial advisor of several provincial governors in Sokoto. Dan Tafa's reputation proceeded him, such that by the time the German explorer Heinrich Barth visited Sokoto in 1853, Dan Tafa was considered by his peers and by Barth as _**"the most learned of the present generations of the inhabitants of Sokoto… The man was Abde Kader dan Tafa, on whose stores of knowledge I drew eagerly"**_. In short, Dan Tafa wasn't the type of person to easily give into Nuh al-Tahir's craftily written claims. _**Map of Sokoto by Paul E. Lovejoy**_ Dan Tafa had received a copy of the _'Risala'_ in 1842, after a series of diplomatic exchanges between Ahmad Lobbo and the rulers of the Sokoto Empire. The political history of Massina and Sokoto were closely intertwined. Early in his career, Ahmad Lobbo had accepted the nominal suzeranity of Sokoto's founder Uthman dan Fodio, but Ahmad Lobbo later decided to create the Massina state by his own effort. In Massina, Ahmad Lobbo's authority rested on a complex network of political and religious claims that didn't require any connection with the more respected founder of Sokoto. After Uthman's death in 1817, there was a brief sucession crisis in Sokoto that pitted Uthman’s brother Abdullahi dan Fodio against his son Muhammad Bello. Eventually, Muhammad Bello suceeded his father and forced his uncle, Abdullahi, to submit after a series of negotiations between the two. ( but didn’t intervene. So when Bello challenged Ahmad Lobbo's authority in a series of letters that demanded he resubmits to Sokoto, the latter argued that Bello’s sucession crisis had rendered Massina independent of Sokoto. After failed attempts to foment rebellions in Massina and a heated exchange of letters, Bello eventually reached a settlement with Ahmad Lobbo and withdrew his claims. Bello was suceeded by AbuBakr Atiku in 1838 after a brief interregnum during which AbuBakr Atiku's brother, named Muhammad al-Bakhari, had initially been elected by Sokoto's state council before he was later deposed. This Muhammad al-Bakhari also happened to be a friend of Ahmad Lobbo. Exploiting the brief unrest, Lobbo requested that the Sokoto elite recognize him as the leader of both Massina and Sokoto, sending two written requests to that end between the years 1838 and 1841. Understandably, the Sokoto elite rejected Lobbo's overtures in writing, and it was on the second occasion in particular that Dan Tafa explicitly cuts into the heart of Lobbo's legitimacy by critiquing the Tarikh al-Fattash and its author, Nuh al-Tahir. Addressing Nuh al-Tahir directly, Dan Tafa writes that _**"We read what you wrote in it concerning the issue of the twelve caliphs mentioned in the hadith and that you claim al-Shaykh Ahmad Lobbo is the twelfth of them according to what is written in the Tarikh al-Fattash".**_ Dan Tafa then proceeds to provide a point-by-point refutation of Nuh al-Tahir's in a treatise he titled _‘Abd al-Qādir al-Turūdī's response to Nuh al-Tahir'_. Using the works of many respected Islamic scholars, Dan Tafa flatly rejects the claim that Ahmad Lobbo was the last of the twelve prophesied caliphs. More importantly, Dan Tafa denies any connection between Askiya Muhammad and Ahmad Lobbo, writing that even if the title of Caliph was bestowed onto the Askiya, _**"Where did you get the idea that what applied to him could apply to someone else?"**_. Dan Tafa's sharp critique of the _Tarikh-al Fattash_ shows that while Nuh al-Tahir's chronicle was intended to equip Ahmad Lobbo with unassailable legitimacy as a Caliph based on the prophecy about Askiya Muhammad purportedly recorded by Mahmud Ka‘ti, it was roundly rejected in Sokoto. However, the chronicle was well received within Massina itself and in other parts of West Africa, and most of its claims were accepted. The _Tarikh al-Fattash_ was therefore as much a work of historical literature as it was a partisan text intended by its author to advance the political agenda of his royal patron. It’s thus very similar to its predecessors such as al-Sa'di's Tarikh al-Sudan whose political objective was to reconcile the Askiya and Arma elites. **The** _**Tarikh al-Fattash**_ **shows that West African chronicles were not mere agglutinative repositories of information waiting to be mined by modern researchers for hard facts, but were instead products of complex intellectual traditions that were heavily influenced by their authors' social and political context.** The chronicles contain carefully crafted discourses interweaving past realities with contemporary concerns, and were products of a dynamic scholary culture where concepts of power and legitimacy were imposed, engaged and contested. Approaching them from this perspective allows us to construct a more comprehensive picture of African history as presented in the chronicles, not just as a series of events, but as the author's interpretation of the events. * * * ( * * * Some years before his critique of Nuh al-Tahir's interpretation of Songhai's history, Dan Tafa had in 1824 completed a work on the history titled ( _( _( _(The Sweet Meadows of Contemplation)_. This text contains a general history of West Africa, but was especially focused on the Hausaland -a region in nothern Nigeria dominated by Hausa speakers whose kingdoms were subsumed by Sokoto when the empire was founded in 1808. Dan Tafa opens with the explanation for his writing the chronicle that: _**"I decided then to collect together here some of the historical narratives of these lands of the Sudan in general and the lands of the Hausa in particular"**_. He then adds that _**"the science of historiography serves to sharpen one's intellect and awaken in some the resolution to conduct historical research"**_. To compile his account on the kingdoms of the Hausa before Sokoto, Dan Tafa utilized pre-existing accounts, both oral and written, which included semi-legendary tales of immigrant kings who founded the Hausa states. According to Dan Tafa, the immigrant founders of the Hausa states were sons of an obscure figure named Bawu, about whom he says was a slave official appointed by the ruler of Bornu. The empire of Bornu was a large state in the Lake Chad basin along the eastern frontier of the Hausalands, and was also the suzerain of most of the Hausa kingdoms. After he provides a brief account of West African history including an account of the Songhai Empire, Dan Tafa then narrows down his focus to the founding of the Hausa states such as the kingdoms of Kano and Gobir. Writing that _**"All of the rulers of these lands** (ie : the Hausalands) **were originally the political captives of the ruler of Bornu"**_ and that they used to pay tribute to Bornu _**"until the establishment of our present government".**_ Curiously, Dan Tafa excludes the kingdom of Gobir from the Hausa dynasties which he claimed were founded by political captives from Bornu. He explains that Gobir's ruler refused to pay tribute to Bornu and remained independent of it, reportedly because his dynasty was of noble origin and had no ties to Bawu. Dan Tafa then narrows down his account to focus on the history of the Gobir kingdom; from its founding until it fell in war with the forces of Uthman dan Fodio in 1804. The decisive defeat of Gobir was the central event in the founding of the Sokoto Empire and a precursor to the fall of the remaining Hausa states. Dan Tafa's interpretation of early Hausa history was evidently partisan, and the reason why had a lot to do with the contemporary political relationship between Bornu and Sokoto. _**Folio from Dan Tafa’s ‘Rawdat al-afkar’, from a private collection in Maiurno, Sudan. Similar copy found here at the ( **_ * * * * * * In the decades prior to Dan Tafa's writing of his chronicle, the old empire of Bornu had concluded several major battles with newly founded Sokoto, after the forces of Uthman dan Fodio attacked it in three failed invasions from 1808 to 1810. To justify its war with Bornu, Sokoto had used the pretext that the former was supporting the deposed Hausa rulers and that its society was polytheistic. While the physical battle had been lost, the ideological battle continued between the rulers of Bornu and Sokoto. In 1812, Uthman's sucessor Muhammad Bello, who was also an accomplished scholar, completed a chronicle on West African history titled __. This lengthy chronicle had a broad geographical scope that included the history of most of West Africa as well as the Hausalands. It was in this chronicle that Bello first advanced the theory that the legendary Hausa founder; Bawu, was a royal slave of Bornu rulers. An assertion that Dan Tafa would later copy. Over in Bornu, the empire's defacto ruler at the time was a highly accomplished scholar named Muhammad al-Kanemi who had gathered a large following prior to his rise in Bornu's government. Al-Kanemi's followers had saved Bornu from Sokoto's attacks in 1809 and 1810, and he later authored several works defending Bornu from the accusations levelled by both Uthman Dan Fodio and Muhammad Bello. Al-Kanemi charged the Sokoto government with the same accusations it had leveled against Bornu, revealing the flaws in the legitimacy of Sokoto's invasion. Al-Kanemi and Bello would then continue to exchange counter-accusations, basing their arguments on the written histories of their states. This ( reinvigorated the ongoing intellectual renaissance in Sokoto, especially regarding the re-discovery and translation of the written history of the region. Among the most notable intellectual products of the ideological war between Bornu and Sokoto was the abovementioned chronicle written by Bello. In his chronicle, Bello mentioned that he received his information on the Hausa kingdoms' origins from a non-Hausa scholar named Muhammad al-Baqiri, the latter of whom was ethnically Songhai —the dominant ethnic group in what is today eastern Mali and after whom the empire of Songhai was named. Muhammad al-Baqiri would later become the ruler of the neighboring sultanate of Asben which lay along the nothern border of Sokoto, just north of where the Gobir kingdom had been located. ( who claimed that Bawu, the legendary Hausa founding figure, was a slave official of Bornu, and that the Gobir kingdom was ruled by a dynasty of noble origin. _**Map showing the Hausa kingdoms, as well as the kingdoms of Gobir and Asben**_ The figure of Bawu was likely a mischaracterized version of the legendary Hausa founder Bajayidda. However, Bajayidda was widely recalled in Hausa traditions to be of noble origin rather than a slave official in Bornu. The suspiciously Gobir-centric elements in both Dan Tafa and Bello’s chronicles may have been current within Gobir itself, since the kingdom had been at war with the other Hausa states before it was defeated by Sokoto. However, the choice made by Muhammad Bello to use this specific interpretation in his chronicle was doubtlessly also informed by contemporary politics. By assuming the mantle of Gobir's noble dynasty after defeating them in battle, and "liberating" the rest of Hausa's supposedly slave dynasties from Bornu's oppression, the ( in the region. Dan Tafa's chronicle was therefore historicizing contemporary political dynamics inorder to legitimize the continued presence of the Sokoto government in Hausaland. Despite Dan Tafa’s sharp critique of Nuh al-Tahir, even he agreed that the interpretation of historical events took precedence over a simple outline of historical ‘facts’. However, Hausa scholars in Sokoto rejected Dan Tafa’s version of their history that was centered on their subservience to Bornu. The Hausa chronicler Malam Bakar, who served as an official in the Sokoto province of Kano during the 1880s, composed a monumental work on ( state known as the _'Kano chronicle'_. In this chronicle, Malam Bakar centered the origins of Kano's founders within Hausaland rather than Bornu, adding that they were all of noble origins and ruled their states independently of any external power. He highlighted the role of the autochtonous groups in Kano's early history, and attributed the Islamic institutions of the Hausa to migrant scholars from the Songhai Empire rather than from Bornu. He also clarified that Kano's tributary relationship with Bornu begun around 1450, which was many centuries after the city-state had been established, adding that it ended around 1550, when Kano's defiant king refused to bow to Bornu's demands. _**Folio from a copy of Malam Barka’s Kano chronicle**_ * * * ( * * * In writing his chronicle, Malam Bakar relied on ( living at the time. These genealogists and praise singers occupied important offices in the Hausa kingdoms and were retained under the Sokoto government. They were tasked with carefully preserving the kingdom’s oral history, often in the form of poetry, which was later transcribed into writing during the Sokoto era. Malam Bakar's chronicle therefore records an account of Kano's history in an unbroken fashion from the Hausa era to the Sokoto era. It treats each ruler of Kano as equally legitimate, even if Kano under Sokoto was only a province governed by an appointed official rather than an independent state ruled by a King as it had been about a half a century prior to the chronicle’s composition. As an active official in the Kano administration, Malam Bakar's reasons for compiling the chronicle were likely ( , since its governor was at the time seeking further autonomy from Sokoto. Bakar's interpretation of early Hausa history therefore strives to represent both the Hausa and Sokoto accounts of Kano's history in equal measure inorder to reconcile the two eras, just like the seventeenth century scholar al-Sa'di had done in reconciling the Askiya dynasty and the Arma. This choice was also likely informed by the fact that unlike Dan Tafa and Nuh al-Tahir who represented the new elite, Malam Bakar was part of the established elite, and was thus more supportive of the deposed rulers than the “revolutionaries”. In Malam Bakar's chronicle, the kingdom of Kano during the pre-Sokoto era is depicted as a defiant upstart ( . Although briefly tributary to Bornu, the chronicle mentions that a king of Kano named Kisoki who reigned from 1509 to 1565, defiantly refused to pay tribute to Bornu. When Bornu's ruler asked him _**"What do you mean by making war"**_ Kisoki replied: _**"I do not know, but the cause of war is the ordinance of Allah."**_ Bornu's army then attacked Kano but failed to take it, thus assenting to Kano's independence. This victory over Bornu allowed Kisoki to take on the boastful title _**"physic of Bornu"**_, and no further king of Kano is mentioned giving tribute to Bornu after Kisoki. _**Kano in the early 20th century, with the inselberg of Dalla in the background.**_ While the above account was carefully preserved in oral traditions at Kano, it was only recorded in the nineteenth century and says little about Bornu's perspective of the same events. Over in Bornu, the empire had nurtured a ( . One of these was the court historian Aḥmad ibn Furṭu who in 1576 wrote a chronicle titled _‘Ghazawāt Barnū’_ _(The Bornu conquests)_, nearly a century before the Songhai chroniclers got to work on theirs. Ibn Furtu's chronicle was one of two monumental works which documented the military campaigns of his patron; the Bornu emperor Mai Idris Alooma who reigned from 1564 to 1596. Idris Alooma, formally known as Idris ibn Ali, was one of Africa’s most accomplished empire builders. His armies campaigned extensively over a vast region extending from the Fezzan region of southern Libya, to the Kawar region of northern Niger to the Kanem region of eastern Chad, to the Mandara region of nothern Cameroon, and to the Hausalands in nothern Nigeria, where they went as far as Kano. Ibn Furtu personally accompanied his patron on several of these campaigns, providing a first-hand account of the relationship between Kano and Bornu from the perspective of the latter. Idris Alooma was undertaking a restoration of Bornu's power over the territories it had lost during a lengthy dynastic conflict, but had been regaining since the reign of his grandfather Mai Ali who reigned from 1497 to 1519. Idris Alooma was by all accounts a shrewd figure, he began his career by blocking the southern advance of the Ottomans in the Fezzan, sending his embassies to the Ottoman capital Istanbul and courting regional powers. Alooma also acquired thousands of ( , and initiated diplomatic contacts with the Saadis of Morocco to form an alliance of convenience against the Ottomans, a few decades before the Saadis would march their forces south against Songhai. Inorder to document Idris Alooma's conquests, Ibn Furtu borrowed themes from the chronicle of Mai Ali's court historian Masfarma Umar titled _‘The conquests of Njimi'_. Ibn Furtu explains the reason for writing his chronicle; that _**“the cause of our engaging in this work at this time, is the perusal of the compilation of Masfarma Umar concerning the epoch of his Sultan”**_. Adding that _**“When we studied that work concerning the war in Njimi describing its battles and phases, we determined to compose a similar work on the age of our Sultan”**_ and that he _**“employed the materials from the past, working on and imitating models of the past”**_. Importantly, Ibn Furtu mentions that _**“We have ceased to doubt that our Sultan al Haj Idris ibn Ali accomplished much more than his grandfather”**_. ( and conquests, and portrayed him as the rightful heir to Mai Ali's legacy in the eyes of Bornu's divided elite. He portrayed Bornu as the cultural and political center of West Africa where all regions, including Kano, were at the periphery. _**Copies of Ibn Furtu’s Ghazawāt Barnū at the ( **_ Ibn Furtu's chronicle says little about Kano's subservience to Bornu but instead describes the former as one of only two neighboring states whose political structure was similar to Bornu's. He describes Kano as a kingdom within which were many walled towns, adding that the forces of Kano utilized these fortified towns to attack Bornu, but would then quickly retreat behind the safety of their walls. He then proceeds to recount the various campaigns that Idris Alooma's armies undertook against Kano and its surrounding walled towns in retaliation for Kano's attacks on Bornu. He concludes the account of Bornu's victorious campaigns over Kano, that _**"the people of Kano became downcast in the present and fearful of the future"**_. Ibn Furtu then moves on to the next campaign without elaborating on the political ramifications of Bornu's victories over Kano besides mentioning that its walled towns were reduced to _**"clouds of dust"**_ save for the fortification of ‘_Dalla_’ (in Kano itself) which remained standing. In Ibn Furtu's chronicle, Kano wasn't included among the vassals of Bornu unlike the other enemies that had been defeated by Alooma's armies, but was instead recognized as an independent state occupying a clearly defined territory. Alooma's campaign against Kano wasn't perceived as a restoration of Bornu's power over Kano but as a response to Kano's aggression. Once Bornu's army had suceeded in destroying the walled towns of Kano, its army marched on victoriously to fight against other foes, many of whom eventually submitted to Bornu, unlike Kano. Despite Furtu having lived closer to the purported date of Kano's founding than both Dan Tafa and Malam Bakar, the Bornu chronicler felt not need to expound on Kano's early history. And while Furtu may have been aware of Kano's earlier tributary relationship that had only ended a few decades prior to the writing of his chronicle, he chose not to include it. Adding the chronicles of Bornu to the corpus of documents on Africa's past reveals yet another aspect in African works of history; some of them say more about the times they were produced than about earlier dynamics. Unlike most of the abovementioned chronicles which were more concerned with the past than with the present inorder to reconcile the former with the latter, Ibn Furtu's chronicle is evidently concerned with contemporary events. Ibn Furtu was pre-occupied with elevating the stature of his patron, the "Caliph" ( , while reducing the latter to a mere 'King'. He was thus less concerned with expounding on the history of Kano, which he considered a periphery state _**"at the borders of Islam"**_, than he was with Bornu which he considered to be the center of the world, and its ruler, to be the only _**"commander of the faithful"**_. Ibn Furtu’s account therefore only includes the victorious actions of Idris Alooma against Kano, and downplays the realities of Kano's autonomy which would have undermined his authorial intentions. And like all chronicles explored above, his document was evidently a partisan account with a clear political objective. The four west African chroniclers; **Nuh al-Tahir, Dan Tafa, Malam Bakar** and **Ibn Furtu,** offer us important insights into how Africans wrote their own history. Their chronicles are revealed to be more than just an archival collection of past events recorded by literate witnesses. ( requires the usual care which scholars are expected to exercise to ensure that the chronicler's political biases and perspectives are considered before the documents can be accurately utilized. **Scholars looking for ‘hard facts’ about early West African history in these chronicles have attimes failed to recognize the authorial biases that had modified narratives and interpretations of the past.** The writing of history is after all, closely associated with the need to legitimize political power, and the imperative need for each community to weave links towards its past. **West African chroniclers were engaged in creative and artful reconstructions of their past. Their works of history were sophisticated products of African intellectuals with precise rhetorical plans and authorial intentions. Approaching them as such allows up to appreciate the complex intellectual pasts and historical engagements of members of the African intelligentsia who have shaped current historiographical overviews of the African past.** _**19th century engraving titled ‘The Interior of the Chief Malem's House’ showing the ruler of the Opanda kingdom (just south of the Zaria kingdom) with his ‘Malems’ (Islamic scholars)**_ * * * Africans have been travelling and exploring the world beyond their continent since antiquity; from the more proximate regions of western Asia and Southern Europe, to the far-off lands of India and China. **Beginning in the 17th century, African travelers crossed the Alps to discover the lands of western Europe.**

# How Africans Wrote Their Own History: West African Historians (16th-19th Century) ## Overview - The 19th century in West Africa marked a significant period of revolution and intellectual revival, characterized by political movements that replaced traditional governments with scholarly clerical authorities. - A notable expansion of empires occurred during this time, particularly with the establishment of the Sokoto Empire (founded in 1804) and the Massina Empire (founded in 1818). ## Key Empires and Historical Context 1. **Sokoto Empire**: - Established in northern Nigeria, asserting dominance over pre-existing kingdoms. - The empire's expansion was halted by the Bornu Empire, located near Lake Chad. 2. **Massina Empire**: - Founded by Ahmad Lobbo around Jenne and Timbuktu, it reversed the political fragmentation of the region following the collapse of the Songhai Empire in 1591. - Massina was governed by a council consisting of scholar-administrators, predominated by Nuh al-Tahir, an influential historian. ## Nuh al-Tahir's Contributions - **Chronicle**: Authored *Tarikh al-Fattash* (The Chronicle of the Inquisitive Researcher) in 1838, focusing on the life of Askiya Muhammad, a major figure from the Songhai Empire. - **Political Agenda**: His writings aimed to legitimize Ahmad Lobbo's authority by linking him to prophetic claims about the caliphate. - **Historical Narrative**: Expanded on the historical context by referencing detailed chronicles from prior scholars, including Al-Sa'di and Ibn al-Mukhtar. ## Other Influential Historians 1. **Dan Tafa (Abd al-Qādir al-Turūdī)**: - A prominent scholar from the Sokoto Empire and a critic of Nuh al-Tahir’s works. - Published a response in 1855 that challenged Nuh al-Tahir's portrayal of Ahmad Lobbo as the twelfth caliph. - Emphasized the need for accurate historical interpretation over mere factual recollection. 2. **Malam Bakar**: - A chronicler of the Kano kingdom, he documented the early history of the Hausa states, asserting their noble origins and independence from external powers. - His narrative aimed to reconcile pre-Sokoto and Sokoto histories, reflecting a complex political landscape. 3. **Muhammad al-Kanemi and Ibn Furtu**: - Muhammad al-Kanemi, a key figure in the Bornu Empire, authored works that defended Bornu against accusations from Sokoto. - Ibn Furtu wrote *Ghazawāt Barnū* (The Bornu Conquests), portraying Bornu as a center of power and diminishing the notion of Kano’s historical autonomy. ## Historiographical Complexity - The chronicles reflect each author's socio-political context, highlighting how history-writing served to assert legitimacy and political claims. - Various interpretations of historical events illustrate the dynamic nature of West African historiography, where narratives were often partisan. - Scholars must critically analyze these texts to understand their biases and the contemporary concerns that shaped their creation. ## Conclusion - The works of Nuh al-Tahir, Dan Tafa, Malam Bakar, and Ibn Furtu demonstrate that historical writing in West Africa was not merely an archiving of events but a sophisticated intellectual endeavor that engaged with the authors' present realities. - Understanding these chronicles provides deeper insight into the socio-political landscapes of West Africa and the role of intellectuals in shaping historical narratives. By studying the historical accounts from these scholars, we glean insights into how Africans wrote their own history, challenging external narratives and asserting their political and cultural legacies through their chronicles.

a brief note on the African exploration of the Old world

plus: the African discovery of north-western Europe.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on the African exploration of the Old world ======================================================== ### plus: the African discovery of north-western Europe. ( Sep 16, 2023 28 Africans have been travelling and exploring the world beyond their continent since antiquity. Documentation of the African presence outside the continent begun as soon as the kingdom of Kush expanded into western Asia in the 7th century BC, and would continue into the early centuries of the common era when Kushite envoys were a regular presence in eastern Rome. In the suceeding period, African travelers from across many parts of the continent reached the ( , explored the ( , and ( . The rulers of Aksum and Ethiopia sent their embassies and merchants across the western Indian ocean, the city-states of the Swahili coast established contacts with India and China, and West African royals and scholars created disporic communities in Arabia and Jerusalem. While the African presence in Asia is better documented, African journeys into Europe also occurred fairly regulary since the early 1st millennium. African royals, students and pilgrims from the kingdoms of Nubia and Ethiopia explored the capitals and pilgrimage sites of Eastern and Southern Europe. ( , and a few joined their North-African peers to create ( . After the fall of the Byzantines, African embassies and scholars from as far as Mali to Bornu and Chad begun making an appearance at the Ottoman capital Istanbul. By the early modern era, the presence of African travelers in southern Europe was far from a novelty. Gradually, the journeys of African travelers took them beyond the more familiar regions of southern Europe and into the lesser known societies of north-western Europe. Travelling across the Alps and the northern Atlantic, Africans of varying statuses, including envoys, scholars and students, arrived in the capitals of north-western European kingdoms of Britain, France, the Holy Roman Empire and the low countries. **The history of African exploration and discovery of North-western Europe is the subject of my latest Patreon article**; Read about it here: ( * * * Detail of a Westminster Tournament Roll from 1511, showing an African trumpeter named John Blanke, who was active at the court of King Henry VIII in Tudor England.

## A Brief Note on the African Exploration of the Old World ### Overview of African Exploration 1. **Historical Context**: - African exploration beyond the continent has a long history, beginning as early as antiquity. - The Kingdom of Kush, located in present-day Sudan, began expanding into western Asia around the 7th century BC. - As Kush interacted with surrounding regions, documentation of Africans outside their continent commenced. 2. **African Presence in Eastern Rome**: - By the early centuries of the Common Era, Kushite envoys were regularly present in Eastern Rome. - This indicates early diplomatic and cultural exchanges between Africa and the Mediterranean world. 3. **Trading and Diplomatic Missions**: - Various African kingdoms, such as Aksum and Ethiopia, sent embassies and merchants across the western Indian Ocean. - The Swahili city-states established trade connections with India and China. - West African scholars and royals also formed diasporic communities in locations such as Arabia and Jerusalem. ### Exploration into Europe 4. **African Travel to Europe**: - The presence of Africans in Europe began to be documented more fully from the early 1st millennium. - Royals, students, and pilgrims from kingdoms like Nubia and Ethiopia traveled to Eastern and Southern Europe, seeking knowledge, trade, and religious pilgrimage. 5. **Cultural Exchange and Integration**: - Some African individuals collaborated with North African peers to create cultural and diplomatic ties, enriching the diverse fabric of European societies. 6. **Later Interactions Post-Byzantine Era**: - Following the fall of the Byzantine Empire, scholars and ambassadors from regions such as Mali, Bornu, and Chad appeared in the Ottoman capital of Istanbul. - This showcases the continued importance of African diplomatic relationships in the evolving political landscape of Europe. ### Expansion into North-Western Europe 7. **Early Modern Era Departures**: - By the early modern era, the presence of African travelers in Southern Europe became common. - Their explorations expanded into North-Western Europe, where they encountered lesser-known societies. 8. **Travel Routes and Destinations**: - African travelers navigated through the Alps and the northern Atlantic. - They arrived in the capitals of North-Western European kingdoms, including Britain, France, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Low Countries. 9. **Notable Figures**: - An example is John Blanke, an African trumpeter who served at the court of King Henry VIII in Tudor England, as depicted in a Westminster Tournament Roll from 1511. - This highlights the significant roles that Africans held in European courts and the acknowledgment of their contributions. ### Conclusion The exploration and discovery of North-Western Europe by Africans reflect a rich and complex history of cultural exchange, trade, and diplomacy. This narrative underscores the significance of African presence and influence in global history, challenging the notion of a Eurocentric historical perspective. For further detailed insights, read my latest Patreon article on this subject.

A complete history of Abomey: capital of Dahomey (ca. 1650-1894)

Journal of African cities chapter 10.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A complete history of Abomey: capital of Dahomey (ca. 1650-1894) ================================================================ ### Journal of African cities chapter 10. ( Sep 10, 2023 14 Abomey was one of the largest cities in the "forest region" of west-Africa; a broad belt of kingdoms extending from Ivory coast to southern Nigeria. Like many of the urban settlements in the region whose settlement was associated with royal power, the city of Abomey served as the capital of the kingdom of Dahomey. Home to an estimated 30,000 inhabitants at its height in the mid-19th century, the walled city of Abomey was the political and religious center of the kingdom. Inside its walls was a vast royal palace complex, dozens of temples and residential quarters occupied by specialist craftsmen who made the kingdom's iconic artworks. This article outlines the history of Abomey from its founding in the 17th century to the fall of Dahomey in 1894. **Map of modern benin showing Abomey and other cities in the kingdom of Dahomey.( ** * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more on African history and keep this blog free for all:** ( * * * **The early history of Abomey: from the ancient town of Sodohome to the founding of Dahomey’s capital.** The plateau region of southern Benin was home to a number of small-scale complex societies prior to the founding of Dahomey and its capital. Like in other parts of west-Africa, urbanism in this region was part of the diverse settlement patterns which predated the emergence of centralized states. The Abomey plateau was home to several nucleated iron-age settlements since the 1st millennium BC, many of which flourished during the early 2nd millennium. The largest of these early urban settlements was Sodohome, an ancient iron age dated to the 6th century BC which at its peak in the 11th century, housed an estimated 5,700 inhabitants. Sodohome was part of a regional cluster of towns in southern Benin that were centers of iron production and trade, making an estimated 20 tonnes of iron each year in the 15th/16th century.( The early settlement at Abomey was likely established at the very founding of Dahomey and the construction of the first Kings' residences. Traditions recorded in the 18th century attribute the city's creation to the Dahomey founder chief Dakodonu (d. 1645) who reportedly captured the area that became the city of Abomey after defeating a local chieftain named Dan using a _Kpatin_ tree. Other accounts attribute Abomey's founding to Houegbadja the "first" king of Dahomey (r. 1645-1685) who suceeded Dakodonu. Houegbadja's palace at Abomey, which is called _Kpatissa_, (under the kpatin tree), is the oldest surviving royal residence in the complex and was built following preexisting architectural styles.( (read more about ( ) The pre-existing royal residences of the rulers who preceeded Dahomey’s kings likely included a _hounwa_ (entrance hall) and an _ajalala_ (reception hall), flanked by an _adoxo_ (tomb) of the deceased ruler. The palace of Dan (called _Dan-Home_) which his sucessor, King Houegbadja (or his son) took over, likely followed this basic architectural plan. Houegbadja was suceeded by Akaba (r. 1685-1708) who constructed his palace slightly outside what would later become the palace complex. In addition to the primary features, it included two large courtyards; the _kpododji_ (initial courtyard), an _ajalalahennu_ (inner/second courtyard), a _djeho_ (soul-house) and a large two-story building built by Akaba's sucessor; Agaja.( Agaja greatly expanded the kingdom's borders beyond the vicinity of the capital. After nearly a century of expansion and consolidation by his predecessors across the Abomey Plateau, Agaja's armies marched south and captured the kingdoms of Allada in 1724 and Hueda in 1727. In this complex series of interstate battles, Abomey was sacked by Oyo's armies in 1726, and Agaja begun a reconstruction program to restore the old palaces, formalize the city's layout (palaces, roads, public spaces, markets, quarters) and build a defensive system of walls and moats. The capital of Dahomey thus acquired its name of Agbomey (Abomey = inside the moat) during Agaja's reign.( Ruins of an unidentified palace in Abomey, ca. 1894-1902. Quai branly most likely to be the simbodji palace of Gezo. _**Section of the Abomey Palace complex in 1895**_, Quai branly. The royal palace complex at Abomey, map by J. C. Monroe _**Section of the ruined palace of Agaja**_ in 1911. The double-storey structure was built next to the palace of Akaba _**Section of Agaja’s palace**_ in 1925, Quai branly. * * * ( * * * **The royal capital of Abomey during the early 18th century** The administration of Dahomey occurred within and around a series of royal palace sites that materialized the various domestic, ritual, political, and economic activities of the royal elite at Abomey. The Abomey palace complex alone comprised about a dozen royal residences as well as many auxiliary buildings. Such palace complexes were also built in other the regional capitals across the kingdom, with as many as 18 palaces across 12 towns being built between the 17th and 19th century of which Abomey was the largest. By the late 19th century, Abomey's palace complex covered over a hundred acres, surrounded by a massive city wall about 30ft tall extending over 2.5 miles.( These structures served as residences for the king and his dependents, who numbered 2-8,000 at Abomey alone. Their interior courtyards served as stages on which powerful courtiers vied to tip the balance of royal favor in their direction. Agaja's two story palace near the palace of Akba, and his own two-story palace within the royal complex next to Houegbadja's, exemplified the centrality of Abomey and its palaces in royal continuity and legitimation. Sections of the palaces were decorated with paintings and bas-reliefs, which were transformed by each suceeding king into an elaborate system of royal "communication" along with other visual arts.( Abomey grew outwardly from the palace complex into the outlying areas, and was organized into quarters delimited by the square city-wall.( Some of the quarters grew around the private palaces of the kings, which were the residences of each crown-prince before they took the throne. Added to these were the quarters occupied by the guilds/familes such as; blacksmiths (Houtondji), artists (Yemadji), weavers, masons, soldiers, merchants, etc. These palace quarters include Agaja's at Zassa, Tegbesu’s at Adandokpodji, Kpengla’s at Hodja, Agonglo’s at Gbècon Hwégbo, Gezo’s at Gbècon Hunli, Glele's at Djègbè and Behanzin's at Djime.( _**illustration of Abomey in the 19th century**_. _**illustration of Abomey’s city gates and walls**_, ca. 1851 _**interior section in the ‘private palace’ of Prince Aho Gléglé (grandson of Glele)**_, Abomey, ca. 1930, Archives nationales d'outre-mer _**Tomb of Behanzin in Abomey**_, early 20th century, Imagesdefence, built with the characteristic low hanging steep roof. * * * **Abomey in the late 18th century: Religion, industry and art.** Between the end of Agaja's reign and the beginning of Tegbesu's, Dahomey became a tributary of the Oyo empire (in south-western Nigeria), paying annual tribute at the city of Cana. In the seven decades of Oyo's suzeranity over Dahomey, Abomey gradually lost its function as the main administrative capital, but retained its importance as a major urban center in the kingdom. The kings of this period; Tegbesu (r. 1740-1774), Kpengla (r. 1774-1789) and Agonglo (r. 1789-1797) resided in Agadja’s palace in Abomey, while constructing individual palaces at Cana. But each added their own entrance and reception halls, as well as their own honga (third courtyard).( Abomey continued to flourish as a major center of religion, arts and crafts production. The city's population grew by a combination of natural increase from established families, as well as the resettlement of dependents and skilled artisans that served the royal court. Significant among these non-royal inhabitants of Dahomey were the communities of priests/diviners, smiths, and artists whose work depended on royal patronage. The religion of Dahomey centered on the worship of thousands of vodun (deities) who inhabited the Kutome (land of the dead) which mirrored and influenced the world of the living. Some of these deities were localized (including deified ancestors belonging to the lineages), some were national (including deified royal ancestors) and others were transnational; (shared/foreign deities like creator vodun, Mawu and Lisa, the iron and war god Gu, the trickster god Legba, the python god Dangbe, the earth and health deity Sakpata, etc).( Each congregation of vodun was directed by a pair of priests, the most influencial of whom were found in Abomey and Cana. These included practitioners of the cult of tohosu that was introduced in Tegbesu's reign. Closely associated with the royal family and active participants in court politics, Tohosu priests built temples in Abomey alongside prexisting temples like those of Mawu and Lisa, as well as the shrines dedicated to divination systems such as the Fa (Ifa of Yoruba country). The various temples of Abomey, with their elaborated decorated facades and elegantly clad tohosu priests were thus a visible feature of the city's architecture and its function as a religious center.( _**Temple courtyard dedicated to Gu in the palace ground of king Gezo**_, ca. 1900, library of congress _**entrance to the temple of Dangbe**_, Abomey, ca. 1945, Quai branly (the original roofing was replaced) _**Practicioners of Gu and Tohusu**_ _**in Abomey**_, ca. 1950, Quai branly * * * * * * Besides the communities of priests were the groups of craftsmen such as the Hountondji families of smiths. These were originally settled at Cana in the 18th century and expanded into Abomey in the early 19th century, setting in the city quarter named after them. They were expert silversmiths, goldsmiths and blacksmiths who supplied the royal court with the abundance of ornaments and jewelery described in external accounts about Abomey. Such was their demand that their family head, Kpahissou was given a prestigious royal title due to his followers' ability to make any item both local and foreign including; guns, swords and a wheeled carriage described as a "square with four glass windows on wheels".( The settlement of specialist groups such as the Hountondji was a feature of Abomey's urban layout. Such craftsmen and artists were commisioned to create the various objects of royal regalia including the iconic thrones, carved doors, zoomorphic statues, 'Asen' sculptures, musical instruments and figures of deities. Occupying a similar hierachy as the smiths were the weavers and embroiderers who made Dahomey's iconic textiles. Carved blade from 19th century Abomey, Quai branly. made by the Hountondji smiths. _**Pistol modified with copper-alloy plates**_, 1892, made by the Hountondji smiths. _**Asen staff from Ouidah**_, mid-19th cent., Musée Barbier-Mueller, _**Hunter and Dog with man spearing a leopard**_, ca. 1934, Abomey museum. _**Brass sculpture of a royal procession**_, ca 1931, Fowler museum Collection of old jewelery and Asen staffs in the Abomey museum, photos from 1944. Cloth making in Abomey was part of the broader textile producing region and is likely to have predated the kingdom's founding. But applique textiles of which Abomey is famous was a uniquely Dahomean invention dated to around the early 18th century reign of Agadja, who is said to have borrowed the idea from vodun practitioners. Specialist families of embroiders, primarily the Yemaje, the Hantan and the Zinflu, entered the service of various kings, notably Gezo and Glele, and resided in the Azali quarter, while most cloth weavers reside in the gbekon houegbo.( The picto-ideograms depicted on the applique cloths that portray figures of animals, objects and humans, are cut of plain weave cotton and sewn to a cotton fabric background. They depict particular kings, their "strong names" (royal name), their great achievements, and notable historical events. The appliques were primary used as wall hangings decorating the interior of elite buildings but also featured on other cloth items and hammocks. Applique motifs were part of a shared media of Dahomey's visual arts that are featured on wall paintings, makpo (scepters), carved gourds and the palace bas-reliefs.( Red and crimson were the preferred colour of self-representation by Dahomey's elite (and thus its subjects), while enemies were depicted as white, pink, or dark-blue (all often with scarifications associated with Dahomey’s foe: the Yoruba of Oyo).( _**Illustration showing a weaver at their loom in Abomey**_, ca. 1851 _**Cotton tunics from Abomey, 19th century**_, Quai branly. The second includes a red figure in profile. _**Applique cloths from Abomey depicting war scenes**_, _**Quai branly**_. Both show Dahomey soldiers (in crimson with guns) attacking and capturing enemy soldiers (in dark blue/pink with facial scarification). The first is dated to 1856, and the second is from the mid-20th cent. The bas-reliefs of Dahomey are ornamental low-relief sculptures on sections of the palaces with figurative scenes that recounted legends, commemorated historic battles and enhanced the power of the rulers. Many were narrative representations of specific historical events, motifs of "strong-names" representing the character of individual kings, and as mnemonic devices that allude to different traditions.( The royal bas-relief tradition in its complete form likely dates to the 18th century during the reign of Agonglo and would have been derived from similar representations on temples, although most of the oldest surviving reliefs were made by the 19th century kings Gezo and Glele. Like the extensions of old palaces, and building of tombs and new soul-houses, many of the older reliefs were modified and/or added during the reigns of successive kings. Most were added to the two entry halls and protected from the elements by the high-pitched low hanging thatch roof which characterized Abomey's architecture.( _**Reliefs on an old Temple in Abomey**_, ca. 1940, Quai branly. _**Bas-reliefs on the reception hall of king Gezo**_, ca. 1900. Metropolitan Museum of Art, _**Reconstruction of the reception hall**_, ca. 1925, Quai branly _**Bas-reliefs from the palace of King Behanzin**_, ca. 1894-1909, Quai branly * * * **Abomey in the 19th century from Gezo to Behanzin.** Royal construction activity at Abomey was revived by Adandozan, who constructed his palace south of Agonglo's extension of Agaja's palace. However, this palace was taken over by his sucessor; King Gezo, who, in his erasure of Adandozan's from the king list, removed all physical traces of his reign. The reigns of the 19th century kings Gezo (r. 1818-1858) and Glele (r.1858-1889) are remembered as a golden age of Dahomey. Gezo was also a prolific builder, constructing multiple palaces and temples across Dahomey. However, he chose to retain Adandozan's palace at Abomey as his primary residence, but enlarged it by adding a two-story entrance hall and soul-houses for each of his predecessors.( Gezo used his crowned prince’s palace and the area surrounding it to make architectural assertions of power and ingenuity. In 1828 he constructed the Hounjlo market which became the main market center for Abomey, positioned adjacent and to the west of his crowned prince’s palace and directly south of the royal palace. Around this market he built two multi-storied buildings, which occasionally served as receptions for foreign visitors.( Gezo’s sucessor, King Glele (r. 1858-1889) constructed a large palace just south of Gezo's palace; the _Ouehondji_ (palace of glass windows). This was inturn flanked by several buildings he added later, such as the _adejeho_ (house of courage) -a where weapons were stored, a hall for the _ahosi_ (amazons), and a separate reception room where foreigners were received. His sucessor, Behanzin (r. 1889-1894) resided in Glele's palace as his short 3-year reign at Abomey couldn’t permit him to build one of his own before the French marched on the city in 1893/4.( As the French army marched on the capital city of Abomey, Behanzin, realizing that continued military resistance was futile, escaped to set up his capital north. Before he left, he ordered the razing of the palace complex, which was preferred to having the sacred tombs and soul-houses falling into enemy hands. Save for the roof thatching, most of the palace buildings remained relatively undamaged. Behanzin's brother Agoli-Agbo (1894-1900) assumed the throne and was later recognized by the French who hoped to retain popular support through indirect rule. Subsquently, Agoli-Agbo partially restored some of the palaces for their symbolic and political significance to him and the new colonial occupiers, who raised a French flag over them, making the end of Abomey autonomy.( Section of Gezo’s Simbodji Palace, illustration from 1851. Simbodji in 1894 Simbodji in 1894-1909 _**Palace complex**_ in 1896, BNF. * * * East of the kingdom of Dahomey was the Yoruba country of Oyo and Ife, two kingdoms that were **home to a vibrant intellectual culture where cultural innovations were recorded and transmitted orally**; read more about it here in my latest Patreon article; ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( map by J.C.Monroe ( The Precolonial State in West Africa: Building Power in Dahomey by J. Cameron Monroe pg 36-41) ( Razing the roof : the imperative of building destruction in dahomè by S. P. Blier pg 165-174, The Royal Palace of Dahomey: symbol of a transforming nation by Lynne Ann Ellsworth Larsen pg 11, 21-24, Wives of leopard by Edna Bay pg 50) ( The Royal Palace of Dahomey: symbol of a transforming nation by Lynne Ann Ellsworth pg 28-30) ( Razing the roof : the imperative of building destruction in dahomè by S. P. Blier pg 174-175) ( Wives of leopard by Edna Bay pg 9, The Precolonial State in West Africa by J. Cameron Monroe pg 24-25) ( The Precolonial State in West Africa by J. Cameron Monroe pg 21, The Royal Palace of Dahomey: symbol of a transforming nation by Lynne Ann Ellsworth pg 37,43-44) ( Razing the roof : the imperative of building destruction in dahomè by S. P. Blier pg 173-175) ( The Royal Palace of Dahomey: symbol of a transforming nation by Lynne Ann Ellsworth pg 164-172) ( The Royal Palace of Dahomey: symbol of a transforming nation by Lynne Ann Ellsworth pg 47-53) ( Wives of leopard by Edna Bay pg 21-24, 62) ( Wives of leopard by Edna Bay pg 91-96) ( Asen, Ancestors, and Vodun By Edna G. Bay pg 55- 66 ( Museums & History in West Africa By West African Museums Programme, pg 78-81) ( The art of dahomey Melville J. Herskovits pg 70-74 ( African Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power by S. P. Blier pg 323-326) ( Palace Sculptures of Abomey by Francesca Piqué pg 49-75, Asen, Ancestors, and Vodun By Edna G. Bay pg 96-98, ) ( The Royal Palace of Dahomey: symbol of a transforming nation by Lynne Ann Ellsworth pg 12-14, 28, 37, 56-61, 69) ( The Royal Palace of Dahomey: symbol of a transforming nation by Lynne Ann Ellsworth pg 61-62, 66-69) ( The Royal Palace of Dahomey: symbol of a transforming nation by Lynne Ann Ellsworth pg 173) ( The Royal Palace of Dahomey: symbol of a transforming nation by Lynne Ann Ellsworth pg 72-74, 82) ( "Le Musée Histoire d'Abomey" by S. P. Blier pg 143-144).

# A Complete History of Abomey: Capital of Dahomey (ca. 1650-1894) ## Overview - Abomey, located in the "forest region" of West Africa, served as the capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey. - At its height in the mid-19th century, Abomey had around 30,000 inhabitants and was surrounded by city walls. - The city was the political and religious center, housing a royal palace complex and various temples. ## Early History 1. **Founding of Dahomey and Abomey**: - The plateau region of southern Benin had small-scale complex societies before the establishment of Dahomey. - Early settlements, such as Sodohome (dating back to the 6th century BC and peaking in the 11th century), were significant for iron production and trade. - Abomey is believed to have been founded by chief Dakodonu (d. 1645) after he defeated a local chieftain named Dan. 2. **Royal Architecture**: - The original royal residences included architectural features such as an entrance hall (_hounwa_) and a reception hall (_ajalala_). - Subsequent kings, including Houegbadja (r. 1645-1685) and Agaja (r. 1708-1740), expanded the royal complex, incorporating defensive structures. ## Political Consolidation and Expansion 1. **Agaja's Reign**: - Agaja expanded Dahomey’s borders, capturing the kingdoms of Allada (1724) and Hueda (1727). - After a sack by Oyo's armies in 1726, he initiated a reconstruction program that formalized the city's layout and reinforced its defenses. 2. **Administrative Role**: - The Abomey palace complex evolved into the administration center of Dahomey, housing around 2-8,000 dependents. - The city expanded outward from the palace, integrating various quarters for craftsmen and guilds. ## Cultural and Religious Significance in the 18th Century 1. **Religious Practices**: - The kingdom’s religion revolved around the worship of vodun deities, guided by priests who played significant roles in court politics. - Temples and shrines dedicated to various deities flourished in Abomey, enhancing its status as a religious center. 2. **Art and Craftsmanship**: - Abomey became a hub for artisans, including blacksmiths and textile weavers, who produced significant goods for the royal court. - The city was especially known for its intricate appliqué textiles, which became symbols of Dahomey’s royal identity. ## Late 18th Century Developments 1. **Tributary Status**: - Following Agaja's reign, Dahomey became a tributary of the Oyo Empire, leading to a decline in administrative functions at Abomey, though it maintained urban significance. - Kings during this period constructed new palaces at Cana, further diversifying royal architectural endeavors. 2. **Artistic Flourishment**: - Despite political shifts, Abomey continued to thrive as an artistic center, with craftsmen creating regalia, textiles, and intricate sculptures. ## 19th Century Dynamics 1. **Gezo and Glele's Era**: - The reigns of Gezo (1818-1858) and Glele (1858-1889) marked a golden age for Dahomey, characterized by extensive palace construction and urban development. - Gezo enhanced the existing structures and established the Hounjlo market, solidifying Abomey’s economic importance. 2. **Final Days of Autonomy**: - Behanzin (1889-1894), Gezo's successor, ruled briefly before the French invasion, ultimately deciding to raze the palace complex to protect it from captors. - The subsequent French recognition of Behanzin's brother, Agoli-Agbo, signified the end of Dahomey’s autonomy and initiated colonial governance. ## Conclusion - The history of Abomey from its founding to the fall of Dahomey encapsulates the evolution of a significant urban center in West Africa, marked by its political, religious, and cultural development. - The legacy of Abomey continues to influence the region's historical narrative and cultural identity today.

**a Brief note on Africa's intellectual history

plus; the Yoruba intellectual culture ca. 1000-1900.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers \*\*a Brief note on Africa's intellectual history ================================================= ### plus; the Yoruba intellectual culture ca. 1000-1900. ( Sep 02, 2023 25 Writing has been a fundamental part of African history since antiquity. The continent is home to some of the world's ( ; from the ancient scripts of Egypt, Kush and Aksum, to the medieval literature of Nubia, Ethiopia, 'Sudanic’ Africa and the east-African coast. Scholars in many African societies created vibrant intellectual cultures, producing a vast corpus of literary works including historical chronicles, scientific compositions, theological writings, philosophical treatises and poetry. The intellectual exchanges they fostered resulted in the creation of a closely-knit web of scholary capitals which housed many of the continents most renowned education centers. It was in these centers of education like ( , Jenne, Sokoto, Sennar, ( and Zanzibar, that many of the continent's political and cultural innovations were developed. As scholars exchanged ideas on concepts of theology, politics and social organization, they spawned ( that were distinctly African in origin. The significance of these African intellectual cultures has only recently begun to receive attention in modern scholarship, which has dispelled the misconception of the "Oral continent par excellence". And just as the scope of pre-colonial Africa's literary output is now increasingly appreciated, so too has the focus on African societies whose intellectual culture was predominantly oral. While it had long been acknowledged by anthropologists and linguists that the utility of African oral traditions went beyond their use in historiography, its only recently that research has shed more light onto the complexity of African orality. The oral traditions of African societies are the products of the rich intellectual culture created by diverse communities of 'oral scholars' whose importance cut across all facets of African society. From the royal genealogists who 'recorded' their kingdom's history, to the priests who encoded vast amounts of 'oral literature' about African theologies, to the poets who preserved and transmitted the society's philosophy, the intellectual cultures of oral societies is a fascinating but still poorly understood chapter of African history. The intellectual history of oral societies is the subject of my latest Patreon article, using the case study of the Yoruba in south-western Nigeria. read more about it here: ( * * * Illustration of a ‘Palaver’ (public meeting) not far from Badagry (Nigeria), by William Allen, ca. 1841 Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. 25 Likes · ( 25 Comments Top Latest Discussions ( ( Sep 4, 2021 • ( 30 ( ( Apr 9, 2023 • ( 17 ( ( Apr 7 • ( 48 See all Ready for more?

### A Brief Note on Africa's Intellectual History #### Overview 1. **Historical Foundation of African Writing**: Writing has been a fundamental part of African history since ancient times, with early examples found in the scripts of Egypt, Kush, and Aksum. These ancient civilizations produced significant literary works. 2. **Medieval Literary Contributions**: In the medieval period, regions such as Nubia, Ethiopia, and 'Sudanic' Africa became centers of literary output, contributing to the continent’s rich intellectual landscape. This period also saw the development of literature along the east-African coast. 3. **Development of Scholarly Capitals**: African societies cultivated vibrant intellectual cultures, leading to the establishment of renowned educational centers in cities such as Jenne, Sokoto, Sennar, and Zanzibar. These institutions were crucial for political and cultural innovations. 4. **Intellectual Exchange**: Scholars engaged in intellectual exchanges, discussing theology, politics, and social organization, which fostered the development of concepts and ideas that were distinctly African. 5. **Misconceptions About African Intellectualism**: Modern scholarship has begun to reevaluate the narrative of Africa as the "Oral continent," recognizing the significance of written and oral intellectual traditions. This has led to a broader understanding of Africa's literary and scholarly contributions. #### The Complexity of Oral Traditions 6. **Utility of Oral Traditions**: While anthropologists and linguists have long recognized the value of oral traditions in historiography, recent research has highlighted their complexity and richness. 7. **Role of Oral Scholars**: Oral traditions are maintained by communities of 'oral scholars,' whose contributions are essential across various aspects of society. These include: - **Royal Genealogists**: Who document and preserve the history of their kingdoms. - **Priests**: Who encode religious and theological narratives. - **Poets**: Who articulate and transmit societal philosophies. 8. **Case Study: Yoruba Intellectual Culture (1000-1900)**: The Yoruba people in southwestern Nigeria exemplify the complexities of oral intellectual traditions. Their cultural practices, storytelling, and oral histories contribute significantly to the understanding of Africa's intellectual heritage. #### Conclusion 9. **Continuing Exploration**: The intellectual history of African societies, particularly those with predominantly oral traditions, remains a fascinating but underexplored chapter in African history. Ongoing research aims to further illuminate these cultures and their contributions to broader intellectual traditions. 10. **Illustration Reference**: An illustration by William Allen from around 1841 depicts a 'Palaver' (public meeting) near Badagry, Nigeria, showcasing aspects of community discourse that are integral to Yoruba intellectual culture. This structured analysis of Africa's intellectual history emphasizes the significance of both written and oral traditions, highlighting key contributions and ongoing scholarly efforts to appreciate these complex narratives.

Historical links between the Ottoman empire and Sudanic Africa (1574-1880)

travel and exchanges between Istanbul and the states of; Bornu, Funj, Darfur and Massina.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Historical links between the Ottoman empire and Sudanic Africa (1574-1880) ========================================================================== ### travel and exchanges between Istanbul and the states of; Bornu, Funj, Darfur and Massina. ( Aug 27, 2023 11 In 1574, an embassy from the empire of Bornu arrived at the Ottoman capital of Istanbul after having travelled more than 4,000 km from Ngazargamu in north-eastern Nigeria. This exceptional visit by an African kingdom to the Ottoman capital was the first of several diplomatic and intellectual exchanges between Istanbul and the kingdoms of Sudanic Africa -a broad belt of states extending from modern Senegal to Sudan. In the three centuries after the Bornu visit of Istanbul; travelers and scholars from the Sudanic kingdoms and the Ottoman capital criss-crossed the meditteranean in a pattern of political and intellectual exchanges that lasted well into the colonial era. This article explores the historic links between the Ottoman empire and Sudanic Africa, focusing on the travel of diplomats and scholars between Istanbul and the kingdoms of Bornu, Funj, Darfur and Massina. _**Map showing the kingdoms of Sudanic Africa and the Ottoman empire**_.( * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more on African history and keep this blog free for all:** ( * * * **Diplomatic links between the Bornu empire and the Ottomans: envoys from Mai Idris Alooma in 16th century Istanbul** The Ottoman empire was founded at the turn of the 13th century, growing into a large Mediterranean power by the early 16th century following a series of sucessful campaigns into eastern Europe, western Asia and North-Africa. Like other large empires which had come before it, Ottoman campaigns into Sudanic Africa were largely unsuccessful. The earliest of these campaigns were undertaken against the Funj kingdom in modern Sudan, more consequential however, were the proxy wars between the Ottomans and the Bornu empire in the region of southern Libya. The empire of Bornu was founded during the late 11th century in the lake chad basin. The rulers of Bornu maintained an active presence in southern Libya since the 12th century, and regulary sent diplomats to Tripoli and Egypt from the 14th century onwards. Bornu's rulers, scholars and pilgrims frequently travelled through the regions of Tripoli, Egypt, the Hejaz (Mecca & Medina) and Jerusalem. These places would later be taken over by the Ottomans in the early 16th century, and Bornu would have been aware of these new authorities. In 1534, the Bornu ruler sent an embassy to the Ottoman outpost of Tajura near Tripoli, the latter of which was at the time under the Knights of Malta before it was conquered by the Ottomans in 1551. In the same year of the Ottoman conquest of Tripoli, the Bornu ruler sent an embassy to the new occupants, with another in 1560 which established cordial relations between Tripoli and Bornu. But by the early 1570s, relations between Bornu and Ottoman-Tripoli broke down when several campaigns from Tripoli were directed into the Fezzan region of southern Libya which was controlled by Bornu’s dependents.( In the year 1574, the Bornu ruler Mai Idris Alooma sent a diplomatic delegation of five to Istanbul in response to the Ottoman advance into Bornu's territories in southern Libya. This embassy was headed by a Bornu scholar named El-Hajj Yusuf, and it remained in Istanbul for four years before returning to Bornu around 1577. In response to this embassy, the Ottoman sultan sent an embassy to the Bornu capital Ngazargamu (in North-eastern Nigeria) which arrived in 1578.( More than 10 archival documents survive of this embassy, the bulk of which are official letters by the Ottoman sultan Murad III adressed to the Bornu ruler and the Ottoman governor of Tripoli. The Ottomans agreed to most of the requests of the Bornu ruler except handing over the Fezzan region, something that Idris Alooma would solve on his own when the Ottoman garrison in the Fezzan was killed around 1585( . Yet despite this brief period of conflict, relations between the Ottomans and Bornu flourished, with ( being sent to Bornu to bolster its military. The exchange of embassies between the Ottomans and the Bornu rulers is mentioned in the 1578 Bornu chronicle titled _kitāb ġazawāt Kānim_ (Book of the Conquests of Kanem), whose author Aḥmad ibn Furṭū wrote that; _**"Did you ever see a king equal to our sultan or close to it, when the lord of Dabulah** \ **sent his emissaries from his country with sweet words, sincere and requested affection and for a desired union? Alas, in truth, all sultans are inferior to the Bornu sultan."**_ Ibn Furtu gives the Ottoman sultan a diminutive title of _malik_ (King); compared to the title 'Sultan' which was used for Bornu's neighbors: Kanem and Mandara, while the Bornu ruler was given the prestigious title 'Caliph'. This reflected the political tensions between the Ottomans and Bornu, as much as it served to legitimate the authority of the Bornu rulers relative to their regional peers.( Contacts between Bornu and the Ottomans were thereafter confined to Tripoli, Egypt and the Hejaz, without direct visits between Istanbul and Ngazargamu. An exceptional decree issued by the Ottoman sultan in Istanbul during the early 17th century was copied in Bornu at an uncertain date( , but aside from this, the intellectual cultures of Bornu contain no scholars from Istanbul, nor did Bornu's scholars visit the Ottoman capital, opting to confine their activities to scholary communities in Tripoli and Egypt. _**ruined sections of Idris Alooma’s 16th century palace at Gamboru**_, Nigeria * * * **The Ottoman-Funj war and an Ottoman visitor in 17th century Sennar.** The Funj kingdom was founded around 1504 shortly before the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. Expanding northwards from its capital Sennar, the Funj would encounter the Ottomans at the red-sea port of Suakin as well as the town of Qasr Ibrim in lower Nubia. A report by a Ottoman naval officer in 1525, which contains a dismissive description of the Funj and Ethiopian states as well as recommendations to conquer them with an army of just 1,000 soldiers, indicates that the Ottomans drastically underestimated their opponent. The ottoman general Özdemir Pasha had suceeded in creating the small red-sea province of Habesh in 1554 (which was essentially just a group of islands and towns between Suakin and Massawa), but his campaign into Funj territory from Suakin was met with resistance from his own troops.( In 1560s the Ottomans occupied the fort of Qasr Ibrim and by 1577, had moved their armies south intending to conquer the Funj kingdom. According to an account written around 1589, the Ottoman army advanced against the city of old Dongola on the Nile with many boats, and the Funj army met them nearby at Hannik where a battle ensued that ended with an Ottoman defeat and withdraw (with just one boat surviving). The Ottoman-Funj border was from then on established at Sai island, although it would be gradually moved north to Ibrim.( In the suceeding century following the Ottoman defeat, relations between the Funj kingdom and their northern neighbor were normalized as trade and travel increased between the two regions. In 1672/3, the Funj kingdom was visited by the Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi on his journey through north-east Africa. Starting at Ibrim in late 1672, Evliya set off with a party of 20 within a merchant carravan of about 800 traders mostly from _Funjistan_ (ie: Funj), carrying letters from the Ottoman governor of Egypt addressed to the Funj ruler to ensure Evliya's safety.( _**Evliya Celebi’s journey through the Funj kingdom and North-east Africa**_, map by Michael D. Sheridan _**Late medieval ruins on Sai Island**_ _**Detail of a 17th century illustration depicting Evliya Celebi**_ Evliya arrived in the region of 'Berberistan'; the northern tributary province of Berber in the Funj kingdom, which begun at Sai Island. He passed through several fortified towns before arriving at the provincial capital of Dongola. The province was ruled by a certain king 'Huseyin Beg' who recognized the Funj ruler at Sennar as his suzerain. Evliya stayed in Berber for several weeks before proceeding to old Dongola (the former capital of Makuria) where the Funj territories formally begun.( From old Dongola, Evliya passes through several castellated towns before he reaches the city of Arbaji within the core Funj territories. He stopped over for a few days where he had a rather uncomfortable meeting with the local ruler before proceeding to the Funj capital sennar where he stayed for over a month. Sennar was described as a large city with several quarters surrounded by a 3-km long wall, pierced by three large gates and defended by 50 cannons. The Funj king (Badi II r. 1644-1681) controlled a vast territory, reportedly with as many as 645 cities and 1,500 fortresses. King Badi received the official letters from the Egyptian governor that Evliya had brought with him, and wrote his own letters addressed to the sender. The Funj king accompanied Evliya on a tour of the kingdom's southern territories, afterwhich they both returned to Sennar where the King gave Evliya provisions for his return journey. But upon reaching Arbaji where he encountered _Jabarti_ merchants (Ethiopian Muslims), Evliya decided to head east through the northern frontier of the Ethiopian state to the red sea coast.( The last leg of Evliya's trip took him through northern _Dembiya_ (ie: Gondarine-Ethiopia), proceeding to the red sea coastal city of suakin before turning south to the coastal cities of the horn including Massawa and Zeila, and later retracing his route back to Egypt. Evliya arrived in Cairo in April 1673 accompanied by three Funj envoys, presenting the gifts from the Funj king and his letters to the governor of Egypt.( _**Ruins of a Christian monastery complex at old Dongola**_, similar ruins are described in Evliya’s account _**ruins of a ‘Diffi’ fortified castle-house on Jawgul island**_, the kind that appears frequently in Evliya’s account of the Funj kingdom _**Ruins of a mosque in Sennar**_( , the Funj capital fell into decline in the early 19th century when it was abandoned. * * * ( * * * **Diplomatic and Intellectual links between the kingdoms of Funj and Darfur, and the Ottomans: traveling scholars and envoys from the eastern Sudan in Istanbul** While most diplomatic and intellectual exchanges between the Ottomans and the Funj were confined to Egypt, some Funj scholars travelled across the Ottoman domains as far as the empire's capital at Istanbul. The earliest documented Funj scholar to reach Istanbul was Ahmad Idrìs al-Sinnàrì (b. 1746). He travelled from Funj to Yemen for further studies, moving through the Hejaz and from there to Egypt. He later travelled to Istanbul and to Aleppo where he would live out the rest of his life. Another traveler from the Funj region was Ali al-Qus (b. 1788), he studied at al-Azhar, before setting out on his extensive travels, during which he visited Syria, Crete, the Hijaz Yemen and Istanbul, before returning to settle at Dongola shortly after the fall of the Funj kingdom.( While the Funj kingdom didn't send envoys directly to Istanbul, its western neighbor, the kingdom of Darfur, sent an embassy directly to the Ottoman sultan after conflicts with the governor of Ottoman-Egypt. On April 7th, 1792, the Darfur king Abd al-Rahman (r. 1787–1801). sent an envoy to Istanbul with gifts for Selim III and letters describing the former's campaigns in the frontiers( . The Darfur envoy informed the Ottoman sultan that the latter's officials in Egypt were doing injustice to merchants of Darfur and demanded that the sultan sends an imperial edict against their actions. The sultan likely agreed to the requests of the Darfur king, who was also given the honorific title al-Rashid (the just), a title that would frequently appear on the royal seals of Darfur.( Intellectual and diplomatic exchanges between the Ottomans and the eastern Sudanic kingdoms continued throughout the 19th century, even after the brief French conquest of Egypt (the Darfur king also sent an embassy to Napoleon in 1800), and the Egyptian conquest of Sennar in the 1821. _**Letter from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān of Darfur to Selim III,. Cumhurbaşkanliği Osmanli Arşivi, Istanbul**_ _**painting of Ibrahim, a Sudanese muslim from Sennar in Istanbul**_ ca. 1856, V&A museum * * * **Ottoman links with the western-Sudanic kingdoms: A traveling scholar from Massina in Istanbul** Unlike the central and eastern Sudan which bordered Ottoman provinces, the western Sudanic states had little diplomatic contact with the Ottomans outside Egypt and the Hejaz, nor was the empire recognized as a major Muslim power before the 18th century. When a ( in 1480s, the Mali ruler mentioned that he hadn't received a Christian envoy before, and the only major powers he recognized were the King of Yemen, the king of Baghdad, the King of Cairo and the King of Mali. Similary, the Ottomans don't appear in the 17th century Timbuktu chronicles despite the empire having seized control of Egypt and the Hejaz more than a century before and many west-African scholars having travelled through Ottoman domains.( While the Ottomans didn't frequently appear in early west-African writings, they are increasingly mentioned in the 18th and 19th century centuries. The 19th century chronicle _Ta'rikh al-fattash_, which is mostly based on the 17th century Timbuktu chronicles, mentions that: _**"We have heard the common people of our time say that there are four sultans in the world, not counting the supreme sultan, and they are the Sultan of Baghdad, the Sultan of Egypt, the Sultan of Bornu, and the Sultan of Mali."**_ The chronicler added a gloss which reads '_**this is the sultan of Istanbul**_' in place of the 'supreme sultan'.( The chronicler of the _Ta'rikh al-fattash_ was writing from the ( , and its from here that atleast one western Sudanic scholar is known to have travelled to Istanbul in the mid 19th century. The scholar Muhammad Salma al-Zurruq (b. 1845) was born in the city of Djenne (Mali) into a chiefly family. He set off for pilgrimage early in his youth afterwhich he visited Istanbul, where he stayed for some time and met Muhammad Zhafir al-Madani, son of the founder of the Madaniyya order, Zhafir al-Madani, who acted as an agent of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II (r. 1876-1909), with the Sufi orders in Ottoman north-Africa. Muhammad Salma was able to establish an excellent rapport with the sultan who supplied him with documents guaranteeing his safe travel through Ottoman territories. Muhammad Salma travelled extensively in Ottoman territories and finally arrived in the Moroccan capital of Fez in 1888, later returning to Mali in 1890 on the eve of the French conquest.( _**Djenne street scene**_, ca. 1906 Sultan Abdul Hamid greatly transformed ottoman relations with Sudanic Africa, set in the context of the colonial scramble. But lacking the capacity to undertake distant military campaigns into the region, the Ottomans relied on religious orders to assert its political claims over parts of Africa which it never formally controlled. Relying on its alliances with the Sanusi order that was active in the Fezzan and the kingdoms of Wadai and Bornu, Ottoman agents travelled to parts of the region to initiate a new (albeit brief) era of diplomatic exchange with the central Sudan. ( Ottoman agents also travelled beyond the Sudanic regions to Lagos (Nigeria), Cape colony, Zanzibar, Ethiopia and even to the African Muslim community in Brazil( . Similary, African kingdoms sent envoys and scholars to the Ottoman capital to forge anti-colonial alliances. The diplomatic ties between the Ottomans and African kingdoms such as Darfur under Ali Dinar, lasted until the collapse of the Ottoman empire after the first world war.( This late phase of African-Ottoman links is a fascinating topic that will be explored later, covering the international diplomatic strategies African states used to resist the colonial expansion. _**The Shitta-Bey Mosque in Lagos**_, built in 1891 by Mohammed Shitta Bey (ca. 1824-1895) a son of a freed-slave from Freetown who originally came from Brazil. The most important figure at the mosque’s opening was the Ottoman sultan’s representative _**Abdullah Quilliam**_ (1856-1932), not long after another ottoman agent, Abd ar-Rahman al-Baghdadi, had visited the African Muslims of Brazil. * * * In the 9th century, **Italy was home to the only independent Muslim state in Europe that was ruled by Berbers and West-Africans**, read more about the kingdom of Bari on my latest Patreon post: ( * * * **Mohammed Shitta Bey was one of several descendants of freed-slaves who settled on the west-African coast and made a significant contribution to the region’s economic development and modernization during the 19th century**. Read more about it here; ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( adopted from Rémi Dewière ( Mai Idris of Bornu and the Ottoman Turks by BG Martin pg 472-473, Du lac Tchad à la Mecque: Le sultanat du Borno by Rémi Dewière pg 29-30) ( The relationship between the Ottoman Empire and Kanem-Bornu During the reign of Sultan Murad III by Sebastian Flynn pg 113-118 ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque: Le sultanat du Borno by Rémi Dewière pg 34-35, 159 ( The Slave and the Scholar: Representing Africa in the World from Early Modern Tripoli to Borno by Rémi Dewière pg 52-53) ( Doubt, Scholarship and Society in 17th-Century Central Sudanic Africa By Dorrit van Dalen pg 36 ( The Ottomans and the Funj sultanate in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by A.C.S. Peacock pg 92-94 ( Kingdoms of the Sudan By R.S. O'Fahey, J.L. Spaulding pg 35) ( Nil Yolculuğu: Mısır, Sudan, Habeşistan by Nuran Tezcan ( Ottoman Explorations of the Nile by Robert Dankoff pg 251-256) ( Ottoman Explorations of the Nile by Robert Dankoff pg 257-301) ( Ottoman Explorations of the Nile by Robert Dankoff pg 361) ( image by sudanheritageproject ( The Transmission of Learning in Islamic Africa by Scott Reese pg 146, Arabic Literature of Africa Vol1 by John O. Hunwick pg 146, ( An Embassy from the Sultan of Darfur to the Sublime Porte in 1791 by A.C.S. Peacock ( , Black Pearl and White Tulip: A History of Ottoman Africa by Şakir Batmaz pg 42, Kingdoms of the Sudan By R.S. O'Fahey, J.L. Spaulding pg 162) ( Wangara, Akan and Portuguese 1 by Ivor Wilks pg 339) ( Wangara, Akan and Portuguese 1 by Ivor Wilks pg 339 n. 36) ( La Tijâniyya. Une confrérie musulmane à la conquête de l'Afrique by Jean-Louis Triaud pg 397-398) ( The Ottoman Scramble for Africa By Mostafa Minawi ( Osmanlı-Afrika İlişkileri by Ahmet Kavas, The Politicization of Islam: Reconstructing Identity, State, Faith, and Community in the Late Ottoman State by Kemal H. Karpat, Illuminating the Blackness: Blacks and African Muslims in Brazil By Habeeb Akande ( An Islamic Alliance: Ali Dinar and the Sanusiyya, 1906-1916 By Jay Spaulding.

### Historical Links Between the Ottoman Empire and Sudanic Africa (1574-1880) #### Introduction: The interaction between the Ottoman Empire and the kingdoms of Sudanic Africa, particularly Bornu, Funj, Darfur, and Massina, involved a series of diplomatic and intellectual exchanges beginning with an embassy from Bornu in 1574. This historical analysis highlights key events, exchanges, and their implications for both regions. #### 1. **The Initial Encounter: Bornu's Embassy (1574)** - In 1574, the empire of Bornu sent an embassy to Istanbul, marking a significant diplomatic initiative. - The delegation traveled over 4,000 kilometers from Ngazargamu in modern northeastern Nigeria. - This visit initiated a pattern of diplomatic and intellectual exchanges between the Ottoman capital and the Sudanic kingdoms. #### 2. **Growing Diplomatic Relations** - **Bornu's Diplomatic Presence:** - The rulers of Bornu were already engaged diplomatically with the Ottomans through their established presence in southern Libya and relations with Tripoli and Egypt since the 14th century. - In 1534, Bornu sent an embassy to the Ottoman outpost of Tajura, which was then taken by the Ottomans in 1551. - **Cordial Relations Established:** - Following the Ottoman conquest of Tripoli, Bornu sent subsequent embassies to establish cordial relations, although tensions arose due to military campaigns directed at Bornu's territories. #### 3. **The 1574 Embassy of Mai Idris Alooma** - Mai Idris Alooma sent a diplomatic delegation led by scholar El-Hajj Yusuf in response to Ottoman advances. - The embassy remained in Istanbul for four years and resulted in a reciprocal embassy from the Ottomans in 1578. - Eight official letters from Sultan Murad III to the Bornu ruler remain archived, showcasing the negotiations and requests, except for the unresolved issue regarding the Fezzan region. #### 4. **Continued Relations and Cultural Exchanges** - Despite conflicts, relations between the Ottomans and Bornu continued. - The Bornu chronicle, _kitāb ġazawāt Kānim_, reflects on the prestige of the Bornu sultan compared to the Ottoman sultan, illustrating the political dynamics of the time. #### 5. **The Ottoman-Funj War and Normalization (16th-17th Centuries)** - The Funj kingdom, emerging around 1504, encountered Ottoman military campaigns, particularly under Özdemir Pasha. - Initial confrontations resulted in Ottoman defeats, leading to a re-establishment of trade relations in the late 17th century. - In 1672/3, Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi documented his visit to the Funj kingdom, noting its political structure and the cordial reception he received from the Funj king. #### 6. **Intellectual Exchanges: Funj and Darfur** - Several scholars from the Funj traveled to Istanbul and engaged with Ottoman intellectual circles, such as Ahmad Idrìs al-Sinnārì and Ali al-Qus. - The Darfur kingdom, after conflicts with Ottoman Egypt, sent an envoy in 1792 to seek redress, showcasing continued diplomatic engagement. #### 7. **Limited Interaction with Western Sudanic Kingdoms** - The western Sudanic states had fewer connections with the Ottomans, with little acknowledgment of the Ottoman Empire prior to the 18th century. - The mid-19th century witnessed increasing recognition of the Ottoman sultanate in Western Africa, as seen in the chronicle _Ta'rikh al-fattash_. #### 8. **Influence of Sultan Abdul Hamid II on Relations** - Sultan Abdul Hamid II sought to establish relations with Sudanic Africa amidst colonial tensions, using religious orders to expand influence. - These efforts included diplomatic missions to various African regions, including Lagos and the Horn of Africa. #### 9. **Legacy of Ottoman Relations with Sudanic Africa** - Diplomatic ties persisted until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, reflecting the complex interplay of politics, culture, and resistance to colonialism. ### Conclusion: The historical connections between the Ottoman Empire and the kingdoms of Sudanic Africa reveal a multifaceted relationship characterized by diplomatic missions, cultural exchanges, and political negotiations that shaped the dynamics of power and influence in the region from 1574 to 1880.

a brief note on the role of Africans in the early Islamic expansion

an African kingdom in southern Italy.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on the role of Africans in the early Islamic expansion =================================================================== ### an African kingdom in southern Italy. ( Aug 19, 2023 14 The early period of Islamic expansion resulted in the creation of what was until then the largest empire in human history. In less than a century, the Rashidun caliphate and the suceeding Umayyad caliphate created a large empire that stretched from Spain to Central Asia, covering a vast territory from the Atlantic Ocean to the borders of China. Yet despite their rapid success, the Islamic advance was halted in ( and Ethiopia where their armies suffered rare defeats and were forced to withdraw. A similar advance into west Africa through the oases of the Fezzan and ( was equally unsuccessful as local polities remained largely in control of the region. Overextended and outnumbered, the Ummayad Arabs begun recruiting north-African Berbers to bolster their scattered armies. The addition of both free and enslaved Berber soldiers in the Ummayad forces proved decisive in the conquest and control of the empire's most distant provinces, especially in Spain. As the pace of expansion begun to decline in the 8th and 9th century, more soldiers were recruited from outlying regions like west-Africa and Europe. With these armies, the Ummayads and their sucessors expanded their campaigns into southern Europe, beginning with the islands of Crete and Sicily, and eventually making landfall on southern Italy. The Muslim kingdom in southern Italy was the furthest expansion of the early Islamic empires in mainland Europe outside Spain. In the 9th century, Italy was home to the only independent Muslim state in Europe that was ruled not by Arabs but by the contigents of Berbers and west-Africans whom they had recruited. The kingdom of Bari is the subject of my latest Patreon article, exploring the history of this African kingdom in Italy, and its complex relationship with the neighboring Christian states.

### The Role of Africans in the Early Islamic Expansion 1. **Overview of Islamic Expansion**: - The early Islamic expansion occurred during the 7th and 8th centuries, leading to the establishment of the largest empire in history at that time. - The Rashidun (632-661 CE) and Umayyad (661-750 CE) caliphates rapidly expanded their territory from Spain to Central Asia. 2. **Geographical Reach**: - The Islamic Empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the borders of China. - Key regions included the Iberian Peninsula and parts of North Africa. 3. **Challenges to Expansion**: - The Islamic military campaigns faced significant setbacks in Ethiopia and the western regions of Africa. - Despite these efforts, local polities maintained control, and the Islamic forces were unable to establish dominance. 4. **Recruitment of North African Berbers**: - In response to challenges, the Umayyad caliphate began to recruit Berber soldiers from North Africa. - Both free and enslaved Berbers became integral to the Islamic military and contributed to securing remote provinces, particularly in Spain. 5. **Further Recruitment and Expansion**: - As the pace of expansion slowed during the 8th and 9th centuries, the Umayyads recruited soldiers from additional regions, including West Africa and Europe. - These forces initiated campaigns into Southern Europe, targeting islands such as Crete and Sicily, and eventually Southern Italy. 6. **Establishment of Muslim Control in Italy**: - The Muslim kingdom in Southern Italy marked the furthest reach of early Islamic empires into mainland Europe outside of Spain. - By the 9th century, Southern Italy hosted the only independent Muslim state in Europe, governed not by Arabs but by Berber and West African contingents. 7. **The Kingdom of Bari**: - The kingdom of Bari emerged as a significant site of Islamic rule in Italy, exemplifying the complex dynamics between Muslim and Christian states during this period. - This kingdom illustrates the impact of African soldiers in shaping the political landscape in Europe during the early Islamic expansion. 8. **Conclusion**: - The involvement of Africans, particularly Berbers and West Africans, was crucial to the success of the Umayyad military campaigns and the establishment of Islamic presence in Europe. - The legacy of the kingdom of Bari reflects the multicultural aspects of the Islamic expansion and the significant role of African kingdoms in this historical narrative.

A complete history of Madagascar and the island kingdom of Merina.

State and society on Africa's largest island.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A complete history of Madagascar and the island kingdom of Merina. ================================================================== ### State and society on Africa's largest island. ( Aug 13, 2023 11 Lying about 400km off the coast of east Africa, the island of Madagascar has a remarkable history of human settlement and state formation. A few centuries after the beginning of the common era, a syncretized Afro-Asian society emerged on Madagascar, populating the island with plants and animals from both east Africa and south-east Asia, and creating its first centralized states. From a cluster of small chiefdoms centered on hilltop fortresses, the powerful kingdom of Merina emerged at the end of the 18th century after developing and strengthening its social and political institutions. The Merina state succeeded in establishing its hegemony over the neighboring states, creating a vast empire which united most of the island. This article outlines the history of Madagascar and the Merina kingdom, from the island's earliest settlement to the fall of the Merina kingdom in the late 19th century. _**the nineteenth century Merina empire**_, map by G. Campbell. * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more on African history and to keep this blog free for all:** ( * * * **Background on the human settlement of Madagascar.** The island of Madagascar is likely to have been first settled intermittently by groups of foragers from the African mainland who reached the northern coast during the 2nd to 1st millennium BC.( Permanent settlement on Madagascar first appears in archeological record during the second half of the 1st millennium, and was associated with the simultaneous expansion of the Bantu-speaking groups from the mainland east Africa and its offshore islands, as well as the arrival of Austonesian-speaking groups from south-east Asia.( Linguistic evidence suggests that nearly all domesticates on Madagascar were primarily introduced from the African mainland, while crops came from both Africa and south-east Asia.( There were significant exchanges between the northern coastal settlements of Madagascar and the Comoros archipelago, with chlorite schist vessels and rice from the former being exchanged for imported ceramics and glass-beads from the latter. These exchanges were associated with the expansion of the Swahili world along the east African coast and the Comoros islands, of which northern Madagascar was included, especially the city-state of Mahilaka in the 9th-16th century. Other significant towns emerged all along the island's coast at Vohemar, Talaky, Ambodisiny, and in the Anosy region, although these were not as engaged in maritime trade as Mahilaka.( _**the peopling of Madagascar,**_ map by P Beaujard _**Ruins of the city wall of Mahilaka in north-western Madagascar**_, the Swahili town had a population of over 10,000 at its height in the early 2nd millennium It was during this early period of permanent settlement that the Malagasy culture emerged with its combined Austronesian and Bantu influences. The Malagasy language belongs to the South-East Barito subgroup of Austronesian languages in Borneo but its vocabulary contains a significant percentage of loanwords from the Sabaki subgroup of Bantu languages (primarily Comorian and Swahili) as well as other languages such as other Austronesian languages like Malay and Javanese.( Genetically, the modern coastal populations of Madagascar have about about 65% east-African ancestry with the rest coming from groups closely related to modern Cambodians, while the highland populations have about 47% east-African ancestry with a similar ancestral source in south-east Asia as the coastal groups.( More significantly however, is that this Bantu-Austronesian admixture occurred more the 600-960 years ago at its most recent, and most scholars suggest that the admixture occurred much earlier during the 1st millennium, with some postulating that it occurred on the Comoros archipelago before the already admixed group migrated to Madagascar.( This combined evidence indicates that the population of Madagascar was thoroughly admixed well before the emergence of the earliest states in the interior and the dispersion of the dialects which make up the modern Malagasy language such as the Merina, Sakalava, Betsileo, etc.( The creation of ethnonyms such as “Merina” is itself a very recent phenomenon associated with their kingdom’s 18th-19th century expansion.( _**rice cultivation**_, 1896, madagascar , quai branly _**Sculpture of a Zebu cow**_. 1935, Antananarivo, quai branly _**Madagascar in the late 1st millennium, ancient sites and ‘ethnic’ groups.**_ Map by G. Campbell * * * ( * * * **The emergence of kingdoms in Madagascar and the early Merina state from the 16th to the 18th century.** The first settlements in the interior highlands appear in the 12th-13th century at the archeological sites of Ambohimanga and Ankadivory. Similar sites appear across the island, they are characterized by fortified hilltop settlements of stone enclosures, within which were wooden houses and tombs, with inhabitants practicing rice farming and stock-breeding. Their material culture is predominantly local and unique to the island but also included a significant share of imported wares similar to those imported on the Swahili coast and the Comoros archipelago. These early settlements flourished thanks to the emergence of social hierarchies, continued migration and the island's increasing insertion into regional and international maritime trade.( The history of the early Merina polity first appears in external accounts from the 17th century, that are later supplemented by internal traditions recorded later. Prominent among these traditions is Raminia, a person of purportedly Islamized/Indianized Austronesian origin with connections to Arabia and the Swahili coast, whose descendants (the _**Zafiraminia**_) settled at the eastern coast of the island. Among these was a woman named Andriandrakova who moved inland and married an autochtonous _**vazimba**_ chief to produce the royal lineage of merina (_**Andriana**_).( These traditions were initially interpreted by colonial scholars to have been literal migrations of distinct groups, but such interpretations have since been discredited in research which instead regards the traditions to be personifications of elite interactions between various hybridized groups with syncretic cultures, some of whom had been established on the island while others were recent immigrants.( From the 16th century to the early 17th century, Madagascar was a political honeycomb of small polities. The central part of the highlands comprised several chiefdoms divided between the Merina and Betsileo groups, all centered at fortified hilltop sites. Intermittent conflicts between the small polities were resolved with warfare, alliances and diplomacy mediated by local lineage heads and ritual specialists. One of the more significant hilltop centers was Ampandrana, village southwest of the later capital Antananarivo. The elite of at Ampandrana gradually assumed a position of leadership from which came the future dynasty of _Andriana_, with its first (semi-legendary) rulers being; king Andriamanelo and his sucessor; king Ralambo. These rulers are credited with several political and cultural institutions of the early Merina state and establishing their authority over the clan heads through warfare and marital alliances. Ralambo's sucessor Andrianjaka would later found Antananarivo as the capital of the Merina state in the early 17th century. ( Merina then appears in external accounts as the kingdom (s) of the Hova/Hoves/Uva/Vua, and was closely related to the export trade in commodities (mostly cattle and rice) and captives passing through the northwestern port of Mazalagem Nova that ultimately led to the Comoros archipelago, the Swahili coast and Arabian peninsula.( The term ‘Hova’ is however not restricted to the Merina and is unlikely to have represented a single state as it was a social rank for the majority of highland Malagasy.( Neverthless, its appearance sheds some light on the existence of hierachical polities in the interior. One Portuguese account from 1613 mentions that **“Some Buki \ slaves are led from the kingdom of Uva, which is located in the interior of the island, and they are sold at Mazalagem to Moors from the Malindi coast \”**. It later describes these captives from Uva as resembling the **"the palest half-breeds"**, but adds that some had curly hair, some straight hair, and some had dark skin. Mazalagem depended on the Merina state more than the reverse, as one account from 1620 **"When I asked a negro from Mazalagem if his fellow-countrymen used to go and trade at Vua, he replied that the people from Mazalagem no longer go there since the people of Vua, who are very wicked, had stripped them of their wares and their silver and had killed a great number of their people"**. Neverthless, trade continued as one account from the late 17th century describes 'Hoves' coming to Mazalagem Nova with **"10,000 head of cattle and 2 or 3,000 slaves”.**( _**Ruins of Mazalagem Nova**_, the 17th century town displaced the earlier town of Lagany as the main entreport for overland trade. While Mazalagem’s prosperity was largely tied to its virtual monopoly over the trade from the interior, it was only one of about 40 towns along the northern coast, most of which weren’t economically dependent on trade from the interior. **Read more about the history of the Swahili city-states of Madagascar here**: ( _**street scene in Mahajanga (Majunga) in 1945**_, quai branly. This town suceeded Mazalagem in the 18th century and remained Merina’s principal port in the west until the kingdom’s collapse. These accounts don't reveal much about the internal processes of the Merina state, save for corroborating internal traditions about the processes of the kingdom's expansion, its agro-pastoral economy and its gradual integration into maritime trade in the 17th and 18th century. The population growth in central Merina compelled its rulers to expand the irrigated areas, which were mostly farmed by common subjects, while the royal estates were worked by a combination of corvee labour and captives from neighboring states. The most significant ruler of this period was king Andriamasinavalona (ca. 1675-1710) who expanded the borders of the kingdom, created more political institutions and increased both regional and coastal trade. He later divided his realm into four parts under the control of one of his sons, but the kingdom fragmented after his death, descending into a ruinous civil war that lasted until the late 18th century.( In 1783, the ruler of the most powerful among the four divided kingdoms was Andrianampoinimerina . He negotiated a brief truce of with the other kings, fortified his dependencies, purchased more firearms from the coastal cities, and created more offices of counsellors in his government.( In 1796 he recaptured Antananarivo, and after several campaigns, he had seized control of rest of the divided kingdoms, creating a sizeable unified state about 8,000 sqkm in size. It was under the reign of his sucessor Radama (r. 1810-1828) that the kingdom greatly expanded to cover nearly 2/3rds of the island (about 350,000-400,000 sqkm) through a complex process of diplomacy and warfare, conquering the Betsileo states by 1822, the Antsihanaka states in 1823, the sakalava kingdom of Iboina in 1823, and the coastal town of Majunga in 1824.( Radama's rapid expansion brought Merina into close contact with the imperial powers of the western Indian ocean, primarily the French in the Mascarene islands (Mauritius & Reunion), and the British who ships often stopped by Nzwani island( . The intersection of Radama's expansionist interests and British commercial and abolitionist intrests led to the two signing treaties banning the export of slaves from regions under Merina control in exchange for British military and commercial support. Slaves from Madagascar comprised the bulk of captives sent to the Mascarene plantations in the 18th and early 19th century, some of whom would have come from Merina along with the kingdom's staple exports of cattle, rice and other commodities.( However, competing imperial interests between the Merina, British and French compelled Radama to adopt autarkic policies meant to decrease his empire's reliance on imported weaponry and shore up his domestic economy. His policies were greatly expanded under his sucessor, Queen Ranavalona (1828-1861) and it was during their respective reigns that Merina was at the height of its power.( _**one of the residences of King Andrianampoinimerina within the Rova of Antananarivo, built in the traditional style.**_ photo ca. 1895, quai branly _**The seven tombs where the remains of king AndrianJaka and his descendants lie**_, Antananarivo, Madagascar. photo ca. 1945, quai branly. Originally built in the 17th/18th century, reconstruction was undertaken in the mid 19th century. _**Expansion of the Merina kingdom in the early 19th century.**_ Maps by G. Campbell * * * **State and Society in early 19th century Merina: Politics, Military and the industrial economy.** The government in Merina was headed by the king/Queen, who was assisted by a council of seventy which represented every collective within the kingdom, the most powerful councilor being the prime minister. Merina's social hierachy was built over the cultural institutions that pre-existed the kingdom such as castes and clan groups, with the noble castes (_**andriana**_) ruling over the commoner clans (_**foko**_) and their composite subjects (_**Hova**_), as well as the slaves (_**andevo**_). The kinsmen of the King received fiefs (_**menakely**_) from which was derived tribute for the capital and labour attached to the court. The subjects often came together in assemblies (_**fokonolona**_) to enact regulations, and effect works in common such as embankments and other public constructions, and to mediate disputes.( Both the Merina nobility and the subjects attached great importance to their ancestral lands (_**tanindrazana**_) controlled by clan founders (_**tompontany**_). Links between the ancestral lands and clan are maintained by continued burial within the solidly constructed tombs that are centrally located in the ancestral villages and towns, including the royal capital where the Merina court and King's tombs have a permanent fixture since the 17th century. Additionally, the clan founders and/or elders were appointed as local representatives of the Merina monarchy, in charge of remitting tribute and organizing corvee labour (_**fanompoana**_) for public works as well as for the military.( the Tranovola of Radama I, built in the hybridized architectural style that gradually influenced the royal architecture of Merina. photo ca. 1945, quai branly _**the Manjakamiadana palace of Ranavalona built by Jean Laborde in 1840, and encased in stone by Ranavalona II.**_ photo ca. 1895, quai branly. Merina armies initially consisted of large units drawn from ancestral land groups and commanded by the clan elders. when assembled, they were led by a commander in chief appointed by the king. After 1820 Radama succeeded in forming a standing army using the _**fanompoana**_ system, who were supplied with the latest weaponry and stationed in garrisons across the kingdom. Radama's standing force and the traditional army units controlled by elders were both allowed to be engaged in the export trade, sharing their profits with the imperial court and enforcing Merina control over newly conquered regions. Radama's syncretism of Merina and European cultural institutions encouraged the settlement of Christian missionaries and the establishment of a school system whose students were initially drawn from the nobility and military, but later included artisans and other subjects.( Merina's economy was predominantly based on intensive riziculture and pastoralism, supplemented by the various handicraft industries such as cloth manufacture, and metal smithing. Merina was at the center of a long-distance trade network of exchanges that fostered regional specialization, each province had regulated markets, and exchanges utilized imported silver, and commodity currencies. After the breakdown in relations between Merina and the Europeans, which included several wars where the French were expelled from Fort Daughin in 1824, and Tamatave in 1829, king Radama embarked on an ambitious program of industrialization that was subsquently expanded by Queen Ranavalona. Merina's local factories which were staffed by skilled artisans and funded by both the state and foreign entrepenuers (such as Jean Laborde), they produced a broad range of local manufactures including firearms, swords, ammunition, glass, cloth, tiles, processed sugar, soap and tanned leather. _**Factory building in Mantasoa, Madagascar ca. 1900**_, the town of Mantasoa was the largest of several industrial settlements and plantations set up during the first half of the 19th century in one of the most ambitious attempts at industrialization in the non-western world. **read more about it here:** ( * * * **The Merina state in the late 19th century: stagnation, transformation and collapse.** During Queen Ranavalona's reign, increasing conflicts between the court and the religious factions in the capital led to the expulsion of the few remaining missionaries and the expansion of the _**tangena**_ judicial system to check political and religious rivaries. Ranavalona's reign was characterized by increased Merina campiagns into outlying regions, the corvee labour system which supplied the industrial workforce and military, and the transformation of domestic labour with war captives from neighboring states, as well as imported captives from the Mozambique channel( . Merina retained its position as the most powerful state on the island thanks in part to the growing power of the prime minister Rainiharo, its armies managed to repel a major Franco-British attack on Tamatave in 1845, and to expel French agents from Ambavatobe in 1855. Rebellions in outlying provinces were crushed, but significant resistance persisted and Merina expansion effectively ground to a halt.( _**Tomb of Rainiharo constructed by Jean Laborde,**_ photo ca. 1945 quai branly After Ranavalona's death in 1861, she was suceeded by Radama II, her chosen heir who undid many of her autarkic policies and re-established contacts with the Europeans and missionaries who regained their positions in the capital. But internal power struggles between the Merina nobility undermined Radama's ability to maintain his authority, and he was killed in a rebellion led by his prime minister Rainivoninahitriniony in 1863. The later had Radama's widow, Rasoherina (r. 1863-1868), proclaimed as Queen, who inturn replaced him with the commander in chief Rainilaiarivony as prime minister in 1864. From then, effective government passed on to Rainilaiarivony, who occupied two powerful offices at once, reduced the Queen's executive authority and succeeded in ruling Merina until 1895, in the name of three queens that suceeded Rasoherina as figureheads; Ranavalona II (1868-1883), and Ranavalona III (1883-1897). ( _**View of Antsahatsiroa,**_ Antananarivo, Madagascar, 1862-1865 _**Tombs of King Radama I and Queen Rasoherina at the Rova of Antananarivo,**_ photo ca. 1945, quai branly Rainilaiarivony radically transformed Merina's political and cultural institutions, accelerating the innovations of the preceeding sovereigns. Merina's administration was restructured with more ministers/councilors under the office of the prime minister rather than the Queen, a code of laws was introduced to reform the Judicial system in 1868 and later in 1881, the military was rapidly modernized, and the collection of tribute became more formalized. Christianity became the court religion, mission schools were centralized, with more than 30,000 students in protestant mission schools alone by 1875.( The increasing syncretism of Merina and European culture could be seen in the adoption of brick architecture in place of timber and stone houses, the uniformed military and the replacement of the sorabe script (an Arabo-Malagasy writing system) with the latin script as printing presses became ubiquitous. However, the evolution of Merina society was largely determined by internal processes, the court remained at Antananarivo which was the largest city with about 75,000 inhabitants, but besides a few coastal towns like Majunga and Tamatave, most Merina subjects lived in relatively small agricultural settlements under the authority of the clans and feudatories.( Regionally, some of the political changes in Merina occurred in the background of the Anglo-French rivary in the western Indian ocean, which in Merina also played out between the rival Protestant and Catholic missions. As Rainilaiarivony leaned towards the British against the French, the latter were compelled to invade Merina and formally declare it a protectorate. In 1883, an French expedition force attacked Majunga and occupied Tamatave but its advance was checked in the interior forcing it to withdraw. A lengthy period of negotiations between the Merina and the French followed, but would prove futile as the French invaded again in December 1894. Their advance into the interior was stalled by the expedition's poor planning, only one major engagement was fought with the Merina army as the kingdom had erupted in rebellion. The Merina capital was taken by French forces in September 1895 and the kingdom formally ceased to exist as an independent state in the following month.( _**Palace of prime minister Rainilaiarivony**_, photo ca. 1895, quai branly _**Antananarivo**_, ca. 1900, quai branly * * * In the early 19th century when the **Merina state was home to one of the most remarkable examples of proto-industrialization in Africa.** read more about it on Patreon: ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Early Exchange Between Africa and the Wider Indian Ocean World by G Campbell pg 195-204, A critical review of radiocarbon dates clarifies the human settlement of Madagascar by Kristina Douglass et al. ( Early Exchange Between Africa and the Wider Indian Ocean World by G Campbell pg 206-214, Settling Madagascar: When Did People First Colonize the World’s Largest Island? by Peter Mitchell- and response: Evidence for Early Human Arrival in Madagascar is Robust: A Response to Mitchell by James P. Hansford et al. ( The Austronesians in Madagascar and Their Interaction with the Bantu of the East African Coast by Roger Blench, The first migrants to Madagascar and their introduction of plants by Philippe Beaujard pg 174-185) ( Early Exchange Between Africa and the Wider Indian Ocean World by G Campbell pg 213-220, The Worlds of the Indian Ocean Vol. 2 by Philippe Beaujard pg 374-378) ( loanwords in Malagasy by Alexander Adelaar. ( Early Exchange Between Africa and the Wider Indian Ocean World by G Campbell pg 244-250) ( The Mobility Imperative: A Global Evolutionary Perspective of Human Migration By Augustin Holl pg 83-85, On the Origins and Admixture of Malagasy by Sergio Tofanelli et al pg 2120-2121, Malagasy Phonological History and Bantu Influence by Alexander Adelaar pg 145-146) ( The first migrants to Madagascar and their introduction of plants by Philippe Beaujard pg 172-174, The Worlds of the Indian Ocean Vol. 2 by Philippe Beaujard pg 372-373 ( Desperately Seeking 'the Merina' (Central Madagascar) by Pier M. Larson pg 547-560 ( Early State Formation in Central Madagascar by Henry T. Wright et al pg 104-111, The Worlds of the Indian Ocean Vol. 2 by Philippe Beaujard pg 385-391 ( The Worlds of the Indian Ocean Vol. 2 by Philippe Beaujard pg 402-412) ( The Myth of Racial Strife and Merina Kinglists: The Transformation of Texts by Gerald M. Berg pg 1-30, The Worlds of the Indian Ocean Vol. 2 by Philippe Beaujard pg 414-421 ( Unesco General history of Africa vol 5 pg 875-876, Early State Formation in Central Madagascar by Henry T. Wright et al pg 3) ( Unesco General history of Africa vol 5 pg 862-866) ( Desperately Seeking 'the Merina' (Central Madagascar) by Pier M. Larson pg 522-554 ( The Worlds of the Indian Ocean Vol. 2 by Philippe Beaujard of 560-561,615) ( Unesco General history of Africa vol 5 877) ( Sacred Acquisition: Andrianampoinimerina at Ambohimanga, 1777-1790 by Gerald M. Berg pg 191-211 ( Africa and the Indian Ocean World from Early Times to Circa 1900 by G. Campbell, pg 215 Unesco General history of Africa vol 5 pg 878 ( [An African island at the nexus of global trade: The Comoros island of Nzwani from 750-1889AD\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------]( ( · July 10, 2022 ( ( ( Slave trade and slavery on the Swahili coast by T Vernet , Madagascar and the Slave Trade by G Campbell ( The Adoption of Autarky in Imperial Madagascar by G Campbell ( The Cambridge History of Africa - Volume 5 pg 397) ( Early State Formation in Central Madagascar by Henry T. Wright et al pg 12-14, Ancestors, Power, and History in Madagascar edited by Karen Middleton pg 259-265) ( Radama's Smile: Domestic Challenges to Royal Ideology in Early Nineteenth-Century Imerina by Gerald M. Berg pg 86-91) ( Of the 500,000 slaves on the eve of colonialism in Madagascar in 1896, more than 90% were Malagasy, while about 48,000 were Makuas from Mozambique; see: The African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean edited by Shihan de S. Jayasuriya, pg 96 ( The Cambridge History of Africa - Volume 5 pg 407-412, Africa and the Indian Ocean World from Early Times to Circa 1900 by G. Campbell pg 215-216) ( The Cambridge History of Africa - Volume 5 pg 413-414 ( The Cambridge History of Africa - Volume 5 pg 413-417 ( Unesco general history of africa- Volume 6 pg 436-441) ( An Economic History of Imperial Madagascar by G. Campbell pg 322-339) ### to African History Extra By isaac Samuel · Launched 3 years ago All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past 11 Likes · ( 11 Comments Top Latest Discussions ( ( Sep 4, 2021 • ( 30 ( ( Apr 9, 2023 • ( 17 ( ( Apr 7 • ( 48 See all Ready for more?

## A Complete History of Madagascar and the Island Kingdom of Merina ### Overview of Madagascar 1. **Geography and Early Human Settlement:** - Madagascar is an island located approximately 400 km off the east coast of Africa. - Initial human settlement likely began intermittently during the 2nd to 1st millennium BC by foragers from the African mainland. - Permanent settlement is confirmed from the second half of the 1st millennium, associated with Bantu-speaking groups from East Africa and Austronesian-speaking groups from Southeast Asia. 2. **Cultural and Agricultural Foundations:** - The Malagasy culture emerged from the blending of Austronesian and Bantu influences. - The Malagasy language, belonging to the Austronesian family, contains many loanwords from Bantu languages such as Swahili. - Genetic studies reveal that modern coastal populations are about 65% East African in ancestry, while highland populations show approximately 47% East African ancestry. ### Emergence of Early States 3. **Formation of Chiefdoms:** - The 12th-13th centuries saw the establishment of fortified hilltop settlements. - These settlements engaged in agriculture, particularly rice farming and stock-breeding, and displayed material culture unique to Madagascar. 4. **Merina State Development:** - The Merina polity first appeared in external accounts during the 17th century. - Key figures, such as Raminia and Andriandrakova, contributed to the formation of the royal lineage of Merina through various alliances. 5. **Political Landscape:** - By the 16th to early 17th centuries, Madagascar was a collection of small polities, primarily led by the Merina and Betsileo groups. - Conflicts and alliances among these polities were managed by local leaders and ritual specialists. ### The Merina Kingdom's Ascendancy 6. **Unification Under Andrianampoinimerina:** - In 1783, Andrianampoinimerina unified various kingdoms, establishing a significant Merina state covering about 8,000 km². - His successor, Radama I (1810-1828), expanded the kingdom to encompass two-thirds of the island, approximately 350,000-400,000 km², through both warfare and diplomacy. 7. **Relations with European Powers:** - Radama engaged in treaties with the British, banning the slave trade in exchange for military support. - The Merina economy was bolstered through a combination of agricultural exports and captive labor from conquered regions. ### Political and Economic Structures 8. **Administration and Military Organization:** - The Merina government was hierarchical, with the king or queen at the top and a council of seventy representing various clans. - The royal army consisted of both traditional units and a standing army developed under Radama I. 9. **Industrialization Efforts:** - Radama and later Queen Ranavalona (1828-1861) initiated industrialization, establishing factories that produced local goods, including weapons and textiles. ### Decline and Transformation of the Merina Kingdom 10. **Challenges to Power:** - Under Queen Ranavalona, increased internal conflicts and tensions with religious factions marked the late 19th century. - After her death in 1861, her successor Radama II attempted to reverse previous policies but was killed during a rebellion. 11. **Colonization by France:** - Radama II's reign led to instability, and power shifted significantly to Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony. - In 1894, after failed negotiations, French forces invaded and captured the capital, leading to the formal end of the independent Merina state in 1895. ### Conclusion 12. **Legacy of the Merina Kingdom:** - The history of the Merina kingdom showcases a unique blend of African and Asian influences, marked by significant cultural exchanges and political evolution. - The kingdom's rise and eventual fall reflect broader themes of imperialism, trade, and social structure in African history. This structured history of Madagascar and the Merina kingdom outlines the remarkable transitions from early settlement through state formation, expansion, and eventual colonization, illustrating the complexity and significance of Madagascar's past in the context of African history.

a brief note on Madagascar's position in African history

plus, early industrialization in the Merina kingdom.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers a brief note on Madagascar's position in African history ======================================================== ### plus, early industrialization in the Merina kingdom. ( Aug 05, 2023 12 The island of Madagascar has for long languished on the periphery of African historiography. The reluctance of some Africanists to look beyond the east African coast stems partly from the perception of Madagascar as insular and more 'culturally' south-Asian than African, despite such terms being modern constructs with little historical basis in Madagascar's society. Recent research on the island's history has bridged the chasm between the island and the mainland, revealing their shared political, economic and genetic history that defies simplistic constructs of colonial ethnography. The long chain of islands extending outwards from the east African coast through the Comoros archipelago to northwestern Madagascar comprised a series of stepping stones that formed a dynamic zone of interaction between the African mainland and Madagascar. Its on these stepping stones that African settlers continously travelled to Madagascar, establishing settlements along the northern and western coasts of the island and in parts of the interior, where they were joined by south-Asian settlers from the eastern coast to create what became the modern Malagasy society. The north-western coast of Madagascar was part of the 'Swahili world', with its characteristic city-states, regional maritime trade, and extensive interaction with the hinterland. From these interactions emerged an economic and political alliance which drew the Malagasy and Swahili worlds closer: ( , Malagasy elites were integrated in Swahili society, and the movement of free and servile Malagasy into the east African coast was mirrored by a similar albeit smaller movement of both free and servile east Africans onto the island. The evolution of states on the island and their complex interactions with their east African neighbors and the later colonial empires, closely resembles that of the kingdoms on the mainland. At the onset of European imperial expansion on the east African coast, the largest power on the island was the kingdom of Merina, which controlled nearly 2/3rds of the Island during the reign of king Radama (r.1810-28) and Queen Ranavalona (1828-1861). Often characterized as a profoundly sage monarch, king Radama recognized the unique threats and opportunities of the European presence at his doorstep, and ( , he invited foreign innovations on his own terms, and directed them to his own advantage. After the relationship between Merina and its European neighbors soured, Radama and his successors created local industries to reduce the kingdom's reliance on imported technology, and like Tewodros of Ethiopia, Radama retained foreign artisans inorder to establish an armaments industry. **<**_Next week's substack article will explore the history of the Merina kingdom from the 16th century to the late 19th century._**\>** The **early industry of Merina** is the subject of my latest Patreon post in which I explore the kingdom's economic history during the early 19th century when the **Merina state, foreign capital and local labour, converged to create one of the most remarkable examples of proto-industrialization in Africa.

### A Brief Note on Madagascar's Position in African History 1. **Perception and Historical Context** - Madagascar has often been overlooked in African historiography. Many Africanists have viewed it as culturally more South-Asian than African, which is a modern construct lacking historical basis. - Recent research challenges this perception by highlighting the shared political, economic, and genetic history of Madagascar and the African mainland. 2. **Historical Interactions** - The islands stretching from the East African coast through the Comoros to Madagascar formed a network of interaction. - African settlers consistently traveled to Madagascar, establishing settlements along the northern and western coasts and in the interior regions. 3. **Cultural Synthesis** - The settlement patterns contributed to the development of modern Malagasy society, which arose from the integration of African and South-Asian settlers. - The northwestern coast of Madagascar was part of the "Swahili world," characterized by city-states, regional maritime trade, and extensive hinterland interactions. 4. **Political and Economic Alliances** - Economic and political alliances emerged from the interactions between the Malagasy and Swahili societies. - Malagasy elites integrated into Swahili society, leading to a reciprocal movement of both free and servile individuals between Madagascar and the East African coast. 5. **State Evolution and Colonial Interaction** - Madagascar's evolving states and their interactions with East African neighbors resemble the dynamics of mainland kingdoms. - By the time of European imperial expansion in the late 19th century, the Merina kingdom was the dominant power on the island, controlling about two-thirds of it under King Radama (1810-1828) and Queen Ranavalona (1828-1861). 6. **King Radama's Reign** - King Radama recognized the threats and opportunities posed by European presence, inviting foreign innovations on his own terms for the kingdom's benefit. - After relations with European neighbors deteriorated, Radama and his successors developed local industries to lessen reliance on imported technology. 7. **Proto-Industrialization in the Merina Kingdom** - Radama, similar to Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros, retained foreign artisans to establish an armaments industry. - The early 19th century saw the convergence of the Merina state, foreign capital, and local labor, leading to a notable example of proto-industrialization in Africa. 8. **Further Exploration** - The history of the Merina kingdom from the 16th century to the late 19th century will be examined in future discussions. - Additionally, the economic history of the Merina's early industry is a topic of exploration that outlines the kingdom's industrial advancements during this critical period.

A history of the Buganda kingdom. - by isaac Samuel

government in central Africa.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A history of the Buganda kingdom. ================================= ### government in central Africa. ( Jul 30, 2023 12 The land sheltered between the great lakes of east Africa was home to some of the continent's most dynamic kingdoms. Around five centuries ago, the kingdom of Buganda emerged along the northern shores of lake Victoria, growing into one of the region's most dominant political and cultural powers. Buganda was a cosmopolitan kingdom whose political influence extended across much of the region and left a profound legacy in east Africa. Its armies campaigned as far as Rwanda, its commercial reach extended to the Nyamwezi heartland of western Tanzania, and its diplomats travelled to Zanzibar on the Swahili coast This article explores the history of the Buganda kingdom from the 16th century to 1900. _**Map of the Great lakes kingdoms in the late 19th century( **_ * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more on African history and to keep this blog free for all:** ( * * * **Background to the emergence of Buganda: Neolithic cultures and incipient states in the lakes region.** The lakes region of east Africa is a historical and cultural area characterized by shared patterns of precolonial political organization. The initial Neolithic iron-age cultures that emerged across the region from the 1st millennium BC to the middle of the 1st millennium AD, gradually declined before more complex societies re-emerged in early 2nd millennium the what is now western Uganda, at the proto-capitals of Ntusi and Bigo. Its these early societies of agro-pastoral communities that produced a shared cultural milieu in which lineage groups and incipient states would rise.( Prior to the founding of Buganda, the region in which the kingdom would later emerge was originally controlled by of several dozen clans (_**bakata**_), a broad social institution within which were sub-clans and lineage groups. These exogamous groups were common across the lakes region, and transcended both ethnic and political boundaries of the later kingdoms. They likely represented an older form of social complexity within which were numerous small states that would be significantly transformed as the kingdoms became larger and more centralized.( The core region of Buganda (in _Busiro_ and _Kyaddondo_) was a land teaming with shrines (_**masabo**_), enclosures invested with numinous authority that contained relics of older rulers who were gradually deified and local deities who became influential in the early state. A number of these predated the foundation of the state, and some (on Buddo hill in Busiro) were sacred enough to become grounds for installation of new kings beginning in the 18th century, and would remain under the control of ritual officiants and shrine priests after the kingdom's founding.( However, not all deities were historical personalities, nor were all important historical personalities deified, and some among both groups were shared with other kingdoms.( _**Location of Busiro in relation to the iron-age sites**_ The kingdom's legendary founder Kintu and his descendant Kimera are credited with the introduction of several cultural and political institutions to the region that became Buganda, and the creation of the civilization/state itself. various versions of this origin myth exist, combining mythical and historical figures, and collapsing centuries long events into complex stories and geneologies. They contain salient information on the early states of the region that became Buganda, and their relationship to neighboring states particulary Bunyoro where Kimera supposedly resided for some time.( While the legendary personalities are wholly mythical, they are representations of particular aspects of kingship as well as political and cultural changes that occurred in the early state, which facilitated their transmission into mythology. Arguably the most recognizable information relates to Kimera’s introduction into Buganda of several elements in the early state's political institutions, regalia and titlelature from Bunyoro( . Its evident that the royal genealogists who preserved these faint memories of the early state to add to the better known history of later kings, relied on the great stock of known potencies in the land represented by the numerous shrines, deities, and cultural heroes, some of which also appear in traditions of neighboring states.( * * * **The early state in Buganda from the 16th-17th century** For most of Buganda’s early history, the power of the King (_**kabaka**_) was still curbed by the clan-heads, who controlled the political make-up of the nascent kingdom.( The most notable ruler during this period was Nakibinge, a 16th century king whose reign was beset by rebellion and ended with his defeat at the hands of Bunyoro. The 16th to 17th century was a period of Bunyoro hegemony. The traditions of Rwanda, Nkore, Karagwe and Ihangiro all recall devastating invasions which were repelled by kings who took the title of 'Nyoro-slayer'. In Buganda, the era of Bunyoro's suzeranity is represented by the traditions on postulated defeat of Nakibinge, all of which collapse a complex period of warfare in which Buganda freed itself of Bunyoro's suzeranity.( From the late 17th century to the mid-18th century, the kingdom built up a position of significant economic and military strength, facilitated by an efficient and centralized socio-political structure. The 17th century kings Kimbugwe and Kateregga would undertake a few campaigns beyond the core of the early state, while their 18th century sucessors Mutebi and Mawanda raised large armies and subsumed several rival states( . Mwanda in particular in credited with creating the offices of the _**batongole**_ (royally appointed chiefs) thus centralizing power under the King and away from the clans.( _**Expansion of Buganda from the 17th-19th century.**_ Map by Henri Médard and Jonathon L. Earle * * * ( * * * **Buganda as a regional power in the 18th-19th century** King Mawanda (d. 1740) presided over the advance of the eastern frontier towards the Nile upto _Kyagwe_, an important center of trade. Mawanda also campaigned south, bringing his armies into Bundu and _Kooki_: a rich iron producing region on the south-western shores of lake Victoria that was home to a powerful chiefdom within Bunyoro’s orbit. Unlike its western neighbors, Buganda didn't posses significant iron deposits within its core provinces. raw iron was thus brought from outlying provinces, to be reworked and smelted across the kingdom. Mawanda's sucessor, Junju, completed the annexation of Buddu following a lengthy war. Buddu was renowned for its production of iron and high quality barkcloth, and its acquisition opened up access to a thriving industry. Junju armies also campaigned as far as the kingdom of Kiziba (in north-western Tanzania) but was forced to withdraw his overextended armies.( Junju's sucessor Semakokiro (r. ca. 1790-1810) consolidated the gains of his predecessors, and defended the kingdom against the resurgent Bunyoro whose armies were regaining lost ground in the west. A major rebellion led by Kakungulu, who was one of Semakokiro's sons that had fled to Bunyoro, nearly reached the capital before it was repulsed. Further eastern campaigns to _Bulondoganyi_ at the border of the _Bugerere_ chiefdom near the Nile river were abandoned, as the kingdom's rapid expansion momentarily came to a halt.( Semakokiro was suceeded by Kamanya (1810-1832) who resumed the expansionist campaigns of his predecessors by advancing his armies east beyond the Nile to the kingdom of Busoga, to the north as _Buruuli_ (near lake Kyoga) and as far west as _Busongora_, a polity near the Rwenzori mountains that was a dependency of Bunyoro. In retaliation, Bunyoro sent the rebellious prince Kakungulu whose armies raided deep into Buganda's territory including the region around Bulondoganyi. Buganda's initial invasion of Busoga was defeated but another campaign was more sucessful, with Busoga acknowledging Buganda's suzeranity albeit only nominally. The campaigns against Buruuli which involved the use of war canoes, carried overland from lake Victoria, established Buganda's northernmost frontier.( Kamanya was suceeded by Ssuuna (1832-1856) who consolidated the territorial gains of his predecessors while engaging in a few campaigns beyond the frontiers. Suuna campaigned southwards to the Kagera river, and his navies attacked the islands of _Sesse_ in lake Victoria just prior to the arrival of foreign merchants in Buganda.( In 1844, a carravan of Swahili and Arab traders from the east African coast arrived at the capital of Buganda. Snay bin Amir, the head of the carravan was hospitably received by Ssuuna and he would return in 1852, being the first of many foreign traders, explorers, missionaries that would be integrated into Buganda’s cosmopolitan society.( _**Expansionist wars of Buganda and direction of foreign arrivals**_, Map by D. cohen * * * **The government in 19th century Buganda : state and economy.** At the highest level of authority in Buganda was the Kabaka whose influence over the government had grown considerably in the 19th century, although his personal authority was more apparent than real. Just below the Kabaka was a large and complex bureaucracy of appointed and hereditary officials (_**abakungu**_), ministers, chiefs, clan heads and other titleholders, the most powerful among who were the _**Katikkiro**_ (vizier/prime-minister) the _**Kimbugwe**_, and the _**Nnamasole**_ (Queen-Mother), all of whom oversaw the judicial and taxing functions of the state and formed the innermost council within several concentric circles of power radiating from the capital.( They resided in the transient royal capital at Rubaga (and later at Mengo), a large agglomeration with more than 20,000 residents in the mid-19th century, that was the center of political decision making where public audiences were held, official delegations were hosted and trade was regulated.( _**Rubaga, the new capital of the Emperor Mtesa,**_ ca. 1875. The kingdom was divided into ten ssaza (provinces/counties), each under an appointed chief (_**abamasaza**_), the four most important of which were Buddu, Ssingo, Bulemeezi and Kyaggwe. which inturn had several subdivisions (_**gombolola**_)( The military was led by _**Sakibobo**_ (commander-in-chief) who was often chosen by the king. Regions within the ssaza system were the basic units of the army, with each chief providing military levies for the kingdom's army. The King had his own standing army at the capital that was likely present since the kingdom's foundation, and would eventually grow into the elite corps of royal riflemen (_**ekitongole ekijaasi**_) that was garrisoned in provincial capitals across the kingdom.( Below these were the provincial chiefs were lower ranking titleholders and the common subjects/peasants (_**bakopi**_) who were mostly comprised of freeborn baGanda as well as a minority of acculturated immigrants and former captives. Freeborn baGanda were not serfs and they could attach themselves to any superior they chose.( The Taxes, tributes and tolls collected from the different provinces were determined by local resources. The collection of taxes was undertaken by the hierachical network of officials, all of whom shared a percentage of the levied tribute before it was remitted to the center. Taxes were paid in the form of cowrie shells, barkcloth, trade items, and agricultural produce, with the ultimate tax burden being moderated by the mobility of the peasantry.( _**Map of Buganda counties, in the early 20th century.**_ Corvee labour for public works was organized on a local basis from provincial chiefs, to be employed in the construction and maintenance of the kingdom's extensive road network, the enclosures and residences in the royal palaces, and the Kabaka's lake. The road network of Buganda appears in the earliest description of the kingdom. In 1862, the explorer J. Speke observed that they were found **“everywhere”** and were **"as broad as our coach-roads"**. In 1875, Stanley estimated the great highway leading to the capital as measuring 150ft, adding that in the capital were the "Royal Quarters, around which ran several palisades and circular courts, between which and the city was a circular road, ranging from 100 to 200 feet in width, from which radiated six or seven magnificent avenues". Later accounts describe the remarkably straight and broad highways bounded by trees, crossing over rivers with bridges of interlaced palm logs, in a complex network that connected distant towns and villages to the capital. They were as much an expression of grandeur as a means of communication.( The mainstay of Buganda’s economy was agriculture, and its location on the fertile shores of lake victoria had given it a unique demographic advantage over most of the neighboring kingdoms. describing a typical estate in 1875, the explorer H.M. Stanley observed that **“In it grow large sweet potatoes, yams, green peas, kidney beans, field beans, vetches, and tomatoes. The garden is bordered by castor-oil, manioc, coffee, and tobacco plants. On either side are small patches of millets, sesamum, and sugar-cane. Behind the house and courts, and enfolding them, are the more extensive banana and plantain plantations and grain crops. Interspersed among the bananas are the umbrageous fig trees".**( The manufacture of barkcloth was the most significant craft industry in Buganda. The cloth was derived from the barks of various kinds of fig trees, which were stripped and made flexible using a mallet in a process that took several days. They were then dyed with red and black colorants, patterned and decorated with grooves which made it resemble corduroy textiles. Barkcloth was used as clothing, beddings, packaging, burial shrouds, and wall carpets. It formed the bulk of the kingdom's exports to regional markets in Bunyoro, Nkore and as far as Nywamwezi, and remained popular well into the 1900s despite the increased importation (and later local manufacture) of cotton textiles.( _**Barkcloth with geometrical patterns stencilled in black**_, ca. 1930, British museum _**Bark cloth with star patterns**_, inventoried 1904, Bristol museum _**Beating out barkcloth**_, Uganda, ca. 1906-1911, university of Cambridge. * * * * * * Smithing of iron, copper and brass also constituted a significant industry. Unworked iron bought from the frontier was smelted and reworked into implements, jewelry and weapons that were sold in local markets and regionally to neighboring kingdoms. As early as the 1860s, professional smiths attached to the court were making ammunition for imported firearms, and by 1892, a contemporary account observed that local gun-smiths **"will construct you a new stock to a rifle which you will hardly detect from that made by a London gun-maker"**.( Leatherworking and tanning was an important industry and employed significant numbers of subjects. An account from 1874 describes the tanning of leather by the _bakopi_ who made large sheets of leather than were **"beautifully tanned and sewed together"**. A resident missionary in 1879 reported purchasing dyed leather skins cut in the shape of a hat. Cowhides were fashioned into sandals worn by the elite and priests since before the 18th century, with buffalo hides specifically worn by chiefs and the elite.( The main markets in the capital was under the supervision of an appointed officer, who was in charge of collecting taxes in the form of cowrie shells, and oversaw the activities of foreign merchants. Trading centers outside the capital such as Kyagwe, Bagegere, Bale, Nsonga and Masaka were controlled by provincial chiefs, and were sites of significant domestic and export trade by ganda merchants.( tobacco and cattle were imported from Nkore, in exchange for Bark cloth, while iron weapons, salt and captives were brought from Bunyoro in exchange for cloth (both cotton and barkcloth), copper, brass and glass beads, the latter coming from coastal traders.( Soon after the arrival of coastal traders, Sunna constructed a flotilla of watercraft similar in shape to the Swahili _**mtepe**_ ship intended to facilitate direct trade with the port town of Kageyi, which was ultimately linked to the town of Ujiji and the coastal cities.( In the 1870s and 1880s, the enormous canoes of Buganda measuring 80ft long and 7 ft wide with a capacity to carry 50 people along with their goods and pack animals (or 100 soldiers alone), featured prominently in the organization of long-distance commerce and warfare, rendering the overland routes marginal in external trade.( Most external trade consisted of ivory exports, whose demand was readily met by the established customs of professional hunting guilds, who often traversed the kingdom's frontiers to procure elephant tusks.( _**"Mtesa, the Emperor of Uganda, Prime Minister, and Chiefs"**_ ca. 1875. The king and his officials are dressed in the distinctive swahili _kanzus_ and hats purchased from coastal merchants. * * * **Buganda in the second half of the 19th century: from hegemony to decline.** In Buganda, coastal traders, missionaries and other foreign travelers found a complex courtly life in which new technologies were welcomed, new ideas were vigorously debated and alliances with foreign powers were sought where they were deemed to further the strength of the kingdom. Ssuuna’s sucessor Mutesa (r. 1856-1884) was a shrewd monarch who readily adopted aspects of coastal culture that he deemed useful, including integrating Swahili technicians into Buganda’s institutions, adopting Islam and transforming some of political institutions of the state into a Muslim kingdom. He acquired the sufficient diplomatic tools (such as Arabic literacy) that enabled him to initiate contacts with foreign states including Zanzibar (where the traders came from) and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (which was threatening to invade Buganda and Bunyoro from the north)( During the 1850s, Mutesa’s predecessor was reportedly in the habit of sending armed escorts to the southern kingdom of Karagwe when they heard that coastal traders wished to visit them. By 1875, Muteesa had taken his diplomatic initiative further to Sudan, ostensibly sending his emissaries to the Anglo-Egyptian capital of Khartoum for an alliance against Bunyoro. In 1869 and 1872, Mutesa sent caravans to Zanzibar, and by late 1878 a band of 'Mutesa's soldiers was reported to be returning from a mission to Zanzibar itself.( The apparently friendly envoys sent to Khartoum were infact spies dispatched to report on the strength and movements of the enemy. Mutesa had an acute appreciation of the role which diplomacy could play in protecting Buganda's independence, and the king shrewdly confined the Anglo-Egyptian delegation at his capital, blunting the planned invasion of Bunyoro and Buganda.( However, Mutesa registered less military success than his predecessors. Several wars against Bunyoro, Busoga, Buruli, and Bukedi during the 1860s and 1870s often ended with Buganda's defeat. Between 1870-1871, Mutesa sucessfully intervened in Bunyoro's sucession crisis with the installation of Kabarega, placed a puppet on the breakaway state of Tooro and in the Bunyoro dependency of Busongora but all were quickly lost when Kabarega resumed war with Buganda, Toro’s alliance was unreliable and Busongora expelled ganda armies.( Mutesa also lost soldiers in aiding Karagwe's king Rumanika in quelling a rebellion. A massive naval campaign with nearly 10,000 soldiers on 300 war-canoes was launched against the islands of Buvuma in 1875/7 ended with a pyrrhic victory for Buganda, which suffered several causalities but managed to reduce the island chiefdom to tributary status. In the late 1870s, Buganda mounted a major expedition south against the Nyiginya kingdom of Rwanda but the overextended armies were defeated( . _**Naval battle between the waGanda and waVuma**_, ca. 1875 * * * ( * * * While Mutesa had sucessfully played off the foreign influences to Buganda's advantage the situation became more volatile with the arrival of the Anglican missionaries in 1877, who were quickly followed by the French Catholics in 1879, much to the dismay of the former. As all sects were adopted by different elites and commoners across Buganda, the structures of the kingdom's institutions were complicated by the presence of competing groups. Near the end of his reign , Mutesa increasingly relied on the royal women who played a crucial role at court especially the queen-mother whose power in the land at least equal to her son.( Mutesa was suceeded by Mwanga in 1884, who inaugurated a less austere form of government than his predecessors in response to the growing internal and foreign threats which the kingdom faced. Internal campaigning and plundering increasingly took the place of legitimate collection of tribute, as Mwanga undertook expeditions within the kingdom intended to arbitrarily seize tribute. Besides his shifting policies with regards to the presence of Christian factions at the court, the king begun an ambitious project of creating a royal lake, which required significantly more covee labour than was traditionally accepted. A combination of military losses in Bunyoro in 1887, religious factionalism, and excessive taxation that were borne by both elites and commoners ultimately ended with the brief overthrow of Mwanga in 1888.( _**‘The Battle Against the Mohammedans’,**_ 1891, illustration depicting one of the political religious wars that were fought in this period The years 1888–93 were a tumultuous period in the history of Buganda during which two kings briefly suceeded Mwanga in 1889 before he returned to the throne in the same year. The beleaguered king had pragmatically chosen to rely on British support represented by Lord Lugard, agreeing to the former’s suzeranity over Buganda. While the Anglo-Buganda alliance proved sucessful in reversing Bunyoro’s recent gains against Buganda, the political-religious factionalism back home had grown worse over the early 1890s as the kingdom descended into civil war. Despite the raging conflicts, the capital remained the locus of power, and was described by a British officer as a center of prosperity and industry numbering about 70,000 inhabitants.( In 1894, the British forced Mwanga to accept a much reduced status of protectorate, which he lacked the capacity to object to given the ruinous internecine conflicts at the court. By 1897 however, Mwanga ‘rebelled’ against the British and begun a lengthy anti-colonial war in alliance with Bunyoro that ended with his defeat and exile in 1899.( In the following year, Buganda formally lost its autonomy, ending the kingdom’s four-century long history. _**The youthful king Daudi Cwa seated on the throne, flanked by Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth during their visit to Buganda in the early 20th century**_. Getty images. * * * In the 18th century, **a secret society in the Luba kingdom invented the Lukasa memory board, a sophisticated mnemonic device that encoded and transmitted the history of the Luba.** read more about this fascinating device on Patreon: ( * * * **support my writing directly via Paypal** ( ( Map by by Jean-Pierre Chrétien ( The Great Lakes of Africa: Two Thousand Years of History by Jean-Pierre Chrétien pg 54-70) ( The Great Lakes of Africa: Two Thousand Years of History by Jean-Pierre Chrétien pg 88-94, Kingship and State: The Buganda Dynasty by Christopher Wrigley pg 64-65, 166-168 ( Kingship and State: The Buganda Dynasty by Christopher Wrigley pg 27-29, 64, 41 ( The Great Lakes of Africa: Two Thousand Years of History by Jean-Pierre Chrétien pg 100-101 ( The Great Lakes of Africa: Two Thousand Years of History by Jean-Pierre Chrétien pg 111-112 ( Kingship and State: The Buganda Dynasty by Christopher Wrigley pg 193-196 ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 31,79, Kingship and State: The Buganda Dynasty by Christopher Wrigley pg 29, 55-56) ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 80 ( Kingship and State: The Buganda Dynasty by Christopher Wrigley pg 159-163, 199-200, 204-206 ( Kingship and State: The Buganda Dynasty by Christopher Wrigley pg 172-176 ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 186) ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 72-74, 76-77, 187, The Great Lakes of Africa: Two Thousand Years of History by Jean-Pierre Chrétien pg 156 ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 188-189) ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 191-193) ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 196-197) ( Fabrication of Empire: The British and the Uganda Kingdoms, 1890-1902 by Anthony Low pg 33-37 ( Sources of the African Past By David Robinson pg 80-85 ( The Great Lakes of Africa: Two Thousand Years of History by Jean-Pierre Chrétien pg 166-167-169 ( Kingship and State: The Buganda Dynasty by Christopher Wrigley pg 63) ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 206-207, 215-217) ( Kingship and State: The Buganda Dynasty by Christopher Wrigley pg 62-64) ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 99-102) ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 103-110) ( Through the dark continent by H.M.Stanely pg 383 ( Bark-cloth of the Baganda people of Southern Uganda by VM Nakazibwe 62-134 ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 83-85) ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 59) ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 141-143) ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg pg 30, 52, 117, 139-140) ( Lake Regions of Central Africa by Richard Francis Burton pg 195-196) ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 231-236) ( The Cambridge history of Africa Vol. 5 pg 283 ( [Economic growth and cultural syncretism in 19th century East Africa: Trade and Swahili acculturation on the African mainland\ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------]( ( · May 15, 2022 ( ( ( Fabrication of Empire by Anthony Low pg 38-48 ( Unesco general history of Africa Vol 5 pg 370-371 ( The Mission of Apolo Kivebulaya by Emma Wild-Wood pg 64-65, Fabrication of Empire by Anthony Low pg 52 ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 198-201, 274) ( Kingship and State: The Buganda Dynasty by Christopher Wrigley pg 67 ( Fabrication of Empire by Anthony Low pg 52-53, 65-66 Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 111-112) ( Political Power in Pre-Colonial Buganda by Richard Reid pg 38) ( Fabrication of Empire by Anthony Low pg 124, 197-210.

### A History of the Buganda Kingdom #### Overview - **Geographical Context**: The Buganda kingdom was situated along the northern shores of Lake Victoria, within a region characterized by dynamic precolonial states in East Africa. - **Emergence**: Buganda emerged as a significant political and cultural power around the 16th century and exerted considerable influence across East Africa. #### Historical Foundations 1. **Early Societies (1st Millennium BC - 2nd Millennium AD)**: - The lakes region saw the rise and decline of Neolithic iron-age cultures. - Proto-capitals like Ntusi and Bigo were centers of early agro-pastoral communities that facilitated a complex social structure. 2. **Clan System Prior to Buganda**: - The area was dominated by numerous clans (_**bakata**_), which transcended ethnic and political boundaries. - Clans represented an older form of social organization, setting the stage for Buganda's emergence. 3. **Cultural Significance**: - The core region had numerous sacred shrines (_**masabo**_) and deities that played a crucial role in political and social life, influencing later state formation. 4. **Legends of Origin**: - Kintu and Kimera, legendary figures, are credited with introducing political institutions in Buganda. - These myths combined real and mythical elements, reflecting the state's evolution and ties to neighboring entities like Bunyoro. #### The Early State (16th-17th Century) 1. **Political Structure**: - The power of the King (_**kabaka**_) was initially limited by clan-heads. - Notable rulers like Nakibinge faced challenges, including a significant defeat by Bunyoro. 2. **Shift to Independence (Late 17th Century)**: - Buganda began to build military and economic strength, shedding Bunyoro's influence. - Kings such as Kimbugwe and Kateregga campaigned beyond the kingdom's core. 3. **Centralization of Power**: - King Mwanda established royal offices (_**batongole**_), enhancing the kabaka's authority by reducing clan power. #### Expansion of Buganda (17th-19th Century) 1. **Military Campaigns**: - Mwanda and later successors extended Buganda's borders significantly, engaging in campaigns in southern regions rich in resources. - The annexation of Buddu secured valuable iron and trade opportunities. 2. **Defensive Strategies**: - Successors like Semakokiro defended against Bunyoro’s resurgence while maintaining expansion to the east and north. 3. **Economic Development**: - The kingdom thrived economically, relying on agriculture, trade, and craft industries. - Barkcloth manufacturing became a critical export, utilizing local resources effectively. #### Governance in 19th Century Buganda 1. **Political Structure**: - The kabaka's influence increased, supported by a complex bureaucracy, with officials managing various state functions. - The capital, Rubaga (later Mengo), became the center of governance and trade. 2. **Military Organization**: - Buganda's military was structured around the _**ssaza**_ (provinces) system, with regional chiefs providing troops. 3. **Economic System**: - Agriculture dominated the economy, supported by trade networks that facilitated the exchange of goods with neighboring regions. - The manufacture of barkcloth and metal goods was significant, with trade routes expanding into the coastal regions. #### Social and Cultural Life 1. **Integration of Foreign Cultures**: - King Mutesa (1856-1884) embraced foreign influences, particularly from coastal traders, integrating aspects of Islam and Swahili culture. - Diplomatic relationships were established with foreign powers to strengthen Buganda's position. 2. **Internal Conflicts and Religious Tensions**: - The late 19th century saw increasing tensions from religious factions as different Christian denominations competed for influence within the kingdom. - Mwanga's reign (1884-1888) was marked by internal strife and a shift towards coercive tribute collection. #### Decline and Colonization (Late 19th Century) 1. **British Involvement**: - Buganda's internal conflicts and weakened military standing led to British intervention and the establishment of a protectorate in 1894. - Mwanga’s rebellion against British control resulted in his eventual exile and the loss of Buganda’s autonomy in 1899. 2. **End of Sovereignty**: - Buganda's long-standing political structure and cultural legacy were significantly altered by colonial rule, ending centuries of kingdom history. #### Conclusion The Buganda kingdom's history illustrates the complexities of precolonial African states, encompassing aspects of governance, military organization, economic development, and cultural integration until its decline under colonial pressures. The transition from a powerful kingdom to a colonized territory reflects broader themes in African history during the 19th century.

On Hegel's ignorance of African History - by isaac Samuel

*my article for ROAPE journal

=========================== On Hegel's ignorance of African History ======================================= ### \*my article for ROAPE journal ( Jul 23, 2023 14 Please read, share and subscribe ( ======================================================================================================================================================================================================================== _**“Made with Natural Earth”**_ frontpiece of Teshale Tibebu’s ‘_Hegel and the third world’_ * * * In the 18th century, **a secret society in the Luba kingdom invented the Lukasa memory board, a sophisticated mnemonic device that encoded and transmitted the history of the Luba.** read more about this fascinating device on Patreon: ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. 14 Likes 14 Comments Top Latest Discussions ( ( Sep 4, 2021 • ( 30 ( ( Apr 9, 2023 • ( 17 ( ( Apr 7 • ( 48 See all Ready for more?

## On Hegel's Ignorance of African History ### 1. Introduction - The article, written by Isaac Samuel for the ROAPE journal, addresses Hegel's lack of understanding regarding African history. ### 2. The Luba Kingdom and the Lukasa Memory Board - In the 18th century, a secret society in the Luba Kingdom, located in present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo, developed the Lukasa memory board. - The Lukasa is a sophisticated mnemonic device used for encoding and transmitting the oral history of the Luba people. ### 3. Significance of the Lukasa Memory Board - The Lukasa memory board served an important cultural function in preserving and sharing the history and traditions of the Luba Kingdom. - This device highlights the advanced forms of knowledge transmission and record-keeping that existed in Africa prior to European colonialism. ### 4. Hegel’s Perspective on African History - Hegel's philosophical framework failed to acknowledge the complexities and richness of African histories and cultures, often reducing them to simplistic interpretations. - This oversight reflects broader Eurocentric narratives that marginalized non-European histories. ### 5. Conclusion - Understanding the contributions of African societies, such as the Luba Kingdom and their use of the Lukasa, is essential in challenging reductionist views and recognizing the depth of African history. - The article ultimately argues for a reevaluation of historical narratives to include the significant achievements of African cultures.

Textile trade and Industry in the kingdom of Kongo: 1483-1914.

the social and economic significance of Kongo's iconic raffia velvets

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Textile trade and Industry in the kingdom of Kongo: 1483-1914. ============================================================== ### the social and economic significance of Kongo's iconic raffia velvets ( Jul 16, 2023 17 _**“In this Kingdom of Kongo they make cloths of palm-leaf as soft as velvet, some of them embroidered with velvet satin, as beautiful as any made in Italy; this is the only country in the whole of Guinea where they know how to make these cloths.”**_ \-Duarte Pacheco Pereira, 1505( The kingdom of Kongo was one of Africa's largest textile producers prior to the colonial era. The exceptional caliber of Kongo's luxury textiles attests to the impressive technical abilities developed in the region generations before Western contact, that continued to flourish well into the 19th century. Textiles were at once omnipresent in Kongo society and crucial in the wielding of power by its elite. From their industrial levels of production that rivalled contemporary textile producers around the world, to the sophisticated system of trade and elaborate display, Kongo's textiles were central to Kongo's social and political economy. This article explores the history of Cloth making, trade and industry in Kongo, from its earliest documentation in the 1480s to its decline at the turn of the 20th century. _**Map of west-central Africa showing the Kingdom of Kongo (in blue) and its neighbors; Portuguese-Angola (red), loango and Matamba (green)**_ _**Map showing west-central Africa’s ‘Textile belt’**_( * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more on African history and to keep this blog free for all:** ( * * * **History of cloth-making in the kingdom of Kongo** The region of west central-Africa was one of the most industrious textile-producing regions on the continent. Since the late 1st millennium, cloth-making in this region relied on the manipulation of raffia threads of the palm tree which grew in the 'textile belt' extending from the mouth of the Zaire river to the western shores of lake Tanganyika. For most of west-central Africa's history, controlling parts of this textile-belt was central to the political strategies of many of the expansionist kingdoms such as Kongo. By the early 16th century, the kingdom of Kongo expanded eastwards into parts of textile producing regions, and would continue to hold them well into the 17th century.( Unlike most of Kongo’s material culture that is relatively well preserved in archeological contexts, textiles made of plant fiber cannot survive the region’s humid tropical climate. Fortunately, Kongo’s cloth was highly regarded by European visitors who acquired it as part of diplomatic and commercial exchanges with the kingdom since the 15th century. Artifacts produced in Kongo arrived in Europe soon after the Portuguese landed at kingdom’s coast in 1483, chief among these was the intricately patterned raffia cloth made by Kongo’s weavers. Early visitors were astonished to find an excellent variety of raffia cloth which was well-woven with many colors, featuring geometric patterns that were ornamented in high and low relief. Majority of the early chroniclers of exchanges between Kongo and Portugal, such as Rui de Pina (d. 1522), Garcia de Resende (d.1536) and Jeronimo Osorio (d. 1580) underscore the inclusion of such textiles among the gifts sent by the Kong king Joao I (1470-1509) to the Portuguese ruler Joao II.( However, the earliest surviving Kongo textiles we have today were made slightly later in the mid 16th century, and were widely re-distributed by Kongo's Portuguese, Italian and Dutch commercial partners across western capitals as diplomatic gifts given on royal ceremonies, and as part of collections that indicated their owner's refinement and cosmopolitan inquiry. Kongo's textiles thus appear across various collections from Florence to Prague to Stockholm to Copenhagen as highly valued products whose quality was appreciated by their receivers as much as it was by the producers in Kongo.( Corroborating earlier Portuguese accounts about the quality of Kongo’s cloth, Italian priests of the capuchin order who visisted Kongo in the early 17th century compared Kongo’s cloth with the best in their own lands, which was at the time, the best in Europe. It was in this context that an Italian visitor named Antonio Zucchelli who in 1705 reached Kongo’s province of Soyo, remarked about their textiles that _**“they are well woven , and well worked, as colorful as they are, they have some resemblance to the Velvet of opera, and they are strong and durable.”**_( This appreciation of Kongo's textile products and the numerous descriptions of its manufacture and popularity, Indicates the importance of cloth in the kingdom's economy prior to the arrival of europeans. Long established traditions in the weaving of cloth from raffia threads are recorded in various travel accounts, and rural communities which exclusively produced and traded cloth across the region were home to some of Kongo’s most active markets.( _**Kongo luxury cloth: cushion cover, 17th-18th century**_, Polo Museale del Lazio, Museo Preistorico Etnografico Luigi Pigorini Roma _**Kongo luxury cloth: cushion cover, 18th-19th century**_, National­museet Prinsens Palæ Raffia textiles were a marker of socio-political status. The quality and quantity of the cloth used for a garmet, the number of garmets and the richness of its designed all indicated their wearer's status. In Kongo, as in the neighboring kingdoms of Loango and Matamba, certain types of textiles were reserved for the king and the right top wear them could only be bestowed by him to a few favorite officials. Kongo's elite competed with each other in ostentatious display at public gatherings such as assemblies or dances.( While most of Kongo's subjects wore plain-weave cloth as their daily dress, the elites and nobility wore a range of different luxury textiles to mark their social-political status. A unit/length of raffia cloth consisted of a single ankle-length or knee-length wrapper, requiring a few of these to make up a complete garmet for a commoner, The elites on the other hand, wore longer and more layers of these wrappers, adding many lengths to hung over the shoulder as well as a nkutu net over the chest, and a mpu cap over the head.( Costumes for special occasions consisted of various wrappings of layers of lengthy plaited wrappers decorated with vibrant patterns and colors. According to an 18th century account, Raffia cloth was made into long coats resembling togas, velvets, brocades, satins, taffetas, damasks, sarcenets as well as bags and other accessories.( Cloth was not just used for clothing, it was also used lavishly for wall hangings and carpets/mats in houses.( Textiles served as main currencies for Kongo's rulers and elites to build and maintain personal networks of patronage. Rulers hoarded all sorts of raffia cloth in their treasury houses along with imported cloth brought to them by European traders but originating from diverse regions, especially India. They collected plain weave cloth as tributes and fines and used it as gifts stipends to officials and clients, and they kept stores of luxury cloth to adorn their palaces and courts. _**"the luxury market therefore absorbed raffia products from different origins as well as overseas imports from Europe or from west Africa none of which directly replaced another"**_( _**17th century illustration of Kongo king Garcia II (r. 1641-1661) receiving the Capuchin missionaries,**_ by Giovanni Antonio Cavazzi _**Aristocrats in the Kongo kingdom, ca. 1692**_, Houghton Library, Harvard University, photos by Cécile Fromont. The man is wearing a mpu cap and a nkutu cape shown below _**Kongo Luxury cloth: cape (nkutu) made of natural-coloured raffia fibre,**_ 19th century, British museum _**Kongo woven fiber bag with tufted balls along top and bottom edges, 19th century**_, Brooklyn museum. _**Kongo prestige cap, 19th century**_, Art institute of Chicago, Prestige cap, 19th century, Atlanta High Museum of Art, prestige cap, early 20th century, smithsonian. * * * ( * * * In all regions of west-central Africa, raffia fabrics were associated with rites of passage and were used during rituals of birth, initiation, marriage and burial. This was best attested in Kongo's northern neighbor, the kingdom of Loango, where demand for both local luxury cloth and imported cloth grew significantly during the 18th century as a result of changing cultural practices related to elite funerals. It became customary to wrap the corpse of the ruler, patrician or rich trader in a huge bale composed of pieces of cloth (mostly raffia with a few imports) that were taken from the estate of the deceased or from funeral donations. By the 1780s, such cloth-coffins had become so big that sometimes wagons and a road had to be built to transport the shroud to its grave.( For much of the late 15th to late 16th century, the Portuguese traders living on the island of Sao Tome and were active along Kongo's coast had seen little commercial success in insinuating themselves into the existing trading patterns since they couldn’t offer adequate products from their home country. The best they could accomplish was to reinvigorate the coastal trade in raffia cloth which they retailed in the interior region of their Angola colony where it quickly became a form of currency. They also begun importing a variety of cloth from the Mediterranean world and India that could match the quality and patterns of locally produced luxury cloths.( By the turn of the 16th century, Portuguese traders resident in Sao Tome were buying significant quantities of Kongo's decorated cloth, and one of them who died in 1507 left an estate that included many cushions covered in Kongo's cloth.( Soon Angola-based merchants were traveling across Kongo to the north-easternmost territories claimed by the kingdom. Kongo established customs stations along the route and charged substantial taxes on the commerce. The trade in textiles was in the hands of the long-established merchants of Kongo, and to them was added the newly arrived patrons of Angola. But production remained in the hands of local weavers in Kongo’s north-eastern provinces, and the markets for cloths were retained in these regions as well such as at Kundi and Okanga.( _**18th century engraving showing the funeral process of Andris Poucouta, a Mafouk of Cabinda on the Loango coast, made by Louis de Grandpre**_. The coffin that carried him was at least 20 feet long by 14 feet high and 8 feet thick, the whole was transported by a wheeled wagon pulled by atleast 500 over a road built for the pourpose. _**Kongo luxury cloth: cushion cover, ca. 1674**_, british museum * * * **The production of Raffia cloth in Kongo.** The fiber of Raffia cloth is derived from the cuticle within the leaflets of raffia leaves. In central Africa; the trees most commonly used for raffia were the _Raphia textilis welw_ and _Raphia gentiliana De Wild_. These raffia trees were native in the regions of eastern Kongo, Loango, and in the 'textile belt' region east of the Kwango river basin. The trees were cultivated in orchards, they were inheritable property and treated with the utmost care.( The fiber is obtained by cutting the leading fresh topshoot before it unfurls its leaflets, these leaflets are then detached from the midbrib, and their skin is peeled off from the fiber within, leaving a dried fiber about 1 meter long and 3cm wide. The fibers are then processed by soaking them to make them supple before leaving them to dry, afterwhich they are converted into thread by combing them to split them apart into thin threads. Given that thinner threads produce tighter weaves, this combing process is redone multiple times until the thinnest threads can be obtained.( _**weaver of cloth in Kongo, detail of a 17th century illustration by a capuchin priest**_, Virgili Collection (Bilioteca Estense Universitaria), photos by Cécile Fromont The threads are then taken woven on a single heddle loom, with a fixed tension that is either vertical or oblique and set up within a permanent frame of sturdy timbers or stretched between a horizontal. Several panels of finished cloth were then sewn together to obtain textiles of a larger size. After weaving, the cloth was softened by soaking and pounding it, making it flexible enough for frequent wearing. The quality of the product was largely a result of the skill of the producer, rather than the relatively simple loom that they used.( The luxury textiles of Kongo are technically and aesthetically distinct from those of the neighboring traditions in which the surface design is embroidered on a plain-weave. Expert weavers in Kongo transformed the knot in which the ends of interlaced strands encircle and enjoin to create a contained form. The two most prominent motifs created are endless interlacing bands and interlocked shapes, and the second is a format of rows and columns in which individual motifs float within a rectilinear frame. The interstitial columns and narrow bands that separate and surround these motifs are usually filled with refined interlaces.( Interlacing designs and geometric motifs on Kongo’s Luxury cloth: _**cushion cover, Kongo kingdom, 17th-18th century**_, Nationalmuseet copenhagen; _**Prestige cap, kongo kingdom, 16th-17th century**_, Nationalmuseet copenhagen. Kongo's textile motifs are also attested in other facets of Kongo's society, from its architecture to its sculptures to its cosmology. The delicately inscribed bands of geometric patterns were derived from Kongo's cosmology, in which this patterned design scheme of a continuous spiral is a visual metaphor for the path taken through time by the dead. It also appears frequently on other diplomatic gifts from Kongo to Europe, especially on the iconic side-blown ivory trumpets, the oldest of which dates to 1533, as well as on Kongo’s ceramics.( Clockwise; _**Kongo ceramic bottle, early 20th century**_, smithsonian; _**Kongo basket, 19th century**_, smithsonian; _**Kongo prestige cap, 19th century**_, Brooklyn museum; _**Kongo Oliphant, 1533,**_ Palazzo Pitti, treasury of the grand dukes. Producers ornamented cloth according to the taste of the customers. Most surviving textiles are ornamented in a straightedged geometric style typical in general for Kongo or loango artefacts. However, illustrations from the Matamba kingdom show curvilinear arabesques (called ‘sona’) which were favored in areas east of the Kwango river, but both were made by the same weavers in eastern Kongo and the neighboring regions. ( The different ways in which the embroidered sections reflect or absorb light relative to the plain-weave foundation of the cloth creates a rich surface of alternating textures and tonalities in a spectrum of golden hues. This natural colouring was inturn enriched by the addition of other colorants and dyes such as takula (redwood), chalk and charcoal.( _**Kongo luxury cloth: cushion cover dyed with natural pigments, 17th-18th century,**_ Pitt Rivers Museum * * * **Cloth Industry and Trade in Kongo** While luxury raffia textiles are most commonly associated with the kingdom of Kongo, the raffia trees did not grow in the Kongo heartland. Most raffia cloth was brought from eastern Kongo and beyond, to be reworked in the core regions of Kongo for local markets within the kingdom and to external markets such as Angola, from where it was further re-exported to the interior kingdoms such as Ndongo and Matamba. _**map showing the distribution of raffia trees and trade routes of cloth.**_ (Map by Alisa LaGamma) According to a Portuguese trader who was active in Kongo between 1578 and 1583 the inhabitants of Nsundi (one of Kongo’s northeastern provinces) _**“trade with neighboring countries, selling and bartering salt and textiles of various colors imported from the Indies and Portugal as well as currency shells. And they receive in exchange palm cloth and ivory and sable and marten pelts, as well as some girdles worked from palm leaves and very esteemed in these parts”**_ ( Kongo’s capital Mbanza Kongo imported its cloth from Mbata Malebo Pool and from 1590 onwards from Okango. Between 1575 and 1600 Luanda and the new colony of Angola generated a new demand in which the adjoining regions such as Matamba and Ndongo, took part. Before 1640 most of the supplies came overland from Mbanza Kongo, although quantities of raffia cloth were also shipped directly from Loango coast to Luanda.( The value of a raffia textile was determined by the number of panels incorporated in the textile, the fineness of the thread indicating the number of combings the raffia fibre went through, as well as the tightness of the weave. Additionally, the value of cloth was enhanced by the decorative motifs used according to the taste of their consumers, the complexity of the execution of those decorations, and the overall level of decoration of the cloth. Therefore a more valuable piece of cloth was more labor-intensive in every aspect of its production sequence.( Cloth production was a labor intensive process that employed many among Kongo's citizenry. A report in 1668 mentions a village in the province of Mbamba in which the men were so busy weaving that even the arrival of a missionary did not distract them. The entire production process of; extracting and processing thread, setting up the loom, weaving, sewing and tailoring was the work of adult men. Making the cloth flexible for wear and embellishing it with various designs was mostly done by women, while dyeing could be done by both groups.( One seventeenth century Dutch account estimated that a single panel of high quality luxury cloth took about 15 to 16 days of sustained effort by a highly experienced weaver. This estimate likely included the entire process from obtaining the fiber to dyeing it, considering that the weaving process alone took less than a day. The best estimates held that one man could make 3-4 pieces of plain-weaved cloth of 50cmx50cm in one day.( Raffia cloth was often worn for no more than 4-6 months, requiring an average of three panels/skirts per individual. Cloth was packed in oblong baskets or mutete, with one full basket weighing about thirty kilograms and constituting a headload. Luxury cloth was also carried in boxes specifically made for the pourposes.( _**17th century illustration showing textile trading in the north Kwanza region**_ (Ndongo kingdom), by Giovanni Antonio Cavazzi. the patterned cloth is made of raffia/palm fiber and is carried in a rectangular basket like this one below. _**Kongo container measuring 56x35cm, 18th century,**_ Art Institute of Chicago The available contemporary sources both about the quantities and value of cloth traded stem from Angola. A fiscal official in Luanda named Pero Sardinha twice informed the council of state in Lisbon about this matter in the year 1611 and 1612. He listed the average quantities of cloth coming into Luanda city annually as follows: _**From Kongo**_: 12, 500 painted cloths at 640 reis each; 45,000 songa (ie from Songo east of Okanga) cloths at 200 reis each; 35,000 half cundi (ie: from Kundi in Okanga) cloths at 100 reis each. _**From Loango:**_ 15,000 exfula (mfula) cloth at 200 reis each and 333 ensaca (nsaka) cloth at 1200 reis each.( Converting this into meters yields 25,038 meters for Loango and 114,400 meters for Kongo. These quantities did not constitute total production or trade from Kongo, but just the legal trade alone from a specific region of Kongo known as Momboares that managed to pass through the customs houses in Lunda.( These are significant figures and suggest that the huge quantities of cloth testity that for the Portuguese, commerce in raffia was more profitable than the slave trade until 1640, even though both were attimes complementary.( Cloth trade between Kongo and Angola was disrupted during the kingdom's military alliance with the Dutch against Portugual and the brief expulsion of the latter from Luanda in 1641. But by 1649, the Portuguese returned to Luanda and Angola came to rely less on its cloth trade with Kongo, choosing to import their cloth from the kingdom of Loango. Additionally, the Portuguese took over the Nzimbu shell mines of Luanda, undercutting Kongo's monopoly over the popular currency and forcing the kingdom to use alternative currencies. Kongo would thereafter promote the use of raffia cloth in its kingdom as currency, joining the rest of west-central African kingdoms that had already been doing the same.( In 17th century Kongo, raffia cloth was in such demand that lengths of plain weave were used as currency in northern and eastern Kongo, on the loango coast and also in Angola where it was adopted by the Portuguese. Textiles were measured by the number of leaves they comprised, which were standardized into sizes of 52x52cm in Kongo and elsewhere. The value was calculated based on the number of lengths per cloth, the type of ornamentation and the tightness of the weave. This textile 'money' was carried in single lengths or in books of lengths sown together at a corner. It was soon adopted by European traders such as the Portuguese in Angola and the Dutch on Loango's coast.( Raffia cloth was currency with an intrinsic exchange value being equal to its use value, it was a self regulating currency that could maintain its value through being in common usage even without strict regulation.( While it was used in purchasing most goods and services in Kongo and settle dues of any kind of disputes, it was not used for in other markets such as labour, land and construction. An estimated 90% of the cloth produced was used as clothing, with only a small fraction of it circulating or hoarded as currency. Kongo's cloth was therefore inflation proof, given its use as both a currency and a consumer good.( Cloth production in Kongo had reached proto-industrial levels in the 17th century. A considerable amount of cloth from Momboares was also exported to Loango where some 700 meters of cloth were included in the Loango King’s burial hoard in 1624. Other cloth went to the southern and central parts of Kongo, and to neighbors like Matamba and beyond. Total production of Momboares is estimated to have exceeded 300-400,000 meters a year, an impressive figure given that its population density was just 3.5 people per sqkm. This easily rivals contemporary European textile producing regions like Leiden (Netherlands) which had a similar population density but produced less.( Strictly speaking however, production was not organized in the form of a modern industry since capital wasn’t invested in the acquisition of equipment nor in obtaining the raw raffia, as both often involved the use of subsistence or family labor. Nevertheless, early modern textile industries like in Leiden utilized both urban and rural labor in a way that wasn’t too dissimilar Kongo textile workers that could be found both in the capitals and in the villages. Kongo’s political adminsitration had a remarkably efficient capacity to transfer large quantities of cloth produced beyond immediate needs, and concentrate it at central points such as political capitals, where it was used to pay tributes, tolls and fines.( * * * **Stagnation and decline of Kongo’s cloth-making industry.** In the mid-17th century, Kongo begun to lose some of the customers of its cloth such as the Portuguese of Angola. After 1648 a new route from Luanda to the cloth market of Okanga in the Kwango river basin was developed which completely bypassed the heartland of Kongo to the east and which also provided the then flourishing capitals of Matamba and Cassange further southeast with raffia cloth. While this trade expanded overall cloth production in the region, it partially reduced Kongo's role as the middle-man in reworking the cloth for export.( Internal process in the kingdom which culminated in the civil wars of the late 17th century doubtlessly affected the laborious industry of cloth-making and is unlikely to have been fully restored to its pre-civil war levels when the kingdom re-united in 1709. Coincidentally, as Loango displaced Kongo in the late 17th century, alternative sources of luxury cloth such as Indian textiles were increasingly imported from European traders at the coast due to an uptick in slave trade in the northern coast beyond Kongo. Indian cloth had for long been incoporated into Kongo's local textile markets for its variety of designs and colors that resembled Kongo's own designs, in contrast to European cloth. While these Indian textiles never displaced Kongo's textiles, the kingdom's stagnation opened is markets to more varieties of cloth that Kongo's own traders were now selling in increasing quantities across the region.( _**18th century painting of a capuchin missionary blessing a wedding,**_ Bernardino d’Asti, Biblioteca Civica Centrale, Turin. The Kongo elites are shown wearing a mix of imported and local clothing. Kongo’s access to Angola’s cloth market was likely restored in the mid 18th-century, As late as 1769, a report from Luanda noted that the ordinary money in Angola was “cloths of straw made in Kongo,” and nzimbu shells, that were used by every merchant after a failed attempt by the colonial government to introduce copper coinage in 1694 had collapsed within less than a year. Despite the decline of Kongo and the increased importation of foreign cloth, the very gradual shift of displacing locally produced textiles with foreign cloth didn’t begin until the mid-19th century when steamships from Europe began making regular stops in Africa, and for the first time in history it was possible to ship bulk commodities cheaply.( Contemporaneous advances in European and American manufacturing technology allowed for the mass production of brightly coloured and patterned cotton cloth. While the quality of these cotton cloths was generally accepted to be low by African consumers, the range of colors and styles allowed for greater personal expression. The so-called 'Manchester cloth' and European imitations of Indian cloth, steadily replaced the finer imported Indian cloth of the earlier centuries as well as the locally made luxury cloth, beginning in the coastal region and very slowly advancing into the interior.( But even by the last quarter of the 19th century -and despite the now widespread use of cloth imported from Europe, local raffia cloth was still brought from the interior to the coastal area of Kongo and Angola. Accounts from the 1880s to the first decade of the 20th century still contain frequent mentions of a lively trade in local cloth in the Kongo heartlands such as at the market of Kilembela, just northeast of Kongo’s capital. A visitor to Kongo’s capital in 1879, observed that only a handful of men were dressed in European cloth, while the rest still wore locally produced textiles, and it would take another decade of bulk commodity trade for this to change significantly.( Photographs of royal coronations as late as 1911 show Kongo’s rulers still wearing a combination of local and imported textiles, symbolizing the convergence of old and new customs.( It was only when the Kongo kingdom was disrupted by political unrest and collapsed in 1914, that the highly elaborate weaving know-how, considered one of the Kongo kingdom’s trademarks both in Africa and Europe, vanished. * * * When Europe was engulfed in one of the history’s deadliest conflicts in the early 17th century, **the African kingdoms of Kongo and Ndongo took advantage of the European rivaries to settle their own feud with the Portuguese colonialists in Angola**. **Kongo’s envoys traveled to the Netherlands, forged military alliances with the Dutch and halted Portugal’s colonial advance**. Read more about this in my recent Patreon post: ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis by Duarte Pacheco Pereira pg 144 ( Maps by J.K.Thornton ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 63-64, 140-142) ( Kongo: Power and Majesty by Alisa LaGamma pg 135 ( Kongo: Power and Majesty by Alisa LaGamma pg 137-158) ( Relazioni del viaggio, e missione di Congo nell' Etiopia inferiore occidentale by Antonio Zucchelli pg 149 ( African art and artefacts in european collections by Ezio Bassani and M.D. Mcleod) ( Raffia Cloth in West Central Africa, 1500–1800 by Jan Vansina ( The Kongo Kingdom by Koen Bostoen, ‎Inge Brinkman pg 175) ( Raffia Cloth in West Central Africa, 1500–1800 by Jan Vansina pg 266-267) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 12 ( Raffia Cloth in West Central Africa, 1500–1800 by Jan Vansina ( Power, Cloth and Currency on the Loango Coast by Phyllis M. Martin pg 5-7 ( Portugal and Africa By D. Birmingham pg 40-41, A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 94 ( Raffia Cloth in West Central Africa, 1500–1800 by Jan Vansina pg 264, Kongo: Power and Majesty by Alisa LaGamma pg 135) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 94-95 ( Raffia Cloth in West Central Africa, 1500–1800 by Jan Vansina pg 274, Power, Cloth and Currency on the Loango Coast by Phyllis M. Martin pg 1-2 ( Raffia Cloth in West Central Africa, 1500–1800 by Jan Vansina pg 265-7). ( The Kongo Kingdom by Koen Bostoen, ‎Inge Brinkman pg 171, A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 13 ( Kongo: Power and Majesty by Alisa LaGamma pg 135) ( The Kongo Kingdom by Koen Bostoen, ‎Inge Brinkman pg 171, Kongo: Power and Majesty by Alisa LaGamma pg 133, 138) ( Raffia Cloth in West Central Africa, 1500–1800 by Jan Vansina ( Power, Cloth and Currency on the Loango Coast by Phyllis M. Martin pg 2 ( The Kongo Kingdom by Koen Bostoen, ‎Inge Brinkman pg 149 ( The Kongo Kingdom by Koen Bostoen, ‎Inge Brinkman pg 174 ( The Kongo Kingdom by Koen Bostoen, ‎Inge Brinkman pg 175) ( Precolonial African Industry and the Atlantic Trade, 1500-1800 by John Thornton pg 14 ( Kongo: Power and Majesty by Alisa LaGamma pg 135) ( Raffia Cloth in West Central Africa, 1500–1800 by Jan Vansina ( Raffia Cloth in West Central Africa, 1500–1800 by Jan Vansina ( Precolonial African Industry and the Atlantic Trade, 1500-1800 by John Thornton pg 12, Raffia Cloth in West Central Africa, 1500–1800 by Jan Vansina ( The Kongo Kingdom by Koen Bostoen, ‎Inge Brinkman pg 174) ( Portugal and Africa By D. Birmingham pg 59-60) ( Raffia Cloth in West Central Africa, 1500–1800 by Jan Vansina, Power, Cloth and Currency on the Loango Coast by Phyllis M. Martin pg 4 ( Power, Cloth and Currency on the Loango Coast by Phyllis M. Martin pg 4 ( Raffia Cloth in West Central Africa, 1500–1800 by Jan Vansina ( Precolonial African Industry and the Atlantic Trade, 1500-1800 by John Thornton pg 13-14 ( Raffia Cloth in West Central Africa, 1500–1800 by Jan Vansina pg 280-281) ( Raffia Cloth in West Central Africa, 1500–1800 by Jan Vansina ( Precolonial African Industry and the Atlantic Trade, 1500-1800 by John Thornton pg 18, The Kongo Kingdom by Koen Bostoen, ‎Inge Brinkman pg 242-243, for a similar process in Loango, see Power, Cloth and Currency on the Loango Coast by Phyllis M. Martin pg 7-9 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 290, 351 ( Interpretations of Central African Taste in European Trade Cloth of the 1890s by James Green pg 82) ( Kongo in the Age of Empire, 1860–1913 by Jelmer Vos pg 47, 54 ( Kongo in the Age of Empire, 1860–1913 by Jelmer Vos pg 106.

# Textile Trade and Industry in the Kingdom of Kongo: 1483-1914 ## Overview - The Kingdom of Kongo was one of Africa's largest textile producers before the colonial era. - Kongo's luxury textiles, particularly raffia velvets, showcased advanced technical skills and played a vital role in the region's economy and social hierarchy. ## Historical Context 1. **Early Documentation (1480s)** - Accounts from European travelers, such as Duarte Pacheco Pereira in 1505, praised the quality of Kongo's textiles, highlighting their softness and beauty, comparable to those made in Italy. 2. **Textile Production Landscape** - The textile belt extended from the mouth of the Zaire River to Lake Tanganyika, where raffia palms thrived. Control over this region was crucial for the political power of kingdoms, including Kongo. ## Textile Craftsmanship 1. **Cloth-Making Techniques** - Kongo's cloth was primarily made from raffia threads derived from the raffia palm. - The weaving process involved manual labor, with skilled artisans producing intricate patterns and textures using simple looms. 2. **Quality and Designs** - Kongo textiles were known for their geometric patterns and vibrant colors, often featuring high and low relief designs that impressed European visitors. - Unique cultural motifs reflected Kongo’s cosmology and were visible in other art forms, including architecture and sculpture. ## Social and Economic Importance 1. **Status Symbols** - Textiles were indicators of social status; elites wore elaborate garments, while commoners’ attire was simpler. - Special textiles were reserved for the king, making them essential for social hierarchy and political display. 2. **Economic Role** - Textiles served as a form of currency among Kongo’s rulers and elites, facilitating trade both internally and with European merchants. - Kongo's capital, Mbanza Kongo, became a hub for importing and exporting textiles, further enhancing its economic significance. ## Trade Dynamics 1. **International Trade** - Kongo engaged in extensive trade with European powers, notably Portugal, which facilitated the flow of Kongo textiles to Europe as diplomatic gifts and commodities. - By the late 16th century, Kongo textiles were increasingly traded in European markets, signifying their high demand and value. 2. **Regional Influence** - Kongo's textiles not only influenced local markets, but also reached neighboring kingdoms such as Ndongo and Matamba. - The influx of textiles into Angola via Portuguese trade altered Kongo's economic landscape, as external markets gained significance. ## Decline of the Textile Industry 1. **Changing Trade Routes (Mid-17th Century)** - Development of new trade routes bypassing Kongo diminished its central role in textile trade, subsequently affecting its production levels. 2. **Civil Unrest and Economic Turmoil** - Internal conflicts, including civil wars, disrupted the established textile industry and diminished Kongo's economic power. - Competition from imported Indian textiles and European cloth led to a gradual decline of local raffia cloth's prominence. 3. **Continued Cultural Relevance** - Despite the decline, local textiles remained important in Kongo society, particularly in ceremonial contexts, until political unrest culminated in the kingdom's collapse in 1914. ## Conclusion - The Kingdom of Kongo's textile industry was a vital part of its economy and social structure from the late 15th century to early 20th century, showcasing a rich tradition of craftsmanship and significant cultural heritage. The decline of this industry reflected broader economic shifts and the impacts of colonialism in Africa.

A history of the Massina empire (1818-1862)

the sucessor of Songhai

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A history of the Massina empire (1818-1862) =========================================== ### the sucessor of Songhai ( Jul 09, 2023 17 Buried in the pages of an old west African chronicle is a strange prophecy foretelling the emergence of a charismatic leader from the region of Massina in central Mali. According to the chronicle, the Songhai emperor Askiya Muhammad was transported into a spiritual realm where he was told that he would be suceeded as ‘Caliph’ of west Africa by one of his descendants named Ahmadu from Massina. The empire of Massina emerged in 1818 and conquered most of the former territories of Songhai, ending the two centuries of political fragmentation that had followed Songhai's collapse. From its capital of Hamdullahi, the armies of Massina created a centralized government over a vast region extending from the ancient city of Jenne to Timbuktu, and nurtured a vibrant intellectual community whose scholars composed many writings including the chronicle containing the 'prophesy' related above. This article explores the political history of the Massina empire, and its half a century long attempt to restore the power of Songhai. _**Map of central Mali showing the extent of the Massina empire.( **_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **West Africa from the fall of Songhai to the rise of the revolution movements.** After the collapse of Songhai in 1591, the empire’s territories reverted to their pre-existing authorities as the remaining Moroccan soldiers (Arma) were confined to the cities of Djenne and Timbuktu where they established a weak city-state regime that was independent of Morocco. This state of political fragmentation continued until the early 18th century, when the Bambara empire expanded from its capital of Segu, and came to control much of the Niger river valley from Jenne to Timbuktu during the reign of N'golo Diara (1766-1795). At the turn of the 19th century, most of the region was under the Bambara empire’s suzeranity, but wasn’t fully centralized as local authorities were allowed to retain their pre-conquest status, these included the Arma of Jenne and Timbuktu, and the Fulbe/Fulani aristocracy of Massina.( A reciprocal relationship existed between the (muslim) elites Djenné, the Arma, the Fulani, and their (non-Muslim) Bambara overlords, all of whom supported and legitimized each other to maintain the status quo. By the late 1810s the rising discontent over the political situation of Massina, characterized by the dominion of the powerful Bambara emperors and the local Fulani aristocracy, led an increasingly large number of followers to rally around Ahmadu Lobbo, a charismatic teacher who had spent part of his early life near Djenne where he had established a school.( Djenne street scene, ca.1905/6 The antagonistic relationship between the elites of Djenne allied with the local Fulbe prince named Ardo Guidado against Ahmadu Lobbo and his followers eventually descended into open confrontation between the two groups that ended with prince Guidado's death. Ahmad Lobbo had by then written a polemic treatise titled _Kitab al-Idtirar_, in which he outlined his religious and political grivancies against the local authorities and against what he considered blameworthy practices of Jenne's scholary community.( The political-religious movement of Ahmadu was part of a series of revolutions which emerged across west Africa’s political landscape in the 18th and 19th century. Prior to these revolutions, political power was in the hands of “warrior elites,” such as the Bambara of Segu, the Fulani aristocracy of Massina, and the Arma in Jenne and Timbuktu. while scholars/clerics occupied a high position in the region’s social hierachy, they were often barred from holding the highest political office. But as the power of the warrior-elites weakened, more assertive political theologies were popularized among the scholars who advocated political reform and made it permissible for their peers to hold the highest office. The scholars then seized power and established distinct forms of clerical rule in Futa Jallon (1725), Futa Toro (1776), Sokoto (1804) Massina (1818), and Tukulor (1861), where religious authorities become the government and attempt to exercise secular power with the weapons of religious ideology.( _**Map of the 19th century ‘revolution’ states in west Africa.**_ (map by LegendesCarto) Having openly defied the authorities, Ahmad Lobbo's followers prepared for war. The local Fulbe chief Ardo Amadou, whose son (prince Guidado) had been killed by Lobbo's followers, successfully sought the support of the Bambara king Da Diarra (r. 1808-1827), as well as other Fulbe warriors, including Gelaajo, the chief of Kounari. Their combined army moved against Ahmad Lobbo and his followers, who had retreated to Noukouma. The battle between Lobbo's followers and the Bambara army occurred in March 1818, ended with the defeat of the Bambara who had attacked before the arrival of Arɗo Amadou and Gelaajo. Discouraged by this, the latter decided to abandon the war. By contrast, the ranks of Ahmad Lobbo swelled substantially after the victory at Noukouma, such that by mid-May 1818 Ahmad Lobbo emerged as the leader of a new state centered in Masina.( copy of the _**Kitab al-Idtirar**_ by Amhadu Lobbo * * * ( * * * **Empire building and Government in Massina during the reign of Ahmadu I (1818-1845)** Like the Songhai armies centuries earlier, Lobbo's expansion was primarily conducted along the middle section of the Niger river between Djenne and Timbuktu, where he could combine overland and riverine warfare to capture the region's main cities. The city of Djenné was conquered twice, in 1819 and 1821 after some minimal resistance, and Ahmadu's son, named Ahmadu Cheikou was appointed its governor.( By 1823, Ahmadu had defeated the armies of al-Husayn Koita at Fittuga, where a competing Fulbe movement had emerged, instigated by Sokoto’s rivary with Massina.( Lobbo's armies also advanced northwards beginning in 1818, when they were initially defeated by a Tuareg force which controlled the area. But by 1825, Massina's army crushed the Tuareg forces at the battle of Ndukkuwal and incorporated the region from Timbuktu to the city of Gao into the Massina empire. An insurrection in Timbuktu was crushed in 1826 and Lobbo appointed Pasha Uthman al-rimi as governor, while San Shirfi became the imam of the Djinguereber Mosque.( Internal challenges to Ahmadu's rule came primarily from the deposed Fulbe aristocracy such as Buubu Arɗo Galo of Dikko whose army was defeated in 1825. More threatening was the rebellion of Gelaajo of Kounari who controlled the region extending upto Goundaka in the bandiagara cliffs of Dogon country. After around seven years of intense fighting, Gelaajo was defeated and forced to flee to Sokoto.( By the mid-1820s Ahmadu Lobbo had consolidated his control over most of the Middle section of the Niger river upto the Bandiagara cliffs, as well as the region extending northwards to Timbuktu. He established his capital at Hamdullahi, which was founded around 1821, and developed as the administrative center of the state. The walled city was divided into 18 quarters with a large central mosque next to Lobbo's palace, it also included a “parliament” building (called 'Hall of seven doors'), a court, a market, 600 schools and the residences of Massina's elite.( Ruins of Hamdullahi’s walls, the third photo includes the mausoleum of Ahmad I and Nuh al-Tahir, and a roofed structure where the ‘Hall of seven doors’ was located. ( The administration of Massina was undertaken by the Great Council (batu mawɗo), an institution composed of 100 scholars that ruled the empire along with Ahmad Lobbo. This council was the official state assembly/parliament, and it was further dived into a 40-person house of permanent members headed by 2 scholars closest to Ahmad Lobbo, named Nuh al-Tahir and Hambarké Samatata. The council oversaw the governance of the empire's five major provinces and appointed provincial governors that were inturn assisted by their own smaller councils. The Great council made their rulings after consulting various (Maliki) legal and political texts used across the wider Muslim world including those written by west African scholars such as the Fodiyawa family of Sokoto. The council permanently resided in the capital, they regulary assembled in the parliament building, and also oversaw the policing of the capital.( The administrative units of Massina were towns and villages called ngenndis, an conglomeration of these formed a canton (lefol leydi), which were inturn grouped together to form provinces (leyde). Each province was governed by an amir chosen by the Great Council, and was to be in charge of collecting taxes, overseeing the forces of each province. He was assisted by a Qadi appointed by the Great council to oversee provincial judicial matters that didn’t need to be sent to the Qadi in the capital.( * * * **The intellectual tradition of Massina** The centralization of Massina was possible due to the substantial development of literacy in the region. literacy became the crucial tool for the development of an administrative apparatus based on orders that emanated from the capital and circulated through a capillary system of letters and dispatches to the different local administrative units. Members of the Great coucil were all highly accomplished scholars in their own right, and all provincial governors down to the lowest village were required to be literate.( The scholary community of Massina produced many prominent figures and reinvigorated the region’s intellectual production as evidenced by the manuscript collections of Djenne. In Hamdullahi, most notable scholar from Massina was Nuh al-Tahir al-Fulani, one of the two leaders of the Great council, and the author of the famous west-African chronicle; _the tarikh al-Fattash_. Nuh al-Tahir was in charge of Hamdullahi's education system that managed the over 600 schools in the capital. Like most contemporary education systems in Muslim west-Africa, the schools of Hamdullahi were individualized, led by highly learned scholars who received authorization from Nuh al-Tahir to teach various subjects ranging from theology to grammar and the sciences.( Nuh al-Tahir’s commentary on the _**Lamiyyat al-af‘al of Ibn Malik**_ (d. 1274), and a short treatise titled _**Khasa’is al-Nabi**_, manuscripts found at the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research, photos by M. Nobili. _**Kitāb fī al-fiqh by Sīdī Abūbakr b. ‘Iyāḍ b. ‘Abd al-Jalīl al-Māsinī**_ written in 1852, now at Djenné Manuscript Library.( * * * * * * **Intellectual disputes between Massina and Sokoto, and the creation of a west African chronicle** Both the political movement of Ahmadu, and the scholary community at Hamdullahi were in close contact with the Sokoto movement of Uthman Fodio in northern nigeria. Uthman Fodio had intended to expand his political influence over the middle Niger region, especially through his connection with the Kunta clerics and the scholars of Masina. Although Lobbo and Uthman never met, the influence of the latter's movement on the former can be gleaned from the correspondence exchanged between the Fodiyawa family of Uthman Fodio that closely corresponded with Ahmadu before and after Massina was founded.( Ahmadu Lobbo reportedly sent a delegation to Uthman requesting the latter's support in his impending war against Segu, and the delegation came back with a flag representing his authority. But Lobbo's eventual military success and Uthman's death obfuscated any need for him to derive authority from Sokoto, and following the sucession disputes in Sokoto, Lobbo even made attempts to request that Sokoto submits to Massina prompting the then Sokoto leader Muhammad Bello (sucessor of Uthman Fodio) to inspire the abovementioned rival movement of al-Husayn Koita at Fittuga. The ideological and intellectual disputes between the two states eventually led to the creation of the _Tarikh al-Fattash_ by Nuh al-Tahir, which contained sections which legitimated Lobbo's claim of being a Caliph and a sucessor of the Songhai emperor Askiya Muhammad.( _**Letters by Sokoto ruler Muhammad Bello to the Massina ruler Ahmadu Lobbo on various questions of government including that of Massina’s allegiance to Sokoto,**_ copy from 1840 now at National Archives Kaduna, Nigeria.( _**Letter on the Appearance of the Twelfth Caliph**_ by Nuh b. al-Tahir, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Ms. Arabe 6756. (Photo by M. Nobili) Nuh al-Tahir’s _**Tarikh al-Fattash**_ (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images) * * * **The expansion of Massina under Amhadu I and the city of Timbuktu.** Massina owed much of its expansion to its armies, divided into the five major provinces of the empire. It was led by five generals (_**amiraabe**_), below whom were the pre-conquest war chiefs that had submited to Lobbo's rule. The soldiers were divided into infantry, cavalry and a river-navy, and their equipment, horses and rations were largely supplied by the state. Most of the soldiers were recruited by the individual war-chiefs, but a permanent cavalry corps was also maintained in garrisons on the outskirts of important cities such as Hamdullahi, Ténenkou, Dienné, and Timbuktu. Owing to the nature of its formation as an outgrowth of Lobbo's movement, the army's command structure was relatively less centralized with each unit fighting more or less independently under their leader albeit with the same goals.( Massina's conflict with Segu continued on its western and southwestern fronts, with several battles fought around Djenne especially with the Bambara provinces of Sarro and Nyansanari. While Sarro largely remained at war with Massina, Nyansanari eventually surrendered to Massina and was incorporated into the state, with its leader being formally installed by Amhad Lobbo.( Massina's expansion into the region between the Mali-Niger border and north-eastern Burkina Faso was more sucessful, and marked the southernmost limit of the empire, which it shared with the Sokoto empire. The various chiefdoms of the region, most notably Baraboullé and Djilgodji, were subsumed in the late 1820s after a serious of disastrous battles for the Massina army that ultimately ended when threats from the Yatenga kingdom forced the local chieftains to place themselves under Massina's protection. The conflict that emerged with the Bambara state of Kaarta, however, was more serious, with Massina's army suffering heavy casualties, especially in 1843–44. every attempt by to expand westward proved equally futile.( After the first conquest of the north-eastern regions between Timbuktu and Gao in 1818-1826, Arma and the Tuareg who controlled the region rebelled several times, trying to escape the imposition of direct rule by Lobbo’s appointed governor Abd al-Qādir (who took over from Pasha Uthman al-rimi). This prompted Massina to firmly control the town in 1833 when a Fulbe governor was appointed that controlled the entire region upto Gao.( A Tuareg force drove off the Massina garrison in 1840 but were in the following year defeated and expelled. The Tuareg then regrouped in 1842-1844 and managed to defeat the Massina forces and drive them from Timbuktu, but the city was later besieged by Massina and its inhabitants were starved into resubmitting to Massina's rule by 1846. Disputes between Massina and Timbuktu were often mediated by the Kunta scholary family led by Muhammad al-Kunti and his son al-Mukhtar al-Saghir .( A letter from Mawlāy ‘Abd al-Qādir to Aḥmad Lobbo, which includes at the bottom the response of the caliph of Ḥamdallāhi. Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Learning and Islamic Research, photo by Mohamed Diagayété Folios from two letters sent by Muhammad al-Kunti addressed to Ahmadu Lobbo, advising the latter on good governance, written around 1818-1820, now at the Djenné Manuscript Library.( * * * **The reign of Ahmadu II and the consolidation of Massina (1845-1853)** In the later years of Ahmadu's reign, the ageing ruler asked the Great Council to nominate his sucessor. The choice for the next ‘Caliph’ of Massina was narrowed down to two equally qualified candidates; an accomplished general named BaaLobbo, and the Caliph’s son, Ahmadu Cheikou who was a renowned scholar and administrator. The Great council picked Ahmadu Cheikou, who suceeded his father in March 1845 as Ahmadu II, and they chose BaaLobbo as the head of the military inorder to placate him and avoid a sucession dispute.( Throughout his reign, Ahmadu II had to fight against the Tuaregs in the region of the Niger river’s bend near Timbuktu, as well as the Bambara empire of Segu which had resumed hostilities with Massina. However, none of the expansionist wars of Ahmadu’s reign were undertaken by Ahmadu II, who chose to retain the status quo especially between the Segu empire and the rebellious Tuareg-Kunta alliance near Timbuktu. This was partly done to prevent BaaLobbo from accumulating too much power, but it may have undermined Massina’s ability to project its power in the region. ( In 1847, Ahmadu II re-imposed the ruinous blockade of Timbuktu to weaken the Tuareg-Kunta alliance which had resumed its revolt against Massina soon after Ahmadu’s death. This blockade partially sucessful politically, as some of the Kunta allied with Massina against their peers led by Ahmad al-Bakkai al-Kunti who suceeded al-Mukhtar al-Saghir. al-Bakkai later travelled to Hamdullahi, negotiated a truce and Timbuktu resubmitted to Massina. But commercially, the blockade, which lasted nearly the entirety of Ahmadu II’s reign, ruined Timbuktu and drained the old city of its already declining fortunes.( When the German explorer Heinrich Barth visisted Timbuktu and Gao around 1853-4, he provided a detailed description of both cities which were now long past their glory days, with Gao having been reduced to a village, while Timbuktu was a shadow of its former self.( Illustration of Timbuktu by Heinrich Barth (1853) * * * **The reign of Amhadu III and the collapse of Massina** (1853-1862) Ahmadu II died in 1853, and the problem of succession reemerged even more strongly than before. The best candidates to succeed him were, again, BaaLobbo and another of Ahmad Lobbo’s sons named Abdoulay, as well as Ahmad II’s son named Amadou Amadou. Feeling sidelined again, BaaLobbo quickly formed an alliance with Amadou Amadou who had been close to him and he considered easy to influence than Abdoullay. BaaLobbo then requested his allies on the Great council to consider his proposition, which was accepted by the majority and Amadou Amadou was installed as Ahmadu III.( Ahmadu III inaugurated a less austere form of government in Massina that was harshly criticized by his contemporaries, and was immediately faced with rebellion from Abadulay which was only diffused after a lengthy seige of the capital and negotiation( . He also centralized all the power that had been divided between the caliph and the Great Council. In this way, he alienated the veteran leaders of the empire, transforming the Great Council into a mere mechanism for approving his decisions. Hence, most of its members abandoned both Ahmadu III and the Great Council shortly after his ascension. Ahmadu III lost the support of the Kunta when Ahmad al-Bakkai broke off his relationship with Hamdullahi. With little support from inside the capital or from Timbuktu, Ahmadu III initiated a policy of rapprochement with the Bambara rulers of Segou who became allies of Massina.( This open alliance between a clerical Muslim state and a non-Muslim state was soon challenged by the Futanke movement of al-Hajj Umar Tal, a powerful cleric whose nascent empire of Tukulor had expanded from Futa jallon in Guinea to take over the kingdom of Kaarta in 1855 that had eluded Massina. The capture of Kaarta opened the road for the Tukulor armies to conquer Kaarta’s suzerain; the Segu empire, which threatened Massina despite both Umar and Amhadu III drawing legitimacy from the same political-religious teachings. Ahmadu III moved Massina’s armies to confront Tukulor’s forces in 1856 at Kasakary and in 1860 at Sansanding, all while exchanging letters justifying each other’s expansionism and challenging the legitimacy of either’s authority. Segu was eventually conquered by Umar in March 1861 forcing its ruler to flee to Hamdullahi for protection.( After a series of diplomatic exchanges between Umar Tal and Ahmadu failed to secure the release of Segu’s deposed ruler, Umar decided to declare war against Massina. The Tukulor marched on Massina in April 1862 and the empire’s capital was occupied in the following month after Ahmadu III’s divided forces had treacherously abandoned him and the beleaguered leader had died from wounds sustained during the battle. The ever ambitious BaaLobbo had surrendered to Umar Tal hoping the latter would retain him as ruler of Hamdullahi, but Umar instead appointed his son (also called Ahmadu). Enraged by Umar’s duplicity, BaaLobbo raised a rebellion, laid siege on Hamdullahi, and forced Umar to flee to his death in 1864.( The capital of Massina would be reduced to ruins after several battles as it switched between Umar’s sucessors and the “rebels”. The empire of Massina was erased from west-Africa’s political landscape, ending the nearly half a century long experiment to restore Songhai. * * * When Europe was engulfed in one of the history’s deadliest conflicts in the early 17th century, **the African kingdoms of Kongo and Ndongo took advantage of the European rivaries to settle their own feud with the Portuguese colonialists in Angola**. **Kongo’s envoys traveled to the Netherlands, forged military alliances with the Dutch and halted Portugal’s colonial advance**. Read more about this in my recent Patreon post: ( * * * ( Map by M. Ly-Tall ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 4 pg 177-178) ( UNESCO general history of Africa volume VI pg 601-603 ( Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith by Mauro Nobili pg 137-141, L'empire peul du Macina by Amadou Hampâté Bâ pg 26-27) ( Beyond jihad: The pacifist tradition in West African Islam by L. Sanneh ( Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith by Mauro Nobili pg 10-11) ( L'empire peul du Macina by Amadou Hampâté Bâ 199-203) ( UNESCO general history of Africa volume VI pg 603 ( Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith by Mauro Nobili pg 155-160, 170-173 ) ( Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith by Mauro Nobili pg 149-151, L'empire peul du Macina by Amadou Hampâté Bâ pg 146-163) ( L'empire peul du Macina by Amadou Hampâté Bâ pg 46-51) ( photos from ( ( L'empire peul du Macina by Amadou Hampâté Bâ pg 64-68, 52) ( Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith by Mauro Nobili pg 211-212) ( Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith by Mauro Nobili pg 213, L'empire peul du Macina by Amadou Hampâté Bâ pg 68, 88 ( L'empire peul du Macina by Amadou Hampâté Bâ pg 51, 70-71) ( photos from ( ( Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith by Mauro Nobili pg 132-133, 135-137) ( Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith by Mauro Nobili pg 182-200, Frontier Disputes and Problems of Legitimation: Sokoto-Masina Relations 1817-1837 by C. C. Stewart pg 499-500 ( photos from ( ( L'empire peul du Macina by Amadou Hampâté Bâ pg 75-88) ( L'empire peul du Macina by Amadou Hampâté Bâ pg 184-191, 206-209) ( L'empire peul du Macina by Amadou Hampâté Bâ pg 214-220 ( L'empire peul du Macina by Amadou Hampâté Bâ pg 269, A note on Mawlāy ‘Abd al-Qādir b. Muḥammad al-Sanūsī and his relationship with the Caliphate of Ḥamdallāhi by Mohamed Diagayété ( Travels and discoveries in North and Central Africa by Heinrich Barth vol 4 pg 433-436, Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith by Mauro Nobili pg 160-176 ( Photos from ( and ( ( L'empire peul du Macina by Amadou Hampâté Bâ pg 312-314, 326 ( UNESCO general history of Africa volume VI pg 608-609 ( Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith by Mauro Nobili pg 176-181 ( Travels and discoveries in North and Central Africa by Heinrich Barth vol 5 pg 1-94, pg 215-220 ( L'empire peul du Macina by Amadou Hampâté Bâ pg 360-361 ( UNESCO general history of Africa volume VI pg 610 ( Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith by Mauro Nobili pg 233) ( UNESCO general history of Africa volume VI pg 613-618, In the Path of Allah: The Passion of Al-Hajj ʻUmar by John Ralph Willis pg 171-184 ( In the Path of Allah: The Passion of Al-Hajj ʻUmar by John Ralph Willis pg 185-188, 218-222.

### A History of the Massina Empire (1818-1862) #### Overview - The Massina Empire emerged as a successor to the Songhai Empire, utilizing the historical narrative of inheriting its authority. - Founded in 1818, it sought to restore the political unity and power that characterized the Songhai period, which had collapsed in 1591. #### Historical Context 1. **Collapse of the Songhai Empire (1591)** - After the conquest by Moroccan forces, the empire fragmented, leading to the rise of various independent city-states in the region, particularly in Djenné and Timbuktu. - The Bambara Empire gained power over much of the region, establishing a suzerainty that allowed local authorities to maintain some autonomy. 2. **Rise of Ahmadu Lobbo (Late 1810s)** - Widespread discontent grew due to the domination of Bambara rulers over local Fulbe and aristocratic elites, spurring support for Ahmadu Lobbo, a teacher and charismatic leader. - Lobbo criticized local authorities in his treatise _Kitab al-Idtirar_, outlining grievances against their practices, enhancing his following. 3. **Conflict and Foundation of Massina (1818)** - Following violent confrontations with local Fulbe and Bambara authorities, Lobbo's forces defeated an army at the Battle of Noukouma in March 1818. - This victory led to the establishment of Massina, with its capital at Hamdullahi. #### Governance of Massina (1818-1845) 1. **Empire Building** - Lobbo’s expansion strategy included military campaigns along the Niger River, capturing key cities like Djenné and extending control to Timbuktu and Gao. - Governance was centralized in Hamdullahi, reflecting a structured administrative system that integrated local authorities under Lobbo's rule. 2. **Administrative Structure** - The Great Council (batu mawɗo), composed of 100 scholars, functioned alongside Lobbo, enforcing a governance system that included provincial governors and local councils. - Laws were grounded in Islamic texts, ensuring the rule of law was consistent with broader Islamic principles. 3. **Intellectual Development** - Massina fostered a literacy movement, establishing over 600 schools in Hamdullahi, which contributed to the region's educational and cultural legacy. - Prominent scholars, including Nuh al-Tahir, played pivotal roles in both governance and education, producing significant historical works such as the _Tarikh al-Fattash_. #### Expansion and Conflict (1845-1862) 1. **Reign of Ahmadu II (1845-1853)** - Following Lobbo's death, Lobbo's son Ahmadu Cheikou became Ahmadu II, navigating conflicts with the Tuaregs and Bambara. - He prioritized stability over expansion, maintaining the status quo amid external pressures. 2. **Reign of Ahmadu III (1853-1862)** - Ahmadu III's ascension saw a decline in the cohesion of the Great Council and increasing internal strife due to his centralized authority. - His governance faced challenges from the Futanke movement led by al-Hajj Umar Tal, who expanded his influence at the expense of Massina. 3. **Decline and Fall** - Competition with Tukulor culminated in military confrontations; Segu was lost to Umar Tal's forces, further jeopardizing Massina's position. - The capital, Hamdullahi, was occupied in 1862 after internal rebellions and external assaults, leading to the empire's eventual dissolution. #### Conclusion - The Massina Empire represents a significant attempt to reinstate the authority and unity of the former Songhai Empire in the early 19th century. - Despite its achievements in governance, culture, and military expansion, internal divisions and external pressures ultimately led to its collapse, marking the end of a period characterized by political fragmentation and the struggle for religious and secular authority in West Africa.

A history of the Gonja Kingdom: (1550-1899)

State and society in nothern ghana after the Mali empire's decline.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A history of the Gonja Kingdom: (1550-1899) =========================================== ### State and society in nothern ghana after the Mali empire's decline. ( Jul 02, 2023 19 Near the end of the Mali empire, several sucessor states emerged across its southern frontier that inherited some of the empire's cultural and political institutions. One of the most remarkable heirs to the legacy of Mali was the Gonja kingdom in northern Ghana. The kingdom of Gonja was an important regional power, linking the region of Mali to the Hausalands in northern Nigeria and the Gold-coast. Its cosmopolitan towns drew scholars and merchants from across west Africa, who left a significant intellectual and economic contribution to the region's history. This article explores the history of the Gonja kingdom, including its political structure, intellectual history and architecture. _**Map of Ghana showing the kingdom of Gonja at its height in the early 19th century( .**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **The early history of Gonja during the 15th and 16th century: from the Mali empire to the Volta Basin.** The region of northern Ghana where the kingdom of Gonja would later emerge was an important frontier for the old empire of Mali. It contained the rich gold mines of the Volta river basin, and the trading town of Begho established by merchants from Mali during the early 2nd millennium( . Beginning in the 18th century, the scholars of Gonja documented their kingdom’s history, their writings constitute some of west Africa’s most detailed internal accounts and allow us to reconstruct the region’s history.( According to internal accounts, the Gonja kingdom was founded around the mid-16th century following a southern expedition from the Mali empire.( The Mali emperor Jighi Jarra (this is likelyMahmud III r. 1496-1559 —who received Portuguese envoys from Elmina) requested for a tribute of gold from the ruler/governor of Begho, but the latter refused( . Jarra thus raised a cavalry force led by two princes, Umar and Naba and sent it to attack Begho, which was then sucessfully conquered. While Umar stayed at Begho, Naba advanced northwards to occupy the neighboring town of Buna, but instead of returning, he conquered the land east of the town, and founded the ruling dynasty of Gonja.( _**Purported migration of Gonja’s founders**_ * * * **For more on the Portuguese embassy to Mali and the conflict between Mali and Portugual see:** ( * * * Traditions about immigrant founders from Mali are common among the origin-myths of the states in the Volta basin. While such traditions may not accurately recount real events, the Mali origin of some of the region’s elites is corroborated by their use of the clan names of Mande-speakers and the archeological evidence for pre-existing Mande settlements like Begho. Additionally, many of the scholars that appear in Gonja's history including those who wrote its chronicles were Wangara/Juula (ie Mande speakers), while the majority of the subjects in Gonja spoke the Guang-languages of the Akan family. ( A more detailed internally written account known as the _Kitab Gonja_ (Gonja chronicle) continues the early history of Gonja, identifying Naba as the first ruler of the kingdom from 1552 to 1582. Among Naba's allies was a _Malam_ (teacher/scholar) named Ismā‛īl kamaghatay, and his son Mahama Labayiru (or Muhammad al-Abyad). This al-Abyad is credited with assisting Naba's sucessor Manwura (r. 1582-1600) while the latter was at war. Impressed by al-Abyad's assistance, Manwura adopted Islam and took on the name Umaru Kura. this King Umaru of Gonja was later suceeded by his brother Amoah (1600-1622) who is credited with constructing the first mosque at the town/capital called Buipe, and he also sent a representative to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca, thus taking on the honorific of _Hajj_.( King Amoah was later suceeded by Jakpa Lanta (r. 1622–1666), a remarkable ruler who appears in several traditions as the "founder" of Gonja, or as the founder of a new dynasty. Jakpa is said to have come from ‘Mande’ (the Mali heartland) at the head of a band of horsemen, accompanied by his _Malam_ named Fatigi Morokpe. He sucessfully conquered all the regions that became Gonja, upto the borders of Dagomba in the east and Asante in the south. Jakpa then settled at the town of Nyanga (or Yagbum), where he appointed his sons to govern each of the main provincial towns of Gonja, such as Tuluwe, Bole, Kpembe, Wasipe, and Kawsaw. Jakpa created the paramount office of Yagbum_wura_, which became the title of the king of Gonja, and was to rotate among the provinces.( Conversely, the Gonja chronicle mentions that king Jakpa and his sucessor, king Sa'ara, launched several expeditions from their capital Buipe (rather than Yagbum). These included a sucessful invasion of Dagomba which seized the important town of Daboya, at the center of a salt-producing region. King Sa'ara was reportedly deposed in 1697 due to his ceaseless campaigns, he was initially suceeded by weak kings until the brief but sucessful reign of Abbas who sacked the town of Buna and Fugula in 1709. After the death of Abbas, central authority in Gonja was permanently weakened as each provincial chief retained power in their own capital. The now federated state, centered at Yagbum, consolidated its borders and would remain largely unchanged throughout most of the 18th and 19th century.( _**Sketch showing the southern expansion of the Juula (in green) to the cities of Begho and Buna.**_( _**Map of the Gonja kingdom by Jack Goody, showing the main provinces/chiefdoms**_ * * * ( * * * **The government in Gonja during the 18th century.** The kingdom Gonja was a federated state, power was vested with the provincial chiefs, who owed ceremonial and ritual allegiance to the king at Yagbum. Effective authority lay in the hands of the chiefs of the roughly 15 provinces, the most prominent of whom were at Buipe, Bole, Wasipe, Kpembe, Tuluwe and Kawsaw( . Each of the chiefs had their own royal courts and armies, collected tribute and regulated trade. All chiefs were united in claiming descent from Jakpa, and were eligible for the role of king which was intended to be a rotating office, but was in practice often decided by the strongest chief.( Gonja’s elite governed their subjects through representatives at the royal court and through matrimonial alliances with re-existing elites. The Gonja hierachy also included a class of Muslim scholars who formed an integral part of the state's political structure since its foundation. The kingdom was thus made up of three major social groups; the ruling elite called the _Ngbanya_, the Muslim scholars known as the _Karamo_ and the rest of the subjects who were commonly known as the _Nyemasi_. The royals often resided in their capitals at some distance from the trading towns where the scholars lived, while the bulk of the subjects lived in the countryside.( The archeological site of ‘Old Buipe’ in nothern Ghana has recently been identified as the location of the ancient town of Buipe, it was built around the late 15th century but abandoned in the 1950s.( Excavations have uncovered complex structures in field A, C, D, E, and F of Old Buipe, which indicate that the site was relatively large urban settlement of significant political importance prior to the emergence of Gonja and during most the kingdom’s early history. The ruins of the site included several large courtyard houses with an orthogonal design, and flat roofs —some of which had an upper storey. The architecture of Old Buipe (which was also found at Gonja town of Daboya) challenges the mechanistic model of diffusion which assume that such building styles were introduced after the Islamization of the region.( The largest structures excavated at Old Buipe were located in Fields; A, C and D, with a complex plan of juxtaposed rectangular rooms and courtyards, plastered cob walls (these are built with hardened silt, clay and gravel rather than brick), laterite floors, and a flat terrace-roof. The ruins of Field A included a large architectural complex of 16 rooms, built in the 15th cent and occupied until around the 18th century, while the ruins of Field C included a large structure of 14 rooms built in the 15th century, but abandoned in the early 16th century.( _**Partially excavated ruins of a 15th century building complex at Field A, Old Buipe, Ghana**_ (photo by photo Denis Genequand, drawing Marion Berti) _**ruins of a 15th century building complex at Field C, Old Buipe, Ghana**_ (photo by Denis Genequand) _**ruins of a 15th century building complex at Field C, Old Buipe, Ghana**_ (photo by photo Denis Genequand). Like the structure in A, this building was in use until around the 18th century. * * * **The Scholars of Gonja** Both the written and oral traditions of Gonja often attribute king Naba and king Jakpa's military success to the role of their Malams; Ismail and al-Abyad (or Fatigi Morokpe). Gonja's scholars who descendend from these two figures formed distinct groups of urban-based imams, teachers and traders across the kingdom, all with varying relationships to the royal court.( The scholary community of Gonja was part of a regional network that pre-existed the kingdom. According to the _Kitab Gonja_, town of Begho was the origin of Isma'il Kamagate and his son Muhammad al-Abyad( . Besides Begho, the scholars of Gonja were closely associated with their peers at Buna despite the town being a target of Gonja's attacks as it was virtually autonomous.( _**Old mosque of Bouna (Côte d'Ivoire). Photo AOF, 1927**_ Like Begho, the town of Buna was Juula settlement and the capital of an independent chiefdom which pre-dated the founding of Gonja( . It became regional scholarly center, and by the 18th century, scholars from across west Africa converged at Buna, especially following the decline of Begho. These included Abū Bakr al-Siddīq of Timbuktu, who was a student in Buna around 1800, and mentioned several leading scholars of the town, including Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qādir Sankarī from Futa Jallon (in Guinea), Ibrāhīm ibn Yūsuf from Futa Toro (in Senegal) and Ibrāhīm ibn Abī’l-Hasan from Dyara (in Mali). Buna's scholary community was led by a local Juula named ‘Abdallāh ibn al-Hājj Muhammad Watarāwī.( The relations between Buna and the Imams of Gonja, especially at Buipe and Bole, were close, and the authors of Gonja chronicle (_Kitab Gonja_) are among the scholars likely to have come from Buna( . The _Kitab Gonja_, was written in 1751 by the Gonja imam Sidi 'Umar b. Suma, who assumed office at Buipe in 1747. Umar was a descendant of al-Abyad and would be suceeded in office by his son 'Umar Kunandi b. 'Umar, who later updated the chronicle in 1764. Besides providing a detailed account of Gonja's history, the chronicle also records important events among Gonja's neighbors including the kingdoms of Asante, Dagomba, Bonduku, Mamprusi, Buna and Kong.( _**19th century copy of the prayerbook 'Dalāʾil al-Khayrāt'**_, written in northern Ghana, most likely by a scholar in Gonja or Dagomba, Ms. Or 6575, British library.( _**19th century work titled kitāb al-balagh al-minan, (The Book of Attaining Destiny)**_, written in northern Ghana, most likely by a scholar from Gonja or Dagomba, Ms Or. 6576, British Library. ( * * * **The mosques of Gonja** There are four of Gonja old mosques still in use today, these include the mosques at Larabanga, Banda Nkwata, Maluwe and Bole. The construct of atleast two of these mosques; Larabanga and Banda Nkwata, is firmly dated to before 1900. While most local traditions date the construction of the Larabanga mosque to the 17th century, the present structure was built in the 19th century, with a few recent modifications( . The oldest mosque in Gonja was at Buipe, where the _Kitab Gonja_ places its construction in the late 16th century, but the town was abandoned in the 1950s and the mosque is yet to be excavated.( The mosque of Banda Nkwata was most likely built in the late 19th century( , while the mosques of Maluwe and Bole were built in the early 20th century, possibly ontop of older structures.( The mosques of Larabanga, Banda Nkwanta, and Bole share a number of common elements: a square plan 10 to 12m wide, façades that are structured by buttresses surmounted by pinnacles and linked together by horizontal wooden poles, a prayer hall subdivided into three naves and three bays by four massive pillars and accessible through three doors, a terrace on the roof that is accessible by a staircase covered by a dome (the minaret-tower), and a protruding quadrangular mihrab sheltered at the base of another tower covered by a dome and situated in the centre of the qibla wall. The thick walls ensure the stability of the structure, while the wooden poles serve as scaffolding and decoration. Larabanga and Bole were built with cob, while the rest were built with mud-brick.( _**Banda Nkwata mosque**_( _**Larabanga mosque**_( While islam played an important role in the kingdom’s social and political institutions, Gonja’s royal court was only partially Islamized, largely due to the accommodationist theology of the Wangara scholars who followed the Suwarian tradition of pacifism.( Chiefs depended on both the imams and the earth-priests, and were only nominally Muslim despite claiming descent from the Islamized heartlands of Mali. The participation of the scholars in the state's creation and growth had earned them an influencial position in adminsitration but Gonja society’s differentiation into distinct social estates remained largely unchanged.( * * * **Trade and Economy in Gonja** The kingdom of Gonja had a predominantly agro-pastoral economy, largely determined by its semi-arid ecology. The kingdom's towns, especially Buipe and Kaffaba were centers of significant craft industries including textile production and cloth dyeing, smiting, leatherworking, and salt mining. They posessed regular markets that were also connected to regional trade routes where external trade was undertaken by the old commercial diasporas of west Africa.( The region of Gonja was at the crossroads of important trade routes which linked the gold and kola producing forests of the Voltaic basin to the trading hubs of Jenne to the north and Kano in Hausaland to the north-east. "Gonja" is itself a toponym of Hausa origin (ie: Gonjawa) which prexisted the kingdom and from which it would later derive its name. The chronicle Kano, mentions that the route from Kano to Gonja was first opened in the mid 15th century. Over the centuries, the commercial diasporas of the Hausa and the Wangara converged in Gonja and extended southward to Asante.( Some of the towns in eastern Gonja such as Kafaba and Salaga pre-existed the founding of the kingdom and they included communities that claim to be of Hausa and Bornu origin. The Gonja chronicles also mention the presence of Hausa traders at Buipe whom came to buy Kola derived from Asante and Bunduku.( As a result of the activities of external traders, the kingdom of Gonja appears on the 18th century maps made by the geographers De L'isle in 1707 and D'anville in 1749. The latter indicated Gonja as 'Gonge' and included its principal tows; Gbuipe as 'Goaffy', Tuluwe as 'Teloue' and Kafaba 'caffaba'. The names of the towns, which are rendered in Hausa, were transmitted by traders at the coast.( _**position of Gonja in the Mande trade network**_( * * * **Gonja in the 19th century; from Asante domination to the onset of colonialism.** In the 1830s, the kingdom of Gonja became embroiled in a sucession crisis between Safo, the chief of Bole, and Kali, the chief of Tuluwe. The scholars of Buna agreed to mediate the dispute but ultimately failed, enabling Kali to defeat Safo's forces. After Safo's defeat his sons and followers fled to Wa, during which time, Kali's brief reign ended with the ascension of Saidu, the chief of Kongo . Saidu then requested ruler of Wa to repatriate Safo's followers but the latter refused. Saidu invaded Wa but was defeated, he then formed an alliance with the armies of Gyaman, but this too was defeated, forcing him to retreat to Daboya. The ruler of Wa then requested the Asante king Kwaku Dua (r. 1720-1750) to intervene, and the combined forces of Wa and Asante expelled Saidu from Daboya and killed him.( Most of Gonja thereafter became a vassal of Asante, after several wars between most of the kingdom’s provinces. Written accounts from Gonja mention that the Asante first campaign into central and western Gonja occurred in 1732 (related to the abovementioned dispute with Wa), followed by an attack on Gonja’s eastern province of Kpembe in 1745 and 1751.( The Asante invasion was initially perceived negatively by Gonja's scholars, especially the chronicler Sidi Umar who included an obituary of Opoku Ware that called the Asante king an oppressor that "harmed the people of Gonja". However, by the early 19th century, Gonja's scholars were praising the Asante for securing the region and protecting their interests at Kumase and at the town of Salaga.( Founded around the late 16th century, Salaga was the trading town of the Gonja province of Kpembe and later became a trading emporium after its conquest by Asante. The cosmopolitan town with an estimated population of 40-50,000 during the early 19th century included diverse groups of scholars and merchants from across west africa that transformed it into a major center of education and trade. However, the brief disintegration of Asante following the British invasion of 1874 led to the independence of its northern vassals. The town Salaga expelled its Asante governors and gradually declined as it was displaced by other towns like Kitampo and Kete-Krachi, all of which were outside Gonja.( _**a mosque at Salaga, ca. 1886-1890**_, Edouard Foa, Getty research institute After it had thrown off Asante's suzeranity, Gonja had to contend with the growing power of the northern kingdom of Wa and the expansionist empire of Wasulu led by Samori Ture. The forces of Gonja’s nothern province of Kong had advanced towards Gonja’s border with Wa, prompting the ruler of Wa to assemble a large army and defeat Kong, annexing parts of the province( . This forced Jamani, chief of Kong, to ask Samori for support in his bid to retake his province and for the Gonja throne. In the late 1880s, Samori sent his son Sarankye Mori, who established himself at Bole after crushing local resistance, subsumed Wa, and briefly added most of Gonja to the Wasulu empire before Samori’s army fell to the French in 1898.( In eastern Gonja, a conflict that begun in 1882 between the province of Kpembe and the kingdom of Dagbum, escalated into a major war by 1892 which destroyed Salaga.( In 1894, Kpembe chief and the chiefs of Bole had signed treaty of ‘friendship’ with the British on the Gold coast, who were preparing to invade Asante in 1895 and didn’t want Gonja to aid Asante. The British presence angered the Germans who were now just east of Kpembe in what would later become Togo and considered Gonja a neutral zone. The Germans thus invaded Kpembe in 1896 and expelled its chief, around the same time that the British were occupying Asante and occupying Samori’s territories in Gonja by 1897. The British compelled most of Gonja’s chiefs into becoming part of the Gold-coast colony (Ghana) and the Germans gave up their claim of Kpembe. By 1899, Salaga formally came under British control, formally ending Gonja’s autonomy.( * * * Beginning in the late 18th century, **Freed Slaves from the Americas resettled on west Africa’s coast and established themselves as influencial cultural intermediaries and wealthy merchants. These liberated Africans made a significant contribution to west-Africa’s economic and cultural growth in the 19th century**, read more about them in this article: ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Map by Marion Berti ( Wangara, Akan and Portuguese in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries. 1. The Matter of Bitu by Ivor Wilks pg 336-349 Outsiders and Strangers: An Archaeology of Liminality in West Africa By Anne Haour pg 68-73 ( Arabic Literature of Africa : The writings of Western Sudanic Africa, Volume 4 by J. Hunwick, pg 542-547 ( The Ethnography of the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast by J. Goody pg 12, 54-55) ( Wangara, Akan and Portuguese in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries II. The Struggle for Trade by Ivor Wilks pg 468-472 ( Between Accommodation and Revivalism: Muslims, the State, and Society in Ghana from the Precolonial to the Postcolonial Era by Holger Weiss pg 53-54, ( Between Accommodation and Revivalism by Holger Weiss pg 62-63, Jakpa and the Foundation of Gonja by D.H.Jones pg 6-12, Imams of Gonja The Kamaghate and the Transmission of Islam to the Volta Basin by Andreas Walter Massing pg 82-85 ( The Ethnography of the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast by J. Goody pg 36-37, Between Accommodation and Revivalism by Holger Weiss pg 71) ( Jakpa and the Foundation of Gonja by D.H.Jones pg 4-6, Between Accommodation and Revivalism by Holger Weiss pg 71) ( Unesco General History of Africa vol 5, pg 339, The Ethnography of the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast by J. Goody pg 11, 39, Jakpa and the Foundation of Gonja by D.H.Jones 17-20) ( [Foundations of Trade and Education in medieval west Africa: the Wangara diaspora.\ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------]( ( · September 18, 2022 ( ( ( West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century by Daryll Forde, P. M. Kaberry pg 188-189 ( Jakpa and the Foundation of Gonja by D.H.Jones pg 6) ( Jakpa and the Foundation of Gonja by D.H.Jones pg 27-28, West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century by Daryll Forde, P. M. Kaberry 186-187) ( Excavations in Old Buipe and Study of the Mosque of Bole (Ghana, Northern Region): Report on the 2015 Season of the Gonja Project by Denis Genequand pg 28-29 ( Preliminary Report on the 2019 Season of the Gonja Project, Ghana by Denis Genequand et al. pg 287, Excavations in Old Buipe and Study of the Mosque of Bole (Ghana, Northern Region) by Denis Genequand et al. pg 26 _**For similar architectural complexes prior to Islamization, see**_: Oursi Hu-beero: A Medieval House Complex in Burkina Faso, West Africa edited by Lucas Pieter Petit ( see the “Preliminary Reports” of the Gonja Project by Denis Genequand et al. from 2015-2020 ( West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century by Daryll Forde, P. M. Kaberry pg 73-74) ( Imams of Gonja The Kamaghate and the Transmission of Islam to the Volta Basin by Andreas Walter Massing pg 61 n.18 ( The History of Islam in Africa edited by Nehemia Levtzion, Randall L. Pouwels pg 99, Wa and the Wala: Islam and Polity in Northwestern Ghana by Ivor Wilks pg 86) ( Imams of Gonja The Kamaghate and the Transmission of Islam to the Volta Basin by Andreas Walter Massing pg 71-72 ( Between Accommodation and Revivalism by Holger Weiss pg 55) ( Baghayogho: A Soninke Muslim Diaspora in the Mande World by Andreas W. Massing pg 914, Imams of Gonja The Kamaghate and the Transmission of Islam to the Volta Basin by Andreas Walter Massing pg 71 ( The History of Islam in Africa edited by Nehemia Levtzion, Randall L. Pouwels pg pg 99) ( ( ( ( ( Architecture, Islam, and Identity in West Africa: Lessons from Larabanga By Michelle Apotsos pg 93-94, Historic Mosques in Sub-Saharan Africa By Stéphane Pradines pg 93-94) ( The Ethnography of the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast by J. Goody pg 37, Imams of Gonja The Kamaghate and the Transmission of Islam to the Volta Basin by Andreas Walter Massing pg 60 ( Preliminary Report on the 2016 Season of the Gonja Project by Denis Genequand pg 103) ( Excavations in Old Buipe and Study of the Mosque of Bole by Denis Genequand pg 53-54, Preliminary Report on the 2017 Season of the Gonja Project by Denis Genequand pg 302) ( Preliminary Report on the 2016 Season of the Gonja Project by Denis Genequand pg 96-108 ( Photos from wikimedia commons and by Denis Genequand ( photos from wikimedia commons and Sue Milks on flickr ( Between Accommodation and Revivalism by Holger Weiss pg 57-58) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 5 edited by J. D. Fage, pg 194) ( West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century by Daryll Forde, P. M. Kaberry pg 183-184) ( The Ethnography of the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast by J. Goody pg 7, Between Accommodation and Revivalism by Holger Weiss pg 97-99) ( Accommodation and Revivalism by Holger Weiss pg 100-101, 109, n.311, Salaga: A Nineteenth Century Trading Town in Ghana by Levtzion Nehemia, pg 208 n. 3) ( The Historian in Tropical Africa: Studies Presented and Discussed at the Fourth International African Seminar at the University of Dakar, Senegal 1961 by J. Vansina, R. Mauny, L. V. Thomas, Salaga: A Nineteenth Century Trading Town in Ghana Levtzion, Nehemia, pg 212-213) ( map by Holger Weiss ( Wa and the Wala: Islam and Polity in Northwestern Ghana by Ivor Wilks pg 100) ( Asante in the Nineteenth Century by Ivor Wilks pg 20-21 ( The History of Islam in Africa edited by Nehemia Levtzion, Randall L. Pouwels pg 104-105) ( Accommodation and Revivalism by Holger Weiss pg 110-112, 120-121, Salaga: A Nineteenth Century Trading Town in Ghana Levtzion, Nehemia, pg 218-222, 230-234) ( West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century by Daryll Forde, P. M. Kaberry pg 199, Wa and the Wala: Islam and Polity in Northwestern Ghana by Ivor Wilks pg 106) ( Wa and the Wala: Islam and Polity in Northwestern Ghana by Ivor Wilks pg 121-123 ( Salaga: A Nineteenth Century Trading Town in Ghana by Levtzion, Nehemia, pg 236-240) ( Salaga: A Nineteenth Century Trading Town in Ghana by Levtzion, Nehemia pg 242, Making History in Banda: Anthropological Visions of Africa's Past by Ann Brower Stahl pg 97-98.

## A History of the Gonja Kingdom (1550-1899) ### Overview The Gonja Kingdom emerged as a significant regional power in northern Ghana following the decline of the Mali Empire in the mid-16th century. This article explores its political structure, intellectual contributions, social dynamics, and architectural heritage. ### 1. Formation of the Gonja Kingdom - **Historical Context**: The Gonja Kingdom is a successor state to the Mali Empire, which faced fragmentation in the 15th and 16th centuries. - **Founding Events**: According to traditions documented in the _Kitab Gonja_, the kingdom was established around the mid-16th century. The Mali emperor Jighi Jarra attempted to collect gold tribute from Begho but was refused, leading to a military expedition. - **Key Figures**: Jarra's cavalry, led by princes Umar and Naba, managed to conquer Begho and subsequently expand northward, laying the foundations for Gonja. ### 2. Cultural and Ethnic Dynamics - **Mali Heritage**: The Gonja rulers claimed descent from Mali, which is reflected in their Mande clan names and the ethnic composition of their elite. - **Linguistic Diversity**: While scholars and rulers predominantly spoke Mande languages, the majority of Gonja's common citizens spoke Guang-languages of the Akan family. ### 3. Leadership and Political Structure - **Ruling Dynasties**: Naba was recognized as the first ruler (1552-1582). Successors included Manwura (1582-1600), who adopted Islam and took the name Umaru Kura, and his brother Amoah (1600-1622), known for building the first mosque. - **Political Evolution**: The paramount office of Yagbum_wura_ was established by Jakpa Lanta (1622-1666), who expanded the kingdom's territories and organized provincial governance. ### 4. Governmental Framework - **Federated Structure**: The Gonja Kingdom operated as a federated state with authority vested in provincial chiefs, who maintained nominal allegiance to the king at Yagbum. - **Social Hierarchy**: The society was structured into three groups: the ruling elite (_Ngbanya_), Muslim scholars (_Karamo_), and common subjects (_Nyemasi_). ### 5. Architectural Heritage - **Old Buipe**: Archaeological sites like Old Buipe demonstrate the kingdom's urban significance, featuring large courtyard houses that predated Gonja's establishment. - **Mosques**: Key mosques in Gonja, including those at Larabanga and Banda Nkwata, exhibit architectural styles developed before 1900, reflecting the blend of local and Islamic influences. ### 6. Intellectual Contributions - **Scholarship**: The scholarly community, rooted in historical figures like Isma'il Kamagate and Muhammad al-Abyad, played a crucial role in documenting Gonja's history through works like the _Kitab Gonja_. - **Regional Connections**: Scholars from Gonja maintained ties with other scholarly centers in West Africa, contributing to a broader exchange of knowledge. ### 7. Economic Structure - **Agro-Pastoral Economy**: The economy was primarily agro-pastoral, supplemented by craft industries and trade along significant routes connecting the Volta basin to major trading hubs. - **Trade Relations**: Gonja's strategic location facilitated trade, especially in kola and gold, drawing merchants from various regions, including the Hausa and the Wangara. ### 8. 19th Century Challenges - **Conflict and Succession**: In the 1830s, Gonja experienced a succession crisis that led to internal strife, enabling Asante incursions into Gonja territory. - **Asante Dominance**: By the mid-19th century, Gonja became a vassal of the Asante Empire after several military confrontations. - **Colonial Pressures**: Following the British invasion of Asante in 1874, Gonja faced new challenges, leading to its incorporation into the Gold Coast colony by 1899. ### Conclusion The Gonja Kingdom, influenced by the traditions of the Mali Empire, evolved into a notable regional power with a complex political structure, rich cultural heritage, and dynamic trade networks. Its eventual decline in the face of Asante dominance and colonial expansion marked the end of its autonomy. The legacy of Gonja continues to influence the cultural landscape of northern Ghana today.

A history of the Damagaram sultanate of Zinder: ca. 1730-1899.

Politics, Guns, and Trade in the pre-colonial Sahel

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A history of the Damagaram sultanate of Zinder: ca. 1730-1899. ============================================================== ### Politics, Guns, and Trade in the pre-colonial Sahel ( Jun 18, 2023 14 The political landscape of west Africa in the 19th century consisted of a patchwork of medium sized kingdoms centered around fortified capitals defended by the fearsome knights of the Sahara. The sultanate of Damagaram was among the most powerful states in the central region of west Africa in what is now modern Niger. From its capital, Zinder, the rulers of Damagaram controlled a powerful military armed with locally made artillery. The city of Zinder was at the crossroads of regional trade routes linking Bornu to the oases of Kawar and the city of Tripoli. It hosted a cosmopolitan population of scholars, pilgrims and merchants drawn from across west Africa. This article explorers the political history of Damagaram from its founding in the early 18th century to its fall in 1899. _**Map of southern Niger showing the sultanate of Damagaram in the late 19th century**_( * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **The foundations of Damagaram in the early 18th century.** The region where Damagaram would emerge was on the frontier of the Bornu empire and at the crossroads of west-africa’s diverse sedentary and nomadic population groups. The bulk of early population in Damagaram during the 16th century were the Dagira, an lineage group with mixed Kanuri-Hausa origins that claims Bornu origins. These would be later joined by other groups such as the Kanuri in the 17th century, and the Hausa -who became the largest group, Tuareg, Fulani and Arabs in the 19th century.( The founding of Damagaram is traditionally attributed to Mallam Yunus, who migrated from the Bornu empire to settle at a town called Damagaram in the early 18th century. He latter moved through different towns beginning at Geza , creating matrimonial alliances and installing his sons as chiefs before settling west of Zinder. But Damagaram retained its symbolic position as the first of the towns associated with the Mallam.( Mallam's successors consolidated his loose chiefdom in the mid to late 18th century, but failed to defend it against attacks from the Tuareg, especially the Imakiten of Damergou -their neighbor to the west. The early rulers of Damagaram were based in several different towns, they had little formal authority, and are likely to have been tribute collectors for Bornu; their suzerain. The sultanate was flanked in the east by the relatively larger states of Murya and Baabaaye with which they were often at war, and to the south by the Hausa states.( _**Location of Damagaram within the Bornu empire**_ At the turn of the 19th century, the Damagaram sultan Amadu who had his capital at Clihanza subsumed several towns including Zinder and sucessfully repelled the Tuareg incursions. His reign coincided with the fall of the Hausa state of Katsina to the sokoto caliphate, which sent its deposed king and many of his subjects into exile at Maradi. Damagaram then adopted several Hausa aristocratic titles and institutions such as Sarki (Sultan/King), Ciroma (crown prince). At the death of Aamadu in 1809, his Ciroma named Sulayman ascended to the throne, he moved his capital to Zinder and became the first Damagaram rulers to be crowned there.( _**Zinder in the mid-20th century**_ * * * **The Damagaram kingdom at Zinder during the reign of Sarki Sulayman and Ibrahim. (1822-1851)** Zinder was originally a small town defended by a stockade when Sulayman built his palace in the early 19th century. He later occupied the old town of Damagaram, taking on the title Sarkin Damagaram (and gave the sultanate its name). Sucession disputes in the neighboring states of Murya and Baabaaye gave Sulayman the opportunity to pick allied candidates to the throne who were then installed as vassals of Damagaram. After defeating a Sokoto invasion of Zinder, Sulayman acquired horses which he used against the Tuareg of Damergu. Sulayman later abdicated for his son Ibrahim who suceeded him as sultan.( After Sulayman's abdication, Damagaram was ruled by his sons, Ibrahim and Tanimun from 1822 to 1884. Around 1839 when Sulayman had died, Sarki Ibrahim had tried to end his vassalage to Bornu by refusing to remit Sulayman's property which was by law meant to be inherited by the Bornu ruler. This forced the reigning Bornu emperor sheikh Omar to invade Zinder, a situation that Tanimun took advantage of, compelling Ibrahim to sack his own capital and flee to a neighboring town of Kantshi (presumably Kantche). When Omar's army besieged Kantshi, Ibrahim resubmitted but later led another failed rebellion, returned to Zinder, deposed his brother and ruled.( Tanimun would again briefly re-take the throne of Zinder from his brother, and this time Bornu would intervene on behalf of Ibrahim by besieging Zinder. Tanimun reportedly constructed the walls of Zinder as the Bornu army was approaching. After a lengthy siege of 3 months and a lot of causalities on both sides, Tanimun was expelled and Ibrahim restored to the throne.( _**Zinder City walls, exterior and interior, ca. 1922-1930, BNF, Quai branly**_ Zinder gradually expanded under Ibrahim’s reign, becoming an important regional center along the carravan routes of west Africa connecting Bornu to Agadez and Sokoto. In 1851, it was visited by the explorers James Richardson and later by Heinrich Barth, who provided fairly detailed accounts of the capital and its kingdom. Zinder had a population of 20,000-25,000, and was among the largest of about about 16 towns which made up the core of the kingdom.( The kingdom of Damagaram was ruled by the Sarki Ibrahim, who was assited by several chiefs including; four viziers; the ciroma (who also commanded the military in Zinder); a qadi; a secretary; a treasury chief who had three other officers; and a customs chief. The army at Zinder consisted of an infantry of about 9,000 soldiers who were primarily archers, and a cavalry of about 2,000 horsemen who mostly carried swords and javelins.( _**Knights of Zinder, ca. 1901, quai branly**_ Most of Zinder’s inhabitants lived in the mudbrick houses characteristic of the region, while the elites and the Sarki lived in large, fortified houses. It had a vibrant market supplied with goods produced domestically such as indigo dyed textiles, as well as imported manufactures primarily acquired in Bornu which is where most of its trade was directed.( Zinder imported most of the salt mined in the Kawar oasis town of Bilma, this salt trade was mostly handled by the Tuaregs.( other external traders in Zinder included the Kanuri and Tubu, as well as Arabs and Berbers that came from Murzuk. These external merchants were allowed to trade without paying tribute, which gradually brought more traders to the city.( * * * **Damagaram during the reign of Sarki Tanimun: 1851-1884: Gunpowder technology and trade in the Sahel** Sarki Ibrahim was eventually suceeded by Tanimun in the early 1850s. It was during the reign of Tanimon than Damagaram became a major regional power, extending over 70,000 km2.( According to the travel account of Gustav Nachtigal who was in Bornu’s capital around 1870, Tanimun aspired to create a rival empire in the west of Bornu by declining to send tribute to Bornu and conquering several towns under Bornu’s suzerainty including Munio which was sacked in 1863. The Bornu emperor conditioned Tanimun’s pardon on the latter surrendering his cannon and muskets, but the Sarki initially refused to until he was threated with war.( Tanimun had greatly reformed Zinder's military, which unlike his predecessor, was equipped was modern weapons. According to Nachitgal, the king had with him several cannon and muskets. This would be confirmed much later by a French visitor in 1911 who reported that the King _**“orders from Tripoli both flintlock and percussion rifles , together with supplies of powder , lead and percussion caps ; he manufactures all the powder he needs , produces cannon and cannon balls and manufactures gun carriages”.**_ Such weapons were by then common in Bornu and many of them, especially cannons, were also made by local blacksmiths with assistance of ‘turks’ at its capital Kukawa( . Tanimun’s officers mixed imported sulfur; with locally produced saltpeter as well as firewood acquired near Zinder which served as coal. The blacksmiths also made copper cannons locally that were mounted on wheels, and fired iron balls with a diameter of 5-6 centimeter. In the 1870s, Damagaram had over 6,000 imported rifles and 40 locally-made cannons. This local manufacture of artillery at Zinder was continued into the first decade of the 20th century, and the cannons were often placed in the gates of the walls( . Around the year 1856, Tanimun expanded the monumental city walls of Zinder, with more gates.( a visitor in 1900 described the 10 meter high walls as extending over 10km around the circumference of the city, it was pierced by seven gates and cut along its length by saw-tooth battlements through which archers standing on the galleries could fire off volleys of arrows.( The capital would thereafter became an important trading city in the region, as merchants from Bornu and Agadez settled in the city, attracted by its agricultural resources, indigo dyeing and leather tanning industries. The king personally organized carravans to the supply regional and north African markets, through the services of local merchants like El Hadj Kaaku as well as foreign traders.( _**Hausa and Tripoli merchants in Zinder**_ _**Trumpeters in front of one the gates of Zinder, ca. 1925, quai branly**_ _**Hausa-style houses in Zinder, mid-20th century**_ _**Plan of Zinder in the early 20th century showing the seven gates.**_ * * * **Damagaram from independence to colonialism:** After the death of Tanimun in 1884, three of his children succeeded each other on the throne of Damagaram. Tanimun's son Ibrahim Goto was elected by the council as sultan, but was challenged by his brother Sulayman dan Aisa who defeated the former in battle and seized the throne in the same year. He gained the recognition of Bornu by gifting his suzerain 10 cannons, 840 flintlocks and 12 breech-loading rifles.( Sulayman consolidated the large kingdom left behind by his father, and organized campaigns across the region, sending his dreaded riflemen against old foes such as the Tuaregs, and powerful states like the Sokoto province of Kano. Sulayman died in 1893 and was suceeded by Amadu dan Tanimun.( Islamic learning proliferated during Amadu’s reign. Initially, many of the scholars and faqih (jurists) in Zinder came from Bornu as observed by visitors the 1850s. They made their living off writing talismanic charms and were respected, with one being credited for the choice of Sulayman moving his capital to Zinder.( But Zinder later came to host a sizeable population of scholars and pilgrims including the Senusi order. These included Abu Hassan Ali, a teacher of the Sokoto leader Abdullah dan Fodio, as well as a Bornu scholar named Mallam Musa, who in the 1880s composed a travelogue of his pilgrimage from Zinder to Mecca.( _**19th century writing board, Zinder, quai branly**_ Shortly after the Amadu’s rise to the throne, the empire of Bornu was sacked by the Sudanese general Rabeh, freeing Damagaram from Bornu’s suzerainty. The now independent kingdom of Damagaram sought to expand its frontier without seeking authority from Bornu. Amadu's armies campaigned extensively to Kano, Matsina, Gumel and Guru. However, none of these campaigns gained any territory for Zinder, as the well-defended cities it attacked could withstand its armies.( The brief period of Damagaram’s autonomy was to be cut short with the arrival of French colonial forces in the last years of the 19th century. In 1898, a French campaign led by Captain Cazemajou arrived at Zinder where it was initially hospitably received by the Sarki. But Amadu became suspicious of his guests whom he thought were allied with Rabeh, and some of the courtiers of the sultan who were Sanusi adherents compelled him to order Cazemajou's execution.( The following year, another French mission was sent to Zinder to avenge Cazemajou. In 1899, the armies of Sarki Amadu fell at the battle of Tirmini. The sultanate was initially retained under a puppet ruler installed by the French but was later formally annexed in 1906.( _**Zinder, Old town.**_ _**Ruined walls of Zinder, ca. 1956, quai branly**_ * * * Beginning in the 1500s, African states acquired guns from the Ottomans and the Portuguese to create their own gun-powder empires. **The west african empire of Bornu obtained guns and European slave-soldiers whom it used extensively in its campaigns**. Read more about it here: ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( original map by André Salifou ( Le Damagram ou Sultanat de Zinder au Xix Siecle by André Salifou pg 32-33) ( Le Damagram ou Sultanat de Zinder au Xix Siecle by André Salifou pg 37-39) ( Le Damagram ou Sultanat de Zinder au Xix Siecle by André Salifou pg 40-41) ( Le Damagram ou Sultanat de Zinder au Xix Siecle by André Salifou pg 43-46) ( Le Damagram ou Sultanat de Zinder au Xix Siecle by André Salifou 47-48) ( African Native Literature, Or Proverbs, Tales, Fables, & Historical by Sigismund Wilhelm Koelle pg 243-248 ( Narrative of a Mission to Central Africa, 1850-1851, Vol 2, by James Richardson pg 201-202) ( Narrative of a Mission to Central Africa, 1850-1851, Vol 2, by James Richardson pg 187, 194, 226) ( Narrative of a Mission to Central Africa, 1850-1851, Vol 2, by James Richardson pg 194) ( Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa Vol4 by Heinrich Barth pg 78, Narrative of a Mission to Central Africa, 1850-1851, Vol 2, by James Richardson pg 191,227, 217-218 ( Narrative of a Mission to Central Africa, 1850-1851, Vol 2, by James Richardson pg 282) Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa Vol4 by Heinrich Barth pg 78-79) ( Narrative of a Mission to Central Africa, 1850-1851, Vol 2, by James Richardson pg 179-180 , 194) ( Le Damagram ou Sultanat de Zinder au Xix Siecle by André Salifou pg 50-58, 82) ( Sahara and Sudan, Volume 2 By Gustav Nachtigal pg 267-269, Sahara and Sudan Volume 4: Wadai and Darfur By Gustav Nachtigal pg 12 ( Sahara and Sudan IV: Wadai and Darfur By Gustav Nachtigal pg 9 n.1, pg 183, Colonial Rule and Changing Peasant Economy in Damagherim, Niger Republic by Marie-Hélène J. Collion pg 176 ( Colonial Rule and Changing Peasant Economy in Damagherim by Marie-Hélène J. Collion pg 176, Le Damagram ou Sultanat de Zinder au Xix Siecle by André Salifou pg 62 ( Le Damagram ou Sultanat de Zinder au Xix Siecle by André Salifou pg 62-64) ( Nearly Native, Barely Civilized: Henri Gaden’s Journey through Colonial French West Africa by Roy Dilley pg 166 ( Le Damagram ou Sultanat de Zinder au Xix Siecle by André Salifou pg 67-69) ( Le Damagram ou Sultanat de Zinder au Xix Siecle by André Salifou pg83-84) ( Le Damagram ou Sultanat de Zinder au Xix Siecle by André Salifou pg 89-82 ( Narrative of a Mission to Central Africa, 1850-1851, Vol 2, by James Richardson pg 211, 246-247, 268-269, Le Damagram ou Sultanat de Zinder au Xix Siecle by André Salifou pg 94 ( A Geography of Jihad: Sokoto Jihadism and the Islamic Frontier in West Africa by Stephanie Zehnle pg 259, 64, 201 ( Le Damagram ou Sultanat de Zinder au Xix Siecle by André Salifou pg 98-101) ( Nearly Native, Barely Civilized: Henri Gaden’s Journey through Colonial French West Africa by Roy Dilley pg 169, Le Damagram ou Sultanat de Zinder au Xix Siecle by André Salifou pg 102-109) ( Historical Dictionary of Niger By Abdourahmane Idrissa, Samuel Decalo pg 161.

# A History of the Damagaram Sultanate of Zinder: Ca. 1730-1899 ## Introduction - The Damagaram sultanate, located in present-day Niger, emerged as a significant power in West Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. - The sultanate’s capital, Zinder, was strategically positioned at the intersection of vital trade routes, contributing to its political and economic strength. ## Founding of Damagaram 1. **Early Settlement**: - The region was influenced by the Bornu Empire and had a diverse population of sedentary and nomadic groups. - Initial inhabitants included the Dagira lineage, with origins claimed from the Kanuri-Hausa peoples. - By the 17th century, other groups, such as the Kanuri and Hausa, had migrated into the area. 2. **Traditional Founding Narrative**: - Mallam Yunus is credited with founding Damagaram in the early 18th century after migrating from Bornu. - He established his authority by forming alliances and installing his sons as local leaders. 3. **Political Structure**: - Early rulers lacked formal authority and were mainly tribute collectors for Bornu. - Interactions with neighboring states were characterized by warfare, notably against the Tuareg tribes. ## Rise of the Sultanate 4. **Transition to Power**: - By the late 18th century, the sultanate began consolidating power under its rulers. - Sultan Amadu, who ruled at the turn of the 19th century, successfully repelled Tuareg attacks and expanded Damagaram’s influence. 5. **Adoption of Titles**: - Following the fall of Katsina to the Sokoto Caliphate, Damagaram adopted Hausa titles, strengthening local governance. ## Zinder Under Sarki Sulayman (1822-1851) 6. **Political Developments**: - Sulayman moved the capital to Zinder and built a palace, marking a significant development in the sultanate's infrastructure. - Succession disputes in neighboring states allowed Sulayman to expand his influence by installing allies as vassals. 7. **Military Engagements**: - Notable for defeating a Sokoto invasion, Sulayman strengthened the military, acquiring horses to combat the Tuaregs. 8. **Economic and Social Growth**: - Zinder flourished as a commercial hub with a population of 20,000-25,000, trading both local and imported goods. ## Period of Tanimun (1851-1884) 9. **Expansion and Reform**: - Tanimun succeeded Sulayman and expanded Damagaram's territory significantly, aiming to rival Bornu. - He modernized the military, integrating previously acquired guns and producing firearms locally. 10. **Defensive Architecture**: - Tanimun enhanced Zinder’s city walls, which became a notable feature, extending over 10 km. 11. **Economic Impact**: - Under Tanimun, Zinder developed into a vital trading center, with the king facilitating trade caravans to supply regional and North African markets. ## Decline and Colonial Influence 12. **Leadership Transition**: - After Tanimun's death in 1884, the kingdom faced succession challenges, leading to internal conflicts. 13. **Erosion of Sovereignty**: - The sultanate gained temporary autonomy from Bornu but struggled to expand its territory due to well-fortified cities. 14. **French Colonial Encroachment**: - In 1898, French forces arrived in Zinder, initially met with hospitality. However, distrust led to conflict. - By 1899, Sarki Amadu's forces were defeated, leading to formal annexation by the French in 1906. ## Conclusion - The Damagaram sultanate of Zinder played a crucial role in the political tapestry of West Africa before colonial rule. - Its military innovations and commercial prominence reflected the dynamics of power and trade in the pre-colonial Sahel.

Self-representation in African art: the wall paintings of medieval Nubia. (ca. 700-1400)

an African portrait of an African society

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Self-representation in African art: the wall paintings of medieval Nubia. (ca. 700-1400) ======================================================================================== ### an African portrait of an African society ( Jun 11, 2023 10 Many of the representations of Africans in popular art history were made by non-Africans, such as the landmark publication series, _'The Image of the Black in Western Art'_ which contains thousands of images of Africans drawn by artists living outside the continent. However, most of these artists' representation of Africans reflect an external perspective of African society that doesn't capture authentic African forms of self-representation. The region of ancient Nubia in what is now northern Sudan was home to some of Africa's oldest art traditions. African artists in the kingdoms of Kerma and Kush, adorned the walls of their temples with paintings of various personalities across Nubian society, from royals to priests to subjects. After the fall of Kush, the kingdom of Makuria dominated medieval Nubia and developed its own art traditions. Makuria's artists created one of Africa's largest corpus of wall paintings depicting Africans from across the kingdom's social hierarchy. This unique collection of African self-representation provides us with an internal perspective of how Africans perceived their own society. From the paintings of royals and clergy to common subjects, the wall paintings of Makuria are a portrait of a medieval African society as drawn by an African. This article outlines the history of African self-representation in the wall paintings of medieval Nubia. * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Brief history on the foundation of Nubian art traditions** Beginning in the 8th century, the kingdom of Makuria developed a dynamic art tradition in the form of vibrant murals which adorned the walls of ecclesiastical buildings. The number of paintings varied according to the size and the religious and political importance of the buildings, and many of the painted scenes located in specific places in the churches and monasteries bear witness to the existence of a basic iconographic program followed by Nubian artists.( Nubian artists relied in part on iconographic models from the eastern Mediterranean world. These basic models which were widely used throughout the Christian world, were adopted in Nubia during the mid-1st millennium and subsequently modified in the development of local art styles. Arguably the most influential iconographic models during the early centuries of the development of Nubian Christian art came from the Byzantine empire, with which the region was in close contact.( Recent archeological research indicates that the initial adoption of Christianity by the royal courts of Nubia (Noubadia, Makuria and Alwa) was a protracted process involving the gradual integration of the region into the Mediterranean world( . On the other hand, external accounts explain that Nubia’s Christianization was the result of a competition between the orthodox Byzantine Emperor Justinian and his miaphysite wife Theodora. A priest named Julian who'd been sent by Theodora, reached Nobadia first, then the king of Alwa sent an embassy to Nobadia requesting that Noubadia sends a priest to the southern kingdom. A bishop named Longinus eventually reached Alwa after some difficulty crossing Makuria. The adoption of Christianity in Makuria on the other hand, was a result of an embassy that the kingdom had sent to Constantinople in the reign of Justin II.( Around the 7th century, the northern kingdoms of Noubadia and Makuria united both their governments and their churches, with Makuria becoming miaphysite. Byzantine Egypt was conquered by the Arabs, which cuts off direct relations between Constantinople and Makuria’s capital Old Dongola, but also closely ties the latter with the seat of the miaphysite/coptic church in Alexandria and the churches of Upper Egypt.( Beginning in the 8th century, the spread of Christianity across Makuria is a result of the Nubian church, its priests and the royals. The kings of Makuria retain significant influence over the organization of the church, from its archbishops to the rest of the clergy who are often selected by the King at Old Dongola from local monasteries and were of Nubian origin. Churches in Noubadia are rebuilt in Makurian style by local architects such as the cathedral of Faras, and their walls are painted by local artists with various saintly and political figures, in an iconographic program that appears across all Makurian churches.( The Makurian church became more “naturalized” beginning in the 10th century and by the 11th century, a marriage alliance between the royal families of Makuria and Alwa resulted in the unification of the two states into the kingdom of Dotawo. The same period sees an indigenization of Nubian church and court practices. This includes the widespread introduction of religious texts and documentary forms written in an indigenous Old Nubian script and the adoption of new royal regalia in preference to the older Byzantine styles. These changes are also reflected in the wall paintings of the churches across the region of Makuria, with the innovation of new art styles, and the invention of new motifs and forms of self-representation.( * * * **Basics of Nubian wall painting** Paintings of royals figures are the most commonly attested among Nubian self-representations, followed by depictions of the church elite. However, many of the painted figures in Nubian art also included divine Christian figures such as the Trinity, angels and saints, and while many of these were initially based on Byzantine and Coptic models, they acquired a distinctly Nubian character based on the requirements of Nubian court ceremonies and their perception of the heavenly court( . Depictions of the Trinity, the Archangels and the Nubian saint Anna are based on local religious traditions.( But the initial use of Byzantine art styles may explain why saints continued to be depicted as “colorless” while the portraits of (living) Nubians and(non-Nubian) biblical figures were depicted with a dark-brown complexion( . For example, biblical figures such as the Magi (three wise men) and the shepherds from the nativity story, and other characters like Tobias are depicted as Nubians.( Nubian art tended towards stylization and ornamentalism, in which images were essentially reduced to the attributes of the depicted archetype. Actual physical distinctions of individual figures weren't supposed to be portrayed as only general types were preferred. As a result, facial features and parts of the body are relatively 'synthetic', being based on specific models used by the different groups of artists from the same workshops.( _**Detail of the 10th century nativity scene at Faras depicting the Magi on horseback**_ _**Detail of Nativity scenes from Kom H monastery at Old Dongola, showing the Magi (top left) and shepherds**_, photos by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka * * * ( * * * **Representing Royals in Nubian art: Protection scenes, Symbols of power and Regalia** Among the most common paitings of royal figures in Nubian art were the ‘protection’ scenes, in which royals such as Kings, Queen Mothers, princes and princesses are depicted under the protection of holy figures. Although this type of representation had its precursors both in early Byzantine designs, it was greatly transformed in Nubia art where it became a particularly popular theme of murals from the ninth century up to the 14th century( . While portraying kings in the church interiors was relatively common in Byzantine art, representations of the ruler in the area of the sanctuary were extremely rare. On the other hand, the Nubian type of the official royal portrait in the apse of the Church represents a new innovation.( Scenes depicting Nubian dignitaries protected by saints do not feature in the mural programs prior to the 9th-10th century when the oldest surviving examples of protection scenes of royals were found in the Cathedral of Faras and are first attested.( These official representations mainly portray Nubian dignitaries under the protection of the Trinity, angels or saints, by depicting the latter standing behind or beside the royal, with their hands touching the shoulder of the royal. Such portraiture developed into an iconographic type that became popular in the wall decoration of Nubian Churches.( _**14th century painting from Church NB.2.2 in Dongola depicting a Makurian king under the protection of Christ and two archangels, Michael and Raphael**_. photo by W. Godlewski _**Portraits of King Georgios II and King Raphael, from the Church of Sonqi Tino, now at the Sudan National Museum.**_( _**11th century paiting of a Nubian king under the holy patronage of an archangel, surrounded by Apostles.**_ Chapel 3, Banganarti.( _**14th century mural of a Nubian royal protected by Christ, from Faras Cathedral now in the National Museum in Warsaw**_ These protection scenes played an important role in the expression of royal ideology in the iconographic program of the churches. the Nubian ruler, who is depicted under the protection of the Archangel and/or the Apostles, becomes the main figure of the composition under heavenly protection.( Such Portraits of individuals protected by divine figures can also be regarded also as private expressions of piety. In a symbolic way, the ruler transformed his mortal body into a visual representation. In consequence, the painting becomes not only a medium between image and viewer but also a perfect manifestation of the person’s individual existence as his eternal life in heaven.( The kings are also depicted wearing the symbols of royal power in Makuria. These include the horned crown often surmounted by a cross on top, a scepter surmounted by a cross or a figure of Christ, and they are shown wearing rich robes that signify their authority. Makurian crowns are of diverse types and were based on a combination of Nubian and Byzantine styles, most of these crowns were worn by Kings but a few appear to have belonged to eparchs and other subordinate officials (although this distinction is still debated).( _**12th century portrait of a King in Chapel 2 of Banganarti, the so called Eparch from Abd-el-Gadir Church**_, now at National Museum of Sudan, Khartoum. The royal portraits also display another aspect of Nubian self-representation with regards to the clothes worn by the people of Nubia and the Makurian royal fashion. A comparative study of the royal costumes can be divided into two major groups: with early paintings often depicting kings dressed in clothes similar to Byzantine emperors whereas in later paitings, the kings' garments are worn in a Nubian fashion.( The clothes worn by the 9th-10th century kings; Zacharias III and Georgios II are the most similar to Byzantine imperial attire. The king are depicted wearing a long dress tied with a belt and a cloak which covers his shoulders and left arm. But while Byzantine art differentiates the emperor from the other figures in the paiting using attributes like the crown and the richness of his clothing, In Nubian royal iconography, the costume, like the attributes, is worn only by the king.( _**9th-10th century painting of King Zacharias III from Faras**_ now at the Poland National Museum_**, and King Georgios II from Sonqi Tino,**_ now at the Sudan National Museum. However, beginning in the 11th-12th century, there was a noticeable evolution of the royal attire in Nubian royal portraits. The king's costume is still comprised of a combined dress and cloak attire, but arranged and styled differently. The kings' dress is often depicted with two sleeves on the wrist and arm, and the whole costume is decorated with geometric motifs. The cloaks are worn diagonally across the torso, folded on one shoulder with the cloak-tail being wrapped around the arm. The king also wears a second dress; in contrast to the portraits of the first group. It appears at the ankles under the “outer” dress, its edges are white, either straight or pleated.( _**10th century painting of an unidentified king in the Nativity scene at Faras, now in the Sudan National Museum**_ _**12th century painting of King David, in the southern wall of Chapel 1 at Banganarti**_( There are also a number of murals depicting high ranking royal figures, often standing alone. Some of these come from the church of Banganarti which was a pilgrimage site that included a sanctuary dedicated to the reigning King. The painting of an unamed royal/hegemon at Banganarti depicts him wearing a horned crown like the Nubian kings but holding a plain stick in the right hand instead of a sceptre.( A few other paintings of royals come from the Church of Raphael in Old Dongola, where two royals are depicted, one of whom is named Abakuri. _**11th century paiting of a Nubian dignitary ( hegemon ?) on the eastern wall of Room 20, Banganarti.**_ _**8th-9th century paintings, Representations of members of the royal court in the southeastern part of the naos of the Church of Raphael in Old Dongola.**_( Besides the portraits of the male royals were depictions of prominent women in the Makurian royal court such as Queen mothers and princesses. In the northern nave of the Faras Cathedral, a group of paintings has been identified as representations of the mothers of the kings. This identification was based on the legend accompanying one of these representations, which describes a woman portrayed as a ‘_Martha, Mother of the King_’ and the similarities of the iconographic features of this painting with other female portraits across the kingdom. Like the depictions of kings, depictions of royal women in Nubian art are closely associated with the ecclesiastical paintings of Nubian female saints, the most prominent of whom was the Virgin Mary.( _**11th century painting of The Queen mother (left) protected by the Virgin Mary and child (right) from the Petros Cathedral at Faras, Sudan National Museum**_ _**12th century painting of a Makurian princess under the protection of the virgin Mary, Faras cathedral**_ Depictions of Makurian women reveal more aspects of Nubian self-representation that reflect medieval Makuria’s social structure. The office of King Mother is well attested across the history of ancient and medieval Nubia including in the kingdom of Makuria. Nubian women enjoyed a relatively high social and economic status, they owned churches as patrons, they commissioned wall paintings, and owned property. Besides the office of the Queen Mother, an inscription from Faras also shows that some were deaconesses, making them prestigious members of the clerical staff of the Nubian church.( Both the office and the representations of Queen Mothers in Nubian art have no equivalent in the Byzantine Empire nor in Coptic Egypt. Nubian depictions of royal women thus constitute a unique official iconographical program that depicted an unconventional ‘succession’ line: from Mary – mother of Christ, to the Mother of the King. By setting the image of the holy mothers and of the kings’ mothers beside each other, a parallel between the queen mother and the Virgin Mary is created: just as Mary was the mother of Christ, the Queen mother was the mother of a future Makurian ruler, Christ’s deputy on earth. It can thus be inferred from the special role of the king and his mother in the mural decoration of Nubian churches that this iconographical custom mirrored a specific social reality in Makuria.( * * * **Representing Ecclesiastical figures in Nubian art** The institution of the Church in Makuria was closely associated with “secular” authority at the Royal court. Some of the most prominent Nubian Church leaders such as the 11th century Archbishop Georgios were of royal birth, other bishops such as Marianos had royal ambitions. Church officials in Makuria commissioned paintings, contributed to the construction of churches and monasteries, owned property and engaged in political and religious matters within the kingdom and with its foreign partners.( Like the royals, the Nubia clergy were also represented under the protection of saints and holy figures, but were more often depicted alone. They are shown holding items that indicate their office such as headdresses with crosses, long staffs terminating in a cross, gospel books, and censers. These ecclesiastical garmets and symbols of authority were often adopted by the wider Eastern Christian world, with which Makuria closely interacted. For example, staffs were not common parts of the Makurian episcopal garments, as they don't appear in some of the paitings of bishops, the item was likely based on early representations of monastic saints in 6th century Egypt. Depictions of Books on the other hand, would have been based on gospel books that were commonly composed within Nubia itself.( _**12th century painting of Bishop Georgios of Faras protected by the virgin Mary and Christ**_ (upper left corner)_**, Sudan National Museum, Khartoum**_ _**10th century painting of Bishop Petros protected by St. Peter the Apostle, from Faras Cathedral now in the National Museum in Warsaw**_ _**11th century painting of Bishop Marianos of Faras with virgin Mary and child, from Faras cathedral now at the national museum Warsaw**_ Members of the Nubian clergy were depicted in ecclesiastical vestments which represented local fashion traditions. Bishops and presbyters are shown wearing vestments that were commonly used by the liturgy of the Eastern Church and reflect the ecclesiastical influences of the eastern meditteranean. These influences led to the evolution of an original fashion style that characterized Makuria’s clerical society.( All painted figures in Nubian art are clad in garments that indicate their position in the Nubian social hierarchy. Certain rules governed the choice of garmets for specific figures and the type of decoration featured on them. Some figures were portrayed with a wealth of imperial splendor (especially the Archangles and Royals), others are shown in religious vestments, while others were depicted in modest attire of monks and common subjects.( _**11th century portrait of arch presbyter Marianos, from Old Dongola, Portrait of an unknown bishop from Old Dongola.**_ _**12th century painting of Georgios from Old Dongola, 9th century painting of a group of Nubian clergymen, National Museum in Warsaw**_ * * * **Representing subjects in Nubian art: A portrait of a cosmopolitan society** Representations of Nubian subjects are relatively few in the corpus of wall paintings of Makuria. The majority of Nubian murals described above were commisioned by donors including royals and clergy. These donors hired local artists (often monks from monasteries) to decorate the walls of churches and other buildings whose construction some of them had sponsored. They often appear in paintings as smaller figures of the larger figure which they commisioned, that is drawn beside them. While most of the donors were secular and religious elites, a few donors were drawn from the rest of the Makurian population.( For example, the paintings below depict donors who were possibly clergymen, and are depicted wearing clothes that are slightly different from those worn by Bishops and royals. One of the donors is depicted holding a book in his left hand and a staff in his right hand rather than a scepter. Another donor is depicted standing with raised hands in a gesture of prayer, his clothing is similar to the garments worn by monks in both Nubia and Egypt.( _**12th-13th century paintings of an archpresbyter depicted as a donor, and Two figures depicted as deacons, from Old Dongola**_, photos by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka Conversely, there are also depictions of female donors in Southwest Annex of the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola. These women’s position in the church hierarchy is unclear, they could have been deaconesses such as the one recently discovered from an inscription at Faras,( or were related to the royals and clergy depicted in church murals (either as wives or mothers). These female donors are often shown holding a distaff or a palm leaf. They wear voluminous robes that are richly decorated and their heads are often veiled.( _**12th-13th century paintings of female donors from Southwest Annex**_, photos by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka * * * * * * The Southwest Annex of the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola has a number of features that indicate a relation with womanhood. These include the many depictions of the Virgin Mary, the wall paitings donated by women, and the graffito which were written by women.( One painting in particular depicts a dance scene whose accompanying inscriptions show that involves that its donor invokes the virgin Mary in the context of the Queen sister’s pregnancy.( The painting includes two groups of men dancing next to an image of the Virgin Mary and child. The men constitute two types of figures in different attires, some have animal masks on their faces, the others are clad in sleeveless chitons and long galigaskins, skirts, shawls and turbans with bands. In the scene of dance, and the attires of men and their folk dance give evidence that the Nubian society was multicultural, reflecting its African roots and contemporary Islamic influences.( _**12th-13th century painting of a dance scene from Old Dongola**_. Photos by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka Representation of Nubian subjects in church murals was a product of the broader social changes and innovations in the kingdom of Makuria. As indicated by the painting above, the Nubian art styles of the post-11th century included less homogenous paiting themes, allowing greater freedom in selection of subjects, smaller sizes of portraits and different compositions of the representations. Its during this period that a few 'Islamic' influences begun to appear in Nubian art.( Another exceptional painting depicting what appears to be Nubian subjects comes from the Southwestern Annex from Old Dongola. It depicts two men seated on the wide bed in the interior behind a folded curtain, behind the two men (or between them) is another standing figure (likely a servant). Below that composition, another servant skins a lamb, while more lambs are shown enclosed within a round fence. Above the main scene is another man seated on the semi-round sofa with his hand outstretched as if in a gesture of greeting towards an approaching couple, a man and woman clad in white robes.( Like all Nubian paintings, this mural was inspired by biblical stories but depicted them in a contemporary Nubian setting. Local painters understood the purposes of the paintings that were being commissioned, often taken from Christian dogma as conveyed in the scriptures, as well as from the teachings of the Church fathers and from the Apocrypha.( _**12th-13th century painting from Southwestern Annex from Old Dongola Monastery**_, photo by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka _**Detail of the above painting showing a financial transaction between the two seated men, with one giving the other a handful of gold coins**_ _**Detail of the painting showing two figures (likely Tobias and Sara) being greeted by a seated figure (likely Raguel)**_ This mural is most likely based on the biblical story of Tobias in the ‘Book of Tobit’. In one of the episodes, Tobias travels with a friend named Azarias to claim payment for a debt owed to his father by a man named Gabael. Tobias recovers the debt, and he meets and marries Gabael's niece Sarah. Azarias turns out to be the archangel Raphael sent by God to answer the prayers of Sarah as well as Tobias’ father. The families of the newlyweds then celebrate with a sumptuous feast. The theological message of this story expressing God's care, the archangel's protection, the payment of debts and the marriage bond, likely inspired a donor to commission the painting.( The depiction of the figures in the contemporary Nubian style and its influences reflects local forms of self-representation. The increasing Islamic influences as shown by the clothing which also appears in the abovementioned dance scene, were a prelude to the gradual Islamization of Nubian society. As the political and social life in the kingdom of Makuria became increasingly intertwined with Mamluk Egypt, Nubian society gradually lost its Christian character and took on a new Islamic character that is seen in modern Sudan.( * * * Beginning in the 1500s, African states acquired guns from the Ottomans and the Portuguese to create their own gun-powder empires. **The west african empire of Bornu obtained guns and European slave-soldiers whom it used extensively in its campaigns**. Read more about it here: ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Études des peintures murales médiévales soudanaises de 1963 à nos jours by Magdalena M. Wozniak ( The Wall Paintings from the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka pg 108-109 ( Short history of the Church of Makuria by W Godlewski pg 599-601 ( The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia by Bruce Williams pg 760) ( The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia by Bruce Williams pg pg 762-763) ( Short history of the Church of Makuria by W Godlewski pg 602-609, Bishops and kings. The official program of the Pachoras (Faras) Cathedrals by W Godlewski pg 262-383 ( Archbishop georgios of dongola. socio-political change in the kingdom of makuria by W Godlewski pg 663-675 ( Byzantine influence on Nubian painting by Magdalena Łaptaś pg 252-253 ( The Holy Trinity in Nubian art by Piotr Makowski 302-307, Anna, the first Nubian saint known to us by Adam Łajtar, The position of the Archangel Michael within the celestial hierarchy by Magdalena Łaptaś ( The Wall Paintings from the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka pg 110 ( The Wall Paintings from the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka pg 137-138 ( The Wall Paintings from the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka pg pg 116) ( Nubian Scenes of Protection from Faras as an Aid to Dating by Stefan Jakobielski pg 44) ( The Iconography of Power – The Power of Iconography: The Nubian Royal Ideology and Its Expression in Wall Painting by Dobrochna Zielinska pg 946 ( The Iconography of Power – The Power of Iconography by Dobrochna Zielinska pg 943-944 ( Nubian Scenes of Protection from Faras as an Aid to Dating by Stefan Jakobielski pg 45-50, 943-944) ( Royal iconography: contribution to the study of costume by Magdalena M Wozniak pg 930 ( Banganarti on the Nile, An Archaeological Guide by Bogdan Zurawski pg 32 ( The Iconography of Power – The Power of Iconography by Dobrochna Zielinska pg 944) ( The Holy Trinity in Nubian art by Piotr Makowski pg 303) ( The Crown of the Eparch of Nobadia by Magdalena Łaptaś, Horned Crown – an Epigraphic Evidence by Stefan Jakobielski ( Royal Iconography: Contribution to the Study of Costume by Magdalena Wozniak pg 929-932) ( Royal Iconography: Contribution to the Study of Costume by Magdalena Wozniak pg 933) ( Royal Iconography: Contribution to the Study of Costume by Magdalena Wozniak pg 935 ( Banganarti on the Nile, An Archaeological Guide by Bogdan Zurawski pg 26-28 ( The chronology of the eastern chapels in the Upper Church at Banganarti, Banganarti on the Nile by Bogdan Zurawski pg 41 ( Dongola 2015-2016: Fieldwork, Conservation and Site Management pg 129 ( The Iconography of Power – The Power of Iconography by Dobrochna Zielinska p pg 947) ( Female diaconate in medieval Nubia: Evidence from a wall inscription from Faras by Grzegorz Ochała pg 7-8) ( The Iconography of Power – The Power of Iconography by Dobrochna Zielinska pg 947-948) ( Short history of the Church of Makuria by W Godlewski pg 610-612 ( Monks and bishops in Old Dongola, and what their costumes can tell us by Karel C. Innemée pg 417-419 ( The Wall Paintings from the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka pg 113) ( The Wall Paintings from the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka pg 112) ( The Wall Paintings from the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka pg 221-225 ( Monks and bishops in Old Dongola, and what their costumes can tell us by Karel C. Innemée pg 420-421) ( Female diaconate in medieval Nubia: Evidence from a wall inscription from Faras by Grzegorz Ochała ( The Wall Paintings from the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka pg 224-225) ( Women in the Southwest Annex by Van Gerven Oei Vincent W. J. and Łajtar Adam pg 75-76 ( A Dance for a Princess by Vincent van Gerven Oei pg 131-135 ( The Christian Nubia and the Arabs by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka pg 253-254 ( The Wall Paintings from the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka pg 110 ( The Christian Nubia and the Arabs by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka pg 253 ( The Wall Paintings from the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka pg 108-109 ( The Wall Paintings from the Monastery on Kom H in Dongola by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka pg 124-125) ( The Christian Nubia and the Arabs by Małgorzata Martens-Czarnecka pg 253-255.

### Self-representation in African Art: The Wall Paintings of Medieval Nubia (ca. 700-1400) #### Overview 1. **Context of African Representation in Art** - Historically, representations of Africans in art have often been created by non-African artists, which typically reflect an external viewpoint rather than an authentic African perspective. - The series _"The Image of the Black in Western Art"_ is a prominent example that contains numerous images of Africans created by artists outside the continent. 2. **The Significance of Nubian Wall Paintings** - Ancient Nubia, located in present-day northern Sudan, was home to some of Africa’s oldest artistic traditions. - African artists in Nubia, especially in the kingdoms of Kerma and Kush, produced wall paintings that depicted various societal roles, including royals, priests, and common people. - The kingdom of Makuria, which succeeded Kush, continued this tradition and left behind a significant corpus of wall paintings that highlight an internal perspective on Nubian society. #### History of Nubian Art Traditions 1. **Emergence of Art in Makuria** - Art traditions flourished in Makuria starting in the 8th century, characterized by vibrant murals within churches and monasteries. - The size and number of paintings varied based on the importance of the building, adhering to specific iconographic programs influenced by Mediterranean models, predominantly from the Byzantine Empire. - Nubian artists adapted these external influences into their unique local styles. 2. **Christianization of Nubia** - The spread of Christianity in Nubia was gradual, with royal courts integrating the religion over time through interactions with the Byzantine Empire and local adaptations. - The kingdom of Makuria became primarily miaphysite, with the church closely linked to the royal authority. #### Features of Nubian Wall Paintings 1. **Iconography and Representation** - The wall paintings primarily feature royal figures, clergy, and some common subjects, often depicted with distinct Nubian characteristics. - Divine figures such as the Trinity, angels, and saints were also portrayed, with Nubian artists adapting Byzantine styles to reflect local traditions. 2. **Nubian Royal Portraits** - Common themes in royal portrayals include scenes of protection, where kings and queens are depicted under the auspices of holy figures, emphasizing their divine support. - The royal iconography evolved to include unique elements like Nubian crowns and specific clothing styles that distinguished them from Byzantine representations. #### Representation of Different Social Classes 1. **Depictions of Royals and Elites** - Royals were represented with specific symbols of power (e.g., crowns, scepters) and often portrayed in compositions that emphasize their divine protection. - Women in the royal court, such as queen mothers, are depicted significantly, showcasing their roles within the social hierarchy. 2. **Ecclesiastical Figures** - Church leaders were often depicted alone or with divine protectors, emphasizing their ecclesiastical authority through specific vestments and symbols. - The clergy's portrayal reflects their integral relationship with both religious and secular power in Nubian society. 3. **Representation of Common Subjects** - Murals featuring ordinary Nubians were less common and often included smaller figures next to commissioned larger figures. - Recent paintings indicate a cosmopolitan society, incorporating local traditions and contemporary influences, reflecting the dynamics of Nubian life. #### Cultural Interactions and Evolution 1. **Islamic Influences** - As Nubian society interacted more with the Mamluk Empire, Islamic influences began to permeate Nubian art, signaling a gradual shift in cultural identity. - The incorporation of diverse stylistic elements indicates a transformative period in Nubian history, as societal changes led to the eventual Islamization of the region. 2. **Continuity and Change** - Nubian wall paintings serve as a testament to the rich cultural narrative of medieval Nubia, showcasing self-representation amidst external influences. - The transition from Christian to Islamic influences in art reflects broader historical changes affecting social structures and cultural expressions in the region. ### Conclusion The wall paintings of medieval Nubia are vital historical artifacts that provide an internal perspective of African self-representation. Through their vibrant depictions of royalty, clergy, and common people, these artworks reveal the complexities of Nubian society from the 8th to the 14th century, offering insights into its cultural, religious, and political dynamics.

A history of the Majeerteen Sultanate: 1700-1927.

Maritime trade and diplomacy in the northern Horn of Africa.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A history of the Majeerteen Sultanate: 1700-1927. ================================================= ### Maritime trade and diplomacy in the northern Horn of Africa. ( Jun 04, 2023 9 The north-eastern coast of Somalia was home to some of Africa's most dynamic maritime societies since antiquity. During the 18th century, the region was controlled by the Marjeerteen sultanate which became a major regional power linking the Somali mainland to the western Indian ocean. From their fortified coastal towns, Marjeerteen’s rulers controlled a lucrative spice trade with southern Arabia, enforced maritime laws along a major shipping lane, and initiated diplomatic contacts with foreign states while halting the advance of colonial powers. This article explores the history of the Majeerteen sultanate and its role as an important regional power in the northern horn of Africa from the 18th century to 1927. _**Map showing the Majeerteen sultanate in north-eastern Somalia.( **_ * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **A brief history of the northern-eastern Somalia before the rise of Majeerteen.** The northern coast of the horn of Africa was home to several ancient settlements since antiquity. Archeological surveys of the settlements at Hafun, Alula and Cape Guardafui, revealed evidence of trade links between the settlements and the Sabean kingdom (in Yemen) and the Romans, including ruined buildings of sandstone and sherds of amphorae dated to the 2nd century.( According to the 1st century guidebook, _Periplus of the Erythraen Sea_, there were several trading ports along the coast of northern Somalia, which was known as the Spice Coast, named after its aromatic and medicinal resins exports, notably frankincense.( The empire of Aksum and the sultanate of Adal controlled parts of the northern horn of Africa’s coastline between late antiquity and the middle ages, but the region in which Majeerteen would emerge remained outside their political spheres. Around the 14th century, the north-eastern tip of the Horn was controlled by a vast confederation of Somali-speaking clan groups of the Darod family, of which the Harti sub-group were the most prominent. Among the Harti were the Majeerteen clan who were the nominal head of the confederation, but by the 18th century, this confederation had splintered into several independent states including Majeerteen.( _**Coastal towns of the Majeerteen sultanate.**_( * * * **The sultanate of Majeerteen.** The Majeerteen state was led by a ruler (variously refered to as Sultan or Boqor). while such titles carried little defined authority among some of the neighboring lineage groups( , the Majeerteen sultan exercised significant authority over the affairs of the state( . The Majeerteen ruler was assisted by a council of officers (including chiefs, qadis, etc) often appointed by himself( , taxes were paid by foreign merchants (often Arab and Indian) but not by his subjects( , he engaged with foreign diplomats as an independent sovereign albeit in the presence of his subordinate chiefs( , and he enforced laws regarding fort construction, security, marine salvage, and transhumance (pastoral rights on land, wells, etc).( The capital/residence of Majeerteen sultan shifted with each successive ruler, it was initially at Bandar Meraya in the early 19th century( before moving to Bargal and Bandar Gedid in the late 19th century( . Besides the capitals, a number of coastal towns were established along Majeerteen's shores during the 19th century including; Bandar Ziada, Bandar Cassim/Kasin (Bosaso), Kandala, Bandar Kor, Durbo, Filuk and Alula. Many of these were under the authority of princes and other kinsmen of the sultan.( But the degree of control exercised over each subordinate chief, prince or kinsman of the Sultan was attimes tenuous, such as at the chiefs of Alula who often ‘rebelled’ against Majeerteen’s authority.( As a coastal state, Majeerteen regulated the activities of foreign traders, travelers and shipwrecked sailors through the pre-existing somali social institution of abban ( mediator). It was the abban who took responsibility for a visitor’s security, acted as broker for business transactions, made introductions, and played the role of host and interpreter. In exchange, the abban levied a fee on all purchases made by the person under their protection, often in addition to presents and gifts. In the Majeerteen worldview, the abbans, who often came from the royal lineages, integrated guests into the society for the duration of their stay.( The abban institution was utilized as a diplomatic system which mediated everyday interactions between the Majeerteen and envoys of foreign states including the Ottoman-Egyptian Khedive (which nominally claimed parts of the region), the Naqib of Mukalla (in Yemen), the sultan of Oman, and later European powers. Majerteen's regional diplomacy involved mutual recognition, gift giving and treaty signing, in a system of international relations common across the indian ocean littoral.( Majeerteen rulers signed commercial treaties with the sultan of Oman (Zanzibar), as well as with the ruler of Mukalla. But as an independent state, Majerteen only accepted treaties which conformed to their own interests, and demonstrated this by turning down the Oman Sultan's request to build a his own lighthouse at Cape Guardafui. Such treaties and international relations strengthened and enhanced the Majeerteen sultans’ position as rulers in a contested political landscape.( Among the foreign states which Majeerteen singed commercial treaties with were the British who had in 1839, occupied the port-city of Aden in Yemen. While Aden remained a relatively minor port in the first half of the 19th century, the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, imbued the region with a strategic political and economic significance, leading to a significant increase in maritime traffic. What was once a six-month around Africa was transformed into a two-week steamship passage via the Red Sea.( _**The precolonial commercial and diplomatic connections across the north-western Indian Ocean**_( * * * **Trade and Economy of Majeerteen: Frankincense and Fort-building.** The growth of Aden and Muscat (Oman) increased maritime trade in the western Indian ocean ,creating more demand for Somali commodities including incenses, livestock, spices, coffee and hides. In 1837, an estimated 732 tonnes of Frankincense collected from the capital’s hinterland was sold at Merayah annually, more than half of which went to Bombay, while the rest went to the Red sea region and southern Arabia.( By the 1870s, Majeerteen’s trade with the city of Aden alone amounted to around 5% of the city’s total imports valued at around 500,000 British Rupees per year by the 1870s, or about £25,000–50,000 sterling (about £30–60 million today), a figure that would double by the end of the century. While most of the export trade was in the hands of foreign merchants, a significant share was also undertaken by Majeerteen merchants. By the mid-19th century, local merchants owned 40 large merchant sailboats between them, each capable of carrying one hundred tons.( Increasing numbers of local merchant vessels in Marjeerteen’s ports enabled its merchants to control more of its export trade to southern Arabia and sail southwards along Somali’s coast for trade goods. Majeerteen exports were sold across the entire stretch of Yemen's coast, the sultanate's traders travelled as far south as the Benadir coast between Mogadishu and Kismayo, to purchase grain for sale in Arabia. Their activities partly contributed to the agricultural boom of southern Somalia in the late 19th century.( The uptick in commerce amplified pre-existing social patterns, trade routes and commercial institutions. Majeerteen aristocrats imported a range of markers of social distinction such as horses, cavalry warfare, forts and multi-story houses built in the style of the Hadhramaut. A visitor to Meraya in 1872 described the Majeerteen capital as occupied by about 700 inhabitants, with three mosques, a school and a multi-story palace of the Sultan built in the 1830s.( Majeerteen’s rising prosperity attracted diverse clan groups from the interior who built more settlements within the port towns. Conflicts between the new communities were resolved by the Majeerteen sultan, and through the construction of forts for each community that were used to store weapons, as well as to provide security for each community. Most of them were built using materials acquired from Aden, By 1906, Meraya had 4 forts, Ziada had 3 forts, Bosaso had 7 forts, Kandala had 6 forts, Durbo had 4 forts, Filuk had 4 forts, and Alula had 3 forts.( _**Fort of Hafun**_, early 20th century, Archivio Aperto di Ateneo Università degli studi Roma Tre, Italy. _**Majeerteen fort at Alula,**_ ca. 1891, archivio fotografico _**Majeerteen fort at Bender Gasim**_ (Bandar Cassim), ca. 1891, archivio fotografico _**House in Bender Gasim**_, ca. 1891, archivio fotografico * * * **Majeerteen, the British and the founding of Hobyo: Diplomacy and Marine Salvage in 19th century Somalia.** After the opening of the suez, the entire Red Sea region became crowded with rival imperial superpowers competing to advance their interests. Despite is importance along a major shipping lane, the coast of Majerteen was unusually dangerous for navigation, its surrounding waters had reefs, and its habours weren’t deep enough for large ships. A traveler who visited the region in the late 1870s counted more than 6 steamships which had floundered there in less than 3 years between 1877-1880.( The threat to foreign shipping created a need for laws regarding marine security and marine salvage, which Majeerteen regulary enforced through treaties. In 1843, the shipwrecked crew of the British steamer _memnon_ signed a treaty with the Majeerteen regent Nur Muhammad, in which the latter promised assistance for stranded British ships along the Majerteen coast in exchange for payment/stipends. But when a similar incident occurred to a stranded British ship in 1858, its crew rejected Majerteen's assistance, abandoned their vessel, and fled to Aden in their lifeboats.( The crew then urged the British resident of Aden to avenge the "piracy" which they had claim to have suffered at the hands of the Majeerteen authorities, so the British bombarded the forts of Bandar Meraya. When a similar shipwreck occurred in 1858, the sultan's forces rescued its crew, sucessfully using them to initiate negotiations with the British. But in 1862 when a stranded steamer off the coast of Alula mistook the Majeerteen rescue crew to be raiders, a fight broke out which ended with the crew deserting its ship in the town of Baraada.( The British blamed Majeerteen’s capital in retaliation to the incident at Baraada, and requested the reigning Sultan Mahmud Yusuf to find the culprits and execute them, threatening further bombardment if he didn't. The British chipped away some of the Sultan’s authority by forcing the latter to let the British search all its vessels and patrol its coasts, using the pretext of an anti-slavery treaty. (none of Majerteen's ports lay along any major slave route). More wrecks in the late 1870s near Alula exacerbated the divide between the town’s chief/governor, named Yusuf Ali, and Mahmud’s sucessor Sultan Uthman, as the former enriched himself and sought British recognition.( Between the late 1870s and early 1880s, Yusuf had sucessfully rescued a few shipwrecked crews, which he sent to Aden and received recognition as “sultan” in return. But despite Yusuf's insubordination, sultan Uthman managed to retain most his authority with treaty signed between 1884-6( . Yusuf then sought new allies in Zanzibar, whose sultan had claims to southern Somalia's coast, enabling Yusuf to establish his own state with its capital at Hobyo, about 200 miles south of Alula.( A brief alliance between Yusuf and the Germans in 1885 ended when the latter pulled out of east Africa and were replaced by the Italians in 1889, with whom Yusuf immediately signed a treaty.( _**Obbia (Hobyo) showing the Sultan’s residence and a fort.**_ ca. 1924, archivio fotografico * * * **Majeerteen between the anti-colonial movement of Abdille Hassan and the Italians.** With the British losing interest in Majeerteen’s coast in the late 1880s, and Italians arming Yusuf at Hobyo, sultan Uthman pragmatically chose to sign a protectorate treaty with Italy in 1889. To counter-balance the gradual loss of Majeerteen's power, Uthman begun selling some of the guns he bought (about 3,000 a year) to the anti-colonial movement of Muhammad Abdille Hassan in the hinterland( . He used the threat of Hassan's movement to sign an advantageous treaty with the Italians in 1901 that resulted in double the trade with Aden (about 5m lira ) and more guns for Majeerteen ( an estimated 20,000 rifles in 1901 alone).( However, Uthman's involvement with Hassan's movement brought unwanted attention on Majeerteen's coast with frequent naval patrols by the British and Italians, both of whom claimed parts of northern Somalia. In 1904, a Majeerteen broker working for Hassan's movement was arrested by the Italians and revealed that Uthman supported Hassan. Yusuf Ali tried to capitalise on Uthman's fallout with the Italians by allowing the latter to use Hobyo as base against Hassan's movement. But Yusuf soon fell out with his allies, was deposed and Hobyo was occupied by the Italians. Uthman tried to restore his trust among the British and Italians by sending token support against Hassan, but once the latter was defeated in 1905, the Italians occupied Majeerteen port of Alula.( In 1908, Hassan resumed his anti-colonial movement against the British, Italians and against the Majeerteen as well after he had fallen out with sultan Uthman. Faced with an invasion by Hassan’s forces, internal challenges to his authority and disapproving Italians, sultan Uthman ceded more of his power to the Italians in a 1909 treaty. Uthman assisted the Italians in fighting Hassan who was eventually defeated in 1921 and his movement dispersed( . Sultan Uthman later rebelled against Italian rule in1925 and made attempts to rebuild Hassan’s old forts in the interior, but his forces eventually fell to the Italians in 1927, formally marking the end of Majeerteen.( _**Bender Cassim**_ in 1938, archivio fotografico. * * * **What was the extent of pre-colonial African knowledge about their own continent?** In medieval north-east Africa, visitors from the Kingdoms of Makuria and Ethiopia including bishops, envoys and pilgrims, travelled to each other’s country and founded disporic communities abroad. read more about it here: **AFRICANS EXPLORING AFRICA CHAPTER 2;** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Map by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith ( An Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Horn: The British-Somali Expedition, 1975 by Neville Chittick pg 120-124, Early ports in the Horn of Africa by Neville Chittick pg 274-276 ( Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith pg 31, Imperialism Ancient and Modern: a study of British attitudes to the claims to Sovereignty t the Northern Somali coastline by David Hamilton pg 11 ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 130) ( Map by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith, additions taken from Luigi Bricchetti Robecchi’s 1893 map ( Historical Aspects of Genealogies in Northern Somali Social Structure by I. M. Lewis pg 11 ( On the Neighbourhood of Bunder Marayah by S. B. Miles pg 69 ( Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith pg 49-50 ( The Promontory of Cape Guardafui by Giulio Baldacci pg 62 ( Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith pg 67-68 ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 51, n24, ( On the Neighbourhood of Bunder Marayah by S. B. Miles pg 61 ( Bollettino della Società geografica italiana By Società geografica italiana, pg 274-275. ( The Promontory of Cape Guardafui by Giulio Baldacci 59-69) ( Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith pg 47-49, 57-58 ( Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith pg 42, The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 156-158 ( Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith pg 43-44. ( Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith pg 44-45) ( Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith pg 8, 50-52) ( Map by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith ( Transactions of the Linnean Society, Volume 27 By Linnean Society of London pg 133-134 ( Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith pg 35-36) ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 180 ( Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith pg 39, On the Neighbourhood of Bunder Marayah by S. B. Miles pg 61 ( The Promontory of Cape Guardafui by Giulio Baldacci pg 60-61 ( From Slaves to Coolies: Two Documents from the Nineteenth-Century Somali Coast by LE Kapteijns pg 2 ( Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith pg 48-52) ( Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith pg 53-57) ( Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith pg 57-59, 64-70) ( The scramble in the Horn of Africa pg 239-244, From Slaves to Coolies: Two Documents from the Nineteenth-Century Somali Coast by LE Kapteijns pg 3-4 ( Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith pg 74-84) ( The scramble in the Horn of Africa pg 236-238, 247 ( Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith 82-85, The Arms Trade in East Africa in the Late Nineteenth Century pg 464 ( The Promontory of Cape Guardafui by Giulio Baldacci pg 71-72, Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith 86-91 ( Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea by Nicholas W. Stephenson Smith pg 91-94) ( The 'Mad Mullah' and Northern Somalia by Robert L. Hess pg 426-433 ( The Coinage of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Italian Somalia by Dennis Gill pg 324 The King's African Rifles - Volume 2 By Lieutenant-Colonel H. Moyse-Bartlett pg 450.

# A History of the Majeerteen Sultanate: 1700-1927 ## Maritime Trade and Diplomacy in the Northern Horn of Africa ### 1. Historical Context - **Region Overview**: The north-eastern coast of Somalia has been a critical maritime area since antiquity, marked by dynamic societies engaged in trade. - **18th Century Control**: By the 18th century, the Majeerteen Sultanate emerged as a significant power, connecting the Somali mainland with the western Indian Ocean. - **Trade and Diplomacy**: Majeerteen rulers controlled spice trade routes with southern Arabia, enforced maritime laws, and engaged in diplomacy to resist colonial encroachment. ### 2. Pre-Majeerteen History - **Ancient Settlements**: Archaeological evidence from Hafun, Alula, and Cape Guardafui indicates trade links with the Sabean kingdom in Yemen and the Romans as early as the 2nd century. - **Trade Ports**: The coastline was known as the Spice Coast, recognized for its exports of aromatic resins like frankincense. - **Political Landscape**: The Aksumite Empire and the Sultanate of Adal influenced the region until it became dominated by a confederation of Somali-speaking Darod clan groups by the 14th century. ### 3. The Majeerteen Sultanate - **Leadership Structure**: The Sultan (or Boqor) held significant authority, supported by a council of officers. The Sultan regulated foreign trade and law enforcement. - **Capital Locations**: The capital shifted from Bandar Meraya to Bargal and Bandar Gedid throughout the 19th century. - **Coastal Towns**: Prominent towns included Bandar Ziada, Bosaso (Bandar Cassim), and Alula, each governed by princes or leaders who occasionally challenged the Sultan's authority. ### 4. Trade and Economy - **Trading Activities**: The Sultanate regulated traders through a mediation system known as *abban*, which facilitated secure transactions and interactions with foreign diplomats. - **Trade Growth**: Majeerteen merchants specialized in commodities such as frankincense, livestock, and spices, significantly influencing trade with southern Arabia and the Red Sea. - **Infrastructure Development**: The prosperity facilitated the construction of forts and establishments in coastal towns, enhancing protection and trade security. ### 5. British Relations and Challenges - **Maritime Navigation Challenges**: The Majeerteen coast had dangerous waters, leading to numerous shipwrecks and the necessity for marine salvage laws. - **Treaty Dynamics**: The Sultan signed treaties to assist shipwrecked crews for payment, but tensions arose when British ships rejected the Majeerteen’s help, leading to British military actions against Majeerteen forts. - **Yusuf Ali's Insurgency**: Tensions escalated with local leaders like Yusuf Ali who sought British support for recognition as a Sultan, complicating Majeerteen's political landscape. ### 6. Italian Colonization and Internal Struggles - **Protectorate Agreements**: Uthman, the Sultan, signed a protectorate treaty with Italy in 1889, ceding authority in exchange for military support against internal and external threats. - **Gun Trade with Hassan**: Uthman engaged in arms trade with Muhammad Abdille Hassan's anti-colonial movement, balancing relations between British and Italian powers. - **Hobyo's Rise**: Yusuf Ali established Hobyo, further fragmenting Majeerteen authority amid colonial pressures. ### 7. Decline of the Majeerteen Sultanate - **Colonial Interest**: After the defeat of Hassan, Majeerteen's influence waned as Italians occupied strategic ports, leading to Uthman's increasing subjugation. - **Final Defeats**: Uthman attempted to reclaim authority, leading to rebellions against Italian forces. The Sultanate's resistance ended with the fall of Majeerteen to Italian colonial rule in 1927. ### Conclusion The Majeerteen Sultanate played a pivotal role in pre-colonial maritime trade and diplomacy in the Horn of Africa. Despite initial successes in trade and political maneuvering, colonial pressures ultimately led to its decline and integration into the Italian colonial empire.

Persian myths and realities on the Swahili coast: contextualizing the 'Shirazi' civilization.

Why geneticists found what archeologists and historians had failed to locate.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Persian myths and realities on the Swahili coast: contextualizing the 'Shirazi' civilization. ============================================================================================= ### Why geneticists found what archeologists and historians had failed to locate. ( May 24, 2023 18 **As Persian as Mike Tyson? the Swahili at first glance.** _**"I've heard that most people in Kizimkazi claim to be Persian, To me the people look about as Persian as Mike Tyson. It’s a bit like me claiming to be white because my great-great-grandfather was an Irishman named Brady. Its taken my people fifty years to move from Negro to Black to African American. I wonder how long it will take the Swahili to call themselves African."**_ H.L.Gates, 1999 Professor Henry Louis Gates's documentary series on African civilizations is one the most celebrated accounts of African history on film. The travelogue style documentary series titled “_Wonders of the African world_”, which first aired in 1999, took him from Nubia to Timbuktu to Great Zimbabwe, and showcased the splendor of Africa's past as never before seen to most western audiences. On one of his stops to the East African coastal city of Zanzibar, Gates queried two local men about their racial identity, to which they responded that they were Persian, prompting the sarcastic quip quoted above.( Some Swahili scholars such as Ali Mazrui were heavily critical of the series, and were understandably outraged at what they considered Gate's "Black orientalism". Among other criticisms regarding Gate's interpretation of the history of Egypt and Nubia, Ethiopia's ark of the covenant, and the slave trade from el-Mina, Mazrui, who is a specialist on Swahili history, was dismayed that Gates' _**"second episode of the TV series on the Swahili supremely ignores the scholarly Swahili experts on the Swahili people"**_. Mazrui charged Gates with trying to impose an American definition of race onto a society which has always been proud of its own complex form of self-identification.( Mazrui's critique of Gates was not well received by some of his peers such as Wole Soyinka, and the back-and-forth debate between Mazrui, Soyinka and Gates deserves a documentary of its own. However, away from the war of words in the ivory tower, the Swahili unapologetically retained their 'Shirazi' self-identification, and they continued to tell whoever would listen that their ancestors came from the Persian town of Shiraz. Fast forward to 2022, a team of archeologists and geneticists analyzed the DNA of more than 80 people buried in the ornamental tombs of 7 Swahili cities dated between 1250-1800, and found that the ancestral background was equally split between east Africa and the Persian gulf. many Swahili were satisfied with the findings of the new study, with one stating that _**“It confirms the way I’ve always seen myself.”**_ ( Who are the ‘shirazi’ of early Swahili history? And why couldn’t archeologists and historians find them before geneticists did?. This article explores the Shirazi-Persian question in the history of the Swahili. _**Map of the western Indian ocean showing the various African, Arabian and Persian coastal cities.**_( * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Excavating the Shirazi “myth”. From Persians to Arabs in Swahili archeology (1920-1970s)** _**"The reason for their leaving Shiraz in Persia was their Sultan one day dreamed a dream. He was called Hasan Ibn Ali: he was the father of these six men and the seventh of those who left."**_ Kilwa chronicle, 1552 Like most of Africa, Swahili historiography heavily relies on archeology, as much as it does on other disciplines, in reconstructing the origins and evolution of Swahili societies. Even though some historians of Swahili society have decried the resulting "confusion" from allowing these other disciplines to _**"determine almost entirely the content and boundaries of our discourse"**_.( Early archeologists working with a relatively limited set of tools and information, focused their attention on the monumental ruins and elite sections of the old cities. And as has always been the case for all scholars working on history, these early archeologists were influenced by the prevailing political and social conditions of the colonial era in which they lived. In this colonial context of western foreign elites ruling over a subject "native" population; the "Swahili towns struck outsiders as foreign transplants" and the Swahili's own writings such as the Kilwa chronicle quoted above, appeared to confirm the colonialist's preconceptions.( In the colonial era, the nebulous definition of what constitutes "foreign" in Africa was informed by a pre-conceived racial conception of "African-ess" created in the Atlantic world. In its essentialist understanding of social identities, everything perceived to be "foreign" (like the colonists) was considered superior to everything "native" (like their subjects). Their interpretation of African-ness and African history within this racialist world-view was not confined to the Swahili but to every part of the continent, from Nubia to pre-Aksumite Ethiopia, to the Yoruba of Ife and to Great Zimbabwe( . These colonial scholars were less concerned with achieving accurate historical reconstructions than with reasserting their own world vision. They thus interpreted pre-existing traditions of Swahili history in ways that supported their own rationales. Periodizing Swahili history in two vaguely defined eras labeled "Persian" and "Arab", the former being preceeding the latter.( Its in this context that colonial writers such as Francis Pearce’s 1920 book on Zanzibar history, William Ingrams’ 1931 book on Zanzibar’s history and Lawrence Hollingsworth 1929 book on the history of the East African coast, popularized the idea of early Swahili history as belonging to a Persian civilization which was "not African" but the achievement of an immigrant ruling class. They believed they could discern a distinctive "shirazi" style of architecture in the older ruins, superseded later by an Arab style. They considered the early period to be the work of a Persian-ruled "Zinj empire", which they credited with the introduction of coral-stone architecture, wood carving and cotton weaving.( Their opinions on the so-called Shirazi colonization of east Africa were taken up by the 'professional' historian Reginald coupland in his aptly titled book _**"East Africa and its Invaders"**_ published in 1939. Coupland then passed this interpretation on to the archeologist James Kirkman, whose excavations at Gedi beginning in 1948, were the first of their kind for any Swahili city. It was Kirkman however, who first cast doubt on the received knowledge about the Persian to Arab periodization. Kirkman found no epigraphic evidence for the existence of Persian settlers at Gedi, and concluded that the Persian loanwords in Swahili would have come from Arabic. Writing that **"**_**the distinction between Arabs and Persians is deprecated. It is far better to avoid use of the term Persian until there is some evidence of the use of Persian speech and Persian customs which have not been adopted by the Arabs"**_**.**( _**Ruins of Gedi in Kenya, Kirkman found that its stone-buildings were constructed gradually, several centuries after the city had emerged.**_ Identifying Persian ‘colonists’ in Swahili material culture continued to elude archeologists as more medieval Swahili cities and archipelagos such as Mombasa, Manda, Lamu were dug up between 1948-1956. The ruins of Gedi, Ungwana, Kilepa, among other towns yielded a lot of local handmade pottery (later called 'tana' wares and 'kwale' wares) with some imported Chinese and Islamic glazed wares (often wheel-made), the latter of which enabled the earliest phases of the cities to be dated to the 13th century( . Following kirkman's new periodization, these ruins were labeled "Arab" not necessary for their settlers but for their dating. It wasn't until 1963 that just two epigraphic inscriptions of Persian names were found at Mogadishu, and by 1973, archeologists G. S. P. Freeman-Grenville and B. G. Martin compiled a list of more than 34 inscriptions from the same city, and dozens from along the coast, only two of which had Persian nisbas (al-Khurasani and al-Shirazi) dated to the 13th century.( * * * ( * * * **Excavating the “African” roots of the Swahili (1970s-2010s)** In 1978, the archeologist Neville Chittick briefly resurrected the idea of a 'Persian' periodization with the publications of his decades-long excavations at Manda. Chittick claimed Manda was created by immigrants from the Persian gulf. According to Chittick, Manda was larger, richer and older than other Swahili sites. Its use of brick and stone in construction was imilar to Siraf and Sohar, and its proportion of imported wares was higher than later "African" and "Afro-arab" towns. Chittick claimed that small numbers of colonists from the 9th/10th century province of Fars (with a mixed Persian Arab population) intermarried with Swahili elites and by virtue of their trading links created their own elite lineages spread throughout the towns. With time, the 'colonists' became culturally and "racially" indistinguishable from the Swahili.( Chittick's peers, especially the archeologist Mark Horton and historian James de Vere Allen found his findings unpersuasive. The latter in particular was compiling sources for a lengthy monograph on Swahili origins (eventually published in 1993) in which he explored the varying oral and written traditions, both internal and external (from Arabic to Persian to Chinese to Swahili to Portuguese), to address the elusiveness of Swahili identity. Allen viewed the Swahili as a highly permeable nd fluid population where identity was constantly redefined and origin myths adjusted to suit political prerogatives of the elite. ( They included not just the shirazi origin, but also the ever-present shungwaya traditions, and other origin traditions tying the swahili to mainland groups such as Majikenda and Segeju, as well as some Cushitic speaking groups. Allen found no external textural evidence for a Persian migration, and showed that the Swahili were themselves unfamiliar with the location of Shiraz (an inland city which had been well-past its heyday even in the 10th century), but were familiar with other coastal towns, indicating that wa-shirazi connection was more about status. Allen's understanding of Swahili origins was at odds with the colonist model proposed by Chittick, and he wasn’t alone.( As an archeologist, Mark Horton's critique of Chittick was more focused on the latter's methods of excavations which informed his interpretations. Horton says Chittick's dating of Manda's earliest layers to 850 AD, was based on Chinese wares found in a beach site far from the settlement, and could have been disturbed by water action, Horton instead prefers the better preserved Islamic pottery which he dates much earlier to 800AD. This would make Manda contemporary to similar sites excavated by Horton such as Shanga and other sites on the Lamu archipelago( . Horton also questioned whether the earliest phases of Manda were built in stone, unlike his own excavations at Shanga whose stratigraphy showed a clear progression from round mud-walled huts, to coral stone houses. Horton pointed out that the earliest coral-stone buildings in Chittick's own account were 2-3 centuries older than the town's purported founding, making it **unlikely that Chittick's Persian colonists took centuries to re-create building techniques they would have already been familiar with.** Furthermore, Manda's houses, like all early swahili "stone" houses, were built with _Poitres coral_ which was cut undersea, while all contemporary Persian construction at Shiraz and Siraf used bricks and sandstone, with the only similar poitres-coral houses being built in the southern red-sea at the african island of Dahlak Kebir. The Swahili architectural layout was also very dissimilar to the Siraf/Shiraz style, houses at Manda (and Shanga) were set in a podium, had central cisterns, with annexed rooms built around them, which was unlike the layout used in Siraf, but was coincidentally similar to that used in the southern red sea. Horton showed Chittick's Persian colonization model to be untenable, there was simply too little evidence for Persians on the coast, with the only few external influences -If any- coming from the red-sea and southern Arabia.( Mark Horton's findings at Shanga showed that the 8th century iron-age town emerged gradually as a small fishing and farming village, it occupants grew African grains, were marginally engaged in foreign trade and lived in round-thatched houses of mud walls before slowly replacing them with timber and coral-stone constructions, —this definitively proved an African origin of the Swahili cities, something hinted at by Chittick's excavations at Kilwa in 1965 before he abandoned this view after the Manda excavations( . Further archeological digs over the subsequent decades would confirm the pattern of growth popularized by Horton, that Swahili cities emerged as African villages in the second half of the 1st millennium, grew into cosmopolitan mercantile towns by the 11/12th century, and became centers of agglomerated polities by the mid-second millennium. The most recent compilation of Swahili archeological studies and interdisciplinary research by more than 50 Swahilists was published in 2018, titled 'The Swahili world', was edited by the archeologists Stephanie Wynne-Jones and Adria LaViolette. In their introduction, Wynne-Jonnes and LaViolette summarize this definitive shift in Swahili archeology and early history, writing that _**"There are now no serious scholars who suggest external origins or significant Arab or Persian colonisation as the starting point for coastal settlement.".**_( It should however be noted that while the dozens of Swahili cities show a gradual emergence from small villages to large cosmopolitan towns, there is one notable exception of Sanje ya Kati, which appears to have been founded, settled and abandoned in a short period of time during the 11th-13th century. Excavated by the archeologist Stephane Pradines who published his results in 2009, Sanje was identified as the ‘Shang’ of Kilwa’s chronicles. Its sudden appearance on a site with little prior settlement, with a fully developed architectural tradition and high proportion of imported wares could only have been the work of immigrants from the Persian gulf. ( While Sanje ya Kati provides some archeological evidence of Persians at the Swahili coast, no similar sites have been found on the coast which emerged suddenly like it did. All the recent archeological digs such as Tumbe and Chwaka on Pemba island display the same type of stratigraphy better known at Shanga, where a small 7th century African village grew into a cosmopolitan costal town by the 11th century.( _**Mosque sequence revealed through excavation by Horton at Shanga, showing some of the remains of the earlier timber mosque and its post-holes, that was later enlarged several times until the final phases which used coral-stone.**_ * * * * * * **Linguists and Historians debating foreign influences on Swahili language and society (1980s-2010s)** At the same time Horton published his ground-breaking study of Shanga in the 1980s, linguists such as Thomas Hinnebusch, Derek Nurse, and Thomas spear proved that Swahili was a predominantly African language of the Sabaki subgroup, closely related to the mainland Sabaki speakers including Elwana, Pokomo, Comorian, and Mijikenda. These were inturn descended from a broader stream of Bantu-peaking peoples called the Northeast-Coastal Bantu-speakers, who had migrated to the coast and its from the Great Lakes region around 100-200 AD. By using the methods of historical linguistics, Nurse and Spear's 1985 book; _The Swahili: reconstructing the history and language_, helped to prove that the Swahili were entirely Bantu ("African") in their ancestry, and not "Arabs," as scholars as late as the 1960s had thought. Based on the evidence of loanwords, they contended further that "Persians", "Indians", "Arabs" and other exogenous peoples (including mainland Africans) played little role in Swahili history until the 19th century. The classification of Swahili as a Bantu language was widely accepted by Linguists and confirmed by subsequent research.( While the linguists' conclusion that Swahili was a bantu (African) language was also accepted by historians in the decades since, some historians claim that when it comes to reconstructing early Swahili history based on linguistic evidence, the linguists were too dismissive of the exogenous influences. The historian most critical of the Linguists' view of early Swahili history was Randal Pouwells. In the years following Kirkman's publications, Pouwels and his peers such as Spencer Trimingham had in the 1960s dismissed the Persian colonist model as mostly legendary associated with the northern towns, differing from Freeman-Grenville who initially contended that the Swahili are of "pure Bantu stock" but that some would have descended from immigrant sailors. ( Pouwels also differed from his peers like James Allen and Thomas Spear who in the 1970s, suggested the nothern Swahili towns of cosmopolitan 'Shungwaya' (with its mixed Bantu, Cushitic and Arab population) were the dispersal point of the Shirazi legends. Pouwells instead found that the Shungwaya dispersal happened much later and was associated with the "Arab" families who played a prominent role post-1600, and who were the subject of Pouwel's studies.( Beginning with his 1987 publication _"Horn and Crescent"_, and in later articles, Pouwels maintains that external contacts played as much of a role as internal changes in the development of Swahili society. The combined internal and external influences altered local value systems, created new symbols of power and furthered the growth of social complexity. Responding to the Linguists, Pouwels states that _**"The Northeast Coastal, Sabaki, and early Swahili did not live in a vacuum, so exogenous influences on their cultural metamorphoses have to be fully considered in any discussion"**_. He adds that _**"the fact that many of these items were confined to just a few spheres does not obviate the significance of these influences. To the contrary: they attest to the role played by foreign ideas in the social, economic, and cultural changes that were occurring in coastal societies"**_. Observing that the existence of Arabic as a written language by the 9th century, alongside Swahili as the lingua franca, means that the former may not have been _**"represented accurately in loanword evidence of the sort found in linguistics research".**_( Its important to note that many Swahili specialists adjusted their interpretations of early Swahili history when presented with new evidence, but generally speaking, there was a consensus on the Swahili's settlement's African origins even though there was disagreement on the role played by exogenous groups from the African mainland, the Persian gulf and the Arabian peninsular. There was much firmer evidence for Arabian (and mainland) influences on Swahili society in the 12th/13th century (coinciding with the Swahili's islamization) and accelerating in the post-1500s era. A short monograph by B. G. Martin in 1974 on early Arab migrations to the Swahili coast was the first of many studies that would reveal more conclusive evidence of small Arab families (often Alawi saintly families from Hadramawaut in Yemen) settling on the coast at varying intervals, while Pouwels' extensive studies of such migrations follows them well into the 19th century.( Pouwels' study shows that the immigrant elites were never 'colonists' who imposed their cultural and political values on the Swahili but were instead thoroughly acculturated into the Swahili society, their offspring from marriage alliances with local elite women were then accepted into Swahili elite circles, they could accumulate wealth from trade, and some were buried in monumental tombs like other elites. It should be noted that the accepted 'arabs' only refered to a select class (often Alawis and northern Swahili families from Brava who claimed Arab origins) but not most Arabs who were disdained for being lowclass (eg Hadramis) or overbearing (eg Omanis). ( Pouwels stresses that _**"Swahili is not Arabic and coastal culture is not Arab culture, though both have borrowed some elements from the heartlands of Islam. Townspeople certainly recognized these facts in the past and, significantly, asserted the primacy of their language and civilization in the face of Arab pretensions time and time again"**_. Pouwels’ studies on the Arab saintly lineages have recently be expanded by Anne K. Bang's _‘Sufis and scholars of the sea’_ published in 2003. Both Pouwels and Bang highlighted the Alawis' contribution to Swahili literature, especially regarding poetry and genealogy, that had been mostly absent during the early centuries.( * * * **The 16th century Kilwa chronicle: disputed authorship and conflicting versions** While inscriptions from as early as the 9th century prove that the early Swahili society was a literate one, there's little evidence for a local pre-16th century text of history like the chronicle (s) of Kilwa. The Kilwa chroncile is therefore a rather exceptional work of Swahili historical literature, both for its early date and its content. There are two Kilwa chronicles, with the older chronicle having since been proven by the historian Adrien Delmas to be a collaborative effort between the Portuguese (who interfered in Kilwa's politics beginning in 1505) and their chosen allies (installed tenuously in 1506 but later deposed). of the two versions, the older chronicle survived only in a Portuguese version included in a wider history work of Joao de Barros in 1557, and a later Arabic one composed shortly after, titled Kitāb al-Sulwa, very likely in response to the earlier version. The Portuguese version was likely written by allies of the short-lived sultan Ancony (r.1506), and the Arabic one by the twice-installed sultan Ibrahim (r. -1505, 1512-).( Barros' account differs significantly the one appearing in the Arabic version, something that philologists and historians attribute to the partisan biases of the authors, and not necessary a reflection of the accuracy of either version of the chronicle. Eg: Barros's account mentions that Ali was born of a Persian sultan and an 'Abyssinian' slave mother thus forcing him to flee the disdain from his brothers by sailing to Kilwa with his companions. It adds that Ali avoided the "Arab" ruled Mogadishu and Brava (which were purportedly founded by seven "Arab" brothers from Al-hasa near Bahrain) because he was both black and Persian. Conversely, the Arabic version defends the nobility of Ali, his father, and his brothers stating, _**"This is based on strong evidence, that they were kings in their own country, and is a refutation of those who deny it. God knows all the truth!"**_, and adds six other places where the Sultan and Ali's brothers settled.( Both chronicles agree that Ali settled at Kilwa, married a local princesses and established a new dynasty that begun with his son, and would continue to rule despite being briefly deposed after an attack from a nearby town of “Shang”. Around 1277, a sultan named al-Hassan Bin Talut ascended to the Kilwa throne, Barros identifies him as a son of the previous ruler, but the Arabic version says he was the founder of a new dynasty of Mahdali origin (claiming Yemeni affiliations). Barros’ version also contains some 13th century sultans not included in the Arabic version, but two of whom were credited with Kilwa's pre-eminence, seizing sofala's gold trade and constructing a large palace. But the Arabic version attributes Kilwa's prominence to the 14th century Mahdali era. In the Arabic version, the city-state is said to have been divided between an emirate (with military power but no sovereign power) and the kingdom, which eventually led to non-royals from the former to seize the latter. Non-royal elites would again emerge in the emirate as kingmakers just prior to the Portuguese, and form the basis for the rivary between Ancony (a non-royal) and Ibrahim (a royal).( * * * **Shirazi traditions and the role of women in early Swahili society: Matrilineages and matrimonial alliances** Returning to the Shirazi traditions in the Kilwa chronicle and in other written and oral accounts, it should be noted that they are very widespread and there are far more extant versions than the few which have been published so far. The two 16th century chronicles provide rather abridged accounts of a mostly similar event in which Ali al-Shirazi settled at Kilwa, married and the princess of its ‘pagan’ king and “acquired” the island by giving the ‘pagan’ king alot of cloth.( A more detailed account is contained in the 19th century copy of the Arabic chroncile. It mentions that Sultan Ali bin Selimani the Shirazi is said to have come to Kilwa, married a local princess of its ruler; Elder Mrimba, and gave the latter gifts (a lot of cloth to reach the mainland) so that Mrimba would leave Selimani and the princess on the island. Mrimba agreed to move to the mainland after receiving the gift, he later made war with Selimani but retreated, Selimani himself only had power on Kilwa and was at war with Sanje ya kati island, but he built no fort or wall at Kilwa, and didn’t tax his subjects since Kilwa was only a modest farming and fishing village. Selimani later had a son with the princess, whom he named Mahomed, the latter moved to the mainland to visit his grandfather Mrimba. It was Mrimba who then conferred power onto Mahomed, allowing the latter to return to Kilwa and rule as sultan of Kilwa and its mainland. _**"So Sultan Mahomed ruled, because the people saw he had power on the mainland. His relatives, who had come from Shiraz, did not take power. And the people of the town followed Sultan Mahomed on account of his power".**_( This tradition includes two important aspects which are relevant to understanding how the recent DNA studies have uncovered genetic record that has eluded archeologists and historians. The two aspects are; the nature of Swahili political structures, and the role of women in Swahili society. Swahili political organization was extremely diverse but the form of 'kingship' (al-mulk) appearing in the kilwa chronicle appears to have been the exception, as Swahili cities were often governed by a council of elders/patricians (waungwana) who represented heads of the oldest/wealthiest/powerful lineage groups( . Eg, Mombasa and Lamu were organized into a dual principal of opposing sets of spatial and social halves of waungwana clans from diverse backgrounds (with the “shirazi” clans often being the oldest). The waungwana were organized into clan alliances which appointed members to a council and had great power over political affairs and over the 'sultan' or governor( . In the 16th century matters of sucession, taxation, trade, justice, and military organization in the city of Pate were also in the hands of the council despite the presence of a king/royal dynasty( . _**Map showing Mombasa’s spatial and social divisions, the pre-Islamic quarter was governed by a ‘matriach’ named Mwana Mkisi or her dynasty, which was then replaced by a ‘shirazi’ dynasty of Shehe Mvita around the 13th century, before their power was also eclipsed in the 18th century by the “arab” Mazrui dynasty.**_( The tension between patrician "republican" government and hierarchical/dynastic kingship seems to permeate historical analyses of the coastal polities. In Kilwa, the political structure was also characterized by a distribution of power and influence despite its appearance as 'sultanate' with hierarchical kingship. Both royals and non-royals are represented as "the people of major decisions"( in connections with matters of sucession, trade and diplomacy with foreigners. The antagonism between Kilwa's kingship and the emirate in the chronicle, or between the kilwa sultan and his council in 16th century Portuguese accounts( may well represent this form of Swahili dynamism in which power couldn't be monopolized by the executive. The second important aspect is the role of women in early Swahili society. There is strong evidence that women in the pre-1600 cities enjoyed much higher status than in later centuries. Coastal traditions, dating from as far back as the 16th century, and Portuguese sources are awash with stories of influential women and queens who played prominent parts in Swahili public affairs. They oversaw important events concerning their kin groups, participated in public celebrations, attended mosques with their men, and were encouraged to become literate. They wielded greater social and economic power than was possible later, apparently having rights of inheritance and use of property equal to those enjoyed by men. There is also evidence that governing authority in some cities was inherited through female members of ruling lineages. For example, the epic conflict of Pate which pitted the shirazi noble Fumo Liongo and his half-brother, Mringwari, centered on the opposition between Islamic patrilineage (associated with Mringwari) and an older Bantu tradition of matrilineal inheritance (associated with Fumo Liongo). ( Matrilineal descent is a fairly common among some Bantu-speaking groups of Africa particulary in the so-called “matrilineal belt” stretching from Angola to Tanzania, as well as some west-African societies, and has been a subject of several studies. It should be noted that matrilineal descent doesn’t mean “matriarchal” power (rule by women), nor did it exist as a monolithic cultural phenomena but was diverse in practice with some matriclans recognizing dual descent and patrilocal marriages (wife moves to husband’s home).( However, there are relatively few anthropological studies on matrilineal descent in the Swahili towns, presumably because such traditions were greatly altered during the 19th century Omani era. On the east African coast, Matrilineal inheritance and lineages, as well as matrilocal marriages (where the husband moves into the residence of his wife) have been explored in greater detail on the Island of Comoros in Sophie Blanchy's _"Maisons des femmes, cités des hommes"_, and Iain Walker's _"Becoming the Other, Being Oneself"._ Ethnographically known Swahili houses (especially from 19th century Lamu) were often associated with women, who could inherit them (often at their wedding), and rarely left the block in which they lived. The Swahili's matrilocal marriages meant that houses would need to be extended to cater for incoming husbands, leading to the organic growth of domestic houses with annex rooms around the main complex. Property transferred to daughters (often from their fathers but attimes from their mothers) couldn't be owned by the husband, and it thus remained within the lineage.( The existence of matrilineal inheritence among the Swahili has been challenged by a few scholars, notably the anthropologist John Middleton, who suggests that Swahili houses were mostly owned and transferred based on lineages (rather than individuals) and these lineages which may or may not be matrilineal. He adds that while matrilineal descent requires that the successor of a man in authority has to be his sister's son, the sucessors of Swahili patricians were often the sons thought most likely to suceed in business. Middleton instead postulates that the recognized mode of descent (particulary in 19th century Lamu) was both patrilineal and bilateral, Although its unclear whether this was the same several centuries earlier.( While the exact nature of Swahili women's social power and their role in Swahili inheritence systems is disputed, there's little doubt that marriage alliances which they initiated/were engaged in, played a vital role in the political and social structures of Swahili society. While men held the highest political authority (atleast in the 19th century), women —particulary those of patrician descent— were the means through which the lineages perpetuated themselves, thus enabling the lineages to retain and accumulate wealth, and guarantee their political power.( To quote Pouwels, _**"A crucial aspect of the development of many coastal settlements was the persistent, frequent necessity of integrating groups of such newcomers (wageni) with the established social order within them. A revealing feature of these traditions, though, is how the ambivalence of the Swahili townsman's relationships with the outside world is expressed in the dualisms built into their structures. the nature of these pairings in Swahili society, the terms in which such oppositions were perceived and expressed, were historically conditioned by the frequent arrival of strangers. These dualisms presented the essential opposition and connection between Swahili society and African and Middle Eastern societies alike"**_( The best documented integration of “Middle eastern" strangers” into Swahili society is represented by the Alawi immigrants of the 16th century who came from Yemen and were respected as saints.( They are known to have married into several prominent Swahili families of Pate, Zanzibar, Comoros, Ozi, Vumba Kuu, Kilwa and Lamu, thus enabling local elites to take on the nisba al-Alawi. According to traditions, the rulers of stone-town (on Zanzibar island), who bear the title of Mwinyi Mkuu, descended from a 16th century matrimonial alliance between ta reigning queen of a “Shirazi” dynasty and a Sayyid Alawi who had links to Pate. The stone-town queen who reigned in the 1690s also had a grandson who reigned in 1729 as Sultan Hassan bin Ali Alawi, portuguese sources also mention sultans of Pemba with the al-alawi nisba in 1728, and a notable at Kilwa with the same nisba in 1635( , while traditions from Comoros contain several prominent Alawis (often from Pate) who married local princesses Alima I and founded a new dynasty beginning with the daughter, who’d be suceeded by her son Sayid Alawi( . That most Alawis were said to have come from Pate is unsurprising given the city-state’s political hegemony over the northern coast during the 16th-17th century, when it invited the Alawi family of Abi Bakr bin Salim to counter the Portuguese advance and herald a cultural and religious revival on the Swahili coast( . In all cases however, the immigrants comprised a small community whose integration into Swahili society was determined by the pre-existing Swahili elites. As the historian Thomas Vernet notes; _**“in the space of one or two generations, the descendants of the hadrami migrants became Swahilis … Their descendants are both versed in the local culture and also master certain traits of the hadrami culture - at least for the very first generations. This phenomenon fits naturally into the capacity of ancient Swahili society to absorb. foreigners and to acculturate them”**_( _**Graveyard of the Al-Shaykh Abi Bakr b. Salim, Grande Comore Photo: Anne K. Bang**_ * * * ( * * * **The two ancestry studies on ancient Swahili DNA.** In a 2011 ancient DNA study conducted by archeologist Chap Kusimba et.al, geneticists used the remains of 80 individuals recovered from 13 elite tombs found in the archeological site of Mtwapa, just north of Mombasa, dated to between 1615-1685. The study found that 94% of the Mtwapa swahili’s mtDNA are of the L mitochondrial haplogroup, typical of African populations, indicating a predominantly African maternal ancestry. However, paternal ancestry was evenly split, with 52% of Y-DNA belonging to the typically non-African F mega-haplogroup (often found between the strait of Hormuz and the Persian gulf) while 45% of the Y-DNA belonged to haplogroups typical of African populations (mostly from the coast of Tanzania and Kenya).( The authors concluded that _**“The genetic data are consistent with some settlement of non-African migrants in Swahili communities prior to the eighteenth century. However, these data should not be seen as supportive of the old colonial theories of Arabian colonies on the Swahili coast.”**_ A more comprehensive ancient DNA study of the Swahili was conducted by several archeologists and geneticists, and published in 2023. The study used the remains of atleast 80 individuals from elite graves in 7 towns ( Mtwapa, Manda, Faza, Kilwa, Songo Mnara and Lindi) dated to between 1250-1800. It found that 59 of the 62 individuals carried African mtDNA haplogroups, while the majority of the Y-DNA came from Southwest Asian haplogroups (plausibly Persian with some from the Indian subcontinent), with 16 of the 19 Mtwapa individuals carrying non-African paternal haplogroups, while 3 carried African paternal haplogroups (and a few had Austronesian ancestry) The researchers back-dated the event of this genetic mixing to around 1,000 AD, concluding that _**“our results suggest that the children of immigrant men of Asian origin adopted the languages of their mothers, a common pattern in matrilocal cultures, the elite inhabitants of Mtwapa and other sites developed from admixed populations and were not foreign migrants or colonists.”**_ Both studies prove that the genetic admixtures between Africans and Persians in early Swahili society were real events rather than simple fables, but the stark absence of Persian cultural influences also reveals something more significant about how immigrants were acculturated into Swahili society contrary to what is expected of immigrant male settlers. As the geneticist David Reich admitted, it was his own “naïve expectation” that the patrilineal Persian settlers moved into the region by force and displaced local males. But this hypothesis proved untenable, Swahili language contains only 3% Persian loan words, and as the archeological and historical research on the Swahili has shown, there is little evidence of Persian colonists in Swahili material culture nor in external texts. An alternative theory was offered by the archeologists Adria LaViolette and Chap Kusimba, who explain that the _**“Swahili was an absorbing society”**_ and that Even as the Persians who arrived influenced the culture, _**“they became Swahili”**_. for this reason, _**“African women retained critical aspects of their culture and passed it down for many generations”**_. effectively making the Persians archeologically invisible.( * * * **Acculturating immigrant males: an example of how Bantu-speaking kingdoms and city-states were absorbed into Malagasy society of Madagascar.** That male settlers could be culturally absorbed into a another society isn’t too uncommon in east African coastal history. The genetic ancestry of modern Malagasy-speakers on Madagascar is predominantly African on the paternal side (about 70%) and south-east Asian on the maternal side (about 50%)( . Recent research on Madagascar’s history and archeology have showed that the island was populated by free migrants from both Africa and south-Asia who set up their own states, intermarried and eventually produced the modern society we see today. Yet the African contribution in modern Malagasy culture pales in comparison to the south-east Asian influences, especially in their language ;Malagasy is an Austronesian language with few Bantu loanwords.( The fate of Madagascar’s African settlers could be uncovered in the demise of the Antalaotse city-states on the nothern coast of the islands, and the decline of the African kingdoms on the western coast of the island. Among the latter we have the kingdom of Guinguimaro, which according to contemporary Portuguese accounts, had subjects who included bantu-speakers (“Cafre” language of “Mozambique to Malindi”) in the 16th century, and would itself be absorbed into the Malagasy-speaking (“Buque”) kingdom of Boina of the 17th century. The Antalaotse cities, which were established by Swahili immigrants around the 10th century, would also be absorbed by Boina kingdom. The city of Mazalagem Nova with its “negro” traders who sold inland goods from Vua (ie: Uva/Merina kingdom), fell to the Boina state in 1685.( The African groups like the Antalaotse who were absorbed into the Malagasy-speaking states often _**“married local Malagasy women, from whom the children would learn to speak Malagasy rather than the language of their fathers”**_( A curious athropological study in late 19th century north-western Madagascar mentions the presence of men known as ‘_**Biby**_’. These biby were mostly “Swahili-Arabs” who were married to Sakalava queens and in a reversal of gender norms _**“were subject to certain rules similar to those which bind the wife of an influential Arab or Swahili”,**_ they couldn’t leave their houses except with an escort, and had to remain faithful or he would be executed_**.**_( Its therefore not uncommon for the male derived cultural aspects of settlers to be completely absorbed and “disappear” into the local population, as it happened to the Persians on the Swahili coast, or to the Swahili themselves in Madagascar. **ICYMI:** ( * * * **Conclusion: The Swahili as a cosmopolitan coastal civilization** What then can we make of the Persian origin traditions of the Swahili in light of the DNA discoveries? In my (non-specialist) opinion, i think the nearly century-long research into early Swahili history hasn’t been overturned by the discovery that the Persian ancestry wasn’t a myth, instead, the new DNA discoveries will complement what we already know about the Swahili past —a cosmopolitan civilization which linked the east African mainland with the Indian ocean world. As for the interpretation of the Shirazi traditions, its now clear that it wasn’t just seven men who got on a ship, but possibly a small group of settlers steadily migrating to the Swahili coast over several centuries and being integrated into the local culture. To quote Pouwels; **"One can identify the Shirazi traditions specifically as origin myths. As in most African origin myths, their creators identify certain fundamental symbols and institutions as uniquely their own, all of which set them apart from other peoples. As other origin myths, too, they relate the appearance/creation of these symbols/institutions to a single significant episode. In reality, of course, such episodes usually conceal what were complex social and cultural transformations which took place over many decades and even centuries, while the traditions, like the civilization whose history they relate, are themselves the end-products of this historical process."** **These processes included the conflation of several origin myths of slightly similar themes at varying points in time inorder to "pay honour to the uniqueness of coastal civilization; explain its creation (by their 'coming from' Shiraz/Shungwaya) in mythical time; and, somewhat more rarely, repay a historical debt coastal culture owes to its African roots. Theirs was a new world at the edge of a cultural frontier. Yet the culture that developed remained still a child of its human and physical environment, being neither wholly African nor 'Arab', but distinctly 'coastal', the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Thus, if they became Muslims, they did not become 'Arabs'; if they built mosques, their styles were neither recognizably African nor Middle Eastern; if their houses were stone, the 'stone' in fact was coral; and if they took Cushitic megaliths for their tomb markers, the tombs faced Mecca and again were constructed from locally available materials".** **"The 'Shirazi' then were the Swahili par excellence, those original 'people of the coast', whose claims to residence in their coastal environs were putatively the most ancient. The greatest error might be the tendency to interpret coastal civilization only in terms of its non-coastal affinities, be they African or Arab. Whichever way one chooses to see coastal culture will depend on whether he is looking at Lamu, for instance from Aden or Shihr or from a Pokomo village. Surely by now though, Africanists can appreciate that any culture is greater than the sum of its parts, and in the hypothetical case of Lamu it would make more sense to look at Lamu both by itself and in association with Shihr and the Pokomo village.**( The Swahili were the architects of their own civilization, they were a cosmopolitan society linking Africa to the western Indian ocean through cultural syncretism, trade and matrimonial alliances. Their accomplishments weren’t products of foreign colonists but were instead organic creations that grew out of the diverse social institutions in which east-African cultural values were predominant. Its for this reason that immigrants could “disappear” archeologically but retain their presence in local traditions and in the Swahili’s DNA * * * In the year 1086, a contingent of west Africans allied with the Almoravids conquered Andalusia and created the first of the largest african diasporas in south-western Europe. For the next six centuries, **African scholars, envoys and pilgrims travelled to Spain and Portugal from the regions of west africa and Kongo** read more about it here; ( * * * _**If you like this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal**_ ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. * * * ( Making Identity on the Swahili Coast by Steven Fabian pg 23) ( A preliminary critique of the TV series by Henry Louis Gates Jr. by Ali Mazrui, Black Orientalism? Further Reflections on "Wonders of the African World by Ali A. Mazrui ( New york ( ( Map by Stephane Pradines ( A Reply to Spear on Early Swahili History by Randall Lee Pouwels pg 642) ( Early swahili history reconsidered by Thomas Spear pg 257-258) ( [Eurocentrism, Afrocentrism and the need to decolonize African history.\ ----------------------------------------------------------------------]( ( · September 26, 2021 ( ( ( The Shirazi in Swahili Traditions, Culture, and History by Thomas Spear 291-292, Swahili origins by James de Vere Allen pg 4) ( The Shirazi problem in East African coastal history by James de Vere Allen pg 9-10) ( The Shirazi problem in East African coastal history by James de Vere Allen pg 9) ( The Culture of the Kenya Coast in the Later Middle Ages by J. S. Kirkman ( A Preliminary Handlist of the Arabic Inscriptions of the Eastern African Coast by G. S. P. Freeman-Grenville and B. G. Martin pg 102-103 ( The Shirazi problem in East African coastal history by James de Vere Allen pg 11-12) ( Swahili Culture and the Nature of East Coast Settlement by James de Vere Allen ( Swahili origins by James de Vere Allen, The Shirazi problem in East African coastal history by James de Vere Allen pg 12-14) ( Asiatic Colonization of the East African Coast: The Manda Evidence by Mark Horton pg 201-203 ( Asiatic Colonization of the East African Coast: The Manda Evidence by Mark Horton pg 206-207) ( The 'Shirazi' Colonization of East Africa by Neville Chittick pg 283-292) ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones and Adria LaViolette pg 4) ( L’ı ˆle de Sanje´ ya Kati (Kilwa, Tanzanie): un mythe Shiraˆzi bien re´el by Stephane Pradines ( The Urban History of a Rural Place: Swahili Archaeology on Pemba Island by : Adria LaViolette and Jeffrey Fleisher ( Studies in the classification of eastern Bantu Languages by Thomas Hinnebusch, derek Nurse and M.Jmould, The Swahili: Reconstructing the History and Language of an African Society By Derek Nurse, Thomas Spear ( The Shirazi problem in East African coastal history by James de Vere Allen pg 14 ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 10-15) ( A Reply to Spear on Early Swahili History by Randall Lee Pouwels pg 664-645) ( Arab Migrations to East Africa in Medieval Times by B. G. Martin, Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 22-23) ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 164-166, Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 50 ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 37-42, 73) ( Writing in Africa: The Kilwa Chronicle by Adrien Delmas pg 189-190, 196-198 ( Writing in Africa: The Kilwa Chronicle by Adrien Delmas pg 191- 194, The 'Shirazi' Colonization of East Africa by Neville Chittick pg 277-278, Kilwa Dynastic Historiography: A Critical Study by Elias Saad pg 177-178, 197-199, Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 36) ( The 'Shirazi' Colonization of East Africa by Neville Chittick Pg 278-281, Kilwa Dynastic Historiography: A Critical Study by Elias Saad pg 182-192) ( Oral historiography and the Shirazi by R. Pouwels pg 256-257 ( The Swahili: Reconstructing the History and Language of an African Society By Derek Nurse, Thomas Spear pg 70-71) ( A Comparative Study of Thirty City-State Cultures by Mogens Herman pg 470-471, ( Oral historiography and the Shirazi by R. Pouwels pg 248-251 ( les cites-etats swahili de l'archipel de lamu by T Vernet pg 286,322,396) ( Oral historiography and the Shirazi by R. Pouwels pg 252-253 ( Kilwa Dynastic Historiography: A Critical Study by Elias Saad pg 184, ( les cites-etats swahili de l'archipel de lamu by T Vernet pg 66 ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 28 ( How Societies are Born: Governance in West Central Africa Before 1600 By Jan Vansina pg 88-98 ( Swahili Urban Spaces of the Eastern African Coast by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 133-134, The World of the Swahili: An African Mercantile Civilization by John Middleton pg 129, 133). ( The World of the Swahili: An African Mercantile Civilization by John Middleton pg 99-101, 135-136) ( The World of the Swahili: An African Mercantile Civilization by John Middleton pg 113-116) ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 35-36 ( les cites-etats swahili de l'archipel de lamu by T Vernet pg 158 ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 41-42, les cites-etats swahili de l'archipel de lamu by T Vernet pg 165-166, ( Islands in a cosmopolitan sea by I. Walker pg 45 ( Sufis and Scholars of the Sea: Family Networks in East Africa, 1860-1925 by Anne K. Bang pg 27-31 ( les cites-etats swahili de l'archipel de lamu by T Vernet pg 164 ( Decoding The Swahili: An Integrated Archaeological and Genetic Study of The Swahili of East Africa by Chapurukha M. Kusimba et al, Decoding the genetic ancestry of the Swahili by Ryan L. Raaum et.al ( Nytimes article ( , conversation article : ( ( ( ( Early exchange between Africa and the wider Indian ocean world by G Campbell et al. pg 84-107, 195-221, 231-250, Africa and the Indian ocean world from early times to circa-1900 by G Campbell pg 123-131 ( The worlds of the Indian ocean Vol.2 by Philippe Beaujard pg 560-561, 563, 578-585, Tom and Toakafo the Betsimisaraka Kingdom and State Formation in Madagascar by Stephen Ellis pg 445, Feeding Globalization : Madagascar and the provisioning trade by Jane Hooper pg 60-70 ( A History of Madagascar by Mervyn Brown pg 24 ( Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 25 pg 65-67 ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 18-19, 31,37, Oral historiography and the Shirazi by R. Pouwels pg 239).

### Title: Persian Myths and Realities on the Swahili Coast: Contextualizing the 'Shirazi' Civilization #### Introduction - **Historical Context**: The identity of the Swahili people has been debated, particularly their claims of descent from Persian immigrants from Shiraz, which has been met with skepticism by some historians and archeologists. #### Henry Louis Gates' Documentary and Initial Reactions - **Gates' Documentary**: In 1999, Professor H.L. Gates explored African civilizations, including the Swahili coast, suggesting the Swahili's claims of Persian ancestry were questionable. - **Criticism**: Scholars like Ali Mazrui criticized Gates for ignoring local expertise and imposing Western racial definitions on a complex identity system. #### Verification through Genetic Studies - **DNA Analysis**: In 2022, a genetic study of remains from Swahili tombs dated between 1250-1800 revealed that ancestral backgrounds were split equally between East Africa and the Persian Gulf. - **Local Perception**: Many Swahili felt validated by these findings, viewing them as a confirmation of their self-identified heritage. #### Historical Perspective on Shirazi Claims - **Early Historiography**: Swahili historiography often relied on a mixture of archeological evidence and colonial narratives. - **Colonial Influence**: Early scholars, influenced by colonial attitudes, viewed Swahili societies as foreign impositions and perceived their history through a lens that prioritized non-African achievements. #### Archeological Insights from the Colonial Era - **Imperial Narratives**: Works from scholars like Francis Pearce and Lawrence Hollingsworth promoted the idea of a Persian civilization on the Swahili coast. - **Kirkman's Reevaluation**: Archeologist James Kirkman questioned the existence of distinct Persian settlers and suggested the interchange of cultural elements between Arabs and original Swahili inhabitants. #### Shifts in Archeological Understanding (1970s-2010s) - **Chittick's Claims**: In the late 1970s, Neville Chittick proposed a significant Persian influence based on his excavations but faced skepticism from contemporaries like Mark Horton and James Allen. - **Emerging Consensus**: Subsequent studies concluded that Swahili cities emerged organically from local growth rather than foreign colonization. #### Linguistic Studies and Cultural Identity - **Language Origins**: Linguists established Swahili as a Bantu language, connecting it to local African heritage rather than external influences. - **Debates on Influence**: Scholars like Randall Pouwels argued for the inclusion of external influences in understanding Swahili identity while maintaining an African foundation. #### The Kilwa Chronicle and Women's Roles - **Chronicle Accounts**: The Kilwa Chronicle narrates the origins and governance of the Swahili, emphasizing both male and female lineages in power dynamics. - **Status of Women**: Evidence suggests that women held significant social and political power in earlier Swahili societies, playing roles in lineage and governance. #### DNA Studies and Their Implications - **Ancient DNA Findings**: Studies revealed that while the maternal lineage of Swahili elite individuals was predominantly African, paternal ancestry showed a mixture with non-African groups, including Persians. - **Cultural Absorption**: The results indicate that migrants likely assimilated into Swahili society, contributing to a blended identity without dominating the local cultural landscape. #### Conclusion: Cosmopolitan Nature of Swahili Civilization - **Shirazi Identity**: The narrative of Shirazi origins should be viewed as part of a broader, complex history rather than straightforward colonization. - **Establishment of a Distinct Culture**: Swahili civilization emerged as a unique cultural synthesis that linked African and Middle Eastern elements while maintaining a distinct identity influenced by local traditions. #### Summary - The claims of Persian ancestry among the Swahili are validated by genetic studies but must be understood within the context of cultural assimilation and local identity formation. The Swahili civilization was a product of diverse influences, and its development illustrates the dynamics of identity, trade, and cultural exchange along the East African coast.

A history of the Rozvi kingdom (1680-1830)

From Changamire's expulsion of the Portuguese to the ruined cities of Zimbabwe.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A history of the Rozvi kingdom (1680-1830) ========================================== ### From Changamire's expulsion of the Portuguese to the ruined cities of Zimbabwe. ( May 14, 2023 12 After nearly a century of unchallenged political dominance in south-eastern Africa, the Portuguese colonial project in the Mutapa kingdom was ended by the formidable armies of Chagamire Dombo, who went on to establish the Rozvi kingdom which covered most of modern Zimbabwe The Rozvi era in southern Africa is one of the least understood periods in the region's history. In its 150 year long history, the Rozvi state was a major regional power, its elaborate political system, formidable military and iconic architecture left a remarkable legacy on modern Zimbabwe's cultural landscape. This article explores the history of the Rozvi kingdom and its capitals, which are among Africa's most impressive ruins. _**Map showing the maximum extent of Rozvi political influence in the 18th century( **_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Early Rozvi history and the enigmatic figure of Changamire Dombo (1670-1695)** The Rozvi state emerged during the period of political upheaval of the Portuguese colonization of Mutapa. In the century after the arrival of Francisco Barreto’s troops at the port of Sofala in 1571, the Mutapa kingdom had gradually come under Portuguese influence, formally becoming a colony in 1629. But by the close of the 17th century, the Portuguese were expelled from the Mutapa interior by the armies of an emerging power led by a ruler who they called Changamire Dombo.( The name/title of “Changamire/Changamira” first appears in 16th century Portuguese documents associated with several foes of the Mutapa kingdom. It was first associated with a Toloa/Torwa chief who rebelled against Mukombo, the king of Mutapa around the year 1493. Mukombo was expelled from his capital but his son managed to kill the Changamire although the Torwa (who were a ruling lineage group) retained their independence. This account was recorded in 1506 at Sofala, the same port in whose hinterland another Changamire would rise in 1544 and disrupt a Portuguese invasion force.( The Torwa lineage(s) is associated with the Butua state in south-western region of Zimbabwe and the so-called “Khami-style” ruins in the region including Khami, Naletale and Danangombe.( While its unlikely that the Changamire who appears with the name ‘Dombo’ in the 17th century accounts is related to those mentioned in the earlier accounts, he was associated with the Torwa settlements of the south-west, especially since he was one of the southern vassals of the Mutapa ruler( . Despite living in separate states and societies, the bulk of the populations in these regions spoke the Kalanga dialect of the Shona language, and were associated with many of the old settlements and polities which emerged in the region beginning in the 10th century.( _**Map showing south-eastern Africa’s political landscape from the 13th-17th century**_ Contemporary accounts mention that the Mutapa king Mukombwe (r. 1667-1694) granted land and wealth to Changamire Dombo around 1670, in response to an earlier conflict which pitted Dombo against a combined Mutapa-Portuguese force. However, Dombo used the wealth to attract a large following (which he called the Rozvi) and rebelled again, A combined Mutapa-Portuguese army attacked Changamire's forces in 1684 at Maungwe but Changamire defeated both of them, acquiring more land from the declining Mutapa state.( Dombo's authority was extended to the region of Manyica around the late 17th century, requiring Portuguese miners and merchnats in the region to pay tribute. But when they refused to pay this tribute, Dombo’s forces attacked the Portuguese settlements in Manyika over the late 1680s.( After the death of Mutapa king Makombe sometime between 1692-1694, there was a sucession dispute in which one of the candidates, Nyakunembire, allied with Changamire in 1693-1694 in a war against the Portuguese. This resulted in several devastating raids on Portuguese settlements especially Dambarare, forcing the Portuguese to evacuate all their settlements across Mutapa except at Manyika. But after Changamire descended on Manyika as well, the Portuguese withdrew to their strongholds at Tete and Sena.( Dombo's attacks across Mutapa territory were so effective that the Portuguese relinquished their occupation of most of the Mutapa state, retaining a nominal presence using strategic political alliances. These alliances paid off when they defeated a lone force of Nyakunembire around 1695-6 and installed a puppet king named Dom Pedro to the Mutapa throne.( This was around the time Dombo died and was suceeded by another unamed ruler who restored Rozvi control over Mutapa with a major attack in 1702 which sent the Portuguese fleeing back to Mozambique( . The Rozvi maintained some control over Mutapa during the early 18th century, counterbalancing the Portuguese by deposing and installing allies. Most notably In 1712, when a son of Nyakunembire named Samutumbu was installed on the Mutapa throne with Rozvi support. Aware of his political weakness, Samutumbu pragmatically chose to balance his Rozvi support with a token Portuguese alliance, accepting a small garrison at his capital and received goods from Portuguese traders. The political conflict in Mutapa thereafter became a mostly internal affair as rival claimants deposed each other in close sucession. ( The southern wing of the Rozvi state also expanded not long after Dombo’s victory at Maugwe. The Rozvi forces sacked the city of Khami in the late 1680s, the settlement was burned as its residents fled, leaving their charred possessions behind.( The expansion of the Rozvi control over the south was directed against the cities of Danagombe, Manyanga and Naletale. While these settlements predate the Rozvi incursions of the late 17th century, the Rozvi based the core of their state in this region and continued to build their capitals in the pre-existing architectural styles.( By the early 18th century, Rozvi control had extended from southern Zimbabwe to Manyica, Maungwe, Butua and across the Mutapa territories. Trade was restricted to stations at Zumbo on the Zambezi river and in Inhambane. The smaller chieftaincies throughout this territory remained mostly autonomous but recognized the suzeranity of the Rozvi rulers in matters of sucession and in handling the activities of foreign traders.( **Ruins of the Butua capital of Khami, read more about the history of this kingdom here:** ( * * * **The Rozvi kingdom, Politics, Trade and Architecture** The Rozvi state was made up of many pre-existing Kalanga polities which acknowledged the authority of the Changamire. From their impressive stone-walled towns, the Rozvi aristocracy based their rule on ownership of land and cattle, both of which were distributed to subordinate chiefs in return for tribute. They took over the rich goldfields of Butua and were also engaged in long-distance trade in ivory.( Power in Rozvi was split between the king and a body of councilors who were in charge of adminsitration. The councilors were drawn from the Rozvi aristocracy constituting pre-existing chiefs and provincial chiefs, Rozvi royals, priests, and military leaders. The priests who were involved in the investiture of vassal chiefs and the military which enforced the king's authority, were the most important Rozvi institutions. In particular, the Rozvi army's more professionalized hierarchical structure resembled the formidable 19th century armies of the Zulu more than the pre-existing war bands found in Mutapa.( Contemporary accounts describe the Rozvi royal court at the capital as consisting of several large stone houses within which Changamire used to store his goods. These included firearms that were bought and/or captured from the Portuguese, as well as ivory tusks which are said to have lined the walls of the royal residence. While this account was partly exaggerated, its reflected the external trade of the Rozvi rulers and the basis of their military power, as traditions recall that Dombo built his own capital on (presumably Danangombe) his own hill that was ascended by ivory steps, inorder to overshadow his rivals.( _**Ruins of Danangombe**_ Danangombe is situated on a granite hill with a wide view of the countryside. Its central building complex consists of tow large sub-rectangular platforms disected by passages. The western platform covers 900 msq and has a retaining wall of well-fitted stone blocks rising over 6 meters while the larger eastern platform covers over 2,800 sqm and rises to a height of 3m. Its retaining walls are profusely decorated with checker, cord, herringbone and chevron patterns. The entire settlement housed an estimated population of 5,000 and inside its houses were found imported chinese porcelain, locally-worked gold jewelery, glass, copper bangles, all dated to between 1650-1815.( _**Ruins of Naletale**_ Naletale is a ruined settlement on a granite hill situated about 5km east of Danangombe, It has the most elaborately decorated walls of the dzimbabwes with chevron, herringbone, chessboard patterns. Its elliptical enclosure wall has a diameter of 55 meters, within atleast 9 battlements which makes the ruins appear like a fortress. Like on the great zimbabwe's acropolis, there were monoliths fixed ontop of four of the 9 battlements. Naletale was an important centre though its size suggests it served as an ancillary capital of Rozvi, controlling an area with similary decorated but smaller ruins.( ruins of Manyanga (Ntaba-za-mambo) was the last settlement associated with the Rozvi and the site of the last major battle that marked the end of Rozvi hegemony in the early 19th century. The site hasn’t been studied as much as the other two, but a survey in the 1960s found clay crucibles for smelting gold.( * * * ( * * * The Rozvi had a largely agro-pastoral society with less external trade and mining than the Mutapa. Tribute collected from vassal chiefs often consisted of grain and cattle, but attimes included gold, ivory, which were major exports. Many of the gold mines that were taken over by the Rozvi continued operating under their control, providing a valuable product for export that would be exchanged for several imports including Indian textiles and Chinese porcelain found in several Rozvi ruins.( However, external trade was not sufficiently important to the power of Rozvi's ruling elite, and only represented an extension of regional trade routes. Trade was not monopolized by the Rozvi rulers, who allowed subordinate chiefs and local merchnats (vashambadzi) to move from station to station trading items for local markets and for export. The vashambadzi displaced the Portuguese traders and miners who had dominated Mutapa's foreign trade during the early 17th century, and also traded on behalf of the remaining Portuguese in Rozvi territories.( _**Gold objects and jewelry stolen from the ruins of Danangombe and Mundie**_ _**(from: The ancient ruins of Rhodesia by Richard Hall)**_ So strictly was the policy of Portuguese exclusion enforced that the Portuguese captives who were taken in the battle of Manica during 1695 remained permanent prisoners in the Rozvi capital. An attempt to ransom them in 1716 failed and the captives reportedly settled down and married, for in the middle of the century, the Rozvi king asked for a priest to be sent to minister to them.( After the Portuguese withdrew from Mutapa and recognized Rozvi authority, the only Portuguese activities in the region were limited to the activities of merchant-priests whose also handled some of Rozvi's export trade, especially at the town of Zumbo( . One such merchant-priest was the vicar of Zumbo named Pedro de Tridade who in 1743, called on the Rozvi to help secure Mutapa after the latter's descent into internecine sucession wars. The Rozvi king sent an armed force of 2,000, but the dispute was sucessful reportedly quelled before there was any need for battle.( The Rozvi again defended the town of Zumbo during a Mutapa sucession war led by the Mutapa prince Ganiambaze. The Rozvi sent another force of about 3,000 strong to assist the town of Zumbo when it was under pressure from the Mutapa prince Casiresire. In the 1780s, the Rozvi sent an army to the kingdom of Manyika to guard Portuguese traders who were setting up a trading town in the region.( _**muzzle loading cannon from the Portuguese settlement of Dambarare found at Danangombe after it was taken by Changamire’s forces**_ Rozvi's internal politics are less known than its external activities, traditions hold that they were factions within the Rozvi elite which split from the core state after Dombo's death. One of them moved to Hwange and established a polity among the Nambya and Tonga. Another crossed the Limpompo river and founding a polity named the Thovhela kingdom among the Venda with its capital at Dzata. The latter state appears in external accounts recorded by Dutch traders active at delagoa bay in 1730.( _**Ruins of Mtoa**_ * * * * * * **The last decades of the Rozvi kingdom.** The core of the Rozvi state remained largely intact as evidenced by its firm control over the trading towns in the 1770s-1780,s and as late as 1803 when Portuguese traders were requesting the Rozvi king to monopolize trade at Zumbo using his appointed agent.( The popularized use of 'Mambo' as a dynastic title within and outside the Rozvi state, attests to the continued influence of the Changamire in ratifying the sucession of subordinate chiefs and neighboring polities who recognized him as their suzerain. Internally, fluctuating alliances and the emergence of royal houses would characterize the factionalised politics of the early 19th century.( By the early 19th century, Rozvi was still in control of the core regions around Danangombe, Manyanga, and Khami, as well as parts of Manyica. But there were major splits during the reigns of; king Rupandamanhanga at the turn of the 19th century, and Chirisamhuru in the 1820s, which resulted in the migration of the house of Mutinhima, among others, during the early 1830s away from the core regions of the state. By then, only the lands around Danangombe and Manyanga were directly controlled by the king, while his subordinates controlled nearby regions. ( Around the same time, Ngoni-speaking groups crossed the Limpopo in a nothern migration as they advanced into the Rozvi kingdom. The Ngoni chief Ngwana attacked the Rozvi settlements in the south during the 1820s, and other chiefs such as Zwangendaba and Maseko raided Rozvi territories before they were forced out by the remaining Rozvi armies. the swazi forces of queen Nyamazana ultimately killed Changamire Chirisamhuru and burnt his capital.( After the death of Chirisamhuru, no sucessor was chosen by the council until the late 1840s when his son Tohwechipi was installed using Mutinhima support. Shortly before this, a large group of Nguni-speakers called the Ndebele arrived in the Rozvi region around 1830 where they were initially confronted by the Mutinhima's forces before the two groups reached a settlement. By the time the Matebele kingdom's founder Mzilikazi assumed control of his emerging state around 1840, the remaining Rozvi houses had become subordinate, a few decades prior to arrival of the colonial armies.( Many of the walled settlements were gradually abandoned in the latter half of the 19th century, except for Manyanga which became an important religious center during the Matebele era and would become the site of a minor battle between the Matebele king Lobengula and the British in 1896. The rest of the ruins, such as Danangombe, would be plundered for gold by Cecil rhodes, while Naletale was abandoned and overgrown by vegetation. * * * In the year 1086, a contingent of west Africans allied with the Almoravids conquered Andalusia and created the first of the largest african diasporas in south-western Europe. For the next six centuries, **African scholars, envoys and pilgrims travelled to Spain and Portugal from the regions of west africa and Kongo** read more about it here; ( * * * _**If you liked this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal**_ ( ( original map by M. Newitt ( [The kingdom of Mutapa and the Portuguese: on the failure of conquistadors in Africa (1571-1695)\ -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------]( ( · August 14, 2022 ( ( ( A History of Mozambique by M. D. D. Newitt pg 2, 37-38 ( An archaeological study of the Zimbabwe culture capital of Khami, south-western Zimbabwe by T Mukwende 7, 38 ( Treatise on the Rivers of Cuama' by Antonio Da Conceicao pg xxxii ( Ndebele Raiders and Shona Power by D. N. Beach pg 634) ( The Zimbabwe Culture by Innocent Pikirayi pg 210 Portuguese Musketeers by Richard Gray, pg 533 ( The changamire dombo by Kenneth C. Davy pg 200-201) ( The Zimbabwe Culture by Innocent Pikirayi pg 210 ( Portuguese settlement on the Zambesi by M. D. D. Newitt pg 71) ( 'Treatise on the Rivers of Cuama' by Antonio Da Conceicao pg xxix ( Portuguese settlement on the Zambesi by M. D. D. Newitt pg 72) ( Great Zimbabwe: Reclaiming a 'Confiscated' Past By Shadreck Chirikure pg236, ( The Zimbabwe Culture by Innocent Pikirayi pg 210-212, Ndebele Raiders and Shona Power by D. N. Beach pg 634) ( Portuguese settlement on the Zambesi by M. D. D. Newitt pg 73) ( The Zimbabwe Culture by Innocent Pikirayi pg 30, Becoming Zimbabwe ( The Role of Foreign Trade in the Rozvi Empire by S. I. Mudenge pg 376-379, 382, The changamire dombo by Kenneth C. Davy pg 201, Becoming Zimbabwe by Brian Raftopoulos, Alois Mlambo pg 20-21 ( The Zimbabwe Culture by Innocent Pikirayi pg 212) ( The Zimbabwe Culture by Innocent Pikirayi pg 212-214 ( The Zimbabwe Culture by Innocent Pikirayi pg 205-208 ( The Zambesian Past: Studies in Central African History edited by Eric Stokes pg 11 ( The Role of Foreign Trade in the Rozvi Empire by S. I. Mudenge pg 385-387) ( The Role of Foreign Trade in the Rozvi Empire by S. I. Mudenge pg 387-390, A History of Mozambique by M. D. D. Newitt pg 201, 207) ( Portuguese settlement on the Zambesi by M. D. D. Newitt pg 73) ( 'Treatise on the Rivers of Cuama' by Antonio Da Conceicao pg xxxiii-xxxvi ( The Dominican Friars in Southern Africa by Philippe Denis pg 52, 59) ( The Role of Foreign Trade in the Rozvi Empire by S. I. Mudenge pg 380-381) ( The Zimbabwe Culture by Innocent Pikirayi pg 215) ( The Role of Foreign Trade in the Rozvi Empire by S. I. Mudenge 386) ( The Cambridge History of Africa. Vol 4, pg 402-403, Becoming Zimbabwe by Brian Raftopoulos, Alois Mlambo pg 21 ( Ndebele Raiders and Shona Power by D. N. Beach pg 635, War and Politics in Zimbabwe, 1840-1900 by D. N. Beach pg 20 ( A History of Mozambique by M. D. D. Newitt pg 255, 261, Ndebele Raiders and Shona Power by D. N. Beach pg 636) ( Ndebele Raiders and Shona Power by D. N. Beach pg 637).

# A History of the Rozvi Kingdom (1680-1830) ## Overview - The Rozvi kingdom emerged in southeastern Africa after the expulsion of the Portuguese from the Mutapa kingdom by Changamire Dombo around 1680. - The Rozvi state, which existed for approximately 150 years, became a significant regional power, renowned for its complex political structure, military strength, and notable architectural legacy. ## Changamire Dombo and the Rise of the Rozvi Kingdom 1. **Context of Portuguese Colonization**: - The Mutapa kingdom fell under increasing Portuguese influence from the arrival of Francisco Barreto’s troops in 1571, officially becoming a Portuguese colony in 1629. - By the late 17th century, local resistance began to emerge. 2. **Expulsion of the Portuguese**: - Changamire Dombo, emerging as a formidable leader in the region, began to rally local support against Portuguese settlers. - His forces defeated a combined Mutapa-Portuguese army at Maungwe in 1684, leading to further territorial gains. 3. **Territorial Expansion**: - By the late 17th century, Dombo extended his authority over the Manyica region, imposing tribute on Portuguese settlers engaged in mining and trade. 4. **Political Alliances**: - After the death of Mutapa king Makombe (circa 1692-1694), a succession dispute arose. Dombo allied with Nyakunembire, leading to successful military campaigns against the Portuguese. - Following a series of attacks, the Portuguese retreated from most of the Mutapa territory by the late 1690s, maintaining only a nominal presence. ## Structure and Governance of the Rozvi Kingdom 1. **Political Organization**: - The Rozvi state was composed of various Kalanga polities that recognized Changamire as their leader. - Governance involved a council of aristocrats consisting of chiefs, military leaders, and priests. 2. **Economic Foundations**: - The Rozvi economy thrived on agriculture, cattle rearing, and trade, particularly in gold and ivory. - Tribute from vassal chiefs primarily consisted of grain and cattle, contributing to the wealth of the Rozvi elite. 3. **Trade Networks**: - The Rozvi maintained trade routes that were not exclusively controlled by the state, allowing local merchants to engage in commerce. - They displaced Portuguese traders and continued to facilitate trade with external regions. ## Cultural and Architectural Legacy 1. **Capital Cities**: - The Rozvi constructed impressive stone-walled capitals such as Danangombe, Khami, and Naletale, reflecting their architectural ingenuity. - Notable features included decorative wall patterns and large central structures that housed significant populations. 2. **Cultural Artifacts**: - Archaeological findings at Rozvi sites revealed imported goods like Chinese porcelain, suggesting active trade networks and cultural exchanges. ## Decline and Fragmentation (19th Century) 1. **Internal Conflicts**: - By the early 19th century, the Rozvi kingdom faced factionalism and internal disputes regarding leadership. - The influence of neighboring groups and the emergence of rival powers created a fragmented political landscape. 2. **Ngoni Invasions**: - The arrival of Ngoni-speaking groups led to increased conflict, as chief Ngwana and others raided Rozvi territories. - The kingdom's military suffered significant defeats, including the death of King Chirisamhuru and the burning of his capital. 3. **End of the Rozvi Dominance**: - By the late 1840s, the Rozvi state was considerably weakened, with many territories falling under the control of the rising Ndebele kingdom established by Mzilikazi. - Significant Rozvi settlements were abandoned or repurposed, leading to the decline of their historical influence. ## Conclusion The Rozvi kingdom played a crucial role in the historical landscape of southeastern Africa between 1680 and 1830. Its rise marked the end of Portuguese colonial dominance in the region, while its impressive architectural legacy continues to be a testament to its complex political and cultural heritage. The eventual decline of the Rozvi reflected the dynamic and often volatile nature of regional politics and inter-group relations in the 19th century.

A history of the Loango kingdom (ca.1500-1883) : Power, Ivory and Art in west-central Africa.

Africa's past carved in ivory

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A history of the Loango kingdom (ca.1500-1883) : Power, Ivory and Art in west-central Africa. ============================================================================================= ### Africa's past carved in ivory ( May 07, 2023 18 For more than five centuries, the kingdom of Loango dominated the coastal region of west central Africa between the modern countries of Gabon and Congo-Brazzaville. As a major regional power, Loango controlled lucrative trade routes that funneled African commodities into local and international markets, chief among which was ivory. Loango artists created intricately carved ivory sculptures which reflected their sophisticated skill and profound cultural values, making their artworks a testament to the region's artistic and historical heritage. Loango ivories rank among the most immediate primary sources that offer direct African perspectives from an era of social and political change in west-central Africa on the eve of colonialism This article explores the political and economic history of Loango, focusing on the kingdom's ivory trade and its ivory-carving tradition. _**Map of west-central Africa in 1650 showing the kingdom of Loango**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **The government in Loango** Beginning in the early 2nd millennium, the lower Congo river valley was divided into political and territorial units of varying sizes whose influence over their neighbors changed over time. The earliest state to emerge in the region was the kingdom of Kongo by the end of the 14th century, and it appears in external accounts as a fully centralized state in the 1480s. The polity of Loango would have emerged not long after Kongo's ascendance but wouldn't appear in the earliest accounts of west-central Africa.( Loango was likely under the control of Kongo in the early 16th century, since the latter of which was nominally the suzerain of several early states in the lower Congo valley where its first rulers had themselves originated. Around the end of his reign, the Kongo king Diogo I (r. 1545-1561) sent a priest to named Sebastião de Souto to the court of the ruler of loango. Traditions documented in the 17th century credit a nobleman named Njimbe for establishing the independent kingdom of Loango.( Njimbe built his power through the skillful use of force and alliances, conquering the neighboring polities of Wansi, Kilongo and Piri, the last of which become the home of his capital; Buali (_**Mbanza loango**_) near the coast. In the Kikongo language, a person from Piri would be called a _**Muvili**_, hence the origin of the term Vili as an ethnonym for people from the Kingdom of Loango( . But the Vili "ethnicity" came to include anyone from the so-called Loango coast which included territories controlled by other states.( Kongo lost any claims of suzerainty over Loango by 1584, as the latter was then fully independent, and had disappeared from the royal titles of Kongo's kings. In the 1580s, caravans coming from Loango regularly went inland to purchase copper, ivory and cloth. And increasing external demand for items from the interior augmented the pre-existing commercial configurations to the benefit of Loango, which extended its cultural and political influence along the coast as far as cape Lopez.( Once a vassal of Kongo, Loango became a competitor of its former overlord as a supplier of Atlantic commodities. After the death of Njimbe in 1565, power passed to another king who ruled over sixty years until 1625. Loango had since consolidated its control over a large stretch of coastline, established the ports of Loango and Mayumba, and was expanding southward. The pattern of conquest and consolidation had given Loango a complex government, centered in a core province ruled directly by the king and royals, while outlying provinces remained under their pre-conquest dynasties who were supervised by appointed officials.( _**Colorized illustration of Olfert Dapper’s drawing of the Loango Capital, ca. 1686**_ By 1624, Loango expanded eastwards, using a network of military alliances to attack the eastern polities of Vungu and Wansi. These overtures were partly intended to monopolize the trade in copper and ivory in Bukkameale, a region that lay within the textile-producing belt of west-central Africa. This frontier region of Bukkameale located between Loango and Tio/Makoko kingdom, contained the copper mines of Mindouli/Mingole, and was the destination of most Vili carravans which regulary travelled through the interior both on foot and by canoe.( The importance of Ivory, Cloth and Copper to Loango's rulers can be gleaned from this account by an early 17th century Dutch observer; _**"**_\ _**has tremendous income, with houses full of elephant’s tusks, some of them full of copper, and many of them with lebongos**_ \_**, which are common currency here… During my stay, more than 50,000 lbs.**_ \ _**were traded each year. … There is also much beautiful red copper, most of which comes from the kingdom of the Isiques**_ \ _**in the form of large copper arm-rings weighing between 1½ and 14 lb., which are smuggled out of the**_ \ _**country".**_( _**detail on a carved ivory tusk from Loango, depicting figures traveling by canoe and on foot. 1830-1887, No. TM-A-11083, Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen**_ Before the unnamed king's death in 1625, he instituted a rotation system of sucession in which each of the rulers of the four districts (Kaye, Boke, Selage, and Kabongo) within the core province would take the title of king. The first selected was Yambi ka Mbirisi from Kaye, who suceeded to the throne but had to face a brief sucession crisis from his rival candidates. The tenuous sucession system held for a while but evidently couldn't be maintained for long. In 1663, Loango was ruled by a king who, following a diplomatic and religious exchange with Kongo's province of Soyo, had taken up the name 'Afonso' after the famous king of Kongo.( Afonso hoped his connection to Soyo would increase his power at the expense of the four other nobles meant to suceed him in rotation, since he’d expect to be suceeded by his sons instead. But this plan failed and Afonso was deposed by rival claimant who was himself deposed by another king in 1665. This started a civil war that ended in the 1670s, and when the king died, the rotation system was replaced by a state council (similar to the one in Kongo and other kingdoms), which elected kings. _**“they could raise one king up and replace him with another to their pleasure.”**_( For most of the 18th century, the king's power was reduced as that of the councilors grew with each election. These councilors included the Magovo and the Mapouto who managed foreign affairs, the Makaka who commanded the army, the Mfuka who was in charge of trade, and the Makimba who had authority over the coast and interior. The king's role was confined to judicial matters such as resolving disputes and hearing cases.( _**Detail of 19th century tusk, showing the emblem of the “Prime Minister of Loango ‘Mafuka Peter’” in the form of a coat of arms consisting of two seated animals in semi-rampant posture holding a perforated object between them. No. 11.10.83.2 -National Museums Liverpool.**_( _**“Audience of the King of Loango”, ca. 1756, Thomas Salmon**_ * * * ( * * * After the death of a king, the election period often extended for some time while the country was nominally led by a 'Mani Boman' (regent) chosen by the king before his death. In 1701, no king had been elected despite the previous one having died nine months earlier, the kingdom was in the regency of Makunda in the interim. After the death of a king named Makossa in 1766, none was elected to succeed him in the 6 years that followed during which time the kingdom was led by two "regents". In 1772, Buatu was finally elected king, but when he died in 1787, no king was elected for nearly a century.( From 1787 to 1870, executive power in Loango was held by the Nganga Mvumbi (priest of the corpse), another pre-existing official figure whose duty was to oversee the body of the king as he awaited burial. During the century-long interregnum, seven people holding this title acted as the leaders of the state. Their legitimacy lay in the claim that there was no suitable sucessor in the pool of candidates for the throne. The Nganga Mvumbi became part of the royal council which thus preserved its power by indefinitely postponing the election of the king. But the kingdom remained centralized in the hands of this bureaucracy, who exercised power in the name of the (deceased) king, collecting taxes, regulating trade, waging war and engaging with regional and foreign states.( Descriptions of Loango in 1874 show a country firmly in the hands of the Nganga Mvumbi and his officers, although in the coastal areas, local officials begun to usurp official titles such as the Mafuk, which was sold to prominent families. New merchant classes also emerged among the low ranking nobles called the Mfumu Nsi, who built up power by attracting followers, dependents and slaves, as a consequence of increasing wealth from the commodities trade.( _**detail of a 19th century Loango tusk depicting pipe-smoking figures being carried on a litter, No. TM-6049-29 -Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen**_ * * * **External Ivory trade from Loango** Loango, like most of its peers in central Africa had a mostly agricultural economy with some crafts industries for making textiles, iron and copper working, ivory and wood carving, etc. They had regular markets and used commodity currencies like cloth and copper and were marginally engaged in export trade. External trade items varied depending on demand and cost of purchase, but they primarily consisted of ivory, copper, captives, and cloth. These were acquired by private Vili merchants who were active in the segmented regional exchanges across regional trade routes, some extending as far as central Angola.( _**detail on a 19th century Loango tusk depicting an elephant pinning down a hunter while another hunter aims a rifle at its head.**_ No. 96-28-1 _**\-**_Smithsonian Museum The Vili's external trade was an extension of regional trade routes, no single state and no single item continuously dominated the entire region's external trade from the 16th to the 19th century. Cloth and salt was used as a means of exchange in caravans leaving Loango to trade in the interior. Among the goods acquired on these trade routes were ivory, copper, redwood and others. Most products were used for local consumption or intermediary exchange to facilitate acquisition of ivory and copper. Ivory was mostly acquired from the frontier regions, which were occupied by various groups including foragers ("pygmies"). The latter obtained the ivory using traps, and competitively sold it to both Loango and Makoko traders.( The earliest external demand for Loango's ivory came from Portuguese traders. The Portuguese crown had attempted to monopolize trade between its own agents active along Loango's coast but this proved difficult to enforce as the Loango king refused the establishment of a Portuguese post in his region. This confined the Portuguese to the south and effectively edged them out of the ivory trade in favor of other buyers like the Dutch.( Such was Loango's commitment to open trade that when the Dutch ship of the ivory trader Van den Broecke was captured by a Portuguese ship in 1608, armed forces from Loango intercepted the Portuguese ship, executed its crew and freed the Dutch prisoners.( The Portuguese didn't entirely abandon trade with loango, and would maintain a token presence well in to the 1600s. They also used other European agents as intermediaries. Eg from 1590-1610, the English trader Andrew Battell who had been detained in Luanda, visited Loango as an agent for the governor of Luanda. He mentions trading some fabric for three 120-pound tusks and cloth.( The Dutch become the most active traders on the Loango coast beginning in the early 17th century. The account of the Dutch ivory trader Pieter van den Broecke who was active in Loango between 1610 and 1612 provides some of the most detailed descriptions of this early trade. Broecke operated trading stations in the ports of Loango and Maiomba, where he specialized in camwood, raffia cloth and ivory, items that were cheaper and easier to store than the main external trade of the time which was captives. The camwood (used for dyeing cloth) and the raffia cloth (used in local trade) were mostly intermediaries commodities used to purchase ivory.( Broecke and his agents acquired about 311,000 pounds of ivory after several trading seasons in Loango across a 5-year period. Most of the ivory came from private traders in the kingdom with a few coming from the Loango king himself. At the same time, Loango continued to be a major exporter of other items including cloth called makuta, of which up to 80,000 meters were traded with Luanda in 1611.( _**work made by ivory carvers in Loango, ca. 1910**_ The Dutch activities in Loango must have threatened Portuguese interests in the region, since the kings of Kongo and Ndongo sucessfully exploited the Dutch-Portuguese rivalry for their own interests. In 1624 the Luanda governor Fernão de Souza requested the Loango King to close the Dutch trading post, in exchange for buying all supplies of ivory, military assistance and a delegation of priests. But the Loango king rejected all offers, and continued to trade with the Dutch.( Loango's ivory exports continued in significant quantities well into the late 17th century, but some observers noted that the advancement of the ivory frontier inland. Basing on information received from merchants active in Loango, the Ducth writer Olfert Dapper indicated that by the 1660s, supplies of ivory at the coast were decreasing because of the great difficulties in obtaining it.( The gradual decline in external ivory trade coincided with the rise in demand of slaves.( In the last decades of the 17th century, the Loango port briefly became a major embarkation point for captives from the interior, as several routes converged at the port.( But Loango's port was soon displaced by Malemba, (a port of Kakongo kingdom) and later by Cabinda (a port of Ngoyo kingdom) in the 18th century, and lastly by Boma in the early 19th century, the first three of which were located on the so-called 'Loango coast'. Mentions of Loango in external accounts therefore don't exclusively refer to the kingdom, anymore than 'the bight of Benin' refers to areas controlled by the Benin kingdom.( External Ivory trade continued in the 18th century, with records of significant exports in 1787, and the trade had fully recovered in the 19th century as the main export of Loango and its immediate neighbors after the decline of slave trade. The rising demand for commodities such as palm oil, rubber, camwood and ivory, reinvigorated established systems of trade and more than 78 factories were established along Loango's coast. Large exports of ivory were noted by visitors and traders in Loango and the kakongo kingdoms as early as 1817 and 1820, especially through the port of Mayumba.( Vili carravans crossed territorial boundaries in different polities protected by toll points, and shrines with armed escorts provided by local rulers. Rising prices compensated the distances and capital invested by traders in acquiring the ivory whose frontier continued to expand inland. The wealth and dependents accumulated by the traders and the 'Mafuk' authorities at the coast gradually eroded the power of the central authorities in the capital. Factory communities created new markets for Vili entrepreneurs including ivory carvers who found new demand beyond their usual royal clientele. Its these carvers that created the iconic ivory artworks of Loango.( Detail on a carved ivory tusk from Loango, ca. 1890, No. 71.1973.24.1 -Quai branly, depicting a European coastal ‘factory’ _**Carved ivory tusk from Loango, ca. 1906, No. IIIC20534, Berlin Ethnological Museum**_. depicting traders negotiating and giving tribute, and a procession of porters carrying merchandise. * * * **The Ivory Art tradition of Loango** The carving of ivory in Loango was part of an old art tradition attested across many kingdoms in west central Africa. For example, the earliest records of the Kongo kingdom mention the existence of carved ivory artworks that were given as gifts in diplomatic exchanges with foreign rulers. A 1492 account by the Portuguese chronicler Rui de Pina narrates the conversion of Caçuta (called a “fidalgo” of the Kongo kingdom) and the gifts he brought to Portugal which included _**“elephant tusks, and carved ivory things…”**_ Another account by Garcia de Resende in the 1530s describes _**“a gift of many elephant tusks and carved ivory things..”**_ among other items. Ivory trumpets and bracelets are also mentioned as part of the royal regalia of the king of Kongo.( In Loango, the account of the abovementioned English trader Andrew Battell also refers to the ivory trumpets (called pongo or mpunga) at the King's court. He describes these royal trumpets as instruments made with an elephant's tusk, hollow inside, measuring a yard and a half, with an opening like that of a flute. He also mentions a royal burial ground near the capital that was encompassed by elephant tusks set into the ground.( _**side-blown ivory Oliphant from the kingdom of Kongo, ca. 1552, Treasury of the Grand Dukes, italy**_ _**Ivory sculptors in Loango, ca. 1910**_ More detailed descriptions of Loango's ivory carving tradition were recorded in the 19th century. These include the account of Pechuël-Loesche's 1873 visit of Loango which includes mentions of ivory and wood carvings depicting the Loango king riding an elephant, that was a popular motif carved onto many private pieces, especially trumpets. Such instruments were costly and only used in festivals after which they were carefully stored away. Pechuël-Loesche believed these royal carvings inspired the pieces carved by private artists of whom he wrote _**"many have an outstanding skill in meticulously carving free hand”.**_( _**Carved ivory tusk from Loango, ca. 1875, no. III C 429, Berlin Ethnological Museum.**_ It depicts a succession of genre-like scenes arranged in rows spiraling around the longitudinal axis, it shows activities associated with coastal trading stations as well as hunting and processions of porters. Artists in Loango were commisioned by both domestic and foreign clients to create artworks based on the client's preferences. For European clients, the carvers would reproduce a paper sketch on alternative surfaces such as wood using charcoal as ink, and then carefully render the artwork on ivory using different tools One visitor in 1884 describes the process as such; _**"On a spiral going all around the large tusk like the arrangement upon the column of trajan, there were depicted a multitude of figures (40 to 100) first incised with a sharp piece of metal; then, by means of two small chisels, sometimes also nails, a bas-relief was produced with a wooden mallet; and then the whole thing was smoothed off with a small knife.**_( _**Elaborately carved ivory tusk depicting human and animal figures in various scenes, ca. 1890, No. 71.1966.26.16, 71.1966.26.15, 71.1890.67.1 Quai branly**_ The main motifs were human and animal figures depicted in scenes that revolve around specific themes. The human figures include both local and foreign individuals, who are slightly differentiated by clothing, activities and facial hair.( The figures are always viewed from the side, in profile while the top often has a three-dimensional figure. Themes depicted include trade, travel, hunting in the countryside as well as activities around the factory communities. The latter scenes in particular reflect the semi-colonial contexts in which they were made, with artists exerting subversive criticism through selected imagery.( While most of the extant Loango tusks in western institutions were evidently commissioned for European clients, the artists who carved the tusks asserted control over the narratives they depicted.( Despite the de-centralized nature of the artists’ workshops across nearly a century, the narratives depicted remained remarkably consistent. The collector Carl Stecklemann who visisted Loango before 1889 suggests that the vignettes on the carved tusks chronicled “stirring events” in a great man’s career and were “carefully studied”, while another account from the 1880s suggests that they were “intended to tell stories and to point morals,” ( One particulary exceptional tusk recreates four postcard images that were photographed by the commissioner of the tusk, German collector Robert Visser. In this tusk, the Loango artist skillfully returned his German surveyors’ surveillance by including a carving showing the latter taking a photo of the site.( The Loango kingdom formally ended in 1883 when its capital was occupied by the French, but its art tradition would continue throughout the colonial and post-colonial era, with Vili artists creating some of the most exquisite tourist souvenirs on the continent. _**detail of a 19th century Loango ivory tusk depicting the harvesting of palm oil, on the right is a postcard by Robert Visser in Loango**_, photos by Smithsonian( _**Carved ivory tusk, made by a congolese artist, ca. 1927, No. TM-5969-203 Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen**_ * * * The African religion of Bori and its Maguzawa Hausa practitioners, are some of the best-documented traditional african practices described by pre-colonial African historians. **Kano's Muslim elite recognized the significance of the traditional Bori faith and the Maguzawa in the city-state's history and ensured that their contributions were documented.** Read more about it here: ( * * * _**If you like this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal**_ ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Paths in the rainforests by Jan Vansina pg 155-156, A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by J. Thornton pg 64) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by J. Thornton pg 65) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by J. Thornton pg 65 ( Paths in the rainforests by Jan Vansina pg 202-204, Kongo: Power and Majesty By Alisa LaGamma pg 75 ( "Por conto e peso” by Mariza de Carvalho Soares pg 71-72, A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by J. Thornton pg 66, Paths in the rainforests by Jan Vansina pg 159) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by J. Thornton pg 137-138, Paths in the rainforests by Jan Vansina pg 159) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by J. Thornton pg 138-139, The External Trade of the Loango Coast, 1576-1870 by Phyllis Martin pg 17-18) ( The Archaeology and Ethnography of Central Africa by James R. Denbow pg 145) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by J. Thornton pg 177) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by J. Thornton pg 178) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by J. Thornton pg 249) ( Trade, Collecting, and Forgetting in the Kongo Coast Friction Zone during the Late Nineteenth Century by Zachary Kingdon pg 29 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by J. Thornton pg 305-306) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by J. Thornton pg 306-307) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by J. Thornton pg 345) ( Paths in the rainforests by Jan Vansina pg 201-202) ( "Por conto e peso” by Mariza de Carvalho Soares 63, 71, A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by J. Thornton pg 138 ( "Por conto e peso” by Mariza de Carvalho Soares pg 73-74) ( Brothers in Arms, Partners in Trade: Dutch-Indigenous Alliances in the Atlantic World, 1595-1674 by Mark Meuwese pg 86-87) ( "Por conto e peso” by Mariza de Carvalho Soares pg 74) ( “Por conto e peso” by Mariza de Carvalho Soares pg 75) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by J. Thornton pg 13,196,Por conto e peso” by Mariza de Carvalho Soares pg 76-77 ( Brothers in Arms, Partners in Trade: Dutch-Indigenous Alliances in the Atlantic World, 1595-1674 by Mark Meuwese pg pg 83-86, A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by J. Thornton pg 134-136) ( The External Trade of the Loango Coast, 1576-1870 by Phyllis Martin pg 71) ( The Universal Traveller Or a Compleat Description of the Several Foreign Nations of the World, Volume 2 by Thomas Salmon pg 401-403 ( Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade by David Eltis pg 137-139, ( Paths in the rainforests by Jan Vansina pg 204, A general collection of voyages and travels, digested by J. Pinkerton, Volume 16, pg 584-586) ( African Voices in the African American Heritage By Betty M. Kuyk pg 32-33, Kongo: Power and Majesty By Alisa LaGamma pg 78, 80) ( African Voices in the African American Heritage By Betty M. Kuyk pg 34-37, Kongo: Power and Majesty By Alisa LaGamma pg 79) ( “Por conto e peso” by Mariza de Carvalho Soares pg 64) ( “Por conto e peso” by Mariza de Carvalho Soares pg 74, The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415–1670 M. D. D. Newitt pg 185-186) ( Kongo: Power and Majesty By Alisa LaGamma pg 80) ( Kongo: Power and Majesty By Alisa LaGamma pg 81) ( Trade, Collecting, and Forgetting in the Kongo Coast Friction Zone during the Late Nineteenth Century by Zachary Kingdon pg 22 ( A Companion to Modern African Art edited by Gitti Salami, pg 64 ( Nineteenth-Century Loango Coast Ivories by della Jenkins ( Trade, Collecting, and Forgetting in the Kongo Coast Friction Zone during the Late Nineteenth Century by Zachary Kingdon pg 22-23 ( A Companion to Modern African Art edited by Gitti Salami, pg 63.

## A History of the Loango Kingdom (ca. 1500-1883): Power, Ivory, and Art in West-Central Africa ### Title and Description - **Title**: A history of the Loango kingdom (ca. 1500-1883): Power, Ivory and Art in west-central Africa. - **Description**: Africa's past carved in ivory. ### Introduction 1. The Loango kingdom dominated the coastal region of west-central Africa between modern Gabon and Congo-Brazzaville for over five centuries. 2. It controlled lucrative trade routes, especially for ivory, which was a significant commodity in both local and international markets. ### Political and Economic History #### Emergence and Development 1. The lower Congo river valley was divided into political units, leading to the rise of the kingdom of Kongo by the end of the 14th century. 2. Loango emerged shortly after Kongo and was likely under Kongo's control in the early 16th century. 3. Njimbe, a nobleman, is credited with establishing the independent kingdom of Loango after conquering neighboring polities. #### Power Structure and Governance 1. After Njimbe’s death in 1565, Loango expanded its coastline control and established port cities, becoming a competitor of Kongo. 2. By 1584, Loango achieved full independence from Kongo and began regular trade inland for commodities such as copper and cloth. 3. The governance system evolved from a centralized monarchical structure to a council-elected leadership system by the late 17th century, diminishing the king’s power. ### External Trade and Economic Structure #### Ivory Trade 1. Loango had a predominantly agricultural economy with craft industries, particularly in textiles and ivory carving. 2. External demand for ivory, copper, and captives prompted intricate trade networks. 3. The Portuguese initially dominated this trade, but eventually, Dutch traders emerged as the primary buyers. #### Transition in Trade Dynamics 1. By the late 17th century, the focus of trade began shifting towards slaves as demand increased. 2. The decline in ivory trade coincided with this shift, resulting in a temporary loss of Loango's prominence in ivory exports. #### Resurgence in the 19th Century 1. The decline of the slave trade in the early 19th century saw a resurgence in ivory and other commodity exports. 2. New trade networks and local artisan markets developed, with ivory carvers gaining new clientele. ### Art and Craftsmanship #### Ivory Carving Tradition 1. The art of ivory carving in Loango had deep historical roots and was notable for its intricate designs and cultural significance. 2. Works included a variety of motifs such as scenes of trade, hunting, and cultural ceremonies, often reflecting contemporary societal changes. #### Clientele and Artistic Techniques 1. Local and foreign patrons commissioned pieces, with specific themes tailored to client preferences. 2. Techniques involved detailed carving processes that transformed tusks into elaborate artworks, ensuring cultural narratives were preserved through art. ### Conclusion 1. The Loango kingdom formally ended in 1883 when French forces occupied its capital, but the ivory art tradition continued. 2. Loango's legacy lives on through its art and the historical significance of its trade and governance systems, contributing to the broader narrative of African history. ### Significance - The history of Loango exemplifies the complexities of political power, trade dynamics, and cultural expression in pre-colonial Africa. - The kingdom’s transition from a regional power to a site of colonial interest highlights the impacts of external forces on indigenous systems and traditions.

A history of the south-western Saharan towns of Tichitt, Walata, Wadan and Chinguetti (800-1912)

Trade and civilization on west-africa's desert frontier

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A history of the south-western Saharan towns of Tichitt, Walata, Wadan and Chinguetti (800-1912) ================================================================================================ ### Trade and civilization on west-africa's desert frontier ( Apr 30, 2023 10 Deep in the desert of the south-western Sahara lie four ancient towns with a rich history that spans over a millennium. The towns of Tichitt, Walata, Wadan, and Chinguetti were important nodes in west Africa's cultural and commercial networks which flourished under the empires of Mali and Songhai. These towns were also centers of Islamic scholarship and learning, attracting scholars and students from across west and North Africa. From the libraries of Chinguetti and Walata to the stone architecture of Wadan and Tichitt, the towns retain some of the best-preserved examples of Saharan architecture and culture. This article explores the history of the south-western Saharan towns, tracing their evolution from bustling trading centers to remote oases in the desert. _**Map showing the old towns of the south-western Sahara**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **The early history of the South-western Sahara and the empire of Ghana** The emergence of towns in the South-western Sahara was closely related with the northern expansion of the Ghana empire from the southern regions of Dia and Kumbi saleh, into the northern territories of Awdaghust around the late 1st millennium( . The Sahara’s southernmost towns of Tichitt and Walata were the first to be settled by Mande-speakers during the second half of the 1st millennium, some centuries after the collapse of the eponymously named Neolithic sites of Dhar Tichitt and Walata.( Walata emerges first as 'Biru', a major commercial hub linking the Saharan markets to the empires of Ghana into which it was later subsumed. Biru displaced the town of Awdaghust after the latter's collapse around the 11th/12th century to the empire of Ghana and the Almoravids. According to the Timbuktu chronicles, it was primarily settled by the Tafrast/Tafaranko people, a Azer/soninke-speaking group that migrated from the west (ie: Awdaghust).( Conversly, Tichitt was settled in the 8th century by the Imansa/Masna, an autochthonous group of Soninke-speakers, who named the oasis after sound of spraying water (shitu). The town was an important node in the regional salt trade that would expand during the Ghana and Mali eras, and was linked to the salt trade of Ijil carried out by the Azer.( _**Walata and Tichitt in the empire of Ghana**_ The ethnonym Azer/Azayr appears frequently in the early history of the old towns in the south-western Sahara. Azer is described as a "commercial idiom" identifying groups of salt traders active between the salt mine of Ijil to the towns of Wadan, Chinguetti, Tichitt, Walata and Awdaghust. Azer is a primarily soninke language but contains words borrowed from Berber languages, It was spoken by salt traders of Mande origin settled in and around the south-western Saharan towns, who constituted a commercial diaspora that was analogous to the closely related Wangara gold traders of west Africa.( Oral tradition identifies a group known as the Maxibinnu as residents of Tichitt who carried were commercial agents of the king of Ghana in Ijil during the early 2nd millennium. The 1506 account of Duarte Pacheco also mentions the "Ezarziguy" in the town of "Audem", which have both been identified as ‘Azayr’ and ‘Wadan’ —the latter being a major town where the Portuguese would briefly establish a factory. The Azer-dominated Wadan was at the time surrounded by the "Azenegues" (zenata Berbers), who would later be joined by Bannu Hassan Arab-speakers to form the three main groups of the south-western Saharan towns.( The Azer thus constituted the predominant autochthonous groups in the early history of the more northerly towns of Wadan and Chinguetti which were first established around the turn of the 2nd millennium. The former town, as described above in the Portuguese account, was primarily settled by Azer merchants who traded gold from west Africa (although supplies were declining following the founding of el-Mina). Chinguetti was also settled by Azer speakers, the town's name being derived from an Azer phrase 'shi-n-gede' meaning 'the horses' springs. The town was preceded by an earlier settlement known as Abyair, inhabited by the Bàfùr, an agriculturalist group of Mande origin.( _**Walata**_ _**Ruins of Wadan**_ * * * ( * * * **The Mali era in the south-western Sahara. (13th-15th century)** The rise of the empire of Mali brought major political and social changes in the south-western Sahara. The empire extended its control over most parts of the region, particulary Walata and Tichitt, the former of which was under the control of an appointed official that in the 14th century was named Farbā Ḥusayn.( The towns would be transformed into major commercial and scholary hubs that lay along important pilgrimage routes (such as the one used by Mansa Musa), leading to further migration of scholars from west and north Africa into the towns. The largest town in the region was Walata, which in the 14th century was refered to as _**“the first district of the Sudan"**_ by Ibn Battuta, who called it 'Iwalatan'. The town had became a center of scholarship, leading to an influx of 'Berber' clans that was reflected in the change of its name to the berber word Iwalatan, although the name 'Biru' remained in use in the 17th century. _**“caravans came from all directions and the cream of scholars and holymen, and the wealthy from every clan and land settled there – men from Egypt, Awjila, Fezzan, Ghadames, Tuwat, Fez, Sus, Bitu**_ \_**."**_( Besides Walata, the towns of Chinguetti, Tichitt and Wadan were also home to important scholars who were active in Timbuktu during the late Mali era and the early Songhai era. There are atleast two scholars from Tichitt and Chinguetti identified in Timbuktu during the late 15th to early 16th century. Chinguetti was the origin of Muhammad-n-Allah, the governor of Timbuktu during its brief Tuareg occupation in the late 15th century, while Tichitt was the origin of Uthman al-Hassan al-Tishit, who later served as imam of the Great Mosque in the mid 1500s before the office went to the Gidado family of Fulbe origin.( This early period of scholarly prominence for the towns coincides with the semi-legendary accounts about their "founding" by Saharan scholars who claimed sharifan origins. With a scholar named al-Hàjj ‘Uthmàn reportedly settling at Wadan, another named ‘Abd al-Mù’min ibn Íàli˙ settling at Tichitt, shortly before others would settle at Chinguetti. However, these accounts which were written during the 19th century were reconstructions of the region's history in response to contemporary changes in political organization and cultural identities of the scholary elites. ( The oldest mosques of the towns of Tichitt, Chinguetti and Wadan are also traditionally dated to the 12th-13th century when the towns were supposedly "founded", although its more likely that they were built a few centuries later. Save for Wadan which had two mosques, each town had one mosque prior to the 19th century. These mosques are generally rectangular buildings of dry-stone covered with mud plaster, they have tall minarets and flat roofs supported by columns. Most of the mosques went into ruin around the 17th century before some repairs and extensions were undertaken in the 19th century, eg the minaret of Tichitt, which is securely dated to 1842.( _**Chinguetti Mosque, Plan of the mosque**_ _**Tichitt mosque and minaret.**_( _**15th century mosque of Wadan**_ * * * **The Songhai era in the South-western Sahara: 15th-16th century** Walata was eclipsed by Timbuktu as the main Saharan entreport during the Songhai era in the late 15th. The town was sacked by the Mossi forces of the Yatenga kingdom in 1480 but would later become a refuge for the Sankore scholars of Timbuktu who were being pursued by the Songhai founder Sunni Ali. Walata was later taken by Songhai forces during the reign of Askiya Muhammad and its scholars returned in droves to Timbuktu. _**"Timbuktu's growth brought about the ruin of Walata, for its development, as regards both religion and commerce, came entirely from the west".**_( In the Songhai era, the town of Walata was home to a Songhai administrator, likely serving as a capital of the region encompassing the territory from Wadan to Tichitt. According to Leo Africanus who identifies Walata as a province of Songhai, the chief of Walata fled from the Askiya's armies when the latter attacked the town but couldn't occupy it. The chief later become tributary to the Askiya but the town was less commercially important than the cities of Jenne and Timbuktu, with some modest trade in grain.( The town of Wadan was likely under the Songhai control as well. It was a major cosmopolitan hub with a population of about 5,000 that included a small Jewish quarter. In 1487, a Portuguese factor named Rodrigo Reinel was sent by King John II to establish a 'factory' at Wadan, where he was to be assisted by Diego Borges and Gonçalo d'Antas. This was part of a mission intended for the '_**rey de Tungubutu**_' (ie Sunni Ali of Songhai), and was likely authorized by him since he was campaigning in the south-western Sahara at the time. But the factory was abandoned shortly after because the Berbers surrounding the town proved unwelcoming, forcing Rodrigo and his companions to flee.( The town of Shiqit appears briefly in contemporary writing as "_**singuyty**_" but unlike its peers, it was reportedly under the control of the "_**Arabs called Ludea**_ " (ie: the Ūday of the Awlad Hassan tribe) who were also mentioned by Leo Africanus as occupying the desert between Walata and Wadan. Indicating that the nothern towns of Wadan and Chinguetti weren't fully under the political orbit of Songhai.( Besides provisioning caravans with agricultural produce, Chinguetti’s main commerce at this time was the salt trade from the salt pans of Ijil and Taghaza which it directed southwards to Tichitt. As one scholar described the 15th century trade between the towns; _**"There once left Shinqit a caravan of 32,000 camels loaded with salt, of which20,000 belonged to the people of Shinqit and 12,000 belonged to the people of Tishit. All these loads were sold in Diara. The people were seized with admiration and wondered which of the two cities was most prosperous."**_ The salt mine of Taghaza would later become a flashpoint in the conflict between Songhai and Morocco. ( _**The principle salt routes and salt sources ca. 1000-1700**_( * * * **The Moroccan era in the South-western Sahara (1593-1698)** In 1543, a Moroccan expedition sent against Songhai reached Wadan but retreated before the Songhai army reached it. The first expedition to Songhai by the Moroccan forces of al-Mansur (r. 1578-1603) was sent in the direction of Wadan in 1584 but the expedition failed, and the army was dispersed _**"through hunger and thirst"**_. A second expedition would later be sent to Taghaza in 1585-6. After the fall of Songhai in the third Moroccan expedition of 1591, Wadan and Walata led the delegation representing the 'western towns' that submited to the Moroccan sultan around 1593. This would have doubtlessly included Tichitt and Chinguetti although neither of these appear in Moroccan accounts until the 17th century. ( Morocco lost its west African dependencies in the 1620s, during the reign of al-Mansur's sucessor Zidan Abu Maali and later descended into internecine conflict. The south-western towns were thus virtually autonomous, controlled by the scholary elites and the desert confederations. In Wadan, part of the Idaw al-Hajj (descendants of al-Hajj Uthman) would find themselves in conflict with other desert tribes such as the Idaw Aly who had fled Chinguetti in the 1660s.( The 17th century period of the south-western Saharan is poorly documented, but there are indications that the towns entered a period of gradual decline and entire communities migrated southward. There's mention of a trade caravan from Walata which was lost in the desert around 1680. There are also indications that the Moroccans attempted to extend into the southern Saharan, the Moroccan kingdom had been restored by Moulay Ismail (1672-1727) whose armies marched south in 1678, reaching as far as Chinguetti, and In 1689, the Sultan reportedly led a large expedition that reached Chinguetti and Tichitt. However, recent research has cast doubt on the extent of these expeditions, or if they were ever undertaken at all.( _**Old Tower/minaret of Oudane**_ _**Tichitt, Old town**_ * * * ( * * * **The south-western Sahara from the 18th century to 1912: The emirates of Adrar and Tagant.** The south-western Sahara was for most of the 18th and 19th century under the control of loose confederations of tribal groups ruled by 'emirs', with the emirates of Adrar and Tagant in the north, while Brakna and Trarza were in the south. The emirs often came from leading Berber and Arab lineage groups. For example, the Idaw 'Ish exercised some control over the town of Tichitt, while power in Adrar oscillated between the three groups of the Idaw al-Hajj, the Kunta and the Idaw Ali, whose territories included the towns of Wadan and Chinguetti among others.( _**Map showing the emirates of the south-western Sahara in the 18th-19th century.**_( The leading lineage groups also doubled as scholars with extensive commercial interests. This social structure was epitomized by the Kunta who are were active between Wadan and Walata, and established a ‘capital’ in the Tagant region at Ksar el Barka around 1690 and at ‘rashid’ in 1765. ( Similar merchant-scholar families emerged in the towns especially in Chinguetti, heralding an intellectual revival. Scholars from Adrar and Tagant built up large libraries that included books they composed locally as well as those purchased while travelling across north Africa. The best known of these libraries are the 19th century libraries of 'Dàddah wuld Idda' in Tichitt and Sìdì Muhammad wuld Habut in Chinguetti. By the 20th century, there were over 300 private libraries with more than 30,000 manuscripts across southern Mauritania, many of which were established prior to the colonial era.( The town of Chinguetti in particular became an important point of departure for Saharan pilgrims heading to mecca. Writing in the 1790s, Sìdì ‘Abdallah al-Hàjj Ibràhìm explains that camel carravans from across west Africa and the southern Sahara would travel each year from Chinguetti to Mecca, adding that "Sometimes the entire household, even the children, undertakes the pilgrimage" This is reflected in the popularity of the nisba 'al-shinqit' used by scholars from the south-western Sahara when they reached Arabia( _**Private library in Chinguetti**_( Around 1766, the Kunta captured the salt mine of Ijil, and shortly after, they settled in the town of Wadan but the town had since been depopulated by internecine warfare. The commercial center of the region had shifted to Chinguetti which continued to trade with Tichitt, Walata and the other Saharan towns. Although none of these were controlled by the Kunta, they controlled the most lucrative trade routes connecting the towns.( The Saharan towns continued their gradual decline into the 18th and 19th century as populations moved further south. The town of Wadan was the most affected, with a population of just 1,600 in the 1850s compared to Chinguetti’s 2,500. The depopulation was also significant in Walata which had just 1,000 residents in the 1850s, although Tichitt retained a significant number of its residents with a population of 3,000. ( Tichitt appears to have escaped the political and cultural shifts affecting the nothern towns. But in the 1780s, there had been a major outmigration from Tichitt by the Masna likely connected to the northern arrival of the Awlad Billa, a berber group. This wouldn't be reversed until 1850, when the Masna succeeded in driving out nearly all the Awlad Billa. The Masna remained in control of the town's lucrative salt trade from local mines, which they traded with the towns of western Mali where they constituted an important commercial diaspora.( Conversly, the scholary elite of Tichitt also engaged in carravan trade, especially with the Massina empire and the neighboring Mande kingdoms such as Kaarta. After a carravan from Tichitt was captured by the Massina empire’s forces during a war with Kaarta during the 1820s, the Tichitt scholar Amhad al-Saghir wrote on behalf of his people that : _**"Tishit is the center of this land, all the people come to Tishit to seek knowledge but it has no markets to obtain supplies. And the region of Kaarta is the granary of the people of Tishit"**_. The Massina wars and the Awlad Billa disrupted trade which was only restored in the 1850s when the Massina was conquered by the Tukulor empire.( The south-western Sahara political upheaval continued for most of the 19th century, save for the brief period between 1872 and 1892 when the emir Ahmad Wuld Lemhammad came to power in the Adrar region. He brokered a settlement between the various Emirs of Taganit, Trarza, Brakna and the Moroccan sultan. But this didn't fully guarantee the security of the carravan trade and travel across the region, especially not for the southern towns of Walata and Tichitt.( In the late 19th century, the French who were active in the Senegal valley gradually brought the southernmost emirates of Brakna and Trarza under their political orbit after a series of wars. But following a failed attempt to expand into the Tagant in 1905, the French forces invaded both Tagant and Adrar where they were met with stiff resistance. After a lengthy series of colonial wars, the towns of Wadan and Chinguetti were occupied in 1909, while Walata and Tichitt were taken in 1912.( _**Ruins of Wadan**_( * * * Descriptions of African traditional religions are rarely found in the accounts of African writers who were mostly Muslim, but in the city-state of Kano, local chronicles provide the most detailed descriptions of local African religions and elites whom they credit for playing an important role in the city’s history. Read more about it here: ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Previously covered in greater detail here; [State building in ancient west Africa: from the Tichitt neolithic civilization to the empire of Ghana (2,200BC-1250AD)\ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------]( ( · March 27, 2022 ( ( ( Urbanisation and State Formation in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond edited by Martin Sterry, David J. Mattingly pg 320, 498-504, On Trans-Saharan Trails By Ghislaine Lydon pg 84) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 31 n.17) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 31, n.16) ( On Trans-Saharan Trails By Ghislaine Lydon pg 64, Salts of the Western Sahara: Myths, Mysteries, and Historical Significance by E. Ann McDougall pg 249) ( Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis by Duarte Pacheco Pereira pg 75, Salts of the Western Sahara: Myths, Mysteries, and Historical Significance by E. Ann McDougall pg 248-249) ( On Trans-Saharan Trails By Ghislaine Lydon pg 81-82, Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 31 The Transmission of Learning in Islamic Africa by Scott Steven Reese pg 44, n.14, Desert Frontier By James L. A. Webb pg 28) ( African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa by Michael A. Gomez pg 86, 95, 125 ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 30, 34, 93 18 n.4) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 31, 86, 153) ( Desert frontier By James L. A. Webb pg 16-17, The Transmission of Learning in Islamic Africa by Scott Steven Reese pg 44-45) ( Historic Mosques in Sub-Saharan Africa by Stéphane Pradines pg 54-55, Making and Remaking Mosques in Senegal By Cleo Cantone pg 48 ( photo taken from ( ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 30, 97-99, 219) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 275-277) ( Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis by Duarte Pacheco Pereira pg 75, L'Asia del s. Giouanni di Barros pg 258, On Trans-Saharan Trails By Ghislaine Lydon pg 81-82, 87) ( Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis by Duarte Pacheco Pereira pg 75, The Arab Conquest of the Western Sahara by by H. T. Norris pg 43) ( On Trans-Saharan Trails By Ghislaine Lydon pg 84-5) ( map by Ann McDougall ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 166-167, 276-277, Desert frontier By James L. A. Webb pg 47) ( Desert frontier By James L. A. Webb pg 48-51, On Trans-Saharan Trails By Ghislaine Lydo pg 82, 94,The Transmission of Learning in Islamic Africa by Scott Steven Reese pg 45-46 ( Landscapes, Sources and Intellectual Projects of the West African Past pg 146-152 ( La région du Tagant en Mauritanie: L'oasis de Tijigja entre 1660 et 1960 By Abdallah Ould Khalifa pg 65-67, 193-208, Nomads of Mauritania By Diane Himpan Sabatier, Brigitte Himpan pg 136-140 ( Map taken from; On Trans-Saharan Trails By Ghislaine Lydon ( Desert frontier By James L. A. Webb pg 50-51, The economics of Islam in the southern Sahara by E. Ann McDougall pg 50-54 ( The Transmission of Learning in Islamic Africa by Scott Steven Reese pg 39-62 ( The Transmission of Learning in Islamic Africa by Scott Steven Reese pg 43) ( Photo by Marco Longari AFP/GettyImages ( Desert frontier By James L. A. Webb pg 56-57, On Trans-Saharan Trails By Ghislaine Lydon pg 97-98 ( On Trans-Saharan Trails By Ghislaine Lydon pg 152-153 ( Desert frontier By James L. A. Webb pg 61-62, On Trans-Saharan Trails By Ghislaine Lydon pg 154 ( On Trans-Saharan Trails By Ghislaine Lydon pg 115-116, 118 ( On Trans-Saharan Trails By Ghislaine Lydon pg 126-127 ( Nomads of Mauritania By Diane Himpan Sabatier, Brigitte Himpan pg 145-149)

**Title:** A History of the South-Western Saharan Towns of Tichitt, Walata, Wadan, and Chinguetti (800-1912) **Description:** Trade and Civilization on West Africa's Desert Frontier --- ### Introduction 1. **Geographic Context** - The towns of Tichitt, Walata, Wadan, and Chinguetti are located deep in the south-western Sahara. - These towns have a rich history that spans over a millennium, playing crucial roles in West Africa's cultural and commercial networks. 2. **Cultural Significance** - The towns flourished under the Mali and Songhai empires, serving as centers of Islamic scholarship. - They attracted scholars and students from across West and North Africa, becoming renowned for their libraries and unique stone architecture. --- ### Early History and the Empire of Ghana (800-1250) 3. **Settlement of Tichitt and Walata** - Tichitt and Walata were first settled by Mande-speakers in the second half of the 1st millennium. - Walata emerged as 'Biru,' a commercial hub that linked Saharan markets to the Ghana Empire. - Tichitt was settled in the 8th century by the autochthonous Imansa/Masna group, crucial for the regional salt trade. 4. **Economic Role of the Azer** - The Azer, a group of Soninke-speaking salt traders, were prominently involved in trade between the salt mines of Ijil and the towns mentioned. - They formed a commercial diaspora akin to the Wangara gold traders in West Africa. 5. **Cultural Identity of the Towns** - Walata served as a major commercial center after the fall of Awdaghust. - Tichitt's name derives from "shitu," referring to the sound of spraying water, highlighting its oasis nature. --- ### The Mali Era (13th-15th Century) 6. **Political Changes** - The rise of the Mali Empire transformed Walata and Tichitt into important commercial and scholarly hubs. - Walata, referred to by Ibn Battuta as "the first district of the Sudan," became a center of scholarship. 7. **Migration of Scholars** - During this era, many scholars from various regions migrated to these towns, enriching the intellectual landscape. - Mosques were built, with architecture reflecting the region's Islamic influence. --- ### The Songhai Era (15th-16th Century) 8. **Impact of Timbuktu's Growth** - Walata was overshadowed by Timbuktu as a key urban center; it experienced several invasions and changes in control. - Scholars returned to Walata after the Songhai invasion, indicating its ongoing importance in the network of Saharan trade. 9. **Trade Networks** - Chinguetti thrived in the salt trade, with caravans carrying large quantities of salt to local markets. - The trade routes connected Chinguetti with Tichitt and Walata, facilitating commerce even as political control shifted. --- ### The Moroccan Era (1593-1698) 10. **Moroccan Expeditions** - Moroccan armies attempted to exert control over the region after the fall of Songhai, leading to the submission of Wadan and Walata around 1593. - The region became increasingly autonomous as Moroccan influence waned. 11. **Local Conflicts** - Various tribal groups began to exert control, with significant social and political upheaval affecting the towns' stability and trade. --- ### 18th Century to 1912: The Emergence of Emirates 12. **Rise of Emirates** - Loose confederations of tribal groups emerged, leading to the establishment of powerful emirates in the north and south. - The Kunta and other lineage groups shaped the region's political landscape. 13. **Cultural Flourishing** - The towns experienced a revival in scholarship and trade, with the establishment of libraries containing thousands of manuscripts. 14. **Decline of Towns** - By the late 19th century, depopulation affected towns like Wadan and Walata due to internal conflicts and trade disruptions. - French colonial expansion led to military interventions, ultimately resulting in the occupation of the towns between 1909 and 1912. --- ### Conclusion 15. **Legacy of the Towns** - The towns of Tichitt, Walata, Wadan, and Chinguetti hold historical significance as centers of trade, culture, and scholarship in the Sahara. - Their evolution from bustling trade centers to diminished settlements reflects broader socio-political changes in West Africa from 800 to 1912.

The complete history of Kano (999-1903) - by isaac Samuel

journal of African cities chapter 9

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The complete history of Kano (999-1903) ======================================= ### journal of African cities chapter 9 ( Apr 23, 2023 21 The Hausa city of Kano is one of west Africa's oldest and best documented capitals, with a long and complex political history dating back nearly a thousand years. The city-state was ruled by a series of powerful dynasties which transformed it into a major cosmopolitan hub, attracting merchants, scholars and settlers from across west Africa. Wedged between the vast empires of Mali, Songhai and Bornu, the history of Kano was invariably influenced by the interactions between exogenous and endogenous political processes. Kano managed to maintain its autonomy for most of its history until it fell under the empire of Sokoto around 1807 when the city-state was turned into an emirate with an appointed ruler. It would thereafter remain a province of Sokoto with varying degrees of autonomy until the British colonization of the region in 1903. This article outlines the political history of Kano, highlighting the main events that occurred under each successive king. _**Map of west africa showing the location of Kano state in the 18th century( **_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * The early history of Kano, like the Hausa city-states begun around the turn of the 2nd millennium following the expansion of nucleated communities of agro-pastoral Chadic speakers into the region west of lake chad. The earliest of such complex societies within what would later become Kano was established around the Dalla Hill, and its from this and similar communities that the walled urban states of Hausa speakers would emerge.( This early history of Kano is mostly based on the faint memories preserved in later chronicles, as well as archeological surveys of the walls of Kano, both of which place the city’s emergence around the 11th/12th century( .A few of the earliest Sarki (King) of Kano that are recorded in the Kano chronicle (Bagauda r. 999-1063, and Warisi r. 1063-1095) seem to have been legendary figures, as more detailed descriptions of events during their reign don’t appear until the reign of Warsi’s sucessor Gijimasu (r. 1095-1134) who is credited with several conquests. ( During Gijimasu's reign, the emerging Hausa polities at Rano, Gaya and Dutse were also expanding in the regions south of Kano, and their rulers constructed defensive walls like Kano’s from which they subsumed nearby communities. Besides these competitors that Gijimasu's young state faced were also many polities like Santolo, that are identified as non-Muslim. But its unclear if Islam had already been adopted by Gijimasu’s kano at this early stage since the first Muslim king —Usumanu— appears in the 14th century.( _**the inselberg of Dalla in Kano**_ _**city walls of Kano**_ Gijimasu was suceeded by Yusa (1136-1194) who expanded Kano westward to the town of Farin ruwa in what would become the border with Katsina. Yusa's sucessor Naguji (1194-1247) expanded Kano to the south-east beyond Dutse and Gaya, down to the town of Santolo. Naguji's sucessor Guguwa (1247-1290) spent most of his reign consolidating the state, and contending with the traditional elites but was ultimately deposed.( Guguwa was suceeded by Shekarau (1290-1307) who was also pre-occupied with reducing the power of the traditional elite with the dynastic title of Samagi, but was forced to tolerate them in exchange for tribute. It was under his successor Tsamiya (1307-1343) that the power of the Samagi and other traditional elites was reduced, and their administration placed under three appointees (including the Sarkin Cibiri) whose authority was derived from Tsamiya.( Usumanu Zamnagawa suceeded Tsamiya after a executing the latter in a violent succession. Usumanu's reign (1343-1349) coincided with the period of the Mali empire's expansion eastwards beyond the bend of the Niger river. He subsumed allied traditional elites like the Rumawa under his adminsitration but others like the Maguzawa retreated to the frontier.( A recurring theme in the Hausa chronicles of the 19th century is the dichotomous relationship between the gradually Islamizing population and the non-muslim groups, both within Kano's domains and outside it.( Many Hausa traditional religions and elite groups are described at various points in different accounts, and like their muslim-Hausa peers, none of the non-muslim Hausa communities represented a unified whole, but appear to have been autonomous communities whose political interests of expansion and consolidation mirrored that of the Muslim Hausa. The classifications of different groups as ‘Muslim’ or ‘non-muslim’ is therefore unlikely to have been fixed, and would have been increasingly contested as Islam became established as the official religion of Kano.( Usumanu was succeeded by Yaji who welcomed the Wangarawa (wangara) from Mali who were appointed in the administration, and instituted the offices of imam, alkali (judge) and ladan. Yaji reduced the stronghold of the last traditional elites at Santolo, and campaigned southwards to the territories of the Kworarafa (jukun) which was likely where he ultimately died. It was under Yaji that the Hausa city of Rano came under Kano's suzeranity.( _**Approximate extent of Kano during Yaji’s reign.**_ * * * ( * * * Yaji was suceeded by Bugaya (1385-1390) who managed to integrate Maguzawa into his administration under an appointed chief. Bugaya added several offices to accommodate the expanding state's administration and Islam's institutionalization. He was suceeded by Kanajeji (1390-1410) who, through his wangarawa allies, created a force of heavy cavalry and campaigned to the territories of the Jukun, Mbutawa and Zazzau (Zaria) with rather mixed results.( After consulting with his Sarkin Cibiri who advised him to reinstate the cult inorder to acquire battle success. Kanejiji thus reduced the influence of the wangarawa and Islam at his court in exchange for military assistance from the levies controlled by the Sarkin Cibiri. Kanejiji's campaign against Zaria was successful but the borders of Kano remained unchanged. Kanejiji was suceeded by Umaru (1410-1421) who had studied under the wangara named Dan Gurdamus Ibrahimu and thus reinstated the influence of the wangara and Islam at his court upon his ascension.( Umaru reduced the power of the non-Muslim elite (presumably the Sarkin cibiri). Umaru's assumption of power was resented by his friend Abubakar, a scholar from Bornu who advised him to abdicate twice before Umaru finally relented in 1421, and both retired outside the city walls. Umaru was suceeded by Dawuda (r. 1421-1438) who invited the deposed Bornu prince Othman Kalnama into kano, and left the state under him while he was campaigning against Zaria.( Zaria under princess Amina, had expanded across the southern frontier of Kano, taking over much of the tribute it had received from the Jukun territories. Dawuda was however, unable to restore Kano's suzeranity over the Jukun. He was suceeded by Abdullahi Burja (r. 1438-1452) under whose reign Kano came under the suzeranity of the Bornu empire. Burja subsumed the hausa cities of Dutse and Miga which became tributary to Kano, and established the market of Karabka with the assistance of Othman Kalnama.( It was during his reign that the Wangara scholary family of Abd al-Rahmán Jakhite arrived in Kano from Mali and would retain a prominent position in the ulama of Kano.( Burja was briefly suceeded by two obscure figures; Dakauta and Atuma before the accession of Yakubu in 1452. Yakubu had been installed with the support of Gaya, which had submitted peacefully to Kano, and it was during his reign that Kano acquired its fully cosmopolitan character. As the chronicle mentions; _**"In Yakubu's time, the Fulani came to Hausa land from Mali bringing with them books on divinity and etymology. Formerly our doctors had, in addition to the Koran, only books of the Law and traditions. The Fulani passed by and went to bornu, leaving few men in Hausaland. At this time too the Asbenawa (Tuareg) came to Gobir and salt became common in Hausaland. In the following year merchnats from Gwanja (Gonja) began coming to Katsina; Beriberi came in large numbers and a colony of Arabs arrived."**_ Evidently, most of these connections had already been established especially with the regions of Mali and Gonja, and they were only intensified during Yakubu's reign.( Yakubu was suceeded by Muhammad Rumfa (r. 1463-1499) who fundamentally reorganized Kano's political institutions. Rumfa is credited with several innovations in Kano including the creation of a state council, the construction of two palaces, a market, and the expansion of the city walls. Other innovations including the creation of new administrative offices, the adoption of Bornu-style royal regalia and the creation of a new military units and the institution of the religious festivals. [African History Extra\ \ Negotiating power in medieval west-Africa: King Rumfa of Kano (1466-1499AD) between the empires of Songhai and Kanem-Bornu\ \ The 16th century was the zenith of imperial expansion in west Africa. Viewed from the perspective of the two dominant empires of Songhai and Kanem-bornu, more than half the population of west Africa were citizens of just two states with a combined size of over 2 million square kilometers, a west African merchant, pilgrim or scholar could travel from Kan…\ \ Read more\ \ 3 years ago · 7 likes · isaac Samuel]( During Rumfa's reign, the magrebian scholar al-Maghili was invited to Kano around 1493 as part of his sojourn in west Africa after having been expelled from his home in southern Algeria. Al-Maghili was personally hosted by Rumfa who provided the former with houses, supplies and servants.( Al-Maghili wrote an important letter addressed to Muhammad ibn Yakubu (ie: Rumfa) in 1492 during his stay in Kano, and would later compose a work titled "the obligation of Princes" at Rumfa's request. Rumfa spent the rest of his reign fighting an inconclusive war with Katsina.( Rumfa was suceeded by Abdullahi (1499-1509), who was the son of Hauwa, a consort of Rumfa who later became a prominent political figure and was given the office of Queen mother. While Abdullahi was campaigning against Katsina and Zaria, Hauwa restrained the power of Othman Kalnama's sucessor Dagaci, who attempted to seize the throne. Abdullahi renewed his submission to the Bornu ruler for attacking the latter's vassals, before expelling Dagaci for his insubordination. Both Katsina and Zaria would later band together in an alliance against Kano shortly before Abdullahi's death.( Muhammadu Kisoke (r. 1509-1565) suceeded Abdullahi and inherited the latter's conflict with Katsina and Zaria which now acquired much larger regional significance. The expansionist empire of Songhai under Askiya Muhammad, which had advanced beyond the region of Borgu and Bussa, begun making incursions into the Hausalands. Between 1512-1514, the Askiya allied with Katsina and Zaria to overrun Kano before conquering all three states, but a rebellion by his general named Kanta around 1516 resulted in all three falling under Kanta's empire based at kebbi. Kisoke likely served as the Kanta's deputy until the latter's passing around 1550.( Kisoke later freed himself from Kebbi's suzeranity and refused to submit to Bornu, managing to repel an attack on Kano by the latter in the 1550s. Kano was then fully independent after over a century of imperial domination and Kisoke credited many of his councilors for this accomplishment.( He also invited more scholars to Kano including the Bornu scholars Korsiki, Kabi and Magumi (the last of whom became the alkali) as well as the Timbuktu scholar Umar Aqit, and the Maghrebian scholars Makhluf al-Balbali, Atunashe and Abdusallam. All of these are variously credited with bringing with them books on law eg the al-Mudawwana of Shanun.( It was during Kisoke’s reign that Kano first appeared in external accounts. Its earliest mention was by Leo Africanus whose 1550 description and map of Africa included the other Hausa city-states neighboring Kano was most likely obtained from informants at Gao or Timbuktu.( An identical description was provided by the geographer Lorenzo d'Anania in 1573 based off information he received while he was on the west African coast. Hewrote of Kano, with its large stone walls, as one of the three cities of Africa (together with Fez and Cairo) where one could purchase any item.( _**Gidan Rumfa, the 15th century palace of Kano**_ _**detail from Leo Africanus’ 16th century map of Africa showing atleast 4 Hausa cities including Cano (Kano)**_ * * * Kisoke was briefly suceeded by Yafuku and Dauda Abasama. Both of them were however deposed by the council in favor of Abubakar Kado (r. 1565-1573) whose reign reflected the internal divisions between several powerful factions in Kano. The state was invaded by Katsina, and the ineffective but devout Kado spent most of his time studying. Kado was deposed and Muhammad Shashere (1573-1582) was appointed in his place. But the internal divisions persisted, Shashere led a failed battle against Katsina, was abandoned and nearly assassinated, and was later deposed.( Shashere was suceeded by Muhammadu Zaki (1582-1618). Zaki was faced with the first of the Jukun invasions in 1600 which, along with minor incursions from Katsina, devastated Kano and intensified the period of famine that would last 11 years. Zaki successfully attacked Katsina but died in the frontier town of Karaye. He was suceeded by Muhamman Nazaki (1618-1623) who defeated the Katsina army while one of his officers, the Wambai Giwa repaired and expanded Kano's walls. ( Nazaki was suceeded by Muhammad Alwali Katumbi (1623-1648) The latter continued Kano's war with Katsina all while he elevated and reduced the power of individual offices to preserve central control. He demoted the Wambai Giwa, elevating the Kalina Atuman and the Dawaki Koshi, before both were tactically eliminated. He introduced taxes on the itinerant herdsmen, and created more offices of adminsitration. Kutumbi died in 1648 after a failed attack on Katsina, and was briefly suceeded by Alhaji and Shekarau (1648-1651), the latter of whom made peace with Katsina.( Shekarau was suceeded by Kukuna (1651-1660) who managed to crush a brief coup early in his reign using the support of his councilors. However, Kano was shortly after attacked by the Jukun and Kukuna was forced to abandon the capital. Weakened by defeat, Kukuna employed the services of the Maguzawa (one of the non-muslim groups) and the Limam Yandoya (a muslim priest), but, failing to secure his power, he was deposed( . The chronicle of the wangara of Kano was written at the start of his reign.( Kukuna was suceeded by Bawa (1660-1670) a devout figure who spent his time studying while the councilors ran the state. Bawa was suceeded by Dadi (1670-1703) who had to contend with the power of the council. His attempt to expand the city was hindered by local clerics supported by the council, so when the Jukun marched against Kano around 1672 but Dadi was prevented from mustering his forces to meet them. Under the galadima Kofakani's influence, Dadi briefly restored the Chibiri and Bundu cult sites, before removing them. The ruler of the town of Gaya rebelled but was executed by Dadi who appointed a loyalist in his place.( Dadi was suceeded by Muhammadu Sharefa (1703-1731) who spent most of his reign crushing rebellions and fending off a major invasion from Zamfara's ruler Yakuba Dan Baba. After surviving the attack by Zamfara, Sharefa introduced new taxes/levies across the state in response to the introduction of cowries (from the Atlantic) and partly to pay for the fortification works undertaken during his reign. His sucessor, Kumbari (1731-1743) also spent his reign crushing rebellions, notably at Dutse, and fending off a major invasion from Gobir.( Kumbari greatly expanded the taxation policy of his predecessor, especially after the re-imposition of Bornu's suzeranity over kano in 1734. The tax burden imposed on all sections of society forced the merchants to flee to Katsina and the poorer classes to retreat to the countryside. Kumbari was suceeded by Alhaji Kabe (1743-1753) who suceeded in consolidating Kano's internal politics but had to contend with an attack by Gobir. Kabe was succeeded by Yaji ii (1753-1768) who was largely a figured of the councilors that had elected him and wielded little authority.( Yaji used the little influence he had to appoint a trader named Dan Mama as the ciroma (crown prince), giving the latter substantial fief holdings that allowed him to raise cavalry units and accumulate wealth to influence the council. Yaji thus secured the continuity of his line, and was succeeded by his son Babba Zaki (r. 1768-1776) who greatly centralized political and military power at the expense of the council and other elites whose power was reduced. He created a guard of musketeers and expanded the state through his conquests, notably of Burumburum.( _**approximate extent of Kano during the 18th century**_ Zaki was suceeded by Dauda Abasama (r. 1776-1781) who restored the power of the council and the Galadima, and his reign was relatively peaceful. Dauda was suceeded by Alwali (r. 1781-1807) who would be the last Hausa king of Kano. Alwali was faced with several endogenous and exogenous challenges including the persistent cowrie inflation, a populace disaffected with the high taxation and a growing politico-religious movement led by Fulbe clerics led by the Sokoto founder Uthman Fodio, who were opposed to Alwali’s government. [African History Extra\ \ The last king of Kano: Alwali II at the dawn of West Africa's age of revolution (1781–1807)\ \ The fall of Songhai to Morrocco in 1591 was succeeded by a over a century of political and social upheaval in west Africa, the Niger River Valley from Jenne to Timbuktu - which comprised the old core of the medial empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhai- became a backwater while the previously peripheral regions in what was Songhai's southwest and south east…\ \ Read more\ \ 3 years ago · 4 likes · 4 comments · isaac Samuel]( After a lengthy period of war from 1804-1807 that culminated with the battle of Dan Yaya, Alwali's forces were defeated by the Fulbe forces and the king was forced to flee to Zaria. Alwali later moved to Burumburum and instructed his only remaining loyal vassal at Gaya to attack the Fulbe forces led by a Fulbe general named Muhammad Bakatsine, but the Gaya forces were defeated. Bakatsine then turned to Burumburum and defeated the forces of Aklwali, with only the latter's son, Umaru, escaping to Damagaram to find other deposed Hausa kings who would later establish the city-state of Maradi.( The office of Sarki (sultan/King) was abolished as the city-state was now one of several provinces under the Sokoto caliphate of Uthman Fodio. The Sarki was now replaced by an 'Emir' appointed by the Sokoto leaders, and several months after the battle of Dan Yaya, a fulbe imam named Suleimanu (r. 1808-1819) was chosen as emir of Kano. Suleimanu was of humble background and hadn't participated in the wars of conquest, so he was generally despised by the Fulbe aristocracy of Kano. This was compounded by the aristocracy's revival of the pre-existing Hausa institutions that undermined central authority of the Sarki while raising that of the councilors and provincial lords. Suleimanu died in 1819, reportedly after he had chosen the Galadima, Ibrahim Dabo as his heir and communicated this to Muhammad Bello, the sucessor of Uthman Fodio.( Ibrahim Dabo (r. 1819-1846) begun his reign from an unfavorable position, facing political opposition from most Fulbe elites in Kano and across Sokoto, and with an empty treasury. He thus revived all pre-existing Hausa institutions and offices, thus restoring the tribute system that the Sarki was entitled to by doubling taxes (from 500 cowries of Alwali's reign to 1,000) and expanding the classes exempt to the tax. Rebellions among the opposing Fulbe were crushed after nearly a decade of extensive campaigning, he restored central authority to the office of the Sarki, and gradually filled the princely offices of administration with his kinsmen.( It was during Dabo's reign that the explorer Hugh Clapperton visited Kano in 1824. Clapperton described Kano as a large, walled city of about 40,000 residents, and that 3/4 of the city was "laid out in fields and gardens". Adding that the gidan rumfa as a walled palatial compound with a mosque and several towers three or four stories high. Dabo's reign overlapped with the sucession of the Sokoto caliphs Abubakar Atiku (r. 1837-1842) and Aliyu Baba (r. 1842-1859), the latter of whom appointed Dabo's son Usuman to succeed his father as emir of kano.( Usuman (r. 1846-1855) was rather ineffective emir, and the government was largely in the hands of the Galadima Abdullahi, who was Usuman's brother. A drought-induced famine in 1847, and its corresponding increase of taxes (from 1,000 to 2500 cowries), instigated the first major hausa uprising in Kano which allied with the non-Muslim Hausa such as the Ningi, Warajawa and Mbutawa to attack several towns. It was during Usuman's reign that the explorer Heinrich Barth visited Kano, corroborating most of clapperton's account but providing more detail about the city's commerce and the state revenues.( _**painting of Kano from Mount Dala by H. Barth, 1857**_ _**Kano cityscape in the early 20th century**_ * * * * * * After Usuman's death, the Galadima Abdullahi suceeded him in a palace coup that involved Abdullahi voiding the official letter of Aliyu that was being read before Kano's aristorcracy by the Sokoto wazir Abdulkadiri. Aliyu immediately summoned Abdullahi to reprimand him but later accented to the latter's sucession after he had proved his loyalty. Most of Abdullahi's reign was spent repelling the Ningi attacks in southern Kano in 1855, 1856, 1860 and 1864 which devastated several towns. He fortified many of the vulnerable towns in the 1860s around the time when the explorer W.B Baikie was visiting, but failed to decisively defeat the incursions, losing a major battle in 1868. ( Abdullahi placated his aristocracy through marriage alliances, centralized his power by creating new hereditary offices and increased his support among the subject population by slightly lowering taxes (from 2500 cowries to 2000) passing on the remainder to the itinerant herders. Despite his conflict with the emir of Zaria over taxation of itinerant herders, Abdullahi forestalled a succession dispute in Zaria by playing an influential role in the politics at the imperial capital of Sokoto.( It was during his reign that the chronicler Zangi Ibn Salih completed a work on the history of Kano titled Taqyid akhbar jamat, in 1868.( Abdullahi died in 1882 and was succeeded by Muhammad Bello, following the latter's appointment by Sokoto Caliph Umaru. Muhammad Bello's reign from 1882 to 1892 was marked by internal rivalries among the numerous dynastic lineages and changes in administrative offices( . Bello chose the Galadima Tukur as his successor by transferring significant authority to the latter. The political ramifications of this decision would influence the composition of the Kano chronicle by Malam Barka.( Tukur was later appointed as emir of Kano in 1893 by the caliph Adur against the advice of his courtiers and the Kano elite who preferred Yusuf.( _**Copy of Malam Barka’s Kano chronicle**_( _**, originally written in the late 1880s**_ A brief but intense civil war ensued between Tukur's forces and the rebellion led by Yusuf between 1893-1894, with Yusuf capturing parts of southern Kano. Yusuf died during his rebellion and was suceeded by his appointed heir, Aliyu Babba who eventually defeated Tukur and was recognized as emir by the caliph Adur. But Yusuf refused to pay allegiance to the caliph that had rejected him, chosing to rule Kano virtually independently. Aliyu reorganized the central administration of Kano and forestalled internal opposition. These changes would prove to be critical for Kano as new external threats appeared on the horizon.( The first threat came from Zinder, the capital of Damgaram whose ruler Ahmadu Majerini directed two major attacks against Kano in 1894 and 1897 that inflicted significant losses on Aliyu's forces, before Majerini was himself defeated by the French in 1899. To the far south of Kano, the British had captured the emirate of Nupe in 1897 and were advancing northwards through Zaria, whose emir sent frantic letters warning Aliyu of the approaching threat. Aliyu thus pragmatically chose to resubmit to Sokoto's suzerainty right after the death of caliph Abdu and the succession of Attahiru.( Aliyu set out with the bulk of his forces to the capital Sokoto to meet Attahiru, the forces of Lord Lugard which had intended to march on Sokoto instead moved against Kano in January 1903. The small detachments Aliyu had left at Kano fought bravely but in vain, and the British forces stormed the city. ( Aliyu would later attempt to retake the city, and for most of February 1903, his forces were initially successful in skirmishes with the British but later fell at Kwatarkwashi, formally ending Kano's autonomy. * * * on **AFRICANS DISCOVERING AFRICA**: Far from existing in autarkic isolation, African societies were in close contact thanks to the activities of African travelers. These **African explorers of Africa were agents of intra-continental discovery** centuries before post-colonial Pan-Africanists ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. * * * **Most of this article is based on the Kano chronicle of Malam Barka as translated by H. R. Palmer and M.G.Smith** ( Map by Paul E. Lovejoy ( This is a summary of my previous article on ( ( African Civilizations: An Archaeological Perspective By Graham Connah pg 125 ( The Kano chronicle by H. R. Palmer, pg 65 ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 112-113 ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 114) ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 115) ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 116) ( A Geography of Jihad by Stephanie Zehnle pg 84-87 ( Being and Becoming Hausa by Anne Haour and Benedetta Rossi pg 15-17 ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 117-118, 126) ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith 120) ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 121-122 ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 123-124 ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 124-127 ( Beyond Jihad by Lamin Sanneh pg 103-106, but Hunwick mentions they arrived just before al-Maghili did during Rumfa’s reign around 1493, see: n.6, pg 30, John O. Hunwick, "Sharia in Songhay” ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 128 ( Shari'a in Songhay: the replies of al-Maghili to the questions of Askia al-Hajj Muhammad by J. Hunwick pg 39-40 ( Arabic Literature of Africa, Volume 2. by J. Hunwick pg 20-22 ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 136-137 ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 138-140 ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 142-143 ( Social History of Timbuktu by Elias Saad by 58, Arabic Literature of Africa Vol. 2 pg 25, Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 52-53 ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 287 ( Being and Becoming Hausa by Anne Haour and Benedetta Rossi pg 10 ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 146-148 ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 149-152 ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 153-158) ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 158-160) ( Arabic Literature of Africa, Volume 2. by J. Hunwick pg 582 ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 162-164) ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 165-167) ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith 168-169) ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 170-172, ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 194-199) ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 210-222) ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 223-243) ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 244-251) ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 253-260) ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 271-278) ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 279-299) ( Arabic Literature of Africa, Volume 2. by J. Hunwick pg 342 ( Alhaji ahmed el-fellati and the Kanon civil war by P. Lovejoy pg 52-55 ( Landscapes, Sources and Intellectual Projects of the West African Past by Toby Green et al, pg 404-407 ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 304-327, 340) ( The Kano chronicle by H. Palmer, in “Journal of The Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. XXXVIII,” 1908, Plate IX ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 345-374) ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 378-384) ( Government in Kano, 1350-1950 by M. G. Smith pg 384-386)

**Title:** The Complete History of Kano (999-1903) **Description:** Journal of African Cities Chapter 9 ### 1. Introduction to Kano - Kano is one of West Africa's oldest and best-documented capitals, with a political history spanning nearly a millennium. - The city-state evolved under powerful dynasties, becoming a cosmopolitan hub attracting merchants, scholars, and settlers. ### 2. Historical Context - Kano's strategic location was influenced by surrounding empires, including Mali, Songhai, and Bornu. - The city maintained significant autonomy until it fell under Sokoto's dominion around 1807. ### 3. Early History - The earliest societies in Kano emerged around the 11th and 12th centuries, rooted in agro-pastoral communities of Chadic speakers. - Significant features of early Kano included the Dalla Hill and the city's defensive walls. ### 4. Dynastic Rule - **Bagauda (r. 999-1063)** and **Warisi (r. 1063-1095)** are regarded as legendary early kings, with Gijimasu (r. 1095-1134) marking a period of military conquests. - Gijimasu's reign coincided with the expansion of neighboring Hausa polities, facing competition from both Muslim and non-Muslim communities. ### 5. Expansion of Kano - Under **Yusa (1136-1194)** and **Naguji (1194-1247)**, Kano expanded its territory significantly. - **Guguwa (1247-1290)** and **Shekarau (1290-1307)** grappled with the power of traditional elites, leading to restructured power dynamics. ### 6. Islamization and Political Changes - **Usumanu Zamnagawa (1343-1349)** represented the first wave of Islamization, consolidating power among Muslim elites. - Successive rulers, including **Yaji (1385-1390)** and **Bugaya (1385-1390)**, incorporated Islam into governance and administration. ### 7. Military Campaigns and Alliances - **Kanajeji (1390-1410)** developed military alliances and cavalry units, with mixed results in military campaigns. - **Umaru (1410-1421)** maintained Islamic influence and reduced the power of non-Muslim elites. ### 8. Increasing Complexity of Governance - **Dawuda (1421-1438)** faced military challenges from Zaria and lost control over Jukun territories. - During **Abdullahi Burja (1438-1452)**, Kano came under Bornu's suzerainty, leading to further administrative changes. ### 9. Emergence of a Cosmopolitan Society - **Yakubu (1452-1463)** oversaw the integration of various ethnicities and religious influences, establishing a more diverse society. - **Muhammad Rumfa (1463-1499)** reformed the administrative structures and welcomed scholars from North Africa, enhancing Kano's intellectual landscape. ### 10. Conflicts and Continuity - Political instability characterized the rule of **Abdullahi (1499-1509)** and subsequent rulers like **Kisoke (1509-1565)**, who faced external threats from Katsina and internal division. ### 11. Challenges of the 17th Century - **Muhammadu Zaki (1582-1618)** encountered Jukun invasions, followed by **Muhammad Alwali Katumbi (1623-1648)** who expanded administrative control amid continued conflict. ### 12. Decline of Hausa Rule - **Alwali II (1781-1807)** represented the last Hausa king of Kano, overseeing a period marked by internal discontent and the rise of Fulani religious movements. ### 13. Fulani Conquest and Emergence of the Emirate - The battle of Dan Yaya in 1807 resulted in the defeat of Alwali's forces, leading to the establishment of Kano as an emirate under Sokoto's control. - **Emir Suleimanu (r. 1808-1819)** faced resistance from the Fulbe aristocracy and struggled to consolidate power. ### 14. Transition to British Colonization - **Ibrahim Dabo (r. 1819-1846)** restored central authority, but Kano continued to face challenges integrating its traditional structures with the new emirate system. - The late 19th century saw further conflicts, particularly with British forces, culminating in the fall of Kano in 1903. ### Conclusion - The historical trajectory of Kano reflects a complex interplay between indigenous governance, Islamic influences, and external pressures, ultimately leading to its colonization by British forces in 1903.

A history of the west African diaspora in Arabia and Jerusalem before 1900

The legacy of west African travel to Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A history of the west African diaspora in Arabia and Jerusalem before 1900 ========================================================================== ### The legacy of west African travel to Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. ( Apr 16, 2023 12 Tucked along the western edges of the world's most contested religious site, are the residencies of west Africa's oldest diaspora in the eastern Mediterranean. The west-African quarter of Jerusalem's old city is one of three major diasporic communities established by west African Muslims outside Africa, the other two are found in the cities of Mecca and Medina The history of the West African diaspora in Arabia and Jerusalem is a fascinating and often overlooked aspect of the African diaspora. For centuries, West Africans have traveled to these regions as scholars and pilgrims, leaving an indelible mark on their intellectual and religious traditions of the middle east. This article explores the history of the West African diaspora in Arabia and Jerusalem, tracing the growth of the diaspora from Egypt to Arabia and Jerusalem, and highlighting their intellectual and cultural contributions. _**Map showing the route taken by west African pilgrims to Arabia and Jerusalem**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Foundations of a west African diaspora: the Takruri residents of Cairo** Scholars, pilgrims and travelers from west Africa had been present in Arabia and Palestine since the early second millennium. Initially, the west African diaspora only extended into Egypt, where the earliest documented west African Muslim dispora resided. The enigmatic Cairo resident named al-Shaikh Abu Muhammad Yusuf Abdallah al-Takruri lived in Egypt during the 10th century. After he died, a mausoleum and mosque was built over his grave, and later rebuilt around 1342. His nisba of "al-Takruri" was evidently derived from the medieval west African kingdom of Takrur which was widely known in the Islamic world beginning in the 11th century and would become the main ethnonym for west African pilgrims travelling to the Holy lands.( By the 14th century, the west African diaspora in Cairo had grown significantly especially after several pilgrimages had been undertaken that included reigning west African kings. The west African community in Egypt (or more likely the ruler of Bornu) commisioned the construction of the Madrasat ibn Rashiq around 1242 to house pilgrims from Bornu( . The community must have been relatively large, given the presence of a west African scholar named Al-Haj Yunis who was the interpreter of the Takrur in Egypt and provided the information on west African history written by Ibn Khaldun.( A particulary important locus for the west African diaspora in Egypt was the university of al-Azhar. The first residence for West African students and pilgrims was established in Al-Azhar during the mid-13th century for Bornu’s students and pilgrims (Riwāq al-Burnīya). By the 18th century, 3 of the 25 residences of Al-Azhar hosted students from West Africa. These included the abovementioned Bornu residence, the Riwāq Dakārnah Sāliḥ for students from Kanem, and the Riwāq al-Dakārinah for students from; Takrūr (ie: all kingdoms west of the Niger river), Sinnār (Funj kingdom in Sudan), and Darfūr.( Among the most prominent west African scholars resident in Egypt was Muḥammad al-Kashnāwī, a scholar from the Hausa city-state of Katsina in northern Nigeria. He boasted a comprehensive scholarly training before leaving Katsina around 1730, having been a student of the Bornu scholar Muḥammad al-Walī al-Burnāwī. al-Kashnāwī became well known in Egypt especially as the author of an important treatise on the esoteric sciences and as the teacher of Ḥasan al-Jabartī, the father of the famous Egyptian historian ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Jabartī.( Another prominent west African resident in Cairo was Shaykh al-Barnāwī (d. 1824) from Bornu and was one of the important members of the Khalwati sufi order. He thus appears in the biographies of prominent Egyptian and Moroccan scholars of the same order as their teacher including ʿAlī al-Zubādī (d. 1750) and ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Tāzī (d. 1791).( Many west African scholars are known to have resided permanently in Cairo. Archives from Cairo include lists of properties and possessions owned by west African Muslims on their way to the Hijaz. These include Hajj Ali al-Takruri al-Wangari who left 200 mithqals of gold and camels in 1562, and another document from 1651 listing nearly 500 mithqals of gold, cloth and several personal effects belonging to atleast 6 west Africans, 4 of whom had the nisba “al-Takruri”.( The Cairo disporic community would doubtlessly have enabled the establishment of smaller disporic communities in the 'Holy cities' of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem _**students at the Al-azhar university in Cairo, early 20th century postcard.**_ * * * **The west African diaspora in Mecca and Medina.** The Holiest city of Islam was the ultimate destination for the pilgrimage made by thousands of west Africans for centuries, yet despite its importance, few appear to have resided there permanently. There’s atleast one reference to a 17th century Bornu ruler purchasing houses in Cairo, Medina and Mecca in order to lodge pilgrims; he also bought stores to meet the costs of the houses.( Some of the more detailed descriptions of west Africans in Mecca are derived from 19th century accounts. In 1815, the traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt noted the presence of “_**Takruri**_” "_**Negro Hadjis**_" residing in Messfale (misfala quarter of mecca) and at Suq al-saghir (about 200m from the Kaaba). But all appear to have been temporary residents, some of whom were engaged in trade to cover the cost of their journey back to west Africa.( The account of Richard Burton in 1855 further corroborates this. He describes the city’s "_**heterogeneous mass of pilgrims**_" as including the _**'Takrouri' "and others from Bornou, the Sudan**_ (Darfur and Funj)_**, Ghdamah near the Niger and Jabarti from the Habash".**_( _**view of the Kaaba at Mecca, early 20th century**_ In contrast to Mecca, west Africans had a significant presence in Medina. Pious west Africans attimes took up residence in the city towards the end of their lives, to spend their last days, and then to be buried 'close' to the Prophet's grave. For example, the west African scholar Abu Bakr from the city of Biru (walata) travelled with his family to Medina on his second pilgrimage, and settled in the city where he'd later be buried in 1583.( Another west African known to have resided in Medina was the 18th century scholar and merchant named Muhammad al-Kànimì, the father of the better known scholar Shehu al-Kanimi who ruled Bornu. Originally from Kanem, Muhammad moved to the Fezzan, before retiring in medina where he later died during the late 18th century.( Given the importance of Medina to West African pilgrims, rulers such as the Songhai emperor Askiya Muhammad made charitable donations at several sacred places in the Hijaz, and purchased gardens in Medina which he turned into an endowment for the people of Takrur. Writing in 1655, the Timbuktu chronicler al-Sa'di indicates that the Askiya’s gardens were still in use at the time, mentioning that _**"these gardens are well known there"**_.( similarly, the Bornu ruler Mai Idris Alooma purchased a garden in Medina during the 16th century where he installed his followers.( However, the experience of some 18th century west African scholars indicates that the gardens may have been abandoned at the time. The shinqit-born scholar Abd al-Rashid Al-Shinqiti, who was a resident of Medina, went to great lengths to receive stipends from the foundations of Maghribis (mostly Moroccans) in Medina, and despite obtaining support from Egyptian and Moroccan scholars in 1785, he was still denied the stipends. His contemporary named Abd al-Ramàn al-Shinqiti (d. 1767) who also resided in the city lived in household of a non-west African —in the Zawiya of the Sammàniyya founder Muhammad as-Samman.( There are a number of west African scholars who gained prominence in Medina besides the above mentioned scholars from Shinqit (Chinguetti). The latter city was itself a major departure point for many west African pilgrim caravans heading to Mecca during the 18th and 19th centuries, among these pilgrims was the scholar Ṣāliḥ al-Fullānī. Born in Futa Jallon (modern-day Guinea), al-Fullani came to reside in Medina with a wide reputation for Islamic scholarship.( al-Fullani was educated locally in Futa Jallon, Adrar and Timbuktu before proceeding to Marrakesh, Tunis and Cairo, and arriving at Medina in 1773. While in medina, he studied many subjects, and after he had _**"read all the major Islamic writings of his time"**_, he became a teacher. His students included the qadi of mecca Abd al-Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿUjaymī (d. 1820) as well as Muḥammad ʿAbīd al-Sindī (d.1841) from sindh in Pakistan. His notable African students included Muḥammad al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Shinqītī (d. 1830), as well as the Moroccan scholar Ḥamdūn b. al-Ḥājj (d. 1857).( Such was al-Fullani's influence that the Indian scholar, Muḥammad ʿAẓīmābādī (d. 1905), referred to him as the scholarly renewer (mujaddid) of his age, and his writings inspired India’s Ahl al-Ḥadīth movement.( **See this Patreon post on al-Fullani's influence in India:** ( _**Ruins of Chinguetti, southern Mauritania**_ * * * **The west African diaspora in Jerusalem** During the Umayyad period when the Hajj tradition was firmly established, the city of Jerusalem was transformed into the 3rd holy city of Islam after the construction of the Dome of the Rock on the ruins of an old temple. This construction followed an Islamic tradition about the prophet ascending to heaven from the Dome. Jerusalem was therefore an important center of pilgrimage for all Muslims alongside other Abrahamic religions. West African Muslims likely travelled to Jerusalem early since the emergence of their pilgrimage tradition, but evidence for this is limited. The earliest reference to a west African Muslim community in Jerusalem likely dates to the Mamluk era when a Jerusalem waqf was given to a resident West African community, granting them a historic role as one of the guardians of the Al-Aqsa mosque.( Jerusalem's west African Muslim community (called the 'Tukarina') grew significantly during the Ottoman era especially around the al-Aqsa mosque’s council gate (Bab al-Nazir). Around the early 16th century, the Ribat ‘Ala’ al-Din and the Ribat al-Mansuri, which were originally built in the 13th century as hostels for pilgrims, were officially transformed into permanent residencies for west African pilgrims.( The Tukarina found jobs as the official guardians for the colleges and residencies around the entrance of al-Aqsa. Such was the Tukarina's control of the gates to prevent non-Muslims from entering that they were detained in 1855 by the local ottoman governor of Jerusalem to prevent them from denying entrance to the then Belgian prince Leopold II —the first Christian ruler since the Crusades to be allowed into the Dome of the Rock, prior to his infamous colonization of Congo.( _**exterior and interior of the Ribat al Mansuri, early 20th century, The Israel Antiquities Authority**_( Arguably the most notable west-African resident in Jerusalem (albeit briefly) was the Tukulor empire founder Umar Tal. Al-Hajj Tal left his homeland of Futa-Toro in 1826, arrived in Mecca in 1828 and stayed there for several years. He later traveled to Jerusalem and after several weeks departed for Cairo, before traveling back to west Africa. While in Jerusalem, Umar’s reputation for piety and learning were recognized, he led the prayer in the Dome of the Rock and treated a son of Ibrahim Pasha.( These two ribats of ‘Ala’ al-Din and Ribat al-Mansuri now comprise the largest "African quarter" in Jerusalem (al-jaliyya al-Afriqiyya) adjacent to the gates of the famous Al Aqsa Mosque. After the arrival of more African Muslims from colonial west africa during the early 20th century, the diasporic community now has a population of about 500 (but far more Africans live outside the quarter itself).( While relatively small compared to the modern dispora of west Africans in mecca and medina, its position in front of one of the word's most contested sites has given the community a significant place in politics of the Old city. _**Hall of the Ribat of al-Mansur Qalawun**_, photo by ‘Discover Islamic Art’ * * * **Conclusion: west africa’s diaspora in world history** Examining the significance of the West African diaspora in Arabia and Jerusalem, allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the complex historical and cultural connections that exist between Africa and the Middle East. From the writings of resident west African scholars in Medina and Cairo, to the cultural roles of west Africans in Jerusalem, the region’s African communities highlights the diversity of the Muslim world, and the many ways in which it has been shaped by different cultural influences over time. And as a testament to the often overlooked presence of the African diaspora in the eastern Mediterranean, Jerusalem’s historical African quarters for west Africans and Ethiopians are located within about 200 meters of each other. This underscores the cosmopolitan nature of African communities outside the continent as active agents in world history. _**Map showing the west-African and Ethiopian quarters in the Old city.**_( * * * on **AFRICANS DISCOVERING AFRICA**: Far from existing in autarkic isolation, African societies were in close contact thanks to the activities of African travelers. These **African explorers of Africa were agents of intra-continental discovery** centuries before post-colonial Pan-Africanists ( * * * **On the Nubian and Ethiopian diaspora in Jerusalem:** ( * * * _**If you like this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal**_ ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Takrur the History of a Name by 'Umar Al-Naqar pg 365-370) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 223, 249 ( Takrur the History of a Name by 'Umar Al-Naqar pg 370) ( Islamic Scholarship in Africa by Ousmane Oumar Kane pg 8) ( The African Roots of a Global Eighteenth-Century Islamic Scholarly Renewal by Zachary Wright pg 31) ( The African Roots of a Global Eighteenth-Century Islamic Scholarly Renewal by Zachary Wright pg 32) ( Trade between Egypt and bilad al-Takrur in the eighteenth century by Terence Walz pg 27-28 ( Trade between Egypt and bilad al-Takrur in the eighteenth century by Terence Walz pg 26 ( Travels in Arabia by John Lewis Burckhardt, 24, 85, 203-204, The Hajj: The Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca and the Holy Places By F. E. Peters pg 96-98 ( Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah, Volume 1 By Richard F. Burton pg 177 ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 45, 59) ( The Transmission of Learning in Islamic Africa by Scott Steven Reese pg 141) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 105) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 250 ( The Transmission of Learning in Islamic Africa by Scott Steven Reese pg 129-130, 148) ( The Transmission of Learning in Islamic Africa by Scott Steven Reese pg 43, 132-133) ( West African ʿulamāʾ and Salafism in Mecca and Medina by Chanfi Ahmed pg 93-96) ( Islamic Scholarship in Africa by Ousmane Oumar Kane pg 33 ( Black African Muslim in the Jewish State by William F. S. Miles pg 39-40, ( Mamluk Jerusalem: An Architectural Study by Michael Hamilton Burgoyne pg 119 ( Mamluk Jerusalem: An Architectural Study by Michael Hamilton Burgoyne pg 121, , Great Leaders, Great Tyrants? by Arnold Blumberg pg 160, Medievalism in Nineteenth-Century Belgium by Simon John pg 144. ( ( ( From West Africa to Mecca and Jerusalem by Irit Back pg 12-14, In the Path of Allah: 'Umar, An Essay into the Nature of Charisma in Islam' By John Ralph Willis pg 87 ( The Dom and the African Palestinians by Matthew Teller pg 95-99, in ‘Jerusalem Quarterly, 2022, Issue 89’, Mamluk Architectural Landmarks in Jerusalem by Ali Qleibo pg 64-67) ( adapted from: The Growth of Jerusalem in the Nineteenth Century by Y. Ben-Arieh, pg 256

### A History of the West African Diaspora in Arabia and Jerusalem Before 1900 #### Introduction - The West African diaspora in Arabia and Jerusalem represents a significant yet often overlooked aspect of African history. - This diaspora mainly consisted of West African Muslims who traveled to the Holy Cities of Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem as scholars and pilgrims, leaving lasting cultural and intellectual influences. #### Early Presence in Cairo 1. **Initial Diaspora**: - The earliest documented West African Muslims settled in Egypt during the early second millennium. - Al-Shaikh Abu Muhammad Yusuf Abdallah al-Takruri, a notable figure from the 10th century, was among the first recognized residents. 2. **Establishment of Communities**: - By the 14th century, the West African community in Cairo had expanded significantly, facilitated by pilgrimages from West African kingdoms. - The construction of the Madrasat ibn Rashiq in 1242 for pilgrims from Bornu exemplified this growth. 3. **Education and Scholarship**: - Al-Azhar University became a central hub for West African scholars, establishing residences for students by the mid-13th century. - By the 18th century, three out of twenty-five residences at Al-Azhar catered specifically to West African students. 4. **Prominent Scholars**: - Muḥammad al-Kashnāwī from Katsina and Shaykh al-Barnāwī from Bornu were notable scholars who contributed to the intellectual landscape in Cairo. - Their teachings influenced both local scholars and the broader Islamic scholarly community. #### Presence in Mecca and Medina 1. **Mecca**: - Although many West Africans traveled to Mecca for pilgrimage, permanent residency was rare. - Historical accounts, including those from 19th-century travelers, indicate temporary stays often related to trade. 2. **Medina**: - West Africans had a more established presence in Medina, where they sometimes settled for the remainder of their lives. - For example, scholar Abu Bakr from Biru settled in Medina after his pilgrimage in 1583. 3. **Royal Contributions**: - Notable figures like Askiya Muhammad of Songhai made charitable donations and established gardens in Medina to support the West African community. 4. **Influential Scholars**: - Muhammad al-Kànimī, originally from Kanem, and Ṣāliḥ al-Fullānī from Futa Jallon are examples of West African scholars who made significant contributions in Medina. - Al-Fullānī’s influence extended beyond the region, impacting Islamic scholarship in India. #### The West African Diaspora in Jerusalem 1. **Historical Context**: - The Hajj tradition established Jerusalem as a significant pilgrimage site for West Africans, particularly after the construction of the Dome of the Rock during the Umayyad period. 2. **Emergence of Community**: - The earliest references to a West African community in Jerusalem date to the Mamluk era, evident through waqf grants. - The Ottoman era saw the expansion of this community, particularly around al-Aqsa Mosque. 3. **Establishment of Residences**: - The Ribat ‘Ala’ al-Din and the Ribat al-Mansuri were transformed into permanent residencies for West African pilgrims in the 16th century. 4. **Notable Figures**: - Umar Tal, founder of the Tukulor Empire, visited Jerusalem and was recognized for his piety and scholarship. 5. **Modern Community**: - The African quarter in Jerusalem has grown, particularly with the arrival of more West Africans in the early 20th century. Today it hosts about 500 residents. #### Conclusion - The legacy of the West African diaspora in Arabia and Jerusalem illustrates complex historical and cultural interconnections between Africa and the Middle East. - The contributions of West African scholars and the establishment of communities highlight the diversity inherent within the Islamic world and the role of African communities as active agents in history.

The complete history of Gondar: Africa's city of castles (1636-1900)

Journal of African cities chapter 8

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The complete history of Gondar: Africa's city of castles (1636-1900) ==================================================================== ### Journal of African cities chapter 8 ( Apr 09, 2023 17 Perched on the mountains of northern Ethiopia, the city of Gondar is one of Africa's best known historic capitals. For nearly three centuries, Gondar served as the political and cultural center of Ethiopia. Its impressive architectural monuments and artistic production constitute some of Africa's greatest cultural accomplishments. This article outlines Gondar's history since its founding in 1636. _**Maps showing the location of Gondar and the city’s landmarks**_( * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **The founding of an imperial capital: Gondar during the reign of Fasilädäs (1632-1667)** The years following the expulsion of the Portuguese and the Jesuits from Ethiopia in 1632 were marked by a cultural revival in Ethiopia and a reduction in the political upheavals of the preceding century. A large corpus of manuscripts documenting Ethiopia's cultural and political history were composed during this period, new schools of painting were developed and distinctive architectural styles emerged in several urban settlements across the empire.( The principal sources of Ethiopia's cultural revival were internal, following processes of rediscovery and reconstitution of the institutions established during the preceding period. While relations with Europe ended, the Ethiopian state initiated contacts with its neighbors in the red sea and Indian ocean world, normalizing relations with formerly antagonistic Muslim peers and sending envoys as far as the courts of the Ottoman and Mughal empires. Its from the wide range of influences that the Ethiopian monarchs borrowed a variety of techniques, styles and materials which influenced the cultural revival.( The most significant development was the founding of the city of Gondar, as the main capital of the Ethiopian state. The establishment of a permanent capital represented a decisive break from the earlier tradition of a mobile capital, where the residence of the King and his court moved in circuits around the empire. Royal capitals such as Gondar and its predecessors in the 16th century such as Imfraz, Gorgorá, and Dánqáz, were large metropolises protected by stone fortresses that housed a cosmopolitan population. The bulk of the urban population were the Habäsha Christians, but also included significant communities of local Betä Ǝsraʾel and Muslims, as well as small numbers of Egyptians, Greeks and Indians.( Around the year 1636, the Emperor Fasilädäs settled at Gondar. Over the rest of his reign, Fasiladas constructed several churches, palaces, bridges in Gondar, creating the largest concentration of monuments in Ethiopia since the establishment of Lalibela. For the next century and a half, Fasiladas' sucessors would follow his initiative, adding more buildings to the city and transforming it into a large cosmopolitan metropolis.( Despite its monumental urban character, Gondar was not an aberration in the Ethiopia's urban history. The new capital was simply the largest among several towns which dotted the Ethiopian highlands, these towns were the central nodes in the Gondarine administration, alongside their churches and monasteries.( Gondar's iconic architecture was a direct product of the redefinition of Ethiopian concepts of kingship enforced by Susǝnyos and accomplished by his heir Fasiladas. _**"Unlike his forbears, the king no longer defined his attributes by waging war and expressing his religious devotion alone, but also by indulging in aesthetic, “elevated” experiences—the new architecture therefore served to underscore the ruler’s sense of refinement and good taste".**_( Fasilidas founded his capital within the region just north of lake Tana, where his predecessors had been most active. During the 4th year of his reign (around 1636), he established his royal camp near the preexisting Adabay Iyasus Church. He then commisioned the construction of the Madhane Alam church close to what was to become the castle complex of Gondar.( Fasil begun the construction of his palace in the late 1630s, which would become the largest of the Gondar castles. The iconic castle of Fasil was a battlemented two-storey structure with a square castellated tower, four round corner towers, and doors and windows delineated with red tuff. According to an external account by a visiting Yemeni envoy in 1648, it was _**"the most beautiful of glorious marvels built of stone and lime".**_( _**castle of Fasiladas**_( _**Plan of Fasiladas’ castle,**_ by Víctor Manuel Fernández The lead mason for Fasiladas' castle was most likely 'Abdal Kerim, an artisan from Mughal India who is known to have participated in designing the construction of Susenyos' palace at Danqaz alongside the Ethiopian architect Gábrá Kristos. Kerim and his Muslim-Indian peers had been brought to Ethiopia during Susenyos' reign and joined the diverse community of artesans who participated in the empire's cultural revival.( While some of the castle's architectural features were evidently anteceded by the styles introduced during Susenyos' reign that were a blend of Mughal and Portuguese fashions, the masons of Fasiladas and his sucessors discontinued some of Susenyos' architectural styles and added new ones. The model of construction used at Fasiladas' castle would also be applied in the construction of the Guzara palace, the bath at Qaha, as well as the restoration of the Maryam cathedral of Aksum.( Following the establishment of Gondar, many of the highest figures of the Ethiopian church took up residence in the new capital and their power became increasingly urban. These include the Abun (metropolitan), the ǝḉḉäge (2nd head of the church) and the Aqabe Sa'at (3rd head of the church). The residence of the Abun was called Abuna bet, and was situated northwest of the castle palaces, while the Ecage resided in a well-built quarter called Ecage Bet.( _**Fasil’s bath**_ _**Section of the Gondar city walls**_ * * * * * * **Gondar during the reign of Yohannes and Iyasu (1682-1706)** After a relatively long reign, Fasiladas passed away in 1667 and was suceeded by his son Yohannes I at Gondar. Like his predecessor, Yohannes built and endowed several churches across the state, and also commissioned the construction of a number of buildings in Gondar including a chancery and a library( . Yohannes is also credited with the construction and endowment of the Kwe'erata Re'esu chapel in the castle complex.( Unlike Fasil, Yohannes' buildings were entirely constructed by local masons who were led by an Ethiopian architect named Wáldá Giyorgis. This master mason is credited with the construction and designs of the structures built for both Emperor Yohannes I and his son Iyasu I. He is described in one chronicle as a man "endowed with intelligence," and in another chronicle as "able, intelligent, and of good renown."( Gondar was major commercial center during the 17th century. It was the site of a flourishing market, which was held on "a wide, spacious place" near the principal palace. The city's commerce, like that of many earlier cities, was largely dominated by local Muslim merchants. The domestic economy largely consisted of agro-pastoral products as well as clothmaking, leatherworking, blacksmithing and other crafts. Exports included civet, ivory, gold, captives and aromatic plants, which were exchanged for Indian textiles, firearms and other items.( Following a religious edict in 1668 and 1678, Yohannes moved most of the Muslim population of Gondar and the main market to a new quarter of the city. By the late 18th century, this Muslim quarter had grown significantly and constituted nearly a third of the city's population. The head merchant of Gondar was titled Nagadras, and such served as the "principal merchant" of the royal court, he also collected taxes from his quarter and settled minor legal concerns.( Yohannes also created a quarter for the Beta-Israel, known as Kaila Meda that was located in the western section of the city. The Beta-Israel comprised the most significant artisanal population in Gondar. They were employed as masons, blacksmiths, leatherworkers and carpenters and would play a significant role in the construction of the city's monuments during and after his reign.( Yohannes was suceeded by Iyasu after the his death in 1682. Iyasu's reign from 1682 to 1706 epitomized the Gondarine period at its height, he campaigned frequently to expand the empire's borders and instituted significant reforms in the state's economy. Iyasu constructed a large palace as mentioned above, as well as the churches of Addabābāy Takla Hāymānot in december 1682, and Dabra Berhān Sellāsē in January 1694. The church was consecrated with great pomp, with the king proceeding on horseback carrying the altar stone up to the church.( Several constructions at Gondar were also undertaken during his reign, including the Wešeba Gemb which served as a medical thermal bath, as well as the Feqr Gemb which was said to be allocated to the monarch’s paramours.( Most of the masons of the period were drawn from a diverse group of local artesans. The split-cane ceiling of the palace of Iyasu was constructed by Beta-Israel artisans, while resident Greek artisans decorated the same palace with mirrors from Venice set in gilt frames, and wooden casings covered with ivory.( _**Chancery and Library of Yohannes**_ _**Iyasu’s Palace**_ _**Debre Berhan Selassie and Wešeba Gemb,**_ photos by Linda De Volder * * * **Gondar from the reign of Takla Haymanot to Bakaffa (1706-1730)** Near the end of Iyasu's reign, an earthquake struck the region of Gondar in 1704, destroying parts of the castle complex and nearby churches.( Around the year 1705, Iyasu's health begun to deteriorate and one of his sons named Takla Haymanot eventually took over in a palace coup against Iyasu's preferred sucessor Dawit. Iyasu was later assassinated in 1706 and the empire briefly descended into a period of political turmoil.( Four emperors suceeded Iyasu in just 15 years during a period marked by with several rebellions. Takla Haymanot was assassinated in 1708 and suceeded by his uncle Tewoflos. The emperor Tewoflos had been working with Yost'os, a great-grandson of Yohannes, who would suceeded Tewoflos in 1711 upon the latter's untimely death. Tewoflos is credited with restoring and completed churches built by Yohannes in Gondar and across the empire. He also instituted a memorial fast for Iyasu at Gondar, and founded a church dedicated to Yohannes. But his brief reign ended just three years and he was suceeded by Yost'os who would also be deposed shortly after.( During the power struggles that characterized this period, the palace regiment (wellaj) which was created during the early Gondarine period become kingmakers. First mentioned in the chronicle of Iyasu I of 1689, they gained notoriety during the latter years of Yost'os. As powerful state officials in the capital held a council that chose to appoint Yost'os's son to succeed him, the wellaj locked up the palace, executed several councilors and nominated Dawit instead.( Dawit had a rather unremarkable reign characterized by rebellions and religious disputes within the church. His construction activities at Gondar were limited a church dedicated to saint Michael adjacent to the castle compound in 1716. The wellaj again intervened in the succession process by seizing the palace and proclaiming the succession of Bakaffa.( Bakaffa's accession in 1721 ushered in five more decades of dynastic stability and political order. His reign reinvigorated the cultural revival of the 17th century with a renewed wave of construction, painting and writing. Urban life flourished in Gondar as nobels, merchants, scholars and priests were drawn from all over the empire to re-populate the cosmopolitan metropolis.( _**Dawit’s castle**_ _**Bakaffa’s palace,**_ second image by Zamaniproject * * * Thank you for reading African History Extra. This post is public so feel free to share it. ( * * * **Gondar during the Mentewwab era (1730-1769)** Bakaffa was suceeded by his son Iyasu II (r. 1730-1755) and then by the latter's son Iyo'as (r. 1755-1769). However, political power during this period was largely controlled by Bakaffa's consort; Empress Mentewwab. The latter had risen to prominence during the last years of Bakaffa's reign. Two of her relatives; Niqolawos and Arkaledes were appointed into prominent positions at the behest of Mentewwab's grandmother Yolyana --who had introduced Bakaffa to the empress.( Upon Bakaffa's death in September 1730, Niqolawos called the council of nobles to announce that Iyasu had been designated sucessor. Iyasu was crowned immediately after, and his mother Mentewwab was also crowned in her own right on December 2nd. From the beginning of Iyasu's reign, power rested with Mentewwab and her relatives. Following the death of Yolyana and Niqolawos in 1732, disgruntled nobles rebelled against the co-regents Mentewwab and Iyasu by besieging the Gondar castle compound in December 1732. The rebellion was quickly suppressed and precipitated the rise of Walda Le'ul as the most important political figure of Mentewwab's reign.( Substantial construction work around Gondar was undertaken during the Mentewwab era with the most significant works undertaken in 1732 and 1740. These include the establishment of the dabra sahay Qwesqwam complex just outside Gondar, Mentewwab's castle in Gondar, and the Ras Ghimb castle that was occupied by Walda Le'ul.( The growth of Gondar led to a substantial expansion of urban land ownership records of such transactions are found in the marginalia of many manuscripts of this period, including several looted by the British in 1868 and now housed in the British Library.( _**Mentewwab’s castle at Gondar**_ _**Banqueting Hall of the dabra sahay Qwesqwam complex, outside Gondar**_ _**Ras Gimb castle**_ The empress was a patron of the arts, and her era witnessed a resurgence of Ethiopian painting, in both manuscript illustration and church decoration. The art of Mentewwab’s era is termed the second gondarine style. This style was characterized by the appearance of more "naturalistic" compositions in which many local motifs and scenes were introduced into religious visual themes, as well as the heavy modeling of flesh, carefully rendered patterns of imported fabrics and brightly shaded backgrounds.( Royal and princely patronage of art at this time also found expression in the practice whereby a painter would place beneath his work, a representation of the ruler or other noble who had commissioned the work often shown lying prostrate below the figure of Mary. This custom, which became common during the first gondarine style flourished during the Mentewwab, and, added to the inclusion of paiters' signatures, resulted in the painting of numerous pictures of the redoubtable Empress Mentewwab and her son Iyasu II by named ethiopian artists such as Sirak, Asab Rufa'el Fanta, Wasan, and Hezekiel.( _**‘Wall painting c. 1747, Narga Sellase, lake Tana, Queen Mentewwab is depicted below the Virgin’**_ _**18th century manuscript, Acts of George**_, British library Or. 714, caption reads: _**"King of kings Iyasu and his mother Queen Walatta Giyorgis"**_. Bottom figure is Mentewwab's mother Wayzaro Enkore, to the lower left is Blattengeta Arkaledes and Ras Walda Le'ul (her uncle and brother). To the left of Mentewwab is Mamher Aynte and below her is Blattengeta Asayo.( * * * **Gondar during the ‘era of Princes’ (1769-1855)** After the death of Walda Le'ul in 1767, the political power of Mentewwab and her allies was significantly reduced within Gondar. She was forced to rely on several external allies, the most notable of whom was Mika'el Sehul. Mika'el was a nobleman from Adwa who had briefly rebelled against the Gondar rulers in 1746. The royal army sent to crush his rebellion at Amba Samayata in 1748 forced him to submit to Iyasu's authority and he was reinstated. He entered a matrimonial alliance with Mentewwab's court by arranging the marriage of his son Walda Hawaryat to Mentewwab's daughter Alt'ash in 1755. And by 1768, Mika'el arrived at Gondar after he had been appointed by Mentewwab as a Ras -an powerful royal title-.( After a series of internecine power struggles between the allies of Iyo'as led by his uncle Lubo against the forces of Ras Mika'el, which involved several battles in the vicinity of Gondar, Mika'el's forces prevailed. Mika'el then crowned Yohannes as king and executed Iyo'as on May 1769, effectively crushing Lubo's faction but inadvertently ending the authority of the Ethiopian emperors. After the execution of Iyo'as, the equilibrium between the capital and the regional lords, collapsed as rival political factions and powerful nobles reduced the emperor to a mere figured.( Its during this period that the explorer James Bruce arrived in Ethiopia and spent several months at Gondar between 1769 and 1771. Besides providing a rather brief account of the city's layout and monuments, he estimated that Gondar had a population of about 60,000. while this figure has since become a subject of considerable debate, it nevertheless accurately captures the significance of Gondaras the empire’s capital, especially considering the rather unflattering description of the ongoing civil war at the time.( During this period of regionalization (known as Zemene Mesafint: era of princes) several provincial lords became virtually independent, and established dynasties of their own. Among the provincial states of Shewa, Tigre, Gojjam and Bagemder, the most powerful of these provincial lords was the ruler of Bagemder. The significance of Bagemder lay in the fact that it surrounded the capital, Gondar, which thus depended on it for most of its provisions. The result was that the government of Bagemder was entrusted to "none but noblemen of rank, family, and character", who were "able to maintain a large number of troops."( The ruling dynasty of Bagemder were the Yajju, a northern Oromo group that had played a prominent role during the 17th-18th century Gondarine politics. They later established their capital at Dabra Tabor after the decline of Gondar as a political capital. However, Gondar remained an important cultural center especially for the Ethiopian church, as it was home to the residences of the Abun and the Ecage, which were considered places of asylum.( While the puppet emperors at Gondar had virtually no power, and were routinely deposed and installed several times, atleast one of them undertook some major restoration work in the old city. The emperor Egwale Seyon (r. 1801-1818) is credited with the reconstruction and decoration of Iyasu’s church of Dabra Berhān Sellāsē, covering it with several of his own portraits depicted in the second Gondarine style.( _**Murals in the church of Dabra Berhān Sellāsē**_ Gondar was an important scholarly center. The Ethiopian education system in the 18th and 19th century was conducted through two types of church schools; the elementary-level rural schools led by an individual dabtara (lay clerics); and the advanced-level 'urban' schools led by several teachers, priests, and dabtaras who specialized in different subjects. Students wishing to attend the more important schools often had to travel to the larger centers like Gondar. In the late 1830s, towns such as Aksum, Adwa, and the Shewa capital of Ankobar were home to several schools, some with over 100 students; eg the church of Giyorgis at Ankobar was attended by 60 children who received instruction from 6 teachers. All students intended to go to Gondar to "take holy orders".( The city also retained some commercial importance. With the resident merchant population consisting nearly a third of its 10,000-18,000 urban residents. Its merchants organized caravans that linked various regional trade routes to long distance routes terminating in Sudan and on the red-sea port of Massawa. The merchants of the city were said by be the "most wealthy and influential body in the land." according to contemporary accounts which placed them "next to the clergy and aristocracy".( Gondar was also a major hub of crafts industries. According to contemporary accounts, the city was one of the places _**"where one finds the professions of the tailor, miller, baker and a mass of others unknown in Abyssinia." these "weavers, curriers, leatherworkers, harness-makers, blacksmiths, saddlemakers and sandal-makers, parchment-makers, book-binders, scribes and copyists, goldsmiths and copper-workers, embroiders and carpenters"**_.( The highly skilled masons of Gondar were employed domestically as well as regionally by provincial lords such as king Sahla Sellase of Sawa, who commisioned them to construct the church of Madhane 'Alam at Ankobar. The city's craftworkers reflected its cosmopolitan character, most of the masons were Beta-Israel, many of the embroiders and tailors were Muslim, and its gunsmiths were Greeks. _**Illustration of Gondar from 1885**_ * * * **Gondar during the late 19th century** By the early 19th century, the powers of the emperor in Gondar had decreased further. Virtually none of the provincial lords brought any tribute to the capital and the small palace regiment had been extinguished. In 1830 and 1840, Gondar was looted by forces of the feuding lords who exhausted all its provisions. Bagemder was ruled by Ras Ali Alula, who was virtually the "master and king" of the empire according to contemporary accounts. While Ras Ali had several subordinate lords, his power was relatively limited compared to other provincial lords such as the dynasty of Sawa, although his taxing of Gondar’s trade made his court relatively wealthy.( The rise of Tewodros in the 1850s and his defeat of Ras Ali and other lords ended the regionalism of the previous era, but was devastating to the fortunes of Gondar. After a series of political miscalculations in the early 1860s Téwodros, began to lose any semblance of control over the nascent state. After disputes with the church, Tewodros imprisoned the Abun in 1864 at his capital in Magdala, and ordered his troops to sack the city( . His forces would again sack Gondar in December 1866 under the pretext that its inhabitants refused to pay taxes. his troops sacked both the churches of Gondar and the (Muslim) merchant houses, carrying off loot (including some manuscripts that would later be seized by the British in 1868). Following this attack, many of the inhabitants of Gondar, Christians as well as Muslims, fled the town.( After the defeat of Tewodros by the British at Magdala in 1868, he was suceeded by Takla Giyorgis (r. 1868-1871). Takla attempted to shore up his imperial legitimacy by restoring Gondar's churches and castles, he also restored the church lands taken away by Tewodros, and arranged for a special burial for the Abun who had died at Magdala with Tewodros. A contemporary chronicler wrote that _**“after Fasil, there was no one who did for Gondar as Ase Takla Giyorgis did”**_.( Takla Giyorgis's reign was cut short by his defeat at the hands of Yohannes IV who suceeded him in 1871. Yohannes constructed a new church at Gondar and made minor repairs on a few of the old churches, but maintained Tewodros' less than cordial policy towards Gondar's merchants. The city's remaining merchants decided to flee to Sudan where a independence movement led by the Mahdi expelled the Ottoman-Egyptian government.( In 1888, the Mahdist armies from Sudan defeated the forces of the Gojjam province in retaliation for an earlier raid by its lord, and they sacked Gondar while advancing deep into the Ethiopian highlands( . The most damaged among the city's buildings was the church of Takla Haymanot where most of the earlier Gondarine structure was destroyed save for its two square towers.( Yohannes responded to the Mahdist invasion by charging into Sudan at the head of a large army in 1899. Despite crushing the Mahdist forces, he was killed in battle, and would shortly after be suceeded by Menelik. The latter entered into ( s, in the face of the advancing European threat represented by the Italians in the red sea, and the British in Sudan. This conciliatory approach was reflected domestically as merchants gradually repopulated Gondar and trade recovered in the last decade of the 19th century.( The gradual resurgence of Gondar was however overshadowed by the founding of Addis Ababa as Menelik’s capital in 1892. After nearly three centuries as the seat of power, the old town of Gondar no longer served as the commercial and cultural center of Ethiopia. * * * The eastern Mediterranean was for centuries home to one of Africa’s most significant diasporas. **African pilgrims, scholars and travelers from the regions of Nubia and Ethiopia settled in the Holy Lands where they maintained a permanent presence**. read about this on our Patreon: ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Maps by Matteo Salvadore and Gian Paolo Chiari. ( Land and Society in the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia by Donald Crummey pg 73) ( Muslim Partners, Catholic Foes: The Selective Isolation of Gondärine Ethiopia by Matteo Salvadore, Armenian Involvement in Ethiopian-Asian Trade 16th to 18th Centuries by Richard Pankhurst. ( The Indigenous and the Foreign in Christian Ethiopian Art by Isabel Boavida pg 3-4) ( Land and Society in the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia by Donald Crummey pg 74) ( Urbanization and the Urban Space in Africa by Solomon Addis Getahun pg 120 ( The Archaeology of the Jesuit Missions in Ethiopia by Víctor Manuel Fernández pg 34) ( Urbanization and the Urban Space in Africa by Solomon Addis Getahun pg 199, 121) ( The Indigenous and the Foreign in Christian Ethiopian Art by Isabel Boavida pg 13) ( All images taken from Wikimedia commons, unless otherwise stated ( The Indigenous and the Foreign in Christian Ethiopian Art by Isabel Boavida pg 13, 9, A social history of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 105, The Archaeology of the Jesuit Missions in Ethiopia by Víctor Manuel Fernández 23-33) ( The Archaeology of the Jesuit Missions in Ethiopia by Víctor Manuel Fernández 75-76, 135-137, 334-335) ( A social history of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 93-94, Urbanization and the Urban Space in Africa by Solomon Addis Getahun pg 123) ( History of Ethiopian Towns from the Middle Ages to the Early Nineteenth Century Volume 1 by Richard Pankhurst pg 126 ( Land and Society in the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia by Donald Crummey pg 81-82 ( A social history of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 106) ( Gondär In the Early Twentieth Century by Bahru Zewde pg 59, Muslims of Gondar by Abdussamad Ahmad pg 162-166, ( Urbanization and the Urban Space in Africa by Solomon Addis Getahun pg 122, A social history of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 100-101) ( Urbanization and the Urban Space in Africa by Solomon Addis Getahun pg 122-123) ( History of Ethiopian Towns from the Middle Ages to the Early Nineteenth Century Volume 1 by Richard Pankhurst pg 126, ( History of Ethiopian Towns from the Middle Ages to the Early Nineteenth Century, Volume 1 by Richard Pankhurst pg 132 ( A social history of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 104 ( The Archaeology of the Jesuit Missions in Ethiopia by Víctor Manuel Fernández pg 203) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 4 by J. D. Fage pg 564 ( Land and Society in the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia by Donald Crummey pg 92) ( A social history of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 111-112, Land and Society in the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia by Donald Crummey pg 91) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 4 by J. D. Fage pg 565, Planning for Cities in Crisis: Lessons from Gondar, Ethiopia By Mulatu Wubneh pg 167 ( Land and Society in the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia by Donald Crummey pg 94) ( Land and Society in the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia by Donald Crummey pg 94-95) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 4 by J. D. Fage pg 566-567, Land and Society in the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia by Donald Crummey pg 102, ( History of Ethiopian Towns from the Middle Ages to the Early Nineteenth Century, Volume 1 by Richard Pankhurst pg 159, Ethiopia Observer, Volume 12 pg 173 ( A social history of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 114) ( African Zion: The Sacred Art of Ethiopia by Marilyn Heldman pg 195-196 ( Major Themes in Ethiopian Painting by Stanislaw Chojnacki pg 246-247, A social history of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 106) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 4 by J. D. Fage pg 567-569 ( Land and Society in the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia by Donald Crummey pg 104-111) ( Land and Society in the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia by Donald Crummey pg 112) ( Gondär In the Early Twentieth Century by Bahru Zewde pg 69) ( A social history of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 86-87, 170-173) ( A social history of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 172, 200) ( African Zion: The Sacred Art of Ethiopia by Marilyn Heldman pg 196 ( A social history of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 128-9) ( A social history of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 212-213) ( The Indigenous and the Foreign in Christian Ethiopian Art by Isabel Boavida pg 14, A social history of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 230-233) ( social history of Ethiopia by Richard Pankhurst pg 161, 172, 220) ( Layers of Time by Paul B. Henze pg 137 ( Muslims of Gondar by Abdussamad Ahmad pg 167, The Other Abyssinians by Brian J. Yates pg 50) ( Imperial Legitimacy and the Creation of Neo-Solomonic Ideology in 19th-Century Ethiopia by Donald Crummey pg 23 ( Muslims of Gondar by Abdussamad Ahmad pg 168) ( Confronting a Christian Neighbor: Sudanese Representations of Ethiopia in the Early Mahdist Period by I Seri-Hersch pg 259 ( The Other Abyssinians by Brian J. Yates pg 78, The Archaeology of the Jesuit Missions in Ethiopia by Víctor Manuel Fernández pg 91) ( Muslims of Gondar by Abdussamad Ahmad pg 168-170, In the Shadow of Conquest: Islam in Colonial Northeast Africa by Said S. Samatar pg 107

## The Complete History of Gondar: Africa's City of Castles (1636-1900) ### Introduction 1. **Location and Importance**: Gondar, perched in the northern highlands of Ethiopia, served as the political and cultural center of Ethiopia for nearly three centuries. 2. **Cultural Achievements**: The city is renowned for its architectural monuments and artistic productions, making it one of Africa's most significant historical capitals. ### Founding of Gondar (1636) 1. **Cultural Revival**: Following the expulsion of the Portuguese and Jesuits in 1632, a cultural resurgence occurred, leading to increased manuscript production and the emergence of new artistic styles. 2. **Establishment of Imperial Capital**: In 1636, Emperor Fasilädäs selected Gondar as the permanent capital, marking a significant shift from the previously mobile capitals of the Ethiopian monarchy. 3. **Urban Population**: Gondar became a cosmopolitan metropolis, home to a diverse population that included Habäsha Christians, Betä Ǝsraʾel, Muslims, and smaller communities of Egyptians, Greeks, and Indians. ### Reign of Fasilädäs (1632-1667) 1. **Construction Projects**: Fasilädäs initiated the construction of churches, palaces, and bridges, including the iconic palace known as the Castle of Fasil. 2. **Architectural Influence**: The design of Fasil’s Castle integrated Mughal and Portuguese architectural styles, featuring battlemented towers and red tuff detailing. 3. **Cultural Integration**: The court attracted artisans from diverse backgrounds, enriching the architectural and artistic landscape of Gondar. ### Reigns of Yohannes I and Iyasu I (1682-1706) 1. **Continuity of Construction**: Yohannes I continued the building initiatives of Fasilädäs, contributing structures like a chancery and library, primarily designed by local craftsmen. 2. **Economic Growth**: During this period, Gondar thrived as a commercial hub with Muslim merchants playing a central role in trade. 3. **population Dynamics**: Religious edicts in 1668 and 1678 facilitated the establishment of distinct quarters for Muslim and Beta-Israel communities. ### Political Turmoil (1706-1730) 1. **Instability**: Following Iyasu I’s assassination in 1706, Gondar entered a tumultuous era marked by multiple quick successions of emperors and civil unrest. 2. **Rise of Regional Powers**: Local lords gained significant control while emperors became largely ceremonial figures with diminished authority. ### Mentewwab Era (1730-1769) 1. **Empress' Influence**: Empress Mentewwab effectively controlled power during the reigns of her son Iyasu II and grandson Iyo'as due to the political support of her relatives. 2. **Cultural Flourishing**: Significant construction projects were initiated, and the period saw a revival of Ethiopian art, termed the second Gondarine style. 3. **Political Repression**: Discontent among nobles led to conflicts that were suppressed, consolidating Mentewwab's control over the capital. ### Era of Princes (1769-1855) 1. **Fragmentation of Power**: The execution of Iyo'as marked the shift of power from the emperors to regional lords, leading to provincial autonomy. 2. **James Bruce's Account**: The explorer’s observations noted Gondar's significant population and political instability, reflecting its status as the cultural center despite political fragmentation. ### Late 19th Century Landscape (1855-1900) 1. **Declining Influence of Gondar**: The power of the emperor continued to wane, with local lords engaging in resource depletion of the city. 2. **Tewodros' Campaign**: Emperor Tewodros' aggressive policies culminated in military actions that devastated Gondar, leading to widespread displacement of residents. 3. **Restoration Efforts**: Takla Giyorgis attempted to restore Gondar's significance, but his reign was brief, marking further decline as Yohannes IV took control. 4. **End of the Era**: The rise of Menelik II and the establishment of Addis Ababa as the new capital in 1892 further diminished Gondar’s political and commercial importance. ### Conclusion - Gondar’s evolution from a vibrant imperial capital to a city overshadowed by new political dynamics illustrates the complex interplay of culture, politics, and economics in Ethiopian history.

A history of Zanzibar before the Omanis (600-1873)

Journal of African cities chapter 7

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A history of Zanzibar before the Omanis (600-1873) ================================================== ### Journal of African cities chapter 7 ( Mar 26, 2023 19 For most of the 19th century, the western Indian ocean was controlled by a vast commercial empire whose capital was on the island of Zanzibar. The history of Zanzibar is often introduced with the shifting of the Omani capital from Muscat to Stone-town during the 1840s, disregarding most of its earlier history save for a brief focus on the Zanj revolt. Zanzibar was for centuries home to some of Africa's most dynamic urban societies, long before it became the commercial emporium of the 19th century. With over a dozen historical cities and towns, the island played a central role in the political history of east Africa —from sending envoys as far as China, to influencing the activities of foreign powers on the Swahili coast. This article explores the history of Zanzibar, beginning with the island's settlement during late antiquity to the formal end of local autonomy in 1873. _**Map of the east African coast showing the location of Zanzibar island( **_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Zanzibar in the 1st Millennium: From Unguja to China** The island of Zanzibar (Unguja) is the largest in the Zanzibar Archipelago, a group of islands that includes Pemba, Mafia and several dozen smaller islands. Zanzibar has a long but fragmentary record of human settlement going back 20,000 years, as shown by recent excavations at Kuumbi Cave. But it wasn’t until the turn of the common era that permanent settlements were established by sections of agro pastoral populations that were part of the wider expansion of Bantu-speakers.( According to the Perilus, a 1st-century text on the Indian ocean world, the local populations of the east African island of Menouthias (identified as Pemba, Zanzibar or Mafia) used sewn watercraft as well as dugout canoes to travel along the coast, and fished using basket traps. There's unfortunately little archeological evidence for such communities on Zanzibar itself during the 1st century, as occupation is only firmly dated to around the 6th century.( Between the late 5th and early 6th century, Zanzibar, like most of the East African coast, was home to communities of ironworking agriculturalists speaking Swahili and other Northeast-Coast Bantu languages( . Two early sites at Fukuchani and Unguja Ukuu represent the earliest evidence for complex settlement on Zanzibar island. The discovery of imported roman wares and south-asian glass indicates that the island’s population participated in long distance trade with the Indian ocean world, albeit on a modest level .( Like most of the early Swahili settlements during the mid-1st millennium, the communities at Unguja Ukuu and Fukuchani constituted small villages of daub houses whose occupants used local pottery (Tana and Kwale wares). Subsistence was based on agriculture (sorghum and finger millet), fishing and a few domesticates. Craft activities included shell bead-making and iron-working, as well as reworking of glass. By the late 1st millennium, the Zanzibar sites of Unguja Ukuu, Fukuchani, Mkokotoni, Fumba and Kizimkazi were able to exploit their position to become trade entrepôts.( _**Kizimkazi mosque, early 20th century photo.**_ An inscription decorating the qiblah wall of the mosque was dated to 1107. _**Map of Zanzibar island showing some of the towns mentioned in this text.**_ The town of Unguja Ukuu, which covered over 16ha in the 9th century, became the largest settlement on Zanzibar island during this period, and one of the largest along the Swahili coast. The rapid growth of Unguja Ukuu can be mapped through massive quantities of imported material derived from trade. While Ugunja's material culture remained predominantly local in origin, significant amounts of imported wares (about 9%) appear in Unguja's assemblages beginning in the 6th century, that include Indian and Persian wares, as well as Tang-dynasty stoneware from China, Byzantine glass vessels and glass beads from south Asia.( The imports at Unguja would have been derived from its external trade with the African mainland and Indian ocean world, which is also evidenced by its local population's gradual adoption of Islam and their construction of a small mosque around 900. Additionally, copper and silver coins were minted locally by two named rulers during the 11th century, and the foreign coins from the Abbasids and Song-dynasty China were used.( A similar but better-preserved mosque was built at Kizimkazi around 1107. it features early Swahili construction styles where rectilinear timber mosques with rectangular prayer halls were translated into coral-stone structures.( Unguja is one of the earliest Swahili towns mentioned in external accounts, besides its identification as Lunjuya by al-Jāḥiẓ (d. 868), its also mentioned in the Arabic Book of Curiosities ca.1020 which contains a map showing the coasts of the Indian Ocean from China to eastern Africa where its included as ‘Unjuwa’ alongside ‘Qanbalu’ (Pemba island). ( The elites of Unguja were also involved in long distance maritime travel. During Song dynasty china, the african envoy named Zengjiani who came from Zanzibar (rendered Cengtan in Chinese = Zangistân) and reached Guangzhou in 1071 and 1083, is likely to have come from Unguja.( Zengjiani gave a detailed description of his home country including his ruler's dynasty that had been in power for 5 centuries, and the use of copper coins for trade( . Despite probably being embellished, this envoy's story indicates that his ruler's dynasty was about as old as Ugunja and may reflect the town's possibly hegemonic relationship with neighboring settlements. Historically, most Swahili city-states developed as confederations which included a major cultural and trading center like Unguja, surrounded by various less consequential settlements located at a distance on the mainland or on other parts of the island.( _**ruins of a late medieval structure at Unguja Ukuu**_( [![Unguja Ukuu on Zanzibar: An Archaeological Study of Early Urbanism\ by Abdurahman Juma, pg 140]( "Unguja Ukuu on Zanzibar: An Archaeological Study of Early Urbanism\ by Abdurahman Juma, pg 140")]( _**Unguja Ukuu, Local silver coins**_ (1-11) _**and one Chinese bronze coin**_ (11) _**Among the local coins are those belonging to an Unguja ruler named Muhammad bn Is-haq**_ (1-3) _**dated to the 11th century, one belonging to an Unguja ruler named Bahram bn Ali**_ (5) _**also dated to the 11th century, and uninscribed local pieces**_ (5-10) _**also dated to the same period, the chinese coin is from the mid-12th century.**_( * * * **Unguja Ukuu, the Indian ocean world and the Zanj episode** Given the Zanzibar island's central location between the early mainland Swahili settlements such as Kunduchi and Kaole, and the offshore islands such as Pemba, the town of Unguja would have controlled some of the segmented trade between the mainland, the coast and the Indian ocean world. Most of this trade would have been locally confined given the paucity of imported material and the modest size of the settlements, but some would have involved exports. Exported products likely included typical products attested in later accounts such as ivory, mangrove, iron, and possibly captives, although no contemporary account mentions these coming from Zanzibar.( Despite Unguja's relatively small size and its modest external trade, the town's importance had been exaggerated by some medievalists as the possible origin of the so-called Zanj slaves who led a revolt in Abassid Iraq from 869 and 883. This has however been challenged in recent scholarship, showing that actual Zanj slaves were a minority in the revolt. Not only because the very ambiguous ethnonym of 'Zanj' was applied to a wide variety of people from africa who were in Iraq, but also because most rebel leaders of the Zanj revolt were free and their forces included many non-africans.( Additionally, there's also little mention of slave trade from the Swahili coast before 950 in accounts written during the period just after the revolt( (the account of al-Masudi, who visited Pemba in 916, only mentions ivory trade). There's also little mention of slave trade in the period between 960 and the Portuguese arrival of 1499; (the secondary account of Ibn Shahriyar in 945 which does mention an incident of slave capture was copied by later scholars, but Ibn Batutta's first hand account in the 1330s makes no mention of the trade. Furthermore, the moderate volumes from the east African coast between the 15th and 18th century were derived from secondary trade in Madagascar prior to the trade's expansion in the 19th century. The Swahili cities were too military weak to obtain captives from war, and their external trade was too dependent on transshipment from other ports (their "exports" were mostly re-exports).( * * * **Zanzibar between the 12th and 15th century: The rise of Tumbatu** Unguja Ukuu gradually declined after 1100 when its last ruler is attested( . During this period, the island of Zanzibar appears to have gone through a period of settlement reorganization coinciding with the expansion of other Swahili city-states along the coast, and the emergence of new settlements on Zanzibar. This includes the town of Tumbatu, which emerged on the small island of Tumbatu around 1100 and remained the largest on the Island until the 14th century,( and other settlements, e.g at stone town.( By the 13th century, Tumbatu was a relatively large city of large coral houses with associated kiosks and atleast three monumental mosques. The rulers at Tumbatu struck coins of silver and copper between the 12th and 14th century, which share stylistic similarities with those later attested at Kilwa.( The mosque at Tumbatu followed the design established at Unguja and kizimkazi with a few additions including the use of floriate Kufic and a trefoil arch. The rise of Tumbatu benefited other towns such as Shangani and Fukuchani which all show significant settlement expansion during the 13th century.( Tumbatu declined after 1350 following a sudden and violent abandonment with signs of burning and deliberate destruction of houses and its mosques, and its elites most likely moved to Kilwa.( The famous globetrotter Ibn Battua also failed to mention Tumbatu (or even Zanzibar island) during his visit to the Swahili coast, in stark contrast to the city’s prominence one century prior. However, settlements on the island of Zanzibar itself would continue to flourish especially at Shangani and Fukuchani. The discovery of both local and foreign coins at both sites, as well as the continued importation of Islamic glazed wares and Chinese celadon, demonstrates the continuity of Zanzibar's commercial significance.( _**Friday mosque at Tumbatu**_ * * * ( * * * **Zanzibar from the 15th to the 18th century: The Portuguese era** More settlements emerged on Zanzibar island at Uroa and Chwaka around the late 14th/early 15th century, and the ruined town of Unguja Ukuu was reoccupied prior to the Portuguese arrival in the 1480s. Like many of its Swahili peers, Zanzibar's encounter with the Portuguese was initially antagonistic. Unguja was sacked by the Portuguese in 1499, with the reported deaths of several hundred and the capture of 4 local ships from its harbour.( And in 1503 20 Swahili vessels loaded with food (cereal) were captured by the Portuguese off the coast of Zanzibar.( However, some of the states on Zanzibar (presumably those on the western coast of the island) whose political interests were constrained by Mombasa's hegemony would ally with the Portuguese against their old foe. In 1523, emissaries from Zanzibar requested and obtained Portuguese military assistance in re-taking the Quirimbas Islands (in northern Mozambique) that were under Mombasa's suzerainty. By 1528, Zanzibar's elites welcomed Portuguese fleet and offered it provisions in its fight against Mombasa. And by 1571, a ‘king’ from Zanzibar also obtained Portuguese military assistance in putting down a rebellious mainland town.( Like other Swahili city-states, the political system on Zanzibar island would have been directed by an assembly of representatives of patrician lineage groups, and an elected head of government. The titles of "King" and "Queen" used in Portuguese accounts for the leading elites of Zanzibar were therefore not accurate descriptors of their political power. The pacification of Mombasa in 1589 was followed by the establishment of a Portuguese colonial administration along the Swahili coast that lasted until 1698, within which Zanzibar was included. The colonial authority was represented by the ‘Fort Jesus' at Mombasa, a few garrisons at Malindi, and a few factors in various cities. It was relatively weak, the token annual tribute was rarely submitted, and rebellions marked most of its history. However, the pre-existing exchanges on Zanzibar -- especially its Ivory, cloth and timber trade-- were further expanded by the presence of Portuguese traders.( The western towns of Shangani and Forodhani emerged around the 16th century, and became the nucleus of Mji Mkongwe (Old Town), later known as 'stone town' . The residence of a Portuguese factor was built near Forodhani in 1528, rebuilt in 1571, and was noted there by an English vessel in 1591. An Augustinian mission church was also built around 1612 supported by a small Portuguese community. ( But the northern and southern parts of the Island appear to have remained out of reach for the weak colonial administration at stone-town. The settlements of Fukuchani and Mvuleni which are dated to the 16th century feature large fortified houses of local construction that were initially thought to be linked to Portuguese agricultural activities. But given the complete absence of the sites in Portuguese accounts and their lack of any Portuguese material, both settlements are largely seen as home to local communities mostly independent of Portuguese control.( _**ruined house at Fukuchani**_ The growing resistance against the Portuguese presence especially by the northern Swahili city of Pate led to its elite to invite the Alawi family of Hadrami sharifs. Swahili patricians seeking to elevate the prestige of their lineages entered into matrimonial alliances with some of the Alawis, creating new dynastic clans.( In stone-town, the dynastic Mwinyi Mkuu lineage entered matrimonial alliances with the Sayyid Alawi with Hadrami and Pate origins. These Zanzibari elites therefore adopted the nisba of Alawi, but the Alawi themselves had little political influence, as shown by the continued presence of women sovereigns in Zanzibar.( By 1650 stone-town’s queen Mwana Mwema who’d been allied with the Portuguese joined other Swahili elites in rebellion by forming alliances with the Ya'rubid dynasty of Oman. In 1651, Mwana Mwema invited a Ya'rubid fleet which killed and captured 50-60 Portuguese resident on the island, and she called for further reinforcements by sending two of her ships. However, the reinforcements didn’t arrive, and the elites of Kaole —stone-town's rival city on the mainland— would ally with the Portuguese to force the Queen out of Zanzibar by 1652.( By the late 1690s, there were further rebellions led by Mombasa and Pate which invited the Ya'rubids to oust the Portuguese, but stone-town's elites didn't feature in this revolt. Stone-town’s queen Fatuma Binti Hasan was still a Portuguese ally by the time of the Ya'rubid siege of fort Jesus in 1696-1698, and her residence was located next to the church at Forodhani. Stone-town and other allied Swahili cities sent provisions to the besieged Portuguese and allied forces at Fort Jesus, which invited retaliation from the Ya'rubids and allied cities.( After expelling the Portuguese, the Ya'rubids imposed their authority on most of the Swahili coast by 1699 by placing armed garrisons in several forts, and deposing non-allied local elites like Fatuma to Oman. In stone-town, the church at Forodhani was converted into a small fortress by 1700( . But Yaʿrubid control of the Swahili coast was lost during the Omani civil war from 1719 to 1744, during which time stone-town was ruled by Fatuma's son Hasan.( This war was felt in stone-town in 1726, when a (Mazrui) Omani faction based in Mombasa attacked a rival faction in stone-town, resulting in a five-month siege of the Old Fort. The defenders left stone-town, and the Portuguese briefly used this conflict to reassert their control over Mombasa and stone-town from 1728 and 1729 but were later driven out. Stone-town reverted to the authority of the so-called Mwinyi Mkuu dynasty of local elites.( Other towns on the island such as Kizimkazi continued to flourish under local control during the mid to late 18th century.( According to traditions, the population of southern Zanzibar extending from Stone-town to Kizimkazi were called the maKunduchi (kae) while those in the northern section of the island were called the waTumbatu. Kizimikazi's mosque was expanded around the year 1770 and this construction is attributed to a local ruler named Bakari who controlled the southern most section of the island.( * * * **Zanzibar from 1753-1873: From local autonomy to Oman control.** Zanzibar's polities remained autonomous for most of the 18th century despite attracting foreign interest. In 1744, political power in Oman shifted to the Bu’saidi dynasty, who for most of the 18th century, failed to restore any of the Yaʿrubid alliances and possessions on the Swahili coast, except at stone-town.( The Mwinyi Mkuu of stone-town sought out the protection of the Bu'saidi as a bulwark against Mazrui expansion, and allowed a governor to be installed in the old fort in 1746. The Mazrui would later besiege stone-town in 1753 but withdrew after infighting. Despite the alliance between stone-town's elites and the Busaidi, the latter's control was constrained by internal struggles in Oman and only one brief visit to stone-town was undertaken in 1784 by the then prince Sultan bin Ahmad.( Sultan bin Ahmad later ascended to the Oman throne at Muscat in 1792 but died in 1804 and was succeeded by his son Seyyid Said. Events following the victory of Lamu against Mombasa and Pate around 1813, compelled the Lamu elites to invite Seyyid's forces and stave off a planned reprisal from Mombasa. Seyyid forged more alliances along the coast, garrisoned his soldiers in forts and increasing his authority in stone town.( In 1828 Said bin Sultan made the first visit by a reigning Busaid sultan to the Swahili coast, shortly after commissioning the construction of his palace at Mtoni. His visits to Zanzibar became increasingly frequent, and by 1840 stone-town had become his main residence. Contrary to earlier scholarship, the shift from Muscat to stone-town was largely because Seyyid's authority was challenged in Oman, while stone-town offered a relatively secure location for his political and commercial interests.( Seyyid's control of stone-town was largely nominal as it was in Lamu, Pate and Mombasa. Effective control amounted to nothing more than a nominal allegiance by the local elites (like in Tumbatu and stone-town) who retained near autonomy, they occasionally shared authority with an appointed 'governor' and customs officer assisted by a garrison of soldiers.( The Mwinyi Mkuus ruled from their capital at Mbweni during the reign of Seyyid (1840-1856) and his successor Majid (1856-1870). The most notable among whom was Muhammad bin Ahmed bin Hassan Alawi also known as King Muhamadi (1845-1865), he moved his capital from Mbweni to Dunga where he built his palace in 1856. He held near complete political power until his death in 1865, and was succeeded by his son Ahmed bin Muhammad( . The last Mwinyi Mkuu Ahmed died in 1873, and the reigning Sultan Barghash (r. 1870-1888) refused to install another Mwinyi Mkuu, formally marking the end of Stone-town’s autonomy.( The gradual expansion of Sultan Barghash's authority followed the abolition of the preexisting administration, and the island was governed directly by himself shortly before most of his domains were in turn taken over by the Germans and the British in 1885( . _**The Mwinyi Mkuu of stone-town; Muhammad bin Ahmed bin Hassan Alawi, with his son, the last Mwinyi Mkuu Ahmed.**_ _**The Mwinyi Mkuu’s palace at Dunga, ca. 1920**_ * * * **Zanzibar was one of several cosmopolitan African states whose envoys traveled more than 7,000 kilometers to initiate contacts with China**, Read more about this fascinating history here: ( * * * * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Map by Ania Kotarba-Morley ( Continental Island Formation and the Archaeology of Defaunation on Zanzibar, Eastern Africa, M Prendergast et al ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 107, 138) ( The Swahili: Reconstructing the History and Language of an African Society pg 50-51 ( The Swahili and the Mediterranean worlds by A. Juma pg 148-153 ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 142, 109, 241) ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 143, 170-174) ( Unguja Ukwu on Zanzibar by A. Juma pg 19-20, 62, 73, 137,-143 ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 241, 489-490) ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 170) ( Swahili Origins: Swahili Culture by by J. de V. Allen pg 186, 146, The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 372) ( Swahili Origins: Swahili Culture & the Shungwaya Phenomenon By James De Vere Allen pg 146, 186-188 ( The Battle of Shela by RL Pouwels pg 381) ( ( ( Unguja Ukwu on Zanzibar by A. Juma pg 140 ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 143-144, 241) ( East Africa in the Early Indian Ocean World Slave Trade by G. Campbell pg 275-281, The Zanj Rebellion Reconsidered by G. H. Talhami _**(A. Popovic’s critique of Talhami relies solely on medieval texts to estimate the first coastal settlements and their links to the Zanj, this is taken on by M. Horton but the evidence on the ground is lacking as G. Campell argues)**_ Estimates for the population of rebelling slaves in 800-870 revolt would have required a volume of trade just as high as in the 19th century when the trade was efficiently organized, making them even more unlikely, see “Early exchanges between Africa and the Indian ocean world by G Campbell pg 292-294, ( The one contemporary source was al-Jāḥiẓ (d. 868), himself a grandson of an ex-slave, wrote that captives came from _**“forests and valleys of Qanbuluh**_” \ and they are not genuine/native Zanj but were _**“our menials, our lower orders”**_ while the native Zanj _**“are in both Qambalu and Lunjuya \”,**_ taken from “Early exchanges between Africa and the Indian ocean world by G Campbell pg 290 ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 78 ( Slave Trade and Slavery on the Swahili Coast 1500–1750 by Thomas Vernet ( Unguja Ukwu on Zanzibar by A. Juma pg 84, 154 ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 242) ( Excavations at the Old Fort of Stone Town, Zanzibar by Timothy power and Mark Horton pg 278) ( The Indian Ocean and Swahili Coast coins by John Perkins ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 242, 493) ( A Thousand Years of East Africa by JEG Sutton’ ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 242 ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 243) ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 69) ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 83-84, 88) ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 119-128, 88) ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 243, Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 87, Excavations at the Old Fort of Stone Town, Zanzibar by Timothy power and Mark Horton pg 281, Swahili Culture Knappert pg 144) ) ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 243) ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 39-43) ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 165) ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 301-302, Excavations at the Old Fort of Stone Town, Zanzibar by Timothy power and Mark Horton pg 281) ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 373, The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 243) ( Zanzibar Stone Town: An Architectural Exploration by A. Sheriff pg 8, Excavations at the Old Fort of Stone Town, Zanzibar by Timothy power and Mark Horton pg 284) ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 531) ( Trade and Empire in Muscat and Zanzibar By M. Reda Bhacker pg 80, Slaves, Spices and Ivory in Zanzibar by Abdul Sheriff pg 26-27) ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 295) ( The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, pg 247, The African Archaeology Network by J Kinahan pg 110 ( Slaves, Spices and Ivory in Zanzibar by Abdul Sheriff pg 20-21) ( Excavations at the Old Fort of Stone Town, Zanzibar by Timothy power and Mark Horton pg 285, The Land of Zinj By C.H. Stigland pg 24) ( The Battle of Shela by RL Pouwels, Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 99) ( Trade and Empire in Muscat and Zanzibar By M. Reda Bhacker pg 88-95, 99-100) ( Trade and Empire in Muscat and Zanzibar By M. Reda Bhacker pg 97) ( Seyyid Said Bin Sultan by Abdallah Salih Farsy pg 34-35 ( Seyyid Said Bin Sultan by Abdallah Salih Farsy pg 35 ( Swahili Port Cities: The Architecture of Elsewhere by Sandy Prita Meier 103-105.

### A History of Zanzibar Before the Omanis (600-1873) #### Introduction - The history of Zanzibar is often introduced with the shift of the Omani capital from Muscat to Stone Town in the 1840s, overshadowing its earlier history. - Zanzibar has long been home to dynamic urban societies and played a significant political role in East Africa, serving as a trade hub and interacting with foreign powers. #### Early Settlement (1st Millennium) 1. **Settlement Timeline**: - Human settlement on Zanzibar dates back 20,000 years, with more permanent settlements established around the turn of the common era by agro-pastoral Bantu-speaking populations. 2. **Early Communities**: - By the late 5th to early 6th century, communities of ironworking agriculturalists emerged, with early sites such as Fukuchani and Unguja Ukuu demonstrating complex settlement patterns. - Evidence of international trade includes imported Roman wares and South Asian glass. 3. **Agriculture and Trade**: - Residents practiced agriculture (sorghum and finger millet), fishing, and craft activities like shell bead-making and ironworking. - By the late 1st millennium, settlements like Unguja Ukuu became trade entrepôts, importing materials from the Indian Ocean trade routes. 4. **Cultural and Religious Developments**: - The gradual adoption of Islam is evident through the construction of mosques, including a small mosque at Unguja around 900 AD and a better-preserved mosque at Kizimkazi around 1107 AD. #### Trade and Political Structure (12th-15th Century) 1. **Decline and Reorganization**: - After 1100 AD, Unguja Ukuu declined, and the town of Tumbatu emerged as the primary center on the island, flourishing until the 14th century. - Tumbatu's rulers minted coins and constructed monumental mosques, reflecting its importance. 2. **Continued Trade**: - Despite Tumbatu's decline around 1350 AD, other towns like Shangani and Fukuchani continued to thrive, evidenced by the discovery of local and foreign coins. #### Portuguese Era (15th-18th Century) 1. **Initial Contact**: - Portuguese ships first attacked Unguja in 1499, followed by more aggression. However, some local leaders allied with the Portuguese against mutual enemies like Mombasa. 2. **Political Alliances**: - Zanzibar's political structure involved assemblies of patrician lineage groups. The alliances with the Portuguese were often tactical rather than indicative of genuine control. 3. **Resistance and Control**: - By the late 17th century, resistance against the Portuguese intensified, leading to alliances with the Ya'rubid dynasty of Oman to expel Portuguese forces by 1699. 4. **Local Governance**: - After the Portuguese expulsion, local elites maintained a degree of autonomy but were challenged by internal conflicts and external threats. #### Transition to Omani Control (1753-1873) 1. **Autonomy with Foreign Interests**: - Despite internal turmoil, Zanzibar maintained local governance into the 18th century, with political power shifting to the Bu'saidi dynasty in Oman in 1744. 2. **Rise of Seyyid Said**: - Seyyid Said established a more frequent presence in Zanzibar, aligning local elites with his authority, which effectively remained nominal amid ongoing disputes. 3. **Final Autonomy and Omani Control**: - The Mwinyi Mkuu dynasty retained control until 1873, when the last Mwinyi Mkuu died, and Sultan Barghash's takeover formally marked the end of Zanzibar’s local autonomy. #### Conclusion - Zanzibar's early history is characterized by complex societies engaged in trade and cultural exchanges, evolving from local governance to an eventual Omani dominion by the late 19th century, setting the stage for subsequent colonial encounters.

The desert town of Southern Africa: A history of Khauxanas 1780-1906

A view of pre-colonial Namibia from the khoisan town of ||Khauxa!nas.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The desert town of Southern Africa: A history of Khauxanas 1780-1906 ==================================================================== ### A view of pre-colonial Namibia from the khoisan town of ||Khauxa!nas. ( Mar 19, 2023 14 ) Located deep in the harsh deserts of southern Namibia, the ruined town of khauxanas was at the center of a fascinating chapter in southern Africa's political history. Founded around the late 18th century by the Orlam clan of the Nama Khoisan, the 5-acre stone settlement of Khauxanas straddles several important historical events in the region's history. From the Orlams' resistance movement against the cape colony, to the founding of Namibia's capital Windhoek, and the anti-colonial war between the Nama and the Germans —the history of Khauxanas provides an excellent example of Nama processes of state formation and colonial resistance. This article explores the history of Khauxanas and its place in the political history of south-western Africa. _**Map of south-western Africa showing the movement of the Orlams and the location of ||Khauxa!nas**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **A brief History of the Orlams: Nama independence on a colonial frontier** For most of south-western Africa’s history, the region’s semiarid lands were home to the speakers of Khoisan language families, among which the largest family was the Khoe-Kwadi, which included the Nama languages( . The section of the Nama-speakers who are associated with old settlements of ||Khauxa!nas and Windhoek, are commonly described under the collective name of Oorlam/Orlam. The Orlams were a heterogeneous lineage group of predominantly Nama extract who were first attested in the vicinity of the witzenberg mountains (near Tulbagh, south Africa) around the time of the cape colony's establishment.( The Orlams were the first to refer to themselves as Afrikaner/Afrikanner/Afrikaander and use it as their last name, more than a century before it was adopted by the Dutch-speaking settlers of cape colony who were at the time called Boers/Boors. They are therefore the only group which appears in early 19th century accounts under that ethnonym.( The term "Africander" which is derived from the exonymous term for the African continent by Dutch-speakers of the cape colony, was first used as a collective term for the groups born to cape settlers and Africans. However, the Orlam Afrikaner clan which first used it as their name were not part of this group of mixed heritage, as they were mostly of Nama descent with some San ancestry, and their lands weren't considered part of Cape colony before the mid-18th century.( The Orlam first attracted official attention in the letters dated to 1761 written by Adam Kok, a cape official in the vicinity of the modern town of Tulbagh. According to Kok, a Nama man nicknamed "Oude ram" and his son Afrikaner were contracted to look after the livestock of a cape settler named Nicolaas Laubser. Both Oude and Afrikaner were under the supervision of Kok and a Nama man named 'Klaas' who went by the name "Captain Klaas" due to his rank. A dispute over Afrikaner's handling of the livestock led to Kok reprimanding him, but Captain Klaas sided with the former. Shortly after; Afrikaner and Oude ram fled with Captain Klaas to the countryside to raise a rebellion among the Nama, but they were later captured and exiled, with Afrikaner dying in 1777. However, Captain Klaas was allowed to stay, and it was during the period between Afrikaner's death and the first mission to his base in 1805, that Klaas and his sons begun using the name Afrikaner.( _**Map showing the distribution of various KhoeKhoe lineage groups as known by cape settlers, The Orlams originated from the Grigrikwas/Griquas**_.( * * * **The founding of ||Khauxa!nas by the Orlams clan. (1780s-1823)** A series of political changes and social upheavals in which Klaas was involved led to his creation of a resistance movement against cape authorities and likely informed Klaas' use of the name of his precursor; Afrikaner. During the 1780s, the family of Captain Klaas had stayed in Tulbagh in the service of a cape settler named Petrus Pienaar. Klaas maintained a mostly cordial partnership with Pienaar whose interests extended as far north as the orange river. Klaas received firearms for his services, and was in close contact with cape authorities. But a personal dispute ended with the death of Pienaar in 1796 by one of Klaas' sons, forcing the clan to flee beyond the orange river inorder to escape the commandos (armed parties) sent by the cape authorities to capture them.( Klaas Orlams withstood and conducted several attacks against both the cape settlers and surrounding settlements from his secretive hideout, which according to the cape authorities, lay north of the orange river. From here, he gathered a relatively large following among disaffected Nama and san groups, and merged his activities with some southern groups in the cape colony districts of Swellendam and Graaff-Reinet that were rebelling against cape authorities.( The secretive hideout of the Klaas' Orlams clan when he retreated north of the Orange river, was most likely located in the inaccessible Karas Mountains; where the clan established ||Khauxa!nas as their hidden refuge. This town was most likely constructed in the last decade of the 18th century, and served as the Orlams’ capital until the early 19th century. ( By the early 19th century, Klaas was actively assisted by his son Jager and soon handed over the leadership to him. Jager succeeded in re-establishing peaceful contacts with the cape authorities, and invited the LMS missionaries Abraham and Christian Albrecht in 1803. The missionaries were met by Jager in 1805 at a place called Afrikanerskraal (later nicknamed _Jerusalem_), where a mission station was established at a distance away from ||Khauxa!nas, before it was later moved 90km south to the town of Warmbad in 1806. By 1815, Klaas' 6 sons would later take on more names such as; Christian (Jager), Titus, Hendrik, Jakobus, Simon and Klaas after adopting christianity.( Missionary activity remained confined to the south of Warmbad, and was thus well outside the region controlled by the Orlams( , explaining why no records of the site exist from the LMS accounts. After a brief period of disputes between the missionaries at Warmbad and the Orlams, By 1819, Jager had re-established peaceful relations with both Warmbad and the cape authorities through the offices of one of the missionaries( . Jager passed away in 1823 and was succeeded by his son Jonker Afrikaner who, after gaining more followers and wealth, moved the Orlams clan northwards and established the settlement of Windhoek in the 1830s.( _**Jan Jonker Afrikaner and his council, ca. 1876**_. _Jan Jonker was the son of Jonker Afrikaner and later took over leadership of the Orlams._ * * * **||Khauxa!nas after its abandonment by the Orlams** The relatives of Jonker Afrikaner, named David and Titus Afrikaner, later broke off from the Orlams at Windhoek and returned to the region of Afrikanerskraal where they invited missionaries form the Welseyan mission at Warmbad, which had replaced the LMS.( The Welseyan mission station at Warmbad was by then headed by Benjamin Ridsdale during the 1840s, who would later be succeeded by John A. Bailie. Both of them were active among various Nama and San groups occupying the regions north of the Orange river and east of the Great Karas mountains . They visited David and Titus Afrikaner at Afrikanerskraal (Jerusalem) as well as the nearby settlement at Blydeverwacht, after the former settlement had shortly been abandoned. David also occasionally travelled to visit Jonker more than 600 miles north at Windhoek, with whom he reconciled.( Such a journey underscores the extreme mobility that characterized the cultural patterns of the Nama, and the Orlams in particular. The region around the site of ||Khauxa!nas was during this time occupied by a section of the Namas called the ||Hawoben (rendered Veldschoendragers in Dutch and 'Velschoen Draagers' in Ridsdale's account). Like all highly mobile pastoral Nama groups, they had been previously settled at a site called _Klip Fontein_, which most likely corresponds to the ruins on the modern farm of Narudas.( Among the settlements of the ||Hawoben visited by Ridsdale in 1847 was one called "Schans Vlakte", which was located at the foot of a low mountain (ie; the mountain of ||Khauxa!nas). Shans Vlakte was led by a Nama chief named Hendriks (Nama name: !Nanib gaib), whose followers had constructed a road to receive the wagons of Ridsdale. The remains of this town now mostly consist of a few drystone homes and the walls of a church that were constructed with mortared stone. ||Khauxa!nas is the Nama name for the local region including the mountain, while the present farm in which the ruins are located is called Schanzen, derived from the German rendering of “Schans Vlakte”.( Risdale then describes the ruined settlement at the top of the hill: "... _**In front of the village is a low mountain, which is surrounded at the top by a wall, the entire length of which must be eight or ten hundred yards, low in places difficult to access, and five or six feet high in those parts that are most easily available. This wall, which consists of a double row of loose flat stones piled one above another, was thrown round the mountain by the Afrikaners at the beginning of the century. After shooting of the Dutch Boer, Pinnar, to whom old Afrikaner and his clan were at that time subject, and by whom they were oppressed beyond all endurance, Afrikaner and his people fled to this place. Here they resolved upon making a stand against the commandoes sent in pursuit of them by the Colonial Government. Within this entrenchment, at the top of the mountain, they built their houses, had kraals for their calves, and in fact everything necessary to a Namaqua village, and considered themselves able to defy all their enemies. They seemed scarcely able to conceive of avalour that would proceed in the face of their bullets, scale their fort, bound over its walls, drive them over the fearful precipice on the opposite side, and plunge them into the abyss of black waters beneath. The opportunity of defending themselves in their impregnable fortification, however, never occurred, as the commandoes of Boers from the Colony pursued them no farther than Nisbett Bath (Warmbad)."**_( _**Map showing the distribution of Nama settlements in the early 19th century**_( * * * **Description of the town.** The Orlam ruins of ||Khauxa!nas were built on the crest of the ||Khauxa!nas mountain, within the modern farm of Schanzen 281, east of the Great Karas Mountains. The entire settlement is surrounded by a high elliptical stone wall that is 700m long, 2m high and about 1m thick. The walls enclosed public spaces, household units and cattle kraals, all of which were accessed through narrow artificial alleys leading to individual entrances. With the exception of three rectilinear structures, most domestic structures were roundhouses, paved with flat stones, roofed with non-permanent materials, and drained through culverts on the floor. The rectilinear buildings all located at the entrances of the southern wall and northern walls, they likely served as a reception or a guardhouse.( _**Plan of the hilltop ruins at //Khauxainas**_( _**Perimeter wall in the highest point and the remains of household units.**_ There are three phases of occupation and construction. The earliest consists of a few roughly built windbreaks and hut circles associated with short lengths of walling that may have formed part of a livestock enclosure and a defensive structure.( The second period comprises the major walled structures of the Orlam settlement, while the last phase corresponds to the resettlement of the site during the first decade of the 20th century.( Evidence for social stratification at the settlement is indicated by the presence of a large structure about 10 meters in diameter with ostentatious architectural features facing the southern wall's rectilinear entrance. This structure likely served as the residence of ||Khauxa!nas's founder. Considering the presence of a similar household layout associated with the two reception houses on the northern wall, the latter structures were likely occupied by second level authority figures in the settlement.( _**Ruins of a large house, probably occupied by Klaas Afrikaner**_ _**funerary stela and drainage openings**_ Most of the settlement likely served non-defensive functions such as enclosing houses, protecting livestock and symbolic/political functions that reflected the Orlams' hegemony in the region. Despite the visible remains of gunflints which understate its military function, the presence of 22 entrances along the 700 meter perimeter wall would have made the settlement difficult to defend. The northern and eastern sections of the wall consist of a series of contiguous household units, facing toward the central part of the settlement. Considering its size, its population and the amount of settlement debris, the town was unlikely to have been occupied for long -possibly no more than a decade.( Similar dry-stone settlements built by the Nama include the abovementioned site at Narudas. The ruins at Narudas share several similarities with the construction style of ||Khauxa!nas, especially the ubiquity of funerary stela. In describing the settlement at Schans Vlakte, Ridsdale's successor John A. Baile writes that _**"In this country are to be seen, here and there, the old "Schansen" or Namaqua Forts, and some curious tombs raised in memory of some of their bravest warriors. These tombs are formed of choice stones from four to six feet long, placed perpendicularly with one end in the ground, and within a few inches of each other".**_ ( ||Khauxa!nas’ basic aggregation pattern in which household units were arranged around a common livestock enclosure, follows a common settlement style in southern Africa( similar to the "central cattle pattern" of south-western Africa.( Similar forms of dry-stone pastoral settlements, some of which also include well defined road systems like that seen by Ridsdale are best attested in the sotho-tswana towns like ( , in the towns of ( and in the Shona cities like ( . _**Narudas ruins, Namibia.**_( * * * **||Khauxa!nas as an anti-colonial base: Marengo’s war against the Germans 1904-1906** Following the death of Schans Vlakte's chief !Nanib, the chieftaincy of the ||Hawoben would be assumed his brother, who also moved north to join Jonker Afrikaner's burgeoning settlement at Windhoek, which would later become Namibia's capital. The town of ||Khauxa!nas remained largely abandoned for most of the second half of the 19th century, during the early phases of Namibia’s colonization by the Germans. The ruins were then re-occupied by the forces of Jakob Marengo during the brutal colonial war between the Nama and the Germans from 1903-09. Marengo, who referred to ||Khauxa!nas as "Kactchanas", used the barren and inaccessible terrain as a safe haven to elude pursuit by the German forces.( Marengo's armed party of no more than a hundred soldiers, inflicted repeated and ignominious reverses on the German Army for over two years from 1904-1906, tying down over 15,000 German soldiers in southern Namibia. His guerrilla warfare tactics relied alot on fortifying himself in the pre-existing settlements of ||Khauxa!nas and Narudas, the latter of which was identified by the Germans as "Morenga's fortress". Eventually, however, the build-up of troops and armaments forced him to momentarily withdraw across the border into British territory. After a series of failed negotiations (likely conducted at ||Khauxa!nas) and further battles, Marengo fled south and surrendered to the British cape police. The desert town of ||Khauxa!nas later faded into obscurity, until the area began to be studied by Klaus Dierks in the 1980s. _**The Rectangular Building in ||Khauxa!nas: "Marengo's House"**_ * * * The continent of Africa is separated from China by more than 7,000 km of ocean. But despite the seemingly insurmountable chasm between the two regions, **There are over a dozen documented visits by Africans and Chinese visiting each others’ lands across 2,000 years of history**. Read more about this fascinating history here: ( * * * _**If you liked this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal**_ ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Beyond Khoisan: Historical Relations in the Kalahari Basin by Tom Güldemann, pg 1–40, A linguist’s view: Khoe-Kwadi speakers as the earliest foodproducers of southern Africa by Tom Güldemann ( The Supreme Being of the Khoi-khoi By Theophilus Hahn pg 96-97, Die geskiedenis van die Afrikaner-Oorlams by P Stoffberg pg 19) ( Besides the 18th century documents discovered by Stoffberg and Dierks which refer to the Orlam Afrikaners, the following books from the 1820s contain the first use of the name exclusively by Klaas and his relatives; “Schets van het leven van Afrikaner”, 1826, by N. Cornel, '“Researches in South Africa”, 1828, by John Philip, pg 130, “Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa”, Volume 2, 1824, by William John Burchell, pg 376 ( State of the Cape of Good Hope in 1822 By W. Bird pg 73, Die geskiedenis van die Afrikaner-Oorlams by P Stoffberg pg 20-21) ( Die geskiedenis van die Afrikaner-Oorlams by P Stoffberg 22-24) ( map by P Stoffberg ( Die geskiedenis van die Afrikaner-Oorlams by P Stoffberg pg 26-35, 45-69, 73-82) ( The Politics of a South African Frontier by By Martin Chatfield Legassick pg 71-73, History of South Africa 1795-1834 By George McCall Theal pg 48 (_Theal claims it was located on an island in the orange river but doesn’t provide evidence to back the claim_) ( Chapt. 3 of ||Khauxa!nas - The Great Namibian Settlement by Klaus Dierks ( Die geskiedenis van die Afrikaner-Oorlams by P Stoffberg pg 21-22, 97-105) ( Die geskiedenis van die Afrikaner-Oorlams by P Stoffberg pg 138-170) ( Hate the Old and Follow the New: Khoekhoe and Missionaries by Tilman Dedering pg 101-105 ( The Archaeology of Social Rank among Eighteenth-Century Nomadic Pastoralists in Southern Namibia by John Kinahan, pg 240, chapter 3 of ||Khauxa!nas - The Great Namibian Settlement by Klaus Dierks ( Extracts from the Letters of James Backhouse Vol.2 pg 49-52 ( Scenes and Adventures in Great Namaqualand By Benjamin Ridsdale pg 152,155, 224) ( (Scenes and Adventures in Great Namaqualand By Benjamin Ridsdale pg 252-254, 167, chapter 3 of ||Khauxa!nas - The Great Namibian Settlement by Klaus Dierks ( Scenes and Adventures in Great Namaqualand By Benjamin Ridsdale pg 274, chapt 2 of ||Khauxa!nas - The Great Namibian Settlement by Klaus Dierks ( Scenes and Adventures in Great Namaqualand By Benjamin Ridsdale pg 276) ( Map by By Jeroen Zandberg ( The Archaeology of Social Rank among Eighteenth-Century Nomadic Pastoralists in Southern Namibia by John Kinahan pg 234-235, 237-238, chapt 2 of ||Khauxa!nas - The Great Namibian Settlement by Klaus Dierks ( Plan by John Kinahan ( The Archaeology of Social Rank among Eighteenth-Century Nomadic Pastoralists in Southern Namibia by John Kinahan 232-233, ( chapt 2 and 3 of ||Khauxa!nas - The Great Namibian Settlement by Klaus Dierks ( The Archaeology of Social Rank among Eighteenth-Century Nomadic Pastoralists in Southern Namibia by John Kinahan 238-239) ( The Archaeology of Social Rank among Eighteenth-Century Nomadic Pastoralists in Southern Namibia by John Kinahan pg 236-237) ( chapt 3 of ||Khauxa!nas - The Great Namibian Settlement by Klaus Dierks ( The Archaeology of Social Rank among Eighteenth-Century Nomadic Pastoralists in Southern Namibia by John Kinahan pg 240 ( _Badenhor’s critique of Huffman’s CCP model included an example of cattle at the center of a KhoeKhoe settlement, indicating that CCP wasn’t just used by bantu-speakers, but was instead used by all southern african groups for its functionality_: “Debating the central cattle pattern by T. Huffman, pg 166” ( ( ( chapt 2 of ||Khauxa!nas - The Great Namibian Settlement by Klaus Dierks.

# The History of Khauxanas (1780-1906): A Structured Overview ## 1. Geographic and Historical Context - **Location:** ||Khauxa!nas is situated in southern Namibia, within a harsh desert environment. - **Historical Importance:** The town serves as a significant site for understanding the political dynamics in southwestern Africa during the late 18th to early 20th centuries, particularly regarding the Nama Khoisan's resistance to colonial powers. ## 2. Founding of ||Khauxa!nas - **Establishment:** Khauxanas was founded by the Orlam clan of the Nama Khoisan in the late 18th century, around 1780. - **Size:** This stone settlement covered 5 acres. - **Cultural Context:** The Orlams were speakers of the Khoe-Kwadi language and are considered a distinct lineage group, primarily of Nama descent with some San ancestry. - **Political Role:** Khauxanas became a center for the Orlams' resistance against Cape colonial authorities and was pivotal during the formation of early political identities among the Nama. ## 3. Early Political Dynamics - **Emergence of the Orlams:** The Orlams first gained recognition in 1761 through reports by Adam Kok regarding a conflict involving livestock supervision. - **Adoption of Identity:** The Orlams referred to themselves as Afrikaner/Afrikanner before the term was used by Dutch settlers, establishing an early connection to the broader Afrikaner identity. - **Resistance Movements:** After a violent incident involving the death of Petrus Pienaar in 1796, led by a son of Captain Klaas (a key Orlam leader), the Orlams fled northwards to escape colonial retribution. ## 4. Socio-Political Developments - **Leadership Transition:** Captain Klaas's son Jager succeeded him and re-established connections with Cape authorities while allowing for missionary activity. - **Missionary Presence:** In 1806, the London Missionary Society established a station in the vicinity, reflecting changing dynamics between the Orlams and colonizers. - **Establishment of Windhoek:** Under Jonker Afrikaner’s leadership in the 1830s, the Orlams moved north and founded Windhoek, which would later become Namibia's capital. ## 5. Khauxanas’ Abandonment and Later Use - **Shift in Control:** The settlement of Khauxanas was largely abandoned in the latter half of the 19th century as the Orlam clan migrated. - **Reoccupation:** In the early 1900s, during the Herero and Nama Wars (1904-1909), Jakob Marengo used Khauxanas as a base against German colonizers. ## 6. Architectural and Archaeological Features - **Settlement Structure:** The ruins of Khauxanas feature a high stone wall encircling residential and communal areas, with the site showing evidence of defensive architecture and social stratification. - **Construction Phases:** The settlement underwent three phases of occupation, indicating a complex social organization and adaptation to changing circumstances. ## 7. End of Occupation and Legacy - **Decline:** After the war, Khauxanas faded into obscurity despite its historical significance. - **Historical Research:** Interest in Khauxanas was revived in the 1980s by researchers like Klaus Dierks, highlighting its role in Namibia’s pre-colonial and colonial history. ## 8. Conclusion - **Significance:** Khauxanas serves as a vital case study in understanding the interplay between indigenous resistance and colonial expansion in southern Africa. The site illustrates the resilience of the Nama Khoisan during a period of significant political upheaval and transformation.

A complete history of Dogon country: Bandiagara from 1900BC to 1900AD

demystifying an ancient African society

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A complete history of Dogon country: Bandiagara from 1900BC to 1900AD ===================================================================== ### demystifying an ancient African society ( Mar 12, 2023 18 ) Rising above a the semi-arid plains of central Mali, the dramatic landscape of Bandiagara with jagged escarpments and sandy plateaus is home to some of Africa's most fascinating societies. The Dogon population of Bandiagara are arguably the most studied groups in African anthropology. But the history of the Bandiagara region is relatively poorly understood, it often relies on outdated concepts, and occasionally employs essentialist theories in describing the region's relationship with west African empires. Recent research on the Bandigara's history has revealed that the region was central to the political history of west African empires. Bandiagara was often under imperial administration and was integrated into the broader systems of cultural and population exchanges in west Africa. Rather than existing in perpetual antagonism with the expansionist empires, the population of Bandiagara employed diverse political strategies both as allies and opponents. The recent studies have shown that Bandiagara wasn't an impermeable frontier and its Dogon population weren't a homogeneous group living in isolation; these fallacies emanate from external imaginary than from local realities. This article outlines the complete history of Bandiagara since the emergence of the region's earliest complex societies. It examines the political history of Bandiagara under various empires, as well as the social institutions of the Dogon. _**Map showing the location of the Bandiagara region ( **_ * * * _**If you like this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal**_ ( * * * **The emergence of complex societies in Bandiagara: 1900BC-1100AD** The region of Bandiagara is composed of three zones : the plateau, the escarpment and the lower plains. The plateau rises to a height of approximately 300 meters above surrounding plains and is delimited by the Bandiagara escarpment —a row of sandstone cliffs that rise about 500m and extend 150km from the southwest to the northwest— while the plains of the Seno-Gondo lie to the southeast, just below the cliffs. The emergence of complex societies in the region begun around the early 2nd millennium BC with the establishment of small agricultural settlements on the Bandiagara plateau and in the Seno Plain. The construction of stone houses and the growing of pearl millet was well established at sites like Ounjougou on the plateau by 1900-1800 BC( . This first phase of settlement in Bandiagara was succeeded by a period of population decline between 400BC-300AD during which time the region's population was mostly confined to the escarpment at sites such as Pégué cave A( . The population of Bandiagara later recovered around the 4th century AD, with multiple iron-age sites growing into large networks of agro-pastoral villages that were established on the plateau, in the escarpment and on the plains. These settlements include the plateau site of Kokolo, the escarpment site of Dourou Boro, and the Seno plain sites of; Damassogou, Nin-Bèrè, Ambéré-Dougon, and Sadia all of which occupied from the late 1st millennium BC to early 2nd millennium AD. These sites were linked to regional and long distance routes across west African as evidenced by the discovery of glass beads and other trade items at Dourou Boro and Sadia.( The Seno plain site of Sadia settled from 700-1300, constituted a complex village network connected to the emerging urban trade centers such as Jenne. Sadia and other settlements in the Bandiagara region were contemporaneous with the southward movements of the Neolithic populations from the ancient sites of Dhar Tichitt and the inland Niger delta between Mema to Jenne-jeno. These early developments were also associated with the emergence of the Ghana empire.( _**"Toloy" cave within the escarpment. "Toloy" site of Pégué cave A, showing the coiled-clay buildings**_( * * * **Medieval Bandiagara: demystifying then “Tellem” to “Dogon” sequence.** The little that is known about the early societies in the Bandiagara region (prior to the medieval empires of Mali and Songhai) is based on the material culture of the region's archeological sites as well as oral traditions recorded in the last century. While some of the different phases of occupation outlined above were once thought to correspond to different groups of people; labeled; "Toloy" (200BC-300BC), "Tellem" (1100-1500AD) and "Dogon"(1600-present), this population sequence has since been revised, especially since the sites of Bandiagara show an unbroken continuity in settlement, and a cultural continuity in burial practices. The terms; "Toloy", "Tellem" and "Dogon" therefore don't correspond to distinct cultural groups, but are now simply used as a way of organizing historical information about Bandiagara into a unitary scheme.( The population that flourished in the Bandiagara region during the early 2nd millennium lived in complex societies sustained by a vibrant agro-pastoral economy as well as metallurgy, cloth making, leatherworking, wood carving and pottery. They spoke an incredibly diverse range of languages belonging to both the Nilo-saharan and Niger-congo families related to the neighboring languages of Songhay (Nilo-saharan) and Mande (Niger-Congo), but also included language-isolates that remain unclassified.( They constructed houses of stone and mudbrick and some of them buried their dead high up inside the caves of the escarpment. These burials were protected by small walls of hand-molded mud brick reinforced by wooden pillars, or by stone walls covered with clay. The individuals laid to rest within the Bandiagara caves were clothed and wrapped in dyed cotton and/or wool blankets. The large volume of cotton textiles deposited in these burials and the homogeneity of their weaving technique, decoration, and format evidence of an indigenous weaving industry.( Among the different forms of apparel were a variety of caps, women's wraps, and male tunics with wide sleeves and blankets. They were made by sewing together narrow strips of cotton cloth using the typical West African horizontal looms( . Other grave goods include leather aprons, sandals, bags, and knife sheaths; adornments such as cylindrical quartz plugs and beads made of glass, and gemstones; as well as weapons and wood carvings.( _**“Tellem” houses inside the cliff face of Bandiagara. Tellem constructions at Yougo Dogorou**_( _**Tunic and Textile fragments from the "Tellem", 11th-12th century**_, Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen, and Musée National du Mali, Bamako * * * **Bandiagara within Imperial Mali and Songhai (13th-16th century): and the “arrival” of the Dogon.** The growth of large complex settlements within the Bandiagara region during the early 2nd millennium coincided with an era of expansion of Mande cavalry bands which created subordinate polities that paid tribute to the rulers of Mali. In other occasions, these horsemen established autonomous polities whose institutions were similar to those found in the Mali empire. Accompanying such elites were craftsmen such as leatherworkers, blacksmiths, wood carvers and others, who made products for domestic consumption as well as for regional and long distance trade.( During the Songhai era, the mountainous Bandiagara region was controlled by officials in the Songhai administration with the title of 'Tondi-farma', and Hombori-koi. The region appears as _**"al-jibal"**_ (Arabic word for the mountains) or as _**"tondi"**_ (Songhay word for the rock) in the 17th century Timbuktu chronicles. According to these chronicles, the populations of parts of Bandiagara were called 'Tunbula' (corresponding to Tombola; one of the ethnonyms of the Dogon). They are described as a _**"very large tribe (qabila) of the majus"**_ (ie; non-Muslims who are tolerated within Muslim domains).( _**Map showing the region of Bandiagara within the Songhai empire**_( Most of Bandiagara appears to have been held relatively firmly during the entirety of the Songhai era, having been conquered early during Sunni Ali's reign around 1484, with the only other recorded campaign being that of Askiya Dawud in 1555 which was part of a wider series of pacification campaigns.( Given its location near Songhai's frontier with the Mossi kingdom of Yatenga, there were significant interactions and population movements between the Bandiagara and Yatenga in the 16th and 17th century, especially since Yatenga was often a target of Songhai attacks. The exact dating and nature of the interaction between Yatenga and the Bandiagara region at this early stage is however rather obscure.( The curious office of Tondi-farma appears only during Sunni Ali's reign and was likely created for his military official Muḥammad Ture during the course of the campaigns despite Ture's fraught relationship with Sunni Ali. Shortly after Sunni Ali's death in 1492, Muhammad Ture would depose the deceased ruler's son and seize the throne as Askiya Muhammad. Conversely, the office of Hombori-koi appears during the reign of; Askiya Ishaq (1539-1549) and Askiya Bani reign (1586-1588) and Askiya Ishaq II (1588-1592). It more likely includes the northernmost region of Bandiagara closet to the Niger river valley, especially around the town of Douentza.( Oral traditions of the Dogon date their "arrival" in the Bandiagara region to during the height of imperial Songhai between the 15th-16th century. Most traditions often refer to the "pre-existing" population was called Tellem (we found them), but in other traditions, the pre-existing population is referred to as Nongom who are claimed to be distinct from the Tellem but contemporaneous with them.( Such traditions are difficult to interpret but more likely represent the arrival of groups of elites, craftsmen or small groups rather than the wholesale migrations of distinct ethnicities and displacements of pre-existing populations.( The present Dogon populations of the escarpment, plateau and Seno plain form a heterogeneous population whose movement spans several centuries and doesn't constitute a "bounded ethnic" group. The Dogon's internal ethnic diversity takes on many forms including a variety of languages, architecture and material culture.( _**Banani village near the town of Sanga**_ _**Dogon villages in the escarpment overlooking the plain**_ * * * **Independent Bandiagara after Songhai: examining Dogon political and social institutions.** The collapse of Songhai in 1591 dramatically reshaped the political landscape of west Africa and the Bandiagara region as well. The Moroccan garrisons at Timbuktu, Gao and Jenne could barely control the cities, and had no authority in the countryside. An expedition by the Pasha Mahmud in 1595 briefly captured parts of Bandiagara (identified as al-Hajar, Hombori and Da'anka) but hi camp was ambushed by the local archers and he was killed; his head was sent to the Askiya Nuh exiled in Dendi. Besides one mention of an expedition into the northern regions of Bandiagara by Pasha Hamid in 1647, there was no attempt by the Moroccans to take any part of the region.( _**Map showing the Bandiagara region including some of the main Dogon settlements**_( It's during this period in the 17th and 18th century that most of the political and social institutions of the Dogon would have fully emerged. Dogon society was controlled by loosely united chiefdoms or federations that are comprised of clans, lineage and villages. These 'federations' are often referred to as "tribes" which constituted closely related lineage groups (clans), they include the tribes of Dyon, Arou, Ono, Domno and Kor. The first four tribes share an elaborate tradition of cosmology and are distinguished in particular by the village from which they dispersed: with the Arou in the escarpment, the Ono and the Domno on the plains and the Dyon in the plateau.( ( In the decentralized power structure of the Dogon, political and religious authority is shared between the hogon (chief of a 'tribe'), the priests and head of lineages, as well as the elders from each extended household. The hogon, the priests and the village elders share ritual responsibilities, their political authority being legitimized by their religious roles. The office is of the hogon is today mostly religious in nature but likely held considerable political influence in the past, especially since the hogon of Arou in particular is said to have maintained diplomatic relationship with the Yatenga kingdom( The different Dogon settlements in the Bandiagara region and their distinct historical and geographic origins reveal the diversity of Dogon society. For example, the settlement at Niongono is occupied by the lineages of Degoga and Karambe which claim a Mande origin from the region of Segu before their purported arrival in the 15th-17th century. But the village itself was likely settled as early as the 12th century considering the dating of its earliest sculptures.( Additionally, the settlement at Kargue was founded by the Janage lineage, which speak a dialect of the Bozo language. They claim an origin in the region of Jenne as part of a larger group called the Saman that reportedly arrived 15th/16th century. These settled on the plateau and initiated matrimonial political alliances with pre-existing elites. Their attempts at creating a political hegemony through alliances with the 19th century empires of Masina and Tukulor created distinct 'Saman' and 'Dogon' identities.( Dogon craftsmen created some of west africa's most recognizable art traditions using copper alloys, iron and wood to make a wide variety of artifacts. While the related activities of metallurgy and wood carving pre-dated the Dogon era, the emergence of an endogamous caste of blacksmiths occurred relatively late( . The blacksmiths rely on the patronage of wealthy clients to make artifacts, the priests then use the statuettes in religious activities, while individuals may use them for protection purposes.( _**Bronze figure of a kneeling Male**_, 16th–19th century, private collection; _**Wooden Lidded vessel with an equestrian Figure**_, 1979.206.173a–c, met museum, _**Brass Ring with equestrian figure**_, 19th–20th century, 1981.425.1, met museum There are four main traditional Dogon cults. These include; the Lebe cult related to fertility of the land, and its spiritual chief is the Hogon. There's the wagem cult which is an ancestral cult of an extended family and is presided over by the family head. There's the Binu cult which is concerned with maintaining harmony between the human settlements and the wild, and its headed by the Binu priest. Lastly is the society of masks which directs public rites that enable the transfer of souls of the deceased to the afterlife.( Dogon architecture displays a variation of the broader construction styles in the Niger river valley from Jenne to Timbuktu, but includes features that are unique to the Bandiagara region. Particular emphasis is placed on the façades which are often composed of niches with checkerboard patterns, the walls buttressed by pilasters leading upto flat roofs surmounted by multiple rounded pinnacles. The elder of an extended family lives in a large house (ginna) that is surrounded by the house of family members. The ginna is a two storied building with a façade showing rows of superimposed niches, while the the ancestor altar (Wagem) is in a sheltered structure that leads onto the roof terrace surmounted by ritual bowls.( Sections of the Dogon had adopted Islam beginning around the 14th century, based on the estimated dating of the oldest mosque constructed in the village of Nando( . Built with stone, mudbrick and timber, the mosque's unique architecture —featuring pilasters on its façade and a roof terrace surmounted by conical pilasters— is a blend of architectural styles from Jenne and Bandiagara. Another mosque of about the same age as Nando was built at Makou, and is also said to be contemporaneous with the Nando mosque. Most of the Dogon mosques are of relatively recent construction beginning in the 19th century, and reproduce the same architectural features of domestic Dogon constructions.( _**House of the Hogon of Arou**_ _**Façade of different ginna houses in Sanga**_ _**Nando Mosque**_ * * * **Bandiagara under the empires of Segu, Masina and Tukulor from 1780-1888** From the late 18th century, parts of the Bandiagara region were subsumed into the three successive empires which controlled the Niger river valley. The Bambara-led empire of Segu expanded over parts of the Bandiagara region, which comprised part of a shared frontier with the kingdom of Yatenga, and some wars were fought in its vicinity prior to the collapse of Segu to the Fulbe-led empire of Masina in 1818. During the early 19th century, the region of Kunari (adjacent to the plateau) was ruled by a Fulbe nobility of the Dikko and Sidibe under the Segu empire, and it was one of the first regions to be subsumed by the Masina forces led by Amhadu Lobbo.( The Masina state then extended its control over most of Bandiagara plateau (known as Hayre in Masina documents). The Masinanke (the elite of Masina) appointed a provincial ruler (Amir) named Gouro Malado who goverened most of the plateau, and below him are subordinate chiefs who were in charge of local politics. In the northern sections of the plateau, the villages of Ibissa, Samari and Dagani put themselves under the protection of the chief de Boré, who also a vassal of Masina. Around 1830, most of the Seno plains of Dogon country were annexed by the armies of Ahmadu Lobbo's successor; Ba Lobbo after quelling a major armed movement by the Dogon of Seno against Masina expansionism. Sections of the Dogon that were residing in the Séno plain and were opposed to Masina, abandoned the plain and moved to the escarpments.( The seno plain was however not firmly controlled and remained a semi-autonomous zone where rebellious Fulbe elites opposed to the Masina state could settle. Some of the Fulbe elites from Dikko founded the town of Diankabu in the Seno plain. Diankabu was led by Bokari Haman Dikko, a Masinanke noble who betrayed Ahmadu Lobbo and forged alliances with the Yatenga kingdom. However, the Dogon population of Diankabu occupied a subordinate position, as they did in most domains controlled by the Masina state.( The northernmost regions of Bandiagara were also not fully integrated into the Masina state and remained under the control of small semi-autonomous polities such as the chiefdoms of Dalla and Booni. In these states, the relationship between the Fulbe elites, the Dogon and other groups was rather complex; with the Dogon of Booni occupying a relatively better position than those in Dalla.( The empire of Masina was conquered by the Futanke forces of the Tukulor ruler El Hadj Umar Tal who captured the Masina capital of Hamdullahi in 1862. But the deposed forces of Masina regrouped and besieged their former capital from 1863-1864, forcing Umar Tal to make the pragmatic choice of sending his son Tijani Tal with a large quantity of gold inorder to ally with the Dogon of Bandiagara and provide him with mercenaries. But before Tijani would arrive with the Dogon relief force, the Futanke forces were forced out of Hamdullahi and Umar was killed shortly after in the region of Bandiagara where he had fled.( _**Maximum extent of the Tukulor empire showing the Bandiagara region**_( Following the death of Umar Tal in 1864, Tijani’s followers settled in the Bandigara region and established the capital of their new state at the eponymously named town of Bandiagara in 1868. Tijani forged alliances with Dogon at Bandiagara, especially on the plateau with the chiefs Sanande Sana and Sala Baji of Kambari. The strength of Tijani's coalition which included Dogon warriors allowed him to extend his influence over the rebellious Masinanke forces, who were captured and settled near the plateau, as well as against the Dogon in the Seno plain that were not part of the state. The Dogon forces of Tijani also secured his autonomy from the other half of the Tukulor empire centered Segu that was ruled by his brother Amadu Tal.( Given its contested autonomy, the Bandiagara state ruled by Tijani was largely dependent on its military institution, which inturn rested on the diversity of his forces; among whom the Dogon were the most significant element. Tijani's alliance with the Dogon was secured through gift giving and sharing the spoils of war, with the Dogon chiefs being given top priory right after his own Futanke elites. The Bandiagara state wasn't a theocratic government like Masina since Its clerical elite did not hold power and its amirs didn't assume religious authority. The Dogon established a close political and social alliance with the Futanke elite, they shared domestic spaces, and their chiefs were treated with a level of respect.( Tijani encouraged Islamic proselytization and mosque construction in Dogon settlements, but also allowed some non-Muslim Dogon religious and judicial practices to continue locally. Even at his capital, a Dogon court was overseen by the Dogon’s traditional Hogon priests, while Muslim law applied to the Futanke and other Muslim subjects. This was in stark contrast to the strict enforcement of theocratic law enforced by Tijani in Muslim settlements outside Bandiagara.( _**Ningari mosque, ca. 1945**_, quai branly _**Kargue mosque**_ _**kani kombole mosque**_ * * * **Bandiagara on the eve of colonialism** The Dogon featured prominently during the brief reign of Tijani's successor Muniru from 1887/8-1891. Muniru courted Dogon elites and mercenaries with gifts, and managed to seize control of Bandiagara by storming into the main mosque's grounds with his Dogon army while the Futanke elite were preparing for the Tabaski celebration. Muniru later rewarded his Dogon soldiers with a huge amount of cowries and cattle for installing him on the throne.( Muniru's brief reign was a period of prosperity for the Bandiagara region and was remembered positively among the allied Dogon groups. But the arrival of the French armies which had colonized the other half of the Tukulor state at Segu in 1890, compelled Muniru to initiate diplomatic overtures to the French to retain a semblance of autonomy. This potential diplomatic alliance was however cut short when Ahmadu, the deposed Tukulor ruler of Segu fled to Bandiagara where he was welcomed by the elites. His tenure would be brief, and the French would in 1893 seize the capital Bandiagara with the assistance of Muniru's brother Agibu, who was then installed as the ruler.( Unlike his predecessors, the relationship between the Dogon and Agibu was less cordial as the French forces gradually displaced the Dogon’s role as the guarantor of military power. While Agibu retained most of the Dogon fighting forces of his predecessors, the breakdown of the reciprocal gift giving system, the strong opposition from deposed Futanke elites, and a major rebellion in 1896, erased any semblance of state continuity. The region of Bandiagara formally became a French colony.( _**Agibu’s palace at Bandiagara**_ * * * Dogon cosmology includes intriguing details about the binary star system Sirius that were only recently discovered by modern astronomers. **The Dogon tradition on Sirius remains controversial among most scholars, but when combined with the history of west African astronomy at Timbuktu, it provides valuable insights on Africa’s scientific traditions.** ( * * * _**If you liked this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal**_ ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Map by Anne Mayor ( Une chronologie pour le peuplement et le climat du pays dogon by Sylvain Ozainne et al. pg 42 ( Agricultural diversification in West Africa by Louis Champion et al pg 15-16, Early social complexity in the Dogon Country by Anne Mayor. ( Early social complexity in the Dogon Country by Anne Mayor. Compositional and provenance study of glass beads from archaeological sites in Mali and Senegal at the time of the first Sahelian states by Miriam Truffa Giachet ( Agricultural diversification in West Africa by Louis Champion et al pg 17-18) ( credit: Partners Pays-Dogon and Anne Mayor et al in “Diet, health, mobility, and funerary practices in pre-colonial West Africa” ( "Toloy", "Tellem", "Dogon" : une réévaluation de l'histoire du peuplement en Pays dogon (Mali) by Anne Mayor pg 333-344, Un Néolithique Ouest-Africain by S Ozainne ( Was there a now-vanished branch of Nilo-Saharan on the Dogon Plateau by Roger Blench ( Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara by Alisa LaGamma pg 162) ( Cloth in West African History By Colleen E. Kriger pg 76-93 ( Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara by Alisa LaGamma pg 164-165, 168) ( credit: Anthony Pappone on flickr, anon ( Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara by Alisa LaGamma pg pg 153) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 92 n.8, pg 150 n.40, pg 20 n.16, 138 ( credits; M. Gomez, Joseph M. Bradshaw ( _**a small section of the still unidentified “dum mountain” (possibly near Douentza) remained outside Songhai control;**_ Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 92, 99, 147) ( _**The following sources provide rather conflicting accounts, and its important to note that despite its location, Bandiagara wasn’t the actual zone of the Songhai-Mossi wars and was likely periphery to the Yatenga kingdom**_: Forgerons et sidérurgie en pays dogon by C. Robion-Brunner pg 11, Traditions céramiques dans la boucle du Niger by Anne Mayor pg 113, The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 4 pg 185 ( African Dominion by Michael A. Gomez pg 206-207, Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick xxxix, 138, 157 n.99, 171, 175-176, ) ( Dogon: Images & Traditions by Huib Blom pg 89 ( _**The migration of atleast one group of artisans that eventually acquired a Dogon identity has been studied in detail by combining archeological data and oral traditions**_, Forgerons et sidérurgie en pays dogon by C. Robion-Brunner pg 123-124 ( Dogon: Images & Traditions by Huib Blom pg 24, 38) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 226-227, Forgerons et sidérurgie en pays dogon by C. Robion-Brunner pg 11) ( credits: Kate Erza ( African Worlds: Studies in the Cosmological Ideas and Social Values of African Peoples by Daryll Forde pg 89-90, Forgerons et sidérurgie en pays dogon by C. Robion-Brunner pg 8) ( African Worlds: Studies in the Cosmological Ideas and Social Values of African Peoples by Daryll Forde pg 99-101, Forgerons et sidérurgie en pays dogon by C. Robion-Brunner pg 8, Dogon: Images & Traditions by Huib Blom pg 18, 216, 218, 225 ( Dogon: Images & Traditions by Huib Blom pg 46) ( Dogon: Images & Traditions by Huib Blom pg 64-66) ( Variability of Ancient Ironworking in West Africa pg 300-304 ( Dogon: Images & Traditions by Huib Blom pg 40) ( Dogon: Images & Traditions by Huib Blom pg 216) ( L'architecture dogon: Constructions enterre au Mali, edited by Wolfgang Lauber, Dogon: Images & Traditions by Huib Blom pg 228-238, ( Historic Mosques in Sub-Saharan Africa by Stéphane Pradines pg 102 ( Dogon: Images & Traditions by Huib Blom pg 282, 286, 291, Historic Mosques in Sub-Saharan Africa: From Timbuktu to Zanzibar by Stéphane Pradines pg 102-103 ( Forgerons et sidérurgie en pays dogon by C. Robion-Brunner pg 12, Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith by M. Nobili pg 200) ( Forgerons et sidérurgie en pays dogon by C. Robion-Brunner pg 12) ( The Bandiagara Emirate by Joseph M. Bradshaw pg 62) ( Ecology and Power in the Periphery of Maasina: The Case of the Hayre in the Nineteenth Century by Mirjam de Bruijn and Han van Dijk pg 227-237 ( 'The Chronicle of the Succession': An Important Document for the Umarian State by David Robinson pg 251, The Bandiagara Emirate by Joseph M. Bradshaw pg 5,22) ( map by John Henry Hanson. ( The Bandiagara Emirate by Joseph M. Bradshaw pg 19, 53, 71, Forgerons et sidérurgie en pays dogon by C. Robion-Brunner pg 12) ( The Bandiagara Emirate by Joseph M. Bradshaw pg 53-55) ( The Bandiagara Emirate by Joseph M. Bradshaw pg 63, Poussière, ô poussière!: la cité-état sama du pays dogon, Mali By Gilles Holder pg 391-392 ) ( The Bandiagara Emirate by Joseph M. Bradshaw pg 104-105) ( The Bandiagara Emirate by Joseph M. Bradshaw pg 107-143, Warriors, Merchants, and Slaves by Richard L. Roberts pg 158) ( The Bandiagara Emirate by Joseph M. Bradshaw pg 152-160).

# A Complete History of Dogon Country: Bandiagara from 1900 BC to 1900 AD ## Introduction The Bandiagara region, situated in central Mali, has a rich history that is closely tied to the Dogon people. While the Dogon are a well-studied group in anthropology, the broader historical context of Bandiagara has often been misunderstood. Recent research indicates that the Bandiagara region was integral to the political dynamics of West African empires rather than being isolated from them. ## Early Societies: 1900 BC - 1100 AD 1. **Geography**: Bandiagara consists of three key zones: - The plateau - The escarpment - The lower plains of Seno-Gondo 2. **Settlement Foundations**: - Around 1900-1800 BC, small agricultural settlements were established, particularly on the plateau and Seno Plain, with Ounjougou as a notable site. - A decline occurred between 400 BC and 300 AD, leading to a population concentration in the escarpment, notably at Pégué cave A. - Recovery and growth resumed by the 4th century AD, leading to extensive iron-age networks of agro-pastoral villages. 3. **Trade Connections**: - Archaeological findings such as glass beads at Dourou Boro and Sadia indicate links to regional trade routes. - Sadia was contemporaneous with emerging urban trade centers, reflecting a complex trading network associated with the Ghana Empire. ## Medieval Bandiagara: Tellem to Dogon Transition 1. **Cultural Evolution**: - Early societies were categorized into phases labeled "Toloy," "Tellem," and "Dogon," based on archaeological findings and oral traditions. - These designations are now understood as a means to organize historical data rather than distinct groups, showing continuity in occupation and cultural practices. 2. **Economy and Artisanship**: - The Bandiagara region developed a diverse agro-pastoral economy. Artisans such as blacksmiths, textile weavers, and wood carvers thrived. - Local burial practices included cliff burials, revealing a sophisticated indigenous weaving industry known for cotton textiles. ## Bandiagara Under Imperial Mali and Songhai (13th - 16th Century) 1. **Integration into Empires**: - The region became part of the Mali Empire, subject to tribute systems and military campaigns led by Mande cavalry. - During the Songhai Empire, the Bandiagara region was administratively controlled, with residents referred to as 'Tunbula'. 2. **Cultural Interactions**: - Oral traditions highlight the Dogon’s arrival in the area during the Songhai period, interacting with pre-existing groups such as Tellem and Nongom. ## Post-Songhai Era: Independent Bandiagara 1. **Political Landscape Shift**: - The collapse of the Songhai Empire in 1591 led to power vacuums and local autonomy. - The Dogon established chiefdoms and federations comprising clans and lineages, with the hogon (chief) sharing authority with priests and elders. 2. **Religious Influence**: - Islam was adopted by some segments of the Dogon population by the 14th century, leading to the construction of mosques that incorporated both local and Islamic architectural styles. ## Bandiagara and the Rise of Empires (1780 - 1888) 1. **Imperial Successions**: - The rise of the Bambara empire of Segu, followed by the Fulbe-led Masina, changed the governance of Bandiagara. - The region saw conflicts, power changes, and shifting alliances, especially with the Dogon aligning with various ruling powers. 2. **Tukulor Expansion**: - Under El Hadj Umar Tal, the Tukulor Empire expanded, and alliances were formed with Dogon groups for military support against Masina. ## Bandiagara on the Eve of Colonialism 1. **Leadership Transitions**: - Under Muniru, a brief period of Dogon cooperation led to stability. However, colonial pressures grew with the French incursion. - The eventual fall of Bandiagara to French colonial forces marked a significant turning point, eroding local governance systems. ## Conclusion The history of Bandiagara, particularly in relation to the Dogon, reveals a dynamic landscape of cultural continuity, political alliances, and trade networks. Understanding this history provides valuable insights into the complexity of ancient African societies and their interactions with neighboring empires.

A complete history of Jenne: 250BC-1893AD - by isaac Samuel

Journal of African cities chapter 6

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A complete history of Jenne: 250BC-1893AD ========================================= ### Journal of African cities chapter 6 ( Mar 05, 2023 12 Nested along the banks of the Bani river within the fertile floodplains of central Mali, the city of Jenne has for centuries been at the heart of west Africa's political and cultural landscape. Enframed within towering earthen walls was a cosmopolitan urban settlement intersected by wide allies that were flanked by terraced mansions whose entrances were graced by majestic baobabs. Inside this city, scholars, merchants and craftsmen mingled in a flourishing community that was subsumed by the expansionist vast empires of west Africa. Integrated within the vast social landscape, the city of Jenne would have a profound influence on west Africa's cultural history. Jenne’s commercial significance, its craftsmen's architectural styles and its scholars' literary production would leave a remarkable legacy in African history. This article outlines the complete history of Jenne; including a summary of the city's political history, its scholarly traditions and its architectural styles. _**Map of west Africa’s empires showing the location of Jenne( **_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Origins of Jenne: the urban settlement at jenne-jeno (250BC-1400AD)** The city of Jenne is built on a large river island in the Bani tributary of the Niger river. The original settlement of Jenne was established at the neolithic site of jenne jeno about 2-3km away, which was occupied from the 3rd century BC to the 15th century AD. Jenne-jeno has revealed the site of a complex society that developed into a considerable regional center, and is one of west Africa’s oldest urban settlements. Surrounded by over 69 satellite towns, the population of the whole exceeded 42,000 in the mid-1st millennium.( The settlement at Jenne-jeno, and its urban cluster was part of a broader Neolithic tradition that arose in the region of Mema near Mali’s border with Mauritania, which included the ancient settlement of Dia and several small nucleated settlements of related dates in the 1st millennium BC. The Mema tradition was itself linked to the ancient Neolithic sites of Dhar Tichitt in southern Mauritania where arose a vast number of proto-urban sites during the 3rd millennium BC.( By 800 Jenne-jeno had developed into as a full and heterogeneous agglomeration inhabited by a population of various specialists, with a surrounding wall 2 kilometers in circumference surrounded by a sprawling urban cluster of satellite settlements.( The present settlement at Jenne was itself established during the last phase of jenne-jeno's occupation around the 12th-13th century, and its oldest settlement has recently been dated to between 1297–1409.( _**Reclining figure. ca. 12th–14th century**_, Jenne-jeno, Musée National du Mali _**Jenne-jeno urban cluster**_, map by R. McIntosh _**Map of Jenne-Jeno in relation to the Neolithic sites of Dia and Dhar Tichitt**_, map by K.C. MacDonald * * * **The history of Jenne under the empires of Mali and Songhai (13th-16th century)** From the 9th-13th century, the hinterland of Jenne fell under the political control of the empires of Ghana and Mali, the latter of which was the first to exercise any real control over the city. Jenne's status under Mali was rather ambiguous. Its immediate hinterland which included the provinces of; Bindugu (along the Bani river between Jenne and Segu); as well as Kala and Sibiridugu (both between the Bani and Niger rivers) were under Malian control by the 13th century. A 14th century account about the Mali emperor Mansa Musa and the 17th century Timbuktu chronicle; tarikh al fattash, both mention that the Mali empire conquered hundreds to cities and towns, _**“each with its surrounding district with villages and estates”.**_ With Jenne being one of the cities under Mali.( However, the city may have maintained a significant degree of autonomy throughout the entire period of Mali empire. According to the 17th century chronicle; Tarikh al-Sudan _**"At the height of their power the Malians sought to subject the people of Jenne, but the latter refused to submit. The Malians made numerous expeditions against them, and many terrible, hard-fought encounters took place-a total of some ninety-nine, in each of which the people of Jenne were victorious."**_ While embellished, this story indicates that Jenne didn't willingly submit to Mali's rule if it ever did.( The city first appears in external accounts in a description of west Africa by the Genoese traveler Antonio Malfante in 1447 while he was in the southern Sahara region. He mentions the cities of the middle Niger basin then under the (brief) control of the Tuaregs, among which was Jenne (“Geni”). But by the time of the Portuguese account of Alvise Cadamosto who was on the west african coast by 1456, Jenne's ruler was reportedly at war with Sulaymān Dāma, the first Songhai ruler.( Sunni Ali, the successor of Sulaymān, besieged Jenne in between the years 1470-1473 using a flotilla of 400 boats to surround it with his armies. Daily pitched battles ensued for the next 6 months until the city eventually capitulated, allowing Sunni Ali to establish his residence east of the Great Mosque. This siege must have represented a significant political event, since the Tarik al-sudan noted that _**"with the exception of Sunni "Ali, no ruler had ever defeated the people of Jenne since the town was founded"**_. Jenne's independence ended with this conquest as successive empires vied for its control. Fatefully, this same conquer of Jenne is reported to have died during another siege of Jenne around 1487-8 and his death would initiate a series of events that led to the coup of Askiya Muḥammad.( The city would then remain under the Songhai administration through the dual administrative offices of the Jenne-koi (traditional ruler) and Jenne-mondio (governor). The Jenne-koi retained some form of symbolic importance and was reportedly exempt from the practice of pouring sand on the head when approaching the Askiya, as a sign of submission, but even this symbolic autonomy could only go so far, since the princes of Jenne-koi were sent to Gao to be tutored by the Songhai rulers.( However, Jenne's neighboring provinces of Kala and Bindugu remained independent, wedged between the expansionist Songhay and the declining Mali empire.( Jenne became more prosperous during the Songhai era. According to the tarikh al-sudan, most of jenne's wealth was derived from its connection to the 'gold mine' of Begho, and it was the gold dust from the latter that Jenne exported through Timbuktu to the Mediterranean( . Leo Africanus’ account written in 1550, mentions that the city's merchants made _**“considerable profit from the trade in cotton cloth which they carry on with the Barbary merchants”.**_ its residents _**"are very well dressed. They wear a large swathe of cotton, black or blue, with which they cover even the head, though the priests and doctors wear a white one"**_ and use “_**bald gold coins**_” as currency.( Writing in 1506-1508 based on secondary accounts, Duarte Pereira describes _**"the city of Jany, inhabited by negroes and surrounded by a stone wall, where there is great wealth of gold; tin and copper are greatly prized there, likewise red and blue cloths and salt, all except the cloth being sold by weight.. The commerce of this land is very great; every year a million gold ducats go from this country to Tunis, Tripoli of Soria \ and Tripoli of Barbary and to the kingdom of Boje \ and Fez and other parts"**_( Aerial view of Jenne, and street scene from 1905/6 * * * **The scholars of Jenne.** Djenne was home to one of the earliest scholarly communities in west Africa. According to the tarikh-al sudan, Jenne's king Kunburu (ca. 1250) assembled 4,200 scholars under his domain, made three grants regarding the city's status as a place for refugee, scholarship and trade, and pulled down his palace to build the now-famous congressional mosque.( The city was within the nucleus of the Wangara diaspora prior to their dispersion which spread their Suwarian philosophy and building style across parts of west Africa. [African History Extra\ \ Foundations of Trade and Education in medieval west Africa: the Wangara diaspora.\ \ As the earliest documented group of west African scholars and merchants, the Wangara occupy a unique position in African historiography, from the of accounts of medieval geographers in Muslim Spain to the archives of historians in Mamluk Egypt, the name Wangara was synonymous with gold trade from west Africa, the merchants who brought the gold, and the …\ \ Read more\ \ 2 years ago · 10 likes · 6 comments · isaac Samuel]( The Wangara/Dyula were an important class of Soninke-speaking merchant-scholars associated with the ancient urban settlements of the middle Niger region (eg Dia and Kabara), that carried out gold trade with north Africa and established scholarly communities across vast swathes of west Africa from the Senegambia to the Hausalands and the Volta basin. Most of the scholars of Jenne were derived from this group as shown by their nisbas; "al-Wangari", "Diakhate", "al-Kabari", and their soninke/Mande clan names etc. The Wangara scholars were also important in the northern scholarly center of Timbuktu as well.( Among the prominent scholars in Jenne during the Songhai era was al-faqīh Muḥammad Sānū al-Wangarī who was originally born in the town of Bitu (Begho in today's northern Ghana). Al-Wangarī’s life spanned the period before Sunni ‘Alī’s takeover of Jenne to that of Askiya Muḥammad, who appointed him qāḍī of Jenne after the recommendation of Maḥmūd Aqīt of Timbuktu's Sankore mosque.( His appointment in the novel office of qāḍī at Jenne represented a maturation of Islamic scholarship under state patronage and his burial site in the congregational mosque’s courtyard became a site of veneration. He would be succeeded in the office of qadi at Jenne by another Wangara scholar named al-Abbas Kibi, who died in 1552 and was buried next to the Jenne mosque.( Another leading scholar of Jenne was Maḥmūd Baghayughu, who had a rather adversarial relationship with the Songhai emperor Askiya Isḥāq Bēr. When the Askiya requested that the residents of Jenne name the person who had been oppressing them so he may be punished, Baghayughu said it was the Askiya himself and his overreaching laws —in a bold reproach of his ruler. But shortly after the passing of al-Abbas Kibi (the previous qadi of Jenne), the Askiya coolly repaid Baghayughu's insolence by appointing him as qadi, the overwhelming irony of his unfortunately compromising position drove Baghayughu to his deathbed.( Jenne’s scholarly tradition continued long after Songhai’s collapse, as the city became a cosmopolitan center of education. Jenne’s learning system was personalized as in most of west Africa, with day-to-day teaching occurring scholar's houses using their own private libraries( , while the mosques served as the locus for teaching classes on an adhoc basis. However, the theocratic rulers of Masina would establish a institutionalized public school system in the early 19th century.( A recent digitization project catalogued about half of the 4,000 manuscripts they found dating back to 1394. but , these constituted only a small fraction of the total number of manuscripts. Many were composed and copied in Jenne by local scholars in various languages including Arabic, Songhai, Bozo, Fulfulde and Bamabara, These manuscripts include copies of west African classics such as the the tarikh al-sudan, but also various works on theology, poetry, history and astronomy.( _**Kitāb jāmi‘ al-aḥkām (book of Jamia Al-Ahkam)**_, a work on astronomy and astrology written by Sidiki son of Ibrahim Torofo, ca. 1723-1844, Sekou Toure Family collection.( _**Commentary on the "Mukhtasar of Khalil"**_, written by a Jenne scholar in 1723, Sekou Toure Family collection.( _**The Old mosque of Jenne more than two decades before its reconstruction**_, ca. 1895 by A. Lainé, quai branly * * * **Jenne through the Moroccan era and the Timbuktu Pashalik (1591-1618-1767)** There was a general state of insecurity after the collapse of Songhai to the Saadian army in March 1591 and Jenne was caught in the maelstrom. The tarikh al-sudan mentions that the _**"the land of Jenne was most brutally ravaged, north, south, east, and west, by the Bambara".**_ Jenne's governor sent his oath of allegiance to the Saadian representative (Pasha) in Timbuktu in December 1591. The Timbuktu pasha then sent 17 musketeers (Arma) to install a new Jenne-koi after the previous one had passed away. After putting down a brief rebellion in Jenne led by a former Songhai officer, a garrison of 40 musketeers under the authority of Ali al-Ajam as the first Arma governor of Jenne, alongside the two pre-existing offices.( Saadian control of Jenne remained weak for most of the time, and the last Pasha was appointed in 1618, after which the rump state based at Timbuktu was largely independent of direct Moroccan control( . Jenne's immediate hinterland remained largely independent, especially the town of Kala which had several chiefs including Sha Makay, who had briefly submitted to the Arma's authority but later renounced his submission almost immediately after assessing their strength and invaded Jenne. The Arma governor of Jenne sent their forces to attack Kala but were defeated and Makay continued launching attacks against Jenne with his forces, among whom were 'non-Muslim' soldiers. (most likely Bambara).( Jenne also remained a target of the Mali's rulers. In a major attempt at retaking lost territory, the ruler of Mali; Mahmud invaded Jenne in 1599 with a coalition that included the ruler of Masina; Hammad Amina. But Mali's forces were driven back by a coalition of forces led by the Arma and the Jenne-koi as well as a ruler of Kala, the last of whom spared the Mali ruler’s life. Shortly after this battle, Hammad Amina of Masina would later raise an army that included Bambara forces and decisively defeat the Arma and their Jenne allies at the battle of Tiya in the same year.( Describing contemporary circumstances in the 1650s, the tarikh al-sudan writes that _**"The Sultan of Jenne has twelve army commanders in the west, in the land of Sana. Their task is to be on the alert for expeditions sent by the Malli-koi (ruler of Mali), and to engage his army in such cases, without first seeking the sultan's authority."**_( Besides the continued threat from Mali, Jenne itself rebelled several times between 1604 and 1617, often with the support of the deposed Askiyas, who were trying to re-take the former Songhai territories from their new base at Dendi (along the Benin/Niger border).( By 1632, the local Arma garrison was itself rebelling against their overlords in Timbuktu and they were soon joined by the Jenne elite in several successive rebellions in 1643 and 1653 before each Arma garrison (at Jenne and Gao) became effectively independent . More rebellions by the Arma of Jenne against the Pashas at Timbuktu were recorded in 1713, 1732 and 1748, during which time, Jenne was gradually falling under the political sphere of the growing Bambara empire of Segu and the Masina kingdom.( The Bambara in the regions of Kala and Bindugu had always been a significant military threat in Djenne's hinterland during the Songhai era when they had remained independent of the Askiyas. During his routine visits to Jenne in the year 1559, the Askiya Dawud chastised his Jenne-mondio al-Amin for not campaigning against the Bambara forces that had repeatedly invaded the city.( After Songhai's collapse, they always formed part of the forces of the independent rulers in Jenne's hinterland the chiefs at Kala who launched attacks against the Arma garrisons in the city. It's within the regions of Kala and Bindugu that the nucleus of the Segu empire developed.( The kingdom of Masina also featured in Jenne's political history during the Songhai era and in the succeeding Pashalik period. Armies from the Masina ruler Fondoko Bubu Maryam reportedly attacked the Askiya’s royal barge in 1582, just as it was leaving Jenne with a consignment destined for Gao, and this attack invited a devastating retaliation from Songhai's armies. In the period following Songhai’s collapse, the rulers of Masina and Segu would in 1739 form a coalition that defeated a planned invasion of Jenne by the king of Kong.( While Jenne remained under the nominal suzerainty of the Timbuktu Pashalik until around 1767( , it formally came under the rapidly expanding empire of Segu during the reign of N'golo Diara (1766-1795). The latter’s reign coincided with the decline of the Pashalik after a series of invasions by the Tuareg forces between the 1730s to 1770s.( By the time of Diara’s successor king Mansong (d. 1808), Jenne and Timbuktu were both under the control of the Segu empire. Describing this empire’s rapid expansion in 1796 the explorer Mungo Park observed that Jenne _**"was nominally a part of the king of Bambara's dominions"**_ with a governor appointed by Mansong. The kingdom of Masina also paid _**"an annual tribute to the king of Bambara, for the lands which they occupy"**_. And the same source in 1800 writes that; _**"The king of Bambara proceeded from Sego to Timbuktu with a numerous army, and took the government entirely into his own hands"**_. ( _**Convoy of porters, Djenne**_, early 20th century, National Museum of Ethnology Leiden * * * **Jenne through the empires of Segu (1767-1821), Masina (1821-1861) and Tukulor (1861-1893)** Like its previous conquerors, Segu's control over Jenne was never completely firm( . The city was sacked and occupied by the southern kingdom of Yatenga during the 1790s, and their forces only left after Segu's ruler, King Mansong, had paid a fine for having led an earlier attack on Yatenga.( The city also exerted a significant influence on the court of Segu. The scholars of Jenne reportedly took N'golo Diara in as one of their students, and although he'd maintain his traditional beliefs once installed as king, traders and clerics from Jenne would acquire a special position in the Segu empire. They were often called to intervene as arbiters in political matters and their trading interests along the Niger river were protected by the State.( The reciprocal relationship between the Jenne elite, the rulers of Segu, and the (subordinate) rulers of Masina, created an unfavorable social and political condition for the Masinanke clerical groups within Masina. By the late 1810s the rising discontent around this unfavorable situation led a large number of followers to rally around a scholar named Ahmadu Lobbo. These forces of Ahmad Lobbo would later invade Jenne after two successful sieges of the city in 1819 and 1821, and Lobbo would occupy it by 1830, after the rulers of Segu had retreated to their capital.( Prior to his conquest of Jenne, Lobbo had composed a treatise titled _Kitab al-Idirar_ that admonished the scholars of Jenne for failing to act as good spiritual guides for the local community. In this text which constituted a political dialectic of legitimization and delegitimization, he directed his criticism against many of the city's institutions as well as the organization of the old mosque. Having earlier clashed with Jenne's elites on numerous occasions at the mosque for occupying seats reserved for the traditional rulers, his criticism was levied against these elites, against the burying of scholars near the mosque, against mosque's columns and against the mosque's height. Lobbo would then allow the old mosque to be destroyed by rain once in power, and it wouldn't be restored until 1907.( Like most of their predecessors, Masina's control over Jenne wasn't firm, neither was its control over the southern frontier where the Futanke leader Umar Tal emerged, nor over the northern frontier where the Kunta group remained a threat. Umar Tal founded his Tukulor empire in the 1840s along the same pretexts as Ahmad Lobbo, and eventually opposed the alliance between preexisting elites of Segu, and the now established Masina rulers who claimed to be theocratic governors.( A series of wars were fought between the three forces but the Tukulor armies under Umar Tal often emerged victorious, from the conquest of Segu in 1860-1 which became Umar Tal's new capital, followed by the surrender of Jenne and the conquest of Hamdullahi in 1862.( The fluid political landscape and warfare had further reduced the fortunes of Jenne in the 19th century, as its merchants moved to the emerging cities of Nyamina and Sinsani. But the city nevertheless retained some commercial significance by the time of Rene Caillie’s visit in 1829, who described it as _**"full of bustle and animation ; every day numerous caravans of merchants are arriving and departing with all kinds of useful productions"**_, its fixed population of just under 10,000 resided in large two-story houses.( _**Ruins of the old Mosque, photo by Edmond in 1905/6 about a year before its reconstruction.**_ _**The Palace of Amadu Tal in Segou, late 19th century illustration after it was taken by the French**_ * * * **The architecture of Jenne** The architectural tradition of Jenne begun at Jenne-jeno where the signature cylindrical mud bricks first appear in the 8th century, followed not long after by rectilinear buildings with an upper story by the 11th century.( Given the need for constant repairs and reconstructions, the oldest multi-story structures in Jenne are difficult to determine, but recent archeological excavations in the old town have dated one to the late 18th century.( The architectural style of Jenne is characterized by tall, multistory, terraced buildings, with massive pilasters flanking portals that rise vertically along the height of the façade. The tops of the buildings feature modeled earthen cones, which add to the overall monumentality, the building itself reflecting the owner's status and their ability to hire specialist masons.( The largest buildings in Jenne were constructed by a specialist guild of masons which is still renowned throughout west Africa. These masons are hired widely for their skill in building mosques and palatial residences, with the occupation itself reportedly dating back to the eras of imperial Mali and Songhai. The Askiyas are said to have employed 500 masons from Jenne in the construction of their provincial capital at Tendirma, and the rulers of Segu employed masons from Jenne to construct their palaces (such as the one shown in the photo above).( While the building’s construction plans are determined by the its functions, the exterior designs of the buildings often carry a more symbolic purpose. The basic design of traditional façade and portal of Jenne's houses and mosques consists of large buttresses (_**sarafa**_) on which were placed a component surmounted by conical pinnacles decorated with projecting beams _**(toron**_). The whole was modeled after the traditional 'ancestral shrines' and their phallic pillars seen among the Bozo. Jenne’s two main exterior designs; _**Façade Toucouleur**_ (with a sheltered portal called _**gum hu**_) and _**Façade Marocaine**_ (with an open portal) are based on recent traditions rather than on stylistic introductions of the Tukolor or Arma era, especially considering that the _**Façade Toucouleur**_ is infact the older of the two; being popular until the 1910s.( _**Houses with**_ _**Façade Toucouleur, ca. 1905/6,**_ Edmond Fortier and Quai branly. The second house is the ‘Maiga House’ the 19th cent. home of the chief of the Songhay quarter of the city during the reign of Amadu Lobbo. **House with** _**Façade Marocaine**_ in 1909_**,**_ BNF Paris_**.**_ This type was rare before the 20th century but its the common type today. _**Street scene from 1905/6 showing Jenne houses with other façade types.**_ The mosque of Jenne is the most recognizable architectural monument built by the city’s masons guild. After a century of destruction, it was rebuilt by the masons in 1907 under the direction of their chief, Ismaila Traoré, and its architectural features reproduce many of those found on Jenné’s extant multi-story houses from the 18th-19th century( . Its foreboding walls are buttressed by rhythmically spaced sarafar and pierced by hundreds of protruding torons, with three towers along the qibla wall containing a deep mihrāb niche.( The emphasis on the height of the mihrab, the front of which used to contain the mausoleums of prominent scholars/saints, exemplifies Jenne's architectural and cultural syncretism and may explain why Jenne-style mosques in west Africa pay special attention to the mihrab rather than the minaret.( _**East elevation and floor plan of the Jenné Mosque by Pierre Maas and Geert Mommersteeg**_ The main construction material was the Djenné-Ferey bricks and palm wood. The bricks were made from a mixture of mud, rice husks, and powders from the fruit of the Boabab and Néré trees, these were mixed, moulded and dried in the sun.( The specialist knowledge of construction was passed on through apprenticeship, The houses' vestibule, inner courtyard, rooms, kitchen, toilet shaft, inner staircase, terrace and ceilings of both floors are built according to the skill of each mason. The roof structure is built on the ground and then lifted and placed on the house, its open space is filled perpendicular with timber beams in a convex structure that drains rainwater into clay pipes on the sides.( Jenne's masons also preserve aspects of the city's pre-Islamic past, their profession being rooted in traditional cultural practices. Among their customs are syncretic rites which performed after construction inorder to protect the houses, which utilize both amulets and grains that are buried in the foundations.( craftspeople like masons invoke powerful trade “secrets” (sirri) that blend Qur’anic knowledge (bey-koray) with traditional knowledge (bey-bibi), and many people don protective devices beneath clothing and wear blessed korbo rings on their fingers to defend against malevolent djinn.( * * * **The decline of Jenne** The Tukulor state's control over Jenne was as weak as its control over most of its provinces, especially following the death of Umar Tal and the resurgence of the Masinanke and Kunta attacks and their unsuccessful a 6-month siege of jenne in 1866.( Jenne fell under the one half of the Tukulor empire led by Amadu Tal at his capital Segu, while the other half led by Tijani Tal was based in Bandiagara. During this time, the office of the Jenne ruler was occupied by Ismaïl Maïga (d. 1888) whose family was previously chief of the Songhai quarter during the Masina era, he would be succeeded by his brother Hasey Ahmadou who would remain in power during the transition from the Tukulor to the French.( In 1893, Jenne fell to the French forces of Archinard after three days of bombardment and vicious street fighting.( Under their aegis, the bulk of Djenne's trade was transferred to the rising urban commune of Mopti, and Djenné’s prominence slowly waned, transforming a once-thriving center into a marginal town, albeit one of important historical significance. * * * Like many of the old cities of west Africa, **Jenne owed much of its success to the Niger river which provided a navigable waterway where massive cargo barges moved people and their merchandise from as far as Guniea to the southern coast of Nigeria.** read about the history of the world’s longest navigable river ( * * * _**If like this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal**_ ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Taken from Alisa LaGamma "Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara ( Exchange and Urban Trajectories. Middle Niger and Middle Senegal by Susan Keech McIntosh pg 527-536, Africa's Urban Past By R. J. A R. Rathbone pg 19-26 ( Betwixt Tichitt and the IND: the pottery of the Faïta Facies, Tichitt Tradition by K.C. MacDonald ( African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa by Michael A. Gomez pg 17-18) ( Urbanisation and State Formation in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond by D. Mattingly pg 533, Africa's Urban Past By R. J. A R. Rathbone pg 26. ( African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa by Michael A. Gomez pg 127, 137) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 16) ( African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa by Michael A. Gomez pg 151-153). ( African dominion by Michael A. Gomez pg 187-188, 205, Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 20) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg xli,xlviii. African dominion by Michael A. Gomez pg 265) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 4 pg 171) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 18-19 ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 277-278) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 17, n2) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 18-19, The History of the Great Mosques of Djenné by Jean-Louis Bourgeois pg 54 ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg xxviii-xxix) ( African dominion by Michael A. Gomez pg 213-214, Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 24-26) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 26) ( African dominion by Michael A. Gomez pg 273-275) ( In the shadow of Timbuktu: the manuscripts of Djenné by Sophie Sarin pg 176 ( Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo by René Caillié pg 461 ( From Dust to Digital: Ten Years of the Endangered Archives Programme, 2015, pg 173-188 ( ( ( ( ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 4 pg 161, Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 193, 207-214) ( Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century by Unesco pg 157 ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 231-232) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 234-236) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 20) ( Muslim traders, Songhai warriors, and the Arma pg 76-77, Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 250-256) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 4 pg 162, sultan caliph pg 8-9.) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 149) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 4 pg 171-174) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 158, The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 4 pg 184) ( Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century by Unesco pg 158 ( Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith by Mauro Nobili pg 128) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 4 pg 177-178) ( Warriors, Merchants, and Slaves by Richard L. Roberts pg 42 ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 4 pg 186) ( Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith by Mauro Nobili pg 129) ( Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith by Mauro Nobili pg 9-11, 161, 140, The Bandiagara emirate by Joseph M. Bradshaw pg 42) ( Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith by Mauro Nobili pg 137-141) ( The Bandiagara emirate by Joseph M. Bradshaw pg 37-39, 47-49,) ( Warriors, Merchants, and Slaves by Richard L. Roberts pg 83 ( Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo by René Caillié pg 459, 454. ( Excavations at Jenné-Jeno, Hambarketolo, and Kaniana by S.Mcintosh pg 65) ( Ancient Middle Niger by Roderick J. McIntosh pg 158, Tobacco pipes from excavations at the Museum site by S. Mcintosh pg 178) ( Butabu: Adobe Architecture of West Africa By James Morris, Suzanne Preston Blier 196, The Masons of Djenné by Trevor Hugh James Marchand pg 16) ( Historic mosques in Sub saharan by Stéphane Pradines pg 101, Butabu: Adobe Architecture of West Africa By James Morris, Suzanne Preston Blier pg 194) ( Historic mosques in Sub saharan by Stéphane Pradines pg 101, The Masons of Djenné by Trevor Hugh James Marchand pg 88) ( The History of the Great Mosques of Djenné by Jean-Louis Bourgeois ( Religious architecture: anthropological perspectives by Oskar Verkaaik pg 124-127 ( Historic mosques in Sub saharan by Stéphane Pradines pg 102 ( The Politics of heritage management in Mali by CL Joy pg 59-60 ( Negotiating Licence and Limits by THJ Marchand pg 74-75, Masons of djenne by THJ Marchand pg 219) ( Masons of djenne by THJ Marchand pg 8, 90-91, 152-153, 168, 171, 288-289, Negotiating Licence and Limits by THJ Marchand pg 78-79) ( Religious architecture: anthropological perspectives by Oskar Verkaaik pg 121 ( The Bandiagara emirate by Joseph M. Bradshaw pg 77, ( Djenné: d'hier à demain by J. Brunet-Jailly pg 9-41 ( Conflicts of Colonialism By Richard L. Roberts pg 110)

### A Complete History of Jenne: 250 BC - 1893 AD #### Overview of Jenne - **Location**: Jenne is situated along the banks of the Bani River within the fertile floodplains of central Mali. - **Urban Settlement**: The city features towering earthen walls, wide alleys, and terraced mansions adorned with baobab trees. It has historically been a hub of political and cultural activity in West Africa. - **Influence**: Jenne has profoundly impacted West Africa's cultural history through its trade, architecture, and scholarship. #### Origins of Jenne: Jenne-Jeno (250 BC - 1400 AD) - **Initial Settlement**: Jenne was established on a large river island and has Neolithic roots at the site of Jenne-Jeno, occupied from the 3rd century BC to the 15th century AD. - **Population**: At its peak, Jenne-Jeno had over 42,000 inhabitants and was surrounded by 69 satellite towns. - **Cultural Context**: The settlement was part of the Mema Neolithic tradition, linked to ancient sites like Dhar Tichitt in southern Mauritania. #### Jenne under the Empires of Mali and Songhai (13th - 16th Century) - **Political Control**: From the 9th to the 13th century, Jenne fell under the influence of the Ghana and Mali empires. By the 13th century, Mali exerted control over the surrounding provinces. - **Autonomy**: Despite Malian claims, Jenne maintained considerable autonomy, resisting multiple attempts at conquest. - **Siege by Songhai**: Sunni Ali of the Songhai Empire besieged Jenne from 1470 to 1473, ultimately capturing it, which marked the end of Jenne's independence. #### Scholarly Traditions of Jenne - **Educational Hub**: Jenne became home to one of West Africa’s earliest scholarly communities. King Kunburu (circa 1250) gathered 4,200 scholars and established the city as a center for scholarship and trade. - **Wangara Scholars**: These merchant-scholars were synonymous with the gold trade and contributed significantly to scholarship across West Africa, influencing centers like Timbuktu. #### Jenne during the Moroccan Era and Timbuktu Pashalik (1591-1767) - **Insecurity**: Following the fall of the Songhai Empire, Jenne faced instability, including a brief occupation by the Saadian army of Morocco. - **Rebellions**: Jenne experienced several rebellions throughout the 17th century, demonstrating its desire for autonomy from external control. - **Political Dynamics**: The city became a battleground between the Mali empire, the Arma of Timbuktu, and independent local rulers. #### Jenne under the Segu and Masina Empires (1767-1861) - **Influence of Segu**: Jenne was incorporated into the Segu Empire, with the city’s elites playing a significant role in the new regime. - **Conquest by Masina**: Under scholar Ahmadu Lobbo, Jenne was captured in 1821, marking another major political shift. - **Cultural Deconstruction**: Lobbo criticized traditional institutions and allowed the old mosque to fall into disrepair. #### Jenne under the Tukulor Empire (1861-1893) - **Weak Control**: The Tukulor Empire struggled to maintain authority over Jenne, leading to further instability and localized power struggles. - **Decline**: By the late 19th century, Jenne’s economic significance waned as trade shifted to other emerging towns. - **French Conquest**: In 1893, Jenne was captured by French forces after street fighting, leading to its decline as a major urban center. #### Architectural Significance of Jenne - **Construction Materials**: Jenne's architecture is characterized by mud bricks and other local materials, indicating a long-standing building tradition. - **Distinctive Styles**: The city features unique architectural elements such as tall, multi-story buildings with conical pinnacles and elaborate façades, reflective of the cultural influences through history. - **Jenné Mosque**: The mosque, rebuilt in 1907, is both a crucial religious structure and an emblem of Jenne's architectural heritage. ### Conclusion Jenne's history, from its origins as a Neolithic settlement to its decline under French colonial rule, illustrates the dynamic interplay of trade, scholarship, and political power in West Africa. The city’s cultural and architectural developments continue to hold significant historical importance.

A political history of the Kotoko city states (ca. 1000-1900)

Urbanism and state building in the lake chad basin..

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A political history of the Kotoko city states (ca. 1000-1900) ============================================================= ### Urbanism and state building in the lake chad basin.. ( Feb 26, 2023 17 The parched floodplains of the lake chad basin were home to Africa's most enigmatic urban societies. Enclosed within monumental walls was a maze of palaces, towering fortresses, flat-roofed houses, and vibrant markets intersected by narrow streets. The cities of Kotoko were organized into state-level societies in which urbanism played an essential role. Situated at the center of regional exchange systems but on the frontier of expansionist empires, the city states flourished within a contested political environment. This article outlines the history of the Kotoko city-states. Beginning with the emergence of the oldest urban state at Houlouf, to the consolidation of the cities under the kingdom of Logone. _**Map of the Lake chad basin in the 16th century showing the location of the Kotoko city-states.( **_ * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **The early history of Kotoko: from incipient states to the Houlouf chiefdom** The south-eastern margins of lake chad were settled by speakers of Central Chadic languages around the early 2nd millennium BC and established a number of Neolithic settlements and incipient states. Among these were speakers of the proto-Kotoko language who occupied the floodplains of the Logone river basin.( The earliest settlements along the Logone river are dated to the Deguesse Phase which begun in 1900BC to the turn of the common era. The region was home to mobile herders who set up semi-permanent pastoral camps at Deguesse and Krenak that were contemporaneous with the Gajigana Neolithic on the western shores of the lake.( In the succeeding Krenak and Mishiskwa settlement phases that ended around 1000 AD, the iron-age settlements at the sites of Deguesse, Krenak and Houlouf grew into autonomous self-sustaining communities, and later into the centers of small polities. They had a mixed agro-pastoral economy, with access of aquatic resources of the logone delta.( The site of Houlouf became the largest among the urban clusters of the Ble phase (1000-1400 CE) when a 16-hectare earthen rampart was built around it. The emerging urban settlement at Houlouf became the capital of local chiefdom, following a period of increased warfare due to peer-polity competition among the small polities, and the formation of a "warrior-horsemen" class, which necessitated the construction of defensive walls. As a major political center of substantial polity, Houlouf had a rich royal cemetery, a large palace and an extensive city wall.( At its height in the 16th century the Houlouf polity had a hierarchical political system headed by a chieftain (_**Mra**_/Sultan), and a diverse political system of elite groups comprising administrators and tribute collectors such as the chief of the land (_**galadima**_), military heads for horsemen and archers, and ritual specialists for religious events and rites. These were organized into factions that also controlled access to long-distance luxury goods obtained from regional markets and across the Sahara.( The city of Houlouf is the most likely candidate for the city of Quamaco/Quamoco mentioned by the 16th century geographer Lorenzo d'Anania. His informant on the trade routes of the lake chad basin wrote that, “_**at Quamaco, there is a great traffic of iron that is carried from Mandrà \"**_ —Mandara being the kingdom in northern Cameroon, thus placing Quamaco south of lake chad in Kotoko country. ( The capital of Houlouf was a large urban settlement, divided into six quarters each with a gate named after the different rulers of the chiefdom. It domestic space was built with the typical rectangular mud-brick houses with flat roofs, organized into walled compounds within the city quarters.( It had a substantial crafts industry that included cloth production and dyeing, metallurgy and smithing, fish processing, as well as salt mining and trade.( _**The ramparts of Houlouf, ca 1930,**_ photo by A. Holl _**Holouf cemetery and a copper-alloy figurine of a horseman, 11th-15th century,**_ photos by A. Holl * * * **The Kotoko city-states.** All across the Logone river basin, city-states emerged whose political trajectory mirrored that of Holouf; beginning as small walled communities and growing into the walled capitals of autonomous chiefdoms. Like Holouf, they were predominantly settled by Kotoko/Lagwan speakers of Chadic languages, although each spoke a different dialect.( They had a mixed agro-pastoral and fishing economy with a substantial crafts industry, and were marginally engaged in long distance trade both regionally and across the sahara. More than 20 Kotoko city-states are known from this period, including Logone-Birni, Waza, Zgague, Zgue, Djilbe, Tilde, Kala-Kafra, and Kabe as well as; Goulfey, Makari, Afade, Maltam, Kusseri, Sao, Woulki, Waza, Midigué, Tago, Gawi, Amkoundjo, and Messo. ( The biggest of these Kotoko cities are mentioned by both the 16th century Bornu scholar Ibn Furtu and the Italian geographer Lorenzo d'Anania. For the latter's account in particular; the best known cities include; Makari (Macari) , Gulfey (Calfe) , Afade (Afadena) , Wulki (Ulchi) , Kusseri (Uncusciuri) , Sao (Sauo) and Logone (Lagone).( _**Aerial photo of Gulfey, and the mosque of Kusseri in the early 20th century,**_ quai branly _**Walled sections of Afade and Wulki, 1936,**_ quai branly * * * **Kotoko cities between the empire of Bornu and the emergence of the Logone kingdom (16th century-18th century)** Begining in the 16th century, the social and political landscape of south-eastern chad was profoundly altered by the expansion of the state of Bornu and the arrival of nomadic shuwa-Arab pastoralists. The Bornu empire had been active in the south-eastern chad region since the mid-16th century. In the 1560s, Mai Idris Alooma's armies campaigned in the region as part of Bornu's attempt to retake control of the region east of lake Chad. Bornu's armies only reached the northern Kotoko cities, capturing the ruler of Kusuri (Kusseri) whose chiefdom was turned into a vassal, and sacking the city of Sabalgutu.( The threat posed by Bornu empire resulted in the formation of two main confederations. The northern cities were under the ruler of Makari, who is reported to have joined the Bornu armies in campaigning directed against other polities on the frontiers of Bornu. While the southern city-states were under the ruler Logone. It's during this period that Houlouf was subsumed under the expanding kingdom centered at Logone along with the first eight city-states listed above.( Its through this process of political consolidation that the two major dialects of Makari and Lagwan (Logone) were created, with the former spoken in the northern cities, while the latter was spoken in the southern cities. But since the northern cities were often under the suzerainty of Bornu, both the language and the independent southern kingdom were commonly known in external accounts as Kotoko, following the exonymous term "Katakuwā" used in Bornu.( Conversely the nomadic Shuwa-Arab groups became subordinate to the Kotoko kingdom in a broad range of tribute payments where they submitted pastoral products to the rulers of Kotoko city-states in exchange for grazing rights. This subordinate relationship between the Shuwa Arabs and the various kingdoms of the Sahel belt is also attested in the neighboring states of Bornu, Bargimi, Wadai, and Darfur.( The pre-existing social-political institutions of Holouf were maintained by the Logone rulers who left Holouf as a nearly autonomous vassal. According to the traditions about the expansion of Logone, the process of subsuming the neighboring city-states (especially Holouf and Kabe) involved a complex series of matrimonial alliances and diplomacy rather than outright military conquest.( The government at Logone was headed by the King and a state council of hereditary officials below which were numerous elites in a complex inflationary title system. The council was in charge of administration and policy, and it comprised high-ranking officials in the city and regional chiefs such as the pre-existing rulers of Holouf and other city-states. There was a permanent body of army officials led by the _Mra Zina_ who was in charge of warfare, and an elaborate palace institution where subordinate chiefs were required to send their princes to the Logone palace to be raised by the king.( _**The palaces at Logone-birni, and Gulfey**_ * * * **Kotoko cities in the 19th century: Trade, warfare and colonization.** Besides the traditional economic activities and exchanges involving agricultural, pastoral and marine products, the kingdom at Logone had a substantial textile industry inherited from the pre-existing polities it had subsumed. Cloth dyeing was a significant economic activity especially for the production of the tobe; a large prestige garment that was tinted with a shining black or blue color, and found high demand in Bornu.( The city of Logone was visited by Major Denham in 1824 and by Heinrich Barth in 1852. Denham described the characteristic walled cities of Kotoko including Alph (Houlouf) and Kussery (Kusseri) as ruled by sultans that were at the time mostly independent of both Bornu and its emerging southern neighbor Bagirmi. Denham describes Logone (Loggun) as the capital of a large kingdom, it had a population of about 15,000 Kotoko speakers surrounded by countless shuwa-Arab dependents, and was neutral of the wars between Bornu and Bagirmi. The city had a vibrant cloth-making industry (with almost every house having a weaving loom), a busy market for regional and long-distance trade items that were exchanged using local metal currency. ( In between Denham and Barth's visit, probably around 1830, Logone became a tributary of Bornu, paying a token tribute of 100 tobes and 10 captives to the Bornu ruler. Barth's account mentions the presence of Kotoko traders from Makari, Gulfeil, Kusseri, and Logone in the trading city of Angornu in Bornu, who exchanged dyed tobes for alloyed copper.( By the 1870s, Kotoko confederations had grown into significant regional powers. The explorer Gustav Nachitgal describes the Kotoko cities as well built urban settlements that were relatively populous, with Kala Kafra's population at 6,000, Alph (Houlouf) at 7,000, and logon (Logone) at 12-15,000. Sultan Ma'aruf, the ruler of Logon at the time, was under the suzerainty of Bornu's ruler sheikh Omar (Umar I r. 1837-1881) in alliance with Makari, against the Bagirmi ruler Abd ar-Rahman II (r. 1870-1871) who was allied to Goulfey, Kusseri, and Wulki. The entire kingdom centered at Logone was estimated to cover about 8,000 sqkm comprising of several walled cities and towns of about 5,000 inhabitants for a total population of 250,000. Gustav observed that Logone’s urban population _**"devote themselves diligently to farming, fishing and industry"**_ describing their vibrant cloth-dyeing industry, construction, and boat-building. ( Over the late 19th century, the emergence of new expansionist states which greatly reduced the autonomy of the Kotoko cities. While the threat of Bagirmi was reduced by the southern expansion of the Wadai kingdom, the decline of Bornu enabled the ascendance of the warlord Rabeh, who carved up his own state based at Dikwa. Rabeh's forces occupied Kusseri and Logone in 1893, on his way to conquering Bornu. He established a short-lived state before he was ultimately defeated by the French in 1900.( The Kotoko city-states remained a contested territory within the German and French spheres but ultimately fell to the latter in the early 20th century. _**Aerial view of Logone-Birni, 1936,**_ quai branly * * * The kingdom of Kush in ancient Nubia was home to one of the world’s oldest and most dynamic religions. **The pantheon of Kush boasts dozens of gods and goddesses, many of which were Nubian in origin**. ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( map by Gargaristan and Augustin Holl ( The Mobility Imperative by Augustin Holl pg 104-114. The Land of Houlouf: Genesis of a Chadic Polity by Augustin Holl pg 14-18) ( Emergent Complexity and Political Economy of the Houlouf Polity in North Central Africa by A. Holl pg 675-676, The Land of Houlouf: Genesis of a Chadic Polity by Augustin Holl pg 42-43) ( Emergent Complexity and Political Economy of the Houlouf Polity in North Central Africa by A. Holl 676-678) ( The Land of Houlouf: Genesis of a Chadic Polity by Augustin Holl pg 165, 213, 223-225, 233 ( The Land of Houlouf: Genesis of a Chadic Polity by Augustin Holl pg 710-711) ( Du Lac Tchad à La Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 126) ( The Land of Houlouf: Genesis of a Chadic Polity by Augustin Holl pg 139) ( The Land of Houlouf: Genesis of a Chadic Polity by Augustin Holl pg 690-693) ( The Land of Houlouf: Genesis of a Chadic Polity by Augustin Holl pg 226) ( From House Societies to States by Juan Carlos Moreno Garcia pg 231-232, ( Aspects of African Archaeology: Papers from the 10th Congress pg 589 ( History of the First Twelve Years by R. Palmer pg 49) ( The Land of Houlouf: Genesis of a Chadic Polity by Augustin Holl pg 225-6, A Comparative Study of Thirty City-state Cultures pg 531) ( ‘Kotoko’ by N. Levtzion pg 278, in; The Encyclopaedia of Islam edited by Sir H. A. R. Gibb, ( Ethnoarchaeology of Shuwa-Arab Settlements by Augustin Holl pg 14-23, 389-394 ( The Land of Houlouf: Genesis of a Chadic Polity by Augustin Holl pg 711-712) ( The Land of Houlouf: Genesis of a Chadic Polity by Augustin Holl pg 254) ( Emergent Complexity and Political Economy of the Houlouf Polity in North Central Africa by A. Holl pg 685) ( Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa by Dixon Denham pg 10-21, 27-29) ( Emergent Complexity and Political Economy of the Houlouf Polity in North Central Africa by A. Holl pg 700-701) ( Sahara and Sudan, Volume 3 by Gustav Nachtigal pg 508-538) ( Ethnoarchaeology of Shuwa-Arab Settlements by Augustin Holl pg 24-25.

### A Political History of the Kotoko City-States (ca. 1000-1900) **Overview:** The Kotoko city-states, located in the Lake Chad Basin, emerged as significant urban societies between ca. 1000-1900. This history involves urbanism, state-building, and socio-political dynamics in a contested environment influenced by regional trade and external empires. --- **1. Early Settlements and Formation of Polities:** - **Initial Inhabitants:** Around the early 2nd millennium BC, Central Chadic language speakers established Neolithic settlements in the southeastern margins of Lake Chad. - **Proto-Kotoko Presence:** Proto-Kotoko speakers occupied the Logone River basin, with early settlements dated to the Deguesse Phase (1900 BC - the turn of the common era). - **Development of Autonomous Communities:** By 1000 AD, sites like Deguesse, Krenak, and Houlouf transitioned from mobile pastoral camps to autonomous, self-sustaining communities, developing a mixed agro-pastoral economy with access to aquatic resources. **2. The Rise of Houlouf:** - **Urban Expansion:** The site of Houlouf grew into a prominent urban center, protected by a 16-hectare earthen rampart, and became the capital of a local chiefdom amidst increasing peer-polity competition. - **Political Structure:** Houlouf had a hierarchical system with a chieftain (Mra/Sultan) and stratified elite groups responsible for administration, military, and religious duties. - **Trade Significance:** The city was referenced by the 16th-century geographer Lorenzo d'Anania as a trading hub for iron, indicating its economic importance. **3. Emergence of Kotoko City-States:** - **Network of City-States:** Numerous city-states, including Logone-Birni, Waza, and Zgague, reflected similar trajectories to Houlouf, establishing themselves as capitals of autonomous chiefdoms. - **Economy and Culture:** These city-states thrived on a mixed economy of agriculture, pastoralism, fishing, and crafts, facilitating regional trade. **4. Influence of the Bornu Empire (16th-18th Century):** - **Bornu Expansion:** The expansion of the Bornu Empire in the 16th century altered the political landscape, leading to the capture of northern Kotoko cities and the establishment of vassal relationships. - **Political Conflicts:** Northern cities unified under Makari, while southern states aligned with Logone, resulting in confederations that balanced power dynamics against external threats. **5. Logone Kingdom Consolidation:** - **Political Integration:** The Logone kingdom absorbed Houlouf and neighboring city-states through diplomacy rather than military conquest, maintaining pre-existing social-political structures. - **Governance Structure:** The king and a council of hereditary officials managed the administration, further integrating local rulers into the broader political framework. **6. Economic Development in the 19th Century:** - **Textile Industry:** The Logone kingdom established a notable textile industry, producing highly demanded prestige garments (tobes) that facilitated trade with neighboring regions. - **Growing Trade Networks:** Accounts from explorers like Denham and Barth highlight the vibrant trade dynamics of Kotoko cities, indicating their active participation in regional commerce despite fluctuating autonomy. **7. Decline and Colonial Encroachment (Late 19th Century):** - **Increased Vulnerability:** By the late 19th century, the rise of expansionist powers like Wadai and the internal chaos in Bornu diminished the autonomy of Kotoko city-states. - **Invasion by Rabeh:** The warlord Rabeh captured Kusseri and Logone in 1893, establishing a short-lived state before French colonial forces defeated him in 1900, further destabilizing the region. - **Colonial Division:** The Kotoko city-states became contested territory between German and French colonial interests, eventually falling under French control in the early 20th century. --- **Conclusion:** The history of the Kotoko city-states illustrates a complex interplay of urban development, political evolution, and external influences from empires and colonial powers. Their legacy highlights the importance of regional trade and the resilience of local governance structures in the face of changing dynamics.

The pyramids of ancient Nubia and Meroe: death on the Nile and the mortuary architecture of Kush

a complete history of an African monument

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The pyramids of ancient Nubia and Meroe: death on the Nile and the mortuary architecture of Kush ================================================================================================ ### a complete history of an African monument ( Feb 19, 2023 13 Sudan is home to the world’s highest number of pyramids —the legacy of the kingdom of Kush, which undertook one of the most ambitious building programs of the ancient world. More than 200 pyramids spread over half a dozen cities were built by the rulers and officials of Kush over a period of 1,000 years. These grand monuments were the product of centuries of development in the mortuary architecture of ancient Nubia. Their architectural antecedents were set in the bronze-age kingdom of Kerma, their appearance was refined during the New Kingdom era, and their tradition was fully established by the pyramid builders of Kush at their capital in Napata, from where they ruled Egypt and Nubia. This article provides a complete history of the pyramids of Kush. It outlines the mortuary architecture, religion and cultural practices of the people who lived in ancient Nubia, from their origin at Kerma to their zenith at Meroe. _**Map showing Kush at its height in the 7th century BC**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Antecedents of ancient Nubia's funerary architecture: the mortuary religion of Bronze-age Nubia: 3700BC-1500BC** The largest among the early states which controlled ancient Nubia was the kingdom of Kerma. Known in external texts as the kingdom Kush, its history has been primarily reconstructed from the archeological studies at its largest cities of Kerma and Dokki Gel. The capital of Kerma was an agglomeration of settlements with palatial, defensive, administrative, domestic, and religious buildings since around 2400BC. Entire quarters in both Kerma and the ceremonial city of Dokki Gel were established for religious purposes, such as the religious precinct near the massive temple of 'Western Deffufa', and the secondary urban complex. These religious settlements featured temples, chapels, and ecclesiastical workshops for preparing offerings for cult installations, all built with stone and mudbrick, accessed via processional avenues, and located near the palaces and temples.( Kerma's religion featured ancestral veneration where the world of the dead reproduced the hierarchy that existed among the living. This is evidenced not just by its temples dedicated to both chthonic and solar deities, and their associated chapels and workshops to commemorate its rulers, but also by the monumental tumuli tombs in the city's royal necropolis with over 3,000 tombs, and where elaborate mortuary rituals were practiced.( The largest Kerma tombs spanned 90 meters and contained over 5,000 sacrificial cows and luxury grave goods. They were had large circular superstructures that covered vaulted burial chambers, accessed through corridors and descendary staircases from the chapels attached outside where where funerary offerings were left. The dead were placed in contracted position on wood-and-leather beds of elaborate faunal designs, and the tomb was surmounted with stone stela placed at the roof terrace that was accessed via a staircase.( Besides the kingdom of Kerma, the mortuary practices and religions of other early Nubian states anteceded those which emerged in Meroitic Kush. The earliest of these states was the A-Group chiefdom (ca 3700–2800BC) located in lower Nubia. A-Group royal tombs featured large tumuli that covered rich burials containing large numbers of sacrificial animals, and attached to the tombs were offering places. A-Group mortuary practices were most likely a continuation of the religious conceptions formed in the shared cultural milieu of the ancient Nile valley civilizations, that are first attested at the prehistoric site of Nabta Playa (c. 5100–4700BC) where similar tumuli tombs with rich burial chambers were found.( The A-Group chiefdom was succeeded in lower Nubia by the C-Group chiefdom (ca. 2300BC-1550BC), which created featured an even more elaborate mortuary practice than its predecessor. C-group graves, especially at Aniba, included stone stelea and round tumuli superstructures covering rich burial chambers that were accessed through mud-brick chapels. During its later phases, the C-Group chiefdom was conquered by the Kerma kingdom which was expanding into Egypt in the 17th century BC. The chiefdom's mortuary architecture reflected Kerma influences, with large tumuli, stone chapels, vaulted mud-brick chambers, bed burials and the burial of rams.( _**Kerma; the royal tomb during excavation, and a reconstruction of the superstructure of the royal tomb,**_ photo and illustration by C.Bonnet _**Stelae and stone rings in Cemetery N at Aniba, C-Group chiefdom,**_ photo by Steindorff It was the above mortuary religions and practices in the ancient Nubian kingdoms that would be gradually modified over several centuries as the kingdoms of Kush and Egypt interacted and expanded. While Kerma kings didn’t build pyramids, they built all the essential features of Nubian mortuary architecture (chapels, descendary, roomed burial chambers, stelae, and superstructure) that would be slightly modified by later tomb-builders who changed the circular superstructure to the right-angled pyramid. * * * **The introduction and disappearance of pyramid tombs in Nubia during the New kingdom period. (1500BC-1100BC)** After nearly a century of Kerma's expansion into southern Egypt, the reconstituted state of 'New kingdom' Egypt reversed the equilibrium of power in the Nile valley and expanded south into Kerma, subduing it after several decades of war. It's during the New kingdom era in Nubia that the earliest pyramid structures appeared on tombs to replace the circular tumuli, and these were constructed by Nubian "princes" as well as appointed officials from Egypt. While Egyptian kingship had since abandoned pyramid-building for over 8 centuries, the custom was revived by the Nubians and Egyptians active in New kingdom Nubia's administration. These Nubian "princes" were taken from the pre-existing dynasties of the chiefdoms that constituted the C-Group state (Wawat in lower Nubia) and the Kerma state (Kush in upper Nubia). One of these pre-existing chiefdoms named Tehkhet had its capital at Serra and Debeira, where atleast 4 of its princes were buried in monumental structures that show a clear transition from the tumulus types of the C-group to the steep pyramid. Most notable among these graves were the mud-brick pyramids of Djehuty-hotep and Amenemhet in Debeira East.( Besides Debeira, other pyramid burials were attested at Aniba, where the viceroy of lower Nubia lived; also at Soleb which was the center of a royal cult, and at Tombos, where a small mudbrick pyramids were erected for an official named Siamun.( This was part of the larger processes intended to unite the Nubian and Egyptian sacred geographies, through syncretizing Nubian religious practices, deities and ideologies of power with Egyptian ones. Its best evidenced by the transformation of the pre-existing Nubian ram-gods into Nubian Amun-deities with temple-cults, and the adoption of the Nubian gods like Dedwen into the Egyptian pantheon.( _**Map of the middle Nile region showing the pyramid sites of new kingdom nubia**_ However, the construction of these pyramids and the general participation in Egyptian-temple institutions by the Nubian administrators of the New kingdom era remained confined mostly to Lower Nubia, and even then only among the elite. Most of the pre-existing Nubian institutions were preserved especially in Upper Nubia, and the region’s mortuary cults and other religious practices survived, as attested by the non-Egyptian mortuary rites and tumulus graves of the region.( During the 20th dynasty, the Egyptians withdrew from Upper Nubia in the reign of Rameses IX (1125–1107BC) and Lower Nubia during the reign of Rameses XI (1098–1069BC). As central control collapsed, local authority and religion were fully reestablished by the Nubians as Egyptian temples with their associated cults were left to ruin.( The last pyramid of Lower Nubia during the New Kingdom era was built by Panehesy (“the Nubian”) at his capital in Aniba. Panehesy had been appointed viceroy of lower Nubia by Rameses XI but later rebelled and ruled the region until his death. Panehesy’s pyramid grave at Aniba is a telling document of his authority in Lower Nubia, and represents the site's continued cultural importance since it first emerged during the C-group chiefdom.( _**Aniba, Pyramidal superstructure of tomb SA34, mud-brick chapel of tomb S31**_( The pyramid tradition of New kingdom Nubia ended with the collapse of the Egyptian administration. Whatever its intended political function was, whether by the Nubian princes or by the Egyptian officials, would have been lost to the independent rulers who took over the region and discontinued the building of pyramid graves. The tradition’s re-emergence by the kings of Kush at el-Kurru would therefore follow different prerogatives. * * * **The genesis of the Pyramid tombs of Kush: a chiefdom at el-kurru and the Napatan era of Kush. (9th-4th century BC)** Over a period of three centuries, the fragmented local polities of upper Nubia gradually grew into larger chiefdoms, the biggest of which had its capital at el-Kurru in Sudan around the 10th-9th century BC from where it expanded into lower Nubia and 4th cataract region. The rulers of el-Kurru buried in the tombs labeled (Ku. 2-6) syncretized various Nubian mortuary practices as part of a politically driven process of integrating pre-existing Nubian polities. They combined the circular stone superstructure and contracted body of the C-group type burials, with the bed-burials of the Kerma kingdom, and the pit-and-side-chamber substructure of their el-Kurru population.( These el-Kurru rulers eventually revived the long-distance routes across north-east Africa, and initiated contacts with the then-divided Egypt through the latter's southern capital of Thebes. It's through these contacts that the el-Kurru rulers (especially beginning with Ku. 6's owner; king Aqomaloye) fused aspects of their syncretized Nubian religion with contemporary Egyptian religion. This is first attested to by the smashing of funeral vessels; a funerary rite which had been abandoned in Egypt but revived by the Nubians of el-Kurru. Aqomaloye's tomb also shows the transition from tumuli tombs to early pyramid-type tombs, as it contains a mortuary cult chapel enclosed within a walled precinct.( The revival of pyramid building was gradually accomplished by succeeding rulers. The king buried in Ku. 13 built a round tumulus-on-mastaba tomb, while his successor at Ku. 14 built a steep angled pyramid-on-mastaba. The mortuary architecture of el-Kurru was likely influenced by contemporaneous mortuary architecture at Debeira in lower Nubia, where both tumuli burials were being built (and also where the old pyramid burials of New-kingdom era Nubian princes were located).( This transformation profoundly altered the mortuary cult of the royal ancestors, and was adopted by the el-kurru rulers to create a unique kingship ideology. The el-kurru rulers appropriated the prerogatives of their Nubian (Kerma) and (new kingdom) Egyptian predecessors, to create a concept of continuity with the past and legitimate their expansionism, initially over Nubia and later over Egypt as the 25th dynasty.( The later pyramids at el-Kurru, such as Ku. 9 and Ku. 8, belonged to king Alara and his successor Kashta, both of whom reigned in the 8th century and are mentioned by their successors as the direct ancestors the kings of Kush. Their pyramid tombs have fully developed architectural features modeled on his predecessors. Both tombs are the first to be provided with inscribed mortuary stela and an offering table. Alara revived the royal cult of Amun of Napata, who was considered a local, self-standing Nubian deity residing at Gebel-Barkal (Napata), and whose character was inherited his role and features from the ram-cults of Kerma.( The revival of the Nubian Amun cults and their related temple and mortuary cults, provided the theological legitimacy for Alaras' successors Kashta and Piye to conquer Egypt, and continue to syncretize Nubian and Egyptian mortuary practices with the first real pyramid built by Piye at Ku. 17.( _**The cemetery at el-Kurru showing the gradual development from a tumulus to a mastaba and to a pyramid. The main part of the cemetery at el-Kurru, showing the earliest burials 1-6, and the pyramid burials, of Piye (17), Shabaqo (15), and Tanwetamani (16) and Shebitqo (18).**_ _**The royal pyramids of el-Kurru**_ Fully developed at el-Kurru, the royal cemetery was moved to Nuri (opposite Napata) by Taharqo in 664, then to Jebel Barkal (south of Napata) around the 4th century BC during the reign of Aktisanes and finally to Meroe under the reign of Arkamani I in the 3rd century BC. The mummified bodies of Kush's royals were interred in sarcophagi placed on beds in richly painted funerary chambers, with grave material (shawabti, inscribed stelae, offering tables) in multi-chambered sub-structures surmounted by a pyramid superstructure, accessed through an attached chapel and forecourt.( These pyramids had a steep-sided 60-70 degree slope first attested at el-Kurru, with an average size of 27.50/27.90 by 27.50/27.90 meters, and a height of 30 meters, save for Taharqo's 50-meter high pyramid at Nuri. The pyramids were often erected after the burial of the deceased ruler had been sealed by his successor, save for a few exceptions built by reigning kings. Radical shifts in pyramid sites were often associated with political and dynastic changes, eg the unnamed king of the 4th century BC buried at the large pyramid Ku. 1 instead of at Nuri like his predecessors or the pyramid of Arkamani I at Meroe who established a new dynasty. But minor changes in pyramid sites were made after the original necropolis was filled eg Aktisanes's move to Jebel Barkal.( _**The nuri royal pyramids**_ _**The royal pyramids of Jebel Barkal**_ Initially the preserve of royals of the Kushite kings, the pyramid became a common marker of elite burials around the capital (Napata) and throughout the kingdom. The monument progressively appeared on the graves of non-ruling royal in the cemeteries of the main administrative centers of the kingdom. By the end of the Napatan period and for the entirety of the Meroitic period, the multiplication of pyramids profoundly transformed the religious landscape of Nubia.( The construction of such pyramids is attested at Sedeinga during the late Napatan era. These were often small constructions using mudbricks instead of stone, and built exclusively for children whose adults were buried in stone pyramids. Despite the ubiquity of pyramid-tombs, the non-elite population of Kush retained the classic tumulus graves. These were constructions consisted an oval-shaped mound covered with a mudbrick dome.( _**The Sedeinga necropolis showing both pyramid-graves and tumulus graves**_ It was therefore during the Napatan era that the pyramid tradition of Kush was established beginning at el-kurru, and would be continuously practiced by the rulers and officials of Kush until the kingdom’s decline. _**Map of the middle Nile showing the pyramid sites of Kush during the Napatan and Meroitic eras**_ * * * **The pyramids of the Meroitic kingdom of Kush and Kushite mortuary religion.** The royal mortuary architecture of Meroe followed established traditions of the preceding Napatan era. Studies of the pyramid-tombs reveal aspects of the political history of Kush, its mortuary religion, the function of the Meroitic writing system, the domestic industries of Kush, and its scientific traditions. The multiplication of these funerary structures was a result of the democratization of Kush's social institutions during the Meroitic period, corresponding with the broader change brought by the emergence of the new dynasty. Around 275BC, king Arkamaniqo overthrew the Napatan dynasty which had been ruling Kush for the five preceding centuries, and established his own dynasty that originated from the Butana region of Meroe. Known as Ergamanes in external accounts, Arkamaniqo's adoption of a usurping king's throne-name hints at the violent circumstances in which his new 'Meroitic' dynasty emerged.( The new dynasty stressed its connections with the region of the City of Meroe by transferring the royal burial ground from Napata to Meroe, beginning with Arkamaniqo's pyramid at Beg. S. 6. Their ascendance heralded a reformulation of the Kushite state, the re-emergence of the cults of Nubian deities and the re-interpretation the Napatan era's architectural and artistic styles.( The imagery carved on Meroitic Pyramids also reveals the salient features of Meroitic institutions. These include the organization of the royal court as shown by the composition of the mortuary procession, the Meroitic kingship dogma as shown by the iconography of royal regalia, the nature of royal succession as shown by the relatives placed near the seated ruler, and the relationship between the Royals and provincial governors shown by comparing the royal and non-royal elite pyramids outside the capital.( The extensive use of cursive Meroitic script in Kush's pyramids and mortuary practices was a result of the tacit agreement between the royal and non-royal authorities regarding the use of former royal prerogatives in funerary contexts. The cursive script was, like the Meroitic hieroglyphic, initially used exclusively by royals in their own mortuary cult, before it was used by non-ruling royals and later by non-royal elites. Literacy was thus no longer exclusively associated with kingship as it now functioned as the decorum of the non-royal elite, the provincial elite, the priesthood of all ranks, local administrators, their wives and children.( **The Meroitic Mortuary cult** The Meroitic cult of the dead is mostly known through the pyramidal monuments, funerary chapels, and their associated liturgical material. Pyramid images displayed the essential mortuary cult of Kush including the donation and consecration of funerary offerings, and the inauguration of the deceased's ancestor cult as witnessed by the procession of priests and relatives. The Meroitic narrative for the deceased's death and rebirth in the afterlife was noticeably transformed from the Napatan era when the Osirian myth was first adopted in Kush.( The Ritual scenes and texts to sustain the owner’s afterlife were executed in low relief on the interior of the pyramid's chapels, and were covered with plaster and painted in bright colors including using gold leaf to depict jewelry. These Images recorded the preparation and performance of funerary offering rites in which foodstuffs of many kinds -especially drink libations, were prepared and offered.( Among the deities depicted in the chapel reliefs was Anubis, Isis and Nephthys, who are responsible for offerings, while Thoth recorded and declared them on behalf of the seated tomb owner who watched these activities. Since the pyramids were oriented to the cardinal compass points, ritual scenes and funerary objects in these east-facing chapels were illuminated by 'life-giving rays' of the rising sun.( The west walls of the royal pyramids had a niche for a stela of the deceased, and the niche was also surmounted by a scene of the day-bark in which the transfigured tomb owner traveled across the heavens in the company of the sun god Ra.( The deceased person who was commemorated and remembered through their pyramid monument and inscription, could thus become an approachable intercessor between the realm of the gods and the living world. _**Queen Shanakadakheto’s pyramid Beg. N 11, eastern portion of north wall, showing rite of leading in the calves taken from temple scenes and the Judgment before Osiris.**_ _**Inscribed offering table of Prince Tedeken showing Nephthys and Anubis pouring libations on altar with fruits and flowers, Beg W. 19**_, 200–100 B.C, Boston Museum of fine Arts, No. 23.873 * * * **Arrangement of the royal pyramid-complexes around Meroe** There were three main Royal necropolises around the city of Meroe, the Southern cemetery, the Northern cemetery, and the Western cemetery. The Southern Cemetery was chosen for the first royal burials at Meroe after the ascendance of the Meroitic dynasty, while the Western Cemetery became the burial ground for non-ruling members of the royal family, and when the Southern cemetery filled, the Northern Cemetery was opened to its north.( The western cemetery is the oldest and largest of the three royal necropolis complexes at Meroe. It had been used to bury both the residents of Meroe and the non-ruling royals of Kush since the 9th century BC, when the city was gradually incorporated into the expanding Napatan kingdom of Kush.( It contains over 800 graves of which 171 had pyramid superstructures dating from the Meroitic era, among which are 82 pyramids while the rest are indeterminate. The cemetery was home to the burials of non-ruling Meroitic queens, princes, and members of the extended family, the latter of whom attimes squeezed their pyramid graves next to the pyramid of their deceased relative, in a practice used across all cemeteries of Kush.( _**Meroe, Plan of Western Royal Cemetery,**_ map by Dunham _**Meroe, the Western Cemetery**_, photo by Carsten ten Brink The southern cemetery was first used around the 8th century BC to bury residents of Meroe, before it was turned into the Royal cemetery of Meroitic rulers. It contains 220 burials including 90 with superstructures, of which atleast 24 were pyramids. The first pyramids belong to non-ruling royals buried during the transition between the late Napatan and early Meroitic period, before King Arkamaniqo officially moved the royal necropolis from Napata (Jebel Barkal) to Meroe.( _**Meroe, The Southern Royal Cemetery,**_ map by Dunham _**Meroë Pyramids, Southern Cemetery,**_ photo by tobeytravels The Northern Cemetery was first used around the 3rd century for burying the Queen-consorts of the Meroitic kings buried in the southern cemetery, before it too became home to the pyramids of the ruling Kings and Queens of Kush after the southern cemetery became overcrowded. It contains 41 pyramids belonging to 30 kings, 8 Queen-regnants, and 3 crown princes. The largest of these pyramids, whose style was followed by its successors, was Beg. N. 11 measuring 26m high, belonging to Queen Shanakdakhete, the first female ruler (Kandake) of Kush (c. 170-150 BC). It had the most elaborate chapel design with two decorated forecourts in front, and its pylons were carved with large triumphal images of the ruler.( _**Meroe, the Northern Royal Cemetery,**_ map by Dunham _**Meroe, northern cemetery,**_ photo by Sophie Hay * * * **Construction of the Meroitic pyramids and a description of their exterior and interior features.** The construction of the pyramid begun by making its architectural plan, as shown by the architectural design of a pyramid preserved on a wall of the cult chapel of pyramid Beg. N. 8, that was intended for pyramid Beg. N. 2 (King Arnanikhabale) in the middle of the AD 1st century.( The main construction material was sandstone, quarried from the city's hinterland.( The pyramid's outer mantle consisted of dressed sandstone blocks covering an interior built with sandstone rubble, with the exception of a few that were built entirely with sandstone blocks like their Napatan predecessors. The pyramids were built using a shaduf, an ancient lever-based lifting device used to lift water from irrigation canals.( The exteriors of the pyramids were embellished since limestone plaster and paintings has been found on pyramids of both royal and non-royal elites. Most pyramids were crowned by capstones of various fashions that were placed on their truncated summits, in Meroe these had a circular base with two holes, probably to insert a bronze solar disk.( _**architectural plan of a pyramid incised on the chapel of Beg. N. 8, interpretation of the pyramid drawing’s measurements, drawing showing the use of a shaduf in pyramid construction,**_ illustrations by L Torok and M. Hinkel _**Meroe, underground galleries and supporting pillars in quarry Q41,**_ photo by Brigitte Cech As many as three burial chambers were dug beneath the pyramids and accessed by a stepped descendary with a barrel vaulted roof, and cut in front of the chapel or underneath it. Once interment was completed, the doorway into the burial chambers was blocked and remnants from the final funeral ceremonies were placed in front of the blocked door and in the stairway.( Decorated stone offering chapels completed the features shared by all Meroitic pyramids. The chapels of royal pyramids were constructed against the monument's eastern faces, and they typically had pylons on which were inscribed images of the King or Queen smiting enemies followed the established iconography appearing on Meroitic temples and palaces. The chapel served as a bridge between the deceased's grave and their living relatives; a place where rituals could be performed and prayers conveyed to the other world. Chapels held various grave materials related to the mortuary rituals including inscribed offering tables, stelae, and luxury grave goods. The Meroitic offering tables were fashioned after those used during the Napatan era when the tradition had been revived. Their surface decoration alternates between carved and incised scenes with representations of offerings and the figural scenes where divinities perform a libation. The Meroitic offering tables were initially made for chapels of royal families, as their table scenes represented miniature versions of the extended scenes inscribed on the walls of the Kings and Queens of Kush whose large pyramid-chapels obviated their need.( Mortuary rituals involved the pouring of libation poured on an offering table placed on a small pedestal made with mudbricks, after which the libation would overflow through an apex and spill onto the ground. Through this process, the water would magically convey the prayers and the food offerings carved on the table, directly to the dead.( The funerary stela placed in Meroitic pyramid-chapels followed established traditions of grave stelae used in the Napatan period that had been reserved for royals but became democratised by the Meroitic elite. These meroitic stelae display a remarkable diversity, their surfaces were inscribed with texts about the deceased's lineage as well as invocations addressed to Isis and Osiris, and they contained painted/carved figural scenes representing the deceased.( The lintels of non-royal funerary chapels were made in an archaic style, with a winged sun disc flanked by two uraeus-serpents following the established architectural traditions of most Meroitic buildings. This particular symbol legitimated the status of Meroitic elites, since its appearance on a private edifice mimics the appearance of the official temples. When decorated, the doorjambs of the chapels visually opposed the abovementioned deities Anubis and Isis or Nephthys, one on each side of the door, pouring a libation for the dead.( _**Queen Shanakadakheto’s chapel and forecourt, Beg. N 11,**_ photo by shutterstock_**, Reconstruction drawing of Beg. N 11 showing its pylon, two forecourts, and chapel with pylon,**_ illustration by M. Hinkel The interiors of pyramid graves often contained selected mortuary equipment meant to accompany the deceased through their journey to the aferlife. The deceased's coffin or burial shroud was lain on a bed for most royals, while non-royals were placed on a funerary bench made of stone or on the floor. There seems to have been no deliberate mummification of the corpse before it was placed in its coffin, although the cadavers were often washed or scented with oils and preserved from insects with incense-like substances, and the dry desert ensured that most of the body remained intact. Meroitic coffins were based on models used during the Napatan period and must have constituted a significant local industry, alongside the cotton burial shrouds that used local textiles and were retained by the kingdoms which succeeded Kush.( Grave goods were placed in the chapel or ontop of the body of the deceased, and they often constituted personal belongings of the deceased and the remains of the funerary banquet brought by their relatives. These included amulets of the deities Apedemak, Amun, Bes and Isis and excellently painted pottery. The fine quality Gold and silver jewelry, as well as the bracelets, armlets, shield rings and pendants richly decorated with gold wire, granulation and fused-glass inlays demonstrate the continuity of late Napatan and Meroitic goldsmith's art.( Other ornaments were placed on the side of the body such as weapons, containers and utensils such as beautifully painted, wheel-thrown pottery ceramics. The smaller ornaments were locked in small caskets of wood such as small metallic utensils, kohl tubes and glass containers. Unfortunately, all Meroitic cemeteries were pillaged before modern excavations, the grave robbers mostly left the less valuable objects.( _**Bracelet with image of Hathor from Gebel Barkal, pyramid 8,**_ 250–100 B.C, Boston Museum of fine Arts No. 20.333, _**Necklace with lion heads representing Apedemak, 185–100 B.C**_. Boston Museum of fine Arts No. 24.488 * * * **The non-royal pyramids of Meroitic Kush.** The monumental tombs of provincial officials followed models already established by non-ruling members of the royal family. Initially showing similarities with royal models, the elite pyramids soon diverged from the royal pyramids. The pyramid chapel, its capstone, accompanying texts, and statuary gradually changed over time. In Lower Nubia, the monument came to be accompanied by an offering chapel and elaborate grave material including stele, an inscribed offering table, paintings, a ba-bird.( The pyramid of a prince Tedeqene dated to the late 2nd century BC in the West cemetery at Meroe was the earliest to have a full panoply of funerary cult objects (offering table and stela) typically found in chapels of the ruling royals. Tedeqene's pyramid shows how the abovementioned Meroitic mortuary practices and inscription formulae that was initially associated with the royal were quickly adopted by non-royal provincial elites, not just at Meroe, but also across the kingdom in the northern territories at Karanog, Faras, Sedeinga, and Sai Island.( Profusely inscribed and painted Stela also appear frequently in the northern territories of Kush. At sedeinga, a pyramid belonging to a provincial ruler named Natemakhora who served as the _sleqene_ (a provincial office) of Sedeinga in the late 2nd century, was found with funerary texts carved on the stela, the lintel, and the threshold of the chapel. Such texts emphasized the rank of the deceased.( A funerary statue called the 'ba-statue' was usually placed on top of the chapel of non-royal elites, down from their initial location at the top of the pyramid's capstone. The ba-bird was adopted from the Egyptian concept which represented is the soul of the deceased, but while the Egyptian ba figure represented a bird with a human head, the Meroitic ba was represented by a human figure with bird's wings. The design of the anthropomorphic ba-statues was influenced by the representation of the Meroitic royals depicted on the walls of palaces, and temples, first appearing on Queen Shanakadakheto royal pyramid in its bird-form, its transformation occurred in lower Nubia.( _**Penn museum model of a governor’s tomb in Karanog (the site is currently lake Aswan)**_ _**Karanog ; ba statue of a winged male representing a governor of Akin, painted stela, 100-300AD, Penn museum**_ * * * **The non-elite tumulus tombs of Kush, and the decline of the Meroitic state** The mortuary practices of the lower stratum of Kush's society were influenced by the mortuary religion of the upper classes and Kushite theology of the learned priesthood in the cult temples who were also responsible for the purity of the performance of the mortuary rites. But non-elite funerary architecture was nevertheless quite different from royal funerary architecture, especially during the late Meroitic period, and shows a seemingly unbroken cultural continuity with the mortuary practices of ancient Nubia.( At the site of Jebel Makbor near Meroe with about 1,000 graves, four tumuli were built in close proximity and style with each other, and their dating cuts across the span of Nubian history. With one dated to the proto-historic period, one from the Meroitic period and two from the post-Meroitic period.( The elite tumuli at El-Hobagi, which began around the 4th century, shows that the tradition of tumuli building had never been abandoned, and would be reinstated by the rulers who succeeded the last kings buried under pyramids at Meroe.( The kingdom of Meroe went into decline around the 4th century, as shown by the pyramid burials of the last generations which indicate signs of a rather sudden economic decline. One of the last known royal pyramids was built by Queen Amanipilade (Beg N. 25) in the middle of the 4th century, just before the Aksumite invasion of Meroe by king Ezana.( While the central government at Meroe collapsed, new capitals sprung up across the region, especially at Qustul and Ballana which contain rich tumuli graves for the rulers of the emerging kingdom of Noubadia. The pyramid tradition which had lasted over 1,000 years in Kush, staggered on for a short while, with the non-royal pyramids of Soba-east and Gebel Adda, before it was finally abandoned.( * * * Like its pyramids, the **kingdom of Kush was home to one of the world’s oldest and most dynamic religions**. By the Meroitic era, it had **a pantheon with dozens of gods and goddesses, many of which were Nubian in origin**. ( * * * _**If you like this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal**_ ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( The Black Kingdom of the Nile by Charles Bonnet pg 1-17, 22-25) ( The Black Kingdom of the Nile by Charles Bonnet pg 32, 37-38, 41-43, 47, Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 141-2 ( The Black Kingdom of the Nile by Charles Bonnet 65-68, Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 143-144) ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 45-46) ( Between Two Worlds by László Török 64-66, 166) ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 264-266, 268) ( Wretched Kush by Stuart Tyson Smith pg 138-145, Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 280, ( The Image of the Ordered World in Ancient Nubian Art by László Török pg 188) ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 264, 282-3 ( The Kingdom of Kush by László Török pg 82-121 ( The Kingdom of Kush by László Török pg 105-107 ( Structures and realities of the Egyptian presence in Lower Nubia from the Middle Kingdom to the New Kingdom by Claudia Naser pg 560 ( Between Two Worlds by László Török 305, 311-312) ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 306-307 ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 308- 309, ( The Kingdom of Kush by László Török pg pg 117-120 ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 314-17, 250-251 ( The Kingdom of Kush by László Török pg 153, 165-6) ( The Kingdom of Kush by László Török pg 326-327, ( The Kingdom of Kush by László Török 356-357, 390, 395) ( Death and Burial in the Kingdom of Meroe by Vincent Francigny pg 590 ( Closer to the Ancestors. Excavations of the French Mission in Sedeinga 2013-2017 by Claude Rilly and Vincent Francigny ( Hellenizing Art in Ancient Nubia by László Török 13-19 ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 390-392) ( The Royal and Elite Cemeteries at Meroe Janice W. Yellin pg 563 ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 415-419, The Kingdom of Kush by László Török pg 442-443) ( The Kushite Nature of Early Meroitic Mortuary Religion by Janice W. Yellin pg 396-37, 403, Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 418-419) ( The Royal and Elite Cemeteries at Meroe Janice W. Yellin pg 568-569, 577) ( The Kushite Nature of Early Meroitic Mortuary Religion by Janice W. Yellin pg 400-401 ( The Royal and Elite Cemeteries at Meroe Janice W. Yellin pg pg 577 ( The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia by Bruce Williams pg 566 ( The Double Kingdom Under Taharqo by Jeremy W. Pope pg 14-15 ( The Royal and Elite Cemeteries at Meroe Janice W. Yellin pg pg 570, 573-4) ( The Royal and Elite Cemeteries at Meroe Janice W. Yellin pg 575-77) ( The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia by Bruce Williams pg 579-580) ( The Kingdom of Kush by László Török pg 522-523) ( The Quarries of Meroe, Sudan by Brigitte Cech ( The royal pyramids of Meroe, Architecture construction and reconstruction of a sacred landscape by F. Hinkel ( The Royal and Elite Cemeteries at Meroe Janice W. Yellin pg 568) ( The Royal and Elite Cemeteries at Meroe Janice W. Yellin pg 569 ( Death and Burial in the Kingdom of Meroe by Vincent Francigny pg 597) ( Death and Burial in the Kingdom of Meroe by Vincent Francigny pg 595, 596-7) ( Death and Burial in the Kingdom of Meroe by Vincent Francigny pg 597) ( The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia by Bruce Williams pg 596) ( Death and Burial in the Kingdom of Meroe by Vincent Francigny pg 601-602) ( The Kingdom of Kush by László Török pg 528-529) ( The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia by Bruce Williams pg 601, 569) ( The Kingdom of Kush by László Török pg pg 498) ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 420-421 The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia by Bruce Williams pg 597) ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 494-495) ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 422-424) ( The Kingdom of Kush by László Török pg 515) ( Death and Burial in the Kingdom of Meroe by Vincent Francigny pg 593) ( The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia by Bruce Williams pg 593) ( The Kingdom of Kush by László Török pg pg 484) ( The Archaeology of Late Antique Sudan pg 28-29)

# The Pyramids of Ancient Nubia and Meroe: A Historical Overview ## 1. Introduction to the Kingdom of Kush - Sudan is home to the highest number of pyramids in the world, constructed by the kingdom of Kush. - More than 200 pyramids were built over a span of 1,000 years, showcasing ambitious mortuary architecture. ## 2. Historical Development of Mortuary Architecture ### a. Origins in the Kingdom of Kerma (c. 3700–1500 BC) - Kerma was the largest state in ancient Nubia, known as Kush. - Archeological studies reveal a complex of palatial, defensive, administrative, and religious structures. - Temples and chapels for ancestral veneration featured monumental tumuli tombs, with the largest containing over 5,000 sacrificial animals. - Tombs had large circular superstructures, vaulted burial chambers, and elaborate funerary offerings. ### b. Predecessors to Meroitic Practices - The A-Group chiefdom (ca. 3700–2800 BC) and C-Group chiefdom (ca. 2300–1550 BC) introduced large tumuli and offering places, influencing subsequent mortuary architecture. - C-Group graves, especially at Aniba, displayed increasing complexity, with burial practices that included interments of rams and stone stele. ## 3. Transition of Pyramid Construction (1500–1100 BC) ### a. Influence of the New Kingdom Egypt - The New Kingdom period marked the introduction of pyramid tombs in Nubia, replacing circular tumuli. - Nubian princes began building pyramids, a revival not seen since the Egyptian kings had abandoned this practice. - Key sites include Debeira, Aniba, and Soleb, indicating a blend of Nubian and Egyptian religious practices. ### b. Decline of Pyramid Building - The Egyptian administration began to collapse around the 20th Dynasty, leading to the cessation of pyramid construction in Upper Nubia. - The last pyramid built during this period was by Panehesy at Aniba, symbolizing local authority post-Egyptian withdrawal. ## 4. Rise of the Pyramid Tradition in Kush (9th–4th Century BC) ### a. El-Kurru and the Napatan Era - The fragmented polities of Upper Nubia consolidated around el-Kurru, becoming the apex of pyramid construction around the 9th century BC. - Rulers combined earlier Nubian burial traditions, transitioning from tumuli to pyramid-style graves. ### b. The Role of Religion and Culture - The el-Kurru rulers established a syncretism of Nubian and Egyptian religious practices, notably reviving the funerary rite of smashing vessels. - Pyramids connected the rulers' lineage to both Nubian (Kerma) and Egyptian traditions, legitimizing their authority. ## 5. The Meroitic Kingdom and Pyramid Construction ### a. Establishment Under Arkamaniqo (c. 275 BC) - King Arkamaniqo overthrew the previous Napatan dynasty, relocating the royal burial site to Meroe. - The Meroitic dynasty began extensive construction of pyramids, signifying a shift in royal burial practices. ### b. Characteristics of Meroitic Pyramids - Meroitic pyramids retained traditional features but also incorporated new architectural styles. - The pyramids featured steep angles, with burial chambers often containing luxurious grave goods and inscriptions. ## 6. Meroitic Mortuary Religion ### a. The Cult of the Dead - The worship of deities such as Anubis, Isis, and Osiris permeated pyramid imagery and rituals. - Scenes depicted in pyramid chapels illustrated the donation of offerings and the deceased's journey to the afterlife. ### b. Arrangement of Necropolises at Meroe - Three main royal necropolises (Southern, Northern, and Western) served different purposes. - Over 800 graves, including non-ruling royals, were assembled at these sites, exemplifying the societal structure of Kush. ## 7. Construction Techniques and Features of Meroitic Pyramids ### a. Architectural Design - Sandstone was the primary material for pyramid construction, often featuring complex internal chambers and decorative exteriors. - Chapels served as spaces for ritual offerings and communication with the deceased. ### b. The Role of Non-Royal Pyramids - Provincial officials constructed pyramids following royal architectural models, showcasing the democratization of pyramid burials during the Meroitic period. ## 8. Conclusion on the Decline of the Pyramid Tradition - The kingdom of Meroe experienced a decline around the 4th century AD, marked by reduced pyramid constructions. - The last royal pyramid, built by Queen Amanipilade, illustrates the culmination of a millennium of rich burial traditions in Kush before the rise of new rival powers. ## 9. Significance of Kushite Pyramids - The pyramids of Kush represent one of the world’s oldest and dynamic religious practices. - By the Meroitic era, they reflected a complex pantheon and rich theological traditions originating from Nubian culture.

Economic growth and social transformation in 19th century Somalia.

Desert caravans, coastal cities and population movements

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Economic growth and social transformation in 19th century Somalia. ================================================================== ### Desert caravans, coastal cities and population movements ( Feb 12, 2023 11 During the 19th century, the social landscape of Southern Somalia was profoundly transformed as a result of East Africa’s integration into global trade, reversing the period of stagnation following the collapse of the Ajuran empire. Camel caravans of enterprising Somali merchants begun trekking across the arid interior, linking the pastoral producers in the interior to the coastal cities, as settlements of migrant pastoralists and cultivators emerged in the fertile hinterlands of the coast. The combined caravan trade and agricultural boom greatly increased the region's prosperity, attracting more settlement and diversifying the region's ethnic mosaic. This article outlines the social history of southern Somalia during the 19th century, exploring the organization of long-distance trade as well as the patterns of exchange and production in the hinterland of the coastal cities. _**Map showing the caravan routes of Southern Somalia during the late 19th century( **_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **The roots of social and economic change in Southern Somalia: Between the fall of Ajuran and the rise of the Geledi kingdom.** Following the collapse of Ajuran empire during the 17th century, the intricate trade network which linked the agro-pastoral economy of the interior with the Indian ocean economies through the coastal cities, went into decline. The continued movement of various Somali clan families and the appearance of Oromo-speaking groups altered the political landscape of the preceding era( , and the resulting wars necessitated a shift in social organization which led to the creation of 'multi-lingual' settlements. By the early 18th century, Rahanwiin clan-family had settled in the region between the Shebelle and Jubaa rivers, developing a close social and economic relationship with their Borana-Oromo neighbors. They established the trading town of Luuq along the Jubba river which was described as the ‘Timbuktu’ of the region, attracting merchants and diverse groups of settlers from Mogadishu, Brava and Merca. Somali traders in Luuq exchanged pastoral products and ivory acquired from the Borana for coastal goods.( The most prominent among the Rahanwiin family was the Geledi clan whose elite Gobroon lineage had subsumed the Silcis (a successor state of Ajuran). Combining their military success with religious prestige, they established the Geledi kingdom in the late 18th century at their capital Afgooye.( Geledi's political influence was initially minimal until the outbreak of the Baardheere clerical movement in the 1830s. The Baardheere drew from new forms of legitimacy that weren't readily accepted in the region. Its attacks on the trading towns such as Luuq, and its banning of ivory trade gave further leverage to the Geledi king Yusuf's attempts at mobilizing opposition forces from many clans that in 1843, defeated the Baardheere.( Using this war-time alliance, and their religious prestige, Geledi's kings managed to create a loose confederation based on clans which accepted their authority nominally. Its authority extended upto Brava and the hinterland Mogadishu and controlled most of the trade routes terminating at its capital Afgooye. The Geledi kings were also closely associated with the Zanzibar sultan. But the cohesion of the Geledi state was threatened by opposition from the Biimaal clan which defeated Sultan Yusuf in 1848, and later defeated his successor Ahmed in 1878. Although this defeat eroded Geledi's political authority by the early 1880s, the kingdom presided over the apogee of economic growth in the region.( _**Map showing the Baardheere movement in the 1830s and the Geledi advance in 1843**_ * * * **Economic currents from Southern Somalia’s coastal cities** At the coast, the ‘_**Benadir’**_ cities of Brava, Merca, and Mogadishu had settled into a pattern of regular -albeit modest- trade wish ships plying the maritime routes between the Swahili cities of Zanzibar and Lamu archipelago, southern Arabia and western India. The cities attracted the interest of foreign merchants as suppliers of cattle, ivory, cloth, aromatic woods, captives, and, agricultural commodities. External descriptions of the urban settlements of Benadir indicate that they were well past their heyday, with Mogadishu housing a population of about 3,000, but the gradual increase in trade from the mainland slowly revived their fortunes.( Part of the commercial growth was derived from the expanded market at Zanzibar for the traditional pastoral products of the Somali mainland. Zanzibar, like Geledi, had a nominal political presence in Mogadishu.( By the mid-19th century, the non-pastoral exports Benadir's exports to Zanzibar consisted of ivory (valued at nearly 2/3rds of total exports), as well as aromatic woods, gums, and myrhh. The local Benadir weaving industry sought new sources of raw cotton along the Shebelle river in response to the increased imports of foreign textiles.( The concentration of commercial opportunities along the Benadir drew enterprising Somalis from other parts of the country toward the south and helped to further a process of territorial integration that had been going on for centuries. As coastal traders and urban Somali groups in the coastal cities became more involved in the emerging patterns of global commerce, their pastoral peers in the interior were exposed to new markets for their livestock products and to new opportunities in long-distance caravan trading. _**The city of Merca**_ * * * **The Caravan trade of Southern Somalia in the 19th century** While long-distance trade between southern Somalia's hinterland and the coastal cities had been pioneered by the Ajuran state, it would be greatly reinvigorated by the rising external demand for African commodities during the 19th century. The initial impetus for the extension of caravan trading into the interior of southern Somalia was the expansion of the ivory frontier from the immediate hinterland of Benadir into the upper regions of the Shebelle and Jubba river valleys. The southern Somali commercial system was segmented and decentralized circuit encompassing a region occupied by a vast mosaic of independent Somali lineages, clans, and confederations. Each required access to the major conduits of commercial exchange but also guarded its right to regulate its section of the caravan trade as much as it guarded its grazing areas and wells.( Goods originating in the upper Jubba basin were brought to the Somali mainland towns such as Luuq and Bardera in caravans manned by traders from upcountry clans of Garre, Ajuraan, as well as the Borana Oromo. From the Jubba River towns, caravans manned by traders from the clans of Gasar Gudda, Eelay, and Garre, carried the goods to the towns of Baydhabo, Awdheegle and Afgooye. These market towns near the coast had relatively small fixed populations that also created their own demand, and this population significantly increased during trading seasons. It's at these towns that the caravans handed over their goods to coastal traders and local brokers to be exchanged for Indian ocean goods.( _**The modern town of Luuq**_ The absence of large centralized state regulating long distance commerce on the mainland didn't impede the efficiency of caravan trade. The different merchant groups utilized several established institutions such as the use of a host/protector (_abbaan_). This was a prestigious member of a respected lineage within the clan controlling a section of the caravan route, and was based on a centuries old institution governing patron-client relations that Ibn battuta had witnessed in Mogadishu in 1331, and later visitors would describe in greater detail.( The abbaan was charged with overseeing the transactions, security and accommodation of itinerant merchants, as well as negotiating customs duties expected by clan elders. Abbaans could also double as brokers (dillaal) who collected products and arranged for buyers in anticipation of the Caravan's arrival. Itinerant merchants left goods on consignment with a trusted abbaan and he was allowed to keep a share ranging from 5-25%. Over time, relations between mainland lineages and coastal merchants were developed through this institution, eg between the Afgooye's Abikerow lineage and the Shanshiiye of Mogadishu, between the Biimaal clan in Merca's hinterland and the town's merchants, and between the Tuuni clan in Brava's hinterland and the town's Hamarani merchants.( Besides the Abbaan, the other institution that mediated relations between the segmented trade routes was religious specialists. The clerical Reer Mumin lineage, whose members were spread across the route from Mogadishu to Luuq were widely respected and allowed to travel across the region unencumbered. They gave religious sanction to caravans and adjudicated commercial disputes in exchange for fees. ( All institutions involved in ensuring the efficiency of caravan trade obtained a share of the goods through charging duties, taxes, fees, gifts and other forms of tribute that merchants were expected to pay. This ensured that a significant proportion of the wealth was retained within the communities of the mainland, much like the closely related Swahili caravan trade to its south. But unlike Swahili caravans which used paid porters in tse-tse infested zones, the Somali long distance trade could utilize camels with each caravan possessing upto 15-20 camels.( The lower end of the Shebelle river was also navigable, allowing merchants to offload their goods to ferrymen (bahar) who then rowed down to Afgooye before continuing to the coastal cities.( [African History Extra\ \ Economic growth and cultural syncretism in 19th century East Africa: Trade and Swahili acculturation on the African mainland\ \ Much writing about 19th-century East Africa historiography has been distorted by the legacy of post-enlightenment thought and colonial literature, both of which condemned Africa to the periphery of universal history. Descriptions of East-African societies were framed within a contradictory juxtaposition of abolitionist and imperialist concepts that depi…\ \ Read more\ \ 2 years ago · 8 likes · 1 comment · isaac Samuel]( Unlike the largely credit-fuelled expansion of trade from the east African coast into the mainland during the mid-19th century, which enabled coastal Arab and Swahili merchants to subsume the preexisting trade of the Nyamwezi, the caravan trade of southern Somalia remained in local hands. One consequence of this was that despite the ecological advantages, the volume of trade flowing into the Benadir cities was relatively less than that flowing into the Swahili cities, accounting for about 1/4 of Zanzibar's exports. Since caravans were smaller, wealth was more dispersed and no single merchant or 'trading class' could amass the kind of wealth and political influence attested along the Swahili caravan routes.( The various tributes and expenses incurred by caravan traders along the trade routes meant that only high value commodities could be traded profitably. The main commodity that could meet this requirement was ivory, whose selling price at Mogadishu tripled between 1847 and 1890, and constituted half of Brava's exports during the 1840s. Most Somali caravaneers were themselves not involved in hunting but instead initiated complex exchanges with Oromo herdsmen in the upper Jubba basin for cattle, and used that cattle to pay hunters for ivory. They used similar exchanges to obtain commodities such as coffee, salt, aromatic woods, as well as captives, in exchange for coastal cloths and copper, but most were retained locally. By the last quarter of the 19th century, agricultural commodities from the lower Shebelle had become the main export of the mainland, rivaling ivory exports.( * * * **Agricultural production in the Shebelle valley: Pastoral politics, Client-cultivators and Captives.** The Shebelle river runs parallel to the Benadir coast for 200 miles, creating a fertile river plain that could supply the coastal cities with agricultural surpluses. While the semi-arid mainland was primary occupied by Somali-speaking pastoralists, the fertile Shebelle valley was settled by mixed groups of sedentary agro-pastoralist groups speaking Cushitic-languages related to Somali, as well as Sabaki-languages of the Bantu subgroup( . The impetus of external trade attracted different nomadic Somali clans from the mainland such as the Biimaal and Geledi, who settled in the valley and became semi-sedentarised.( _**Map of the lower Shebelle valley 1850-1910**_ The semi-sedentarised pastoral clans syncretized social institutions in this region to create a new political system. Clan elders were in charge of distributing land and defending it from external aggression, clan lineages divided the land and resolved disputes, and individual clansmen planted the land, working alongside clients groups. These client groups were typically pre-existing sedentary cultivators who acquired the status of dependents within the new pastoral political system. This client relationship was founded on a preexisting pastoral institution of _sheegad_ where smaller clans were allowed to graze on lands of larger clans as dependents. But since the semi-sedentarised pastoral clans had little use for cultivation, the client cultivators retained significant autonomy by forming corporate arrangements with pastoral lineages to mediate disputes.( This client relationship could sustain the modest agricultural trade of the mid-19th century in which cereal, cotton and cattle, that were sold to the Benadir cities from where they were exported into the western Indian ocean. In 1843-7, one visitor stated that the grain grown in the hinterland of the Benadir cities “supplies the whole coast of Hadramaut and Oman”. Estimating that 3,182 tones of millet were exported annually from Mogadishu to Zanzibar and southern Arabia, and over 50 tones of sesame seed were exported annually from the cities.( The export of cattle and cow-hides in particular created a new type of exchange that would augment pre-existing patterns of agricultural production. The establishment of; the British colony of Aden in 1839; the French colonial settlements on the Mascarenes islands, and arrival of New England (American) leather traders on the east African coast, created demand for cattle products which the Benaadir cities supplied to a tune of 3,000 annually by the late 19th century.( The coincidence of increasing demand for agro-pastoral products from southern Somalia, with the falling demand for captives in the western Indian ocean, compelled Benadir merchants to exchange the cattle and other pastoral products which they acquired from Somali caravaneers with captives from the Zanzibar based merchants.( The volume of this trade in captives was relatively low at about 600 a year in the 1840s, rising in the 1860s before collapse by the late 1880s.( The importation of captives into the Shebelle valley was not isolated trade but involved a mixed variety of imports including cloth, yarn, and manufactures from the Indian ocean world, and the Somali cow-hides were inturn re-exported from Zanzibar to American buyers( . However, the bulk of the servile population on the Somali mainland and coast remained local in origin, being derived from the clan conflicts and pastoral wars between the Somali clans and the neighboring Oromo groups. Some of these local captives were sent to the Benadir cities as domestic servants, and many were retained in the Shebelle valley among the population of client-cultivators. ( Given the dispersed nature of the trade, individual merchants rarely retained many of the slaves; some were given to client cultivators to augment agricultural production, but most were exchanged in internal trade for cattle which remained the primary form of wealth among the pastoral clans. This internal exchange of slaves rather than concentration under individual owners was also determined by the restrictions on land acquisition by clan elders which constrained the capacity of wealthy merchants to set up large plantations.( The enslaved population was therefore not confined to plantations and quickly formed free communities especially in the lower Jubba's Gosha region as early as the 1840s. These free communities chose their own rulers, and also engaged in agricultural production for subsistence and export.( Both the freed and servile class of southern Somalia was therefore a diverse group, the majority of whom eventually spoke Somali dialects and adopted Somali clan identities despite their diverse origins( , and they shouldn't be conflated with the creation of very recent social constructs such as 'Somali Bantu'.( The overall population increase in the cultivator population led to a significant boost in agricultural exports from the Shebelle valley with the cultivation of millet, sesame, and cotton. By 1896, more than 5,729.3 tons of millet were exported worth M.T. $125,512, and upto sesame seed occupying a distant second with exports of 368.4 tons of sesame seed worth M.T. $22,576.( _**Re-exports of hides, rubber, and gum copal from Zanzibar to the US, UK, and Bombay, 1836–1900. notice that the trade in hides peaked in the 1880s.**_( * * * **From economic prosperity to decline on the eve of colonialism** The prosperity of the Shebelle valley attracted more groups from the Somali mainland as well as the northern coast. Merchants from the northern cities of Hobyo and Majeerteenia came to Merca and to the new town of Kismaayo to engage in grain trade with southern Arabia. The Daarood clan families, especially the Haarti clan, also moved into the Shebelle valley, bringing with them more clients and captives derived from the regional wars of neighboring Oromo groups. The new trade routes to Kismaayo would later rival established caravan routes. ( Indian financiers who had fueled the expansion of Swahili ivory trade also became active in Benadir cities during the late 19th century, setting up financial houses and extending credit to ivory caravans. The American traders who were concentrated on Zanzibar also expanded their activities to the Benadir cities.( The Benadir cloth industry also underwent a period of rapid expansion; rather than relying solely on cotton from the valley, Benadir weavers begun importing yarn from Bombay, with upto 2.5 million pounds of yarn imported in 1894.( The increased export of agricultural surpluses gave the pastoral clans more political influence over the Benadir cities which counteracted the expansionist policies of the Zanzibar sultan. While the cities of Merka, Mogadishu and Brava had allowed the construction of Zanzibari forts locally in 1860-1880s, the immediate hinterland remained out of Zanzibar Sultan's political orbit and the sultanate's presence in the cities was itself nominal. And just as foreign merchants had been restricted from moving inland, foreign agriculturalists were restricted from setting up plantations in the Benadir's immediate hinterland.( By the late 19th century, foreign powers were increasingly interested in exploiting the agricultural potential of the Shebelle valley and the interior caravan trade. In the interior, competition between Italian and British officials to lure the caravan trade toward ports in their respective spheres of influence exacerbated inter-clan rivalries which made caravan routes insecure. And in the Shebelle river valley, the opening of alternative caravan routes through northern Kenya, and a severe rinderpest epidemic dealt a major blow to the cattle trade.( The Benadir ports were "ceded" to Italy by the sultan of Zanzibar in 1892, although Italian forces did not move inland to occupy the Shebelle valley until 1908.( The collapse of caravan trade, the increased importance of agriculture, and the creation of new social identities in the early colonial era would have a profound influence on the succeeding governments of the modern era.( _**Mogadishu in the early 20th century**_ * * * For nearly a century, the dynasty of **an African king named Abraha controlled vast swathes of modern Saudi Arabia and Yemen ruling over a diverse Christian and Jewish population just before the emergence of Islam**. read about it here; ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( this and other Maps in the article were made by Lee Cassanelli ( Somali Sultanate: The Geledi City-state Over 150 Years by Virginia Luling pg 17 ( The Hadrami Diaspora: Community-Building on the Indian Ocean Rim By Leif Manger pg 89-90 ( Historical dictionary of Somalia by Mohamed Haji Mukhtar pg 28-29) ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 137-140, Somali Sultanate: The Geledi City-state Over 150 Years by Virginia Luling pg 23-24 ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli 187-189) ( Muqdisho in the Nineteenth Century by EA Alpers pg 442-446) ( Muqdisho in the Nineteenth Century by EA Alpers pg 446-448) ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 150, 148) ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 155) ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 154) ( Tradition to text: writing local somali history by Lee Cassanelli pg 62-63) ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 157-158) ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 159) ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 156, 160 ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 155) ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 159-160) ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli 153, 161) ( Unraveling Somalia: Race, Class, and the Legacy of Slavery By Catherine Besteman pg 52-53 ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 163) ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 164-165) ( Muqdisho in the Nineteenth Century by EA Alpers pg 449) ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 178-9, Tradition to text: writing local somali history by Lee Cassanelli pg 59) ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 174, ( Unraveling Somalia: Race, Class, and the Legacy of Slavery By Catherine Besteman pg 55, “Gendered Narratives,” History, and Identity by Francesca Declich pg 98-99) ( Twilight of an Industry in East Africa by K Frederick pg 94 ( Translocal Connections Across the Indian Ocean by F Declich pg 93-110, Unraveling Somalia: Race, Class, and the Legacy of Slavery By Catherine Besteman pg 57-58 ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 173) ( Two Centuries Along the Juba River among the Zigula and Shanbara Francesca Declic pg 95-96, The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 192-193) ( Unraveling Somalia: Race, Class, and the Legacy of Slavery By Catherine Besteman pg 63-69 ( Translating Race across Time and Space: The Creation of Somali Bantu Ethnicity by Catherine Besteman ( Muqdisho in the Nineteenth Century by EA Alpers pg 449) ( Twilight of an Industry in East Africa by K Frederick pg 92 ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 180-181) ( Muqdisho in the Nineteenth Century by EA Alpers pg 453-454, Twilight of an Industry in East Africa by K Frederick pg 95 ( Twilight of an Industry in East Africa by K Frederick pg 226 ( The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 175-176) ( The Hadrami Diaspora by Leif Manger pg 91-93. The Shaping of Somali Society by Lee V. Cassanelli pg 182, 191-193, Renewers of the Age by Scott Reese pg 106-7 ( The Scramble in the Horn of Africa by Mohamed Osman Omar pg 245-247) ( Unraveling Somalia: Race, Class, and the Legacy of Slavery By Catherine Besteman pg 87-130.

# Economic Growth and Social Transformation in 19th Century Somalia ## 1. Transformation of Southern Somalia - **Period of Change**: The 19th century marked a significant transformation in Southern Somalia, particularly following the integration of East Africa into global trade. - **Impact of Trade**: This integration reversed a period of stagnation that followed the Ajuran Empire's collapse. - **Camel Caravans**: Somali merchants began utilizing camel caravans to connect pastoral producers in the interior with coastal cities. - **Settlement Patterns**: New settlements of migrant pastoralists and cultivators emerged in the fertile hinterlands due to increased prosperity from the caravan trade and agricultural boom. ## 2. Historical Context - **Collapse of the Ajuran Empire**: After the Ajuran Empire fell in the 17th century, trade networks that had previously linked the interior to coastal economies declined. - **Clan Movements**: Various Somali clan families and the arrival of Oromo-speaking groups altered the political landscape, leading to the establishment of multilingual settlements. - **Rahanwiin Clan**: By the early 18th century, the Rahanwiin clan established a major trading town called Luuq, which became a significant trade hub attracting merchants from coastal cities. ## 3. Rise of the Geledi Kingdom - **Formation of Geledi Kingdom**: The Geledi clan, particularly the elite Gobroon lineage, capitalized on military success and religious prestige to establish the Geledi kingdom in the late 18th century, with its capital at Afgooye. - **Political Influence**: Initially limited, their influence grew following their victory over the Baardheere clerical movement in 1843, allowing them to create a loose clan confederation across the region. - **Trade Control**: The Geledi kings extended their authority over vital trade routes and maintained a nominal association with the Sultan of Zanzibar. ## 4. Economic Development in Coastal Cities - **Benadir Cities**: Coastal cities like Brava, Merca, and Mogadishu engaged in regular trade with ships from the Swahili coast, selling goods such as cattle, ivory, and agricultural products. - **Resurgence of Trade**: Although past their peak, these cities benefitted from renewed trade, particularly from the increasing demand for Somali goods in Zanzibar. ## 5. Caravan Trade Dynamics - **Reinvigoration of Caravans**: The caravan trade, which had previously declined, experienced renewed impetus due to external demand for ivory and other commodities. - **Decentralized Trade System**: The trade network was segmented among various Somali clans, each controlling different sections of the trade routes. - **Role of Brokers**: Institutions like the **abbaan** (host/protector) and religious specialists facilitated trade by overseeing transactions and resolving disputes. ## 6. Agricultural Production - **Shebelle Valley Fertility**: The Shebelle River created fertile land that supported agricultural production, supplying surplus to coastal cities. - **Emerging Political Systems**: Mixed groups of sedentary agro-pastoralists and Somali-speaking pastoralists developed a new political system centered on clan elders managing land and disputes. - **Key Exports**: By the mid-19th century, agricultural products such as millet and sesame became significant exports to regional markets. ## 7. Decline of Prosperity and Colonial Context - **Pressure from Foreign Powers**: The increasing interest of foreign powers in exploiting the region's agricultural potential intensified inter-clan rivalries. - **Collapse of Trade**: By the late 19th century, the caravan trade began to falter, paving the way for colonial exploitation initiated by the Italians in the region in 1892. - **Emerging Social Identities**: The transformation of economic exchanges and social structures laid the groundwork for the modern identities and regional dynamics seen in Somalia today. This structured approach provides a comprehensive understanding of the social and economic transformations in 19th-century Somalia, emphasizing the interconnectedness of trade, agriculture, and political changes amid the pressures of colonial interests.

The Dahlak islands and the African dynasty of Yemen

a complete history of a cosmopolitan archipelago in the red sea (4th-19th century)

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The Dahlak islands and the African dynasty of Yemen =================================================== ### a complete history of a cosmopolitan archipelago in the red sea (4th-19th century) ( Feb 05, 2023 13 At the height of the middle ages, a small group of islands in the red sea near the Eritrean coast featured prominently in the navigational instructions of merchant ships plying the ocean routes connecting Fatimid Egypt to the Indian ocean world. Now known for pearl fishing and scuba diving, the Dahlak archipelago was once home to a cosmopolitan community hailing from the African mainland and places as far as the Caspian sea. The islands were the seat of a local kingdom that played a significant role in the regional politics of Ethiopia, Egypt and the Arabian peninsula, and it served as the base for the emergence of an African Mamluk dynasty which ruled southwestern Yemen for over a century. This article outlines the history of the Dahlak islands, and the Najahid dynasty of Yemen. _**Map showing the location of Dahlak in the red sea and indian ocean world( **_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Early history of the Dahlak islands from the Aksumites to the Ziyadids of Yemen (4th-10th century)** The Dahlak archipelago is a group of hundreds of islands off the coast of Eritrea, the largest of which is Dahlak al-Kabīr. The islands were contested territory that was under the control of various powers based on the African and Arabian mainland, before the emergence of an independent kingdom in the 11th century. The earliest settlement on Dahlak was founded during the Aksumite era, as evidenced by the ruins of a 'Christian church' from the 4th century and the discovery of several Aksumite coins.( The archipelago was most likely predominantly settled by groups from the African mainland but also received substantial numbers of settlers from the Arabian peninsula After the 7th century wars between Aksum and the early caliphates (Rashidun and Umayyad), the Dahlak archipelago had a Muslim population, and some of the islands became ideal places for exiling rebellious figures in the Umayyad administration beginning in 702, and continuing in 715 and 743-744. This practice continued under the Abbasid empire in the 750 and 760s before the archipelago reverted to the control of the declining Aksumite state in the 9th century, according to al-Yaʿqūbī, who refers to its as _**“the island of the nejashi"**_.( By the turn of the 10th century during the disintegration of the rump Aksumite state, the archipelago came under the political orbit of the Ziyādid dynasty of Zabīd in south-western Yemen to which it paid tribute consisting of amber, panther skins and captives from various sources on the mainland. The exact nature of the Ziyadid's authority over Dahlak is unclear, it's likely that the island settlers simply maintained a policy of deference to their more powerful neighbor, as most contemporary writers only mention of special treaties between the Ziyadid rulers and Dahlak’s settlers rather than direct control.( The period of Ziyādid influence over Dahlak and the southern red sea region was relatively short and was likely connected to the Sudanese gold trade in which Dahlak also features as one of the places where gold dust from the Shunqayr mines could be bought according to Yemeni geographer al-Hamdānī (d. 945). ( The archipelago retained its status as a cosmopolitan hub under Aksumite and Ziyadid influence. For the period between 864 and 1010, the necropolis of Dahlak contains 89 stelae that refer to diverse groups of people claiming exogenous origins from Arabia, to Iran to Byzantium.( _**engraved tombstones from the necropolis of Dahlak**_( * * * **The ‘sultanate’ of Dahlak and the Mamluks of Yemen in the 11th century** The first local king (sultan) of Dahlak appears in the 11th century, coinciding with the establishment of the dynasty known as the Najāḥids. The Najāḥids were a dynasty whose founder was Najah; a military slave of "Abyssinian" origin. The term Abyssinian/_Habsha_ as used in the Arabian peninsula during the middle ages was a catchall term for people from the northern Horn of Africa region, not necessary confined to the boundaries of modern Ethiopia . Enslaved soldiers were central figures in the armies of Islamic world from the 9th century; a phenomenon that was rather unexceptional in world history, being inherited from the social institutions of the preceding empires. These soldiers, who were initially favored for their neutrality in internal factionist politics, eventually gained tremendous influence and power through their military and political service.( Military slaves of African origin were relatively rare in the Islamic empires outside Africa —the bulk of the captives in the Muslim empires of western and central Asia were often taken from a diverse range of sources extending from eastern Europe to central Asia and northern India, depending on the location of the state and the trade routes( . Some of the military slaves that would eventually become prominent in Islamic politics of the middle ages were derived from the campaigns of the Mongol empire across central Asia and eastern Europe. The Mongol campaigns invigorated the slave routes which preceded them, and fed large numbers of captives to meet both domestic demand and demand from its southern neighbors in Delhi and Egypt, where contemporaneous slave dynasties (Mamluks) were later established in the 13th century when the slaves had gained significant political power.( In Yemen, enslaved soldiers also came from diverse origins despite the region's proximity to the African mainland. Military slaves are attested in the region since the late 1st millennium, continuing until the early modern period. "Abyssinian" soldiers initially constituted the bulk of these military slaves during the Ziyadid era (818-1018), but were largely replaced by Turkish and Circassian slaves by the time of the Ayyubid (1171–1260), Rasulid (1229–1454) and Tahirid (1454–1517) dynasties. While these Turkish and Circassian slave soldiers remained a formidable political group in Yemen's politics especially in 1250, 1322, 1442 and 1451 when they played king-maker, they never managed to seize authority like their peers had in Egypt and Delhi. It was only the Abyssinians who managed to establish an independent Mamluk dynasty in Yemen.( Prior to the ascendance of Najahids in 1021, the south-western coast of Yemen and Saudi Arabia (Tihama) was dominated by two competing kingdoms since the 9th century; the Yufirids in the city of Sana'a, and the Ziyadids in the city of Zabid. After the death of sultan Ishaq the last powerful Ziyadid ruler in 981, Zabid was attacked by the Yufirids in 989, but the kingdom was saved by the intervention of al-Husayn bin Salamah. The latter was an Abyssinian official who served as vizier (governor) during the interregnum and raised the young prince of the deceased sultan. Al-Husayn was then succeeded as vizier by another Abyssinian official named Mardjan, who entrusted the regency to his Abyssinian administers Nafis and Najah, but the former conspired with Mardjan to kill the boy-king and assume the title of sultan. In 1021, Najah entered Zabid and executed both Nafis and Mardjan, and assumed the office of sultan.( _**The southern red sea region during the 10th century**_( * * * **The Najahid dynasty of Yemen from 1021-1159** However, this early history about the fall of the Ziyādid and the rise of Najah as narrated by Jayyash (Najah's son) to a local Yemeni historian named Umara is partly contradicted by the discovery of coinage mentioning atleast two of Ishaq’s successors named Ali b Ibrahim, and his sons; al-Muzaffar Alï and Alï al-Muzaffar between Ishaq’s death, re-dated to 974, and the first appearance of Najah’s coins around 1032 that also bore the last Ziyadid sultan’s name. While the role of the Abyssinian officers was likely true -since similarly high-ranking officials continue to wield significant influence during the Najahid era, the story about the regency was likely embellished by Jayyash for legitimacy. Najah did receive the recognition of the Abbasid caliph who granted him the titles _al-Mu'yyadd Nasr al-din_, and he ruled as nearly independent sovereign of the former Zayidid realm extending from Tihama to Zabid. This honorific title is also attested on the coins struck jointly by Najah and the last Ziyadid ruler Alï al-Muzaffar, who likely had little formal authority at the time.( While Najah controlled the coastal regions of south-western Yemen, his power on the mainland was contested by the rise of the Sulayhids whose founder Ali al-Sulayhi took over Sana'a from the Yufirids and challenged Najah's authority in a conflict that culminated with Najah's assassination by poisoning in 1060. Ali then occupied Zabid and forced Najah's two sons Sa'id and Jayyash to flee to Dahlak which they turned into their capital.( Sa'id and Jayyash then plotted to avenge their fathers' death, and in 1081, they returned to Zabid and executed Ali. Sai'd was installed using the support of the military, which primarily consisted of Abyssinian soldiers. While Sa'id was briefly forced out in 1083 by Ali's son al-Mukarram, he returned in 1086 and established the city of Hays which he populated with Abyssinian soldiers. But in 1088, al-Mukrram returned with a large force that invaded Zabid and killed Sa'id, forcing his brother Jayyash to flee to exile in India.( Jayyash returned to Zabid in 1089 disguised as an Indian merchant, accompanied by his son Fatik born to an Indian woman. Jayyash plotted with the Abyssinian soldiers left by his brother and regained power in 1089, ruling peaceful until his death in 1105. He was succeeded by his son Fatik who had a relatively short reign marked by a succession conflict with his brothers that continued after his death in 1109. Fatik was succeeded by his son al-Mansur who fled the conflict between his uncles and sought support from the Sulayhids. He was eventually installed as a client of the Sulayhids in 1111 but was challenged by his vizier who he replaced in 1123 by another named Mann Allah, but was killed by the same in 1130. al-Mansur's wife had Mann Allah executed, and using her own viziers, installed her son with al-Mansur named Fatik II who reigned until 1137. Fatik II was deposed during conflicts between the various viziers and was replaced by his cousin Fatik III who had a relatively long reign though effective power remained with the viziers. By 1159, a new and short-lived Mahdid dynasty which had replaced the Sulayhids in Sana'a, advanced into Zabid and executed Fatik III, assuming power for a few years before the Ayyubids of Egypt conquered Yemen.( _**Old city of Zabid, Yemen**_ * * * **The Dahlak archipelago during the Najahid era** Like the rest of South-western Yemen, the Dahlak archipelago reached its height as an international trading hub under the Najaḥid period (1022-1159). The market of Dahlak was an important stop-over point for the long distance maritime trade between Fatimid Egypt and the western Indian ocean. This trade was often segmented with individual ships following fixed routes between ports, as evidenced by the route taken by Joseph Lebdi between Cairo and India in 1097–98 which didn't call at the port Aden but chose the port Dahlak instead.( Besides the transshipment trade from which it drew the bulk of its wealth by taxing merchant ships, Dahlak also provided commercial services including clearing customs, as well as serving as a base of rescue and salvage operations. The island authorities minted their own gold coins and used them in international trade especially with the Fatimids of Egypt. The rulers of Dahlak were themselves merchants and according to Geniza documents, they exported a marine product named _**drky**_ which, along with pearls constituted a lucrative trade.( The political relationship between Dahlak and the Najahids was unclear but its likely to have been more direct than their predecessors, with the exiled Najahids reportedly 'practicing treachery against the Prince of Dahlak'.( Many of the ruins found on the islands date back to this period. They include large houses built of carved coral blocks, two mosques, funerary monuments, and an extensive water supply system comprising numerous cisterns. There are also more than 62 stelae recovered from this period, belonging to a diverse group of travelers, religious figures and merchants, claiming origins from various regions. Despite the appearance that Dahlak's population was transient, it's likely that the bulk of the settlers were of local origins, since the epithets used on the tombstones only claimed distant connections to a place that didn't necessarily reflect the persons' immediate provenance.( Dahlak also maintained some contacts with the African hinterland, with a few of its families also settled at Bilet (Kwiha in Tigray, Ethiopia) where more than 40 funerary stelae have been recovered including some exceptional ones belonging to individuals from southern Egypt's Wādī ʿAllaqī mining region.( _**The mosque and necropolis of Dhalak**_( _**Carved basalt tombstones of Abi Harami al-Makki (d. 1188) and Salim al-Sawakini (d. 1210) at the British museum (No. 1928,0305.1, 1928,0305.2)**_ while the nisba of al-Makki gives this person a likely origin in mecca, the nisba of al-Sawakini is evidently of eastern-Sudanese origin associated with the Beja and Hadariba inhabitants of Suakin * * * **The Dahlak islands from the 13th-19th century** The commercial prosperity of Dahlak declined beginning in the 12th century, as the archipelago was transformed from a trans-oceanic hub connecting the red sea and western Indian ocean, into a regional hub whose activities were confined to the southern red sea region. In the 13th century, Ibn Said mentions that the king of Dahlak was an Abyssinian Muslim who maintained his independence from the ruler of Yemen( . Stele found on the archipelago dating from the 12th century to 13th century mention the presence of merchants who styled themselves as 'sultans' in an imitation of the Najaḥids but had little political authority. Most claim exogenous origins except one 'Ethiopian' named Rizqallāh al-Ḥabašī (d. 1214). And according to Abū al-Fidāʾ (d. 1331), the island was ruled by a local "Abyssinian" Muslim who maintained contacts with the Mamluk dynasty of Egypt and the Rasūlid dynasty of Yemen.( The political landscape of the northern horn of Africa was transformed by the emergence of the Solomonic state in the late 13th century, which expanded to the red sea region by the early 14th century and sacked the Dahlak archipelago several times during its wars with various Muslim polities in the region. But these wars may not have contributed significantly to its decline because in 1393, the ruler of Dahlak sent a gift of several elephants to the Mamluk sultan of Egypt according to al-Maqrizi.( The archipelago had sank further into decline by the early 16th century and it was under the rule of a local sultan named Aḥmad b. Ismāʿīl when the Portuguese arrived and briefly occupied it during hegemonic wars with the Ottoman empire. Aḥmad b. Ismāʿīl later joined the Adal-Ottoman alliance that invaded the Solomonic state in 1526 and received the coastal province of Ḥǝrgigo as reward. By 1541, the Dahlak archipelago was under the control of the ruler of Massawa on the coast of Eritrea.( In 1557, Dahlak and the mainland port of Massawa were occupied by the Ottoman empire. The region became a neglected province of secondary status to the Ottomans, who nevertheless constructed some more stone houses. Dahlak Kebir gradually declined in importance under the late Ottoman era, being described as a modest collection of villages in the 18th century.( This situation that prevailed throughout the 19th century, when the islands were home to a vibrant economy based on pearl-diving, just prior to its colonization by the Italians.( * * * Centuries before the African dynasty of Yemen, an **Aksumite general named Abraha controlled a vast kingdom across most of the Arabian peninsular, ruling over a diverse Christian and Jewish population a century before the emergence of Islam**. read about it here; ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Map by Philippe Beaujard ( Dahlak Kebir, Eritrea:FromAksumite to Ottoman. by Timothy Insol pg 45-46) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 3 pg 118) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 3 pg 119) ( The Red Sea during the 'Long' Late Antiquity by T. Power pg 255) ( A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea by Samantha Kelly pg 90) ( photo by @GhideonMusa on twitter ( The Cambridge World History of Slavery: Volume 2 pg 343, Slave Soldiers and Islam by Daniel Pipes pg 45-51 ( for a broad outline on military slavery in the medieval islamic world see; chapter 4-5, and 14-16 in The Cambridge World History of Slavery: Volume 2 ( The Cambridge World History of Slavery: Volume 2 pg 88-91) ( The History and Monuments of the Tahirid Dynasty of the Yemen by by VA Porter pg 25-26, 40) ( A history of the Ziyadids through their coinage by A Peli 253, 257-258 ( Map by Timothy Power ( A history of the Ziyadids through their coinage by A Peli pg 254-256 ( Encyclopedia of Islam, volume 7 pg 861) ( Encyclopedia of Islam, volume 7 pg 861, The History and Monuments of the Tahirid Dynasty of the Yemen by by VA Porter pg 39) ( Encyclopedia of Islam, volume 7 pg 861) ( The Red Sea during the 'Long' Late Antiquity by T. Power pg 277) ( Aden and the Indian Ocean Trade by Roxani Eleni Margariti pg 166-167, Thieves or sultans, Dahlak and the rulers and merchants by Roxani Eleni Margariti pg 159) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 3 pg 120) ( Thieves or sultans, Dahlak and the rulers and merchants by Roxani Eleni Margariti pg 157-158) ( A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea by Samantha Kelly pg 92) ( photo by @GhideonMusa ( Islam in Ethiopia. By J. Spencer Trimingham pg 61 ( A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea by Samantha Kelly pg 92, ( The Archaeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa By Timothy Insoll pg 51 ( A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea by Samantha Kelly pg 93) ( Dahlak Kebir, Eritrea:FromAksumite to Ottoman. by Timothy Insol pg 41) ( Red Sea Citizens by Jonathan Miran pg.

### The Dahlak Islands and the African Dynasty of Yemen: A Historical Overview #### 1. Introduction to the Dahlak Islands - The Dahlak archipelago is a group of islands located in the Red Sea, near the Eritrean coast. - Historically significant during the medieval period, these islands served as navigational landmarks for merchant ships trading between Fatimid Egypt and the Indian Ocean. - The archipelago was known for a cosmopolitan community comprising settlers from both the African mainland and regions as far as the Caspian Sea. #### 2. Early History (4th-10th Century) - The earliest evidence of settlement in Dahlak dates back to the Aksumite era, with archaeological finds including a Christian church from the 4th century and Aksumite coins. - Initially, the population was primarily composed of groups from the African mainland, later augmented by settlers from Arabia. - Following conflicts between Aksum and early Islamic caliphates (7th century), Dahlak transitioned to a predominantly Muslim population, becoming a site for exiling Umayyad rebels. - Control shifted from Aksum to the Ziyadid dynasty of Yemen in the 10th century, with tribute paid in goods such as amber and captives, indicating a complex relationship likely characterized by deference rather than direct control. #### 3. The Emergence of the Najahid Dynasty (11th Century) - The 11th century saw the rise of the Najahid dynasty, founded by Najah, a military slave of Abyssinian origin. - The term "Abyssinian" referred broadly to individuals from the Horn of Africa and was commonly used during this period. - Military slavery was a notable practice in Islamic empires, and Najah's ascent reflects the evolving political landscape where previous enslaved soldiers gained significant power. - By 1021, Najah had overthrown the Ziyadid authority, with historical narratives suggesting embellishment to legitimize his rule, supported by coins that bore the names of both Najah and the last Ziyadid sultan. #### 4. Najahid Rule and Regional Politics (1021-1159) - During Najahid rule, Dahlak thrived as a trading hub for maritime commerce, particularly between Fatimid Egypt and the Indian Ocean. - The rulers minted their own coins and taxed incoming merchant ships, establishing Dahlak as a key player in regional trade. - The political landscape remained tumultuous, with Najahid rulers frequently challenged by local powers, such as the Sulayhids. - After Najah's assassination in 1060, his sons, Sa'id and Jayyash, sought to reclaim their father's legacy, leading to a series of bloody conflicts and power shifts in the region. #### 5. Cultural and Economic Flourishing - The Najahid dynasty period was marked by extensive commercial activities and international trade exchanges, with Dahlak's market becoming a vital transit point. - Architectural remains from this period, including mosques and house ruins built from coral blocks, indicate a flourishing society. - Necropolis findings suggest a diverse settlement population, with stelae revealing connections to travelers and merchants from various regions. #### 6. Decline of Dahlak (13th-19th Century) - The 12th century signaled a decline in Dahlak's commercial importance as it transformed from a major trans-oceanic hub into a regional trade center. - By the 13th century, local rulers styled as "sultans" emerged, but they had diminished authority compared to previous Najahid kings. - The region faced invasions and political changes due to the rise of the Solomonic state in the late 13th century. - The arrival of the Portuguese and their transient occupation further destabilized the archipelago, which eventually came under Ottoman control in the mid-16th century. #### 7. Conclusion - The Dahlak Islands represent a significant historical nexus of trade and cultural exchange in the Red Sea region from the 4th to the 19th century. - The rise and decline of the Najahid dynasty highlight the complexities of regional politics, military slavery, and economic interdependence in the context of broader historical movements across Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

A social history of the Lamu city-state (1370-1885)

Journal of African cities chapter 5

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A social history of the Lamu city-state (1370-1885) =================================================== ### Journal of African cities chapter 5 ( Jan 29, 2023 14 Situated off the eastern coast of Kenya, the old city of Lamu, with its narrow alleys, old mosques and coral-stone houses with white-washed façades, is the quintessential Swahili city. Lamu was a Janus-faced city, mediating economic and social interactions between the African mainland and the Indian Ocean world. It was poised at the interface of land and sea, and served to link local, regional and transnational economies and cultural spheres. Its dynamic social institutions created a unique from of government characteristic of the Swahili coast, that was however only preserved in Lamu throughout the turbulent political history of the Indian ocean world. This article outlines the social history of Lamu, from the establishment of the city-state in the 14th century, to its formal colonization in 1885. _**Map showing the location of Lamu island in its archipelago along the coast of Kenya**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Early history of Lamu archipelago to the rise of the Manda and Ozi confederations (8th-15th century)** The Lamu archipelago is made up of three islands Pate, Manda and Lamu. The island of Pate was home to the cities of; Pate, Faza, Shanga and Siyu, the island Manda hosted the cities of Manda and Takwa, while Lamu island had only the city of Lamu. The archipelago was settled by the mid 1st millennium during the early expansion of Bantu-speakers of the Sabaki subgroup along the east Africa coast, among whom were groups that Swahili speakers. Prior to the emergence of Lamu, some of the the oldest Swahili urban settlements emerged at Shanga on Pate island and Manda in the 8th century.( The ruins of Shanga in particular, have the best-preserved stratigraphy in eastern Africa. They reveal the gradual evolution of the Swahili urban society at the turn of the 2nd millennium, from the use of timber and daub to the use of coral stone, the increased participation in maritime trade, the emergence of political institutions, the construction of monumental architecture, and the adoption of Islam.( While the urban settlement at Lamu was likely established around the 14th century based on an inscription found on the Pwani mosque dated to 1370, it doesn't frequently appear among the Swahili cities mentioned in external accounts before the 15th century --unlike Kilwa, Mogadishu and Malindi which were more actively engaged in maritime trade. There is a brief mention of a qadi from Lamu who met Al-Maqrizi in Mecca in 1441.( But the apparent invisibility shouldn't be mistaken for its relative insignificance, because dozens of urban settlements within and near the Lamu archipelago emerged between the 12th and 15th century, including Siyu and Faza (on Pate island), as well as; Ungwana, Mwana and Shaka (on the immediate hinterland just south of the Lamu island) and several other ruined towns mostly populated by farmers and fishers less engaged in long-distance trade.( By the 16th century, two major polities in the form of confederations had emerged on the Lamu archipelago and its immediate hinterland. The city-state of Manda controlled most of the other city-states on the archipelago including Lamu and Pate, while the hinterland city-states were controlled by the sultanate of Ozi whose capital was either at Ungwana or Mwana. Both confederations were ruled by "shirazi" dynasties, a term which is derived from the fictive genealogy made by autochthonous east-African coastal groups who constitute the "Swahili par excellence", in contrast to foreign immigrants who came later such as Hadrami (Yemenis) and Omanis (Arabs) as well as the various groups from the mainland. ( The manipulation of identity is a frequent phenomenon in the Swahili world, because established lineage groups in the cities constantly redefine themselves according to interactions and competition with immigrant groups. In a society where wealth is a source of authority and prestige, "foreigners" from the hinterland and the Indian ocean could achieve high status by integrating the kinship of their patron, or by enriching themselves through trade.( This dynamic became especially critical in Lamu's social relations after the the reorientations of population movements in the Indian ocean world after the coming of the Portuguese. The Portuguese arrival was initially catastrophic to most of the Swahili cities, especially the leaders of the large political confederations such as Mombasa, Kilwa and Ungwana which were repeatedly sacked and looted. Thus, after witnessing the sack of Ungwana in 1506, the sovereign of Lamu quickly sent "tribute" of 600 mithqals of gold and provisions for the Portuguese captain Tristao da Cunha, and received a flag to prove his allegiance. But the early Portuguese hold over the coast proved to be ephemeral and they withdrew southwards to Mozambique island shortly after their puppet in Kilwa had been deposed in 1512.( _**Elite tomb and house in the ruins of Shanga**_ _**Ruins of an elite house at Ungwana**_ _**Ruins of a Mosque at Mwana**_ * * * **The ‘republican’ government of Lamu and the city-states’ economy (16th century)** Lamu was described in Portuguese accounts from the mid-16th century as a sprawling city with stone buildings and a busy port frequented by large commercial vessels with sewn hulls. Like other Swahili city-states, the political system of Lamu was directed by an assembly of representatives of patrician lineage groups, and an elected head of government. The titles of "King" and "Queen" as used in external sources for the different leaders of Lamu were therefore not accurate descriptors for the political power held by the ruler.( The political and social life of Lamu was governed as a "republic" according to a dual principle that divided the city into spatial and social halves, constituting two factions (mikao) named **Zena** and **Suudi**, that comprised several different clans made up of patricians (**Waungwana**), lower social classes (wazalia) and foreigners (wageni). These clans were themselves led by an elected leader (mzee) who together constituted a council (Yumbe), which inturn chose the mwenye mui as a revolving office between the two factions.( The factious nature of Lamu's politics involved the use of many legitimating devices through the ritualized maintenance of antagonisms to unite groups of diverse origins and integrate foreigners whose military and commercial alliances were needed during internal contests of power.( The political factions of Lamu were also spatially divided, a description that is provided in the 18th century but had gradually formed over the centuries.( The city comprised two quarters named; Mkomani and Langoni, with the majority of households in Mkomani belonging to the Waungwana, while Langoni was inhabited by the descendants of immigrants including coastal groups (eg the Hadrami and Comorians) and groups from the mainland (eg Bajun, Pokomo and Mijikenda). For the Waungwana of Mkomani, the Langoni inhabitants, including the Hadrami sharifs, lacked political respectability and did not have the right to intervene in the public affairs of the city. These social distinctions were however more fluid in practice and anyone could eventually become part of the Waungwana through accumulation of wealth and forging of kinship ties.( Like its peers in the archipelago, Lamu’s main exports were mostly derived from the hinterland, they included ivory, mangrove timber, ambergris, civet, candlewax, copal, as well as ropes and straw-mat sails used in shipbuilding and repair. The city’s economic exchanges are based on personal ties because each trader is sponsored by his Swahili counterpart residing in the house of his host and ties of friendship and kinship are created. The same is true with the partners on the hinterland such as the Pokomo and Bajun , who were involved in kinship ties and clientelism with the Swahili elites.( The subsistence of the city-states in the Lamu archipelago, especially Lamu with its poor soils, was based mainly on the agricultural production of their continental hinterland. The lands were developed in common under the direction of a town-based overseer (jumbe ya wakulima), according to a mode of production which was based on the collaboration with continental groups( . In Lamu, this fostered an economic and political alliance with the hinterland town of Uziwa/Luziwa, whose rulers established a symbiotic relationship with the rulers of Lamu. The city's main export of ivory and its agricultural supplies were provided by Luziwa, while the latter received imported products from Lamu in exchange, following a common pattern utilized by other Swahili cities. Lamu's political regalia, especially the siwa ivory horn, is also said to have come from Luziwa.( _**17th century Siwa Lamu museum, Kenya**_ _**Ruined house showing doorways made of carved coral, and niches. Shela, Lamu, Kenya, 16th century,**_ _**patricians Waungwana) sitting in state in a richly decorated reception room in Lamu Town, 1884, National Library of Scotland**_ * * * **The Political history of Lamu from the 16th-17th century** Lamu was ruled by a ‘Queen’ in the mid 16th century who, like the ruler of Malindi, had protected the beleaguered Portuguese against the alliance forged between Mombasa, Pate and the Ottomans during their attempt at breaking Portuguese hold of the Swahili coast in 1546-1554. After the defeat of the Ottomans whose armies had looted and sacked Lamu during the war, its queen was rewarded for the protection by granting her merchants and ships greater freedom of movement. The decision to protect the Portuguese was however, likely driven by an internal political struggles in Lamu and the meteoric rise of the Pate city-state, since the Queen was later deposed between 1571-1585 by an obscure ruler described as a usurper.( This usurper was named Bwana Bashira, he served as the 'ruler' of Lamu just before the arrival of the Ottoman corsair Ali Bey during the latter's interest in the Swahili coast in 1585-6 and 1588-9. Ali Bey was unlike his predecessors acting entirely in private capacity, and managed to gain the allegiance of many Swahili cities through threats and diplomacy, obtaining tribute and soldiers from each city, as well as detaining the resident Portuguese settlers. While Bwana Bashira was initially reluctant to submit to Ali Bey's forces, he was later compelled to do so by the ruler of Pate to avoid war.( In response to Ali Bey's actions, the Portuguese sent an expedition which sacked the neighboring city of Faza in 1587 for allying with the Ottomans, and Bwana Bashira fled to the mainland at the town of Luziwa. The Queen whom he had deposed takes the opportunity to regain her position after affirming her alliance with the Portuguese. This process in which the political interests of Lamu and the Portuguese became entangled during periods of internal contests in Lamu would also leads to the creation of pro and anti-Portuguese factions based on evolving political fault lines.( Ali Bey's ships arrived on the coast a second time in 1588, and several cities including Mombasa and Pate formed an alliance of convenience with him, against the Portuguese who then sent a large fleet in response. After Ali Bey's unexpected defeat caused by the appearance of the enigmatic Zimba forces from the mainland, the Portuguese proceeded to Lamu where Bwana Bashira had reinstalled himself, and they executed him for delivering Portuguese settlers to Ali Bey in 1586. They also invaded Manda city which later fell into permanent decline, and they supported the ‘ruler’ of Pate against the local faction that had invited Ali bey whose leaders they executed, but they couldn't control Luziwa, whose 'ruler' Bwana Zahidi only signed a treaty with them in 1637.( Despite the Portuguese alliance antagonism with Pate, it was the Lamu archipelago that would became the major pole of attraction on the Swahili coast during the early 17th century. The Portuguese were also integrated into the trade relationships of the Swahili, especially in Pate where they augmented the preexisting ivory trade between the city and the mainland groups, especially the Bajuni-swahili, the Pokomo and the Oromo, that was conducted in the market town of Dondo on the mainland.( _**Ruins of an elite residence in Pate**_ * * * **The rise of Pate and its relationship with Lamu in the 17th-18th century** The “rulers” of Pate consolidated military alliances between these mainland groups, as well as with the incoming Hadrami sharifs, inorder to elevate Pate's main Swahili ruling clan —the Nabahani dynasty( — .This created a political structure in Pate that was significantly more centralized than its neighbors in the archipelago including Lamu, Manda and Siyu, which were eventually subsumed. The 18th century was thus a period of renewed prosperity for Pate, and its dependencies in the Lamu archipelago as attested by elaborate coral construction, detailed plasterwork in mosques and homes, and voluminous imported porcelain. Groups of Hadrami sharif families arrived on the Swahili coast in the context of religious and intellectual activities. They were especially attracted to the Pate's prosperity were they were mostly concentrated, and are first mentioned in the 16th century when a 'ruler' of Pate invited the family of the 'saint' Abu Bala bin Salim to ritually intercede against the Portuguese. They were specialists in theology and law, and were sought by Swahili sovereigns to serve as advisers, and in establishing diplomatic or commercial relations with the Muslim world. As sharifs (who claimed to be descendants of the Prophet), they were also considered intercessors and mediators who could attract divine protection over the community of believers. The Hadrami families, along with the Barawi families (northern Swahili speakers from Brava) whom they arrived with, were credited locally with a cultural renewal and the transformation of the archipelago's social order through the introduction of more orthodox Islamic principles.( Like all foreign immigrants that came to the cities, the Hadrami sharifs and the Barawi were quickly integrated into Swahili society within a few generations. Although undoubtedly influential, they had remained relatively few in number and were quickly Swahilized; being acculturated to the language and social structure of the city-states. Swahili patricians seeking to elevate the prestige of their lineages with an additional Sharif lineage entered into matrimonial alliances with some of the most prestigious families (especially of the Alawiyya tariqa), creating new dynastic clans that are attested at different points in the history of Zanzibar, Grande Comore and Kilwa, although not at Lamu itself.( Over the course of the 17th century, the city-state of Pate remained the preeminent power of the Lamu archipelago, heading a confederation of city-states that repeatedly rebelled against the Portuguese and eventually sought alliances with the Omanis of Muscat to expel the Portuguese from Mombasa in 1698. Lamu remained under the suzerainty of Pate during this period, but the exact nature of its subordination is ambiguous beyond the typical matrimonial alliances and kinship networks between both city's dynastic families.( Lamu continued under Pate's suzerainty until the early 18th century when it rebelled during a period of internal strife in Pate especially in 1727-8, and again during the reign Bwana Tamu (d. 1762) and the civil war following his reign, but Pate re-imposed its authority over on Lamu by the time of its ruler Bwana Fumo Madi (1777-1809).( Lamu was both the partial cause and beneficiary of Pate's decline in the late 17th century. The city grew significantly in size due to increased alliances with mainland groups some of whom moved to the island, and eventually reached an estimated population of 15,000-21,000 by the late 19th century. The growing significance of Lamu on the archipelago is illustrated by brief mentions in the chronicle of Pate when two of its rulers in the 18th century are said to have lived in Lamu, and made extensive use of its port which later outcompeted Pate's.( _**Lamu beachfront, early 20th century**_ * * * **The rise of Lamu, decline of Pate and the Oman period on the Swahili coast.** The stability of Pate during the long reign of its ruler Fumo Madi led him to reassert his suzerainty over Lamu, but the council of Lamu refused to submit to the cereal tribute that the Pate sovereign wanted to impose on them. The tensions between Pate and Lamu were accentuated following the death of Fumo Madi, and the conflict rose between the most powerful candidates for Pate’s throne ; Fumoluti Kipunga and Ahmad bin Sheikh, with the former supported by the Suudi faction of Lamu, while the latter was supported by the Zena faction of Lamu, as well as the Mazrui clan of Mombasa, and the Bajuni of the hinterland. One of the main causes of Lamu's resistance was its desire to retain the traditional system of land use between the island and the hinterland that was based on clientelism and kinship, against the more intensive form of land use and production of coercive nature favored by Pate and Mombasa, who were considered “devourers of forced labor”. After a period of skirmishing, the battle between the competing alliances took place in 1813-1814 within the walls of Lamu and the village of Shela, where the armies of the Suudi leader Bwana Zahidi Ngumi decisively defeated the Pate coalition led by Ahmad.( The consequences of the battle of Shela are decisive in the history of the region since Lamu would later ask the sultan of Oman, Sayyid Said al-Busaidi, for military aid to guard against a reprisal from Pate and the Mazrui. Sultan Said responded favorably and dispatched a garrison and a governor, thus opening the beginning of Busaidi suzerainty over the Lamu archipelago. The Oman ascendance on the east African coast greatly reified the internal economic and social realities of the Swahili city-states including Lamu. ( _**Pillar minaret of Mnara mosque, Shela Town, Lamu Island built in the 1820s**_ Sultan Said dispatched a governor named Muhammad b Nâsir b Sayf al-Ma’walî who was was appointed as the “wali” of Lamu, assisted by a garrison that built and settled in a fort in the city.( But it wasn't until 1824 that the sultan was in control of the Lamu archipelago and repeated rebellions by deposed elites meant that Lamu itself wasn't firmly under Omani control until 1856. Even then, the urban council was only in theory under the Sultans' tutelage via the liwali, but in practice, little effective control was feasible, and the liwali could never be distinguished from the local elites by whom he was surrounded. The council of Lamu therefore mostly continued to meet and govern the affairs of the city.( The ascendance of Lamu attracted more people from the coast, and like in Pate, led to a consolidation of legitimacy by established patricians against the new immigrants. Its within the framework of the political re-compositions which followed the battle of Shela and the establishment of the Sultan of Oman in Zanzibar, that the prominent Waungwana of Lamu begun to adopt fictitious Sharifan and Oman origins.( The increased trade augmented the prominence of the Waungwana, the guardians of normative coastal civilization, whose wealth and political power came to characterize the urban character of Lamu. The Waungwana's material possessions such as silk cloths, Chinese porcelain and furniture, their possession of large stone houses with courtyards and zidakas, the number of their dependents and their taste for intellectual activities, were the most visible markers of their high social position. This is contrasted against the lower classes and recent settlers such as the poor Hadrami and Comorians who immigrated in the 19th century and were despised by the Waungwana elite because of their petty trade typical of the peasant class (maskin). Lamu’s Waungwana of early 20th century still kept an image of the Hadrami immigrants as people who only wore a loincloth at the waist (kikoi) and had no shoes or headgear.( This ambivalent attitude towards "foreigners" was based on established prerogatives on the integration of new immigrant groups. The migration into Lamu of hinterland groups such as the Pokomo and Bajun in the 17th century, and other Swahili eg from Manda and Takwa in the 17th and 18th century, further contributed to the social distinction of the Waungwana who refused to grant these groups full citizenship and considered them to be foreigners/guests (wangeni).( The typical stone house of the Waungwana of Lamu, exemplifies developments in domestic architecture which followed traditions established in the earlier centuries. The two or three-storey house was entered through a covered alcove or porch (daka) with built-in stone benches (baraza) flanking the entryway providing spaces for socialization, with heavy wooden doors that mark the transition into the interior courtyard (kiwanda) that leads into sequences of rooms. These include the reception room (sabule), inner vestibule (tekani), and the innermost room (ndani) whose rear wall was highly decorated, with multiple tiers of elaborately arched plaster niches (**zidaka**).( _**exterior and interior of the ‘Swahili house museum’ an 18th century Waungwana-type residence in Lamu that was restored recently.**_ _**interior of an 18th century mansion of a Waungwana in Lamu, 1884. National Library of Scotland**_ _**House in Lamu with zidaka niches, elite chairs and intricately carved door**_( As mentioned earlier however, the social distinction between the waungwana and the other classes was not easily discernible in Lamu, and the consumption practices of those living in less elaborate houses, and outside the city were often similar to those living in the stone houses. The Comorians for example, were looked upto as teachers despite being considered wageni, and intermingled with some of the waungwana.( The waungwana’s power was afterall, a moving equilibrium, with a continuous negotiation of the terms by which social status could be attributed.( As observed elsewhere across the Swahili coast _**“The dualist model was an ideal in the minds of the ruling elites rather than a reflection of reality. The so-called city dichotomy was a 'classic stereotype' that 'masked and distorted a more complex and nuanced reality”**_( Despite being regarded with contempt by the waungwana, the lower class Hadrami of Lamu supported the Omani elites and their governors in Lamu inorder to grow their petty trade and accumulate enough wealth to rival many of the waungwana, a strategy that was also followed by their Comorian peers. This was likely achieved partly through the growth in the plantation economy, which involved the coercive systems of production that the waungwana of Lamu had opposed.( This led to further transformations in Swahili identity in the mid-19th century which resulted largely from the desire of the traditional elites to maintain their rank in the social hierarchy both vis-à-vis the new immigrants from Oman and Yemen and vis-à-vis the increasing continental arrivals. Its during the 19th century that the bantu-derived _**uungwana**_ denoting civilization, was replaced by _**ustaarabu**_, meaning Arab-like, reflecting new terminologies introduced during the contests between the established Waungwana and the incoming Omani elites, especially following the influx of the more elite Alawiyya tariqa (brotherhood).( Importantly, the social alliance between the Omani and the Alawi Hadrami for religious legitimacy greatly enhanced the intellectual traditions of Lamu, especially with the founding of the Riyadha Mosque and Islamic school whose students included not just Waungwana but also ‘foreign’ groups including Somali, Oromo, Bajuni and Pokomo and Comorians that had been been previously excluded.( However, when the traditional socio-economic structures of the townspeople were threatened, their attitudes towards the Alwai's position in education changed and caused conflicts with the Waungwana who questioned their religious doctrine.( Following the expansion of imperial interests on the east African coast during the late 19th century, the island of Lamu, and the rest of the northern Swahili coast was taken over by the British in 1885. _**the 'Al-Alfiyya' of Ibn Malik, Copied by a Somali scribe named Shārū b. Uthmān b. Abī Bakr al-Sūmālī, in 1858, at the Riyadha Mosque of Lamu.**_ _**Modern Lamu**_ * * * The Swahili world underwent an intellectual revolution beginning in the 16th century when **local scholars begun composing various works of Poetry, Philosophy, History and Astronomy**. Read about it here; ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones and Adria LaViolette pg 156-162 ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones and Adria LaViolette pg 214-218 ( East African Travelers and Traders in the indian ocean by Thomas Vernet ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 45-46) ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 48-56) ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 33-34 ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 69-70) ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 104) ( The battle of Shela by Randall L. Pouwels pg 366-367, 372 ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 400-2) ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 45-46 ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 520-521) ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 75-77, 17, 527) ( The battle of Shela by Randall L. Pouwels pg 371 ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg pg 32, 44-45 Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet 548, 118) ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 91) ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 98- 100) ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 105) ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 111-115, 118) ( Reflections on Historiography and PreNineteenth-Century History from the Pate “Chronicles” by Randall L. Pouwels pg 281 ( Reflections on Historiography and PreNineteenth-Century History from the Pate “Chronicles” by Randall L. Pouwels pg 264-265 ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 39-43 ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 164-166, Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 50 ( Reflections on Historiography and PreNineteenth-Century History from the Pate “Chronicles” by Randall L. Pouwels pg 275, Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 331-334 ( The Pate Chronicle by Marina Tolmacheva pg 179-181) ( The battle of Shela by RL Pouwels, pg 371, Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 97-98 ( The battle of Shela by RL Pouwels, pg 374-375) ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 490-491) ( Trade and empire in muscat by Rheda Backer pg 84-97 ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 98-100, 106-108 ( The Sacred Meadows by El zein, pg 51-54, Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 110-112 ( The Sacred Meadows by El zein, pg 88) ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 566, 569) ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones and Adria LaViolette pg 506-509 ( from Chinese Porcelain and Muslim Port Cities by Sandy Prita Meier ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 140-141 ( The battle of Shela by RL Pouwels, pg 382 ( Les cités - États swahili de l'archipel de Lamu by Thomas Vernet pg 555-6, The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones and Adria LaViolette pg 510 ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 113-115, Slaves, Spices and Ivory in Zanzibar by A. Sheriff pg 70-72, 229 ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 72-73 ( Localising Islamic knowledge by Anne K. Bang, The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones and Adria LaViolette pg 559-563 ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 161.

# A Social History of the Lamu City-State (1370-1885) ## 1. Introduction to Lamu - **Location**: Lamu is situated off the eastern coast of Kenya, characterized by narrow alleys, old mosques, and coral-stone houses. - **Significance**: Lamu served as a crucial mediator between the African mainland and the Indian Ocean world, linking local, regional, and transnational economies and cultural spheres. ## 2. Early History (8th-15th Century) - **Settlement**: The Lamu archipelago comprises three islands: Pate, Manda, and Lamu. By the mid-1st millennium, Bantu-speaking groups, including Swahili speakers, settled in the area. - **Urban Development**: - **Shanga**: One of the earliest Swahili urban settlements that showed significant evolution from timber and daub to coral stone construction. - **Lamu City**: Established around the 14th century, it gained prominence in the 15th century. - **Trade Relations**: Many urban settlements emerged, such as Siyu and Faza. Key trade participants included Hinterland groups and coastal cities. ## 3. Political Evolution (16th Century) - **Political Structure**: Lamu operated under a republican-like government directed by an assembly representing various lineage groups, with an elected head of government. - **Factions**: The city was divided into two main factions, **Zena** and **Suudi**, which were further divided into clans that elected leaders. - **Economic Activities**: The economy relied on trade, with exports including ivory, mangrove timber, and agricultural products from the hinterland. ## 4. Political History (16th-17th Century) - **Queen of Lamu**: In the mid-16th century, Lamu was ruled by a queen who allied with the Portuguese against Ottoman forces. - **Conflict with Pate**: Lamu faced political turmoil during the rise of the Pate city-state and external pressures from the Portuguese and Ottomans. - **Portuguese Influence**: After internal conflicts, Lamu's rulers often aligned with the Portuguese, leading to fluctuating power dynamics. ## 5. Rise of Pate and Its Relationship with Lamu (17th-18th Century) - **Pate's Ascendancy**: Pate became the dominant power, establishing military alliances and centralizing its political structure while Lamu remained a subordinate entity. - **Cultural Exchange**: The influx of Hadrami sharifs into Pate led to cultural renewal and integration into Swahili society. ## 6. Decline of Pate and Rise of Lamu (18th-19th Century) - **Lamu's Rebellion**: Tensions escalated post-Fumo Madi’s death, leading to Lamu resisting Pate’s economic impositions. - **Battle of Shela (1813-1814)**: Lamu's forces decisively defeated Pate’s coalition, signaling a shift in power dynamics. - **Omani Intervention**: Following Lamu's request for help, Sultan Sayyid Said al-Busaidi established Omani suzerainty in Lamu. ## 7. Omani Period and Integration (19th Century) - **Omani Administration**: Sultan Said appointed a governor in Lamu, though local elites maintained significant control over governance. - **Socioeconomic Changes**: Increased trade and the arrival of immigrant groups transformed Lamu's social fabric. - **Classification**: The Waungwana elite maintained a distinct social status, often resisting the full integration of new immigrant groups. ## 8. Conclusion and British Colonization (1885) - **Emerging Conflicts**: The interaction between new and established elites led to competition and redefinition of social hierarchies in Lamu. - **Colonial Transition**: The British takeover in 1885 marked the end of a unique socio-political structure that had evolved over centuries in Lamu, leading to significant changes in the region's governance and social relations. This structured narrative highlights the key developments in the social, political, and economic history of Lamu from its establishment to the onset of British colonial rule, emphasizing factual accuracy and coherence.

An episode of Naval warfare on the East African coast: the Sakalava invasions of 1792-1817

Between Madagascar and the Swahili world.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers An episode of Naval warfare on the East African coast: the Sakalava invasions of 1792-1817 ========================================================================================== ### Between Madagascar and the Swahili world. ( Jan 22, 2023 18 Beginning in 1792 and continuing on a regular basis for the next three decades, well-armed flotillas were launched from Madagascar to attack the East African coast. They sacked cities, carried off loot and captives, and forced many to flee to the countryside. Alerted to the new threat, the navies of the Swahili, Comorian and European settlements were assembled to meet the invaders at sea. This episode of Naval warfare on the East African coast, commonly known as 'the Sakalava invasions', is one of the least studied chapters in the military history of pre-colonial Africa and the western Indian ocean. The motives behind the sudden surge in naval invasions and the wide geographic scope of the operations, remain a subject of debate among historians. This article outlines the history of the Sakalava invasions within the political context of the East African coastal states, to explain the motives behind the region's brief episode of Naval warfare in the early 19th century _**Map of the East African coast showing the range of the Sakalava invasions**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **A brief political history of Nzwani and the Sakalava kingdom of Boina in Madagascar** The island of Nzwani was home to the most prosperous kingdom in the Comoros archipelago during the 18th century, having grown as a major port-of-call for European ships which were provisioned and taxed at its main port of Mutsamudu. But Nzwani's internal politics were attimes marked by disputes in which rivaling elite factions leveraged their regional and foreign alliances to strengthen/seize authority. These often involved alliances with nearby elites from Comoros and the Swahili cities, but at times involved visiting English, Portuguese and French ships and their colonial enclaves in Bombay, Mozambique island and Mauritius.( During the 1780s, the conflict between king Said Ahmed (based in the capital Domoni) and his cousin Abdallah (governor of Mutsamudu) reached a breaking point after the latter had refused to punish the assassins of one of Ahmed's sons. The king thus sent a force to attack Abdallah, but was defeated by the latter’s forces defeated who then proceeded to the king's palace where they deposed and killed him in 1792. Abdallah seized the throne, prompting the deceased King's son, Bwana Combo to seek the aid of Sakalava mercenaries from Madagascar. The Sakalava navies landed on Nzwani but were unable to take the walled town so they sacked and looted the surrounding countryside before leaving.( _**Map showing the location of Nzwani along the important shipping routes of the western Indian ocean**_ _**View of Mutsamudu**_ Prior to the emergence of the Sakalava, the north-western region of Madagascar in the 17th century was a honeycomb of small chiefdoms populated by both Africans and Austronesians while the coast was dotted with city-states established by the Swahili (Antalaotse). The island had been settled permanently in the 1st millennium by speakers of both; African languages (Swahili and its Bantu peers); and Austronesian languages (mostly Malay and Javanese) and Madagascar’s population was thoroughly admixed, but the elites and much of the population often spoke one of the main languages. As one external account in 1612 describes it; _**"The entire coast between Mazalagem and Sadia speaks a language analogous to those of the Cafres, that is to say the language of the countries of Mozambique and of Malindi, But, in the immediate hinterland of this coast, as well as in the interior and other coastal sections, only the Buque language is spoken, one quite special to local inhabitants and totally different from the African tongues and very similar to Malay"**_. Therefore most of the political elites who spoke African languages were in the Antalaotse coastal city-states, and there are a few mentions of African states in the interior, but the rest of the political elites on the Island spoke Malagasy dialects (eg Sakalava, Merina and Betsimisaraka). By the mid-16th century most of the small states and the coastal cities of north-western Madagascar were under the suzerainty of the Guinguimaro kingdom.( In south western Madagascar, the first Sakalava kingdom was established in the late 17th century by king Lahifotsy (c. 1614-83). A succession dispute after his death forced his son Tsimenata (c. 1660-c. 1710) to forge his own alliances and travel northwards where he established the kingdom of Boina, which conquered the much of the former Guinguimaro territories including the Antalaotse city of Mazalagem Nova in 1685. The rulers of Boina established their capital at Majunga in 1745 which became an important coastal city, and by 1790, travelers described Boina as a powerful kingdom ruled by Queen Ravahiny (1770-1808), she was surrounded by important chiefs, dispensed strict justice, and received from foreign countries silk fabrics and luxury goods. ( The Boina elite also formed a loose alliance with their eastern neighbor, the Betsimisaraka kingdom that was early regarded as the nominal vassal of Boina.( The Boina kingdom's largely subsistence domestic economy was based on rice cultivation and cattle rearing, the expansionist wars that characterized its creation —and the formation of many similar kingdoms across Madagascar— also produced captives, many of whom were retained locally but some were exported externally and met the demand from French plantations on Mauritius and reunion and across the western Indian ocean. Equally important in Boina's external commerce was the provisioning trade which supplied food (cattle, rice, poultry) as well as hides and water to visiting European ships. ( The rulers of Boina thus maintained fairly cordial commercial relations with the authorities in the east African coast and islands where their products were purchased including the Portuguese at Mozambique. They were also regularly engaged diplomatic correspondence with the Portuguese of Mozambique island. Most of Boina’s external trade was handled by Antalaotse merchants (and later by Indian traders) as it had in the past, though now with different commodities.( _**Map showing the Malagasy dialects of Madagascar. Maps showing the Sakalava kingdoms of western Madagascar including the kingdom of Boina/Boeny**_ _**Mahajanga , landing port, ca. 1895**_ * * * **The foreign military alliances of Nzwani: an example of the Antalaotse and the French** Given their origin on the east African coast, the Antalaotse of Madagascar, whose primary trade was with the Swahili and Comoros initially involved the transshipment of Gold, and the export of soapstone, rice and livestock( , maintained political and cultural ties to the elites in the Swahili and Comoros( , as well as with the Malagasy kingdoms of Madagascar, They therefore constituted a dependable pool of allies for Nzwani's rivaling factions to draw from in recruiting Sakalava and Betsimisaraka mercenanies. And given the gradual expansion of both the provisioning and slave trades, allied armies/mercenaries were usually promised compensation in the form of greater political control, or payment in loot and captives. One such notable request for military assistance from a Nzwani ruler to a foreign ally was sent by Ahmed, the king of Nzwani to the French in 1791, to help him re-impose his authority over Island of Mwali which challenged Nzwani's suzerainty by not paying tribute. But this combined French-Nzwani naval invasion was defeated by Mwali’s forces and many were killed, although the Nzwani king still compensated the French. Shortly after this battle, king Ahmed was defeated in 1792 by Abdallah of Mutsamudu, forcing king Ahmed's son Bwana Combo, to request assistance from the Betsimisaraka and Sakalava of Madagascar.( _**Map showing the east African coastal settlements including the Antalaotse cities of north western Madagascar**_ _**ruins of the Antalotse city of Mazalagem Nova in northwestern Madagascar**_ * * * **The initial Sakalava invasions in the Comoros Archipelago** While Bwana Combo and his Malagasy allies lost the first battle, more invasions would were launched against Abdallah’s capital of Mutsamudu in 1796, 1798, 1803 and 1808 during which time king Abdallah and his successor king Alawi (1796-1816) repeatedly requested British assistance to fight of the attackers. The British offered little help except a brief bombardment of Domoni in 1798 to send off Bwana combo's Sakalava allies, and a consignment of weapons that was sent in 1808.( Over the final decade of the 18th century, the Sakalava invasions were launched beyond Nzwani, especially against the polities on Mayotte in 1797, Grande Comore in 1798, with the invaders often taking loot and captives before sacking the towns. This prompted the construction of defensive walls and fortresses in the Comoros cities, and the expansion of preexisting defenses, particularly in Mutsamudu, Moroni, Mitsamiouli, Ntsaouéni and Iconi where populations took refuge by the time the invasions resumed in 1802.( Contemporary accounts suggest that flotillas were rather decentralized and frequently provide conflicting descriptions of the attackers’ identities. While these attacks initially predominantly involved Betsimisaraka forces, they were later known almost exclusively as Sakalava since all the naval forces departed from the northwestern capital of the Boina kingdom. The watercraft used were large outrigger canoes about 10 meters long that could carry over 30 men and together constituted fleets of as many as 500 vessels carrying anywhere between 8-10,000 Sakalava soldiers with a significant proportion often armed with rifles.( _**Section of an old city-wall in Ntsaoueni on Grande Comore, built to defend the city against the Sakalava**_ _**The fortress of Mutsamudu constructed in the late 18th century, the cannon were procured from the English at the height of the Sakalava invasions**_ * * * **The Sakalava invade the east African coast** While the motive of the Sakalava attacks beyond the internal conflicts of Nzwani is a subject of debate due to the limited documentation of the era, Its clear that there was a significant political factor driving the invasions. The internal politics of both Nzwani and the neighboring island of Mayotte was rife with de-thronings, assassinations and the extensive use of foreign alliances, with defeated rivals often being forced to flee to the Swahili cities along the East African coast, where they gathered more alliances to strike back. In 1800, the king of Mayotte arrived in the Portuguese-controlled Quirimbas Islands with a party of 150 armed Sakalava men in three boats, and stated that he intended to defeat a rival whose forces had fled to the Swahili town of Tungui near the islands. Its then that the first Sakalava attack on the east African coast is recorded, it consisted a small force that attacked the town of Tungui.( While the Sakalava navies were organized along the north-western coast of Boina kingdom, they were not controlled by its reigning Queen Ravahiny who infact warned the Portuguese governor of Mozambique in 1805 of an impeding Sakalava attack against the latter’s dependencies. In the same year, the Portuguese encountered a Sakalava fleet on Nzwani's coast and their ship was seized by the Sakalava. Shortly after this, the king of Nzwani at Mutsamudu sent an appeal for military assistance from the Portuguese against the Sakalava since the British offered little help. The Portuguese sent an expeditionary force in 1806 into Nzwani’s waters to punish the Sakalava, but they were defeated, killed and their ship’s components were sold off.( _**The three types of watercraft in the south-western corner of the Indian ocean; The Sakalava outrigger canoe, The Swahili Dau, and the Omani Sambuk, al photos from the early 19th century.**_ Its after the failed Portuguese punitive expedition that Sakalava navies launched a major invasion onto the East African coast in 1808, with 500 boats carrying 8,000 soldiers, and devastated the Portuguese dependencies on Mozambique coast and their neighboring communities but with a particular focus on the Swahili town of Tungui. Despite the ferocity of the attack, the invading forces suffered many causalities following a smallpox outbreak that forced them to retreat and destroy many of their boats that didn't have enough men to sail them back. Despite the loss, they carried off some captives and loot, but a number of the captives were ransomed back by the Swahili once the latter appealed to the Boina authorities at Majunga.( The Portuguese sent a letter in 1811 to the Sakalava queen Ravahiny requesting that she put a stop to the raids in the region and she responded that the Nzwani king had provoked the raids by demanding assistance in his attacks on Mwali. She added that while her subjects had been given permission to attack the Comoros, they were not acting under her command and hence she was powerless to stop them. Further attacks by Sakalava navies were launched in 1815 against the town of Tungui but were met with defeat by its Swahili governor Bwana Hassan, and a similar planned invasion against the Portuguese controlled town of Ibo was defeated in the same year when the Portuguese fleet sailed out and met them the Sakalava flotilla sea.( In October 1816, a massive Sakalava fleet led by a prince “Sicandar” from Nzwani sailed for the Mozambique coast ostensibly to apprehend the Swahili ruler of the Portuguese dependency of Sancul, who had detained Sicandar's wife and daughter( , but it was defeated by the Portuguese after two days of battle. Another massive Sakalava force of 500 boats led by Nassiri (who was either Comorian or Antalotse) sailed up to Kilwa in the same year, but was also defeated by the forces of Kilwa's king Yusuf bin Hassan after three days of battle. Despite their losses, the Sakalava left with over 300 captives from Quirimbas and Kilwa including some Portuguese settlers, but a number of these captives were ransomed back by the Portuguese and Swahili following appeals to the Boina authorities.( The last Sakalava invasion occurred in 1816-7 with 18 boats being spotted heading for the coast of Kilwa and the Mafia islands where they were presumably more successful than their first battle with captives being carried off. In 1818, the sultan of Zanzibar sent an armada of 18 dhows that engaged the Sakalava navies in multiple battles at sea where many were defeated, their boats destroyed and their leader was forced to sue for peace and returned the captives taken earlier.( Despite preparations for more Sakalava invasions, their dreaded navies were never to be seen again on the East African coast, largely due to the wars between the various Sakalava kingdoms and the rapidly expanding Merina empire which culminated with the conquest of the Boina capital of Majunga in 1824.( _**Ruins of the Swahili town of Kua in the Mafia archipelago, Tanzania. Kua is said to have been abandoned after the Sakalava attacks**_ * * * **Conclusion: explaining the episode of Naval warfare on the East African coast.** The argument advanced by some scholars that the Sakalava attacks were driven by the demand for slaves in Madagascar and French islands due to the expansion of the Merina empire and the slave trade ban signed in 1820 by Merina king Radama I( , contradicts the evidence. Madagascar remained throughout the first half of the 19th century, a net exporter of Malagasy slaves into the western Indian ocean as it had in the centuries prior, this was because despite the expansion of the Merina empire, it barely controlled 1/3 of the Island --mostly on the eastern half-- and the regional wars between the various kingdoms especially in the west continued to sustain the supply needed to export captives, with of upto 5,000 being sold annually in the 1850s.( _**Map of Madagascar showing the extent of Imperial Merina after 1824**_ More importantly, the well regulated trade maintained through peaceful relations between Boina and the Portuguese, that was carried out on Arab ships that had a much larger capacity than Sakalava canoes, that was conducted by Indian and Antalaotse merchants, and was supplied by many Malagasy caravans from the interior including the Sakalava,( was disrupted rather than increased by the wars, as shown by the frequent ransoming of the captives, and the correspondence between the Portuguese and Boina rulers urging the latter to restrain the mercenaries' activities. Therefore, the massive investment in assembling 10,000 well-armed soldiers over several months to capture a few hundred slaves in well-defended cities that routinely defeated and killed many of the invaders, appears counterintuitive to the commercial dynamics of slave trade. A more likely explanation advanced by Edward Alpers, views the Sakalava naval wars as an outgrowth of the political conflicts that begun in the southern Comoros islands of Nzwani and Mayotte. In these political conflicts, deposed Comorian elites were often the initiators of the invasions (eg Bwana Combo) and were also the leaders of Sakalava fleets (eg Sicandar and Nassiri), and given the combination of the Comorian elites' trans-regional alliances and the pre-existing custom of compensating mercenaries with captives and loot, a spill-over of the conflict across the East African coast was inevitable. He thus concludes that the Sakalava invasions were rooted more in the political rivalries of the Comorian and Swahili coastal states than in the slave trade of the western Indian ocean( . As one oral tradition recorded in Comoros states; _**"People say that the invaders were Betsimisaraka and that they pushed their expeditions up to the East African coast, and that they were piloted by some people from Comoros, Zanzibar and the coast of Africa, who would only have been common law prisoners driven from their country."**_( _**Panorama of Majunga, showing outrigger canoes and foreign ships**_ * * * More than 1,000 years ago, **settlers from the Swahili coast established dozens of cities on Madagascar's north-western coast**, constituting some of the earliest permanent settlement of Africans on the island Read about it here; ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( The Comoro Islands in Indian Ocean Trade before the 19th Century by Malyn Newitt pg 156-157) ( Islands in a Cosmopolitan Sea by Iain Walker pg 76) ( The Worlds of the Indian Ocean by Philippe Beaujard pg 557-563, 584-589) ( Tom and Toakafo: The Betsimisaraka Kingdom and State Formation in Madagascar, 1715-1750 by Stephen Ellis 444-445, The Cambridge History of Africa. Volume 5 pg 396 ( Tom and Toakafo: The Betsimisaraka Kingdom and State Formation in Madagascar, 1715-1750 by Stephen Ellis pg 451-453) ( Yankees in the Indian Ocean by Jane Hooper, Feeding Globalization: Madagascar and the Provisioning Trade by Jane Hooper ( Madagascar and Mozambique in the nineteenth century by Edward A. Alpers pg 150) ( Africa and the indian ocean world by G. Campbell pg 131 ( The worlds of the Indian ocean Vol2 pg Philippe Beaujard pg 558-559, 612-615 ( Feeding Globalization: Madagascar and the Provisioning Trade by Jane Hooper pg 161) ( Domesticating the world by Jeremy Prestholdt pg 26, Islands in a Cosmopolitan Sea by Iain Walker pg 76-78) ( The Comoro Islands: Struggle Against Dependency in the Indian Ocean by M. D. D. Newitt pg 22) ( Feeding Globalization: Madagascar and the Provisioning Trade by Jane Hooper pg 160-161 ( Madagascar and Mozambique in the nineteenth century by Edward A. Alpers pg 38-39) ( Madagascar and Mozambique in the nineteenth century by Edward A. Alpers pg 48-49, 40) ( Feeding Globalization: Madagascar and the Provisioning Trade by Jane Hooper pg 162-3, Madagascar and Mozambique in the nineteenth century by Edward A. Alpers pg 40-41 ( Feeding Globalization: Madagascar and the Provisioning Trade by Jane Hooper pg 163, Madagascar and Mozambique in the nineteenth century by Edward A. Alpers pg 42) ( Trade, Society, and Politics in Northern Mozambique, C. 1753-1913 by Nancy J. Hafkin pg 175 ( Madagascar and Mozambique in the nineteenth century by Edward A. Alpers pg 43-44) ( Madagascar and Mozambique in the nineteenth century by Edward A. Alpers pg 45) ( Africa and the indian ocean world by G. Campbell pg 215, Madagascar and Mozambique in the nineteenth century by Edward A. Alpers pg 46-47 ( Islands in a Cosmopolitan Sea by Iain Walker pg 76, The Comoro Islands: Struggle Against Dependency in the Indian Ocean by M. D. D. Newitt pg 21) ( The Economics of the Indian Ocean Slave Trade in the Nineteenth Century By William Gervase Clarence-Smith pg 186). ( The Economics of the Indian Ocean Slave Trade in the Nineteenth Century By William Gervase Clarence-Smith pg 170-173, 183). ( Madagascar and Mozambique in the nineteenth century by Edward A. Alpers pg 50-53, also see Jane Hooper’s “An Empire in the Indian Ocean: the Sakalava Empire of Madagascar” ( Madagascar and Mozambique in the nineteenth century by Edward A. Alpers pg 52.

### Title: An Episode of Naval Warfare on the East African Coast: The Sakalava Invasions of 1792-1817 #### Description: This document provides an overview of the Sakalava invasions from Madagascar to the East African coast, focusing on their historical context and significance. #### Timeline of Events: 1. **Beginning of Invasions (1792)**: - In 1792, well-armed flotillas set sail from Madagascar to attack the East African coast, marking the start of the Sakalava invasions. - The invasions continued regularly for approximately three decades, targeting coastal cities for plunder. 2. **Initial Political Context**: - The island of Nzwani in the Comoros was a major port for European ships during the 18th century, characterized by internal political disputes among elite factions. - A power struggle led to King Said Ahmed’s death in 1792, which allowed his cousin Abdallah to seize control as the new king. 3. **Request for Aid**: - Following Abdallah's ascension, Ahmed's son, Bwana Combo, enlisted Sakalava mercenaries from Madagascar to reclaim power, leading to the first recorded invasion in Nzwani. 4. **Geographic and Ethnic Context**: - Northwestern Madagascar was home to a mix of African and Austronesian populations, with various political entities influenced by the Swahili trading routes. 5. **Expansion of Invasions (1796-1808)**: - The Sakalava invasions spread to include attacks on the islands of Mayotte and Grande Comore, leading to the construction of defensive structures in the cities of the Comoros. 6. **Military Engagements**: - The Sakalava fleets shifted from initial small-scale raids to larger invasions with organized flotillas of outrigger canoes, carrying significant armed forces. - Typical invasions involved thousands of soldiers and large numbers of canoes, significantly affecting coastal settlements. 7. **The Role of Foreign Alliances**: - Internal rivalries and political dynamics in Nzwani and surrounding islands prompted these invasions, with deposed leaders often spearheading attacks for territorial control. - The British and Portuguese were solicited for military support but provided limited assistance. 8. **Significant Battles**: - A major invasion in 1808 led to devastating attacks on Portuguese dependencies along the Mozambique coast, despite suffering heavy casualties due to smallpox outbreaks. - Further Sakalava incursions occurred in 1815 and 1816 but faced defeats, ending their successful campaigns. 9. **Decline of Sakalava Naval Power (1818)**: - The invasions waned with increasing conflicts among Sakalava kingdoms and the rise of the Merina Empire, culminating with the conquest of Majunga in 1824. 10. **Historical Interpretations**: - Scholars debate whether the Sakalava invasions were driven by the demand for slaves or political rivalries. - Evidence suggests that the invasions were primarily political, initiated by Comorian elites seeking to regain power and territory rather than purely motivated by the slave trade. #### Conclusion: The Sakalava invasions represent a complex intersection of geopolitical dynamics in the Indian Ocean region, where internal conflicts in Nzwani and the Comoros spilled over into naval warfare along the East African coast. The invasions were characterized by political motivations rooted in regional rivalries rather than solely economic pursuits such as the slave trade.

The Swazi kingdom and its neighbours in the 19th century: from the rise of Zulu to the British

an island in the maelstrom

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The Swazi kingdom and its neighbours in the 19th century: from the rise of Zulu to the British ============================================================================================== ### an island in the maelstrom ( Jan 15, 2023 18 The political landscape of southern Africa in the 19th century was a hotbed of revolutionary states and colonial expansion. Wedged between powerful African kingdoms and an expanding colonial frontier was the Swazi Kingdom which occupied a pivotal position in the region. Since its establishment in the 18th century, the Swazi kingdom played a critical role in southern Africa's political history. From the meteoritic rise of the Zulu kingdom, to the foundation of the Trekker republics and British colonization, Swazi navigated the era’s extremely fluid political relationships with its neighbors inorder to maintain its autonomy. This article outlines the history of the Swazi kingdom and its neighbors in the 19th century, and the outsized role that the kingdom played in southern Africa's political history. _**Map showing the kingdoms of Southern Africa in the early 19th century**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Early history of the Swazi kingdom between the Zulu and Ndwandwe kingdoms; 1750-1850** The emergence of large kingdoms in southern African such as the Swazi, Zulu, Pedi, and Ndwandwe, was the culmination of centuries of social and political developments occurring in the pre-existing small-scale states across the region. The history of the Swazi state as recounted by its king-list is among the oldest in the region. Genealogies about the kingdom's ruling dynasty; the Dlamini, posits the dynasty's establishment around the late 1st millennium, but besides a few toponyms about royal burial sites and some corroboration in neighboring king-lists, most of the information in the Swazi king-list is not very reliable until the mid-18th century.( Its during the 18th century that the nucleus of the Swazi state --known as Ngwane-- was founded in what is now southern Swaziland (etshiselweni) by Nguni speakers, and its the state of Ngwane that would after its expansion northwards produce the Swazi kingdom.( Prior to the Swazi's ascendance in the early 19th century, the region was briefly dominated by the Ndwandwe kingdom which successfully defeated and subsumed many smaller states during the 1790s and 1810s, in a similar way as Shaka of the Zulu kingdom was expanding his own state to its south, thus setting up a major conflict between the two kingdoms which was ultimately decided in the monumental defeat of Ndwandwe by the Zulu army after the 1819 war( . The Swazi state had during this period, been firmly established under the Kings Ngwane (d. 1780) and Zikode (d. 1815), and was greatly expanded under king Sobhuza (r. 1815-1850) who subsumed many pre-existing polities through diplomacy and conquest, briefly putting his kingdom on collision path with the Ndwandwe kingdom in an destructive series of battles that only ceased after Ndwandwe's fall to the Zulu.( King Sobhuza's state after Ndwandwe's collapse re-established a precarious form of order, it was constrained by reduced military capacity and the social upheaval of Ndwandwe-Zulu wars but advantaged by strategic political alliances that the king had established through marriage as well as ritual power which brought more polities into the Swazi kingdom. Sobhuza accomplished an exceptional feat of diplomacy with the Zulu king Shaka by employing the same marriage and religious alliances as a nominal tributary state to placate Zulu's dreaded army, but ultimately rebelled and fought off two Zulu invasions in 1827.( Swazi’s troubles with Zulu continued under Shaka's successor Dingane, who had assassinated the former in conspiracy with his brother Mpande, and then imposed a trade blockade on Swazi in 1834 because the latter state had become prosperous during Zulu’s interregnum. Dingane afterwards sent his forces against Swazi in 1836 and 1839. The two invasions were politically indecisive, the first captured some cattle as Sobhuza had tacitly withdrawn, but the second invasion was decisively defeated ending in a negotiated settlement with the Zulu through the auspices of the Portuguese from Delagoa Bay. Despite Dingane's successful diplomatic overtures to the Portuguese to secure a truce with Swazi, his poor military record eventually undermined his authority relative to his brother Mpande. The upstart Mpande allied with the newly arrived Trekkers (sections of Dutch-speaking Boer settlers fleeing from the British-controlled cape-coast colony) in 1840, and defeated Dingane at the Battle of Maqongqo (although largely using his own forces).( _**chiefdoms that made up the Swazi kingdom, 1820**_( * * * **The Swazi kingdom between the Boer republics and the Zulu kingdom: 1850-1877** The arrival of the trekkers on the borders of the Swazi kingdom would have profound effects on the regions' political history especially after they established a short-lived republic called Natalia in 1839 whose capital was at Natal just south-west of Zulu. But Swazi’s prior interactions with European traders and missionaries provided the state with a slight advantage over its peers. King Sobhuza had already established trade contacts with the Portuguese at Delagoa Bay in response to the burgeoning ivory and cattle trade, and had recognized the value of firearms which he deployed in his own forces using the service of Portuguese mercenaries to put down rebellions. In 1834, he contacted the Wesleyan missionaries in the cape colony, with a request for the latter to proselytize in a disputed region between the Swazi and the Zulu, inorder to create a buffer zone against the latter. Just prior to the Zulu civil war between Mpande and Dingane, Swazi envoys were also sent to the trekkers to form an alliance against the Zulu king Dingane, and the Swazi-Natal relationship continued after Dingane’s defeat in 1840, when the Swazi brought the remains of Dingane to confirm their support.( Coinciding with the trekkers' arrival in the region were the expanding British colonial interests. The war that brought the Zulu king Mpande into power elevated Natalia's position in the region's politics relative to the British’s cape colony, and this prompted the British to invade and annex the Natalia republic in 1842-3.( Wars were often followed by the migration of the defeated parties and their possessions, but attempts at forcefully recovering these risked escalation to war. In the period following Sobhuza’s death, the Swazi kingdom was embroiled in succession crisis as rival candidates to the throne sought Zulu and Trekker assistance to install them and depose the young king Mswati. Since the trekkers had moved north of Swazi in 1845, the newly installed Swazi king Mswati (r. 1850-1865) juggled alliances between them and the British in Natal, against the Zulu kingdom, while the Zulu king leveraged his own regional alliances among neighboring trekkers and African states, and tried to create a pretext through Swazi's succession disputes to repatriate defeated Zulu factions in Swazi, while also placating the British at Natal who intended to invade the Zulu. In 1852, the Zulu armies invaded Swaziland but later withdrew after the action had strengthened Swazi's ties with the British in Natal.( Having fended off the Zulu threat, the Swazi state then continued its gradual expansion, it turned Portuguese dependencies in the Delagoa bay into its own vassals after a series of wars during 1855-8 and 1862-3, brought many small states in the region into its orbit as tributaries.( Swazi was also engaged in extensive commodities trade with the Transvaal republic --one of the states formed by the trekkers to its northwest. While the initial trekker movement in the 1830s represented a formidable force, their dispersion into disparate communities by the 1840s soon reduced them to minor players in the largely African-dominated political economy of the region. The different trekker communities’ isolation and their resulting military weakness, forced them into relations of symbiotic dependence with neighboring African kingdoms for trade and security. Transvaal required Swazi assistance against Venda kingdom in 1867 and Pedi kingdom in 1876.( So while Transvaal republic was granted land in 1855 by Swazi to serve as a buffer against Zulu, their dependence on Swazi for military and commercial needs meant that effective occupation remained with the Swazi, since treaties were effectively inconsequential if not backed by military capacity to enforce them.( Succession crises in Swazi after the death of Mswati in 1865 created a power vacuum during the regency of the boy-king Ludvonga (1865-1874) in which Transvaal attempted to turn the tables on Swazi. Around 1867, a more permanent settlement called 'new Scotland' was established by McCorkindale south of Swazi state in the buffer zone claimed by Transvaal but effectively controlled by the Swazi. McCorkindale's interests were to establish direct trade to Delagoa bay through Swaziland and his assertive demands forced the Swazi court to send an embassy to the British in Natal objecting to McCorkidanle's plans. While McCorkidanle died in 1871, he had stirred expansionist sentiments in Transvaal, which moved to make its settlement south of Swazi formal in 1869, but abortive military campaigns failed to make this practical. Other plans were made by Transvaal officials to build a rail-line through Swaziland to Delagoa Bay in 1871-1872 but these too were abandoned due to lack of capacity, their only effect being to force the Swazi to place even more pressure on the British to mediate on their behalf.( Internal conflicts in Swazi had culminated in the assassination of the boy-king Ludvonga in 1874 and the installation of Mbandzeni (r.1874-1889) despite the protests of the Swazi councilors. During this Swazi interregnum, the discovery of diamonds in Kimberly in 1866 had strengthened British resolve to advance further inland and colonize the entire region, this threatened to engulf Swazi and their African and Boer neighbors who thus sought to break the gridlock by creating larger states to counter the British threat. In 1875, the Zulu king Cetshwayo attempted to invade Swaziland but Swazi’s military ally, Transvaal, used this as a pretext to force less favorable terms on Swazi kingdom with intention of annexing it, forcing Swazi to shrewdly play competing British interests in a pact against Transvaal. In 1876, Transvaal used Swazi forces to invade the Pedi kingdom of king Sekhukhune, but left most the fighting to them, disappointed by the trekker’s “cowardice” in battle, the Swazi forces withdrew. Transvaal’s army was defeated by the Pedi, and soon after Transvaal was defeated by the British as well who annexed its territory in 1877.( _**Map of colonial warfare in late 19th century southern Africa.**_ * * * **The Swazi kingdom and the British (1877-1902)** True to the fluid nature of its alliances, Swazi's newfound relationship with the British remained deliberately ambiguous as the Swazi courtiers had as much reason to fear being engulfed by the British just as much as their more proximate enemy; the Zulu kingdom. Swazi declined to assist the British in their war against the Pedi kingdom in 1878, and sent its councilors Sandlane Zwane and Mbovane Fakudze to attend the Queen's birthday celebrations in Natal (an event intended for the newly colonized chiefs to pledge fealty to the British), but they refused to be lumped together with others as subjects, instead stressing their independence. While the response the councilors received from the British governor Theophilus Shepstone all but threatened to colonize the Swazi kingdom, more urgent internal matters in Natal, and the break out of the Anglo-Zulu war in 1879 gave the Swazi some temporary reprieve.( At the onset of the Anglo-Zulu wars, Swaziland was on the frontline of the conflict and the Swazi king Mbandzeni was aware of his state's vulnerability. The Zulu kingdom was the unchallenged military power of the region, and the Swazi were obliged (by their earlier pact with the British against Transvaal) to provide troops to assist the British in the war against the Zulu. This obligation however, was never met, and like in the 1878 British wars against Pedi, the Swazi kingdom’s official communications to the British commanders MacLeod and Wolseley and various colonial officials, employed a mix of deception and delay throughout the entire course of the campaigns and avoided sending their armies into Zulu. _**"The Swazi performance during the war had been a truly masterly display of fence-sitting. Without actually doing anything they had managed to project an image of loyalty, which won them tributes from all sides once the fighting ceased"**_.( Free from the Zulu threat, Swazi forces now joined the British in the war with the Pedi in 1879, and despite the Transvaal's victory in their rebellion against the British in 1881, Swazi managed to secure the recognition of its independence from both states.( The persistent convergence of imperial interests in southern Africa continued to threaten Swazi autonomy, at a time when internal Swazi contests of power between the king Mbandzeni and the councilors were at their height. The discovery of gold in north-western Swaziland in 1875, and the granting of temporary grazing and mining concessions to different settlers as a contest of authority between the King and the councilors, increasingly created a new threat to Swazi's political cohesion. These concessions were essentially rent-paying land leases for short periods of time and were deemed less costly to the Swazi court than exploiting the minerals itself. All concessions were initially fully under Swazi law (given its capacity to enforce or nullify them) and many were not utilized (since mining grants were speculative and many settlers lacked capital), but their existence would eventually prove to be very damaging( . The Swazi kingdom's council had decided to choose a single concessioner named Arthur Shepstone to regulate the activities of the others, but the decision was vetoed by the king who feared the potential threat to power posed by one concessioner. King Mbandezi instead preferred to grant many different settlers whose divided interests he could control —the Boers got grazing rights while the British got mining rights thus keeping them at loggerheads with each other. Its for this same reason that the king had also refused the British's demand for Swazi to house a British resident in the Swazi capital who would have collected taxes and effectively turned Swazi into a British colony.( But unlike earlier occasions when Swazi could play off various competing interests, the re-established Transvaal republic after 1881 was a much stronger state with little need for Swazi military assistance, and the British protection pact with the Swazi was now subject to the impossible demand that a British resident be set up in the Swazi capital. So when Transvaal's vice-president Landdrost Krogh requested a large concession from the Swazi king in 1885 (acting in both official and private capacity with threats of annexation) it was granted to him.( Aware of the threat that Transvaal-backed concessionaries would create in Swaziland, king Mbandzeni decided to invite Arthur Shepstone in 1886 inorder to regulate the activities of the concessionaries from falling under Transvaal's control. While initially successful, opposition from some concessionaries allied to the different Swazi councilors opposed to Mbandzeni, and Shepstone's diplomatic inability to secure Swazi's eastern possessions from Portuguese claims, undermined any attempts at curtailing concessionary activity. Swazi had exhausted its diplomatic arsenal.( Rather than mediating the emerging colonial and commercial pressures, Swaziland found itself the object of their attentions. Mbandzeni spent the last years of his reign terminally ill and barely able to function as a king, internal conflicts between the councilors led to a spell of a executions. concessioners increasingly became unruly and the Swazi court was forced to establish a committee to oversee their activities in 1888 although many objected to joining it. King Mbandzeni died in 1899, and Transvaal gained more control over the swazi kingdom in 1890 and would formally divide it in 1893 between Swazi and British control, and this political situation continued through the 1899-1903 Anglo-Boer wars and ended with the British's formal occupation of Swaziland in 1902.( _**Map of the Swazi kingdom showing the mineral concessions that had been granted by 1889**_ * * * **Conclusion: Swaziland in African history.** The Swazi kingdom's history provides a prism through which southern African history can be observed. From its establishment in the midst of the region’s political revolutions, to its skillful manipulation of European rivalries, the Swazi kingdom was able to survive the cataclysmic collapse that befell its neighbors, using its expertise in the intricacies of southern Africa’s diplomacy. But the fundamental changes sweeping southern Africa that were precipitated by the discovery of minerals, profoundly altered the symbiotic nature of Swazi's relationship with its neighbors that had enabled it to survive for so long, and these changes eventually brought an end to its precarious autonomy. _**Swazi warriors at the incwala festival, 1935**_ * * * Southern Africa was home to many dynamic states including **the Butua kingdom and its monumental capital at Khami**, read about it here on Patreon ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Kingdoms and Chiefdoms of Southeastern Africa by EA Eldredge pg 1. 92-95 ( The Kingdom of Swaziland by D. Hugh Gillis 9-10 ( Kingdoms and Chiefdoms of Southeastern Africa by EA Eldredge pg 207-212) ( Kingdoms and Chiefdoms of Southeastern Africa by EA Eldredge pg 231-232, Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires by P. L. Bonner pg 27-29) ( Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires by P. L. Bonner pg 34-37) ( Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires by P. L. Bonner pg 42-44) ( P. L. Bonner ( Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires by P. L. Bonner pg 45) ( An exposition of the clash of Anglo-Voortrekker interests at Port Natal leading to the military conflict of 23-24 May 1842 by A.E. Cubbin ( Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires by P. L. Bonner pg 49-63) ( Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires by P. L. Bonner pg 95-101) ( Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires by P. L. Bonner pg 66-72, 80-84) ( The Kingdom of Swaziland by D. Hugh Gillis pg 30-31 ( Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires by P. L. Bonner pg 117-122) ( Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires by P. L. Bonner 128-145, The Kingdom of Swaziland by D. Hugh Gillis pg 32-33 ( Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires by P. L. Bonner pg 148-150) ( Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires by P. L. Bonner pg 150-158) ( The Kingdom of Swaziland by D. Hugh Gillis pg 34-36 ( The Kingdom of Swaziland by D. Hugh Gillis pg 48-53 ( Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires by P. L. Bonner pg 171-174) ( Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires by P. L. Bonner pg 174-178) ( The Kingdom of Swaziland by D. Hugh Gillis pg 38-40, Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires by P. L. Bonner pg 183-196 ( The Kingdom of Swaziland by D. Hugh Gillis pg 60-80.

### The Swazi Kingdom and Its Neighbors in the 19th Century #### Introduction - The 19th century political landscape of Southern Africa was characterized by revolutionary states and colonial expansion. - The Swazi Kingdom held a pivotal position amid powerful African kingdoms, such as the Zulu and Ndwandwe, and an expanding colonial frontier. - This period saw the Swazi Kingdom navigate complex political relationships to maintain its autonomy. #### Early History of the Swazi Kingdom (1750-1850) 1. **Emergence of Large Kingdoms**: - The Swazi Kingdom emerged in the 18th century, resulting from social and political developments among smaller states. - The Dlamini dynasty, according to Swazi king-lists, has its roots in the late 1st millennium, with more reliable records beginning in the mid-18th century. 2. **Foundation of the Ngwane State**: - The Ngwane state, the precursor to the Swazi Kingdom, was founded in present-day southern Swaziland. - The Ndwandwe Kingdom briefly dominated the area during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, clashing with the Zulu Kingdom under Shaka. 3. **Kings of Swazi**: - Kings Ngwane and Zikode established a strong foundation for the Swazi Kingdom. - King Sobhuza (r. 1815-1850) expanded the kingdom through diplomacy and conquest, capitalizing on the Ndwandwe-Zulu wars. 4. **Conflict with the Zulu**: - Sobhuza allied with Shaka’s Zulu through marriage and was forced to fend off Zulu invasions in 1827. - After Shaka's assassination by Dingane, the Zulu imposed a trade blockade on Swazi due to its prosperity. 5. **Diplomatic Maneuvering**: - Diplomatic relations were maintained as Sobhuza negotiated peace after repelling invasions. - The eventual fall of the Ndwandwe Kingdom to the Zulu allowed Sobhuza to reposition Swazi considerably. #### The Swazi Kingdom Between Boer Republics and Zulu Kingdom (1850-1877) 1. **Arrival of the Trekkers**: - The arrival of Dutch-speaking Boer settlers (Trekkers) established the Natalia Republic, which presented new political dynamics for Swazi. 2. **Strategic Alliances**: - King Sobhuza had earlier formed alliances with Portuguese traders and Wesleyan missionaries to buffer against Zulu influence. - Following the Zulu civil war, the Swazi allied with the Trekkers against Zulu expansion. 3. **British Colonial Expansion**: - British colonial interests surged after defeating the Zulu and annexing the Natalia Republic in 1842-43, affecting Swazi relations. 4. **Internal Succession Crisis**: - A power struggle following Sobhuza's death in 1850 resulted in Mswati (r. 1850-1865) navigating Zulu and Trekker alliances. - Swazi successfully repelled Zulu invasions in 1852, solidifying ties with the British. 5. **Expansion and Trade**: - Post-Mswati period saw Swazi expand influence over smaller polities and engage in trade relations with the Transvaal republic. - Despite the Trekker's initial strength, their fragmentation led them to seek reliance on African kingdoms like Swazi for security. 6. **Internal Conflicts and Declining Power**: - After Mswati’s death in 1865, the regency of Ludvonga (1865-1874) saw Transvaal strive to dominate Swazi during its succession crisis. - Trekkers attempted to establish a buffer zone within Swazi, leading to tensions and failed military incursions. #### The Swazi Kingdom and the British (1877-1902) 1. **Ambiguous Relationships**: - Swazi sought to maintain independence amid increasing British pressure, refusing to assist in British campaigns against neighboring kingdoms. 2. **Conflict with the Zulu**: - Swazi dodged military obligations during the Anglo-Zulu War (1879) while still managing to secure its autonomy post-war. 3. **Gold Discovery and Concessions**: - The discovery of gold in 1875 heightened colonial interests, leading to concessions granted to both British and Boer settlers. - King Mbandzeni's strategy involved distributing various concessions to prevent excessive control by any single entity. 4. **Colonial Pressures**: - The rising power of Transvaal and demands for British oversight led to tensions between Swazi autonomy and external ambitions. - Mbandzeni’s later attempts to manage foreign interests via invitees and committee governance failed amidst growing unrest. 5. **End of Autonomy**: - Following Mbandzeni’s death in 1899, Transvaal's control over Swazi expanded, ultimately leading to formal British occupation in 1902. #### Conclusion - The Swazi Kingdom's history exemplifies the complex interplay of power, diplomacy, and colonialism in Southern Africa. - Its astute navigation of alliances initially allowed it to maintain a degree of autonomy amidst external pressures. - However, the transformative impacts of mineral discoveries and colonial ambitions ultimately undermined its independence, marking the end of a critical historical episode in the region.

The kingdom of Ndongo and the Portuguese: Queen Njinga and the dynasty of women sovereigns (1515-1909)

The effects of early colonial warfare in central Africa

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The kingdom of Ndongo and the Portuguese: Queen Njinga and the dynasty of women sovereigns (1515-1909) ====================================================================================================== ### The effects of early colonial warfare in central Africa ( Jan 08, 2023 19 Founded in the highlands of modern Angola near the Atlantic coast, the kingdom of Ndongo's political history was to be inextricably tied to Portuguese colonial interests in west-central Africa. For nearly a century, the armies of Ndongo battled with Portuguese in multiple wars that resulted in the loss of most of Ndongo's territory, until the rise of Queen Njinga ended the deepest colonial expansion into central Africa. Njinga of Ndongo is the undoubtedly the best known Queen in pre-colonial Africa's history. During her remarkable reign, she was involved in dozens of wars with the Portuguese, and forged trans-regional alliances with the Kongo kingdom and the Dutch. She skillfully performed and manipulated several legitimating practices to overcome challenges to her rule that were based on her gender, and the precedent she set produced an equally remarkable dynasty of women with atleast 6 Queen regnants succeeding her —an exceptional number in World History. This article outlines the history of Ndongo's wars with Portugal and the exceptional circumstances through which Queen Njinga managed to preserve her kingdom's autonomy and establish a dynasty of Women sovereigns. _**Map showing the kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba in the early 16th century( **_ * * * _**If you like this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal**_ ( * * * **An early history of the Ndongo and Matamba kingdoms, their relationship with Kongo and initial contacts with the Portuguese (1515-1580)** The kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba were established in the early 16th century in the area south of the kingdom of Kongo in a region known as “Ambundo” named after its main language; Kimbundu. Ambundo was originally home to many small polities (murindas) of independent rulers that fought to expand their territory, and the most successful of them was Ngola (Angola) Inene whose dynasty ruled Ndongo. Traditions recorded in the 17th century claim Ngola Inene came from Kongo, but its equally likely this was simply meant to establish a prestigious genealogy.( Both kingdoms were originally vassals of Kongo during its king Afonso I's reign when Matamba is recorded sending tribute of silver manilhas to Mbanza Kongo in 1530, and Ndongo received envoys from Portugal possibly after receiving permission from Afonso in 1520. But the exact nature of this vassalage is ambiguous as both states acted with near complete autonomy.( Ngola Inene was succeeded in by Ngola Kiluanje (r.1515–1556) who established his capital at Kabasa, and expanded Ndongo's control over the lands north of the Kwanza River, bringing more Ambundo states under its orbit and away from Kongo, but he still accepted Kongo's nominal suzerainty including sending ambassadors to Afonso in 1518 to become Christian, before sending them to Portugal. By the 1520s, Ndongo occasionally bolstered its military with Portuguese mercenaries during its earliest expansion. The Portuguese had begun trading around Luanda and up the Kwanza river but Kongo's Afonso was opposed to their involvement in Ndongo which he considered a vassal. During the time of Ndongo's expansion which saw the conquest of the provinces of Ilamba and Kisama, Afonso is recorded launching campaigns to the same region in 1513 and 1516 in reaction to this expansion.( In 1525 the Portuguese embassy that had arrived in Ndongo 5 years earlier was detained by Afonso, ostensibly, to protect them. It was soon after this that he sent his now famous letter to the Portuguese king complaining about the Portuguese traders' subversive activities among his vassals and that they were seizing “our natives, sons of the land and the sons of our noblemen and vassals and our relatives.” This complaint has often been misinterpreted by some scholars who see Afonso as a forerunner to the anti-colonial African leaders of the 19th century, but this interpretation bestows on Afonso a motive and sense of purpose which he would have had difficulty in recognizing, as Kongo was not a Portuguese colony, nor would Portuguese attempt any colonial invasions in central Africa until 1571. Afonso's letter was instead intended to assert Kongo's claim over Ndongo inorder to control the latter's foreign relations by directing Portuguese activities to Ndongo solely through Kongo. Afonso and his successor Diogo's attempt at controlling Ndogo's politics were fruitless, even after Diogo's campaigns to pacify Luanda included Portuguese traders among the war captives he took back in 1548 and 1549.( Undeterred, Ndongo's king Kiluanje sent another embassy to Portugal in 1549 for religious and political reasons, as well as to sever Kongo's claim over the coastal region adjacent to it but the mission was detained for 9 years in Sao Tome, the response mission arrived in 1560 to find that King Kiluanje had been replaced by Ndambe (r.1556–1561), and later by Ngola Kiluanje kia Ndambe (r.1561–1575).( The mission however, only consisted of priests and thus didn't achieve all that Kiluanje hoped for but king Ngola Kiluanje kia Ndambe nevertheless hosted it generously. Diogo's successor Bernardo sent Ngola Kiluanje kia Ndambe a letter in 1562 warning him that the Portuguese were only there _**“to see if Ndongo had silver or gold in order for the King of Portugal to take the land”**_ and that only he (Diogo) should be incharge of of trade with them. Despite the clearly selfish motive of the warning, Ngola Kiluanje kia Ndambe heeded Diogo's advice as the religious mission was of little use to him, he detained and later expelled the Portuguese, save for a few priests. He continued expanding the kingdom westwards to the Atlantic, and southwards to the Benguela kingdom, which he conquered in 1563 although his successors had lost it by 1586. By this time, Matamba had fully broken off from Kongo in 1560 but its relationship with Ndongo was unclear.( The kingdom of Ndongo was by the mid-16th century a relatively centralized state compared to the preceding Ambundo polities it had subsumed, but less so compared to the Kongo kingdom. Its administration consisted of core provinces ruled by subordinate royals controlling conquered polities, and in its peripheries were subordinate kings who sent soldiers and tribute but otherwise had local sovereignty( . Like many states in west-central Africa, it was largely established by concentrating populations around a central core ruled by a hierarchical administration including '"makotas” who elected the King, “sobas” who led the provinces, and a litany of officials. The King's legitimacy, as considered by the electors, rested on a complex mix of practices including his lineage, his capacity to archive victories in war and accumulate resources for redistribution among the nobles, and his spiritual position in Mbundu cosmology.( Ndongo's subjects primarily included the "ana murinda" (citizens), who paid taxes/tribute, and the "kijiko" (Serfs) who were dependents of the citizens, living in their own villages and farmed for both themselves and the royal court but couldn't be sold. It also included "mubika" (captives) acquired during its wars of expansion/rebellion that could be retained or sold. The very fragmented nature of the Ambundo region in which Ndongo was just one of many expansionist states, explains why the region was a major source of captives. Ndongo’s economy however, like all others in the region, was largely rural and agricultural, with significantly more cattle rearing than in Kongo, and a small specialist industry in textiles.( _**The kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba in 1550, and their known neighbors**_ * * * **Ndongo’s wars with Portugal and the founding of the Angola-colony** Internal threats in Kongo forced Álvaro's to request Portugal's assistance, and the latter sent two missions that would lead to a greater military engagement by Portugal in west central Africa. Kongo had granted Luanda in exchange for Portugal’s assistance, and also offered to assist the second Portuguese mission in its objective of colonizing Ndongo. (The number of Portuguese soldiers for these two missions was 600, assisted by 10-12,000 African auxiliaries, i won't be quoting each force's might for each battle below so assume an average force of 300-400 Portuguese, and 8-12,000 Africans allies, against an average force of 10-15,000 soldiers and 300 musketeers of Ndongo or Kongo). The commander of the first Portuguese mission to Kongo went back after assisting Kongo in 1574, leaving his forces to be used by both Kongo and Ndongo as mercenaries. Additionally, the region of Luanda was returned to Kongo by 1576, although it would later be retaken by Portugal to serve as their colonial capital for Angola.( Portugal's second mission under Dias de Novais saw slightly more success since a succession crisis in Ndongo that saw Njinga Ngola Kilombo (r.1575–1592) rise to the throne, made the king to request Novais' assistance to quash rebellions in Ilamba province, but just like Kongo's king Alvaro had done, Ndongo's king Kilombo turned on the Portuguese as soon as he was secure. His army killed the Portuguese in their ranks, with only few surviving to flee back to Novais' camp( . Seeing that they were weak, Alvaro offered to assist the Portuguese hoping to conquer Ndongo himself, but the combined Kongo-Portugal army was crushed by Ndongo in May 1580 at the battle of Bengo.( Novais nevertheless managed to ally with Ndongo's rebels in Ilamba and other provinces near the coast, prompting Ndongo to attack the alliance in August 1585 at the disastrous battle of Kasikola which Ndongo lost, leaving ilamba under Portuguese control. The Portuguese then built a small fort at Massangano. The Portuguese commander Novais was succeeded by Luis Serrão as governor of Luanda after his death in 1589, and the latter continued his predecessors' plans to colonize Ndongo. the kingdom of Matamba also reappears at this point in an alliance with Ndongo, and the two armies, led by Ndongo's king Kilombo descended upon the Portuguese and their allies at Lukala river in December 1589 and nearly annihilated them, forcing them back to Massangano.( The Portuguese at Luanda under Francisco de Almeida would send another force in 1594 to Ndongo's southernmost province of Kisama but this too was defeated.( To its south, Ndongo had its brief control over Benguela which by 1586 had sent a mission to Novias' camp but the mission was intercepted by Ndongo and defeated in 1587, although Benguela remained independent( . In Benguela's immediate hinterland, a new marauding political force called the Imbangala emerged that profoundly altered the region. The Imbangala weren't sedentary but wandered from place to place and lived by pillaging palm wine, seizing cattle, and recruiting soldiers and they acquired a very reputation in the west-central African kingdoms. They attacked Ndongo's vassals in 1600 and reached the coast where they sold some of their captives and some formed alliances with the Portuguese. However, the Imbangala never formed a permanent alliance with any party and would frequently change sides as it suited them( . Ndongo was under a succession crisis after the death of king kilombo, who was succeeded by Mbande a Ngola Kiluanje (r.1592–1617), his provincial armies were engaged in battles with the Portuguese and their allies who built another fort at Cambambe in 1603.( In 1617, King Mbande was assassinated by his nobles. And while the electoral council of Ndongo had chosen its own successor, one of the deceased king's sons named Ngola a Mbande seized the throne and killed the nobles who opposed him. Sensing opportunity to conquer Ndongo, the Portuguese under Mendes de Vasconcelos formed an alliance with the Imbangala bands including Kasanje, and a rival candidate for the Ndongo throne named Mubanga who'd allowed them to build a fort at Ambaca (the furthest control in the interior). In 1618, they defeated Ndongo's forces and forced the king to flee, he later returned and besieged the Portuguese forts, prompting them to send another campaign in 1621 that forced him out to the Kindonga Islands, the imbangala went further inland, pillaging Matamba and selling captives to the Portuguese.( The Portuguese failed to place a puppet on Ndongo's throne as no candidate had sufficient support while the king was at large. Taking advantage of the arrival of a different Luanda governor, King Ngola Mbande sued for peace in 1622, sending his three sisters Njinga, Kambu (Barbara), and Funji (Graça) to negotiate for him in Luanda, regaining his throne and provinces in exchange for peaceful relationship. Njinga had shrewdly chosen to convert as a way of assuring the Portuguese but this turned out to be superficial. The roaming Imbangala remained a threat to Ndongo, but King Ngola Mbande managed to ally some Imbangala bands such as Kasanje against other bands.( _**Njinga’s baptism in 1622, by Antonio Cavazzi, ca. 1668**_ _**Furthest extent of Portuguese expansion into the interior of west-central Africa for over three centuries.**_( “_**Forte de Nossa Senhora da Vitória de Massangano"**_( _**. at the height of the Ndongo invasions, such forts usually held a few hundred Portuguese soldiers surrounded by thousands of African allies.**_ * * * **The reign of Queen Njinga (1624-1663)** The chosen successor of King Ngola Mbande was his 7-year old son who he had left with the support of the Kasanje band leader named Kasa; even though Njinga was the more capable candidate, especially since she had fought to defend Matamba during the 1620s invasion, turned some more enemy Imbangala into allies, and secured a peace treaty with Portugal.( Unlike Ndongo's earlier succession crisis however, the Portuguese chose not to intervene because of a number of defeats they had suffered during this time. Emboldened by their victory over Ndongo in 1618-1620 and their newfound Imbangala allies, the Portuguese thought they could invade Kongo as well. They sent an army in 1622 that after a small initial victory at Mbumbi, was crushingly defeated by Kongo's royal army at the battle of Mbanda Kasi.( Njinga had been involved in military campaigns so that she was well known in the army, was allowed her to sit in on affairs of state, and her skill as a diplomat was widely known, but some elites balked at the idea of a female ruler. Judging her candidature to be weak, Njinga initially chose to rule as a regent to the boy-king, styling herself as “Lady of Ndongo” rather than Queen. But when the boy-king died by 1625, Njinga, who was widely suspected to have been responsible, took on the title of Queen and begun to rule with full power. While she faced challenges to her legitimacy as a woman —with few historical precedents in both the traditional and Christianizing states of the region of a woman sovereign— her skillful manipulation of several legitimating devices gradually enabled her rule to be accepted, and arguably the most significant of these would be her wars against the Portuguese.( Njinga's rule was opposed by Mubanga (mentioned above) who allied with another powerful noble named Hari a Kiluanje, who inturn allied with the Portuguese of Luanda under Fernão de Sousa and occupied the Ambaca fort. The Ndongo kingdom was invaded by de Sousa's allied force in 1626, forcing Njinga out of the kingdom, and enthroning Hari a Kiluanje's son Ngola Hari (after the former had died)( . But unable to hold the country, the Portuguese withdrew a year later enabling Njinga to return and send several embassies to Luanda and Kongo pressing her claim. Kongo's king Ambrósio accepted it and sent gifts recognizing her but the Portuguese made plans for war.( Njinga was again faced with a Portuguese invasion in 1629 but some of her allies had abandoned her; including the Kasanje leader Kasa who went north to Kongo but was driven back. Her forces were defeated after a lengthy battle, her sisters were taken as hostages, and she was forced to flee to join with Kasa's forces. But since Kasa as an Imbangala leader would only accept Njinga into his band without her forces, she chose to become an Imbangala herself, accepting recruited soldiers into a separate command under her senior commander ('Njinga Mona') who became her subordinate and was expected to succeeded her according to Imbangala custom( . Njinga thus turned to Matamba, the old ally of Ndongo, and brought it under her control by 1630. She then launched a re-conquest of Ndongo facing off against the Portuguese in several battles and skirmishes nearly every year from 1630-1650. By the year 1635 retaken the islands of Kindonga. Njinga begun holding Portuguese traders hostage to release her sisters and sent agents to Luanda in 1637 to normalize relations. some of her former kasanje allies moved south and established their own state.( After the Portuguese lost to a combined Kongo-Dutch force in 1642, Njinga pressed her forces forward and retook nearly all of Ndongo, but this drove the Portuguese to create new allies to prepare for war, choosing Ngola Hari as their candidate for Ndongo's throne.( Njinga faced off with a Portuguese force in 1644 and defeated it taking many captive including Portuguese soliders and missionaries, but the Portuguese counter-attacked in 1645-6 and while she had driven them off and captured their supplies, her dispersed army was attacked and defeated. Njinga returned with a much bigger allied army that included Kongo's forces and the Dutch, the combined allied army defeated the Portuguese and their allies at Kumbi in October 1647, again at Ilamba in August 1648, and laid siege to their river fort of Massangano for a month. After Portuguese reinforcements arrived and bombarded Luanda, the Dutch signed (another) peace treaty with them, the relief force's commander Correia de Sá sent letters to Kongo's king Garcia and Ndongo's Njinga imploring them to make peace, judging his forces insufficient to retake the interior.( _**Queen Njinga with captured missionaries**_( _**Map showing the Ndongo-Matamba kingdom during Njinga’s reign**_ Feeling secure in her position as Queen of Matamba and Ndongo, Njinga begun rebuilding her kingdom. Since her former allies of Kasanje had turned hostile in the 1630s, so she encouraged runaway slaves and mercenaries to join her army thus drew the few remaining Imbangala to serve under her command.( Hoping to solve her succession conflict with Ngola Hari (who was pushing his Portuguese allies to invade Ndongo), and institutionalize the Imbangala, Njinga devised an elaborate religious strategy to convert to Catholicism through the auspices of a Kongo missionary whom she captured in 1648. She requested more missionaries to come in 1651, proposed a peace treaty with Luanda in 1654, and documented miraculous apparition that she claimed were incomprehensible to her traditional religious advisors but that compelled her to convert to Christianity. The Luanda governor eventually signed a peace treaty with Njinga, released her sister in 1656, withdrew support of her rival Ngola Hari, and the Queen became Christian.( In January 1657, Njinga summoned her army and informed it that she had ceased the endless campaigns after signing a peace treaty with Portugal, and except a skirmish with Kasanje in 1661, the kingdom of Ndongo-Matamba remained at peace until her death in 1663.( In her ceremonies in Ndongo-Matamba, and in negotiations with the Portuguese in 1655 she was careful to demand that all recognize her sister Barbara as her heir, and knowing that neither she nor Barbara would have any children, she promoted a royal named Joao Guterres Ngola Kanini as Barbara’s husband inorder to ensure that a member of the nobility related to her would continue to rule instead of her very powerful Imbangala general Njinga Mona.( _**Queen Njinga with bow and arrow and battle ax, by Antonio Cavazzi, ca. 1668**_ _**Letter written by Queen Njinga’s to Father Serafno da Cortona, August 15, 1657**_ * * * **Njinga’s successor Queens: the kingdom of Ndongo-Matamba from 1663-1909** Njinga was succeeded by her sister Barbara who, already old, reigned only briefly upto 1666 when she died. A succession dispute involving a complex set of alliances brought Njinga Mona briefly in power until 1669 when he was ousted in favor of Barbara's husband João Guterres, but his death led to the brief return of Njinga Mona before he was ousted again in favor of Francisco in 1671. During this time, the southernmost provinces of Ndongo we split between the Portuguese and the Matamba-Ndongo king Francisco after a peace treaty and the capture of João II, the successor of Ngola Hari, now a former ally-turned-rebel. This ended direct Portuguese campaigns against Ndongo for nearly a century.( With the threat of a hostile state of Kasanje still looming in Ndongo-Matamba's south, Francisco used the opportunity of succession dispute to place an ally on its throne in 1680, but this was short-lived, and a rival candidate gathered allies including the Portuguese to fight Franscico's forces but the Portuguese were defeated in battle in 1681 and their captain was killed. Franscisco also died shortly after this war and was succeeded by his sister Verónica Kandala ka Ngwangwa (r.1681-1721). Veronica revised her alliance with the Portuguese inorder to isolate Kasanje in a treaty she signed in 1683. The queen initiated further expansion by moving against Kahenda in the Dembos region (between Kongo and Angola-colony) in 1688, but decided to consolidate Ndongo-Matamba.( While few of her successors were engaged in further expansion, the kingdom that Njinga and Verónica left behind was no longer the weak, beleaguered state that was about to be swallowed up by the Portuguese colony; instead, Ndongo-Matamba would remain a major central African power in the 18th century, surviving the expansion of the Lunda empire. Verónica’s succession marked a continuation of female rule begun by Njinga, as her successors included the Queens; Ana II (r.1742-1756) , Verónica II (r. 1756-1759), Ana III (1759-1764) and Kamana (1800-1810)( Matamba had again faced off with the Portuguese early during the reign of Ana II in 1744 partly due to rival factions requesting for Portuguese aid but also because the kingdom had blocked trade and attacked the Portuguese market at Cabambe, the Portuguese sent a large force of 26,000 but Ana had retreated from her capital. As the Portuguese were running short of supplies, Ana's envoys were sent to negotiate a treaty, which was accepted and the Portuguese withdrew.( Matamba would continue attacking Portuguese markets in 1755, but the Portuguese were unable to retaliate with any degree of success, the 1744 campaign would be the last major invasion into Matamba until 1909. _**Map of west-central Africa in 1850**_( * * * **Conclusion: Ndongo’s place in African history** The kingdom of Ndongo presents us with many exceptions in African history. As the site of the first and longest-lasting European colony outside north-Africa, the politics of Ndongo were determined as much by internal factors as they were by external actors. The Portuguese had advanced more than 150km into the interior where they would remain for over three centuries, and their colonial threat had a significant influence on the trajectory of Ndongo's history. The devastating invasions in which Ndongo's land was seized and many subjects were enslaved, created the unusual circumstances for the rise of Queen Njinga. Once Njinga had secured her power by permanently ending the Portuguese advance and uniting Ndongo with Matamba, her remarkable feat legitimized her contested reign as Queen. Njinga's shrewd political maneuvers in empowering her sister Barbara as her successor, established a dynasty that successfully preserved Ndongo-Matamba's hard-worn independence, and her precedent enabled the uncontested rule of women as sovereigns. * * * While King Leopold was brutally exploiting African labour of the ‘congo free state’ to obtain rubber, **the same commodity was bringing alot of wealth to Africans in the independent kingdoms of Kongo and Ovimbundu**, right next door. read about it here; ( * * * _**If you like this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal**_ ( * * * Thank you for reading African History Extra. This post is public so feel free to share it. ( ( taken from Linda Heywood’s ‘Njinga of Angola’ ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 23, 43, 56-57 ( Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen by Linda Heywood pg 7 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 58, 54) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 55, 67) ( Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen by Linda Heywood pg 19 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 68-70) ( Legitimacy and Political power by J.K.Thornton pg 29 ( Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen by Linda Heywood pg 9-14 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 70-74, 94) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 82). ( Central Africans, Atlantic Creoles, and the Foundation of the Americas by L. Heywood pg 86 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 85 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 87-89, pg 92-93, Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen by Linda Heywood pg 28 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 101) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 103) ( Converging on Cannibals by Jared Staller pg 76-102, Legitimacy and Political power by J.K.Thornton pg 32 ( Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen by Linda Heywood pg 35-36 ( Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen by Linda Heywood pg 46-48 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 117-122) ( this and other maps in the article are taken from Linda Heywood’s ‘Njinga and Angola” ( ( ( Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen by Linda Heywood pg 60-61 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 130-131) ( Legitimacy and Political power by J.K.Thornton pg 37-40 ( Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen by Linda Heywood 79-84 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 150-152 ( Legitimacy and Political power by J.K.Thornton pg 32 ( Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen by Linda Heywood pg 114 A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 151-156) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 165) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 169-170, Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen by Linda Heywood pg 140-157 ( this and other pictures are taken from Linda Heywood’s “Njinga of Angola” ( Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen by Linda Heywood pg 160-162 ( Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen by Linda Heywood pg 165-192 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 178-182) ( Legitimacy and Political power by J.K.Thornton pg 33 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 186-188) ( Conflitos na dinastia Guterres através da sua cronologia pg 28-31, A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 208-209) ( Conflitos na dinastia Guterres através da sua cronologia pg 37 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 240-241 ( J.K.Thornton)

# The Kingdom of Ndongo and the Portuguese: Queen Njinga and the Dynasty of Women Sovereigns (1515-1909) ## Overview - The Kingdom of Ndongo rose in the highlands of modern Angola and became intertwined with Portuguese colonial interests in central Africa. - Ndongo faced nearly a century of conflict with the Portuguese, leading to significant territorial losses, until Queen Njinga’s leadership halted colonial expansion. ## Historical Context: Formation of Ndongo and Matamba (1515-1580) 1. **Founding of Ndongo and Matamba** - Established in the early 16th century, south of the Kingdom of Kongo in a region known as "Ambundo." - Originally a collection of small polities, Ndongo became prominent under Ngola (Angola) Inene’s dynasty. 2. **Vassalage and Autonomy** - Ndongo and Matamba were vassals of Kongo under King Afonso I, but operated with significant autonomy. - Ngola Kiluanje (r. 1515–1556) expanded Ndongo’s territory, maintaining nominal ties to Kongo while strengthening local control. 3. **Portuguese Interactions** - Portuguese traders began exploring Ndongo, leading to military and political tensions with Kongo. - Despite Kongo's attempts to control Ndongo, the latter maintained their independent expansion efforts. ## Wars with Portugal: Ndongo's Struggle for Independence 1. **Early Conflicts** - Ndongo engaged in military alliances with Portuguese mercenaries during territorial expansion. - Tensions escalated when Kongo's King Afonso I objected to Portuguese presence and influence in Ndongo. 2. **Portuguese Military Campaigns** - The Portuguese launched several military missions against Ndongo, often aligning with Kongo against Ndongo’s ambitions. - Notably, Ndongo achieved military victories against a combined Kongo-Portuguese force at the Battle of Bengo (1580). 3. **Emergence of the Imbangala** - The rise of the Imbangala presented new challenges, as they marauded through Ndongo’s territories, forming fluid alliances with Portuguese forces. ## The Rise of Queen Njinga (1624-1663) 1. **Succession of Njinga** - Following her brother’s death, Njinga initially ruled as a regent, using the title “Lady of Ndongo.” - Upon the boy-king's death, Njinga claimed full queenship, navigating the complexities of her gender in a male-dominated context. 2. **Resistance to Portuguese Invasions** - Facing invasions, Njinga established alliances and adopted Imbangala warfare strategies. - Through military campaigns from 1630-1650, she progressively reclaimed territory, culminating in the capture of forts and territories from the Portuguese. 3. **Diplomacy and Conversion** - Njinga strategically converted to Catholicism, seeking legitimacy and stability for her rule. - She negotiated a peace treaty with the Portuguese, which allowed her to regain power and solidify her kingdom's sovereignty. ## Establishment of a Dynasty of Women Sovereigns (1663-1909) 1. **Njinga’s Succession** - Njinga’s reign laid a strong foundation for female leadership, with her sister Barbara succeeding her. - Following Barbara's short reign, Nyinga Mona briefly ruled before João Guterres ascended, leading to fluctuating power dynamics. 2. **Continuity of Female Leadership** - Verónica Kandala ka Ngwangwa (r. 1681-1721) and other queens continued the legacy of female rule established by Njinga. - These queens successfully navigated internal and external pressures, ensuring the kingdom's continued independence and stability. ### Conclusion: Ndongo’s Historical Impact - The Kingdom of Ndongo illustrates the complex interplay between internal governance and external colonial pressures in central Africa. - Queen Njinga's leadership not only preserved the kingdom’s autonomy but also set a remarkable precedent for women's political power in the region, marking a significant chapter in African history.

Mansa Musa and the royal pilgrimage tradition of west Africa: 11th-18th century

Why Africa's caravans of gold stopped travelling to Arabia.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Mansa Musa and the royal pilgrimage tradition of west Africa: 11th-18th century =============================================================================== ### Why Africa's caravans of gold stopped travelling to Arabia. ( Jan 01, 2023 22 The golden pilgrimage of Mansa Musa was a landmark event in west African history. Travelling 3,000 kilometers across Egypt and Arabia with a retinue of thousands carrying over a dozen tonnes of gold, the wealth of Mansa Musa left an indelible impression on many Arab and European writers who witnessed it and increased their knowledge about west Africa before the Atlantic era. Mansa Musa's journey was part of a royal pilgrimage tradition in west Africa that saw more than 20 sovereigns undertaking the perilous journey to Mecca while still in power. The objectives of these royal pilgrimages have confounded many, it's thought that their ostentatious displays of wealth were intended at attracting commercial attention; that their diplomatic exchanges were for gaining international recognition, and that the multiple journeys undertaken by some west African sovereigns were simply acts of piety. Equally confounding was why, after more than seven centuries, did the practice of Royal pilgrimages suddenly stop. This article provides an overview of the royal pilgrimage tradition of west Africa, it looks at the evolution of the hajj as an important legitimating device in the internal political context of west Africa inorder to explain why it was eventually abandoned. _**Map of Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage route in 1324( **_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Before Mansa Musa; early royal pilgrimages from the empire of Kanem between the 11th-13th century.** West Africans, both royals and non-royals begun gradually adopting Islam in the late 10th century, and like all Muslims, accepted the major pillars of the religion which included the obligation to undertake the Hajj (pilgrimage to mecca). The pilgrimage to Mecca is simultaneously a religious, social, economic and political phenomenon, which has mobilized the faithful from all over West Africa. However, it was in the states of Mali, Songhai and Kanem-Bornu that the practice of this religious duty was most closely associated with the power and functioning of the state.( While there are plenty of references to non-royal pilgrims from west Africa before the 13th century —especially from the Ghana empire— there are relatively few external sources documenting west African rulers making the journey themselves at this time; possibly because the act of pilgrimage hadn't yet acquired the political objective which it would later be associated with. The earliest mention of a royal pilgrimage made by a west African sovereign comes from internal sources, with the first being of the ruler (Mai) of Kanem named Ḥummay (r.1075-1086) who was the founder of the empire’s Sefuwa dynasty. He is credited with the construction of a mosque in Cairo and is said to have died on his way back from pilgrimage. He was soon followed by his successor Dūnama b. Ḥummay (1086-1140) who may have made the pilgrimage thrice. Last among these early pilgrim kings was Mai Dūnama b. Salma (1210-1248) who likely performed a pilgrimage prior to the construction of a school in Cairo in 1242 meant to accommodate Kanem pilgrims and scholars.( The Kanem sultans' construction of schools and lodges for pilgrims and students, which would be emulated by later rulers, was a long-term investment in favor of pilgrims coming from the Lake Chad region, providing the necessary infrastructure to allow the sultans to benefit from local relays and facilitating the logistics of the pilgrimage and scholarship.( Unlike later pilgrimages however, these three early royal hajjs from west Africa are only mentioned in local documents written centuries after the event, but corroboration by external sources only begins in the 13th century. One early royal pilgrimage attested in external accounts was made by a minor mande ruler named Barmandana who according to Ibn Khaldun and al-Maqrizi, performed the hajj prior to the flourishing of the Mali empire's founder Sunjata keita.( _**Map of the Kanem empire in the early 2nd millennium**_ * * * **The Age of Imperial Mali and Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage :14th century** The establishment of a Royal pilgrimage tradition in Mali is tied to the foundation of the empire as recounted in the "sunjata epic" about the first ruler (Mansa) of Mali; Sunjata keita. A central theme in the Sunjata epic is his banishment and subsequent movement from kingdom to kingdom (including to the historic capitals of Ghana and Mema), establishing an arterial network of alliances.( This tradition was likely influenced by a tradition in Mande-speaking groups in which hunters enter the wilderness for considerable periods to learn their craft and survivability, as well as to harness occult power from defined spaces that together constitute a "sacred geography".( Using the alliances he had created in exile including the cavalry from Ghana and Mema and the hunters from various Mande polities, Sunjata defeats the armies of Sumaoro, who had taken over the collapsed empire of Ghana. Sunjata, who took on the title Mansa, then establishes the core of the Mali empire through a combination of diplomacy and war. He creates Mali's “Grand Council” or “General Assembly” led by lineage heads and generals from the allied states.( At this point, while Islam was present in Ghana and a few mande states, the religion was on the periphery of Mali's society which was still dominated by the non-Islamic hunter cults whose adherents featured prominently in Mali's political structure.( In the period after Sunjata's death, a succession conflict pitted the gradually Islamizing council against the hunter guilds, in which the latter's power was eroded and led to the succession of three muslim Mansas; Ulī, Wātī and Khalīfa. These three Mansas are all said to have been sons of Sunjata, but even more importantly, according to Ibn Khaldūn, Mansā Ulī undertook a pilgrimage during the reign of the Mamluk sultan al-Ẓāhir Baybars sometime between 1260 and 1277. _**"This Mansa Uli"**_, says Ibn Khaldun, _**"was one of their greatest kings",**_ and he initiated Mali's northward expansion to Walata and Timbuktu that later would be completed by his later successors.( _**Map of the Mali empire at its height in the late 13th century**_ Mansa Ulī's pilgrimage, the first of its kind for a Mali emperor, was created in the context of internal political rivalry and contested legitimacy. The hajj was transformed into a cultural signifier; combining Mali's pre-Islamic traditions of hunter-journeys to appropriate spiritual power from sacred spaces, with the Islamic obligation of pilgrimage to mecca which takes the pilgrim through the sacred places of Mecca and Medina and gives the pilgrim a spiritual blessing (baraka).( The same internal political rivalry led to the pilgrimage undertaken by Mansa Sākūra in the late 13th century. Sākūra was reportedly a former royal slave that ascended to the throne with support from the council and other important political figures. He came to power after Mansa Khalīfa's courtiers had deposed him infavour of the short-lived boy-king Abu Bakr, when Khalīfa's reign was considered tyrannical. Sākūra is credited with expanding the empire eastwards to the city of Gao, and the description of his accomplishments in external sources bears a striking resemblance with Mansa Mûsâ.( Sākūra went on pilgrimage in 1298, visiting Cairo in the reign of the Mamluk sultan al-Malik al-Nasir b. Qala'un, but is said to have died on the route back from his pilgrimage and he was immediately succeeded by Mansa Qū who was inturn succeed by his son Mansa Muḥammad Qū( . These two rather obscure Mansas, whose relationship with Sākūra are unclear, were unanimously known in tradition as direct descendants of Sunjata unlike Sākūra. It is Mansa Muḥammad Qū who is the subject of a fascinating account about an ambitious voyage across the Atlantic that was recounted by his successor Mansa Mûsâ during the latter's pilgrimage.( _**"We belong to a family in which power is inherited. He who was \ before me did not believe that the ocean was impossible to cross. He wanted to achieve his extremity and was passionate about this project. He equipped 200 boats which were full of men and as many who were filled with gold, water and provisions, enough to face several years. He then said to those who were in charge of these boats: "Do not come back only after you have reached the end of the ocean or if you have exhausted your provisions or your water". They left. Their absence was prolonged. None returned while long periods were flowing. Finally, a boat returned, only one. We asked the chief about what they had seen and learned. “Gladly, O Sultan,” he replied. "We have traveled a long time until the moment when a river with a violent current appeared in the open sea. I was in the last of the boats. The others came forward and when they were in this place, they did not were able to return and disappeared. We don't know what happened to them. Me, I came back from this place there without committing myself to this river". The sultan rejected his explanation. He had subsequently 2000 boats, 1000 for himself and his men and 1000 for water and provisions. Then he installed me as his replacement, embarked with his companions on the ocean and left. That was the last we saw of him and all those who were with him, and so I became king in my own right" .**_( This introduction makes it clear that this was a story about the transmission of power, in which Mûsâ's predecessor attempted an exceptionally ambitious undertaking to legitimate his power (even more grandiose than the hunter journeys and pilgrimages of his predecessors) but ultimately failed to return (just like Sākūra) thus justifying Mûsâ's ascent to the throne. _**“Mûsâ's account of the circumstances of his accession to power is perhaps not to be understood as the somewhat off-topic narration of a failed maritime adventure on the part of his predecessor, but as the argumentation of his own legitimacy to rule"**_.( Its in this context that the famous Mansa undertook his own lavish pilgrimage through the Holy places of Islam, undoubtedly with the same purpose of internal political legitimation as his predecessor, but unlike the ill-fated Atlantic adventure, Mansa Mûsâ succeeded in returning to Mali. Mansa Mûsâ had ascended to the throne of Mali in 1312. Unlike Muḥammad Qū and his father, Mûsâ came from the line of Sunjata’s younger brother Manden Bukari, and the switch from Sunjata's lineage to Bukari's doubtlessly raised questions of legitimacy throughout his early reign and likely influenced the decision to undertake a pilgrimage —just as his predecessors Ulī and Sākūra had done when faced with challenges to their own legitimacy—. Mansa Mûsâ embarked on a pilgrimage in the twelfth year of his reign, arriving in Cairo in 18 July 1324. The number of people accompanying the Mansa on his pilgrimage (8,000-60,000), the amount of the gold they carried (8-12 tonnes), the places they visited, and the dozens of traders and scholars who witnessed and recorded Mûsâ's pilgrimage need not be rehearsed here for the sake of brevity. _**Detail from the Catalan Atlas, ca. 1375, showing Mansa musa holding a golden nugget**_ What's more relevant is the extravagance of the pilgrimage which not only outdid the ambitious Atlantic voyage of Mansa Muhammad, but also earned him external legitimacy from other Muslim powers in a way that utilized an already established tradition( . Mansa Mûsâ acquired the baraka of the ḥajj, was invested with external political currency from his association with the Mamluk sultan al-Nāṣir, and was accompanied by several scholars including "_**jurists of the Malikite school”**_ whom he brought on his return to Mali. He arrived in 1326 through the cities of Gao and Timbuktu that had been subsumed into the empire during his absence.( Claims that Mansa Mûsâ's foreign companions introduced many innovations from the Islamic mainland are exaggerated --for example, the Friday mosque at Timbuktu was only the latest in a very old architectural tradition that was already attested at Gao, Djenne and Kumbi Saleh more than five centuries prior( , and the Maliki school was well established in the cities of Dia-Zāgha, Kābara and Djenne during the Almoravid period, centuries before scholars from these cities moved to Timbuktu.( Even more importantly, the Arab companion that Mansa Musa came with from Egypt (called Abd alRahman) found his knowledge of Maliki jurisprudence to be less than that of the scholars of Timbuktu and was forced to move to Fez for further studies( , Showing that scholarly communities in Mali were not in need of a generous patron like Mansa Musa, nor was his famous Hajj necessary for the Timbuktu scholars to collaborate with their peers in Fez (Morocco). Nevertheless, the pilgrimage greatly augmented Mali's Islamic credentials externally, such that barely two decades after Mûsâ's pilgrimage, the famous globe trotter Ibn Baṭṭūṭa was inclined to visit it in 1352 (possibly on a diplomatic mission), and described what was then an entirely Muslim country. The recognition acquired from Mali's external Muslim peers had rewarded it with regular diplomatic contacts such as with the Marinid sultanate of Morocco and Algeria, without the need for sub-ordination, since the Mansas were recognized as the sole and paramount rulers in Mali.( The Royal Pilgrimage tradition of Mali ended with Mansa Mûsâ, and none of the succeeding Mansas of the remaining three centuries undertook a pilgrimage (despite the increase in non-royal pilgrimages by west African scholars), perhaps an indication that its usefulness as an internal legitimating device had been exhausted. _**Djinguereber Mosque in Timbuktu, the original structure was commissioned by Mansa Musa but was greatly modified during the succeeding centuries**_ * * * **The institutionalization of the Royal Pilgrimage tradition in Kanem from the 14th-15th century** During the time when Mali's royal pilgrimages had been discontinued, the neighboring empire of Kanem continued the tradition of Royal pilgrimage, with many local records of Mais making the journey to mecca that were corroborated by external sources. The hajj of Mai Ibrāhīm b. Bīr (1296-1315), Mai Idrīs b. Ibrāhīm (1342-1366), and Mai 'Abdallāh b. 'Umar (1424-1431) are documented in endogenous and exogenous texts, with al-Maqrīzī mentioning the death of Mai 'Abdallāh on his way back from pilgrimage in 1432. More Kanem royal hajjs are mentioned in local sources including sultan Dāwud b. Ibrāhīm (1366-1376) , Bīr b. Idrīs (1389-1421) and Dūnama b. Bīr (1440-1444), although these three aren't corroborated in external sources.( The 14th century was a period of internal political strife in the Kanem empire, in which an ideological and political conflict between the Islamized Sefuwa dynasty and the heterodox Bulala group led to a protracted war that divided the empire.( Unlike Mali's internal political processes however, the royal pilgrimage tradition wasn't initially conceived as a tool for internal political legitimacy in Kanem, but was instead part of the prerogatives of the empire's sovereigns, who, through their protection (and later participation) in pilgrimage, demonstrated their ability to secure trade routes and ensure the safety their subjects who used them. It's in this context that the first diplomatic embassies were sent by the Kanem rulers to the rulers of Mamluk Egypt by way of hajj, with official envoys of the Mai often organizing and leading caravans to receive and respond to letters of assurances from the Mamluk sultans that guaranteed provisions and safety. These diplomatic exchanges eventually asserted the external legitimacy of the Kanem sovereigns with their external Muslim peers, further enhancing the standing of Kanem's rulers who begun using the title of Caliph/_**amīr al-mū'minīn**_ (Commander of the faithful) by 1391.( _**Map showing the royal pilgrimage route from Kanem-Bornu to Mecca**_( * * * **The Royal Pilgrimage tradition After Mansa Musa: the Age of imperial Songhai and Askiya Muhammad in the 16th century** West Africa underwent a period of major political transformation beginning in the mid-14th century which ended with the establishment of the largest territorial states in its history. The weakening empire of Mali withdrew from its eastern provinces centered at Timbuktu and Gao, with the former being briefly falling under the Tuareg before it was conquered by the breakaway dynasty at Gao led by Sunni ‘Alī who established the empire of Songhai. Further eastwards, the breakaway of Kanem empire’s eastern provinces forced the Mais to establish a new state at Bornu, which rapidly expanded southwards into the Hausalands and northwards into the Kawar and Fezzan region. The Royal pilgrimage tradition of Kanem continued in earnest with the establishment of the Bornu empire, and from 1465 to 1696, between 7 and 9 Mais made or attempted to make the pilgrimage out of a total of 15. Moving back to the western regions, the territory formerly dominated by Mali was quickly falling under Songhai’s control. But unlike Mali's complex process of subsuming distant polities, Sunni ‘Alī's Songhai relied almost exclusively on conquest through warfare and earned him a rather negative reputation among the scholarly community of Timbuktu and Djenne whom he exiled. After Sunni ‘Alī's passing in 1492, his army chose Abū Bakr Dā’u as the next emperor of Songhai, but this was opposed by Muḥammad Ture a high ranking official who raised his forces against the new emperor and defeated him in 1493. Muḥammad Ture then established the Askiya dynasty of Songhai but his rebellion against the deposed Sunni dynasty had little support from the political elites; with his only support coming from the urban scholarly community, which he immediately restored before moving across the empire and replacing its administration with loyalists.( It's in this context of political rivalry and legitimation that the Askiya made preparations for pilgrimage, setting off for mecca in 1496. While the Askiya travelled with a smaller retinue compared to Mansa Musa's it was nevertheless fairly large; with a force comprised of 1,500 infantry and 500 cavalry, that carried some 300,000 mithqals of gold (about 1.4 tones). More importantly, the Askiya's companions included “a group of leaders from every community” that supported his new regime as part of his strategy of establishing a new administration loyal to him.( The Askiya made charitable contributions in Mecca and Medina totaling 100,000 mithqals, and while in Medina he spent another 100,000 mithqals on the purchase of gardens which he converted into an _**“endowment for the people of Takrūr”**_ and another 100,000 mithqals for his own personal trading in Cairo (just like the Mais of Kanem had done). And like Mansa Musa, the Askiya received external political legitimacy from other Muslim powers when he was symbolically anointed as the khalīfa of Songhay by the Abbasid caliph of Cairo to serve as the latter's regent( . This anointment had no real political consequences but imbued the Askiya with a religious/spiritual authority as Caliph/_**amīr al-mu’minīn**_, which further justified his usurpation of power and proved to be a powerful weapon against opposing elites in Songhai. Many of his companions were granted offices in the new administration.( The success of the legitimation of Askiya Muhammad's rule through pilgrimage -among other legitimating devices- can be seen in the unchallenged hold on power that his dynasty enjoyed right up to the fall of Songhai in 1591. Future Askiyas utilized the administrative structures established by Askiya Muhammad to maintain their power and the succession process being largely determined by support of the military (just like the Sunnis) without the need for the perilous journey to mecca. Importantly, the Caliphal title played a major role in the conflict between Songhai and Bornu over suzerainty in the Hausalands, with both empires attempting to justify either's expansion by appealing to rival scholars al-Maġīlī (1425-1505) and al-Suyūṭī (1445-1505) to affirm themselves ideologically.( After Aksiya Muhammad, none of the Songhai emperors saw the need for making the Hajj, despite the continued stream of non-royal pilgrims from west Africa that arrived in mecca and enjoyed the facilities left by the Askiya. The royal pilgrimage tradition in Songhai ended with him. _**Map showing Imperial Songhai at its height in the early 16th century**_ * * * **The peak and decline of the Royal pilgrimage tradition in Bornu: 1484-1696** By the late 15th century, the Royal pilgrimages of Bornu had been transformed beyond their initial function of protecting outbound caravans. The visit of Mai 'Ali Ġāǧī (r. 1465-1497) in Cairo in 1484, within the framework of the pilgrimage, in order to obtain the investiture of the Abbassid caliph al-Mutawwakil II, marked a significant shift in the objective of pilgrimage. 'Ali Ġāǧī's example was followed by Mai Idris Alooma (r. 1564-1596) who made the pilgrimage to Mecca in 1565 to acquire sufficient internal political and religious legitimacy against an opposing dynastic branch( . Idris reportedly spent 220,000 mithqals of gold (about 1 tonne) purchasing goods in Cairo, and further confirmed his authority within Bornu by appointing his companions on the hajj in his administration, and declaring war against rebels who were supported by the rival dynastic branch. ( In both cases, pilgrimage became an internal device for legitimation to reform the administration of the state, much like Askiya Muhammad, but also had an economic dimension by augmenting the already established external trade with Mamluk Egypt. This trade dimension to the hajj was particularly recurrent in Bornu, where another ruler; the Mai 'Alī b. 'Umar (r. 1639-1677) is also recorded bringing gold with him to spend in Cairo in 1648 during his pilgrimage there.( Trade was doubtless part of the objective of the Bornu royal pilgrimages since the Kanem era. For example, diplomatic relations between the Pasha of Tripoli, Muḥammad Saqīzlī and Mai 'Alī b. 'Umar (r. 1639-1677) broke down for 5 years from 1648 to 1653 after the former attempted to monopolize trade with the latter on a right of first refusal basis. But since Bornu's economy was largely agro-pastoral and much less dependent on external trade than Tripoli, Mai 'Alī imposed a trade embargo on Tripoli and re-directed all external trade to Cairo, he also personally lead the different pilgrimage-caravans in 1642, 1648 and 1656, 1677 (performing the most pilgrimages of any west African ruler)( . The Pasha Saqīzlī sent envoys to the Bornu sultan but the latter refused to change his policy, leading Saqīzlī to attack the Bornu caravan with its emperor on its return in 1478. The attack was a failure, Saqīzlī was killed by his finance director (likely because trade had collapsed) and his successor pasha 'Uṯmān Saqīzlī immediately sent envoys to Bornu and restore the old trading agreement that was in place before his predecessor. By 1653, the Sultan of Bornu is recorded sending porcelains to the pasha of Tripoli as trade relations had been resumed.( Purchases made with gold weren't just aimed at increasing external trade, but also for securing the provisions and safety of the Bornu sultan's subjects abroad, following a custom established by the very first Kanem sovereigns. The 16th century Bornu chronicler Aḥmad Furṭū writes about the purchase of a palm grove in Medina by Mai Idris, which was populated by those who had accompanied him on his hajj. Other external sources also describe purchases made by the abovementioned 17th century Mai 'Alī b. 'Umar, who bought houses in Cairo, Medina and Mecca in order to lodge pilgrims and also acquired stores to meet the costs of the houses.( The tradition of establishing lodges along pilgrim routes grew out of a local institution in Kanem-Bornu of controlling mobile populations.( Many pilgrim villages/communities were also established in the eastern neighbors of Bornu especially in the territory of Darfur between the 16th and 19th century, a period which coincided with the gradual shift in the region trade and pilgrimage from northern routes to the eastern routes( even though none of the Mais ever used that route. Many of these pilgrims from Bornu may not have completed the journey to mecca but opted to settle locally and were regarded as saints/holy-men; being credited with the foundation of many scholarly communities and zāwiyas (lodges). Migrations increased to the extent that upto 10% of northern Sudan's population in the early 20th century came from western Chad( . The stream of Bornu pilgrims enhanced the Mai's regional legitimacy among his peers with one of Bornu's neighboring sultans in the kingdom of Darfur saying _**"the only true sultans were those of Borno and Constantinople"**_.( The circulation of scholars between Bornu and Egypt greatly increased during this period partly due to the royal pilgrimages (as well as the non-royal pilgrimages) During a pilgrimage to Mecca, Mai 'Ali Ġāǧī stopped in Cairo to consult with al-Suyūṭī, who reports that _**“they studied with \ a certain number of \ works, more than twenty, \ and other works"**_.( The intellectual exchanges between Bornu and Egypt occurred during a period of great intellectual debate in the Bornu capital about the origin of its ruling Sefuwa dynasty, which, like many Muslim dynasties, had initially claimed superficial prestigious origins from the Himyarite king of Yemen Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan who was important in early Islamic traditions. This superficial genealogy marked out the Kanem rulers as true Muslims in a region that was at the time still considered predominantly non-Muslim in external literature.( But the abovementioned conflict between the now multiple Muslim dynasties of west africa (especially with the Askiyas who were now also considered Caliphs) forced the Sefuwa of Bornu to seek even more prestigious superficial genealogies. Beginning with the monumental work of Aḥmad b. Furṭū on Bornu's history in the 16th century, the Himyarite genealogy was combined with the Quraysh genealogy (from which the prophet Muhammad originated), placing the Bornu sultans at the same level as their rivals; the Ottomans and Moroccans, and above their west African peers. Claims of Quraysh descent were universally coldly received whether they were made by Ottomans or Moroccans, and it was no different in Bornu. But the frequent royal pilgrimages of the Kanem rulers greatly transformed the image of the hajj; especially given that the Quraysh tribe's direct association with Mecca and Medina, which now made it appear that the Bornu rulers who went there on pilgrimage were simply returning to the homeland of their ancestors.( The royal pilgrimage in Bornu therefore acquired a multidimensional objective that was political, economic and religious, but more importantly, it was largely situated in the local and regional context based on evolving and overlapping practices of political legitimacy of Bornu, and its these practices that explain why it was eventually abandoned. _**Map of the Bornu empire in the 17th-18th century.**_( * * * **The end of the Royal pilgrimage tradition: Sokoto and west Africa’s age of revolutions in the 19th century** The 17th century saw the appearance of another practice of legitimization of the power of the Mais of Bornu: that of mysticism and personal charisma which directly competed with and eventually displaced the practices based on prestigious genealogies and enforced by the royal Hajj. This new practice had been been utilized by the most prolific hajji of all the Bornu rulers; Mai 'Alī b. 'Umar (1639-1677), whose mystical aura was such that according to an external writer; the Pasha of Tripoli _**"feared that the Arabs would take the opportunity to revolt against him, seeing in their country a king, African and who lived in the opinion of holiness among the Muslims".**_( But just like the previous traditions utilizing the Caliphal title and the Quraysh descent that were also appropriated by neighboring kingdoms like Wadai and DarFur( , and the royal pilgrimages that were nearly adopted by the neighboring kingdom of Bagirmi and Kano( , the dialectic of power around mysticism in Bornu couldn't be monopolized by the Sefuwa sultans, as it was also appropriated and successfully used against them by Bornu's many vassals who utilized the new legitimating device to break off from Bornu's suzerainty when the latter was weakening.( By the 18th century, the usefulness of the pilgrimage as an internal legitimating device had been exhausted, the last external record of a Bornu sultan making the hajj was in 1696 by Mai Idrīs b. 'Alī (r. 1677-1696)( . He passed away on his return trip from mecca in the Fezzan region of southern Libya, and was buried in the ancient Kanem provincial capital of Traghen where his whitewashed tomb became a minor pilgrimage site.( While at least three more Mais are said to have performed the Hajj in the early 18th century especially Mai Ḥamdūn (1715-1729) who also studied in Cairo( , their pilgrimages weren't corroborated in external sources.( From the 18th to 19th century, West Africa's political landscape was transformed in a political revolution that saw the emergence of "theocratic" states such as Sokoto, Massina and Futa Toro, that were established by a highly learned scholarly class that sought to create an orthodox Islamic administration. Paradoxically, none of these theocratic leaders ever performed the obligatory hajj( , and while they acknowledged its religious relevance, they claimed they could not perform the Hajj due to their political positions. The theocratic elite went to great lengths to guarantee the safety of non-royal west African pilgrims, and the the Hajj caravans became specialized and institutionalized with chiefs, supervisors, heads of caravan subgroups, resting stations and military escorts.( As a legitimating device, the Hajj had by then completely lost its political relevance, the theocratic elite performed the pilgrimage mentally through wanderlust literature, and just like in Bornu; mysticism and personal charisma became the main legitimating devices of an ideal leader in Sokoto; beginning with its founder Uthman Fodio.( _**“They say that I have been to Mecca and Medina, and they have no doubt about it, These qualities are attributed to me by many people, and I must say they are wrong.”**_ Uthman dan Fodio, _tahdhir al-ikhwan_, ca. 1811, Sokoto. _**Map of the Sokoto empire.**_ * * * **Conclusion: the function of west Africa’s royal Hajj in African history.** Far from being an ambitious quest for international recognition, the Royal pilgrimage tradition was a uniquely west African institution that served a mostly internal objective. West African states like Mali, Songhai and Bornu developed a set of discourses and customs in order to consolidate their authority and legitimacy regionally and later internationally. The obligatory hajj to mecca was adopted by west African royals as the powerful legitimating device especially during times when their internal legitimacy was contested and when they wanted to demonstrate their regional authority. Its adoption transformed and complemented pre-existing customs inorder to create a unique Royal pilgrimage tradition which became an established institution in the region. The Royal Hajj evolved with time to become a potent external legitimating device, it was turned into an important commercial exercise involving cross-cultural diplomatic and intellectual exchanges in which west African Muslim states were fully recognized as independent powers led by Caliphs. The Royal Hajj was however not the only lever of legitimacy used by the west African royals, and overtime other legitimating devices were borrowed from several registers such that the pilgrimage tradition was eventually abandoned by west African sovereigns despite their increased commitment to the religion. The brilliant theater that was Mansa Musa's pilgrimage and other west African kings who went after him was therefore **not primarily intended for the foreign audience which it impressed but for the local audience from whom the kings drew their power.** _**March of a caravan out of Cairo to Mecca**_, ca 1700, (British museum 1982,U.1593) * * * The **Mali empire** was instrumental in **preventing the early colonization of west Africa** during the Atlantic era, read about its **diplomatic and military encounters with Portugal** on Patreon; ( * * * _**If you liked this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal**_ ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Map by Juan Hernandez ( Islamic Scholarship in Africa by Ousmane Oumar Kane pg 94-96 ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 223, 249, The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 3, pg 325 ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 250) ( Beyond Timbuktu By Ousmane Kane, In Search of Sunjata by Ralph A. Austen pg 48) ( In Search of Sunjata: The Mande Oral Epic as History, Literature and Performance by Ralph A. Austen pg 20 ( In Search of Sunjata by Ralph A. Austen pg 19 African dominion by Michael Gomez pg 77-79) ( African dominion by Michael Gomez pg 82, 84, 87) ( African dominion by Michael Gomez 94) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 3 pg 379 ( African dominion by Michael Gomez pg 97) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 3 pg 380 ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 3 pg 380 ( African dominion by Michael Gomez pg 100) ( Le Mali et la mer (XIVe siècle) by François-Xavier Fauvelle pg 3-4) ( Le Mali et la mer (XIVe siècle) by François-Xavier Fauvelle pg 5-11 ( The Course of Islam in Africa by M. Hiskett pg 94,99) ( African dominion by Michael Gomez pg 121-125) ( Historic Mosques in Sub-Saharan Africa pg 107-8 ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg xxviii n19 ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John Hunwick pg 73-74 ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 3 pg 394-5, African dominion by Michael Gomez pg 145-146-7, 155-158) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 224) ( History Of Islam In Africa by Nehemia Levtzion pg 80 ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 246-249, 319) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 233 ( African dominion by Michael Gomez pg 221-226) ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by J. Hunwick pg 103-104 ( History Of Islam In Africa by Nehemia Levtzion pg 70, Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by J. Hunwick pg 105 ( African dominion by Michael Gomez pg 234-235, 246-247) ( Kano relations with Borno : early times to c. 1800 by Bawuro M. Barkindo pg 155) ( Royal Pilgrims from Takrūr According to ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jazīrī (12th–16th Century)by Collet Hadrien pg 193-194 ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 31, 248-252) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 224 ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 4, pg 94 ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 36-38, The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 4 pg 121-122 ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 250) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 4, pg 59-62, Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 337-338 ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 3 pg 237, Vol 4, pg 57 ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 243-5 ( The Darfur Sultanate by (Rex Sean O'Fahey, pg 79) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 55) ( The Legend of the Seifuwa: a study in the origins of a tradition of origin by Abdullahi Smith pg 20) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 315-320) ( mapmaker; twitter handle @Gargaristan ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 320-322) ( History Of Islam In Africa by Nehemia Levtzion pg 120 ( the only Hausa ruler of Kano who attempted a pilgrimage in 1649 was deposed after just 9 months, see The government in Kano by M.G. Smith pg 158 ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 323-324, The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol 4 pg 133-4 ( _**the two hajjis of this region —the 18th century figures Abd al-Qadir of Bagirmi and al-Kanemi of Bornu— went on pilgrimage before they were rulers**_ ( Les lieux de sépulture by D Lange pg 156) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol 4 pg 96 ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 225 ( _**only Al-Hajj 'Umar Tal of Tukulor performed the pilgrimage in 1828-31, but this was before he was a ruler**_ ( A Geography of Jihad by Stephanie Zehnle pg 198-219) ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 5, pg 155-6, History Of Islam In Africa by Nehemia Levtzion pg 86.

# Mansa Musa and the Royal Pilgrimage Tradition of West Africa: 11th-18th Century ## Introduction - Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 is a landmark event in West African history, characterized by his vast wealth and the large retinue that accompanied him. - His journey left a lasting impression on Arab and European historians, highlighting the significance of West Africa before the Atlantic era. - The royal pilgrimage tradition in West Africa involved various rulers undertaking the Hajj, with over 20 sovereigns making the journey for reasons of commerce, diplomacy, and religious obligation. ## Early Royal Pilgrimages (11th-13th Century) 1. **Islamic Adoption in West Africa**: - West Africans began adopting Islam in the late 10th century, with a growing number of adherents accepting the obligation to perform Hajj. - The practice was particularly prominent in the Mali, Songhai, and Kanem-Bornu empires. 2. **Early Pilgrimage Records**: - Few references exist to royal pilgrimages in West Africa prior to the 13th century, primarily due to the lack of political significance associated with the journey at that time. - The first documented royal pilgrimage from Kanem was by ruler Mai Ḥummay (r. 1075-1086), followed by his successor Dūnama b. Ḥummay. 3. **Infrastructure Development**: - The Kanem sultans constructed mosques and schools to support pilgrims, establishing vital infrastructure for the journey to Mecca. ## The Age of Imperial Mali and Mansa Musa’s Pilgrimage (14th Century) 1. **Foundation of the Mali Empire**: - The royal pilgrimage tradition in Mali began with the empire's establishment by Sunjata Keita, who created alliances through his journey. - Sunni Islam gradually integrated into Mali's political system, impacting succession disputes. 2. **Mansa Musa's Pilgrimage**: - Mansa Musa ascended to the throne in 1312 and undertook his pilgrimage in 1324, traveling with an estimated 8,000 to 60,000 people and carrying 8 to 12 tonnes of gold. - His pilgrimage aimed to legitimize his authority and secure external recognition, enhancing Mali's Islamic credentials. 3. **Return and Impact**: - Musa returned to Mali in 1326, further legitimizing his reign through associations with other Muslim powers. - His pilgrimage did not introduce significant innovations to existing Islamic practices in Mali, as local scholarship was already well-established. ## Discontinuation of Royal Pilgrimages After Mansa Musa 1. **End of the Tradition**: - Following Mansa Musa's pilgrimage, no subsequent Malian rulers undertook the Hajj, indicating a shift in the perception of its political utility. 2. **Continued Pilgrimages in Kanem**: - Kanem rulers continued royal pilgrimages, with documented journeys by various Mais, reflecting a different approach to legitimating power. 3. **Askiya Muhammad and Songhai**: - In the late 15th century, Askiya Muhammad of Songhai undertook a significant pilgrimage to Mecca, seeking legitimacy and further enhancing his rule. - His journey included substantial charitable contributions, symbolizing his authority and linking him to the Caliphate. ## The Decline of the Royal Pilgrimage Tradition 1. **Transformation in Bornu**: - The Bornu Empire saw a change in pilgrimage objectives, focusing on acquiring political legitimacy and engaging in trade during the 16th and 17th centuries. - Royal pilgrimages increasingly became vehicles for establishing authority and securing economic gains. 2. **Rise of Mysticism and Personal Charisma**: - By the 17th century, the emergence of mysticism as a legitimizing tool diminished the importance of the pilgrimage. - The Sefuwa dynasty of Bornu faced competition from vassal states that used mysticism to assert independence. 3. **Final Discontinuation**: - By the 18th and 19th centuries, the royal pilgrimage tradition had effectively ended, with new forms of legitimization emerging in theocratic states like Sokoto. - The Hajj lost its political significance, as leaders claimed inability to perform the pilgrimage due to their political roles. ## Conclusion - The royal pilgrimage tradition in West Africa evolved from a tool of political legitimacy to a less relevant practice, reflecting the changing nature of power and authority in the region. - Although Mansa Musa's pilgrimage was intended for local audiences to legitimize his rule, it garnered international recognition for Mali. - The abandonment of the Hajj by West African rulers illustrates the dynamic interplay between political, economic, and religious factors in the region's history.

Empire building and Government in the Yorubaland: a history of Oyo (1600-1836)

Why Africa's internal political processes explain African history better than external actors.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Empire building and Government in the Yorubaland: a history of Oyo (1600-1836) ============================================================================== ### Why Africa's internal political processes explain African history better than external actors. ( Dec 18, 2022 27 For over two centuries, the region of south-western Nigeria populated by Yoruba-speakers was home to one of the largest states in west Africa after the fall of Songhai. The rise of Oyo empire as the dominant state of the Yorubaland owed much to its complex political structure, whose elaborate system of government that distributed authority among different institutions, enabled Oyo to project its power across a relatively vast region covering nearly 150,000 sqkm. The gradual evolution of these same political structures that enabled Oyo’s success, eventually led to the empire’s decline. This article outlines the political history of Oyo from the rise of the empire to its collapse, including a description of its internal political organization, in order to explain why pre-colonial Africa’s internal politics explain the trajectory of Africa’s history better than external actors. _**Map showing the maximum extent of the Oyo empire at its height in the late 18th century**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Origins of Oyo; from the city-state to kingdom to empire. (12th-16th century)** The early history of Oyo is inextricably entwined with the settlement of the Yoruba-speakers in what is now south-western Nigeria and their creation of monarchical forms of government in this region between the late 1st and early 2nd millennium. The emergence of Imperial Oyo in the 17th century is predated by the establishment of the kingdom of Oyo during the 14th century around its capital Oyo-ile, which was itself first occupied between the 8th and 12th century.( The city of Oyo-ile was at the center of the much of Oyo’s political and cultural history, and like many cities in the Yorubaland, Oyo's urban settlement was closely associated with political power. It consisted of a relatively dense but dispersed settlement pattern divided into the built-up area with its palaces, religious buildings, specialist workshops, houses, and the agricultural area, all of which were enclosed in a series of concentric system of walls and ditches as new additions were made after a significant increase in the city's population( . Covering over 52 sqkm, Oyo-ile was among the largest cities of west-africa due to the nature of its settlement which housed an estimated 100,000 at its height from the 17th and 19th century. Accounts from the 1820s described the city as a large cosmopolitan city surrounded by multiple walls over 20ft in height.( Early in the 16th century, the kingdom of Oyo had been subjected in dramatic fashion to the influence of its northern neighbors in events that were distantly related to the political transformations that followed the displacement of the Mali empire by Songhai (whose power extended to **Borgu**/Ìbàrìbá in the north of the modern Benin republic) and the establishment of the Bornu empire west of lake chad (whose power extended to the Hausalands in northern Nigeria). Oyo was overrun by invaders from **Nupe** to its north-east, forcing parts of its royal dynasty to seek temporary refuge in Ibariba in the north-west and others to relocate their capital southwards to the city of Igboho, from where they eventually managed to defeat the Nupe.( Oyo remained a state of minor importance until the early 17th century when its ruler Aláàfin Abípa re-established and resettled the old capital Oyo-ile. The state then underwent a period of expansion under Abípa's successors Obalokun and Ajagbo during which it extended its political influence southwards over large parts of the Yorubaland at an imperial scale, and greatly transformed its institutions of governance which were then spread across much of the region.( _**Perimeter walls of Òyó-Ilé**_( _**a few of the ruined sections of Oyo-ile’s walls still standing at just under 4 meters, the city was sacked and abandoned in the 1830s and most of its ruined structures quickly deteriorated in the humid climate**_ * * * **The government in Imperial Oyo: political intuitions in the 17th century** From the 17th century, Oyo had a system of government in which the power of the king, or Aláàfin, was balanced by the _**òyómèsì**_ , a seven-person state council comprised of the heads of prominent lineages in the capital Oyo-ile that acted as a check on the Aláàfin’s power. Their offices in order of seniority were; _**Basorun**, Agbakin, Samu, Alapini, Laguna, Akiniku_ and _Asipa_. They met with the Alaafin in the palace to make all laws and take the highest decisions of government including the election of a new Alaafin from a pool of royal candidates, and when dissatisfied with the reigning Alaafin could order his deposition by instructing him to take his own life.( The Alaafin was in charge of approving the state's offices of administration and acted as the highest judicial authority, while the _Basorun_ served as the commander of the army, who also nominated war chiefs serving under him called _Eso_, that supplied the cavalry forces of the army. Relations between the state council and the Alaafin were in turn mediated by the priestly leaders of the _**Ogboni**_ cult of the earth of whom the state councilors were members but held little power over.( Below these were several administrative offices and councils, especially the palace offices often populated by eunuchs, most notably; the _Ona Efa_ (Eunuch of the Middle), the _Otun Efa_ (Eunuch of the Right), and the _Osi Efa_ ('Eunuch of the Left). Below the eunuchs were the _ajele_ who were drawn from the palace by the Alaafin and appointed as provincial governors of Oyo settlements. Below these were the royal messengers called _ilari_, some of whom served as envoys to foreign kingdoms, relayed requests from the capital to the provinces, and collected tribute from vassal states.( Within the army, the cavalry forces became the backbone of Oyo military strength and sustained its imperial expansion. While Oyo wasn't self-sufficient in horse breeding --being located along the margin of the tsetse-infested forest zone-- it could replenish its horses through trade with its northern neighbors, most notably the Nupe at the market town of Ogodo, as well as from Borgu and the Hausalands. Horses could survive in the northern provinces of Oyo where they were primarily kept and tended to by servants from the north (often Hausa), the latter of whom are also introduced horse-equipment to Oyo including horse-bits, saddles and stirrups.( _**The Alaafin of Oyo and his officers on horseback, surrounded by attendants, National archives U.K, 1911**_ * * * **Strategies of Oyo expansion and settlement until the late 17th century** Oyo’s imperial expansion proceeded in a number of ways including; the creation of **Oyo settlements** in the frontier that were populated by loyal elites and subjects from the capital; the creation of **client states** through both diplomacy and warfare; and the creation of **vassal states** often through warfare. Oyo's authority was primarily expressed indirectly; in the Oyo settlements it was done through resident provincial governors who were inturn supervised by the royal messengers, in the client states it was done through the preexisting rulers (_oba_/king or _baale_/chief) that were approved by the Alaafin, and in vassal states it was exercised through the royal messengers who collected tribute( . For the core territories of Oyo, the system of government at the capital was repeated on smaller scale in the provincial towns from which taxes and duties were collected from traders in exchange for increased security through military protection. The expansion of Oyo utilized a mixture in the use of these different strategies.( An example is in the upper-osun region that was contested between Oyo and the kingdom of Ilésà. The forces of Oyo moved against Ilesa during the reigns of 17th century Alaafins; Obalókun and Àjàgbó, ostensibly to punish Ilesa for brigandage activities in the region, but more likely to extend Oyo's hegemony over the emergent kingdom. This conflict ultimately ended with a stalemate as Ilesa was at best only a client state of Oyo, the latter of which was allowed by the former to establish an Oyo settlement at Ede-ilé.( Recent archeological excavations indicate that the 82ha town of Ede-ile was established in the early 17th century, the presence of Oyo-ile ceramics, spindle whorls, cowries, as well as iron and cloth dyeing workshops, horse remains, and baobab trees indicate that the town was established by settlers from Oyo-ile.( Similar Oyo settlements were established across the empire including as far north as at Okuta and as far south as at Ifonyin in Egbado.( (see blue lines on the map below) Conversely, Oyo's attempts at military-driven expansion during this early stage produced mixed results. Its attempts to conquer regions to its south-east especially in Ijesha, during the reign of the Alaafin Obalókun, were met with defeat when the cavalry forces failed to take the forested regions; "the Oyos being then unaccustomed to bush fighting".( Oyo's forces saw better success northwards in parts of Borgu approaching town of Bussa, as well as in the north-east where the towns of Ògòdò and Jebba were taken from the Nupe and westwards where it established suzerainty over Sábe kingdom.( Oyo’s most important institutions crystalized during this period (in the 1st half of the 17th century). Most of these changes were influenced by the decisive role played by the alliances made between the exiled Oyo dynasties of the 15th century and the various groups which harbored them( . These included the elevation of the office of the state council’s leader the _Basorun_ who was also the head of the army and often of Ibariba origin, and the _Alapini_ was from the allied Nupe factions.( But to counteract the power of the state council and to discontinue personal command of the army, the Alaafin Ajagbo also instituted the title of _Are ona Kakamfo_, who served as the commander-in-chief of the provincial forces.( The long reign of Alaafin Ajagbo which ended in the late 1680s was followed by a succession of 9 short-lived rulers who were often deposed by the state council, and their campaigns of expansion were mostly unsuccessful. This period produced the first recorded instance of an Alaafin (Odarawu) being forced by the council to abdicate and take his life, the first instance of Oyo's army storming its capital to fight its own Alaafin (Karan) after he deposed the council, and the increasing importance of the crown prince's office called Aremo. This interregnum of internal political turmoil in Oyo ended with the ascension of Alaafin Ojigi in the mid-1720s, who is credited for Oyo's greatest expansion.( _**Map showing the settlements and military conquests of Oyo between the 17th and 18th century**_ * * * **The era of military expansion in the early 18th century** For its south-western expansion, Oyo utilized a mix of diplomacy and military intimidation, enabling it to turn the kingdoms of Sabe and Kétu into client-states by the early 17th century, and opening the way for a further expansion south into the Egbado polities by 1625 (shown as 'Gbado' in the map above). Oyo settlements were also established in this region at Ìlarò, and Ifonyin among others, of which Ìlarò became the most dominant under its founder Òrónà who extended political control over several polities and communities in the region.( The governors of these Oyo settlements were were typically recalled to the capital after serving 3 years, but by the late 18th century were required to abdicate office upon the ascension of a new Alaafin.( Further westwards, Oyo expansion relied almost entirely on military conquest. The extension of Oyo's political influence over the rest of Egbado between the 1670s and 1680s had brought it into conflict with the kingdom of Allada, a powerful state whose vassals included Wydah and Dahomey. After some internal political conflicts in Allada, a group of its subjects travelled to Oyo-ile in 1698 and petitioned the Alaafin to intervene against their King's "mis-governance", to which the latter sent envoys to the king of Allada who promptly killed them. Oyo's cavalry invaded Allada in 1698/9 and overrun its capital forcing its king to flee and loosening Allada's suzerainty over its vassals Dahomey and Whydah, but Oyo didn't consolidate its victory over Allada.( Succession disputes in Allada following Oyo's invasion further degraded its internal politics. A dispute between King Soso of Allada and his brother Hussar, saw the latter seeking the aid of king Agaja of Dahomey to install him, while Soso averted this alliance by allying with Whydah in 1722, this proved ephemeral as Agaja invaded Allada in 1724. Agaja took up residence in Allada's capital, forcing Hussar out.( Hussar, fled to Oyo-ile and petitioned Alaafin Ojigi to intervene, who then dispatched a cavalry force which invaded and defeated Agaja's army in Allada in May 1726, forcing the king of Dahomey to flee from the capital. But Oyo's forces withdraw shortly after since the horses couldn't survive long in the region, and Agaja re-occupied Allada's capital, leaving Hussar an exile in Whydah. Agaja later conquered Whydah's capital Savi during march 1727 after a political conflict over trade customs with its king Hufon.( While king Agaja's envoys had sent presents to the Alaafin's court to placate the latter's dreaded cavalry, but the deposed king Hufon of whydah appealed to Oyo for military aid to reinstall him in his capital Savi, even as Agaja was also offering Hufon his throne back in exchange for tribute. Hufon opted to ally with Oyo, which promptly invaded Dahomey's capital Abomey several times nearly every year from 1728-1732.( In the first of the Oyo invasions led by the _Basorun_ Yau Yamba in 1728( , Dahomey’s king Agaja evacuated his capital and took his subjects into the forested regions which forced the Oyo armies to turn back, allowing him to return and rebuild. In the 2nd invasion of 1729, Oyo's forces dispatched units to hunt down Agaja in the forests and occupied Dahomey as long as they could (from May to July) to force them into submission( . Oyo's 3rd invasion of Dahomey in 1730 forced Agaja to negotiate; sending his prince (the future king Tegbesu) to Oyo-ile as a hostage, arranging a royal intermarriage, and gifting the Alaafin Ojigi with many presents/tribute( Ojigi also sent Yau Yamba to the eastern frontiers of the empire into the region of Ibolo during the early 1730s. This campaign used the Oyo settlement at Offa as the launching ground for the campaign, but Oyo’s forces were withdrawn after their commander had fallen with his horse.( Back at the capital, the increased power of Ojigi's crown-prince was strongly opposed by the state council, they therefore instructed both Ojigi and the Aremo to take their life in 1830, and greatly reduced the office of the crown prince.( _**Entrance to Dahomey’s king Behazin's palace in Abomey, Benin republic, showing the ruins of King Agada’s palace that was built around 1720,**_ photo from quai branly * * * **The era of consolidation in the mid 18th century** Ojigi was succeeded by a relative weak Alaafins; Gberu and Amuniwaiye who were unable to counter internal opposition from the state council. The former attempted to influence the council by appointing an allied lineage head named Jambu as the _Basorun_, but the two didn't get along and both eventually took their lives the latter after the former. Alaafin Amuniwaiye didn't fare any better, being compelled to eliminate the deceased _Basorun_ Jambu's allies in the council before he was himself forced to take his life.( The campaign against Dahomey in 1730 had reduced the Mahi kingdom (sandwiched between Dahomey and Oyo) into a vassal state that allied with Oyo against Dahomey. Agaja retaliated by besieging Mahi's capital Gbowele in 1731-2 and ceasing the payment of tribute to Oyo, but internal circumstances after Alaafin Ojigi's death in 1730 (exlained above), prevented Oyo from invading Dahomey.( The ascension of the more capable Alaafin Onísílé in 1746 altered Oyo's relations with Dahomey and the latter was invaded in 1742 and 1743 forcing the king Tegbesu to retreat from Abomey which along with the city of Cana was burned by Oyo's cavalry before they withdraw. Between 1745-7, Tegbesu tried placating Oyo with gifts but neither of the kings could agree on the amount of tribute to be paid, and in 1748 Oyo's forces invaded Dahomey and forced Tegbesu to flee, before the latter negotiated a higher tribute that was acceptable to Oyo.( However, Onisile was instructed to take his life by the state council after an act of sacrilege to his palace, its during this time that the _Basorun_ Ga (also spelt Gaa/Gaha) rose to prominence. After Onisile, two Alaafins reigned in close succession; Labisi (r. 1754), Awonbioju (r. 1754) and they were both deposed after being compelled to take their lives by Ga who increasingly subjected the crown and government to his personal rule.( Alaafin Awonbioju was succeeded by Alaafin Agboluaje (r. 1754-1768) who managed to survive relatively longer than his predecessors because he submitted to Ga's authority. As the _Basorun_, Ga had a lot of influence which was enhanced by the circumstances of his rise, he took over collection of tribute and customs from the settlements and provinces using his sons instead of the royal messengers, and reduced the Alaafin to receiving a stipend. Ga was likely an expansionist and he requested the Alaafin Agboluaje to attack the vassal ruler of Ifonyin (the Oyo settlement) named Elehin-Odo, but when the Alaafin refused, Ga instructed him to take his life. Atleast one frontier war occurred under Ga in 1764 when an Oyo army stationed in the area of Atakpame (modern Togo) defeated an Asante army (from modern Ghana).( Oyo under Ga underwent a period of consolidation during when there were no major additions to the empire. Its during this time that Dahomey remained a loyal vassal state paying tribute annually and contining to do so for over 70 years (1748-1818/23). Some Oyo institutions were adopted by Dahomey including royal seclusion, use of eunuchs in offices, as well as messengers (_wensagon/lari_), and the master of the horse (_sogan_). Unlike Oyo's more proximate provinces, these institutions weren't introduced to Dahomey by Oyo settlers (since the Oyo messengers only came to collect tribute at Cana) but by the Dahomean elite to enhance their own power.( The Alaafin Agboluaje was succeeded by Alaafin Abíódún, who bid his time to overthrow the _Basuron_ Ga by raising forces of loyal supporters in the provinces that were opposed to the conduct of Ga's sons. Around 1774, Ga instructed Abiodun to take his life after losing confidence in his short reign, but Abiodun rejected the instruction. The allies of Abiodun led by the provincial commander Oyabi of ajase, battled with Ga's forces who they later defeated and killed.( The Oyo empire attained its greatest territorial extent under Abiodun with the formal integration of the small coastal polities centered at Badagry and Porto Novo.( But Oyo's armies were less formidable at the frontier as they had earlier been, an invasion of Borgu in 1783 in order to suppress a rebellion was met with defeat( , and the Alaafin chose to rely on his dependencies notably Dahomey under Kpengla (1774-1789), whose armies were allowed by Oyo to attack other vassals like Badagry and Wèmè that were perceived to be rebellious, but were restrained from attacking loyal vassals like Arda.( _**Porto-Novo in the early 20th century. The port settlement was established by exiled Allada royals, was called Àjàsé while under the Oyo empire (not to be confused with the similarly named Ajase of the governor Oyabi mentioned above)**_( * * * **The domestic economy of Oyo during the 18th century** There were no major changes made in Oyo's political structure during the reign of Abiodun save for the formation of a short-lived standing army, and the prominence of the offices of the crown prince and provincial commander at the expense of the council. Oyo’s internal economic structure is best understood during this period. State revenues were collected from the extensive use of turnpike tolls, market levies, and taxes that were collected from the capital, the Oyo settlements in the provinces, and as tribute from the client states and vassal states. These taxes and tribute were primarily paid in cowries, but also in commodities such as cloth, and in tribute such as slaves, as well as horses and agricultural products.( The bulk of Oyo's population —as in most pre-modern societies— was involved in agriculture, but there was also a substantial crafts industry employing specialist laborers who supplied local markets with domestic manufactures. The best described local industry was the production of embroidered and dyed textiles made from the various cotton and indigo fields whose cotton and dyes were worked by specialist weavers in towns across the empire as described by various visitors in the early 19th century. An external account of a visit to the town of Ìjànà in 1826 noted that it had “several manufactories of cloth.” and “three dye-houses, with upwards of twenty vats or large earthen pots in each,” all busy producing excellent indigo and “durable dye,” which formed an important capital in local trade. Other industries include leather goods, iron smelting, ivory and bronze casting, wood carving and pottery.( (despite the internal turmoil of the early 19th century, explorer accounts of Oyo still describe an empire that was economically vibrant, generally peaceful, and safe for travelers External trade southwards to the Atlantic coast increased during the 18th century when many of the ports in the ‘_bight of Benin_’ were under Oyo's suzerainty. Like all states along the Atlantic coast, captives from Oyo came from very dispersed sources and were often procured by private merchants, as the state was more focused on taxing trade (in general) rather than creating the supply.( Since enslaving Oyo subjects was forbidden and often strictly enforced as long as the state was powerful enough to do so, private traders would purchase captives from frontier markets in the north, or would acquire those captured after war, or those enslaved locally or as punishment for crimes.( Oyo's external trade northwards towards the Hausalands, Borgu and Nupe markets was primarily focused on the acquisition of horses, salt, natron, and captives, as well as manufactures such as leatherworks and dyed-textile clothing to supplement the locally manufactured products.( _**Indigo-dyed cotton textiles from yorubalands**_, early 20th century, quai branly _**Indigo-Dyed cotton wrapper from Oyo**_, early 20th century, British museum Af1991,14.1 _**Embroidered robes made from the city of Ilorin,**_ late19th/early 20th century, State museum Berlin * * * **Breakdown and collapse in the late 18th and early 19th century** The Alaafin Abiodun passed away in 1789 and the state council re-asserted their eroded power in opposition to the crown-prince Adesina who briefly reigned before he was instructed to take his life by the _Basorun_ Asamu. The Alaafin Awólè was elected by the state council which hoped to influence his administration as he was perceived to be weak. But Awole clashed with Asamu over restitution of a Hausa trader's belongings, quarreled with the _Owota_ (an _Eso_ who was one of the top military officers) named Lafianu over an execution, and nearly committed an act of sacrilege by ordering an attack on the city of ile-Ife which harbored a rebel, his forces were also defeated by the Nupe in 1890-1.( The most significant internal crisis under Awole was the increasing opposition from Afonja, who was the provincial commander and was based in the city of Ilorin. Afonja's grandfather Pasin and father Alagbin had fought in the revolts against the _Basorun_ Ga leading upto 1774, and had been appointed to Ilorin by Awole to keep him away from the capital as Awole feared that Afonja harbored ambitions to succeed him. As relations between the two continued to sour, Awole ordered Afonja to attack the near-impregnable city of Iwere hoping to get rid of him, but Afonja organized a mutiny instead and allied with the disgruntled _Basorun_, the _Owota_ and several other provincial nobles who besieged Alaafin Awole in Oyo-ile and instructed him to take his life, ending his reign in 1796.( (_**This was the first instance of a Basorun -the head of the armies of Oyo- requiring military aid to depose an Alaafin**_) The Empire begun its long decline following the death of Awole. The Egba provinces broke off in 1797 and Afonja's city Ilorin emerged as a rival center of power after he was betrayed by the _Basuron_ who chose a different candidate as Alaafin because he feared the former’s strength. Afonja replaced many provincial governors in the central regions of Oyo with his own using his own army, during which time 3 Alaafins were elected in close succession between 1897-1802 and a failed attempt was made to dislodge Afonja from Ilorin when the _Basorun_ organized a military alliance with mercenaries from Ibariba. A weak Alaafin Majotu (r. 1802-1830) was elected unleashed centrifugal forces across the empire as powerful vassal states such as Dahomey effectively became independent by 1818-1823, and Afonja's Ilorin fully seceded from Oyo and allied with Sokoto empire (which by then controlled the Hausalands). Effective power in the capital lay with the crown-prince Adewusi who briefly reigned after Majotu's passing in 1830 before he was removed by the _Basorun_.( By the 1830s, the southern provinces of Egba were fully independent and the northern provinces of Oyo had been overrun by Sokoto’s forces —which also killed Afonja and seized Ilorin—. The last Alaafin of the Oyo empire fell in battle against the Sokoto forces in 1836 and the empire's old capital was abandoned, the kingdom was later reconstructed in a much reduced state with its capital at Ọ̀yọ́-Àtìbà (new-Oyo). _**Alaafin's palace at new-Oyo**_, 1911, British museum * * * **The government in Oyo, and how Africa’s internal political institutions determined African history.** The organization of power in the empire of Oyo provides an excellent example of the dynamic nature of political institutions in pre-colonial Africa that allows us to understand the evolution of social complexity within the African context. Oyo's distribution of power between the Alaafin and the state council, was a product of the complex nature that enabled the empire's emergence through alliances between autochthonous and foreign elites.( This form of distribution of power (which is also attested in a number of African kingdoms from the Hausa and Swahili city-states to the kingdoms of Kongo and Loango) enabled Oyo to overcome initial constraints in territorial expansion by providing it with a demographic and military advantage to establish distant settlements, and build up its formidable cavalry forces. But the equilibrium between the two institutions often shifted during transitional periods of military expansion and election of new Alaafins, and it gradually reinforced the state council's position against the Alaafin, who was inturn forced to secure his authority by creating an alternative military system using provincial nobles. The involvement of militant provincial nobles by the Alaafin could only be sustained when the center was strong, but when the center weakened so much that even the _Basorun_ required military aid, provincial nobles (eg Afonja) used the opportunity to carve out their own states. A similar evolution in government occurred in Kongo, where the shifting balance of power between the Kings, the state council, and the provincial nobles (the daSilvas of Soyo), which had earlier enabled the kingdom's expansion, eventually led to its disintegration. (Its not particularly unique to Africa either, since its a common theme in the rise and fall of empires across the world) [African History Extra\ \ The kingdom of Kongo and the Portuguese: diplomacy, trade, warfare and early Afro-European interactions (1483-1670)\ \ The kingdom of Kongo is one of Africa's most recognizable pre-colonial states, but its history is often narrated with the theme of tragedy, from the virtuous and sympathetic king who was betrayed by his shrewd European "brother" that undermined his authority and rebuffed his complaints, to a kingdom torn apart by slavery caused by European interlopers, …\ \ Read more\ \ 3 years ago · 9 likes · isaac Samuel]( The government in Oyo is another case in which internal Africa political processes rather than external actors, provide us with a better understanding of African history in its local context. It was the evolution of political institutions of Oyo that enabled its expansion and decline; **the trajectory of the Oyo empire did not depend on the ebb and flow of the Atlantic world’s economic demands, but on the internal political processes of the Yorubaland.** _**The view from Ọ̀yọ́-Àtìbà, 1953**_ * * * During the ancient times; **Africans travelled and lived in the Roman Europe just as Romans travelled into Africa**; read about this and more in; ( * * * _**If you liked this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal**_ ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. * * * **INCASE YOU HAVEN’T BEEN RECEIVING SOME OF MY POSTS IN YOUR EMAIL INBOX, PLEASE CHECK YOUR “PROMOTIONS” TAB, MOVE IT TO YOUR “PRIMARY” TAB AND CLICK “ACCEPT FOR FUTURE MESSAGES”. Thanks.** ( Revisiting old Oyo by C. A. Folorunso pg 8, Urbanism in the Preindustrial World by Glenn R. Storey pg 155) ( African Civilizations: An Archaeological Perspective by Graham Connah pg 155-156) ( Urbanism in the Preindustrial World by Glenn R. Storey pg 155-157) ( The Yoruba: A New History by Akinwumi Ogundiran pg 163-173) ( Kingdoms of the Yoruba By Robert Sydney Smith pg 34-35) ( The Yoruba: A New History by Akinwumi Ogundiran pg 243 ( Kingdoms of the Yoruba By Robert Sydney Smith pg 36, The Constitutional Troubles of Ọyọ in the Eighteenth Century by R. C. C. Law pg 28) ( The Constitutional Troubles of Ọyọ in the Eighteenth Century by R. C. C. Law pg 29-30) ( A History of the Yoruba People by Stephen Adebanji Akintoye pg 262, The Constitutional Troubles of Ọyọ in the Eighteenth Century by R. C. C. Law pg 30-31) ( A West African Cavalry State: The Kingdom of Oyo by Robin Law pg 4) ( Kingdoms of the Yoruba By Robert Sydney Smith pg 37, The Yoruba from Prehistory to the Present by By Aribidesi Usman pg 128 ( Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa by J. Cameron Monroe, Akinwumi Ogundiran pg 242-243) ( The Yoruba: A New History by Akinwumi Ogundiran pg 207-208) ( Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa by J. Cameron Monroe, Akinwumi Ogundiran pg 239-240) ( The Yoruba: A New History by Akinwumi Ogundiran pg 192 ( The Constitutional Troubles of Ọyọ in the Eighteenth Century by R. C. C. Law pg 10). ( The Yoruba: A New History by Akinwumi Ogundiran pg 198) ( _**This paragraph condenses two seemingly contradicting statements about the origins of the Basorun vs the Oyo dynasty, the former of whom is considered by some scholars to be autochthonous and that the latter was “foreign” resumably Ibariba or Nupe,**_ see; Early Oyo history reconsidered by B. A Agiri pg 8-9 ( _**This contradicts with the footnote above by reversing the identities of the Basorun vs the Old oyo dynasty by using the names of the basorun to argue for their non-yoruba identity**_, see The Yoruba: A New History by Akinwumi Ogundiran pg 191-192 ( The Constitutional Troubles of Ọyọ in the Eighteenth Century by R. C. C. Law pg 31) ( The Constitutional Troubles of Ọyọ in the Eighteenth Century by R. C. C. Law pg 30-32) ( The Yoruba: A New History by Akinwumi Ogundiran pg 209) ( The Cambridge History of Africa. Volume 4 pg 232) ( The Kingdom of Allada by Robin Law pg 113) ( The Slave Coast of West Africa, 1550-1750 by Robin Law pg 278-280) ( Wives of the leopard by Edna G. Bay pg 58, The Slave Coast of West Africa, 1550-1750 by Robin Law pg 281-282, Ouidah by Robin Law pg 52) ( Ouidah by Robin Law pg 53, Wives of the leopard by Edna G. Baypg 83) ( The Cambridge History of Africa. Volume 4 pg 241) ( The Slave Coast of West Africa, 1550-1750 by Robin Law pg 289-291) ( Wives of the leopard by Edna G. Bay pg 53,64) ( A History of the Yoruba People by Stephen Adebanji Akintoye pg 259) ( The Constitutional Troubles of Ọyọ in the Eighteenth Century by R. C. C. Law pg 32) ( The Constitutional Troubles of Ọyọ in the Eighteenth Century by R. C. C. Law pg 32-33) ( The Slave Coast of West Africa, 1550-1750 by Robin Law pg 293-295) ( The Slave Coast of West Africa, 1550-1750 by Robin Law pg 320-324) ( Kingdoms of the Yoruba By Robert Sydney Smith pg 38) ( The Constitutional Troubles of Ọyọ in the Eighteenth Century by R. C. C. Law pg 33-34, Kingdoms of the Yoruba By Robert Sydney Smith pg 38, ( Wives of the leopard by Edna G. Bay pg 110-118) ( The Constitutional Troubles of Ọyọ in the Eighteenth Century by R. C. C. Law pg 37) ( The Constitutional Troubles of Ọyọ in the Eighteenth Century by R. C. C. Law pg 25-26) ( Kingdoms of the Yoruba By Robert Sydney Smith pg 35) ( A History of the Yoruba People by Akintoye, Stephen Adebanji pg 259) ( The Constitutional Troubles of Ọyọ in the Eighteenth Century by R. C. C. Law pg 36, n47 ( The Yoruba: A New History by Akinwumi Ogundiran pg 263-264) ( The Yoruba: A New History by Akinwumi Ogundiran pg 263-266) ( A History of the Yoruba People by Akintoye, Stephen Adebanji pg 184 ( A History of the Yoruba People by Akintoye, Stephen Adebanji pg 264-5, 278-279) ( The Yoruba from Prehistory to the Present by Aribidesi Adisa Usman pg 141-151) ( The Yoruba: A New History by Akinwumi Ogundiran pg 243) ( Kingdoms of the Yoruba By Robert Sydney Smith pg 39) ( The Constitutional Troubles of Ọyọ in the Eighteenth Century by R. C. C. Law pg 39 ( The Constitutional Troubles of Ọyọ in the Eighteenth Century by R. C. C. Law pg.

### Title: Empire Building and Government in Yorubaland: A History of Oyo (1600-1836) #### Overview This analysis explores the internal political processes of the Oyo Empire and demonstrates how these internal dynamics better explain African history than external influences. --- ### I. Historical Context 1. **Geographical and Demographic Background** - The Yoruba-speaking region of south-western Nigeria included one of the largest states in West Africa post-Songhai. - The Oyo Empire covered approximately 150,000 square kilometers, indicating its extensive reach. 2. **Emergence of the Oyo Empire** - The Kingdom of Oyo was established around the 14th century with the capital at Oyo-ile. - Oyo-ile was a significant urban center, housing around 100,000 residents and protected by extensive walls. 3. **Political Turbulence** - The early 16th century saw Oyo fall to northern invaders (Nupe) but later rebounded under the leadership of Aláàfin Abípa in the early 17th century. --- ### II. Political Structure of the Oyo Empire 1. **Government Framework** - The Oyo Empire operated under a dual power structure where the king (Aláàfin) and a seven-member state council (_òyómèsì_) balanced each other's power. - Key positions in the council included _Basorun_ (army commander) and several lineage heads. 2. **Decision-Making and Challenges** - All major laws and decisions required council approval, including the election and deposition of the Aláàfin. - This system created a complex interplay between authority, military leadership, and governance. 3. **Military Organization and Expansion** - The Oyo military relied heavily on cavalry forces, sustained through trade with northern regions. - Initial military campaigns expanded Oyo’s territory but also exposed vulnerabilities, particularly against southern regions like Ijesha. --- ### III. Expansion of the Oyo Empire 1. **Methods of Expansion** - Oyo’s growth involved diplomatic client states and military actions leading to the formation of settlements and vassal states. - Examples include the establishment of settlements in regions such as Ede-ile and conflicts with kingdoms like Ilésà. 2. **Military Engagements** - Successful campaigns increased territorial control, particularly northward against Nupe and Borgu, while southern conquests met resistance. - Diplomatic engagements with neighboring kingdoms were also crucial, exemplified by Oyo's intervention in Allada's succession crises. --- ### IV. Economic Structure 1. **Revenue Generation** - The empire’s wealth stemmed from taxes, tolls, and tribute from vassal states, often paid in cowries or commodities. - Agriculture formed the backbone of the Oyo economy, supplemented by a crafts industry known for textiles, leather goods, and ironwork. 2. **Trade Networks** - Oyo's external trade flourished through ports under its control, with interactions involving the acquisition of horses and trade goods. - Captive acquisition for trade was regulated; enslaving Oyo citizens was forbidden, steering traders to other sources for captives. --- ### V. Decline of the Oyo Empire 1. **Internal Strife** - Following Alaafin Abiodun’s death in 1789, the state council regained power, leading to instability and multiple short-lived rulers. - Afonja, a provincial commander, rose in opposition, exemplifying the fractures within the empire. 2. **Fragmentation and Collapse** - By the early 19th century, powerful vassal states like Dahomey and Ilorin effectively gained independence. - The last Alaafin fell in battle against the Sokoto forces in 1836, marking the end of the empire's traditional structure. --- ### VI. Conclusion: Significance of Internal Political Processes 1. **Internal Versus External Influences** - The rise and fall of the Oyo Empire illustrate how its internal political dynamics overshadowed external factors in shaping its history. - The evolution of Oyo’s governance systems played a crucial role in both its expansion and eventual disintegration, emphasizing the importance of local political processes in understanding African history. --- By detailing the historical context, political structure, expansion methods, economic systems, and decline of the Oyo Empire, this analysis underscores the empire's reliance on internal political processes rather than external actors.

An African civilization in the heart of the Sahara: the Kawar oasis-towns from 850-1913

castles, salt and dates

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers An African civilization in the heart of the Sahara: the Kawar oasis-towns from 850-1913 ======================================================================================= ### castles, salt and dates ( Dec 11, 2022 12 The central Sahara may be the world's most inhospitable environment, but it was also home to one west Africa's most dynamic civilizations. The picturesque oases of Kawar in northern Niger; with their towering fortresses, multi-colored salt-pans and shady palm-gardens, were at the heart of west Africa's political and economic history, facilitating the production and exchange of commodities that were central to the urban industries of the regions' kingdoms. This article explores the history of the Kawar oasis towns from the 9th century, it includes an overview of the production and trade of salt in Kawar and the role of its oasis-towns in the political and economic history of the central Sahara. _**Map showing the Kawar Oases( **_ * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Description of Kawar and its early history: 850-1050** Kawar comprises a 80-km series of fortified Oasis towns in north-eastern Niger, on the eastern edge of the Ténéré desert. From the north, the string of Oasis towns begins with the Djado cluster, that includes the towns of; Djaba, Djado, Chifra and Seguedine, which were occupied as early as the 11th-14th century based on material recovered from Djaba. Settlements comprise agglomerated stone and mudbrick structures, as well as fortresses with square towers, date-palm gardens, wells. The main towns of Kawar are located just south of this Djado cluster, and they include the towns of Aney, Gazebi/Gasabi, Emi Tchouma, Dirku, Bilma, Fachi, and Agadem. These settlements comprise substantial rectilinear stone and mud-brick structures, large square fortresses, mosques, date-palm gardens, wells and salt-pans.( The role of Kawar in the trans-Saharan trade was well known in the medieval sources from the 9th century and local sources from the 16th century; the main towns at that period were Gasabi, Bilma, and Djado. The town of Gasabi was among the oldest settlements in Kawar and is the largest of them, covering 320 acres including the 20ha town itself and 300 acres of gardens. Tradition of its original inhabitants called the _**Gezebida**_ —who now reside in the towns of Aney and Emi Tchouma— claim that the town was surrounded by a perimeter wall and that it was conquered by the _**Tebu**_/Teda after a long battle.( Kawar was first documented by Ibn Abd al-Hakam the 9th century and is associated with the north African conquest of the Rashidun general Uqba b. Nāfi in the 7th century, who reportedly seized its main citadel (although this may be anachronistic)( . The Kawar towns of Gasabi and Bilma were first mentioned by al-Muhallabi (d. 963) as the major Oasis towns which travelers went through to reach the kingdom of Kanem in the lake chad basin, its likely that Gasabi was originally inhabited by Ibadis.( In the mid 12th century, the geographer Al-idrisi provided the most detailed description of the Kawar oasis towns; Qaşr Umm Īsā (Djado?) and al-Qaşaba (Gasabi) with their “date-palms and wells of sweet water” as well as the production and export of a mineral called _"shabb_" from the salt-mining oasis towns of Kawwār to markets in Egypt and in the maghreb, which was said to be without equal in quality( . He also identifies the Kawar town of Ankalās (Kalala) —which he located south of Gasabi and north of _Tamalma_ (Bilma)— that reportedly had mines of pure _shabb_, that was gathered from the mountains. Al-idrisi's “_shabb_” may relate to Kawar’s alum trade which was directed towards north Africa, but he may have combined it with the large scale of salt-mining from Kawar oases.( _**ruins of Djado surrounded by date-palm trees**_ _**Djaba**_ _**ruins of Dabassa (Chirfa) and Séguédine**_ _**ruins of Bilma**_ * * * **Kawar under the Kanem-Bornu empire: 1050-1759** The inhabitants of Kawar consist mainly of the Tebu, who are more closely connected to the highlands of Tibesti in northern chad, and the Kanuri, who are associated with the empire of Kanem and Bornu. The Kanuri are the older part of the population that's associated with the earliest settlements, and the part that is most closely connected to the salt production, they were likely contemporaneous with the foundation of the oldest towns during the time when the Ibādīs were active in the central sahara.( The earliest traditions associating the Kanem empire with the Kawar oasis towns was during the reign of the Kanem emperor (_**Mai**_) Arku (r 1023-1067) whose mother was said to have been born in Kawar. Arku is credited with the establishment of Kanuri settlers in the region of Kawar from Dirku to Séguédine, but this settlement may have been short-lived since Kawar is mentioned to be under an independent king according to al-Idrisi (d. 1165).( It was during the reign of Mai Dunama Dibalami (1210-1248) that Kanem firmly extended its control over the oasis towns of Kawar as part of its northward conquest of the Fezzan (southern Libya) where the Kanem ruler established his provincial capital at Traghen. The Kanem control of southern and central Libya lasted over two centuries and its attested in external accounts by Ibn Sa'id (d. 1286) and al-Umari (d. 1384) who mentioned that Kanem’s political influence extended to the town of Zella, a few hundred kilometers south of Libya’s coast( . The Kanuri legacy in southern and central Libya remains visible with the ruins of Kanem cities such as Traghen, the use of Kanuri wells in various oases towns of southern Libya, and the population of Kanuri speakers.( **Read more about the Kanem-Bornu conquest of Libya on Patreon:** ( Kawar-type oasis communities of the Kanuri extended further northwards during this period, for example, just south of Traghen is the fortified oasis town of Ganderma built in the same fashion as the Kawar oasis towns. The town contains many old wells built during the Kanem era, which still bear their original Kanuri names as recorded by Nachtigal in the mid-19th century, suggesting that Ganderma represented one of the old settlements of the Kanuri in southern Libya.( While the oasis towns of Kawar were located along an important trans-Saharan trading route, few appear to have been dependent on the commercial and political conditions of this trade, as the basis of their existence was entirely concerned with the exploitation of Salt. In the 15th century, only one of the oasis towns; Gasabi, was known for trade, while the rest of the towns, especially Bilma and Dirku were exclusively associated with the salt and alum trade.( The Tebu who presently form a local political elite in Kawar, arrived in the area around the 15th-17th century from the Tibesti region of northern Chad( . The nominal ruler of the entire Kawar was always a Tebu, and some of the oasis towns such as Dirku were occasionally considered "capitals" of Kawar, and were the residence of a _tomagra_ chief, a title held by Tebu rulers who were connected to the Tibesti region, that also used Kawar as a halting station on the route from Bornu through Murzuq to Tripoli( . The Gezebida who previously inhabited the town of Gasabi and are now settled in the northernmost oasis towns of Ayer and Emi Tchouma, are products of the intermarriage between the Kanuri and Tebu.( _**Map showing the migrations from the Tibesti region between the 13th and 19th century**_( The political relationship between the Tebu and Kanuri was however more fluid than the hierarchical one of Kanem. For example, the town of Séguédine appears to have remained under local Kanuri control even after the Tebu’s arrival, with a chief bearing the title '_Mai_' Gari. Similarly, the cluster of towns from Djado to Djaba were settled entirely by the Kanuri and were more connected to the town of Fachi than other Kawar towns, with the Kanuri community at Djado lasting until the mid-19th century when the town became a majority Tebu settlement.( Additionally, despite the use of the Tebu title of _tomagra_ by the elites at Dirku, the town's ruling class (called the _Tura_) claimed to be clan from Bornu in the eastern shores of lake Chad (where the Kanem rulers eventually re-located), and the rulers of Kawar’s other towns including Bilma, often carried the title of _Mai_, claiming to be subjects of Bornu.( Re-established in the 15th century on the western shores of lake Chad, the empire of Bornu retook Kawar during the reign of Mai Ali Gaji before 1500, who took the town of Fachi.( The Bornu conquest of Kawar was continued by Idris Aloma who conducted expeditions into several oasis towns especially Fachi and Bilma, forcing the local Tubu elite to seek refuge in the surrounding regions, but most of them eventually submitted to Bornu's rule such as the rulers of Djado who sent a delegation to Mai Idris. While Gasabi isn't treated as target of Idris' campaigns, it was nevertheless included among the other Kawar towns (along with Bilma and Dirku) that brought horses to the king of Bornu. The salt trade from Kawar was thereafter oriented towards the Bornu region where it was traded southwards to the Hausalands and other parts of west Africa.( _**Séguédine**_ _**Djado**_ _**Dirku**_ _**Fortresses of Fachi, and Aney**_ * * * **Kawar under Tuareg rule from 18th-19th century; Salt production and trade in the central Sudan** Beginning in the early 18th century, the decline of Bornu's military strength led to its loss of the Kawar region to the forces of the Tuareg especially after the battle of Ashegur that was fought near the town of Fachi in 1759-1760( . The Tuareg then established their own political system over Kawar, which was controlled through the office of an appointed figure called the _Bulama_, and they then shifted the Kawar salt trade through their territories. The Tuareg possessed a less centralized/hierarchical political structure than Bornu, as they constituted independent segments/clans that recognized the authority of a nominal king (_Amenokal_) who was based at Agadez. In Kawar, the most prominent Tuareg clan were the Kel Owey; their activities there were almost entirely confined to the lucrative salt trade which they funneled through Agadez and the Hausa cities.( It is during the 18th and 19th century when we get a more complete description of the structure of salt production and trade from Kawar. The individual owners of salt pits in Kawar often went to the local chieftain to receive permission to dig them, and in exchange paid a duty/tax, but the individuals could transfer or sell their salt-pits at will. The majority of the owners of salt-pits and their workers were Kanuri, but some included the Teda, and the average Kanuri owned anywhere between 4 to 20 salt pits. In theory, the salt pits and the surrounding land belonged to the local chieftains (and to their Bornu and Tuareg suzerains) but this was largely formal rather than practical. Each salt-basin owner paid a small tax to the local chieftain, the latter of whom then remitted it to the Bulama, whose then passes it on to his counterpart on the Tuareg side; the _Sarkin Turawa_ (who represents the king of Agadez) and who also received the duty at the beginning of each caravan.( The vast majority of those who worked the salt pits of Kawar were free and were the owners of their own pits, rather than enslaved people who had been brought to work the mines —as earlier scholarship had wrongly surmised—( . The bulk of the salt-mining labor was supplied by other family members but in the case of wealthy mine owners, this was supplemented by wage-laborers paid in salt. While slaves formed a minority of the population in the Oasis towns and weren't needed for salt production but for mostly domestic activities, wealthy salt-pit owners would occasionally include slave labor in salt mining and these were paid half the wages of the wage laborers.( The technique of salt production is based on the evaporation of subsoil water that has passed through layers of salt and is collected in pits dugs to a depth of 2 meters and a breadth of 20-25 sqm. Different layers of salt are formed of varying quality after a number of weeks, and the process required little human assistance making the work generally non-intensive. The best quality salt were called _**beza**_, which are shaped into salt-cakes of 4-6kg while the coarser ones are called _**kantu**_, which are blocks of 15-20kg, with a single salt-pit producing around 4-5 tonnes each season, or about 40-50 camel loads of salt. An average of 30,000 camels a year are estimated to have carried 2-3,000 tonnes of salt a year during the 19th century from the salt-mines of Kawar, which was just under a third of Bornu's annual production of 6-9,000 tonnes.( The oases of also produced red natron especially at Dirku, while white natron was taken from Djado and Séguédine.( Besides salt, the other source of wealth in Kawar was date-palms. Gardens of dates were first mentioned in the 9th century and there are 100,000 of these by the mid 20th century, many of these dates are of high quality and are sold regionally in the Saharan region of Aïr (where the Tuareg are centered), and unlike the Kanuri dominated salt-production, the growing and sale of dates also involved the Tebu.( _**Saltpans of Bilma**_ _**date-palms of Djado**_ Trading was conducted between the Kanuri and the Tuareg through client relationships overseen by the _Bulama_ and the _Sarkin Turawa_, during the two main trading seasons of the year when caravans arrived at Kawar. The salt was often exchanged for grain, livestock and pastoral products at relatively fixed prices and the grain was often stored in Agram for resale throughout the Oasis towns, the salt was also exchange for textiles and other commodity currencies used in long distance trade. Since the 18th century, much of the southwards trade was controlled by the Tuareg who were involved in the regional trade for grain grown in various Sahelian cities where large farms owned by Kanuri and Hausa merchants produced the primary grain demanded in Kawar. One wealthy merchant in the Kanuri city of Zinder (kingdom of Damagaram) was Malam Yaro, the son of a Kanuri merchant and a Tuareg woman, who invested in the salt and grain trade between the Tuareg and Kawar and built up a large-scale business from west Africa to north Africa.( _**Malam Yaro’s house in Timbuktu (left), 1930, quai branly**_ The salt from Kawar was used for a variety of industrial, culinary, medicinal purposes. The main function of salt besides its consumption by people and livestock was; as a mordant in dyeing textiles; in the making of soap and ink; in the leather industry for tanning hides and skins; and in treating various medical ailments. Kawar’s natron had a high demand in Hausa city-states especially prior to the 19th century when textile dyeing required the use of white natron, and in the Bornu and Hausa markets where leather trade was a significant crafts industry.( The grain and other agricultural products received in exchange for Kawar's salt enabled the Oasis towns to sustain relatively large populations that would otherwise be impossible to maintain in the arid environment.( _**abandoned houses in Fachi**_ _**abandoned houses in Djado**_ * * * **Kawar from the Ottoman and Sannusiya era to French colonialism; 1870-1913** By the mid-19th century, the Ottoman conquest of the Fezzan region (southern Libya) forced the its local elite; the Awlad Sulaiman, out of their capital at Murquk and into the Kawar and Tibesti regions where they took to raiding trade caravans and caused a general state of insecurity in the region. The Kel Owey provided little military assistance to the inhabitants of Kawar against these raids, so the latter's local rulers sought the aid of the Ottomans who flushed out the Awlad Sulaiman brigands by 1871. In response to the Kel Owey's apathy, the Kawar elite sent more requests to the Ottomans in the 1875 and 1890 to formally occupy Kawar, but these were not fulfilled until 1901, by which time, the rulers of Kawar had switched their allegiance to the Sanussiya brotherhood.( The Sanussiya were the main political and commercial organization of the central Sahara in the late 19th century, and had attracted many Tebu and Kanuri from Kawar as initiates, constructing lodges in Djado and Bilma between the 1866 and the 1890s( . However, Kawar never become as important to their activities as other regions (such as Wadai), especially considering the French advance from the south. Beginning in 1906, French forces gradually occupied the towns of Kawar, meeting little resistance until Djado where a number of skirmishes were fought beginning in 1907 and ending with the French occupation of the town in 1913.( While some of the Kawar oases like Bilma and Dirku remained important centers of salt and natron production, the rest of the towns such as Djado were abandoned in the mid-20th century, their ruins gradually covered by the shifting sands of the Sahara. _**Djaba in winter**_ * * * As the example of Kawar has shown, the Sahara desert wasn’t an impenetrable barrier that divided Africa. During the ancient times; **Africans travelled and lived in the Roman Europe just as Romans travelled into Africa**; read about this and more in; ( * * * **On Kanem-Bornu’s conquest of southern and central Libya;** ( * * * _**If you liked this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal/Ko-fi**_ ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( taken from; l-Qasaba et d'autres villes de la route centrale du Sahara by Dierk Lange and Urbanisation and State Formation in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond by Martin Sterry, David J. Mattingly ( Urbanisation and State Formation in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond by Martin Sterry, David J. Mattingly pg 303-304, 305-306 ( Al-Qasaba et d'autres villes de la route centrale du Sahara by Dierk Lange and Silvio Berthoud pg 21) ( The Oasis of Salt: The History of Kawar, a Saharan Centre of Salt Production Knut S. Vikør pg 150 ( Al-Qasaba et d'autres villes de la route centrale du Sahara by Dierk Lange and Silvio Berthoud pg 22, Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 161 ( The Oasis of Salt: The History of Kawar, a Saharan Centre of Salt Production Knut S. Vikør pg 295, 169 ( The Desert-Side Salt Trade of Kawar by Knut S. Vikør pg 123-5, Al-Qasaba et d'autres villes de la route centrale du Sahara by Dierk Lange and Silvio Berthoud pg 28, 33) ( The Desert-Side Salt Trade of Kawar by Knut S. Vikør pg 115, Al-Qasaba et d'autres villes de la route centrale du Sahara by Dierk Lange and Silvio Berthoud pg 36, The Oasis of Salt: The History of Kawar by Knut S. Vikør pg 161-163, 169 ( Al-Qasaba et d'autres villes de la route centrale du Sahara by Dierk Lange and Silvio Berthoud pg 37) ( The kingdoms and peoples of Chad by Dierk Lange pg 252 ( Kanem, Bornu, and the Fazzān: Notes on the political history of a Trade Route by B. G. Martin ( Al-Qasaba et d'autres villes de la route centrale du Sahara by Dierk Lange and Silvio Berthoud pg 31-32) ( Al-Qasaba et d'autres villes de la route centrale du Sahara by Dierk Lange and Silvio Berthoud pg 32-33) ( The Oasis of Salt: The History of Kawar, a Saharan Centre of Salt Production by Knut S. Vikør pg 50,63 ( Al-Qasaba et d'autres villes de la route centrale du Sahara by Dierk Lange and Silvio Berthoud pg 23, 29, An Episode of Saharan Rivalry: The French Occupation of Kawar, 1906 by Knut S. Vikor pg 702) ( Al-Qasaba et d'autres villes de la route centrale du Sahara by Dierk Lange and Silvio Berthoud pg 37) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 178 ( The Oasis of Salt: The History of Kawar, a Saharan Centre of Salt Production by Knut S. Vikør pg 59) ( The Oasis of Salt: The History of Kawar, a Saharan Centre of Salt Production by Knut S. Vikør 190, An Episode of Saharan Rivalry: The French Occupation of Kawar, 1906 by Knut S. Vikor pg 702) ( The Oasis of Salt: The History of Kawar, a Saharan Centre of Salt Production by Knut S. Vikør pg 188) ( Al-Qasaba et d'autres villes de la route centrale du Sahara by Dierk Lange and Silvio Berthoud pg 38-39, Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 275 ( The Oasis of Salt: The History of Kawar, a Saharan Centre of Salt Production by Knut S. Vikør pg 212 ( An Episode of Saharan Rivalry: The French Occupation of Kawar, 1906 by Knut S. Vikor pg 702-703) ( The Desert-Side Salt Trade of Kawar by Knut S. Vikør pg 118) ( The Desert-Side Salt Trade of Kawar by Knut S. Vikør pg 118, The Oasis of Salt: The History of Kawar, a Saharan Centre of Salt Production by Knut S. Vikør pg 91 ( The Desert-Side Salt Trade of Kawar by Knut S. Vikør pg 118-120) ( The Desert-Side Salt Trade of Kawar by Knut S. Vikør pg 122, 135, The Borno salt industry by P. Lovejoy pg 639 ( The Borno salt industry by P. Lovejoy pg 630 ( The Oasis of Salt: The History of Kawar, a Saharan Centre of Salt Production by Knut S. Vikør pg 34-233 ( The Desert-Side Salt Trade of Kawar by Knut S. Vikør pg 127-128, 139 ( The Borno salt industry by P. Lovejoy pg 635-636 ( The Desert-Side Salt Trade of Kawar by Knut S. Vikør pg 139, ( An Episode of Saharan Rivalry: The French Occupation of Kawar, 1906 by Knut S. Vikor pg 704-712 ( Libya, Chad and the Central Sahara By John Wright pg 92-94 ( An Episode of Saharan Rivalry: The French Occupation of Kawar, 1906 by Knut S. Vikor pg 712-714).

### An African Civilization in the Heart of the Sahara: The Kawar Oasis-Towns from 850-1913 **Overview of Kawar (850-1050)** 1. **Geographical Location**: Kawar is a series of fortified oasis towns located in north-eastern Niger, along the eastern edge of the Ténéré Desert, extending over 80 kilometers. 2. **Key Towns**: The Djado cluster, which includes Djaba, Djado, Chifra, and Séguédine, shows evidence of occupation dating back to the 11th-14th centuries. The main Kawar towns include Aney, Gazebi/Gasabi, Emi Tchouma, Dirku, Bilma, Fachi, and Agadem. 3. **Architectural Features**: Settlements feature stone and mudbrick structures, large square fortresses, mosques, date-palm gardens, and wells. 4. **Role in Trade**: By the 9th century, Kawar was recognized as a significant player in trans-Saharan trade, with towns like Gasabi, Bilma, and Djado identified as key locations used by travelers heading to the Kanem kingdom. **Historical Context and Economic Significance (1050-1759)** 5. **Inhabitants**: The population consisted primarily of the Tebu and the Kanuri, the latter being associated with the Kanem-Bornu Empire. 6. **Kanem Control**: The Kanem Empire, particularly under the reign of Mai Dunama Dibalami (1210-1248), extended control over Kawar, establishing it as part of their trade network. 7. **Cultural Exchange**: The Kanuri influence is evident in the continued habitation of certain towns even after Tebu migration, and a blend of cultures resulted from intermarriage between the two groups. **Decline of Kanem Influence and Rise of Tuareg Control (18th-19th Century)** 8. **Tuareg Rule**: The decline of the Bornu Empire in the early 18th century allowed Tuareg forces to take over Kawar, particularly after the Battle of Ashegur (1759-1760). 9. **Political Structure**: The Tuareg governance style was less hierarchical compared to Bornu; they recognized a nominal king (Amenokal) while operating through clan-based systems. 10. **Salt Trade**: The Tuareg shifted the Kawar salt trade, utilizing local salt pits and establishing a system where individual owners paid local chiefs for the right to mine salt. **Impact of Ottoman Influence and French Colonialism (1870-1913)** 11. **Ottoman Intervention**: By the mid-19th century, local elites sought Ottomans' assistance against raiding brigands from southern Libya, leading to increased Ottoman interest and control in Kawar. 12. **Sanussiya Brotherhood**: In the late 19th century, the Sanussiya became influential in Kawar, attracting local populations through political and religious initiatives. 13. **French Occupation**: Pressured by French expansion, Kawar faced occupation beginning in 1906, with significant resistance in Djado, culminating in full occupation by 1913. **Economic Activities and Trade Dynamics** 14. **Salt Production**: The salt mines in Kawar were crucial, employing a labor system primarily consisting of free workers rather than enslaved people, challenging previous misconceptions. 15. **Date Cultivation**: The oasis towns also engaged in date cultivation, a lucrative trade that complemented the salt economy and involved both Kanuri and Tebu populations. 16. **Trade Relationships**: Trading dynamics included exchanges between the Kanuri and Tuareg clans, particularly during caravan seasons, where salt was traded for grains and other goods. ### Conclusion The Kawar oasis-towns represent a historically significant civilization within the Sahara, characterized by a blend of cultures, trade activities, and political changes over centuries. From a bustling center of trade and salt production to its eventual colonization, Kawar illustrates the complexity and dynamism of African history in arid environments.

A complete history of Harar; the city of Saints (1050-1887 AD)

Journal of African cities chapter-4

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers A complete history of Harar; the city of Saints (1050-1887 AD) ============================================================== ### Journal of African cities chapter-4 ( Dec 04, 2022 12 The city of Harar looms large in the cultural and political history of the northern horn of Africa. Its labyrinthine alleys and cobbled streets flanked by whitewashed stone houses clustered between hundreds of saintly shrines and over 82 mosques, have earned Harar the nickname "city of saints"; and its reputation as the “fourth holiest city of Islam”. The metropolis of Harar was the capital of one the most powerful empires in north-east Africa, and it later emerged as an independent city-state that issued its own coinage, and was a major center of trade and scholarship, linking the Indian ocean world with the kingdoms of the Ethiopian highlands. This article outlines the complete chronological history of Harar, including an overview of its political history, trade, architectural monuments, and manuscript tradition. _**Map showing the location of Harar city in Ethiopia( **_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Origin of Harar in the 11th century; the medieval ruins of Harlaa** Traditions about the history of Harar distinguish two periods in the foundation of the city; the first foundation occurred around the 10th century but has strong legendary connotations, attributing the city's establishment to an alliance of seven clans; while the second foundation occurred under the reign of the 'Emir Nÿr (1552-1568) the successor of Imam Ahmad Gran of the Adal sultanate/empire.( Etymologically, the term “Harla/Harala” is the most likely origin of the name “Harar”, and is also possibly the name of the sultanate of Hārla whose capital Hubät/ Hobat appears in a number of records in the 14th century when its associated with the Ifat kingdom (c. 1286–1435/36) a rival to the Solomonid/Ethiopian empire under Amdä Ṣәyon( . Harla is also an ethnonym that first occurs in written records as “Xarla” in the 13th century Universal Geography of Ibn Saʿīd, as “Harla” in; the 14th century record of the wars of the Ethiopian emperor Amdä Ṣәyon and in the 16th century chronicle of the Adal-Ethiopia wars "Futūh al-Habaša". The term "Harla" later acquired a legendary status among the groups of people who had moved into the region near Harar during the 16th century, it was associated with "giants" who previously occupied the region and were credited with the construction of a range of ruined stone towns near Harar.( _**Map showing sites and ruins attributed to the “Harlaa”**_ Within a radius of 5-13km from Harar are the ruins of several stone built settlements. These ruins include large palatial houses constructed in the form of medieval castles, civic buildings, workshops, mosques, dozens of houses, cemeteries with inscribed stone slabs, coins from the Byzantine empire, Ayyubid Egypt and Song-dynasty china, imported and locally manufactured jewellery, glassware and pottery.( The establishment of the settlement at Harlaa based on the inscribed stone slabs has been dated to the 11th century lasting until the 15th century, and the majority of the population was local suggesting that Islam was adopted rather than brought in by immigrants.( Harlaa was a cosmopolitan hub of both Muslim and non-Muslim inhabitants who included merchants and craftspeople from different regions, ethnicities and traditions. These individuals exchanged goods and commodities, as well as knowledge and beliefs and the city was part of an extensive trade network extending from the redsea coast to the Ethiopian highlands. The archeological results from Harar and Harlaa suggest a direct chronological link between the two settlements and affirm the importance of the urban environment as a context for Islamic conversion( _**Ruins of buildings at Harar including the castle/citadel below**_ _**Coins found at Harar; Byzantine trachy of the Emperor Theodore Komnenos Doukas (1224–1230), Song dynasty Chinese coin, Ayyubid dynasty (egypt) coins.**_( * * * **The foundation of Harar in the 15th century: Geo-political rivary in the northern Horn of Africa** _**The northern Horn of Africa in the late 15th/early 16th century**_ The present city of Harar was established around the 15th-16th century and was closely associated with the emergence of the Adal empire as a major power in the northern Horn of Africa. Harar initially appears as a province under the governorship of Imam Mahfuz, who was a vassal of the Adal emperor Azhar ad-Din (r. 1488-1518).( Mahfuz's skirmishes on the eastern borders of the Ethiopian empire prompted the latter's retaliation with a battle that ended with a temporary period of peace. By 1519, Harar had become the new capital of the Adal empire during the reign of Azhar's successor Abu Bakr, and was a major base from which Abu Bakr's successor Ahmad Gran launched his conquest of the Ethiopian empire with the help of the Ottomans, until they were ultimately turned back and sought refuge in Harar.( Ahmad's nephew named Nur Ibn Mujahid became the ruler of Harar in 1551. He is credited with extensive construction work around the city, including building a wall and rampart around the city accessed through five gates that divide the city into five districts (Assum, Argob, Suqutat, Badro and Asmadiri).( Hoping to repeat the successes of his uncle, Nur advanced into the Ethiopian empire, invading its south-eastern province of Fatagar in 1559 and later defeating the emperor Galawdewos who died in battle. Nur returned to Harar without consolidating his victory in order to fend off the advance of eastern Oromo groups (of the Barentu moeity) that reached Harar in 1567, besieged it and sacked it, before he died in 1568.( Nur was succeeded by a slave-official named Uthman but the latter had little power over the aristocracy of Harar but succeeded in negotiating a treaty with sections of the Barentu who were accepted into the city's markets on condition of leaving their arms at the Gates. Uthman was deposed by Talha in 1569 who was inturn deposed by Uthman's son Nazir in 1571, who was inturn succeeded by his son Muhammed b. Nâsır in 1572. Muhammed joined another Ottoman alliance against the Ethiopian empire in 1573, they launched their attack between 1577 and 1579 but were defeated and many Harari nobles died in battle along with the Ottoman pasha Radwan. Harar was again besieged by nomadic groups and ceased to be the capital of Adal which retreated to Aussa before it declined into obsolescence, and Harar became its own independent kingdom in 1647 under ʿAlī b. Dawūd.( _**Panorama of Harar and its hinterland in 1944, quai branly**_ _**The Fallana Gate in the north, Harar, 1885, BNF Paris**_ * * * **The city-state of Harar from the 17th to 19th century; trade, mosques, shrines, and scholarship.** Harar under the Dawud dynasty from 1647-1875 was an independent city-state governed by its own rulers (titled Emir) who also minted coinage inscribed with their names. Harar's caravans reached the regions of southern and central Ethiopia from which they acquired commodities (ivory, salt, rubber) that they added to the local agricultural produce (coffee, sorghum), as well as gold and silver jewellery, and sold to the indian-ocean ports of Zayla, and Berbera. Harar continued to grow into a major center of learning and pilgrimage beginning in the 16th century with the establishment of cults of local saints and their shrines; the composition of a substantial body of Arabic literature; the construction of several mosques; and the growth of the Qadiriyya brotherhood that was instrumental in Islamic proselytization across the region.( Harar’s rulers begun minting their own coins around the 16th century, when the usage of gold and silver coins called _**ashrafi**_ and _**mahallak**_ was introduced, with 22 of the latter being equal to 1 of the former during the 18th century, and several hundred thousand would have been in circulation at a time. Different dies were used by different rulers, and the coins’ sizes, weight, and content of the gold and silver changed depending on the economic circumstances, with the highest quality coins belonging to Abd al Shakur (1783-1794), while the most devalued belonged to Muhammad ibn Ali (1856-1875).( _**Harar coinage issued in 1222 AH, 1304 AH (1807, 1887 A.D), University of Illinois**_ _**Gold and silver ornaments encrusted with carnelian gemstones and diamonds, made in Harar between the late 19th and early 20th century, quai branly**_ _**section of a market in Harar selling textiles, 1885, BNF Paris**_ _**A caravan just outside Harar, 1889, BNF Paris**_ Harar presently has over 88 mosques with 82 found inside the walls, the vast majority having been built before the late 19th century. Every mosque possessed a Waqf property such as a piece of farm land or house for lease given to it by a patron, these endowments served to finance its construction and maintenance as well as associated institutions such as schools. The mosques were built in a similar fashion as other constructions in Harar such as the houses and palaces. Walls were built with limestone and granite bound by mud-mortar and reinforced with timber, they were plastered with white lime-wash, and the building was covered by a flat roof of of juniper rafters and stone, with semi-circular rain spouts to drain rainwater. While there are around 6 old mosques in Harar (aw Abdel, aw Abadir, aw Meshad, Din Agobera, Fehkredin and Jami) that are traditionally dated to the 13th century when the saint Abādir is said to have come to Harar from mecca with his companions, recent archeological excavations next to the mosques found that their construction begun after the late 15th century, with many being substantially remodeled in the 18th and early 19th century, around the time when the rest of the other mosques were built.( _**Emir’s residence, Harar, 1885, BNF paris**_ _**Jami mosque in the late 19th century before its renovation**_ _**Floor plan of the Jami mosque**_( _**Harar rooftops c. 1905**_ Harar is home to between 103-107 shrines of saints within its walls and more outside its walls, that give the city its alternative name; Madīnat al-Awliyā or “City of Saints”. These saints were local and foreign figures (Harari, Arab, Somali, Oromo), both male and female, who played a significant role in the city's politico-religious history, and their shrines are referred to as _**āwach**_ suggesting their importance as founding fathers and ancestors of the inhabitants of the city. Knowledge about the saints and their shrines is variable on the basis of such factors as gender, ethnicity, descent, area of residence, the shrine's importance is such that half of all neighborhoods in the city's 5 districts are named after their local shrine, and a number of important religious festivals are celebrated in the shrines.( These saintly shrines built in honor of figures that were perceived to be intermediaries between God and Man due to the saint's _barakah_, became important pilgrimage sites that acted as neutral meeting grounds for people of diverse ethnic --and in some cases religious-- origins, seeking blessings and solutions.( Their basic structure consisted of a domed building about 3-6 meters in height accessed through a low door, inside of this structure is the saint's covered tomb and an open space. The structures are often associated with natural objects such as trees, rocks and pools that are also found among surrounding non-Muslim groups suggesting their pre-Islamic origin and the syncretic nature of Harar's cult of Muslim saints.( _**Shrine of Aw Abadir**_ (in 1899, today)_**; Shrine of Aw Aw Abdulkadir Jeylan**_ Harar was a major center of scholarship in the northern Horn of Africa, with a significant manuscript tradition that included the composition and copying of documents written in the languages of Arabic and 'Old Harari', these include Qurʾāns and devotional works, didactical and instructional works in theology and law, as well as poetry, grammar, and mysticism (taṣawwuf). Some of the oldest preserved manuscript that has been studied is dated to 1701 and the oldest composed locally is dated to 1724, but many of these were part of a tradition that begun in the 17th century or earlier as private collections in Harar often contain manuscripts pre-dating the 18th century.( Prominent scholars include Šayḫ Hāšim al-Hararī (c.1711–1765) who was a teacher and a very prominent figure in both the Arabic and the Old Harari literature that composed several religious works of devotional and mystical content. Other scholars include; Hamid b Saddiq al-Harari who lived in Harar in the 18th century and served as a jurist( ; and Ay Amatullah (1851-1893), a daughter of the qadi of Harar, she became a faqih and teacher of both men and women students.( _**Manuscript titled 'Tafsir Kitabul wadih' with astrological diagrams, written in 1687 in Harar, Sherif Harar City Museum**_( _**Composite manuscript with Commentaries; Magical texts; Scientific works; Medical works; Poems; Prayers, written between the 17th and 18th century, Sherif Harar City Museum**_( _**Qurʼan written in 1812, Sherif Harar City Museum**_( _**Talismanic Manuscript written in Harar on April 1796, Addis Ababa museum**_( * * * **Political history of the Harar city-state from the 18th century until the Ottoman occupation in 1875** The city-state of Harar comprised the walled city which was divided into five districts each forming administrative units, and its immediate hinterland which was also divided into five large territories following the same administrative structure.( The rulers of the walled city had entered into a symbiotic relationship with the agro-pastoral groups in its hinterland the most prominent of whom was the Afran-Qallu (a confederation of the _Barentu_ subsections named; _Oborra, Alla, Nole_ and _Babile_) who provided surplus produce (sorghum, coffee), as well as cattle products and ivory for the city's markets in exchange for collecting tolls from merchants and receiving trade goods (textiles and salt), as well as becoming part of Harar's aristocracy and land-owning elite. But relations were not consistently amicable especially because of the succession conflicts that characterize Harar's political history, which often involved alliances with different Afran-Qallu groups by rivaling Harari factions. Thus between the late 18th and early 19th century; the Harar Kings Ahmad ibn Abu Bakr (I755-82) and Ahmad ibn Muhammad (I794-I821) led expeditions into Harar's hinterland.( Succession crises after the passing of Ahmad preceded the ascent of Abd al-Rahman who relied on a military alliance with the _Babile_, he managed to rule until 1827 when he was deposed by his brother Abd al-Karim ibn Muhammad after the former's failure to extract tribute from the _Alla_. Al-Karim's ascent through civil war had devastated Harar's hinterland and enabled him retain the city's firm control over it, that continued into the reign of his successor Abu Bakr (1834-52). But by the mid-19th century, raids on many of Harar's caravans that ventured outside its walls had sapped the city's trade especially during the reign of Ahmad Abu Bakr (1852-6), when the city was forced to pay tribute to the hinterland groups to avoid destruction and armed parties were allowed into its gates contrary to tradition. A military alliance between the Afran-Qallu and Muhammad ibn Ali enabled the later to take over Harar after Abu Bakr's death, ascending to the throne in 1856, and ruling until the city's conquest by Ottoman Egypt in 1875.( _**One of Harar’s old city gates, 1934, quai branly**_ * * * **Harar in the late 19th century; from the Ottomans in 1875 to modern Ethiopia in 1887.** The Ottoman-Egyptian forces advanced into Harar in 1875 as part of a wider conquest of North-east Africa following their occupation of Sudan in the 1820s, and their conquest of the Somali coast after taking Zeila and Berbera in the 1870s. The Ottoman commander Rauf Pasha deposed (and later killed) Muhammad ibn Ali in October 1875 after a brief resistance by the forces of the Afran-Qallu.( The Egyptians would occupy Harar from 1875 to 1885, and during this time, the structure of Harar's administration and society was significantly altered especially the political and economic relationship between the city and its hinterland, as well as the adoption of Islam among the Afran-Qallu.( The city had an estimated 35,000 inhabitants in 1875, its 3-4m high walls with 24 towers and 5 gates enclosed an area of 0.5 km sq, and its effective authority over the hinterland had shrunk to a radius of about 10-15km outside its walls. It still retained its religious significance its status in long-distance trade and its very productive agricultural output, but didn't have a significant crafts industry. The Egyptian settlers who settled in Harar during its brief occupation (mostly soldiers and their families) came to comprise 25% of its population, pacifying the city and hinterland, and remitting taxes back to Cairo.( In May 1885, the Ottoman-Egyptians evacuated Harar as part of a wider withdraw from their NorthEast African possesions outside Egypt, and Abdullahi was elected by the town's patricians as their ruler. Abdullahi reigned briefly until 1887 when the city was subsumed into modern Ethiopia.( _**Raouf mosque, the ottoman mosque built after 1875, c. 1885 photo, BNF Paris**_ _**Palace of ras makonnen in Harar, c. 1905**_ _**View of Harar, 1944**_ * * * The **“Ancient Egyptian Race controversy”** is most divisive topic in modern Egyptology, in this article, i explore **ancient Egypt’s definition of “ethnicity”** and their relationship with the kingdoms and people of Nubia; ( * * * _**If you liked this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal/Ko-fi**_ ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( map prepared by N. Khalaf ( Espaces musulmans de la Corne de l'Afrique au Moyen Âge by François-Xavier Fauvelle-Aymar pg 23) ( Material cosmopolitanism: the entrepot of Harlaa as an Islamic gateway to eastern Ethiopia by Timothy Insoll pg 504, The City in the Islamic World pg 625) ( First Footsteps in the Archaeology of Harar, Ethiopia by Timothy Insoll pg 209-210, Material cosmopolitanism: the entrepot of Harlaa as an Islamic gateway to eastern Ethiopia by Timothy Insoll pg 488) ( New archaeological find in Southeast Ethiopia by Meftuh S. Abubaker , Marine Shell Working at Harlaa, Ethiopia, and the Implications for Red Sea Trade by Timothy Insoll ( Material cosmopolitanism: the entrepot of Harlaa as an Islamic gateway to eastern Ethiopia by Timothy Insoll pg 498-501) ( Material cosmopolitanism: the entrepot of Harlaa as an Islamic gateway to eastern Ethiopia by Timothy Insoll pg 498-501) ( photos and captions from; New archaeological find in Southeast Ethiopia by Meftuh S. Abubaker and Material cosmopolitanism by Timothy Insoll ( Ethiopia and red sea by Mordechai Abir pg 69-70, 86 ( Islam in Ethiopia By J. Spencer Trimingham pg 85) ( The Archeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa By Timothy Insoll pg 78) ( Islam in Ethiopia By J. Spencer Trimingham pg 91-95) ( Islam in Ethiopia By J. Spencer Trimingham pg 96-97) ( The City in the Islamic World by Serge Santelli et al pg 626-627) ( Harari Coins: A Preliminary Survey by Ahmed Zekaria pg 23-29 ( The mosques of Harar by Timothy Insoll and Ahmed Zekaria ( The mosques of Harar by Timothy Insoll and Ahmed Zekaria pg 89 ( Baraka without Borders: Integrating Communities in the City of Saints by Camilla C. T. Gibb pg 90-104 ( The Archeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa By Timothy Insoll pg 80-81) ( The City in the Islamic World by Serge Santelli et al pg 632-633) ( The Emergence of Multiple-Text Manuscripts by Alessandro Gori et al pg 59-68) ( Arabic Literature of Africa, Volume 3. The Writings of the Muslim Peoples of Northeastern Africa. by J. Hunwick pg 30) ( Islam and Gender in Colonial Northeast Africa by Silvia Bruzzi pg 67) ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( Historic Mosques in Sub-Saharan Africa by Stephane Pradines pg 129 ( Harär Town and Its Neighbours in the Nineteenth Century by RA Caulk pg 371-374) ( Harär Town and Its Neighbours in the Nineteenth Century by RA Caulk pg 375-380) ( Emirate, Egyptian, Ethiopian pg 38-399 ( Harär Town and Its Neighbours in the Nineteenth Century by RA Caulk pg 381-384) ( 'L'occupation égyptienne de Harar (1875-1885)' by Jonathan Miran pg 59-62, 104-105) ( Harär Town and Its Neighbours in the Nineteenth Century by RA Caulk pg 385-386).

## A Complete History of Harar: The City of Saints (1050-1887 AD) ### 1. Overview of Harar - **Location and Significance**: Harar is a prominent city in the northern horn of Africa, characterized by its winding streets, numerous shrines, and mosques. It is known as the "City of Saints" and the "fourth holiest city of Islam." - **Historical Role**: Harar was the capital of a powerful empire and later became an independent city-state, playing a significant role in trade and scholarship, connecting the Indian Ocean trade network to the Ethiopian highlands. ### 2. Early Foundations (11th Century) - **First Foundation (10th Century)**: Legends attribute Harar's establishment to an alliance of seven clans, though there is little historical evidence. - **Second Foundation (15th Century)**: The city was officially established under Emir Nÿr during the Adal Sultanate (1552-1568). The name "Harar" is thought to derive from "Harla," a sultanate associated with the Ifat Kingdom. ### 3. Archaeological Discoveries - **Harlaa Ruins**: Within 5-13 kilometers of Harar, there are ruins of settlements dating back to the 11th-15th centuries, indicating a cosmopolitan hub for various ethnicities involved in trade. - **Cultural Exchange**: Local populations likely adopted Islam rather than it being introduced by immigrants, demonstrating a blend of cultures. ### 4. The Rise of the Adal Empire (15th-16th Century) - **Political Landscape**: In the late 15th century, Harar became a province under Imam Mahfuz of the Adal Empire. The city intensified its military efforts against the Ethiopian Empire, especially under Ahmad Gran. - **Development**: Nur Ibn Mujahid, who took power in 1551, enhanced Harar’s defenses, constructing walls and dividing the city into five districts. ### 5. Harar as an Independent City-State (17th-19th Century) - **Dawud Dynasty (1647-1875)**: Following the decline of the Adal Empire, Harar became an independent city-state led by Emirs who minted their own coins and fostered trade. - **Economic Center**: The city became a significant center for trade, obtaining ivory, salt, rubber, and agricultural products while gaining a reputation for scholarship and pilgrimage. - **Cultural Flourishing**: The city experienced an influx of Islamic scholarship, establishing numerous mosques and shrines, intertwining faith with local culture. ### 6. Architectural and Cultural Heritage - **Mosques and Shrines**: Harar houses over 88 mosques and 103-107 shrines, essential to its identity as the "City of Saints." These structures were built using local materials and designed for both religious and community functions. - **Manuscript Tradition**: Harar developed a rich manuscript tradition, producing works in both Arabic and Old Harari, emphasizing its importance as a center of learning. ### 7. Political Turmoil and External Influence (18th-19th Century) - **Succession Conflicts**: Political instability marked the late 18th and early 19th centuries, with various factions engaging in power struggles. - **Ottoman Conquest (1875)**: The Ottoman-Egyptian forces occupied Harar, altering its administrative structure and economic relationships significantly. The Egyptian presence changed local dynamics and governance. ### 8. Conclusion and Legacy (Late 19th Century) - **Occupation and Retreat**: The Ottoman-Egyptian occupation lasted from 1875 until 1885 when they withdrew, leading to the brief rule by Abdullahi. - **Integration into Modern Ethiopia**: By 1887, Harar was incorporated into modern Ethiopia, marking the end of its autonomous city-state status. ### References and Supporting Context - This account draws upon historical records, archaeological studies, and scholarly research to detail the complex history of Harar from its legendary origins to its integration into Ethiopia. It highlights the city’s significance in trade, culture, and religion in East Africa while noting the interactions with various powers and its rich legacy that continues to influence the region today.

Demystifying the land of Punt and locating ancient Egypt's place in African History

On early state formation in the northern Horn of Africa (2700BC-800BC)

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Demystifying the land of Punt and locating ancient Egypt's place in African History =================================================================================== ### On early state formation in the northern Horn of Africa (2700BC-800BC) ( Nov 27, 2022 15 _**“Why have you come here in this land, which the people do not know? Did you come down on this way from the sky, or did you sail upon the waters, upon the sea of God’s Land?" (**_The ruler of Punt welcoming an Egyptian trade expedition into his country( _**)**_ Egyptologists have been enthralled with the land Punt since the 19th century, a fascination that was partly fueled by a theory made by Flinders Petrie —the father of modern Egyptology— that Punt was the origin of the founding kings of ancient Egypt. Many scholars have proposed dozens of places as Punt’s probable location, with most arguing for its placement in areas as close to Egypt as Sudan and the Red sea region( , and a few exotic theories placing it as far as Indonesia( and Uganda.( A lot of the confusion comes down to the way in which ancient Egyptian descriptions and depictions of foreign lands are uncritically interpreted in modern scholarship, especially with regards to Egypt’s southern neighbors.( Recent archeological discoveries on the Egyptian red-sea coast and its relationship to the Neolithic cultures of the northern Horn of Africa, as well as a re-examination of descriptions of Punt in ancient Egyptian records, strongly suggests that the semi-legendary land of Punt constituted most —if not all— of the early states that emerged between the Eastern Sudan and northern Eritrea during the early 3rd millennium BC. This article demystifies the “land of Punt by exploring its history within the context of North-East Africa’s political history during the 2nd millennium BC. _**North-East africa during the 2nd millennium BC showing; Middle Kingdom Egypt, the Kerma kingdom, and the location of the early states that constituted the land of Punt**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Travelling to the land Punt: contested trade routes between Egypt and the kingdom of Kerma** During the mid-2nd millennium BC, changes in the geo-political landscape of north-east Africa altered the dynamic nature of over-land and maritime exchange between Middle Kingdom Egypt (c. 2055–1650BC) and its southern neighbors. The emergence of the Kingdom of Kerma (ie ancient Kush) in the region of upper Nubia (northern Sudan) as a formidable competitor, altered the organization of overland trading routes which funneled valued commodities into the Nile valley civilizations from central Sudan and the Sudan-Eritea lowlands. This change prompted the Middle kingdom kings to expand their maritime trade in the red-sea in order to bypass Kerma. ( The land of Punt first appears in ancient Egyptian texts during the reign of King Sahura (r 2487–2475BC, 5th dynasty, Old kingdom era), on a document called "The Palermo Stone" which records the king receiving goods from Punt that included myrrh and electrum.( Records about the expeditions of the Old kingdom kings; Djedkara (r. 2414–2375BC) and Pepy II (r. 2278– 2247BC) into Upper Nubia (around the time of Kerma's emergence), also mention them receiving a "pygmy" among other “ gifts of the mining-region of Punt”. From the 25th century BC to the 11th century BC, ancient Egyptian trading expeditions acquired goods from Punt indirectly and later directly, that included; electrum, gold, panther skins, ebony, throw-sticks, ivory, myrrh, eye paint, apes and baboons. The importance of Punt’s luxuries in ancient Egyptian royal iconography and religion was such that it was also considered part of “god’s land”; a generalized location south and east of Egypt that also contained the lands of Irem and Amau ( According to descriptions of Old Kingdom and Middle Kingdom trading expeditions to its southern neighbors, the land of Punt could be reached via an inland route via Upper Nubia as well as by a sea route, but by the time of Mentuhotep III around 1996BC, trading expeditions were no longer sent through Upper Nubia despite Egypt's expansion into lower Nubia. Possibly reflecting the formidable power of imperial Kerma, which at its height in the mid-2nd millennium Bc, would lead a major invasion deep into Egypt with a coalition of forces that included soldiers from Punt and many of Egypt's southern neighbors.( _**Stela of King Amenemhat III found at Mersa/Wadi Gawasis that include description of two expeditions to Punt and Bia-Punt under the brothers; Nebsu and Amenhotep.**_( _**Men from Punt Carrying Gifts, Tomb of Rekhmire, ca. 1479–1420 B.C, met museum.**_ _**Probable locations of Punt (and Irem) based on their proximity to Kerma, and their direction from Middle kingdom Egypt's red-sea port of Saww**_( * * * **Maritime trade to Punt: the Egyptian red sea port of Saww (Mersa Gawasis)** The ancient red-sea port of Saww was established around the late 3rd millennium BC, and by the reign of Senusret i (ca. 1956–1911 BC), and Amenemhat ii (ca. 1911–1877 BC) had become the main port from which expeditions to punt were sent. The discovery of 28 inscribed stelae at the site of Mersa/Wadi Gawasis on the Red Sea coast in Egypt, that contained records of these expeditions to Punt, as well as; several man-made caves containing cargo boxes inscribed with the labels “wonderful things of Punt”; and well-preserved ship timbers and sailing equipment --all of which were securely dated to the first half of the 2nd millennium BC-- left no doubt that Mersa was the ancient port of Saww. The enormous outlay of effort and manpower needed to build ships on the Nile, dismantle them, and rebuild them on the red sea just to obtain Punt's goods attests to their high value, and the formidable threat that Kerma's control of the southern trade routes presented to Egypt.( Most of the inscribed stela record the organization of the expeditions but include little information about the land of Punt, save for mentioning items Egypt exported to Punt including perfumed oils, cosmetics, personal ornaments and weapons.( We therefore turn to the archeological evidence recovered from Mersa to determine the origin of the items from Punt. Besides the Egyptian ceramics, the assemblage at Mersa includes some ceramic fragments from various Neolithic cultures of the Eastern Sudan-Eritrea region including the Pan-grave culture (c.2000–1500 bc) from the Eastern Desert in Sudan, as well as the Gash group (c.2700–1800 bc) and the Jebel Mokram Group (c.1800–800 bc) cultures straddling the Sudan-Eritrea lowlands. The majority of non-Egyptian ceramics at Mersa however, were from classic Kerma and C-group in upper and lower Nubia, reflecting the political dominance of Kerma during the early 2nd millennium BC.( _**Middle kingdom materials from Mersa**_. On the left half; _**Cargo boxes in situ, coiled ropes for ship riggings**_( , on the right half; _**Inscription on cargo box 21; “…of wonderful things of Punt, the royal scribe Djedy” with a cartouche of king Amenemhat IV**_.( * * * **Finding Egyptian materials in Punt: The Neolithic cultures of Eastern Sudan/Northern Eritrea.** According to Egyptian textual and iconographic sources, Punt was the southernmost region included in the commercial network of the Pharaonic state, and was regarded as a distinct country from the other southern regions within the Egyptian sphere of political and economic influence. In the New Kingdom era, Punt encompassed several districts, suggesting that its land included different regions broadly stretching along the Red Sea coast and the African hinterland.( Using the textural references about the land of Punt given in Middle kingdom texts provides its approximate geographic location within the northern Horn of Africa region and possibly south-western Arabia. This region is where all the products that the Egyptians considered typical of Punt, such as aromatic resins (myrrh and frankincense), ebony, ivory, baboons and gold, could be actually obtained.( Although the variety of these goods need not be limited to those available only from the country itself if the Puntites also acted as middlemen for goods from elsewhere.( Isotopic analysis of Baboon mummies from Punt that were preserved in ancient Egyptian tombs conclusively placed the location of Punt in the northern horn of Africa( . Beginning in the mid-3rd millennium BC, the lowlands of eastern Sudan and northern Eritrea were occupied by semi-sedentary pastoral groups that are identified in the archaeological record with the Gash Group (ca. 2700–1800 BC) and Jebel Mokram Group (ca. 1800 – 800 BC).( The Gash group shows all indicators of an emerging centralized state, with nucleated settlements such as its capital at Mahal Teglinos; elaborate elite burials surmounted by tall funerary steale; administrative devices including clay-seals ; monumental architecture including large mudbrick structures, and long distance trade with the red-sea coast and Nile valley.( Jebel Mokram also appears to have been an incipient state with a large nucleated settlement at Jebel Abu Gamal, and possessed similar but less elaborated features as the Gash group, as well as ceramics produced in the nile valley.( Several ancient Egyptian ceramics from the 11th-12th dynasty (early Middle Kingdom)( and a stela from the Middle Kingdom have been recovered from the assemblages of the Gash group capital of Mahal teglinos in all sequences from (c.2300-1800 bc). The presence of cowrie shells (Cyprea moneta) from the Red Sea, and two armlets made of Lambis shells, that were made in the Sinai region suggests that herders from the Gash delta frequented the Red sea coast, possibly the bay of Aqiq.( After the collapse of the Gash group culture and the emergence of the Jebel Mokram group, Egyptian ceramics, faience objects and kohl sticks appear in the assemblage from many of its sites in the 2nd millennium BC, particularly important is the Egyptian pottery at the sites, that was made during the 18th dynasty (ie; New kingdom Egypt), reflecting the political changes in the Nile valley during this time.( _**Stele field of Mahal Teglinos, Gash Group, Kassala, Eastern Sudan.**_ (a)_**Faience bead necklace from a Gash Group tomb,**_ (b) _**Egyptian wheel-thrown pottery from Mahal Teglinos**_ (d) _**Bronze kohl stick**_, (e) _**bangles from Mahal Teglinos obtained from shells of Lambis truncata**_( _**Map showing the location of the various Neolithic cultures in Eastern sudan-Northern eritrea including; Butana Group (c. 3800–3000 BC), Gash Group (c. 2700–1500 BC) and Jebel Mokram Group (c. 1500–800 BC), and Hagiz group (1st millennium BC)**_( _**Houses or Stores in Punt, Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahari**_ * * * **New Kingdom Egypt ‘s expeditions to “God’s Land”** Following a long series of wars with Kerma, the restored kingdom of Egypt (called the New kingdom) managed to subdue its southern foe; the kingdom of Kerma, and re-establish trade with Punt, beginning in the reign of 18th dynasty Queen Hatshepsut (1473-1458 BC.). The political impact of the re-establishment of trade with Punt after a long hiatus was closely tied to the unusual circumstance of her ascent and became an important legitimating device, leading the queen to “monumentalize” this event, as one of the political milestones of her reign through a decorative programmed at her funerary temple of Deir el-Bahri in Thebes, initiating a tradition that would continue until the 20th dynasty.( For much of the New kingdom era, Egyptian expeditions to Punt were depicted in various Pharaonic temples and tombs, showing the people, dwellings, fauna and flora of Punt's countryside. The importance of Punt's aromatic products in Egyptian cosmology; in which they were considered as signs of favour of the gods towards the Pharaoh( , also explains Punt's elevated position in New kingdom Egyptian iconography( and how it acquired a specific divine character as _**bi3w Pwnt,**_ translating to “marvelous”/”wonderous” Punt.( _**King and Queen of Punt leading a procession of men bearing gifs,**_ _**Procession of Puntities led by their King and Queen, shown meeting an Egyptian trading party (on the right), Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahari.**_ _**Men from Punt Transporting incense trees, Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahari**_ _**Relief scene from Tomb-143 in Thebes, Depicting a trading encounter between a New Kingdom Egyptian trading expedition led by Thutmose II’s chief treasurer named Min (on the left) with traders from Punt (on the right) who arrived on rafts. This exchange most likely at a river-port rather than at a sea-port.**_( In contrast to the Middle Kingdom dependency on maritime trade routes, the New kingdom's control of trade routes in Upper Nubia enabled it to conduct over-land trade as well, which possibly terminated on the banks of the Nile at a riverport near Kurgus on the 4th cataract, where traders from Punt met those from Egypt. (although the latter occasionally travelled directly to Punt)( This switch from maritime to overland routes is reflected in the archeological record of the Gash group and Jebel Mokram sites, whereby the former often contained Egyptian objects that weren't common in upper Nubia, but the Jebel Mokram Group assemblages included not just Egyptian objects common in Upper Nubia, but also objects made in Nubia itself.( Additionally, the contrast between the titles used to describe the ruler of Punt in the Middle kingdom texts, where they were called hekaw (ruler), versus in the New kingdom texts, where they are called werew (chieftain), may be also be inferred archeologically when comparing the more hierarchical/centralized nature of the Gash group compared to the Jebel Mokram group.( The last expedition to Punt was sent by king Ramses III 1198-1167BC, one of the last strong rulers before the collapse of New kingdom Egypt, An inscription tells of galleys and barges returning from Punt, "laden with the products of God's land"( . The Neolithic culture of Jebel Mokram outlasted New kingdom Egypt's decline, continuing to flourish in the early-mid 1st millennium BC around the time when the centralized state of D'Mt emerged to its south, becoming the new regional power and anteceding the rise of Aksum.( * * * **Conclusion: What Punt says about Ancient Egypt’s place in african History** The growing evidence for the emergence of social complexity in the northern horn of Africa in the 3rd millennium BC, reveals a much deeper connection of the region in the broad network of commercial and political relationships of North East Africa; supporting the longstanding hypothesis that the region of Eastern Sudan and northern Eritrea is identified with the Land of Punt or at least —a part of it. The essentialist nature in which ancient Egyptian descriptions and depictions of Punt are commonly interpreted reflects a general trend in Egyptology which often shows a blind spot in understanding Egypt's relationship with its neighbors. In particular, the continued reliance of 19th century racial theories in interpreting 4,000 year old artwork of foreign groups in ancient Egypt (such as the now-discredited "Dynastic race theory" in which Punt was supposedly the origin of Egypt's dynasties obscures a more critical interpretation of ancient Egyptians' own complex forms of self-depiction (eg the depiction of New kingdom Queen Ahmose Nefertari as "black" The people of Punt were depicted in the same reddish brown color the ancient Egyptians' used to depict themselves, not because Egyptian artists wanted to show that the Puntites shared the same "race" (a clearly anachronistic concept), nor was it even a realistic portrait of the country and its people,( Instead, just like the depictions of reddish-brown foreigners Aegeans from Greece, the Puntite foreigners' proximity to the Egyptian self-depiction was determined by Punt's role in legitimation of Pharaonic power and the importance of Punt's products in ancient Egyptian cosmology.( Looking beyond the aura of mystery surrounding the "God's land" of ancient Egyptian lore, enables us to demystify the history Punt, and opens a new window into our understanding of early state development in the northern Horn of africa, and locating Egypt's place in African History. _**Sailing to punt**_ * * * The **“Ancient Egyptian Race controversy”** is most divisive topic in modern Egyptology, in this article, i explore **ancient Egypt’s definition of “ethnicity”** and their relationship with the kingdoms and people of Nubia; ( * * * Read about the **Kingdom of Kerma**, the powerful southern neighbour of Egypt ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Urkunden der 18. Dynastie by Kurt Sethe pg 323 ( see overview of 54 different locations of Punt in; _Punt: die Suche nach dem 'Gottesland'_ by Francis Breyer ( Land of Punt by Dhani Irwanto) ( The Road to Punt by F.D.P. Wicker ( for an overview of Egypt’s relationship with Nubia, see Wretched Kush by Stuart Tyson Smith, and Ethnic Identities in the Land of the Pharaohs Uroš Matić ( Seafaring Expeditions to Punt in the Middle Kingdom by Kathryn A. Bard and Rodolfo Fattovich Pg 1-6) ( Hatshepsut and the Politics of Punt by Pearce Paul Creasman pg 3) ( Punt and Aksum: Egypt and the Horn of Africa by Jacke Phillips pg 430, Seafaring Expeditions to Punt in the Middle Kingdom by Kathryn A. Bard and Rodolfo Fattovich pg 6 ( Between Two Worlds: The Frontier Region Between Ancient Nubia and Egypt by László Török pg 56, 84, 109) ( Seafaring Expeditions to Punt in the Middle Kingdom by Kathryn A. Bard and Rodolfo Fattovich pg 64-65 ( Punt and Aksum: Egypt and the Horn of Africa by Jacke Phillips pg 424 ( Seafaring Expeditions to Punt in the Middle Kingdom by Kathryn A. Bard and Rodolfo Fattovich pg 21, 25-27, 31-32) ( Back to Mahal Teglinos: New Pharaonic Evidence from Eastern Sudan Andrea Manzo pg 15 ( Seafaring Expeditions to Punt in the Middle Kingdom by Kathryn A. Bard and Rodolfo Fattovich pg 105-6, 169-171, 176-177) ( Seafaring Expeditions to Punt in the Middle Kingdom by Kathryn A. Bard and Rodolfo Fattovich pg 97, 49 ( Seafaring Expeditions to Punt in the Middle Kingdom by Kathryn A. Bard and Rodolfo Fattovich pg 75-76 ( Seafaring Expeditions to Punt in the Middle Kingdom by Kathryn A. Bard and Rodolfo Fattovich pg 157) ( The So-Called "Mine of Punt" and Its Location by Stanley Balanda pg 36-38 ( Punt and Aksum: Egypt and the Horn of Africa by Jacke Phillips pg 438, Bi3w Pwnt in the archaeological record by A. Manzo pg 91 ( Mummified baboons reveal the far reach of early Egyptian mariners by Nathaniel J Dominy ( The Development of Ancient States in the Northern Horn of Africa by Rodolfo Fattovich pg 154-156 ( Tokens, Pottery Discs, and Other Administrative Devices: Studies between Nubia and Ethiopia by Andrea Manzo pg 55-54 ( The Archaeomalacological Remains by Alfredo Carannante pg 56-65, Italian Archaeological Expedition to the Eastern Sudan Report of the 2011 Field Season ( Egyptian ceramics from Eastern Sudan by A. Manzo pg 183-186 ( The Archaeomalacological Remains by Alfredo Carannante pg 96-97, The Archaeology of Punt by Rodolfo Fattovich pg 207-208) ( Back to Mahal Teglinos: New Pharaonic Evidence from Eastern Sudan Andrea Manzo pg 6-8 ( images from; Back to Mahal Teglinos by Andrea Manzo and The Archaeomalacological Remains by Alfredo Carannante ( maps from; The Archaeomalacological Remains by Alfredo Carannante pg 43-46 ( Hatshepsut and the Politics of Punt by Pearce Paul Creasman pg 4-5, From Tenochtitlán to Punt by Gianluca Miniaci pg 179-180 ( Punt in Egyptian myth and trade by Rosanna Pirelli 385-387 ( Ethnic Identities in the Land of the Pharaohs by Uroš Matić pg 13-14) ( Bi3w Pwnt in the archaeological record by A. Manzo pg 88-89 ( Kpn-boats, Punt Trade, and a Lost Emporium by Louise Bradbury pg 40 ( Kpn-boats, Punt Trade, and a Lost Emporium by Louise Bradbury pg 55-58, Punt and Aksum: Egypt and the Horn of Africa by Jacke Phillips pg 433) ( Back to Mahal Teglinos: New Pharaonic Evidence from Eastern Sudan Andrea Manzo pg 12 ( Harbor of the Pharaohs to the Land of Punt by Kathryn A. Bard, Rodolfo Fattovich pg 18 ( The Ethiopian borderlands by Richard Pankhurst pg 13-15) ( The Italian Archaeological Expedition 2010 - 2011 by A. Manzo pg 319 ( The making of Egypt by Flinders Petrie pg 77 ( Ahmose Nefertari, the Woman in Black by Graciela Gestoso Singer ( Punt in Egyptian myth and trade by Rosanna Pirelli pg 386) ( Ethnic Identities in the Land of the Pharaohs by Uroš Matić pg 13-14.

# Demystifying the Land of Punt and Locating Ancient Egypt's Place in African History ## Introduction The study of the land of Punt and its relationship with ancient Egypt has intrigued scholars since the 19th century, particularly due to its portrayal in ancient Egyptian texts. This exploration focuses on the early state formation in Northeastern Africa, particularly between 2700 BC and 800 BC, and provides a clearer understanding of Punt's significance in Egyptian trade and its geographical context. ## 1. Historical Background of Punt - **Initial Discoveries**: Ancient Egyptian texts, such as those from the reign of King Sahura and inscriptions on the Palermo Stone, identify Punt as a significant source for luxury goods like myrrh and electrum. - **Location Theories**: Punt has been linked to various locations, primarily in regions close to Egypt such as Sudan and the Red Sea, with some theories even proposing Indonesia or Uganda. However, recent archaeological evidence suggests that Punt likely encompassed a part or all of the early states in Eastern Sudan and northern Eritrea. ## 2. Political Dynamics in Northeastern Africa - **Emergence of Kerma**: During the mid-2nd millennium BC, the Kingdom of Kerma in northern Sudan emerged as a powerful entity, challenging Egypt's control over trade routes. - **Change in Trade Routes**: The rise of Kerma necessitated a reevaluation of trade dynamics, prompting Egypt to enhance maritime trading efforts in the Red Sea to avoid land routes dominated by Kerma. ## 3. Trade Expeditions to Punt - **Direct and Indirect Trade**: From the 25th to the 11th century BC, Egypt obtained goods from Punt, which included valuable items like gold, ivory, ebony, and luxury textiles. - **Significance of Punt's Products**: Punt’s goods held immense value in Egyptian culture, often associated with divine favor and included in royal iconography. ## 4. Maritime Trade and the Port of Saww (Mersa Gawasis) - **Establishment of Saww**: Saww became the main Egyptian port for Punt expeditions by the late 3rd millennium BC. Discoveries of stelae and ship remnants at Mersa confirm its use for trade. - **Archaeological Evidence**: Excavations revealed cargo boxes marked with "wonderful things of Punt" alongside artifacts from the Neolithic cultures of Eastern Sudan, indicating a complex trade network. ## 5. Cultural and Economic Exchange - **Network of Relationships**: The trade network extended beyond Punt, with indications that Punt acted as intermediaries for goods from other regions. - **Neolithic Cultures**: The Gash and Jebel Mokram cultures exhibited signs of emerging centralized states with complex socio-political structures, validating connections with ancient Egypt. ## 6. New Kingdom Era Expeditions - **Hatshepsut’s Reign**: After a period of conflict, Hatshepsut's reign initiated the resumption of trade with Punt, which led to monumental representations of these expeditions in her funerary temple. - **Cultural Representation**: Art and architecture from this period depict interactions with the people of Punt, emphasizing their status and the importance of their commodities in Egyptian society. ## 7. Decline of Trade and Cultural Relations - **Ramses III’s Last Expedition**: The final significant expedition to Punt occurred during Ramses III’s rule, further demonstrating the fading connection as the New Kingdom faced internal and external challenges. - **Continuation of Local Cultures**: Even after the decline of New Kingdom Egypt, the Jebel Mokram culture thrived, eventually contributing to the rise of the D'Mt kingdom. ## Conclusion: Punt's Place in African History The exploration of Punt reveals the interconnectedness of ancient Egypt with its southern neighbors. The emergence of complex societies in the northern Horn of Africa during the 3rd millennium BC highlights the significant role this region played in ancient trade and political dynamics. Understanding Punt not only clarifies Egypt's historical narrative but also contributes to a broader comprehension of African history's neglected complexities.

The stone ruins of Bokoni: egalitarian systems and agricultural technology in pre-colonial South Africa. (16th-19th century)

challenging conventional narratives on pre-colonial Africa's social order and agricultural practices.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The stone ruins of Bokoni: egalitarian systems and agricultural technology in pre-colonial South Africa. (16th-19th century) ============================================================================================================================ ### challenging conventional narratives on pre-colonial Africa's social order and agricultural practices. ( Nov 20, 2022 14 The ruins of Bokoni in South Africa are some of the most spectacular remains of pre-colonial agricultural societies on the African continent. Extending over an area of 10,000 square kilometers are circular mazes of stone-built homesteads and towns linked by walled roads that are interspersed among spreads of agricultural terraces traversing the escarpments of Mpumalanga. While this dramatic landscape has become a magnet for exotic pseudohistorical theories ranging from ancient aliens to foreign builders, Its construction and settlement by various local African groups has been known since the work of professional archeologists in the 1930s who dated its establishment to the late 16th/early 17th century. Bokoni’s relatively unique form of political organization and agricultural specialization greatly transformed conventional understanding of African history. This article explores the history of the Bokoni settlements over the past 400 years, including an overview of their political organization and intensive agricultural practices. _**Map showing the Location of the Bokoni area in Mpumalanga, South Africa**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **A brief history of Southern Africa until the early settlement at Bokoni in the 16th/17th century** In the period preceding the establishment of Bokoni, the province of Mpumalanga (located in the north-east of modern South Africa) was settled by various agro-pastoral and foraging communities, the former of whom were part of the wider population drift of Bantu-speaking groups that arrived in the region around the turn of the common era( . These groups gradually established various polities in the region, and are credited with producing the Lydenburg terracotta heads that are dated to the 5th century, and were found in the area that would (much) later become the Bokoni heartland( _**Iziko South African Museum**_ Larger, and more complex states emerged across the region of Mpumalanga by the late 16th to early 17th century around the time when Bokoni was flourishing, these included the neighboring states of Pedi and Ndunduza among others( . Contrary to its more centralized neighbors, Bokoni's political structures were likely characterized by competing nodes of power in which political and ritual paramountcy was exercised by dominant lineages over diverse populations. And like the heterarchical forms of political organization recently suggested for the better known kingdoms based at Great Zimbabwe and Khami( , there is little archeological evidence in the homestead complexes of Bokoni, for a sharp overarching hierarchy dividing elites and commoners.( The Bokoni settlements weren't occupied simultaneously but in stages, with the southern sites constituting the earliest phases of settlement, which progressively moved northwards likely in response to external threats.( The core settlement of Bokoni was occupied by heterogeneous groups of Sotho-Tswana and Nguni-speakers who were referred to as "Koni" (ie; ba-Koni '_**people of koni**_'); an exonymous term used by their neighbors (especially the baPedi) to describe the people who they found living in the escarpments when the baPedi arrived after the baKoni in 1650. The term was later adopted by the inhabitants of Bokoni as a form of self-identification, along with the development of the Sekoni language.( (archeologists use the term Bokoni for the ruined settlements and baKoni/ Koni for the people who built them) The inhabitants of Bokoni were engaged in regional trade, and much of it was based on exchanging their surplus cereal and cattle products for iron goods and textiles in the regional trade networks, as well as ivory for the long-distance trade terminating at Delagoa Bay. Despite Iron's widespread use in Bokoni for making weapons as well as domestic and agricultural tools, there is limited evidence of its production within the settlement, and its likely to have been obtained through trade with the Pedi kingdom and other neighboring groups.( _**The Bokoni settlement sequence from the late16th/early 17th-19th century**_( * * * **Description of the settlement at Bokoni: Homesteads, Roads and Terraces.** The architectural constructions of Bokoni comprise three main elements; the homestead complexes, the terraced fields and the road networks. The largest settlements such as Komati Gorge, Moxomatsi and Khutwaneng (_**see map above**_) are considered towns/capitals and they're primarily comprised of aggregations of homesteads marked by intensive residential terracing and road networks.( The general layout took on the form of a circular structures beginning with a central cattle pen that was accessed using passages, and was inturn surrounded by clusters of homes and granaries divided into different domestic compartments accessed through separate passages leading into outside roads, that were all enclosed within a wall, and together constituted a homestead complex.( The largest single complexes extend up to 5 km, they contain domestic units that range from large enclosures and compounds with well-developed roads and terraces to small enclosures of newly established homesteads.( _**Large and complex interconnected homesteads**_ _**enclosure wall**_ _**Detail of a homestead complex and an illustration showing a plan of a complex homestead occupied by atleast a dozen homes, with walled passage between outer domestic area and inner livestock pens**_ The stone-walled roads of Bokoni were constructed between the homestead complexes to link other parts of the settlements, and they were also constructed in parallel lines down-slope, to move people and their livestock through the agricultural terraces on the slopes of the hill to the grazing and watering areas in the the valley.( The roads were built according to the contours of the hill slope rather than cutting through underlying rock to follow a defined trajectory, and they served a wider range of functions including the delineation of livestock roads through cultivated areas, and the separation of cultivation from grazing areas.( _**Homesteads with road junctions amid terraces at Rietvlei**_ _**Detail of settlements at rietvlei showing the partial outlines of roads connecting homesteads to a grazing area in the valley**_ Most of the homestead complexes are surrounded by walled terraces of agricultural land that extended for several kilometers on the slopes of the hills. The terracing walls rise to a height of 2 meters, are built with undressed stone they often consist of two outer layers constructed using large rocks, and an inner layer comprised of small coursing of flat slabs of slate placed on top of one another in a single Line, while others are filled with small rocks.( Terracing as a form of intensive agriculture, was the most distinctive feature of Bokoni's agro-pastoral economy. After selecting slopes with the most fertile soil, stone terraces were constructed in stages with rows of rocks set into the sloping ground until the accumulation of weight from rainwash and cultivation uphill necessitated further support. This significantly reduced soil erosion and increased the percolation of water through the soil, which, considering the additional fertility provided by the manure, greatly increased the agricultural yield needed to sustain Bokoni's fairly large population.( While the terraces were likely built communally and incrementally over a long period of time without the need for a hierarchical organization of labour in a short period of time (associated with its more centralized neighbors), the rows of stones laid downslope through the terraces doubtlessly represent boundaries of individual plots of extended families and appear even in isolated homesteads.( _**Four stages in the development of a substantial bokoni type of terrace**_ _**Bokoni terraces**_ _**Dense settlement near machadodorp with circular homes, interconnecting roads and terracing**_ There's engraved and painted art on the rocks within Bokoni depicting the settlement patterns of the homestead complexes, terraces and roads, using a stylized design. The engravings, which weren't a reproduction of an actual settlement but show how it may have looked had it been built on the boulder.( _**Rock engraving depicting the spatial arrangement of Bokoni homestead complexes as concentric circles, with roads connecting them**_ * * * **From zenith to decline and abandonment of Bokoni (18th century-1840)** Beginning in the mid-18th century, the Bakoni played a role in the expanding process of state centralization that was spreading across the region. The expansionist state of Pedi begun clashing with the northernmost Bokoni polities of Kgomane and Kutoane, which loosely came under Pedi political control in a tributary relationship, and as allies of competing Pedi factions, these Bokoni polities later became the base for Makopole, one of the princes of the Pedi king Thulare in 1810s.( By the early 19th century, the formation of larger expansionist states to the south of Bokoni furthered altered the political landscape of southern Africa, and both the Pedi and Bokoni became causalities of these changes. While there's less information about the exact circumstances of Bokoni's abandonment, it likely coincided with the defeat of the Pedi by the armies of Ndwandwe sometime between 1823-1825, a few years before the latter's defeat by the Zulu in 1826( . The inhabitants of Bokoni thereafter migrated to more fortified and safer areas while others were dispersed across the region eventually forming rump states, with one reoccupying Khutwaneng and battling with a reestablished Pedi state. By this time, the majority of the Bokoni settlements had been abandoned but the population was settled all across the immediate region eg at Kopa hill, Mafolofolo and Boomplats( (_**see the settlement sequence map above in introduction**_), just prior to the arrival of the Boer 'trekkers' in the 1840s and the latter’s establishment of the Transvaal republic, a precursor to the British colonization of south Africa.( _**political map of the eastern half of south africa between the late 18th and early 19th century, Bokoni is shown with a purple circle.**_ * * * **Bokoni’s place in African history; On heterachical states and intensive agriculture.** The 400 year old settlement at Bokoni was one of several examples of highly innovative pre-colonial African societies that utilized intensive agricultural techniques, greatly challenging the Eurocentric conception of African agriculture as “rudimentary” —A misconception that is particularly important in Southern Africa given the region's history with colonial settler farming predicated on the myth of "empty, underutilized land". The heterarchical organization of Bokoni society with its extensive construction of road networks, terraces and densely settled towns following a defined pattern without the need for hierarchical political structures with kings and armies, is more evidence of the diverse nature of social structures in pre-colonial Africa, that is better known in ancient urban complex of Djenne-jano( , as well as in the monumental cities of Great Zimbabwe and Khami.( And while this form of political organization was ultimately abandoned in the political revolutions of 19th century southern Africa, its accomplishments nevertheless undermine the conventional narratives of human progress from relatively egalitarian heterarchical systems to stratified and "despotic" centralized hierarchies of the post-neolithic era that became the foundation of modern states.( * * * Like Bokoni, the **UNESCO world heritage site of Khami** in Zimbabwe is a monumental construction built by a **relatively egalitarian society**, read about its history on Patreon ( * * * _**If you like this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal/Ko-fi**_ ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Kingdoms and Chiefdoms of Southeastern Africa by Elizabeth A. Eldredge pg 8 ( Forgotten World: The Stone-Walled Settlements of the Mpumalanga Escarpment by Peter Delius et.al pg 33-34) ( Forgotten World: The Stone-Walled Settlements of the Mpumalanga Escarpment by Peter Delius et.al pg 43-47) ( No Big Brother Here by Shadreck Chirikure, Tawanda Mukwende et. al pg 18-19 ( Bokoni: Old Structures, New Paradigms by P Delius, T. Maggs, A. Schoeman pg 406, 412) ( Bokoni: Old Structures, New Paradigms by P Delius, T. Maggs, A. Schoeman pg 405) ( Five Hundred Years Rediscovered: Southern African Precedents and Prospects pg 143-144 ( Bokoni: Old Structures, New Paradigms by P Delius, T. Maggs, A. Schoeman pg 411, Forgotten World: The Stone-Walled Settlements of the Mpumalanga Escarpment by Peter Delius pg 12-24) ( _**many of the images (photos and maps) shown were taken from; Forgotten World: The Stone-Walled Settlements of the Mpumalanga Escarpment by Peter Delius**_ ( Precolonial agricultural terracing in Bokoni, South Africa by W. Maggs pg 3 ( Forgotten World: The Stone-Walled Settlements of the Mpumalanga Escarpment by Peter Delius pg 11-12, 55-80) ( Bokoni: Old Structures, New Paradigms by P Delius, T. Maggs, A. Schoeman pg pg 402) ( Forgotten World: The Stone-Walled Settlements of the Mpumalanga Escarpment by Peter Delius pg 13-14 Bokoni: Old Structures, New Paradigms by P Delius, T. Maggs, A. Schoeman pg 402) ( Precolonial agricultural terracing in Bokoni, South Africa by W. Maggs pg 15 ( Bokoni: Old Structures, New Paradigms by P Delius, T. Maggs, A. Schoeman pg 401) ( Precolonial agricultural terracing in Bokoni, South Africa by Mats Widgren pg 19-21 ( Precolonial agricultural terracing in Bokoni, South Africa by Mats Widgren pg 18, Bokoni: Old Structures, New Paradigms by P Delius, T. Maggs, A. Schoeman pg 409 ( Forgotten World: The Stone-Walled Settlements of the Mpumalanga Escarpment by Peter Delius pg 29-31) ( Forgotten World: The Stone-Walled Settlements of the Mpumalanga Escarpment by Peter Delius pg 49-58, 155-157) ( Five Hundred Years Rediscovered: Southern African Precedents and Prospects pg 150-151 ( Forgotten World: The Stone-Walled Settlements of the Mpumalanga Escarpment by Peter Delius pg 115-127 ( Bokoni: Old Structures, New Paradigms by P Delius, T. Maggs, A. Schoeman pg 406-407,) ( Ancient Middle Niger: Urbanism and the Self-organizing Landscape By Roderick J. McIntosh ( Great Zimbabwe: Reclaiming a ‘Confiscated’ Past by Shadreck Chirikure ( The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and ‎David Wengrow.

## The Stone Ruins of Bokoni: Egalitarian Systems and Agricultural Technology in Pre-Colonial South Africa (16th-19th Century) ### Overview - **Title**: The stone ruins of Bokoni highlight agricultural societies in pre-colonial Africa, countering Eurocentric views on social order and agricultural practices. - **Time Period**: 16th to 19th century. ### Geographic and Historical Context 1. **Location**: Bokoni is situated in Mpumalanga, South Africa, covering approximately 10,000 square kilometers with distinct stone-built homesteads, towns, and agricultural terraces. 2. **Archaeological Significance**: Identified in the 1930s, Bokoni's establishment dates back to the late 16th or early 17th century, illustrating a complex society engaged in agriculture and trade. 3. **Preceding Communities**: Before Bokoni, various agro-pastoral and foraging communities settled in Mpumalanga, including Bantu-speaking groups who arrived around the common era. ### Political Organization 4. **Political Structure**: Unlike centralized neighbors like the Pedi and Ndunduza, Bokoni exhibited a heterarchical system. It consisted of competing nodes of power with dominant lineages, lacking a strict hierarchy. 5. **Settlement Patterns**: Bokoni's homesteads were occupied in stages, with early settlements in the south moving northward due to external threats. ### Inhabitants 6. **Cultural Identity**: The inhabitants, referred to as "Koni" by neighbors, were primarily Sotho-Tswana and Nguni speakers. The term encompassed cultural self-identification and the development of the Sekoni language. 7. **Trade Networks**: Bokoni engaged in regional trade, exchanging surplus agricultural products for iron goods and textiles. Iron was essential for tools and weapons but was likely obtained through trade rather than local production. ### Agricultural Techniques 8. **Settlement Composition**: Bokoni comprised homesteads, terraced agricultural areas, and interconnected road networks. Major sites such as Komati Gorge and Khutwaneng exemplified urban-like developments. 9. **Terracing and Agriculture**: Stone-built terraces, crucial for intensive agriculture, were constructed to enhance soil fertility and reduce erosion. This agricultural technique enabled the support of a sizable population. 10. **Terracing Process**: The construction involved incremental communal efforts, utilizing the natural landscape to delineate individual family plots without hierarchical labor organization. ### Artistic Representation 11. **Rock Art**: Engravings and paintings within Bokoni depict the spatial arrangements of homesteads, illustrating the community’s layout and agricultural practices. ### Decline and Abandonment 12. **Political Changes**: In the mid-18th century, Bokoni faced external pressures from expanding states, particularly the Pedi, leading to a tributary relationship. 13. **Decline Timeline**: The decline of Bokoni coincided with the defeat of the Pedi by the Ndwandwe (1823-1825), prompting migrations of Bokoni inhabitants to safer regions or dispersal across the area. ### Historical Significance 14. **Challenging Narratives**: Bokoni's history exemplifies sophisticated pre-colonial African societies that practiced intensive agriculture and complex political structures, contradicting the notion of a rudimentary agricultural past. 15. **Legacy**: The settlement at Bokoni serves as an example of the diverse social structures in African history, showcasing the capability of egalitarian systems to sustain large populations without centralized authority. ### Conclusion - The ruins of Bokoni represent an important chapter in the agricultural and political history of pre-colonial Southern Africa, providing insight into the region's advanced societal structures and practices.

State archives and scribal practices in central Africa: A literary history of Kahenda (1677-1926)

Exercising and negotiating power through writing.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers State archives and scribal practices in central Africa: A literary history of Kahenda (1677-1926) ================================================================================================= ### Exercising and negotiating power through writing. ( Nov 13, 2022 8 In 1934, one of the most remarkable collections of African literature was opened to the public; a cache of several hundred documents spanning from 1677 to 1926 was taken from the state archive of Kahenda, a small polity in the Dembos region of modern Angola. This carefully preserved corpus was the first of many state archives and thousands of manuscripts that have been found in the region, it contained everything from matters of politics and diplomacy, to lineage history and land sales, all of which was written by local scribes and represented a well-developed documentary practice in west-central Africa.( The adoption of writing and establishment of a scribal tradition in the state of Kahenda and by other aristocracies in the Dembos marked a decisive change in the negotiation and exercise of political power in a contested frontier zone that was sandwiched between the regional powers of west-central Africa and the colonial enclaves of the Atlantic world. This article provides an overview of the scribal traditions of Kahenda, and decisive role of writing in the political history of west-central Africa. _**Map of West-Central Africa in the mid 17th century showing the Dembos region (green) between the kingdom of Kongo (blue) and the colony of Portuguese-Angola**_ * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **A brief history of the Dembos: from Mbwila to Kahenda (16th-17th century)** The "Dembos" was a region at the southern frontier of the kingdom of Kongo, that was characterized by a rugged terrain which made it easily defensible and difficult for the regional powers to conquer. The Dembo's societies constituted of small, clustered polities predominately settled by Kimbundu speakers, and often loosely united into federations under the leadership of rulers (sobas) who often bore the title "Ndembo", and were nominally loyal to the greater powers of the region; often Kongo, and later; Portuguese-Angola and Matamba( The names of the polities in the Dembos regions were; "**Caculo Cacahenda**" (Kahenda), Cazuangongo, Quibaxi Quiamubemba, etc, and the titles of their rules often carried the name of the territory; eg _**dembo**_ **Kahenda**, dembo Cazuangongo, etc, with the title being passed on to whoever succeeded to the throne of a given _dembo_ in the same way that the Manikongo title was passed on for the whoever occupied the position of 'king of Kongo'.( Prior to the gradual expansion of the colony of Portuguese-Angola, the Dembos region was under the vassalage of the kingdom of Kongo, and was repeatedly contested by Kongo and Angola in the early 17th century, as the smaller Dembos polities leveraged their alliances with stronger neighbors to maintain their independence. The strongest of them was Mbwila which had been in Kongo's orbit before it signed treaties with Portuguese-Angola in 1619, but then revoked them to re-sign treaties with Kongo's Pedro II in 1622 (prior to his victory against Portuguese-Angola in 1663). Mbwila later fell under the political orbit of Queen Njinga's Matamba kingdom during the 1640s, but later returned to Kongo briefly, before it was retaken by Portuguese-Angola (after the latter's victory in the war against Kongo in 1665).( After Portugal's defeat by the armies of Kongo's province of Soyo in 1670, Mbwila remained effectively autonomous as soon as the Portuguese armies left, but its dominance over the other Dembos polities was declining relative to Kahenda, which was challenging the power of Mbwila used Angola's support to take over the another polity named Mutemo a Kinjenga in 1686. Kahenda's ascendance was checked by Matamba's Queen Verónica Kandala, who in 1688 sent her armies in the Dembos to recover her kingdom's lost territories and was received by the dembo Mbwila, but by 1692, her overextended armies were forced to withdraw from the Dembos region after the Portuguese attacked Mbwila but couldn't annex it.( The dembo Kahenda thus leaned closer into the political sphere of Portuguese-Angola as a nominal vassal, signing vassalage treaties (just like Mbwila) in exchange for military alliance against larger states such as Matamba and payment of tribute, but retained near-complete autonomy over Kahenda's politics and commerce. These vassalage contracts established a relationship of unilateral dependence between both parties, and this relationship was not engendered through violence, but through negotiations, appropriations, recognition and legitimation.( * * * **The history of Kahenda: government, trade and foreign relations** The small state of Kahenda was structured much in the same way as the better known kingdom of Kongo but with less elaborate institutions. The dembo Kahenda was elected by macotas (a state council comprised of lineage heads, some with the title "mane"), with collaboration by muenes (powerful royal women) and he governed from a banza (capital/town). He was assisted by an administration that included subordinate chiefs (sobas), and secretaries, the latter of whom were initially drawn from foreign trading class, but was later displaced by locally-born scribes. If deposed, the formerly reigning dembo Kahenda would be retained as an "honorary dembo" serving as an advisor to the succeeding administration.( _**Letter from**_ (honorary dembo) _**D. Sebastiao Francisco Cheque, sent to the**_ (reigning) _**dembo Kahenda D. Francisco Afonso Da Silva, on 17th October 1794, about the activities of a ‘Muene’ Zangui**_ (Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/000002 Kahenda had a largely rural and agricultural economy, but some of its population was also engaged in production of both cotton and raffia textiles (which served also currency and was collected as tribute or redistributed to loyal sobas), as well as other forms of craft industries and trading.( The Dembos region, on top of being part of the regional trade in textiles, ivory, salt and other commodities, was one of the conduits for the slave trade terminating at Luanda. While the bulk of the slave traffic came from outside the region and peace was more preferable for conducting trade than war (taxes on traders were a less costly source of revenue than war/"raiding"), the fractious nature of the small states ensured a steady supply as a secondary effect of local wars( . Conflicts in the Dembos were a attimes (albeit very rarely) moderated by the intervention of Angolan authorities eg stopping a civil war in Kahenda during 1768/1772, and exiling a local secretary in 1785 at the request of the _macota_ councilors who had accused the secretary of conspiring to depose the reigning dembo Kahenda Sebastião Francisco Cheque (author of the above letter) .( _**Letter from a soba named Pedro Damiao Da Silva, sent to the dembo Kahenda Francisco João Sebastião Cheque, on 28th september, 1865, that includes a request for textiles**_ (Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/000025 * * * **The adoption and evolution of writing in Kahenda: from signing treaties to establishing state archives** The political setting in Kahenda was therefore largely dominated by the contest between the central African powers and the colonial authorities at Angola. It was in this contested space that Kahenda negotiated its autonomy by alternating and overlapping its treaties of vassalage between Kongo and Portuguese-Angola, the former of whose king was considered the founding father of Kahenda (the Dembos inhabitants often called themselves "sons of Kongo"). The vassalage and connection to Kongo, however superficial, legitimated the authority of the dembo, and in exchange for the Kongo kings granting them royal insignia, some of the states in the Dembos region occasionally sent tribute to Kongo well into the late 19th century.( For the dembo Kahenda, acts of vassalage were valid only as long as they did not threaten his political autonomy, when they did, he would alternate his allegiance depending on whose authority was more distant and less threatening.( "_**The Dembos area was connected to Angola through vassalage agreements which were frequently ignored, and Portugal’s coercive power was limited**_"( Kahenda's act of vassalage to both Angola and Kongo, however nominal, was nevertheless the beginning of a complex chain of political and diplomatic relations, in which writing played a central role. Like in Kongo, the initial establishment of a scribal tradition in Kahenda was associated with political authority (and a syncretic culture that included the superficial adoption of some Iberian titulature), but unlike in the fully independent Kongo where this initial spread of writing was done fully under its authority (notably by king Afonso I), Kahenda's scribal tradition begun with the signing of treaties of vassalage; which served as proof of Kahenda’s relationship with its suzerains (Portuguse-Angola and later Kongo). Written agreements enabled the dembo Kahenda to legitimate his own power, and were an avenue for diplomatic procedure, especially in the use of written correspondence with Angola and Kongo, but also internally within Kahenda and its peers in the Dembos region.( _**Declarations made by various dembo Kahendas about the payment of "tithe" (taxes) in 1822, 1850, 1852, addressed to the authorities at Angola**_ (Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/001440, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/001452, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/001419) But the scribal traditions of Kahenda quickly transcended their initial use in treaty-making, and just as the foreign secretaries were displaced by locally-educated ones, the use of writing became an intellectual instrument that strengthened the bureaucratic organization of power in Kahenda, especially in its correspondence with the ruling classes of the Dembos region (dembo of Mufuque Aquitupa. Written correspondence included political issues such as; the election of new Ndembu, dispatch of ambassadors, matters of succession, Religious matters between the itinerant clerical orders and the Kahenda elites, and issues of trade such as land sales, and gift-giving between the dembo Kahenda, merchants and subordinate chiefs (such as the dembo Cabonda Cahui( (1) _**Letter by the dembo of Mufuque Aquitupa named D. Miguel Vieira Afonso da Silva to the dembo Kahenda named Miguel Francisco, dated 28th, September 1865, in reply to a letter from the latter to the former, dated 24th September 1865. Discussing issues of patrilineal and matrilineal succession in the chiefdom of 'Mufuque Aquitupa'**_ (Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/000024 (2-3) _**Letter by the dembo of Cabonda Cahui named D. Francisco Afonso da Silva to the dembo of Kahenda named D. João Miguel Sebastião Cheque, dated 11th November, 1868, About the former's gratitude for receiving land**_ (Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/000026 _**Various letters written in 1853, 1855, 1868, 1856, dealing with land sales, requests for gunpowder, matters about confession and baptism in the Dembos**_ (Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/000191, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/000180, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/000094, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/000042) The elites of Kahenda and their peers in the Dembos region, set up state archives, referred to as _**trastesalio**_ - a word independent of both the Kimbundu and Portuguese languages but coined by the Dembos archivists to refer to "things of the state"( . The establishment of state archives was a consequence of the creation of bureaucratic structures based on registers and written correspondence in which the state secretaries (or scribes), the dembo Kahenda, and the councilors (macotas) played a key role both as the writers of the documents in those archives but also as the custodians of the state's official correspondence. The secretaries in particular also served as teachers for the children of the elite in an individualized system of education.( Imported Paper was acquired through diplomatic gifts and trade, and it arrived alongside other goods that included writing materials (ink and quills), Royal documents often contained seals marked with the royal arms of the senders as well as stamps and red waxes, the language of writing was both Portuguese and Kimbundu, often with annotations in the latter. The formalization of Kahenda's scribal tradition (and in the rest of the Dembos) was such that one observer remarked that; _**"there is no dembo chief who does not have wax, seal and scribe"**_.( _**Letter from D. Domingos António da Silva sent to the dembo Kahenda D. Francisco João Sebastião Cheque, in 1865. it includes a request for ink.**_ (Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/000022 _**Letters addressed to various dembo Kahendas, from 1863, 1878, 1870, responding to requests for paper to use in Kahendo**_, (Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/000039, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/000088, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/000089) * * * **Kahenda in the 19th and early 20th centuries.** By the mid-19th century, the reigning dembo Kahenda; (named Francisco João Sebastião Cheque) had refused to fulfill any of the clauses of his vassalage (such as the payment of tribute, return of fugitives and protection of Portuguese traders), and while this refusal had repeatedly occurred in the past as Kahenda was only nominally under Portuguese authority (which was barely exercised outside the occasional receiving of “tithe”), it came at a time when the Portuguese authorities were increasingly asserting their claims of authority to ward off the threat from other European imperial powers (read about; the “rose-coloured map"). The dembo Kahenda repeatedly asserted his autonomy from Portuguese-Angola by claiming vassalage to Kongo's king Pedro V (r. 1851-1891), using written correspondence between himself and the latter as proof, and forcing the Portuguese to communicate through Pedro as a mediator.( The state of Kahenda had also become a refuge for runaway slaves and fugitives from Portuguese-Angola whom the dembo Kahenda refused to hand over, and when a Portuguese column was sent to pacify it in 1872, its soldiers deserted and were settled in Kahenda. A second Portuguese column under Colonel Gomes de Almeida was later sent to finish the failed mission of the first, but the Portuguese resolved to sign a peace treaty with the dembo Kahenda, and this uneasy peace was maintained with regular correspondence until 1907-1909 when two more campaigns failed to pacify the region. The dembo Kahenda only agreed to become a nominal vassal of Portuguese-Angola in 1910, after being recognized as a vassal of Kongo, and wasn't until 1918 (4 years after the Portuguese annexation of Kongo) that Kahenda was formally brought under the colony of Angola.( _**Three letters written between 1868-1869 written by dembos allied to Portuguese-Angola, on conflicts about vassalage in the region, the king of Kongo, and tobacco trade (**_Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/000805, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/000807, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/000823) (1) _**letter from Colonel Gomes de Almeida to D. Francisco João Sebastião Cheque , written in September 1872, about the latter's delay in signing the peace agreement.**_ (2) _**One of the last letters addressed to a dembo Kahenda, written in March 1907**_ (Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino PT/AHU/DEMBOS/000858, PT/AHU/DEMBOS/001023) After their careful storage for nearly three centuries, the elites of the former dembo Kahenda gave**\***( some of their documents in their state archives to the anthropologist António de Almeida in 1934. This was the first of many similar archives from the Dembos that were opened for study in the Dembos region, including the archives of; Dembo Mufuque Aquitupa, Dembo Ndala Cabassa and Dembo Pango Aluquem, all of which ultimately numbered several thousand documents, the vast majority of which cover internal political and social relations and are an invaluable source of African history.( * * * **Conclusion: Kahenda's scribal traditions and the Ndembu Archives in African history** The scribal traditions of the Dembos region are a testament to the diversity in the use of writing in Africa. Due to the mostly political nature of its adoption, the use of writing in Kahenda was not intended to recount legendary epics but instead represents a very formalized description of a west central African society, from which one is able to identify real actors, who convey information only intended for immediate utility. The importance Ndembu state archives to the historiography of west-central Africa challenges the way in which African history is written, and is yet another example of Africa as a continent whose writing traditions have not been studied. _**royal seal of the dembo Kahenda, 1836**_ * * * During the 17th century, the East African coast was the site of a major **intellectual revolution**, with the writing of works on **Philosophy, Poetry** and **History**, Read about the history of **Swahili literature** on my Patreon ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Africæ monumenta: Arquivo Caculo Cacahenda by Ana Paula Tavares, Catarina Madeira Santos ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 23, 102) ( O dembo caculo cacahenda by Daiana Lucas Vieira pg 13 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton 114, 135 , 163, 182) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 209-210) ( “Sempre Vassalo Fiel de Sua Majestade Fidelíssima” by Ariane Carvalho da Cruz pg 69) ( Les archives ndembu (XVIIe -XXe siècles) by Catarina Madeira Santos pg 780-781) ( ( **(for the other letters, simple go to “simple search” at the top of the same page and type in the reference number that i have provided)** ( O dembo caculo cacahenda by Daiana Lucas Vieira pg 38) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 294-295 ( Les archives ndembu (XVIIe -XXe siècles) by Catarina Madeira Santos pg 781) ( ( ( Les archives ndembu (XVIIe -XXe siècles) by Catarina Madeira Santos pg 792-793, Kongo in the Age of Empire, 1860–1913 by Jelmer Vos pg 38) ( O dembo caculo cacahenda by Daiana Lucas Vieira pg 79) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 251-252 ( Les archives ndembu (XVIIe -XXe siècles) by Catarina Madeira Santos pg 775-779) ( Les archives ndembu (XVIIe -XXe siècles) by Catarina Madeira Santos pg 794 ( Africæ monumenta: Arquivo Caculo Cacahenda by Ana Paula Tavares, ‎Catarina Madeira Santos pg 422 ( ( ( ( ( Les archives ndembu (XVIIe -XXe siècles) by Catarina Madeira Santos pg 794 ( Les archives ndembu (XVIIe -XXe siècles) by Catarina Madeira Santos pg 780, 783) ( Les archives ndembu (XVIIe -XXe siècles) by Catarina Madeira Santos pg 773-774, 788) ( ( ( O dembo caculo cacahenda by Daiana Lucas Vieira pg 79, Kongo in the Age of Empire, 1860–1913 by Jelmer Vos pg 38 ( O dembo caculo cacahenda by Daiana Lucas Vieira pg 94-106) ( \* **the exact circumstances in which António de Almeida found and took the first batch of documents from the “caculo cacahenda archive” weren’t ethical, and most remained inaccessible to scholars until fairly recently** ( Les archives ndembu (XVIIe -XXe siècles) by Catarina Madeira Santos pg 771-772).

### Title: State Archives and Scribal Practices in Central Africa: A Literary History of Kahenda (1677-1926) ### Description: Exercising and Negotiating Power Through Writing #### Overview 1. **Introduction to Kahenda Archives** - In 1934, a significant collection of documents known as the Kahenda archives was made public, comprising several hundred manuscripts from 1677 to 1926. - These documents encompassed various topics, including politics, diplomacy, lineage history, and land sales, showcasing a robust scribal tradition in west-central Africa. 2. **Historical Context of Dembos Region** - The Dembos, situated at the southern frontier of the Kingdom of Kongo, had a rugged terrain that hindered conquest by regional powers. - Small, clustered polities, primarily Kimbundu-speaking, existed in the region, often federated under local rulers known as “sobas.” - Notable polities included Caculo Cacahenda (Kahenda), Cazuangongo, and others, with rulers adopting territorial titles. 3. **Political Dynamics** - Prior to Portuguese colonization, the Dembos were vassals of the Kingdom of Kongo, navigating relationships with both Kongo and Portuguese authorities. - The region frequently shifted loyalties among these powers to maintain autonomy, with Kahenda asserting its power through strategic alliances and negotiations. 4. **Governance Structure of Kahenda** - The government of Kahenda was similar to Kongo but less elaborate, with a dembo elected by a council of lineage heads (macotas) and assisted by a royal administration. - The dembo's authority was legitimized through a historical connection to Kongo and diplomatic treaties, allowing for autonomy in local governance. 5. **Economic and Social Structure** - Kahenda's economy was largely agricultural, supplemented by textile production and trade in commodities such as ivory and salt. - The region participated in the broader regional trade networks, including the slave trade, while maintaining a preference for peace over conflict for trade facilitation. 6. **Emergence of Writing in Kahenda** - Kahenda's scribal tradition began with the signing of treaties, which served to legitimize the authority of local leaders and facilitate diplomatic relations with both Kongo and Portuguese authorities. - Writing evolved beyond mere treaties, becoming an integral aspect of bureaucratic governance, including the administration of trade, succession, and internal correspondence. 7. **Establishment of State Archives** - The formation of state archives, referred to as **trastesalio**, represented the codification of administrative practices and the use of writing as a bureaucratic tool. - Local scribes transitioned from foreign secretaries to indigenous record-keepers, fostering a distinct scribal tradition that emphasized education and documentation. 8. **Kahenda in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries** - By the mid-19th century, the dembo of Kahenda (Francisco João Sebastião Cheque) resisted Portuguese demands for tribute and recognized the sovereignty of Kongo instead. - Kahenda became a refuge for runaway slaves, asserting its autonomy amid increasing Portuguese colonial pressure, eventually leading to a nominal vassal agreement in 1910. 9. **Legacy of Kahenda Archives** - The archives of Kahenda, once carefully preserved, were shared with anthropologist António de Almeida in 1934, revealing a wealth of knowledge about the political and social fabric of the Dembos region. - The archival documents are invaluable for understanding the complexity of African history and the role of writing in negotiating power dynamics in west-central Africa. ### Conclusion The scribal traditions of Kahenda highlight the diverse ways in which writing was utilized in Africa, primarily for political purposes. This tradition not only documented the historical realities of the region but also challenges contemporary historiography by illuminating the intricacies of African political and social structures in the face of colonial encounters.

An enigmatic west African Art tradition: The 9th century bronze-works of Igbo Ukwu.

grave-goods of a priest-king

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers An enigmatic west African Art tradition: The 9th century bronze-works of Igbo Ukwu. =================================================================================== ### grave-goods of a priest-king ( Nov 06, 2022 17 Over a period of less than a generation in the 9th century, a group of artists in a kingdom straddling the edge of the west African rainforest produced some of the world’s most sophisticated artworks in bronze, copper and terracotta, which they then interred in a rich burial of their priest-king. This extraordinary art corpus, which was stumbled upon during construction work in the early 20th century, seemingly bursts into the archeological record without precedents, yet doubtlessly represented a full flowering of an old artistic tradition. This article explores the history of Igbo Ukwu art traditions within the political and cultural context of the Nri-Igbo society, inorder to demystify the enigma of Igbo Ukwu. _**Map showing Igbo-Ukwu and the Igbo-lands**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **A political history of Igbo Ukwu; the Nri political-religious organisation** The history of political developments in Igbo-land (south-eastern Nigeria) before and during the emergence of the Igbo Ukwu tradition are rather obscure. Governance in the early small-scale polities of the forest region was associated with priests of the earth-goddess, agnatic heads of lineages, and a council of elders. The traditions of one particular Igbo subgroup; the Nri, posit them as reputed ritual specialists who developed a hegemonic state headed by hereditary sacred rulers who conferred titles on prominent individuals. The Nri's mythical founder, Eri, is said to have descended from the sky to the Anambra River prior to the domestication of the igbo staples; yams and coco-yams, and with the help of autochthonous cultivators, traders and blacksmiths, developed farming, iron technology, and controlled markets that enabled the establishment of a fairly centralized state between the 9th and 10th century.( The Igbo concept of political-religious power is structured by membership in associations based on an elaborate title-system and patrilineal lineages called _**umunna**_, and is thus highly diffused. Within the cultural area of the Nri subgroup, the most powerful title-holder is the Eze office, ie Eze-Nri a dignitary with religious and political authority, who was subordinated by other title-holders (Ozo) who were involved in the Nri governance system.( Central to the Nri social organization is the Obu temple, which is kept for ritual and ceremonial purposes in connection to the title system, and is often located within the main compound of a title-holder's household for the collection of prestige items. Upon his death, the Eze was buried, often in a seated posture, with prestigious grave goods and his coronation clothes.( The institution of the Eze Nri, its title-taking system and many aspects of the Nri culture including the _Obu_ temples present us with the best evidence for explaining the objects discovered. By drawing parallels with their occurrence in extant traditions, it can be surmised that they represent a concentration of wealth accruing to the institution of the Eze Nri, and the objects could be regarded as material metaphors which symbolically represented the office's power( Virtually all the artifacts buried at Igbo-Ukwu, with the probable exception of the beads, were manufactured locally. The artistic inspiration of the the metalwork, consisting of a wide variety of elaborately fashioned and profusely decorated bronze and copper pieces, was largely local, its motifs, casting techniques, and metal ores sources bearing no comparison with anything else outside the region.( The volume, complexity, and richness of the Igbo Ukwu art collection which included imported glass beads, suggest that the already established iron-age agricultural community of the Nri kingdom, received a further impetus of wealth accumulation and display in the late first millennium through its engagement in regional trade routes. This connection was marginal, and is unlikely to have been undertaken using a direct routes but was instead more likely to have been segmented, with imports circulating through various local markets, before being obtained by the wealthy figure(s) buried at Igbo Ukwu.( Demand for a variety of adornment that included imported glass beads was created by their use in the title-taking ceremony for Ozo title-holders which also involves their adornment with semi-precious carnelian stones and glass beads, that are also worn by wealthy individuals in igbo-land to symbolize their social status. ( The most likely trade item exchanged from Igbo Ukwu region was ivory. Igbo Ukwu is ideally situated for obtaining elephant ivory within the West African forest zone, which was funneled through the trading cities of the Sahel, such as Gao, which is the nearest of the major cities, and whose material culture included glass beads similar to Igbo Ukwu, albeit at at slightly later date in the 11th century.( A number of elephant tusks were found among the grave goods as well as several representations of elephant heads, and this is likely related to the practice of Ozo title-holders presenting ivory horns upon initiation, that are later collected and kept in their respective temples.( * * * **A brief description of the excavations at Igbo Ukwu and the casting process** Excavations undertaken in the 1930s and 1960s uncovered a remarkable array of over 700 artworks primarily cast in bronze, copper and copper-alloys, along with works of terracotta, and over 165,000 glass and carnelian beads, that were all deliberately interred with the remains of at least six individuals in three sites that were named after the owners of the compounds on which the objects were found; Igbo-Richard, Igbo-Isaiah and Igbo-Jonah, all of which were dated to between 850-875AD. ( Igbo-Isaiah appears to have been an _**Obu**_ temple which had decayed without trace save for four post-holes that constituted some form of roofing. Igbo-Richard represented the remains of a burial chamber once lined with wooden planks and floored with matting, and given its collection of grave goods, has been interpreted as the burial of the Eze-Nri. Igbo-Jonah, was as a pit used for the deliberate disposal of a collection of ritual and ceremonial objects following the razing of a shrine house.( The majority of the 700 objects found at Igbo Ukwu were made using a combination of lost wax casting for the leaded-bronze objects, while those of copper were made by smithing and chasing.( The copper and lead ore was mined locally in the Abakaliki region, about 100km from Igbo Ukwu, while the tin that was alloyed to form bronze was derived from mines close to Igbo Ukwu, or from the jos plateau.( The cire-perdu casting involved modeling the desired object in wax (or in this case latex from the Euphorbia plant), the obtained model of which is then dipped in clay which is then heated to leave a fired clay model, into which molten bronze is poured and the clay broken off. The exact technique used for the Igbo Ukwu bronzes involved a slightly more complex process than this; with objects often cast in many pieces that were then joined together by separately poured in metal, but this process had been out of use across the rest of the old world for many centuries, which strongly suggests its independent invention by Igbo Ukwu artists working in isolation.( _**map of the excavated site**_ _**Illustration of the lost-latex casting process of Igbo-Ukwu bronzes according to T. Shaw, 1977**_ * * * **The Igbo-Ukwu bronzes** Among the most notable objects were ornaments with human figures whose faces are marked with scarifications radiating in all directions from the bridge of the nose. These are facial marks (ichi) found all over the igbolands and practiced almost exclusively on men being part of an initiation rite into the title-holding system by boys around the age of 11, but these scarifications aren't made on women save for the daughter of the Eze Nri.( Similar depictions of facial scarifications also appear on cylindrical "altar-stands" made of panels of solid bronze decorated with patterns of hatched lozenges and triangles with stylized figures of spiders. Between the panels are walls of open-work with figures of a man and woman, both with face and body scarifications and wearing body ornaments.( The echi facial markings are often associated with the mythical origin story regarding the first Eze Nri and his introduction of cultivation in Igboland, their occurrence in twelve of fourteen representations of human heads underlies the important link between the buried figures and contemporary cultural traditions of the Nri lineages( . _**bronze pendant of human head with a crown, bronze altar stand showing a female figure with facial markings, surrounded by motifs of snakes swallowing frogs and stylized spider figures, 9th century NCMM Nigeria**_ Igbo Ukwu artworks predominantly feature skeuomorphism; the rendering of the innate features of one material form in another. It was manifest in several ways and likely served a twofold purpose that; indicated the power of the object’s owners to transform the meaning and appearance of both every day and prestige items at will, and to produce the symbols of power and authority in more durable forms.( Skeuomorphism was evident in several items of bronze work. The most notable of these was the bronze roped vessel that was skeuomorphic of a pear-shaped clay waterpot on its stand with a rope net around it to help support and carry it. Other skeuomorphic works are the bronze calabashes and gourds, that were modeled after common calabashes, with intricate decorations and quatrefoil patterns on the surfaces to mimic the patterns of nets surrounding common calabashes, they also include wire handles and fittings that imitate copper handles and fittings of real calabashes.( _**Bronze pot on a pedestal enclosed in a rope-work cage; Cylindrical Bronze bowl on an open-work pedestal decorated with alternating figures of grasshoppers, 9th century, NCMM Nigeria**_ _**Leaded-bronze bowls**_, **9th century,** NCMM Nigeria, British museum Af1956,15.3 _**Leaded-bronze bowls, 9th century, NCMM Nigeria. the crescent-shaped bowl is in the form of a calabash**_ Among the Igbo Ukwu corpus were objects that symbolized political and religious authority. These objects include staff ornaments, that are some of the most richly decorated and off all the Igbo Ukwu castings; with granulated surfaces encrusted with glass beads, their sides have spirally twisted bosses, coils of quatrefoils, and geometric patterns of lozenges. Depicted on the staffs are figures of beetles or columns of mudfish and monkey-head figures, all of which are surmounted by a figure of a snake with an egg in its mouth, or figures of birds with grasshoppers/locusts in their mouth.( Other objects of power were three types of bronze bells, and large fan-holders made of pure copper with a semi-circular plate decorated with puncate lines and interlace patterns resembling quatrefoils, the copper fan-holders were also punched with holes for fixing feathers.( _**Bronze staff ornaments, 9th century, NCMM Nigeria**_ _**Copper spiral snake ornament, 9th century, NCMM Nigeria, "the spike was probably driven into the end of a wooden staff**_ _**Large bronze cylindrical staff ornament in the form of a coiled snake with a head at each end, Decorated bronze staff head with four snakes swallowing frogs, alternated by four beetles, 9th century, NCMM Nigeria**_ _**copper fan-holder whose base was originally attached to a staff, 9th century, NCMM Nigeria**_ The staff heads and their ornaments, as well as the fan-handles are indicative of the political-religious power held by highly ranked title-holders in igbo-land, where staffs called _**alo**_ are still carried, they serve as a badge of office and offered a form of "diplomatic immunity" for the title holders. The depictions of grasshoppers and beetles is suggestive of the belief that the Eze Nri’s ability to direct the forces of nature for the benefit of the society, he could thus control the activities of creatures such as grasshoppers, locusts, flies, birds, yam-beetles, all to the advantage of his people( . _**Copper rod that supported a wood and leather scabbard in which an iron blade rested**_ * * * **Animals in Igbo-Ukwu art** The appearance of naturalistic and stylized depictions of animals in the Igbo Ukwu artworks is tied with their use in the iconography of power in which the symbolic representations of leadership took on attributes of elephants, horses, rams, leopards, snails, tortoises, flies, as recounted in the folktales that occur in igboland.( Serpentine figures in particular are ubiquitous in Igbo Ukwu art with snake ornaments made of pure copper, were often used to decorate ceremonial staffs. The snake depicted maybe the python (_**eke**_), it is believed to be the messenger of the earth deity (_**ala**_), and of which they are taboos across igbobland against killing them. The depiction of coiled serpentine figures that is also featured prominently in more recent igbo art, attests to the pervasiveness of the motif in igbo traditions such as the widespread proverb _**okilikili bu ije agwo**_ (circular, circular is the snake's path).( Another object indicating iconography of power was a remarkably preserved bronze hilt in the form of a horseman set on decorated pommel decorated in a grass-weave pattern surmounted by round bosses. The rider is depicted with exaggerated proportions relative to the horse, and with emphasis on the head in a style that would become ubiquitous for the region's art traditions especially in Ife and Benin. This is also one of the oldest equestrian figures in west Africa's forest region, where horses were mostly used for ceremonial display.( _**Equestrian figure on a bronze hilt, 9th century, NCMM Nigeria**_ Other depictions of animals in Igbo Ukwu art include; bronze pendants in the form of stylized elephant heads covered with a hatching of lines and lozenge patterns with a granulated surface encrusted with glass beads, all of which is surmounted by figures of grasshoppers;( Ornately decorated pendants in form of ram's heads whose horns curve to the back of the head, with a patterned surface and the head surmounted by a wristlet and grasshoppers( ; Ornaments in the form of a leopard's skull with a face looking upwards, attached to a long copper rod( , And several bronze shells representing the triton snail-shell (found along the Atlantic coast) with granulated surfaces that are decorated with concentric circles, fly figures, snake swallowing frogs, that are inturn surmounted by a leopard, and coiled wires terminating into an ornamental sprinkler with spouts.( Leopards, elephants, rams and snakes are often used in a general way in west African art to symbolize power, In more recent depictions from the Igbo city of Onishta, the representation of the ram's head with curving horns is seen as a reference to the king as a warrior-figure whose strength is represented in the form of carved figures featuring upthrusting horned projections.( _**Bronze pendant in the form of a leopard’s head, bronze pendants in form of rams heads, bronze ram’s head, 9th century NCMM Nigeria.**_ _**Bronze pendants in form of stylized elephant heads, 9th century NCMM Nigeria.**_ _**Bronze shell with four snakes swallowing frogs and a fly-covered patterned surface, Bronze shell surmounted by a leopard, 9th century, NCMM Nigeria**_ _**Bronze ornament of two eggs surmounted by a bird, attached to it are black copper chains decorated with yellow beads and crotals, 9th century NCMM Nigeria**_ * * * **Conclusion: interpreting the enigma of Igbo Ukwu** The broader implications of the origin of Igbo Ukwu’s metal ores, their artists’ mastery of bronze casting in both naturalist and stylistic forms, and the interpretation of this voluminous art corpus within the cultural context of the Nri traditions; are profound. Igbo Ukwu represents an advanced bronze industry which had emerged in medieval west Africa using its own metals largely isolated from the regional and international artistic centers and technologies of the time. The enigmatic emergence of the Igbo Ukwu art tradition in the 9th century was thus likely to have been tied to the formalization of social and political control by titled individuals associated with the Eze-Nri office during a time when wealth was used to produce durable expressions of power.( _**Painting by Caroline Sassoon showing how the burial chamber with some of the grave goods of Igbo Ukwu could have been originally looked**_ (taken from T. Shaw, 1977 pg 59) * * * Just like Igbo-Ukwu, the ancient **kingdom of Kerma** (2500 BC -1492 BC) pioneered a social and political tradition that was influential in the history of north-east Africa (especially to **ancient Egypt**), read about the history of Kerma on Patreon ( * * * _**If you liked this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal/Ko-fi**_ ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Political Organization in Nigeria since the Late Stone Age Pg 31, 42, 80, Nri Kingdom and Hegemony A.D. 994 to Present by A Onwuejeogwu pg 9-10 ( Political Organization in Nigeria since the Late Stone Age pg 9 ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 98-99) ( Material Metaphor, Social Interaction, and Historical Reconstructions by Ray K pg 68, 74. Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 102) ( Metal Sources and the Bronzes from Igbo-Ukwu, Nigeria by PT Craddock pg 427 ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 106-107, Gao and Igbo-Ukwu by T Insoll pg 18 ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 101) ( Gao and Igbo-Ukwu by T Insoll pg 18) ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 101) ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 91 ( Igbo-Ukwu: An account of archaeological discoveries in eastern Nigeria by Thurstan Shaw pg 263, 264, 226 ( Nigerian sources of copper, lead and tin for the igbo-ukwu bronzes by VE Chikwendu, pg 29) ( Metal Sources and the Bronzes from Igbo-Ukwu, Nigeria by PT Craddock pg 426, nigerian sources of copper, lead and tin for the igbo-ukwu bronzes by VE Chikwendu pg 31) ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 15-19, Nigerian sources of copper, lead and tin for the igbo-ukwu bronzes by VE Chikwendu pg 29-30) ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 33, 100) ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 35) ( The Archaeology of Contextual Meanings by Ian Hodder pg 76 ( Material Explorations in African Archaeology by Timothy Insoll pg 239, 242) ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 21-22, 68 ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 28-29) ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 57) ( Nri Kingdom and Hegemony A.D. 994 to Present by A Onwuejeogwu pg 52-53 ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 102) ( The Archaeology of Contextual Meanings by Ian Hodder pg 72 ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 56) ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 32 ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 33) ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 48 ( Unearthing Igbo-Ukwu by Thurstan Shaw pg 29) ( The Archaeology of Contextual Meanings by Ian Hodder pg 71 ( The Archaeology of Contextual Meanings by Ian Hodder pg 77.

### Title: An Enigmatic West African Art Tradition: The 9th Century Bronze-Works of Igbo Ukwu #### Description: Grave Goods of a Priest-King --- **1. Introduction to Igbo Ukwu Art:** - In the 9th century, artists in the Igbo Ukwu region, located in present-day southeastern Nigeria, created advanced artworks in bronze, copper, and terracotta. - These artifacts were buried alongside the remains of a priest-king, evidencing a rich burial tradition and sophisticated artistic practices. **2. Historical Context:** - The political history of Igbo Ukwu, particularly the Nri-Igbo society, is characterized by a shift towards a hegemonic state led by sacred rulers, known as the Eze. - The Nri civilization is linked to the mythical figure Eri, who is said to have established agricultural practices and governance systems based on lineage and ritualistic authority. - Governance involved priests, lineage heads, and a council of elders, emphasizing a shared political-religious power structure. **3. Artifacts and Excavation:** - Excavations conducted during the 20th century uncovered over 700 artifacts, primarily dated between 850-875 AD, indicating a rich artistic and cultural heritage. - Key sites included Igbo-Richard, believed to house the burial of the Eze-Nri, Igbo-Isaiah, thought to be an Obu temple, and Igbo-Jonah, associated with ritual disposals. **4. Artistic Techniques:** - The majority of bronze artifacts were created using lost-wax casting methods, with local ore sources supporting this advanced metalworking. - Artists employed a complex process, casting objects in multiple pieces and joining them, which suggests an independent innovation unique to Igbo Ukwu. **5. Symbolism in Art:** - The artworks often featured motifs that reflected the power and societal roles of the Eze rulers, with many items serving as material metaphors representing authority and prestige. - Notable artifacts included human figures with facial scarifications indicative of social status, and various ceremonial objects connected to title-taking ceremonies. **6. Economic Context:** - The wealth accumulation in the Nri kingdom was likely bolstered by participation in regional trade networks, particularly in ivory and glass beads, which served as luxury items in the local culture. - Evidence of ivory tusks and representations of elephants in the art supports the significance of ivory as a trade commodity. **7. Iconography and Naturalism:** - The art of Igbo Ukwu showcased both naturalistic and stylized animal representations, linking leadership characteristics with traits attributed to specific animals, such as elephants and snakes. - Serpents, especially the python associated with the earth deity, were common motifs, symbolizing protection and religious significance. **8. Conclusion:** - The emergence of the Igbo Ukwu bronze tradition represents a significant milestone in West African history, showcasing advanced artistic practices and complex social structures. - The artifacts reflect a society that not only produced durable expressions of power but also engaged in a rich cultural dialogue rooted in their political and religious customs. **9. Further Study:** - The Igbo Ukwu tradition invites a deeper exploration of pre-colonial African societies and their contributions to global art and cultural heritage, linking them to broader historical narratives across the continent. --- This structured approach provides clarity and factual coherence, allowing readers to grasp the significance of the Igbo Ukwu art tradition within its historical context.

The invention of writing in an African kingdom: a history of the Bamum script (1897-1931)

"Our memories are fallible. We need a way to keep the word, in a way that it will speak for us, even in our absence"

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The invention of writing in an African kingdom: a history of the Bamum script (1897-1931) ========================================================================================= ### "Our memories are fallible. We need a way to keep the word, in a way that it will speak for us, even in our absence" ( Oct 30, 2022 18 Shortly before the turn of the 20th century and the dawn of colonialism, a ruler of a kingdom in western Cameroon's grassfield's region received a vision in which he was instructed to write. This ruler, who went on to become a renowned scholar and renaissance man, invented a unique script that would create one of the most dynamic literary traditions in west Africa. For over 30 years, the kingdom of Bamum was the site of one of west-Africa's most remarkable intellectual revolutions. Sheltered from the direct effects of colonialism by its shrewd ruler; king Njoya, a literary tradition emerged that produced thousands of works in the Bamum script, from official correspondence, to educational literature, to epics and judicial proceedings, the writing system of king Njoya permeated all facets of Bamum society. This article outlines the political and social context in which the Bamum script was invented, exploring the rapid evolution of the script through six stages, and the formation of a unique literary tradition in western Cameroon. _**Map showing the Bamum kingdom in the late 19th century**_ * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **A political history of the Bamum kingdom until king Njoya’s reign** The Bamum kingdom was established between the late 16th and early 17th century by king Nchare, a prince of the ruling dynasty in the chiefdom of Tikar, to the east of the Mbam River, and founded the capital of the kingdom at Fumban.( The kingdom, which was largely comprised of Bamiléké and Tikar speaking groups (both members of the Bantu language family)( , gradually expanded across the region, subsuming smaller polities in western Cameroon. Bamum was at its peak in the early 19th century under king Mbuombuo (r. 1757–1814) who greatly expanded the kingdom over neighboring chiefdoms and took their insignia which became important objects in royal iconography of Bamum.( He also successfully defended the kingdom against an invasion from a cavalry army of the Pa'arë( , distributed endowments of lands and subjects among the members of the patrilineages, and the kingdom’s expansion was consolidated by his successor Nguwuo (r. 1818–1863). While a succession crisis ensued upon Nguwuo’s death, the kingdom was restored after the ascendance of king Nsa’ngu (1863–1887), who managed to consolidate his power for a while, afterwhich he went to war with Nso’ kingdom in the north, which ended with a disastrous loss and his death.( King Njoya ascended to the throne soon after his father's death in 1889 but since he was only 12yrs old at the time, his early reign was initially under the regency of the queen-mother Shetfon, Njoya's mother Njapndunke, and the Palace officer Titamfon Gbetnkom Ndombuo. All of whom were shrewd regents that secured Njoya's position against many rivals, until he was able to ascend to rule on his own after 1892.( But soon after taking full control of the throne, Njoya had to contend with a rebellion started by the former Palace officer Titamfon and the kingdom descended into civil war. In 1895, Njoya decided to form an alliance with Lamido Umaru of Banyo (1893-1902), a provincial governor of the Adamawa emirate of Sokoto. Lamido’s armies were invited into Fumban by 1897 and quickly put down the rebellion, securing Njoya's throne.( _**an early 20th century illustration by a Bamum artist depicting the invasion of Bamum by cavalry armies of the Pa'arë.**_ _**an early 20th century illustration by a Bamum artist depicting the civil war of the late 19th century at Fumban and the alliance between Adamawa and Bamum to secure Njoya’s throne.**_ (Musée d'ethnographie de Genève Inv. ETHAF 033558) Njoya had been impressed by the fighting efficiency of Lamido's cavalry which was instrumental in the civil war, which in Bamum was remembered as the ‘victory of the horse’, but even more memorable were the Adamawa force's pre-battle customs of (Islamic) prayer and protective talismans , which was similar to Bamum's own pre-battle customs of taking "war medicine", and upon witnessing the success of Adamawa's "war medicine", the king and his courtiers decided to adopt Islam inorder, albeit superficially. As one Bamum chronicle about the conversion of Njoya described; _**"Njoya decided to take some war medicine from the Fulbe so as to increase the Bamum territory like his predecessor King Mbombwo had done. This was reported to the Sultan of Banyo who sent to the sultan Njoya a large white gandoura, a long turban, a pair of baggy trousers and prayer beads and then told him to pray to God, as it was out of this prayer that the war medicine would come. From then on Njoya started the practice of Moslem prayers, not in the name of God but as a war medicine"**_ ( Njoya's court thus adopted some external attributes of the power from Adamawa following a secular and coherent internal logic, that included the adoption of Islam from Hausa marabouts, the wearing of long costumes and amulets, as well as marks of precedence (music, griots). Njoya's court demonstrated a renewed interest in the copies of the Koran that had been circulating in Fumban since the reign of King Nsangu, and initiated the construction of mosques.( Nevertheless, the influence of Njoya's newly-found Muslim allies was largely restricted to the royal sphere, and was confined to a few superficial attributes. _**Gate to Fumban, ca. 1920,**_ (defap library) _**Njoya in front of his old palace at Fumban, 1907,**_ (basel mission archives) _**King Njoya of Bamum, 1911,**_ (basel mission archives) * * * **The impetus for inventing a script** Political status and prestige were central to the development of Bamum script. King Njoya was inspired to create writing after a revelatory dream. In Njoya’s retelling, a teacher instructed him to draw an image of a hand on a wooden tablet before washing it off and drinking the water( . According to this same account; _**"the king called many people and told them; 'If you draw a lot of different things and name them, I'll make a book that speaks without being heard – What good is it said people, whatever we do we will not succeed” The king himself had made trials on his side. He called Mama and Adzia to come and help him compare the work that had been done on both sides. Five times the king tried, but in vain, to obtain a result; it was the sixth successful attempt. The writing was found"**_( This imagery related in the Bamum script's invention is largely similar to the well-established memorizing and healing practices across much of Islamic societies in africa from west africa to sudan. These practices, called "drinking" the Qurʾan involve the writing of Quranic versus on wooden slabs using homemade ink that is fabricated with water, gum arabic, and charcoal, that is then washed off with water to be consumed by the student (for memorizing) or patient (for mild illnesses).( Such practices were sufficiently familiar to non-Muslim West-African communities such that even the inventor of the Medefaidrin script in south-eastern Nigeria, had a similar inspirational vision which led him to believe that by drinking water he would “receive knowledge washed from a great book written in different colored inks and thus receive the words of God”.( * * * **The Bamum script’s evolution (1897-1910)** Prior to his first encounter with Adamawa elites, Njoya had begun work on a local script for his native language of Bamilike( . With assistance from at least two of his royal advisors; Nji Mama Pekekue and Adjia Nji-Gboron, king Njoya drafted the first version of the Bamum script, which was called “Lerewa”/”Lewa” and was completed around 1897. With its 700 ideograms and pictograms that represented real objects and actions, Njoya's logographic script, was wholly unlike the consonantal Arabic script used by his newly-found Muslim allies, nor the alphabetic Latin script that was creeping into his kingdom ahead of the approach of the colonial armies.( _**“Lerewa”, the first version of the Bamum script developed around 1897.**_ _**some of the major categories of signs in “Lerewa”**_ The corpus of symbols used for "lerewa" were drawn from the vast iconographic corpus appearing across Bamum's material culture, presented to Njoya by his courtiers. Each of these courtiers proposed symbols from their immediate environment and professional field. The main register came from the richly patterned Ndop textiles, besides these; musicians proposed in priority drawings of musical instruments, the blacksmiths brought symbols from their equipment, and horse-riders drawings of animals. The original 700 characters were eventually brought down to 500 and then to 465, the script was written in all directions , further differentiating it from neighboring scripts.( _**Ndop textiles from Fumban, early 20th century,**_ (Portland museum, Michael C. Carlos Museum). This form of textile pattern was also reflected in Bamum’s architecture shown below, and appears in some of the symbols in “Lerewa” above. _**architectural drawing by Ibrahim Njoya showing the Layout of the old palace of Fumban, with writings in Bamum script**_, ca. 1927, private collection( . (photo above it is from the defap library) After the end of the civil war, Njoya begun modifying Lerewa, eliminating many characters and introducing a few new symbols bringing the total down from 465 to 437, to end up with a new version that he named “Mbimba”, which means; mixture in Bamilike( The script was at this stage, transitioning from a logography to a logo-syllabary, in an evolution similar to that followed by the Vai script of Liberia. [African History Extra\ \ Creating an African writing system: the Vai script of Liberia (1833-present)\ \ A small West-African town located a short distance from the coast of Liberia, was the site of one of the most intriguing episodes of Africa's literary history. Inspired by a dream, a group of Vai speakers had invented a unique script and spread it across their community so fast that it attracted the attention many inquisitive visitors from around the wo…\ \ Read more\ \ 2 years ago · 10 likes · 1 comment · isaac Samuel]( _**“Mbimba”, the second version of Bamum script developed around 1899-1900**_ Beginning in 1902, Njoya further transformed the script to create the third version; called _**“nyi nyi nʃa mfɯˀ”**_ which represented a true syllabary script. The total inventory of characters was reduced from 437, to 381. He later reduced the characters from 381 to 286, in the fourth version called _**“rii nyi nʃa mfɯ”**_ in 1907, and from 286 to 205 in the fifth version called _**“rii nyi mfɯˀ mɛn”**_ in 1908, and finally to the standardized version of the Bamum script called “_**A ka u Ku”**_ in 1910, with its 80 characters.( _**Two types of; “Nyi Nyi Fa Fu” and**_ “_**Ri Nyi Fa Fu**_” _**from 1902, and 1907.**_ _**The final, standard version of the Bamum script/“A ka u Ku”.**_( _**Bamum manuscripts written in the first version of the script, the first one dated in 1897 is credited to King Njoya while the second is credited to his similarly named cousin Ibrahim Njoya**_ * * * **Creating an intellectual revolution in Bamum** The originality of King Njoya's approach in inventing the script was enabled by political will, the mastery of the instruments of power and the speed of his reaction to external stimuli within the rapidly evolving political landscape that Bamum was thrust in the early 20th century. This included the arrival of the German colonial forces in 1902, with whom Njoya negotiated with to retain his kingdom as a semi-autonomous colony( , the establishment of a (Christian) mission school in Fumban in 1906 in which Njoya was actively involved but wasn't converted, and the defeat of the Germans by allied armies in 1916 afterwhich Bamum fell on the French half of the Cameroon colony.( To promote the use of the script, Njoya founded his own school at the palace in 1898, modeled after Quranic and mission schools, where princes and noble servants were instructed in Bamum writing.( Njoya began offering formal classes in Bamum history and the Bamum script to both male and female students drawn from leading Bamum families. As these pupils became more adept in the use of script, they were tasked with helping to spread it further by teaching in the growing number of Bamum schools established around the kingdom. By 1918 there were 20 different schools across the kingdom serving more than 300 students, increasing the number of subjects literate in the Bamum script from an estimated 600 in 1907 to over 1,000 by the early 1920s.( Njoya designed a professionalized teaching system. Formalizing the different subjects to be taught in his schools in which students were awarded diplomas signed by their teachers and the king himself. The major school division/"department" heads (besides history, religion, cartography and art which Njoya and many of his courtiers took up for themselves) included Medicine, calligraphy, carving and casting, weaving, and other crafts which were essential in Bamum's domestic economy; with students often writing down their work using the Bamum script.( _**Njoya’s later Palace, completed in 1922 after his first palace had burned down.**_ (Defap library) _**King Njoya's school in Fumban,**_ 1905, (basel mission archives) Njoya furthered the spread of the script by writing many books (_Libonar_), including chronicles about the Bamum kingdom’s history such as the 548-page _**“Libonar Oska”**_ (The History of the Laws and Customs of the Bamum in 1912 , instructional texts specifying the hierarchy of signs in Bamum metaphysics such as _**“Libonar Da Lerewa Njuem”**_ (book of interpretation of dreams, pharmacopeia such as “_**Libonar Pu Lewa fu nzut fu libok”**_ (the book of healing remedies, written in 1908, others include fables, descriptions of Bamum customs, and books about the syncretic religion Njoya invented named _**"nuǝt nkuǝtǝ"**_ (Pursue to Attain, written 1916).( He also invented a "royal" version of the Bamum script called shü moum in the late 1900s for the exclusive use of palace officials. His courtiers and officials also began to keep Judicial records, maps( , landsales, births, deaths, and marriages in the Bamum script.( _**various folios from Njoya’s religious book; “nuǝt nkuǝtǝ”, private collection**_( _**Storyboards with illustrations drawn by Ibrahim Njoya showing various fables from Bamum; The Tale of the Leopard and the Civet, Tale of the Frog and the Kite, Tale of Mofuka and the Lion.**_ (Musée d'ethnographie de Genève Inv. ETHAF 033557) _**Map of Bamum kingdom, Map of its capital Foumban, drawn by Ibrahim, 1920-1930, with notes in Bamum script specifying the organization of space and the world.**_ (Musée d'ethnographie de Genève Inv. ETHAF 033553, ETHAF 023023) To further increase the pace of producing Bamum language texts, in 1913 Njoya approached the German administrator at Fumban about developing a printing press for his script, When the Germans failed to respond, he commissioned his favorite craftsman named Kpumie Pinu, (who had made him a corn mill earlier on), to cast the printing press which the latter eventually accomplished after a great effort. Unfortunately, the printing press took nearly 7 years to complete and by the time it would have been operational, Njoya was deeply embroiled in political conflict with a rival contender to the Bamum throne named Yeyap, who was inturn allied with the French colonial administration. For this reason, the printing press, along with many other initiatives by Njoya, were the causalities of this conflict, with the king being forced to destroy it shortly after completion in 1920.( _**Chronicle of the Bamum kingdom, written in 1900, Archives du Palais des Rois Bamum, Fumban, Cameroon**_( _**Note on the Trial of the case of Monta and Shikue, written in 1910, Archives du Palais des Rois Bamum**_( _**. Plan with architectural designs for the construction of a house with proportions labeled in Bamum script, written in 1910 Archives du Palais des Rois Bamum.**_( _**Instructions on various medicinal remedies for removing poison from the body, written around 1945, Archives du Palais des Rois Bamum.**_( _**Treatise on Protective Medicines to guard against Leprosy and Small Pox, written around 1910, Archives du Palais des Rois Bamum.**_( * * * **Colonial policy and the end of the Bamum script.** The growing French colonial government's hostility to Njoya beginning in 1919, started undermining the kingdom's semiautonomous status by ending its tribute system, and creating various titled governors within the kingdom that answered to the colonial government at Yaounde rather than the king at Fumban, persistently challenged royal authority. While Njoya made all efforts to prove as adaptive to the French rule as he had to the Germans, including constructing a large palace in 1922 that doubled as a museum inorder to store books written in the Bamum script and showcase Bamum's art and rival Yeyap's own museum( , the colonial administration increasingly saw Njoya and his schools, as an impediment to their political objectives of ; direct rule, the use of French (and its Latin script), and assuming full economic control of the colony. With a decline in Njoya's political power as his kingdom was divided, and declining financial capacity to support the propagation of the script, enrollment in Bamum script schools gradually declined over the 1920s as students moved to colonial schools, such that by 1930, one administrator mentioned that the Bamum script "was no longer used except by the sultan and his courtiers”.( _**Njoya in his Palace, ca. 1925**_ (defap library) Njoya’s power was rapidly curtailed and reduced, he was forced to cut his palace administration by 1,127 in 1920, forced to cease the collection of tribute which was replaced by a meager salary from the colonial government that had placed Bamum’s provinces under their control in 1924, and had his craftguild removed from the palace in 1927.( When the king learned that the French had killed their own king in 1789, he became convinced that their continued comments about limiting royal power in Bamum were simply a prelude to his eventual destruction.( After a number of rebellions by some of his subjects to restore Njoya's power, the king was arrested by the colonial government and sent into exile in Yaoundé, where he died two years later on May 30, 1933. The Bamum script was only saved from near extinction in 1985 when a school teaching it was reopened by king Njoya's successor Seidou Njimoluh. Beginning in 2005, the over 7,000 Bamum documents held in the palace of king Njoya were digitized and are currently available online.( _**Illustration from 1938, king Njoya teaching the Bamum script to members of his court**_ * * * The NSIBIDI script of south-eastern Nigeria is west-africa’s oldest indigenous writing system, read about its invention and see some Nsibidi manuscripts written in cuba in the 19th century. ( * * * * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Peoples of the Central Cameroons part 9 by Merran Mcculloch ( Linguistic Survey of the Northern Bantu Borderland: Volume Two By Irvine Richardson ( Le Royaume Bamoum by Claude Tardits pg 110,112 ( Les invasions Pa'arë ou Baare-Tchamba et l'émergence du royaume bamoun au XIXe siècle by Eldridge Mohammadou ( African Crossroads: Intersections Between History and Anthropology in Cameroon by Ian Fowler pg 142-144) ( Images from Bamum : German colonial photography at the court of King Njoya by Christraud M. Geary pg 16) ( Fulani Hegemony in Yola (Old Adamawa) 1809-1902 By M. Z. Njeuma pg 36-37) ( African Crossroads: Intersections Between History and Anthropology in Cameroon by Ian Fowler pg 145) ( De l'iconographie à l'écriture, première analyse du système graphique bamoun by Galitzine-Loumpet pg 2) ( The Invention, Transmission and Evolution of Writing by Piers Kelly pg 194 ( De l'iconographie à l'écriture, première analyse du système graphique bamoun by Galitzine-Loumpet pg 3) ( The Walking Qur'an: Islamic Education, Embodied Knowledge, and History in West Africa by Rudolph Ware pg 57-58) ( The Invention, Transmission and Evolution of Writing by Piers Kelly pg 194) ( Le roi Njoya: créateur de civilisation et précurseur de la renaissance africaine by L'Harmattan pg 243-244 ( Njoya’s Alphabet by Kenneth J. Orosz pg 46 ( De l'iconographie à l'écriture, première analyse du système graphique bamoun by Galitzine-Loumpet pg 7-9, Le roi Njoya: créateur de civilisation et précurseur de la renaissance africaine by L'Harmattan pg 244 ( Art, Observation, and an Anthropology of Illustration by Max Carocci pg 88 ( Le roi Njoya: créateur de civilisation et précurseur de la renaissance africaine by L'Harmattan pg 248-249 ( The Invention, Transmission and Evolution of Writing by Piers Kelly pg 195 ( Le roi Njoya: créateur de civilisation et précurseur de la renaissance africaine by L'Harmattan pg 254 ( Njoya’s Alphabet by Kenneth J. Orosz pg 48 ( African Crossroads: Intersections Between History and Anthropology in Cameroon by Ian Fowler pg 146-147) ( Le roi Njoya: créateur de civilisation et précurseur de la renaissance africaine by L'Harmattan pg 257 ( Njoya’s Alphabet by Kenneth J. Orosz pg 49) ( Le roi Njoya: créateur de civilisation et précurseur de la renaissance africaine by L'Harmattan pg 258 ( World Art and the Legacies of Colonial Violence by DanielJ. Rycroft pg 33-34 ( Le roi Njoya: créateur de civilisation et précurseur de la renaissance africaine by L'Harmattan pg 256 ( Écriture et texte: contribution africaine by Simon Battestini pg 356) ( African Crossroads: Intersections Between History and Anthropology in Cameroon by Ian Fowler pg 157-163 ( La cartographie du roi Njoya by Alexandra Galitzine-Loumpet ( Le Royaume Bamum by Claude Tardits 36-52 ). ( Les dessins bamum: Marseille-Foumban (Cameroun) pg 48, 68 ( L'écriture des Bamum by Idelette Dugast, Mervyn David Waldegrave Jeffreys pg 29-30 ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( World Art and the Legacies of Colonial Violence by DanielJ. Rycroft pg 38 ( Njoya’s Alphabet by Kenneth J. Orosz pg 55-59) ( World Art and the Legacies of Colonial Violence by DanielJ. Rycroft pg 40-41 ( Njoya’s Alphabet by Kenneth J. Orosz pg 55.

### The Invention of Writing in the Bamum Kingdom: A History of the Bamum Script (1897-1931) #### Introduction - The Bamum script was developed shortly before the turn of the 20th century under King Njoya in the Bamum kingdom, located in western Cameroon. - Njoya, inspired by a vision, aimed to create a system of writing that would preserve the kingdom's oral history and facilitate communication, stating, “Our memories are fallible. We need a way to keep the word, in a way that it will speak for us, even in our absence.” #### Historical Context of the Bamum Kingdom 1. **Foundation of the Kingdom**: - The Bamum kingdom was established between the late 16th and early 17th centuries by Prince Nchare, founding its capital in Fumban. - The kingdom expanded by assimilating smaller polities, peaking in power under King Mbuombuo (1757–1814). 2. **Succession and Civil Conflict**: - Following the death of King Nguwuo (r. 1818–1863), a succession crisis led to the ascendance of King Nsa’ngu (1863–1887). - Njoya ascended the throne in 1889 at the age of 12, under a regency, and after initial conflicts, managed to consolidate his power with the help of an alliance with Lamido Umaru of Banyo. #### Development of the Bamum Script 1. **Inspiration and Initial Creation**: - King Njoya’s creation of the Bamum script stemmed from a dream where a teacher instructed him to draw and visualize writing. - He attempted to create a script several times, ultimately succeeding in 1897 with the first version named “Lerewa,” a logographic system with over 700 symbols. 2. **Evolution of the Script**: - The script underwent multiple phases: - **Lerewa (1897)**: The original logographic script with 700 characters, influenced by local material culture. - **Mbimba (1899-1900)**: Modified to 437 characters, transitioning towards a logo-syllabary structure. - **Nyi Nyi Nʃa Mfɯˀ (1902)**: Represented a transition to a syllabary with 381 characters. - Further reductions led to a standardized version called “A ka u Ku” in 1910, consisting of 80 characters. #### Intellectual and Educational Revolution 1. **Founding of Educational Institutions**: - In 1898, Njoya established a school at the royal palace, which became central to the dissemination of the Bamum script. - By 1918, 20 schools had been established, increasing literacy in Bamum script from approximately 600 in 1907 to over 1,000 in the early 1920s. 2. **Text Production and Literary Contributions**: - Njoya authored various books to promote the script, covering history, customs, medicinal remedies, and a syncretic religion he invented, named “nuǝt nkuǝtǝ.” - He also initiated a royal version of the script for official use and started documenting judicial records and maps. #### Interaction with Colonial Powers 1. **Impact of Colonial Rule**: - The arrival of German colonial forces (1902) and later the French (1916) created a hostile environment for the Bamum script. - Njoya sought to adapt to colonial rule while preserving his kingdom’s autonomy, but faced increasing restrictions. 2. **Decline of the Bamum Script**: - By the 1920s, French policies undermined Njoya’s authority, leading to a decrease in the use of the Bamum script as students began attending colonial schools. - Njoya's political power declined, resulting in his exile in 1933 and the script's near-extinction until efforts to revive it in 1985. #### Conclusion - The Bamum script reflects a significant achievement in African literary history, illustrating the kingdom's intellectual and cultural dynamics amidst changing political landscapes. - Despite colonial suppression, the preservation and digitization of over 7,000 Bamum documents since 2005 highlight the importance of this indigenous writing system in maintaining cultural heritage.

The desert kingdom of Africa: A complete history of Wadai (1611-1912)

On the Myths and Misconceptions of Trans-Saharan trade.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The desert kingdom of Africa: A complete history of Wadai (1611-1912) ===================================================================== ### On the Myths and Misconceptions of Trans-Saharan trade. ( Oct 23, 2022 12 Tucked along the southern edge of the central Sahara was one of Africa's most dynamic states. The kingdom of Wadai established a centralized political order across a diverse geographic and ecological space straddling the arid Sahara and the rich agricultural lands of the lake chad basin, creating one of the largest states in African history that at its height covered nearly 1/3rd of modern Chad. The emergence of the Wadai kingdom in eastern Chad was part of the dramatic political renaissance that swept across the region following the collapse of the kingdoms of Christian Nubia at the close of the middle ages, and created the cultural characteristics of the societies which now dominate the region. The kingdom’s history features prominently in debates about the role of Trans-Saharan trade in state formation and the economies of pre-colonial west-African societies. This article outlines the history of Wadai from the kingdom's establishment in the early 17th century to its fall in 1912 as west Africa's last independent kingdom, exploring the role of Trans-Saharan trade in Wadai’s society. _**Map showing the kingdom of Wadai in the 19th century**_ * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Early history of Wadai:** The period preceding the establishment of Wadai was characterized by the upheaval following the collapse of the medieval kingdoms of Nubia in the 15th century, the gradual adoption of Islam, and the establishment of the enigmatic kingdom of Tunjur in the 16th century by islamized Nubian kings in the region between eastern chad and western Sudan with its capital at Uri and later at Ain Farrah.( Wadai’s traditions retain memories of Tunjur's legacy which they often cast in unfavorable light (to legitimize Wadai's deposition of its dynasty), but nevertheless contend that the kingdom's founder Abd al-Karim was associated with the _Jawama’a_ sect of teachers from the Tunjur era who were analogous to west Africa's malams/marabouts.( Following the breakup of the Tunjur state and deposition of its ruling dynasty by local elites in Wadai (as well as Dar Fur), the latter begun to create their own imperial and commercial networks that took over much of the Tunjur polity and adopted many of its institutions.( Wadai's first king Abd al-Karim is the subject of numerous traditions that link him to both the eastern and western societies of the “central Sudan” (roughly the region between Timbuktu and the Nile), with some linking him to the _Ja’aliyyin_ community of the Funj kingdom’s Dongola region, others to the town of Bidderi (an important learning center in Bagirmi kingdom), and others identify him as a student (or companion) of the prominent scholar al-Jarmiyu (d. 1591) from the Bornu empire. Abd al-Karim is then claimed to have overthrown the last Tunjur king Dawud and established Darfur as an independent kingdom in the years between 1611-1635 at his capital Wara.( _**ruins of the 16th century Tunjur capital Ain Fara in DarFur region, Sudan**_ _**Map showing the Tunjur kingdom relative to the kingdoms of Wadai and DarFur**_ * * * **Wadai government and society** The Wadai administration that developed over the 17th-19th century was largely dominated by the Maba ethnic group, who are speakers Nilo-Saharan language of eastern chad and from whom Abd al-Karim hailed, but the kingdom was a multiethnic affair comprised of dozens of other ethnicities, many of whom migrated into the kingdoms' center, some of whom were part of smaller states that had been subsumed by Wadai, while others were former prisoners of war that were assimilated into the Wadai social structure and settled in provinces as subjects( . At its height in the 18th century, the kingdom's territory constituted nearly 1/3rd of modern chad including the modern north-eastern chad’s Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti region, as well as the old states of Kanem and Bagirmi in south-western chad, which were under its political influence.( The kingdom was subdivided into provinces headed by governors of various ranks (_**Kemakil**_, and _**aguids/aqids**_) who collected tribute/taxes and raised armies( from the various sedentary agricultural groups at the core (eg the Maba, Kodoi, etc), as well as the nomadic Arab groups in its peripheries (although the Arabs occupied a rather degraded position relative to the rest of the subjects)( . The king was assisted by a council of advisors (_**Djarma/Jerma**_) that were responsible for major decisions such as justice (a judge was _**Faqih**_), administration of vassals, declaration of war, foreign policy, and an _**imam**_ to head the religious administration and the scholarly community (_**Ulema**_). Below the councilors were the second ranking dignitaries such as the _**Adjawid**_ (knights), the market administrators, head of craftsmen (_**sultan el-haddadin**_) and other officials who implemented the decisions of the court.( At the center of the capital Wara is a large palace complex enclosed within a 24-acre fortress. The ruins comprise an audience chamber, the sultan’s palace, the palaces of the king’s wives, the main mosque, the so-called house of the marabout, all of which are relatively well preserved within a 4m high, 3m thick defensive wall. Next to these are several building annexes for guards and the king’s courtiers, and a large royal cemetery, that are less well preserved. Most of the constructions were completed by Abd al-Karim’s successor king Kharūt, except the mosque and its originally 12-meter high minaret, that was built in late 18th century.( Wadai was from its early establishment a major center of learning in the central Sudan and was part of the intellectual network linking scholars from Bornu and Bagirmi with those from Ottoman-Egypt( . In the 1830s, the Tunisian traveler al- Tūnisī, noted that the most lucrative imports to Waddaï and DarFur were gold coins, writing paper, and books of jurisprudence, adding that he knew of no country where Islam was as thoroughly adhered to as in Waddaï( . The German traveler Gustav Nachtigal, in his 1874 account of his visit to Wadai, also claimed that there was a primary school in every village, and 30 schools of higher learning, and that ‘compulsory school attendance’ was on a par with that of his country (Prussia).( _**Ruins of the walled complex at the 17th century capital of Wara/Ouara in Chad**_ _**19th century Manuscript from a private collection in Abéché, chad**_ (Endangered Archives Programme) * * * **Political history of Wadai from 1655 to 1898** Abd al-Karim was succeeded by his son, king Kharūt (r. 1655-1681) who presided over a relatively prosperous period and is credited in some accounts with the founding of the capital Wara, while other accounts state that he only expanded it. He was succeed by his son Kharif (r1678-1681) who ruled briefly and was killed in a war with a neighboring south-eastern chiefdom of Dar Tama after a long campaign led his soldiers to mutiny, and he was thus succeeded by Ya'qub 'Arūs (r. 1681-1707) who is credited with ending Wadai’s suzerainty to the eastern neighboring kingdom of Darfur.( Much of the history of Wadai during the 17th century and early 18th century was dominated the relationship with its nominal suzerain the Darfur kingdom whose authority it repeatedly challenged. Wadai had continued to pay tribute to kings of Dar fur during the reign of Darfur king Sulayman, but repeated invasions on the frontier by his successor Ahmad Bukr prompted an invasion of the latter by the Wadai king Ya'qub, whose rapid advance into the center of Darfur was only stopped by Bukr's alliance with Wadai’s southern neighbor, the Bagirmi kingdom as well as the timely procurement of ottoman-Egyptian firearms.( Wadai continued its expansion under powerful rulers including king Kharüt alşaghir (r. 1707-1747), and his successor Muhammad Djawda Kharif al-Timām (r. 1747-95) who extended Wadai's influenced into the Kanem region, that was taken from the declining empire of Bornu, and the Wadai kings also installed a ruler on the throne of the south-western kingdom of Fitri, which was brought under Wadai's political sphere as a tributary state.( Darfur invaded Wadai again in retaliation for supporting a rebel prince, but the long war ended with the capture of the Darfur sultan Umar Lel who was confined to the Wadai capital where he later died.( Djawda is credited with a number of conquests to the south and a period of relative stability in Wadai, when the Darfur king Abu'l-Qasim invaded Wadai in pretext to bury his predecessor, the latter was defeated by Djawda's army and internally deposed in favor of Tayrab, who made a formal peace treaty with Wadai, and created a formal border (_**tirja**_) between Wadai and Darfur marked by stone cairns, large iron spikes and walls that ensured peace between the two states for nearly a century. Djawda was succeeded by Şallı Darrit (r 1795-1803) who was relatively weak and his death left as brief succession struggle in Wadai that was won by his son Muhammad Sābūn ibn Saleh.( Wadai was at its height under king Sābūn (r. 1803-1813), he defeated the Bagirmi army and establish influence over the kingdom by installing an allied ruler and imposing tribute( , the frontier state of dār Tama (in the south-east) was brought firmly into Wadai's political sphere, the former following a war that was in retaliation to Tama's raid's into Wadai that had been supported by Dar Fur's king Muhammad al-Fadl.( Internal conflicts plagued the reign of Sabun's successors, beginning with the short reign of Busata (r. 1813), who was then succeeded by Yûsuf (1813-1829), whose campaigns ended in his defeat and brief evacuation of Wara, and his reign was considered tyrannical such that members of the state council assassinated him and installed his son Rāqib (r. 1829) who reigned for only a year but died, and was succeeded by Abd al-Aziz (r. 1829/30-1834) who spent much of his brief reign crushing rebellions including retaking Wara from the rebellious councilors.( Upon Aziz's death in 1834, his infant son Adam was installed, but the Dafur sultan al-Fadl took advantage of the succession struggles to mount an ambitious expedition in 1835 to install the exiled brother of Sabun; Muhammad al-Sharif to the throne in exchange for recognition of Darfur's suzerainty over wadai. Upon his installation, al-Sharif immediately turned against his patron, repudiating the agreement he had made to pay tribute to Darfur, he launched his own campaigns including against Bornu, and shifted his capital from Wara to Abeche in 1850, which later became an important trading city with a population of around 28,000 by 1900. Sharif was succeeded by Ali (r. 1858-1874) and Yusuf (r. 1874-1898), both of whose reigns were relatively stable and who undertook a modest transformation of Wadai to consolidate its status as a regional power in response to the declining power of Bornu, the fall of Darfur in 1874, and its growing foreign contacts with the Sanussiya brotherhood in Libya, as well as the French who had arrived in the region in 1897.( _**Abéché in the 1920s**_ * * * **Regional and External trade in Wadai’s history, and the kingdom’s relations with North-Africa’s Sanussiya.** The kingdom's regional and domestic trade was largely based on the region's characteristic farmer-herder exchanges based on ecological variations; with the agricultural products of the Sahel trade for the pastoral products of the Sahara, and supplemented by local specializations in the produce of cloth, leather, iron and copper.( During the mid-19th century, the Kano market of the Hausalands, was partly supplied by copper from mines south of Darfur, carried west by traders from Wadai.( Wadai had a significant crafts industry comprised of local metal-smiths and tailors, as well as Hausa leatherworkers( and Bagirmi craftsmen, its for this reason that most of Wadai's textiles; their accompanying ivory and copper ornaments; leather footwear and horse equipment; weaponry and other implements were made locally, although some was imported west from the Hausalands and Bornu, and north from Tripoli and Egypt.( _**Various textiles made in Wadai, early 20th century, Quai branly**_ Internal trade in Wadai was confined to the main markets held in the capital Abeche and about half a dozen commercial towns across the kingdom, the items sold were mostly agro-pastoral products, as well as locally made textiles and crafts, some regional imports and even fewer Mediterranean imports (less than its neighbors Darfur and Bornu).( The bulk of Wadai's agro-pastoral trade between the Sahel and Sahara ecological zones that formed the kingdom's main economy, can be gleaned from the various taxes obtained from different provinces which collectively made up the bulk of the state's revenue. With cotton cloths, and riverine produce coming from the south-western provinces, 100-200 loads of ivory and various pastoral products from the southern Arab groups; with horses, camels and grain from the Maba and other groups in the central region of the kingdom; with thousands of head of cattle from the northern Arab groups (cattle, horses and camels appear to have been the most valuable tribute across the region besides grain and formed the bulk of Wadai's external trade to/through DarFur before the 1860s; with 100 slaves from various southern vassal states including Bagirmi( ; and other items including salt, weapons, leather-skins, etc.( _**Dyed-leather footwear from Abéché, inventoried in the early 20th century at Quai Branly**_ Wadai's limited external trade to the Mediterranean markets had for long been directed through DarFur's capital el-Fasher, as Wadai's own northern routes were constrained by its inability to extend firm authority northwards, this challenge which was briefly overcame when a northern merchant stumbled upon Sabun's capital at Wara in 1810, and enabled Sabun to establish a trade route that terminated at the Ottoman-Libyan port city of Benghazi, with trade continuing for about a decade. But this trade later collapsed for extend periods between 1820-1835 as a result of the internal conflicts in Wadai as well as external conflicts with the Ottoman-Fezzan governor of central Libya whose merchants were competing with Wadai, forcing the latter to imprison and/or execute leaders of northern caravans in Wara, confiscate their goods and ban any travelers from the north.( It was only after the establishment of the Sanūssiyya politico-religious order during the mid-19th century in the region of eastern Libya, and their setting up of well-regulated trade system of trade that the constraints of the Wadai's trade with the northern markets through Beghanzi were removed. The Sanussiya invited many of the nomadic groups north of Wadai into their order; including all kings of Wadai beginning with al-Sharif in 1835, and gradually increased security in the region by mediating merchant disputes.( The Wadai king Sabun is said to have met with the Sanussiya founder Mohammed ibn al-Sanuss while on pilgrimage to mecca in 1835. From 1836, northern trade was re-established, and every two to three years, a caravan with about 200–300 camel loads of ivory, leather-skins, and some slaves reached the port of Benghazi. But external threats to Wadai primarily from as a result of raids on its caravans from northern nomadic groups such as the Tubu and Fezzan-Arab groups who blocked northern routes beginning in 1842, an action that likely involved the Jallaba trading diaspora, forcing al-Sharif to reinstate the anti-northern policies of his predecessors by imprisoning and executing northern caravan traders, such that Wadai was effectively cut off from the northern markets. (explaining the "xenophobic" reputation of the kingdom which Nachtigal claimed characterized al-Sharif's reign)( Trade was gradually revived under Mohammed al-Sharif's successor king Ali who encouraged Kanuri and Hausa merchants from the west to trade with Wadai, and was also closely associated with the Jallaba traders from the east through his wife. Despite king Ali's best efforts however, Wadai's northern route wouldn't be re-opened until 1873 when the first caravan arrived, and it wasn't until the 1890s that northern trade reached its apogee with 17 caravans with 548 tonnes of merchandise departing for Abeche in 1893-1894, and a Sanussi representative named Mohammed al-Sunni, being permanently stationed at the Wadai court to handle the Sanussiya's trade with Wadai. By 1907, 20% of Benghazi's ,£240,000 imports and 33% of its £304,000 of exports were for Wadai, an earlier estimate in 1873 placed the value of Wadai's trade with Benghazi at 16,700 MTT (less than £1,000) showing its dramatic rise. The bulk of this trade was in ostrich feathers, ivory, indigo-dyed cloth, leather-skins, and slaves, the latter of whose share of trade was declining as their demand had all but ended by their ban in most of the Ottoman markets by then.( In the late 19th century, Benghazi was exporting 700 slaves a year and retained 200 locally, all of whom were obtained from the routes through Wadai and the Fezzan( , (which was a relative small trade at the time compared to the Atlantic slave ports. Given the highly irregular nature of the Wadai-Benghazi route, its status as the only remaining route after the 1870s in which all the northern-directed slave export trade was confined (after the closure of both the Bornu route through Tripoli, and the Mahdist-Sudan trade to Ottoman-Egypt), and considering the tribute of slaves that Wadai collected form vassals like Bagirmi, it's unlikely that any significant fraction of the export traffic came from Wadai itself.( The majority of captives (who were a secondary effect of war) were likely retained locally, as there are several slave officials who appear within the Wadai administration in the 19th century where they held positions of influence, as well as in the military as soldiers directly under the King.( _**A large caravan with over 600 camels near Kufra in the 1930s. located in south-eastern Libya, Kufra was home to a major Sanussiya lodge in the late 19th century**_( * * * **The fall of Wadai (1898-1912)** The last decades of Wadai's history were spent in the shadow of the looming threat from the advancing French colonial forces that had colonized Bagirmi in 1898, and Kanem in 1901, chipping away Wadai's power. Before the appearence of the French, Wadai's King Yusuf (r. 1874-1898) had managed to preserve the kingdom's influence in its eastern frontier throughout several upheavals in which DarFur was conquered by the Ottoman-Egyptians (1874), who were inturn overthrown by the Mahdists (1881) that were inturn overthrown by the reestablished kingdom of DarFur (1898) just before his death. Yusuf's foreign policy with the Mahdi was particularly antagonistic, and culminated with Wadai’s conquest of several former Mahdist vassals in the south-east( _**Letters written by Wadai king Yūsuf ibn Muḥammad Sharīf in 1891 and 1895, addressed to his various dependencies in Sudan.**_ (Durham University Library Archives, Reginald Wingate’s collections) _**States on south-eastern border of Wadai that were brought under its control by King Yusuf**_ Yusuf's son Ibrāhim (r. 1898-1900) was installed by the royal council that had initially considered him the easiest of the candidates to control, until he turned against them and in the ensuing revolt with the nobility, he was deposed by internal factions backed by the re-instated king of DarFur Ali Dinar( , and replaced by Ahmad Abu Ghazali (r. 1900-1901) who was also eventually caught up in internal strife, that ended with the ascendance of Muhammad sālih (known as Dud Murra), the last king of Wadai (r. 1901-1911). Dud Murra restored central control in Wadai and revived its regional trade with Darfur kingdom until relations with the latter deteriorated in 1904-5( , Dud Murra expanded his arsenal of firearms through his Sanussiya connections and ivory trade, in preparation for the inevitable war with the French.( Initial attempts by Wadai to take back its southern territories of Kanem and Bagirmi from the French in 1904-5 were reversed, and the French then went on the offensive in 1906-7 using the pretext of installing a pretender named Asil in favor of Dud Murra, they skirmished with the latter’s provincial forces but didn't face the bulk of army that was concentrated in the south-eastern regions.( After two battles in 1908-9 however, the French captain Fiegenschuh defeated Wadai's provincial forces and entered Abeche, but Dud Murra had fled the capital, meeting Fiegenschuh's forces outside in Jan 1910 where he annihilated them and killed their captain. This forced Fiegenschuh's commander; colonel Maillard, to attack with his own men in November 1910, but they too were defeated by Dud Murrah's cavalry forces and all were killed -making Dud Murrah a widely disdained figure in the French press. It wasn't until October 1911 that another French force managed to force Dud Murrah to surrender, and permanently occupied Wadai in 1912, marking the end of west Africa's last independent kingdom.( _**illustration in a French newspaper of the armies of Dud Murra made in February 1911, shortly after the wadai sultan had defeated the French in December 1910.**_ _**Horsemen of Wadai**_ * * * **Conclusion: the view of Trans-Saharan trade from Wadai** The history of Wadai allows us to better understand pre-colonial African societies within their context. Despite Wadai’s prominent position in the discourses which overstate the role of external trade in the formation of African states, the available research on the kingdom’s history overturns these simplistic causative arguments. The growth of Wadai, and its peers in the eastern Sudan _**"was not dictated by the exigencies of long-distance trade"**_( ; Wadai had reached its apogee long before king Sabun pioneered the kingdom’s direct access to Mediterranean markets, but even this access was never consistently maintained, as it was routinely closed due to internal factors in Wadai and because external trade was relatively trivial to Wadai's economy which was primarily dominated by domestic exchanges between its Sahelian and Saharan groups. Rather than ‘living and dying’ by Trans-Saharan trade, Wadai flourished by exploiting the diverse geographic and ecological environment in which it was established. In contrast to its peers who were marginally engaged in long-distance trade, Wadai was firmly situated within its local geographic context at the edge of the Sahara; the desert kingdom of Africa. _**Abéché, 1920**_ * * * Despite its reputation as the world’s most inhospitable region, **the Sahara desert was not a formidable barrier** between North-Africa and “Sub-Saharan” Africa as its often presented. Read about the history of the **Kanem-Bornu empire’s conquest of southern Libya on Patreon** **<subscribe to my Patreon for this and more indepth research on African history>** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia By Bruce Williams pg 895, 900-901 ( The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia By Bruce Williams pg 902-903 ( Kingdoms of the Sudan by RS O'Fahey pg 115-116 ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 4 pg 137-138, UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. V pg 511 ( Sahara and Sudan by Gustav Nachtigal pg 165-171 ( Des pasteurs transhumants entre alliances et conflits au Tchad by Dangbet Zakinet 109-112) ( Sahara and Sudan by Gustav Nachtigal pg 180 ( Des pasteurs transhumants entre alliances et conflits au Tchad by Dangbet Zakinet 81-84, for a similar position of ‘Arabs’ in various parts of the central and eastern sudan see; Ethnoarchaeology of Shuwa-Arab settlements by Augustin Holl. ( Des pasteurs transhumants entre alliances et conflits au Tchad by Dangbet Zakinet pg 75-79, ( Conservation et valorisation du patrimoine bâti au Tchad : cas des ruines de Ouara by Eric Bouba Deudjambé pg 28-37, Travels of an Arab merchant in Soudan by al-Tunusi 1954, pg 126-129 ( Arabic Literature of Africa, Volume 2. pg 426-432 ( Travels of an Arab Merchant in Soudan pg 250 ( Sahara and Sudan IV by Gustav Nachtigal pg 189 ( A Political History of the Maba Sultanate of Wadai by Jeffrey Edward Hayer pg 15-16) ( Kingdoms of the Sudan by RS O'Fahey pg 128) ( A Political History of the Maba Sultanate of Wadai by Jeffrey Edward Hayer pg 16, 69, Des pasteurs transhumants entre alliances et conflits au Tchad by Dangbet Zakinet pg 120-122) ( A Political History of the Maba Sultanate of Wadai by Jeffrey Edward Hayer pg 16, State and Society in Dār Fūr By Rex S. O'Fahey pg 78) ( Society in Dār Fūr By Rex S. O'Fahey pg 82, A Political History of the Maba Sultanate of Wadai by Jeffrey Edward Hayer pg 17 ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 4 pg 141) ( State and Society in Dār Fūr by Rex S. O'Fahey pg 85) ( Sahara and Sudan IV by G. Nachtigal pg 216-217, A Political History of the Maba Sultanate of Wadai by Jeffrey Edward Hayer pg 23-25) ( Sahara and Sudan IV by G. Nachtigal pg 220-226, A Political History of the Maba Sultanate of Wadai by Jeffrey Edward Hayer pg 30-39 ) ( State and Society in Dār Fūr by Rex S. O'Fahey pg 147, Cows and the sharīʿah in the Abéché Customary Court by Judith Scheele pg 31 ( The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 4 pg 141) ( A Political History of the Maba Sultanate of Wadai by Jeffrey Edward Hayer pg 39 ( Sahara and Sudan by Gustav Nachtigal pg 195-196 ( Sahara and Sudan IV by Gustav Nachtigal pg 119 ( Mahdish Faith & Sudanic Traditio By Kapteijns pg 199,173 ( Sahara and Sudan IV By Gustav Nachtigal pg 214 n3, but other dependencies were likely no more than a few dozen, Mahdish Faith & Sudanic Tradition By Kapteijns pg 111-112 ( Des pasteurs transhumants entre alliances et conflits au Tchad by Dangbet Zakinet pg 81-88, Sahara and Sudan by Gustav Nachtigal pg 182 ( Eastern Libya, Wadai and the Sanūsīya by Dennis D. Cordell pg 22-23) ( Eastern Libya, Wadai and the Sanūsīya by Dennis D. Cordell pg 29) ( Across the Sahara by Klaus Braun pg 156, Eastern Libya, Wadai and the Sanūsīya by Dennis D. Cordell pg 24, Sahara and Sudan IV by G. Nachtigal 43, 49, 136) ( Eastern Libya, Wadai and the Sanūsīya by Dennis D. Cordell pg 21,30 Across the Sahara by Klaus Braun pg 158-160) ( The Trans-Saharan Slave Trade by John Wright pg 111-112 ( Slave Traders by Invitation by Finn Fuglestad pg 96 ( The Trans-Saharan Slave Trade by John Wright pg 105, 124 Across the Sahara by Klaus Braun pg 229 ( A Political History of the Maba Sultanate of Wadai pg 84, Des pasteurs transhumants entre alliances et conflits au Tchad by Dangbet Zakinet pg 76-77 ( Across the Sahara by Klaus Braun pg 52 ( Mahdish Faith & Sudanic Traditio By Kapteijns pg 107-113 ( An Islamic Alliance: Ali Dinar and the Sanusiyya, 1906-1916 By Jay Spaulding pg 12-13 ( An Islamic Alliance: Ali Dinar and the Sanusiyya, 1906-1916 By Jay Spaulding pg 20-21 ( A Political History of the Maba Sultanate of Wadai by Jeffrey Edward Hayer pg 39-41 ( A Political History of the Maba Sultanate of Wadai by Jeffrey Edward Hayer pg 42-43 ( The Roots of Violence: A History of War in Chad By M. J. Azevedo pg 51-52 ( State and Society in Dār Fūr By Rex S. O'Fahey pg 147.

# The Desert Kingdom of Africa: A Complete History of Wadai (1611-1912) ## Overview The kingdom of Wadai, located at the southern edge of the central Sahara and spanning nearly one-third of modern-day Chad, emerged in the early 17th century following the collapse of the medieval kingdoms of Nubia. This article focuses on the history of Wadai, its political structure, and the role of Trans-Saharan trade in its economic and social development. ## Early History of Wadai 1. **Pre-Wadai Context**: - Following the fall of the medieval kingdoms of Nubia in the 15th century and the gradual spread of Islam, the Tunjur kingdom was established in the 16th century by Islamized Nubian kings in the area between eastern Chad and western Sudan. - Wadai’s traditions depict the Tunjur legacy negatively to legitimize its own establishment. 2. **Establishment of Wadai**: - Abd al-Karim founded Wadai between 1611 and 1635, overthrowing the last Tunjur king, Dawud. - Abd al-Karim’s connections to various societies in the central Sudan reinforce Wadai’s early significance. ## Government and Society 3. **Ethnic Composition**: - The kingdom was predominantly led by the Maba ethnic group but included various ethnicities due to migrations, conquests, and assimilation of prisoners of war. 4. **Political Structure**: - Wadai's territory was divided into provinces governed by officials who collected taxes and maintained local order. - The king was supported by a council of advisors, which handled judicial, administrative, and military decisions. 5. **Cultural and Educational Importance**: - Wadai became a center of learning, with reports of widespread education, including compulsory school attendance comparable to that of contemporary Prussia. ## Political History (1655-1898) 6. **Succession of Kings**: - Following Abd al-Karim, the kings Kharūt, Kharif, and Ya'qub expanded Wadai’s influence, especially against Darfur. - The kingdom experienced a series of conquests and territorial expansions under rulers like Kharüt alşaghir and Muhammad Djawda Kharif al-Timām. 7. **Inter-Kingdom Relations**: - Wadai challenged the suzerainty of Darfur, leading to repeated conflicts that defined its political landscape through the 18th and 19th centuries. 8. **Trade and Economic Relations**: - Wadai engaged in comprehensive domestic and regional trade, primarily agricultural products exchanged for pastoral goods, supplemented by crafts and textiles. - A significant crafts industry developed, producing items for both local use and external trade. ## External Trade and Relations 9. **Trade Networks**: - Initial trade routes with North Africa were disrupted by internal conflicts but revived through alliances with the Sanussiya order in Libya. - External trade peaked in the 1890s, indicating a strong connection with Mediterranean markets despite previous interruptions. ## Fall of Wadai (1898-1912) 10. **Colonial Threat**: - The incursion of French colonial forces in neighboring regions began to threaten Wadai's territorial integrity. - King Yusuf’s reign saw ongoing conflicts with the Mahdist forces and efforts to maintain Wadai's influence. 11. **Internal Strife and Succession**: - Following Yusuf’s death, a power struggle ensued that ultimately led to the rise of Muhammad sālih (Dud Murra) as the last king of Wadai. - Dud Murra faced challenges from the French, leading to significant military confrontations. 12. **Final Conquest**: - Wadai's resistance came to an end in October 1911 when French forces captured Dud Murra, leading to the kingdom's permanent occupation in 1912. ## Conclusion The history of Wadai illustrates a complex interplay between domestic governance, regional trade, and external threats. While often emphasized in discussions of Trans-Saharan trade, Wadai's socioeconomic structure was primarily shaped by local exchanges. The kingdom’s rise and eventual decline underscore the region's dynamic history beyond simplistic narratives of external trade influence.

Maritime trade, Shipbuilding and African sailors in the indian ocean: a complete history of East African seafaring

from Aksum to the Swahili coast

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Maritime trade, Shipbuilding and African sailors in the indian ocean: a complete history of East African seafaring ================================================================================================================== ### from Aksum to the Swahili coast ( Oct 16, 2022 14 The Indian ocean world was the largest zone of cultural exchange and trade in the old world. Ancient maritime societies from south-china sea to the southeastern coast of Africa established a long chain of urban emporia that were closely linked through long-distance oceanic trade at their open ports, enabling the exchange of goods, ideas and people over a vast geographic space. The eastern coast of Africa was intrinsically connected to the Indian ocean world, not just as the supplier of commodities but as the home of some of the world's most dynamic maritime societies. From the merchant-sailors from Aksum who played a significant role in the linking of the Mediterranean to the Indian ocean world, to the Swahili city-states which developed a maritime society with shipbuilding and voyages that directly linked the emporiums of southern Asia to the trading cities of east Africa. This article explores the commercial history of the maritime societies along Africa's eastern coast from Sudan to Mozambique, including long distance voyages undertaken by African sailors, and shipbuilding in African coastal cities. _**Trading ports and cities in the Indian ocean world 618-1500 by N. Chaudhuri**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Maritime trade in the northern half of the coast of Eastern-Africa** **From Aksum to Sri Lanka: 1st-7th century** One of the most invaluable sources of Eastern Africa’s maritime history during the 1st century, was the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, an anonymously authored work composed between 40-50 CE. In its description of maritime activities within the redsea region, the Periplus mentions a vibrant regional trade between the port city of Adulis and the inhabitants of the Alalaiou islands (Dahlak Islands),( as well as trade between the port city of Adulis and the Roman-Egyptian port of Berenike/Berenice. While the latter trade appears to have been largely undertaken by foreign sailors, there’s strong evidence that African merchants participated in it, if we take into account the archeological discoveries of a large Aksumite quarter at Berenice with Ge’ez inscriptions and Aksumite coins, that was very likely inhabited by wealthy Aksumite merchants.( The involvement of African sailors in the red sea and Indian ocean trade received a further impetus after the replacement of direct navigation route from Roman-Egypt to India, with a multistage, transshipment route that stopped at Adulis beginning in the 2nd century, this often involved the transfer and/or exchange of Indian-derived cargo with African cargo and was mostly done by locally-owned ships and sailors.( More impetus for Aksumite maritime activity was provided by the Aksumite conquest of Yemen in the 3rd century, which brought the competitors of Adulis under Aksumite control as well. The monumental royal inscription of the Aksumite king GDR in 200AD which mentions him sending _**“a fleet and land forces against the Arabitae and Cinaedocolpitae who dwelt on the other side of the Red Sea, and having reduced the sovereigns of both, I imposed on them a land tribute and charged them to make travelling safe both by sea and by land. I thus subdued the whole coast from Leuke Kome to the country of the Sabaean.”**_ lends further support to the existence of a well developed maritime tradition in Aksum that was likely conducted through Adulis.( It was during the height of the Aksumite empire that we find some of the most detailed description of of Aksumite merchants sailing in their own ships to Sri Lanka and the Persian gulf.( A 6th century account by Cosmas Indicopleustes mentions that the roman sailor Sopatrus was travelling aboard a ship owned by "_**men from Adulis**_" who were Aksumite merchants most likely involved in the transshipment of Chinese silk and Indian pepper. Such commodities are described in other accounts of Aksumite maritime trade as being transshipped to the Jordanian port of Aila where 6th century writer Antoninus of Piacenza wrote that all the _**"shipping from Aksum and Yemen comes into the port at Aila, bringing a variety of spices".**_( **Aksumite empire’s greatest extent in the 4th to 6th century** _**trade in the western indian ocean during late antiquity**_ * * * **The African ports of the Red sea and Somaliland: 8th-19th century** Adulis and Aksum’s maritime activities vanish from external texts after the 7th century. Focus shifts to the cities of the southern red-sea cities of Zayla/Zeila (said to be under the control of Abyssinian Christians in 988) and the Dahlak archipelago, according to Al-Masudi's account from 935, which also describes a flourishing trade between the Aksumite state and Yemen although now almost entirely conducted by Yemeni merchants.( The Dahlak archipelago, which had been settled by the Aksumites in the centuries prior to Aksum's decline, appears to have been the only large African polity in the red-sea region whose merchants were actively engaged in undertaking long distance voyages, and was important in the trade between Fatimid Egypt and India.( There's however little documentation of direct voyages undertaken by Dhalak-based merchants outside the red sea, with one exceptional case about the exile to India of the Najahid sultan Jayyash (an Abyssinian of the Dahlak sultanate).( After Dhalak’s decline in the 15th-16th century, African maritime trade was dominated by the red-sea port cities of Suakin and Massawa, and the city of Zeila in northern Somalia, especially the latter, whose merchants were actively involved in the western Indian ocean trade. Most long distance trade appears to have been in the hands of foreign merchants, with local vessels confined to regional trade and pearl diving, as one account describing the residents of suakin in the late 19th century noted that _**"they are skillful sailors, but very rarely go with the Arabians away from their own coast".**_( * * * **Shipbuilding in the northern half of the coast of Eastern-Africa** Some information about shipbuilding during the Aksumite era is provided by 6th century external accounts. In a passage describing the Aksumite fleet of king Kaleb, the 6th century historian Procopius mentions that Aksumite ships _**"are not made in the same manner as are other ships**_ (ie: from the Mediterranean)_**. For neither are they smeared with pitch, nor with any other substance, nor indeed are the planks fastened together by iron nails going through and through, but they are bound together by a kind of cording"**_( There’s evidence of the extensive use of sewn ships across the Indian ocean world in general and the African coastal societies in particular. The Blemmeye nomads on the frontier between Rome and Kush in southeastern Egypt were described as possessing a navy consisting of sewn ships, which was placed under a _navarchos_ (admiral) .( Shipbuilding on the Afrian half of the red-sea coast appears to have declined after the fall of Aksum, as none of the major port cities of Badi, Aydhab, Suakin, and Dahlak, are known to have been engaged in shipbuilding, despite Aydhab being described as "one of the most frequented ports of the world," by Ibn Jubayr (d.1217).( In the account of his visit of Ethiopia in 1789, Jerónimo Lobbo mentions that the most common ships in the red sea were called '_**Gelves'**_, another type of medium sized sewn ship that was built locally using timber and other materials from the coconut-palm tree, but doesn't specify the main ports of its construction.( Few descriptions of boat-building in Suakin and Massawa carried out along sections of beaches near the cities, using imported materials and expatriate craftsmen (_**gehanis**_) hired by local merchants.( Most of the African-controlled long-distance maritime trade and shipbuilding activities along the Eastern African coast therefore appear to have been confined to its southern half; the Swahili coast. _**Suakin beachfront in 1890 showing a medium sized ship and several others in the background**_ _**Suakin beachfront in 1883**_ * * * **Long-distance maritime trade along the southern coast of Eastern Africa** The "shore-folk" of the Swahili coast had for long been extensively involved in long-distance maritime trade since the emergence of the Swahili and Comorian city-states in the late 1st millennium. Wealthy patricians in city-states had financial interests in sea voyages beyond the East African waters, and some owned ships big enough to sail to the Arabian Sea and Southern Arabia. The ability of the Swahili to sail across the "Swahili corridor", transshipping trade goods from southern Mozambique to Southern Somalia, was one of the main features of the extensive maritime trading system that characterized the Swahili civilization.( The indigenous innovation of sewn boats on the Swahili coast, which occurred largely within its local context without significant external influence, was central to the expansion of the Bantu-speaking groups of the Swahili and Comorian speakers across the east African coast and its offshore islands during the 1st millennium.( One of the earliest mentions of watercraft along the southern half of the East-African coast comes from the Periplus of the Eythrueun Sea, which describes the the island of Menuthias (possibly Pemba or Unguja, or Mafa) that has _**“has sewn boats and dugout canoes that are used for fishing"**_, it also describes similar vessels in the southernmost coastal town; Rhapta, whose name is derived from the name of the sewn boats (_rhupton ploiurion_).( Evidence of regional maritime activity, which had been established around the turn of the common era, gradually increases in the late 1st millennium, and provided the impetus for long-distance maritime activities by the Swahili in the succeeding era.( Long-distance maritime trade was thus an extension of the more robust regional transshipment trade between Swahili cities which dominated the region's maritime traffic as late as the 19th century. An account written in Mombasa in 1824-1826, which calculated the annual traffic of ships entering the Mombasa harbor, reveals that more than half of all ships (155 of 250) were locally built vessels confined to regional trade between the cities, and given their estimated capacity of 7,000 tonnes, compare favorably with the 600 tonnes of goods recorded to have been imported to Mombasa from Gujarat in 1776.( _**Map of Swahili voyages in the western indian ocean**_ External accounts from Yemen indicate that, ships from Mogadishu made annual trips to the Hadrami ports of Aden, al-Shihr, among others, carrying various commodities such as ivory, grain, ambergris, wood, and gum copal that had been transshipped to Mogadishu or Barawa by local ships sent from southern Swahili port-cities, and another account from 1336, records the arrival of a a ship “from Kilwa,” loaded with rice, at the Hadrami city of Aden.( In a 1441 account by al-Samarqandī, the scholar mentions that the trade of Hormuz involved merchants from Abyssinia, Socotra and the Land of the Zanj who sent their own traders and products to the city. Another account from 1341 by Ibn Batutta in Madayi ( northern Malabar) in 1341, mentions a “virtuous ulama” from Mogadishu named Saʿīd, who had travelled to india and china.( Direct Swahili voyages to India would have begun not long after voyages to southern Arabia had been accomplished. In 1505, Tome Pires noted the presence of several eastern African merchants from Ethiopia, Mogadishu, Kilwa, Mombasa and Malindi in port of Malacca in Indonesia, although its unclear whether they had arrived aboard their own ships( . In 1517, the Malindi sultan sent a letter to his suzerain the king of Portugal, requesting a letter of protection from the latter to allow him free travel throughout the Portuguese possessions from Goa to Mozambique( , In 1586 the sultan of Malindi sent a ship to the Portuguese settlement of Bassein (India), and in the 1590s, the same sultan requested to acquire ships for trade to India and China and to ferry Swahili pilgrims to mecca, which were accepted. A 1619 account mentions traders from the Malindi coast visiting Goa, including one named Muhammad Mshuti Mapengo who was _**“well-known in Goa, where he often goes.”**_( In 1631, the sultan of Pate sent a ship to Goa, and by the 1720s, the ivory trade was very active between the northern Swahili coast and Gujarat, with shipowners from Barawa/Brava used to send a shipment of ivory to Surat (India), and the sultan of Pate asked of the Portuguese the right to send “one of his ships” loaded with ivory to Diu, and asked for free circulation of their ships to “all the ports of Asia. In 1726, a letter from the king of Pate mentions a locally-born merchant named Bwana Madi bin Mwalimu Bakar from Pate _**“who goes each year to Surat where he is married.”**_ In 1763, Carsten Niebuhr met in Bombay a “Sheikh” of the Lamu Archipelago, who had come to propose the British to buy cowry shells in “his small island.”( 13th-16th century Ship graffiti from Kilwa kisiwani and Songo mnara Direct voyages by the Swahili to India had likely declined by the late 18th century as an account by Jean-Vincent Morice in 1777 observed that the Swahili were then not rich enough to own ships made for trips to Gujarat; but that they still built large ships to sail as far as Muscat (Oman), and according to Morice in the 1770s, the Swahili would also board with their own cargoes onto Arab or Gujarati ships to reach Surat. ( Direct trade by local sailors from the east African coast to southern Arabia on locally-owned ships continued in the 18th and 19th century, especially from the city of Mogadishu, which was the primary outlet for the extensive grain trade from plantations based on the hinterland. Mogadishu's grain exports, which were estimated at over 3,000 tonnes in the 1870s, were carried in locally-built ships with a capacity of 50-200 tonnes, that according to an 1875 account by John Kirk were _**"all filled with or taking in native grain".**_( The Swahili ship captain (and owner) was called nahodha, while the pilot was called mwalimu. East African waalimu and nahodha were often respected and learned men, whose nautical knowledge was based on extensive training and experience, which foreign crews entering East African waters were highly dependent on. In 1606, the Franciscan friars met a mwalimu from Pemba described explicitly as a Swahili "old Muslim negro", who in 1597 had guided the ship of Francisco da Gama, the future viceroy of India, from Mombasa to Goa( . In 1615, Thomas Roe met in Nzwani a Mogadishu-born Mwalimu (pilot) named Ibrahim who is described as an expert in navigation from “Mogadishu” to the Gulf of Cambay, he also owned an elaborate nautical chart of the western Indian ocean “lined and graduated orderly” and was able to correct the map used by the English( . While in the Kerimba islands in 1787, Saulnier de Mondevit took on board a Swahili pilot named Bwana Madi _**“who spoke French well and very much learned, as a pilot, of the African coast from Mozambique to Muscat.”**_ Bwana Madi made a very precise map of the coast up to Zanzibar.( In 1783, a prince of Nzwani described the island merchants’ circular trade which they carried out in _**“their own vessels”**_ for raw cotton and firearms from Bombay (British India), which they then trade with other merchants in Madagascar, Mozambique and neighboring Comoros island, most of this trade continued relatively uninterrupted well into the 19th century.( _**Ocean-going dhows in Mombasa (Old Port) Harbour, 1890-1939, Northwestern University**_ _**Zanzibar, Dhows in Harbor, 1880s, Northwestern University**_ * * * **Swahili Ship types and Ship construction.** The _**mtepe**_ and _**dau la mtepe**_, both of which were of sewn construction, were the characteristic vessel of the East African coast that was almost exclusively owned by the local inhabitants of the coast. The mtepe’s versatility was poetically described by Burton in 1872 that it _**“swims the tide buoyantly as a sea-bird…and can go to windward of everything propelled by wind”**_. Despite their undifferentiated description in external accounts, these ships were of multiple varieties and their construction kept changing overtime.( The _**mtepe**_, which is described in early accounts as _**mutepis,**_ was a relatively old watercraft of local manufacture, its name likely derived from the itepe word for the coconut-palm cording that it uses. It had a square sail made of matting, and a prominent long curved prow, and a square transom at the stern.( The _**dau la mtepe**_ , which is described in early accounts as a dallos/dalles or a "real dhow". Despite earlier claims that the Swahili name for this ship; _dau/įdalu,_ was a borrowed term acquired from the Arab-Indian dhow (dāw/ḍāu), the Swahili _dau_ was infact a local derivation from the Proto-Swahili word _ndalu_ that refers to water-bailers, and it was the Swahili _dau_ which was the origin of the Arab-Indian _dhow,_ the latter name being mostly used in external European accounts instead of the more accurate local names for Arab and Indian vessels.( The _**dau la mtepe**_ is slightly smaller than the mtepe, it has a normal type of raking stern, and the bow is straight and more angled than that of the mtepe with a thin bowsprit. The stern and stem were built up with a series of V-shaped hooks and, the ship was also steered using 16 oars and used a large wooden anchor.( The majority of Swahili ships had a tonnage of 30-60 tons, with an average length of around 12-30 meters, an average width of 8m, a depth of 3m, a mast-height of 15-20 meters, and a combined passenger and crew total of 40-60 people, and its crewmen possessed compasses, quadrants, and maritime charts.( . At low tide, ships could rest on the beach, supported by the keel and side stakes. They were of shallow draft and could navigate in extremely shallow waters.( _**Illustration of a Mtepe by G.L sullivan, 1873, and an illustration of a Mtepe by Mark Horton based on a scale model from the 1930s**_ _**a Dau and Mtepe by Charles Guillain, 1853**_ _**Zanzibar beachfront in 1875 showing various types of ships including the single-mast mtepes and daus**_ Both Mtepes were primarily built in the Lamu archipelago, especially in the cities of Faza, Tikuni and Siyu. In Faza, 20 mitepe were made annually, possibly a total of about 100 a year for the whole archipelago not including other types of ships, this region is also where we first find the description of “mutepis” in an external account from 1661.( The ability to build and to maintain large ships (which were repaired every four years), and to support their crew, was limited to the minority of the wealthy patricians. In Nzwani, the largest ships belonged to the governor and a captain named, Boomoodoy, the latter being described as an enterprising local trader who had financed their construction and had “knowledge in Oriental navigation", according to a 1704 account by John Pike.( The last of the classic ocean-going Mtepe was built in Lamu during the 1930s before it was wrecked off the Kenyan coast in 1935, its skipper passed on in 1968, closing the chapter on an ancient tradition * * * **Did WEST AFRICAN SAILORS discover the Americas before Columbus? Read about Mansa** Muhammad's journey across the Atlantic in the 14th century, and an exploration of West Africa's maritime culture on Patreon ( * * * _**If you liked this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal/Ko-fi**_ ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts you can reach me at: **[email protected].** twitter: **@rhaplord**. ( The foreign trade of the Aksumite port of Adulis by Stuart Munro-Hay pg 109) ( The Indo-Roman Pepper Trade and the Muziris Papyrus by Federico De Romanis pg 55, The Red Sea during the 'Long' Late Antiquity by Timothy Power pg 61) ( The Indo-Roman Pepper Trade and the Muziris Papyrus by Federico De Romanis pg 67-75) ( The Red Sea during the 'Long' Late Antiquity by Timothy Power pg 31) ( The foreign trade of the Aksumite port of Adulis by Stuart Munro-Hay pg 115) ( The Red Sea during the 'Long' Late Antiquity by Timothy Power pg 125-128, 45-47) ( The foreign trade of the Aksumite port of Adulis by Stuart Munro-Hay pg 120) ( The Red Sea during the 'Long' Late Antiquity by Timothy Power pg 75, 296-297, ) ( A History of Chess: The Original 1913 Edition By H. J. R. Murray pg v ( Desert and Water Gardens of the Red Sea by Cyril Crossland pg 59-65) ( Aksum: An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity by S. C Munro-Hay pg 220-222) ( Military History of Late Rome Ilkka Syvänne pg 64 ( The Rashayda: Ethnic Identity and Dhow Activity in Suakin on the Red Sea Coast by Dionisius A. Agius pg 195-196 ( A Voyage to Abyssinia By Jerónimo Lobo pg 46-47 ( Africa and the Sea by Jeffrey C. Stone pg 111 ( East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean by Thomas Vernet 169-170) ( From dugouts to double outriggers by Martin Walsh pg 286) ( The Mtepe: regional trade and the late survival of sewn ships in East African waters by Erik Gilbert pg 297, From dugouts to double outriggers by Martin Walsh pg 260) ( When Did the Swahili Become Maritime? A Reply by Elgidius B. Ichumbaki ( The Mtepe of Lamu, Mombasa and the Zanzibar Sea by AHJ Prins pg 88-89, East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean by Thomas Vernet pg 187 ( When Did the Swahili Become Maritime by J. Fleisher pg 107 ( East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean by Thomas Vernet pg 188) ( The Suma oriental of Tome Pires by Tomé Pires pg 46 ( A Handful of Swahili Coast Letters, 1500–1520 by Sanjay Subrahmanyam pg 270-271 ( East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean by Thomas Vernet pg 185 ( East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean by Thomas Vernet 185, 188 ) ( East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean by Thomas Vernet 183, 187) ( Exploring the Old Stone Town of Mogadishu pg 8-9 ( East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean by Thomas Vernet pg 184) ( L’Afrique orientale et l’océan Indien by Thomas Vernet and Philippe Beaujard pg 178 ( East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean by Thomas Vernet pg 178) ( The Comoro Islands by Malyn D Newitt pg 20 ( The Mtepe of Lamu, Mombasa and the Zanzibar Sea by AHJ Prins pg 88) ( From dugouts to double outriggers by Martin Walsh pg 268, The Mtepe: regional trade and the late survival of sewn ships in East African waters by Erik Gilbert pg 276) ( From dugouts to double outriggers by Martin Walsh pg 265-266) ( The Mtepe: regional trade and the late survival of sewn ships in East African waters by Erik Gilbert pg 297, The Mtepe of Lamu, Mombasa and the Zanzibar Sea by AHJ Prins pg 89) ( The Mtepe of Lamu, Mombasa and the Zanzibar Sea by AHJ Prins , East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean by Thomas Vernet pg 176-177) ( East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean by Thomas Vernet pg 175-176, Seascape and Sailing Ships of the Swahili Shores by R de Leeuwe pg 11) ( The Mtepe: regional trade and the late survival of sewn ships in East African waters by Erik Gilbert pg 298, Seascape and Sailing Ships of the Swahili Shores by R de Leeuwe pg 11) ( East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean by Thomas Vernet pg 186).

### Maritime Trade, Shipbuilding, and African Sailors in the Indian Ocean: A Complete History of East African Seafaring **1. Overview of the Indian Ocean Trade Network (1st Century CE - 19th Century CE)** - The Indian Ocean was a major global trade zone, facilitating cultural exchange among ancient maritime societies from the South China Sea to Southeastern Africa. - The eastern coast of Africa was significant, hosting dynamic maritime societies that engaged in extensive trade. **2. Early Maritime Activity from Aksum to Sri Lanka (1st-7th Century CE)** - The **Periplus of the Erythraean Sea** (40-50 CE) provides early insights into Eastern Africa's maritime trade, highlighting Adulis as a key port connected to commerce with the Alalaiou Islands and Roman Egypt. - Aksumite merchants played a crucial role in this trade, evidenced by archaeological findings of Aksumite inscriptions and coins at Berenice, a Roman port. - Aksum's control over Yemen in the 3rd century enhanced maritime trade as it allowed local ships to dominate transshipments between Africa and the Indian Ocean. - Aksumite merchants engaged in long-distance voyages to Sri Lanka and the Persian Gulf, indicated by accounts from Cosmas Indicopleustes and Antoninus of Piacenza. **3. Decline of Aksumite Maritime Activities and Shift to Southern Red Sea Commerce (8th-19th Century CE)** - After the 7th century, focus shifted from Aksum to southern Red Sea ports like Zeila and Dahlak, which became prominent in trade with Yemen, albeit mostly conducted by Yemeni traders. - The Dahlak archipelago served as a locus for long-distance voyages, although direct trade records from this period are sparse. **4. Maritime Trade Dominance of Swahili Coast (Late 1st Millennium - 19th Century CE)** - The Swahili coast evolved into a critical hub for long-distance maritime trade with the establishment of city-states in the late 1st millennium. - Swahili merchants actively participated in the broader Indian Ocean trade, connecting Southern Africa with Southern Arabia and beyond. **5. Shipbuilding Developments (Aksumite Era and Beyond)** - Accounts from 6th century historians suggest unique Aksumite shipbuilding methods, utilizing sewn construction techniques rather than the Mediterranean-style shipbuilding approach. - After Aksum's decline, shipbuilding capabilities diminished along the Red Sea, with limited activity noted in ports like Suakin and Massawa. **6. Swahili Ship Types and Construction Techniques** - The **mtepe** and **dau** were prominent vessels used by local Swahili traders, characterized by sewn construction methods. - These vessels, utilized in both regional and long-distance trade, had varying designs and were crucial for navigating shallow waters along the East African coast. **7. Long-Distance Trade to India and Arabia (16th-19th Century CE)** - Swahili merchants engaged in extensive trade networks, including voyages to India and the Arabian Peninsula, with evidence of annual trips to ports in southern Arabia. - Historical accounts document the richness of Swahili trade, featuring commodities such as ivory and grain, transported via locally-built ships. **8. Coastal Navigation and Piloting Knowledge** - East African sailors, known as **nahodha** (captains) and **mwalimu** (pilots), possessed significant maritime knowledge. Their expertise was necessary for navigating the Indian Ocean. - Historical accounts demonstrate the importance of local pilots in guiding foreign vessels through East African waters. **9. Conclusion** - The history of East African seafaring reflects a complex interplay of trade, cultural exchange, and maritime innovation. - Engagement in the Indian Ocean trade network showcased the significance of African merchants and sailors, contributing to a rich maritime legacy from Aksum to the Swahili coast.

An African kingdom's existential war against the British colonial empire: the Anglo-Bunyoro wars (1872-1899)

A little-known extermination campaign by colonial armies in East-Africa

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers An African kingdom's existential war against the British colonial empire: the Anglo-Bunyoro wars (1872-1899) ============================================================================================================ ### A little-known extermination campaign by colonial armies in East-Africa ( Oct 09, 2022 11 For nearly 30 years, some of the most ferocious British colonial wars in the world occurred in the kingdom of Bunyoro in western Uganda, they involved dozens of invasions by tens of thousands of soldiers armed with the most destructive modern weapons, conducting severe extermination campaigns that were nearly as brutal as those carried out by the Germans in Namibia and French in Algeria. While Bunyoro, like the other centuries-old kingdoms of the 'Great Lakes' region of eastern Africa, had only recently extended its commercial reach into the global markets, Its institutions proved adaptive enough to be quickly adjusted in response to the rapidly changing international political landscape of imperial expansion in which the kingdom was thrust; enabling Bunyoro to sustain one of the longest defensive wars against colonialism. This article explores the history of Bunyoro from its establishment in the 15th century to its existential war for survival against the onslaught of British colonial expansion in the late 19th century. **A collapsed time-scale map showing the major invasions of the Bunyoro kingdom by year and the British commanding officers leading them.** * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **The establishment of the Bunyoro kingdom: a reinterpretation of “kitara”** One of the recurring themes about the early history of the Great-lakes kingdoms is the political concept of “Kitara”, a semi-legendary 'empire' which controlled a vast territory extending from the western shores of lake albert, eastwards to lake Victoria and southwards to lake kivu.( The Kitara state's semi-legendary Chwezi dynasty were later claimed to have constructed the monumental earthworks of the ‘iron-age’ sites across western Uganda, and their associated hill-top religious centers, and are said to have been deposed by the Bito dynasty who retained the core of the fragmented empire as the Bunyoro kingdom, while other splinter dynasties established the various kingdoms of Buganda, Nkore, Nyiginya (rwanda), Karagwe, etc.( This interpretation of the region’s history was popular in the early 20th century, was based on uncritical analysis of oral history and 19th century accounts, as well as the political exigencies of the colonial era, but it has since been discredited as simplistic, after it was discovered to contradict with recent archeological research and more critical analysis of oral and documented history( . The traditions about the so-called Chwezi dynasty were subverted by subsequent rulers of the Great-lakes kingdoms to provide symbolic sanction for their own authority, and the identification of the monumental earthworks as Chewzi sites was a 20th century invention created in the accounts of writers that were external to the region( . The over-emphasized role of a "foreign-founder" pastoral elite can be safely disregarded as a recent invention influenced by the Hamitic race myth of colonial historiography( , since hierarchical centralized states were largely absent among the pastoral groups in the regions immediately outside the Great-lakes region where the southern elites are supposed to have emerged,( and the archeological evidence of a mixed agro-pastoral economy within the elite settlements at the iron-age sites contradicts any claim of a singularly pastoral elite.( Combining archeological evidence with history traditions reveals a more coherent picture about the political structure of the incipient states of the Great-lakes region; revealing early states in which rulers performed several roles, including political leadership of smaller-scale polities founded at the iron-age sites of Munsa, Ntusi, Bigo, Kibengo (9th-17th century)( , control of production of salt (eg from kibiro 11th century-), as well as iron, cloth and the accumulation of wealth in cattle plus some long distance trade goods eg copper, ivory( , and the promulgation of several religious cults on the hill-top sites of Mubende and Kasunga (14th century) ; all of which were features that were transmitted across the region, hence their preservation in many history traditions across all the Great-lakes kingdoms including the Bunyoro kingdom.( _**Map of showing the iron-age sites, the location of the Bunyoro kingdom’s core and the semi-legendary Kitara heartland.**_( * * * **The Political history of the Bunyoro kingdom: expansion and consolidation (15th-18th century)** The kingdom of Bunyoro was established in the 15th century around the time the iron-age sites were abandoned( . The kingdom held a significant demographic and resource advantage over its later peers; the territory it controlled had long been a magnet for concentrating populations (necessary for producing agricultural surpluses and raising armies)( , it possessed rich sources of salt for long distance trade (eg at Katwe and Kibiro, the latter of which was a town with a population of 6,000-10,000 in the late 19th century, as well as iron ore which was necessary for agricultural tools and weaponry.( The emergence of Bunyoro as a large, territorial kingdom that subsumed the smaller incipient states, altered the political equilibrium in the region, and its hegemony was counter-balanced by the emergence of other polities on Bunyoro's southern and eastern fringes who were by then constituting themselves into kingdoms.( From the reign of the Bunyoro King (_**Omukama**_) Olimi I (r.1517-1544) down to Olimi III (r.1733-1760), the kingdom expanded and consolidated its power across the region; eastwards against Buganda during the reign of Olimi I, northwards against the Madi during the reign of Nyabongo (r.1544-1571), southwards against Nkore and Rwanda during the reign of Chwa I (r.1626-1652). ( _**Map of the Great-Lakes kingdoms in the 18th century**_ The best evidence for Bunyoro's regional hegemony in the not so distant past comes from the historical traditions of its southern neighbors —a region which the Bunyoro courtiers who met explorer J.H Speke in 1862— claimed was once part of their vast state whose influence extended upto the Kagera river in Rwanda. Traditions of the kingdoms of Nkore (south-western Uganda), Karagwe (in north-western Tanzania) and Nyiginya (in Rwanda) all recall wars with Bunyoro’s armies in the 16th-17th century which were repelled by kings who took the title of Nyoro-slayer (_**kiitabanyoro**_), and their enemy forces’ leaders often have Nyoro royal names and ethnonyms (especially Chwa).( As for its eastern expansion, Bunyoro’s king Kamurasi (r.1851-1878) told the explorer Samuel Baker in 1866 that Buganda had been a dependent province until the early 19th century. While this story was mostly a deliberate fabrication by Kamurasi since Buganda had defeated Bunyoro in the late 18th century leading to King Duhaga's death in 1782, it had also annexed Bunyoro’s client state of Buddu, and installed an ally in the breakaway province of Toro, but Kamurasi's story nevertheless referenced a real historical relationship during the not-so-distant past when Bunyoro wielded significant political power over the early Buganda kingdom. This is also evidenced by the appearance of Bunyoro in Buganda's early political history, as well as the early Buganda ruler Chwa who precedes king (_**kabaka**_) Kimera, the founder of the ruling dynasty of Buganda, and who is himself said to have been raised in the Bunyoro court and brought with him some of its regalia and institutions.( Bunyoro in the 18th and 19th century was a large centralized kingdom that was organized with a similar (but not entirely identical) structure as medieval feudal states. The ultimate political authority was the King (_**omukama**_) who was subordinated by provincial rulers (_**abakama b’obuhanga**_) and lesser chiefs, who received grants of estates from the king and were expected to collect tribute for the king, provide military levies and corvée labor. The provincial rulers and chiefs were also resident in the capital for elaborate ceremonies (such as the new-moon ceremony) and occasionally accompanied the king during his tour of the kingdom, staying within his mobile or ”moving” capitals.( The king was assisted by a hierarchy of officials especially councilors (_**abakuru b’ebitebe**_) who influenced the choice of provincial rulers, and were part of the governing body or "parliament" of the kingdom (_**orukurato orukuru rw’ihanga**_).( _**Bunyoro’s new moon ceremony, king Andereya (r. 1902-1924) advancing along the sacred pathway, c. 1919, John Roscoe**_ _**building for Bunyoro’s “parliament” (foreground) and the King’s residence (background), Masindi, c. 1919, John Roscoe**_ * * * **Bunyoro under king Kabalega and the first colonial invasion** The quasi-feudal structure of the Bunyoro kingdom encouraged the emergence of an intermediate class of titled officials and aristocrats and the dispersion of royal claimants across a much broader section of society, which served to increase succession conflicts led by rebellious princes.( When king Kamurasi died in 1869, a bitter succession war engulfed the kingdom, fought between the rival claimants Kabigumire, Ruyonga, and Kabalega; with the Kabigumire soliciting support from Nkore, Ruyonga soliciting support from Ottoman-Egypt in the north, while Kabalega solicited support from Buganda's king Mutesa, the latter of whom ultimately secured Kabalega's installation in 1871, while Kabigumire was eventually defeated and killed, as Ruyonga fled north of Bunyoro.( The involvement of Ottoman-Egypt in Bunyoro's succession wars increased the resolve of its sultan; Khedive Ismāʿīl (r. 1863-1879), to colonize the kingdom by employing the services of the British (and other European powers) to whom he was deeply indebted, and was desperately looking for more resources to pay them back( . Ismail chose Samuel Baker --the above-mentioned explorer who had been treated to a cold reception in Bunyoro during his first visit 1866-- to be OttomanEgypt's governor of equatoria colony (southern Sudan) in 1869. Baker was tasked to extend the then "Anglo-Egyptian" empire and (ostensibly) to stop slave trade; both of which tasks he claimed success but with little justification( , as the evidenced by the disintegration of the Bari-land's political structures (Bari was directly north of Bunyoro), and the incessant rebellions and devastation of the region during his governorship (1869-74) and that of his successors; Charles Gordon (1874-1876) and Emin Pasha (1876-1888)( . Samuel Baker's overt prejudice against Bunyoro as recorded in his accounts about the kingdom reflected not just his background as a son of a west-Indian slave owner, but also his belief in polygenism (about the separate genesis of "races"), both of which give him a habit of exaggerating cultural differences inorder to justify his imperialist argument for "enlightened governance".( Baker arrived at Kabalega's capital of Masindi in 1872 with an armed expedition of 1,000 of which about 120 were soldiers, and while his intention was to annex Bunyoro, Kabalega's hope was that Baker could support his war against Rionga. Baker's poor diplomatic skills turned Kabalega's initially positive attitude against him especially after the former refused to assist Kabalega, but chose to raise the Ottoman-Egyptian flag at Masindi in an absurd ceremony declaring Bunyoro its colony. After a series of clashes between Baker's army and Kabalega's bodyguard, both sides descended into war that ended with Masindi's burning, while Baker retreated with his army and flag, barely able to survive the repeated ambushes by Kabalega's army who inflicted significant causalities.( Baker's hyperbolic bluster that masked his humiliating retreat from Bunyoro was celebrated in the British press, but the Khedive Ismāʿīl knew that the expedition was a failure, writing that "_**the success of the expedition has been much exaggerated**_" and that Baker, had been "_**too prone to fighting giving rise to a general feeling of hostility towards Europeans and my government in Upper Egypt**_".( The Khedive's failure in Bunyoro was a prelude to his monumental defeat by the Ethiopians at Gura in 1876, which fueled the 1881 Mahdist uprising in Sudan that expelled the Ottoman-Egyptians, and ultimately lead to Egypt's formal colonization by Britain in 1882. **(see this article below)** [African History Extra\ \ An African anti-Colonial alliance of convenience: Ethiopia and Sudan in the 19th century\ \ Among the recurring themes in the historiography of the “scramble for Africa” is the notion that there was no co-operation between African states in the face of the advancing colonial powers. African rulers and their states are often implicated in the advance of European interests due to their supposedly myopic “internecine rivalries” and “tribal hostil…\ \ Read more\ \ 2 years ago · 7 likes · isaac Samuel]( Under Kabalega, Bunyoro underwent an institutional transformation that underpinned its economic and military revival, iron production was rapidly increased to supply the expanding northern markets, ivory trade was expanded to acquire more firearms (with one provincial ruler giving 1,800 loads of ivory as tribute), and a direct route to Zanzibar was secured through the southern kingdom of Nkore( . Bunyoro's quasi-feudal army was largely replaced by a permanent army of 12 regiments (known as the _**abarusura**_), armed with about 2,000 rifles by the 1889 and supported by the regular army 10-20,000 spearmen. The _abarusura_ were created by reconstituting king Kamurasi's bodyguard of the same name, some of their regiments were then garrisoned in Kabalega's capital as a police force (_**babbogora**_). This army's formation influenced the creation of similar standing armies of rifle-men that supported regular armies in Buganda (_**kijasi**_) and Nkore (_**abagonya**_).( With this army, Kabalega gradually retook Toro and Busongora (in the south), as well as Chope and Bugungu (in the north) between 1876-1889, he also shifted the balance of power away from Buganda which was then under king Mwanga (r. 1884-8, 1889-97), especially after he defeated a large force from the latter in 1886 at Rwengabi. Following this victory, Kabalega moved to influence Buganda's internal politics during the latter's civil wars in 1889 by supporting the short-lived king Kalema, before Mwanga sought British support for his reinstallation; effectively becoming a colony in December 1890.( * * * **An existential war for survival: the Anglo-Bunyoro wars (1891-1899).** Despite Baker's failed ambitions in Bunyoro, he had established a relationship with the rebellious prince Ruyonga in the north-east of Bunyoro, which, added to Buganda's king Mutesa's (r 1852-1888) resentment over Kabalega's ungratefulness, led to the establishment of direct communication between Buganda and the Anglo-Egyptians in the north, but also with the "Anglo-Zanzibar" sultanate on the east African coast which had been sending commercial expeditions to Buganda, and was also coming under British control( . Buganda's king Mutesa's shrewd diplomatic skills oscillated between perceiving Kabalega as a threat, and successfully averting another Bunyoro invasion by the Anglo-Egyptians in 1876 when he deceitfully trapped their forces at Buganda's capital inorder to preserve Kabalega's kingdom as a buffer. But the politico-religious civil wars under his successor Mwanga's reign that involved all these foreign elements eventually led to the abovementioned vassalage of Buganda to the British under the infamous Lord Lugard.( In 1891, Bunyoro's allies in Buganda, who had been expelled after Mwanga's reinstallation by Lugard, were decisively defeated by a combined army of 25,000 from Buganda (with 5,000 riflemen, 600 of who were under Lugard), against an army of less than 5,000 (1,300 of whom were _abarusura_ riflemen), marking the start of war between the 'Anglo-Buganda' kingdom and Bunyoro. Lugard then supported a deposed prince of Toro to retake the kingdom from Bunyoro and constructed a line of temporary forts in Bunyoro’s south-western flank that managed to repel dozens of sieges and attacks from Bunyoro from August-November 1891, but the tide of battle turned in Kabalega’s favour by September 1893 following the partial withdrawal of the fort's soldiers, and Toro was briefly retaken by Bunyoro. By November 1893 however, a massive Anglo-Buganda force of 13,000 (with 3,000 riflemen, several maxims and cannon) under the command of British officer Colvile, pursued Kabalega's divided forces (that had been in Toro), and when Kabalega eventually gave battle in August 1894 at Mparo, his army suffered a decisive loss.( Kabalega soon realized that the constraints his reformed army faced that included; reduced capacity to mobilize large armies, difficulty of procuring modern rifles, slow repaire of old firearms and ammunition shortages, which he weighed against the strength advantages on the British side that had; imposed an arms embargo against him, could outnumber Kabalega's forces using auxiliary troops from Buganda and Sudan that they armed with maxim guns and garrisoned in "forts", and had killed Kabalega's envoys to Mahdist Sudan who had gone to procure more rifles. After having his offer of peace turned down in December 1894 by the British that were bent on total war, Kabalega switched to guerrilla warfare, utilizing his army’s mobility, the use of fortifications and trenches to stall the dozens of British expeditions, and foment rebellions in colonial territories. His resistance was sustained largely because of its wide support across the Bunyoro society and allied chiefdoms.( _**“fort Hoima” in 1894 by A.B Thruston, one of the temporary British fortifications, and the headquarters of their main colonial forces.**_ During the dozens of British colonial invasions from 1891-1899, Bunyoro was systemically depopulated and destocked, due to the demographic disaster that was triggered by the spread of rinderpest and jiggers epidemics introduced by the colonial troops,( that greatly depleted Bunyoro's manpower( , this was in addition to the kingdom losing 2/3rds of its lands to neighboring kingdoms under British colonial control. Samuel Baker's very prejudiced accounts of Bunyoro had been widely circulated and read by his later peers, and they provoked a strong racial antipathy among the British colonial army officers against Bunyoro kingdom’s subjects, especially after the British realized that the Banyoro didn't perceive them as "liberators" from "barbarous tyranny" of Kabalega. By 1894, this antipathy had degraded into campaigns of ethnic extermination, with British military officers such as Thruston writing (in brazen admission) that it _**"was the rule to shoot at sight any Wanyoro whom we encountered carrying a gun"**_ and by 1896, the armies of the British under Ternan were in the habit of _**"randomly murdering Banyoro non-combatants**_, _**burning every village and cutting down their banannas"**_.( Each of these invasions was met with sustained resistance by Kabalega's forces who ambushed retreating British columns, besieged British forts and inflicted a significant causality rate on invading forces.( But Bunyoro's determination to fight was ground down by the sheer brutality of colonial warfare. The primarily intention of Thruston's campaigns was the depopulation of entire provinces, he sent weekly raids in the Bunyoro provinces of _katonje_ and _matama_ that leveled large tracts of farmland and burned thousands of homes until —by Thruston’s own account; "_**the Banyoro abandoned the area**_".( In 1898, one British soldier described the cataclysmic social collapse across the kingdom; "_**The time-honoured war with Kabarega had left Unyoro almost a barren waste, and we scarcely saw a native anywhere. With the exception of a few who lived near Masindi, those who had not been exterminated were in arms under their King. The desolation on all sides was most depressing. The little gardens and plantations were rank with weeds and completely deserted, and few wandering natives we met looked half-starved.**_"( **A.B Thruston, H.E. Colville, T.P.B Ternan. Many of the officers who led the Bunyoro invasions attained high ranks solely because of their actions in Bunyoro, because frontier wars offered young officers the kind of positions that couldn't be attained in the main British Army; as Colville commented unpon putting Thruston in charge of Bunyoro's expedition, "it was not every captain of two years who gets an independent command like this"** In April 1898, Kabalega formed an alliance with the deposed Buganda king Mwanga and several thousand of his soldiers who had rebelled against British rule in 1897 and had taken his guerrilla war against the British across the entire region. The British on the other hand, had spent the year reinforcing their colonial troops with more allied Indian, Sudanese, Baganda and Swahili regiments to fight their own mutinous colonial soldiers that, combined with Kabalega and Mwanga's wars, had turned the entire country into a fiery warzone( . By April 1899, frustrated by the British's severe punishments of his subjects for allying with Kabalega, a local chief gave up the position of Kabalega's forces, who were then overwhelmed in a surprise attack by the British that ended with the capture of Kabalega, the last independent Bunyoro king, and effectively ended the kingdom's three decades long war against colonization.( _**photo of Omukama Kabalega (2nd from the left) with his family in the Seychelles Islands where he was exiled.**_ _**Bunyoro drummers and trumpeters assembling for the new moon ceremony, c. 1919, John Roscoe**_ * * * **Conclusion: Bunyoro and the African response to colonial expansion.** Bunyoro was just one among hundreds of African states whose military strength had for four centuries, successfully kept the colonial armies at bay until the African armies had exploited all the advantages they could gain from their available political and military institutions, relative to the rapidly modernizing armies of industrial Europe. Despite its relative isolation and previous inexperience with modern warfare, Bunyoro rapidly transformed its political and military institutions, enabling it to sustain an extremely bitter existential war in which it was outgunned and outmanned. While many prefer to imagine the process of colonization as one in which gullible African kings signed away entire nations to shrewd colonial officers, The reality was colonial conquest was a brutal, protracted processes involving total war against entire societies, the decimation of their social institutions, and the advance of disease environments, inorder to exhaust African kingdom’s depleting reservoirs of political goodwill, drain their economic resources that sustain a prolonged war, and ultimately crush their resolve to fight. While 1899 closed the chapter on the Kingdom’s independence, its resolve to fight continued under colonial rule with the Nyangire anti-colonial rebellion of 1907, and its former subjects continued to play a major role in the political movements that ultimately secured Uganda’s independence. _**Bunyoro’s King Andereya and courtiers at a wedding, c. 1906, Albert Lloyd, King Andereya and his courtiers and bodyguard, c. 1919, John Roscoe**_ * * * The **HAMITIC MYTH** about the **FOREIGN** origin of African civilizations is a pervasive concept in African historiography including in the history of Bunyoro, But it wasn’t alien product of colonial imposition, it was instead an intellectual conglomeration of both African and European versions of the Hamitic myths. Read about the interpretation of the **BYZANTINE-ARAB** **ORIGIN** myth of west-Africa’s **FULANI** ethnic group; and **AFRICA’S HAMITIC MYTH** on my Patreon ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and you can reach me at: **[email protected].** twitter: **@rhaplord**. * * * **Incase you haven’t seen some of my posts in your email inbox, please check your “promotions” tab, move the email to your “primary” tab and click “accept for future messages”.** ( The Study of the State by Henri J. Claessen pg 354) ( The Antecedents of the Interlacustrine Kingdoms by J. E. G. Sutton pg 39-41, 63) ( The Ancient Earthworks of Western Uganda by Peter Robertshaw pg 27-28) ( Beyond the Segmentary State by Peter Robertshaw pg 259) ( The great lakes of Africa by Jean-Pierre Chrétien pg 103-104 ( Kingship and State By Christopher Wrigley pg 201, The Ancient Earthworks of Western Uganda by Peter Robertshaw pg 25-26) ( Archaeological Survey, Ceramic Analysis, and State Formation in Western Uganda by Peter Robertshaw pg 110, The Antecedents of the Interlacustrine Kingdoms by J. E. G. Sutton pg 54) ( The Ancient Earthworks of Western Uganda by Peter Robertshaw pg 17-18) ( Archaeological Survey, Ceramic Analysis, and State Formation in Western Uganda by Peter Robertshaw pg 126-127) ( Archaeological Survey, Ceramic Analysis, and State Formation in Western Uganda by Peter Robertshaw pg 107, Kingship and State By Christopher Wrigley pg 202, Antecedents to Modern Rwanda by Jan Vansina pg 39) ( credit; Peter Robertshaw ( The Antecedents of the Interlacustrine Kingdoms by J. E. G. Sutton pg 57-59 ( Women, Labor, and State Formation in Western Uganda by Peter Robertshaw pg 60, Archaeological Survey, Ceramic Analysis, and State Formation in Western Uganda by Peter Robertshaw pg 126, A History of Modern Uganda pg 109-110) ( The salt of Bunyoro by Graham Connah pg 480 ( Analysis of iron working remains from Kooki and Masindi, western Uganda by Louise Iles pg 43-56 ( Antecedents to Modern Rwanda by Jan Vansina pg 45-46, Kingship and State By Christopher Wrigley pg 202) ( The Study of the State by Henri J. Claessen pg 360-362) ( Kingship and State By Christopher Wrigley pg 199-200, Antecedents to Modern Rwanda by Jan Vansina pg 219) ( Kingship and State By Christopher Wrigley pg 193-196) ( Beyond the Segmentary State by Peter Robertshaw pg 261-262) ( Bunyoro-Kitara Revisited by GN Uzoigwe pg 21-23 ( The Study of the State by Henri J. Claessen pg 362-364 ( Fabrication of Empire: The British and the Uganda Kingdoms, 1890-1902 By D. A. Low pg 34, 37) ( Khedive Ismail's Army By John P. Dunn pg 63-70 ( Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 5 pg 42-44 ( Sudan’s Wars and Peace Agreements by Stephanie Beswick pg 188-193). ( Irregular Connections By Andrew P. Lyons, Harriet Lyons pg 137-138). ( Explorers of the Nile by Tim Jeal pg 338-347 ( Explorers of the Nile by Tim Jeal pg 348 ( Crisis & Decline in Bunyoro by Shane Doyle pg 30, 60, Fabrication of Empire by D. A. Low pg 53) ( Crisis & Decline in Bunyoro by Shane Doyle pg 31, Fabrication of Empire By D. A. Low pg 129-130 ( Crisis & Decline in Bunyoro by Shane Doyle pg 57-59) ( The great lakes of Africa by Jean-Pierre Chrétien pg 205-207, Fabrication of Empire By D. A. Low pg 40-49 ( Fabrication of Empire By D. A. Low pg 76-78) ( Fabrication of Empire By D. A. Low pg 79, 151-154, 186-189) ( Crisis & Decline in Bunyoro by Shane Doyle pg 73-75) ( for the colonial introduction of rinderpest and jiggers in east africa; Ecology Control and Economic Development in East African History by Helge Kjekshus pg 127-136 ( for the colonial introduction of rinderpest and jiggers in Bunyoro; Crisis & Decline in Bunyoro by Shane Doyle pg 90-91 ( Crisis & Decline in Bunyoro by Shane Doyle pg 73-75 ( Fabrication of Empire By D. A. Low pg ( Crisis & Decline in Bunyoro by Shane Doyle pg 73) ( service and sport on the tropical Nile by Skyes C.A pg 76 ( Crisis & Decline in Bunyoro by Shane Doyle pg 77 ( Fabrication of Empire By D. A. Low pg 209-210.

### Title: An African Kingdom's Existential War Against the British Colonial Empire: The Anglo-Bunyoro Wars (1872-1899) #### Introduction The Anglo-Bunyoro Wars represent a significant but lesser-known campaign of resistance against British colonial expansion in East Africa, specifically in the kingdom of Bunyoro, located in western Uganda. This period, which lasted nearly three decades, was marked by fierce military confrontations and severe social consequences including extermination campaigns akin to those in other colonial contexts. ### Historical Background 1. **Establishment of Bunyoro Kingdom** (15th Century) - The Bunyoro kingdom emerged during the 15th century, inheriting aspects of the semi-legendary “Kitara” empire. This kingdom played a pivotal role in regional politics due to its demographic and resource advantages. - Bunyoro controlled resources such as iron ore and salt, which facilitated trade and military capacity. 2. **Political Structure** - Bunyoro's government had a quasi-feudal structure with a centralized authority under the King (Omukama) and a hierarchy of provincial rulers. This structure allowed the kingdom to expand territorially and politically through the 16th to 18th centuries. 3. **Conflicts and Expansion** - Notable expansions occurred under kings like Olimi I and Chwa I, who battled neighboring kingdoms like Buganda, Nkore, and Rwanda. Bunyoro's historical dominance in the region is evidenced by oral traditions from neighboring states. ### The Shift to Colonial Interests 1. **First Colonial Invasion** (1872) - The first significant contact with colonial interests occurred when British explorer Samuel Baker, acting on behalf of the Ottoman Khedive, attempted to annex Bunyoro. His campaign, however, failed after confrontations with Kabalega’s forces, leading to Baker’s retreat. 2. **British and Ottoman Dynamics** - The Ottoman Egypt sought to expand its influence in Bunyoro amid rising tensions. This led to a continued British interest in the region, particularly after Baker's expedition set a precedent for colonial aggression. ### The Bunyoro Resilience and Military Reorganization 1. **Military Transformation** - Under King Kabalega, Bunyoro restructured its military, transitioning from a quasi-feudal system to a standing army known as the Abarusura, equipped with modern firearms. This development was crucial for their continued resistance against colonial forces. 2. **Engagement in Warfare** - Bunyoro engaged in multiple conflicts between 1891 and 1899 against the British forces and their allies, including the Kingdom of Buganda. This marked a turning point as Bunyoro sought to defend its sovereignty through guerrilla warfare tactics. ### Widespread Brutality and Extermination Campaigns 1. **Colonial Brutality** - British colonial armies employed tactics of extermination, leading to the systemic depopulation and destruction of Bunyoro. Reports from British officers revealed intentional campaigns designed to eliminate the Banyoro population, resulting in dire humanitarian crises. 2. **Demographic Catastrophe** - The introduction of diseases such as rinderpest and jiggers by colonial troops exacerbated the demographic collapse in Bunyoro. The region faced widespread suffering, with significant declines in population and agricultural output. ### Conclusion of the Wars 1. **Final Conflict and Capture of Kabalega** (1899) - Following years of sustained resistance, Bunyoro's forces faced overwhelming odds, exacerbated by internal conflicts and betrayal from local chiefs. The capture of Kabalega effectively ended the kingdom's century-long autonomy. 2. **Legacy of Resistance** - Despite the loss of sovereignty, Bunyoro's resistance against colonial rule became a significant historical narrative. The kingdom's struggle is emblematic of broader themes in the fight against colonialism in Africa, highlighting the complexities of indigenous responses to European imperialism. ### Significance of the Anglo-Bunyoro Wars - The Anglo-Bunyoro Wars underscore the brutal realities of colonial conquest, challenging the notion that colonization was a straightforward process. This history illustrates the violent struggles faced by African kingdoms and the high costs of imperial expansion.

The complete history of Aksum: an ancient African metropolis (50-1900AD)

Journal of African cities chapter-3

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The complete history of Aksum: an ancient African metropolis (50-1900AD) ======================================================================== ### Journal of African cities chapter-3 ( Oct 02, 2022 21 For nearly 2000 years, the city of Aksum has occupied an important place in African history; first as the illustrious capital of its eponymously named global power; the Aksumite empire, and later as a major religious center and pilgrimage site whose cathedral reportedly houses one of the world's most revered sacred objects; the Ark of the covenant. The city's massive architectural monuments, which include some of the world's largest monoliths and sophisticated funerary architecture, were the legacy of its wealth as the imperial capital of a vast empire. Despite the Aksumite empire's collapse in the 7th century, the city retained its allure as it was transformed into the most important religious center in medieval Ethiopia and continuously invested with sufficient political capital and ecclesiastical architecture well into the modern era, to become one of Africa's oldest continuously inhabited cities. This article outlines the chronological history of Aksum, its architectural monuments and its political history from 50AD -1900AD. * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Classical Aksum (50-700AD)** Aksum was established in the early 1st century AD after the rulers of the early pre-Aksumite polity shifted their capital from the site of Beta Giyorgis just north of Aksum, where they had been settled since the 4th century BC. Their nascent state was part of a millennia-old political and economic tradition that had been gradually developed across much of the northern Horn of Africa since the establishment of the D'MT kingdom in the 9th century BC and the preceding Neolithic Gash-group culture of the 3rd millennium BC.( Aksum first appears in external accounts around 40AD when the anonymous author of the _**periplus of the Erythraean Sea**_ records the existence of a metropolis of the people called _**aksumites**_ that was ruled by king Zoscales, whose port city was Adulis. Over the 3rd century, the kings of Aksum progressively incorporated the surrounding regions; including much of the northern horn of Africa and parts of southern Africa, into a large territorial state centered at Aksum. The capital of Aksum was unmistakably the center of centralized royal power as inscriptions that were made beginning in 200AD position the title ‘king of Aksum’ before the list of peripheral territories over which the Kings at Aksum claimed suzerainty.( The urban development of the capital was the dominant factor in the organization of the territory. Aksum is more accurately understood as a metropolis, a political, religious and commercial center with a conglomeration of monumental palatial structures, ecclesiastical structures and elite tombs were built over a region about the size of 1sq km housing an estimated population of 20,000, and was served by a network of paved roads that linked it to the provinces. The settlement itself was not enclosed within a defensive wall but its limits were marked by monumental stone inscriptions made by its emperors. The central area of Aksum didn't contain domestic structures, as they were located immediately outside of it and in the hinterland where monumental constructions similar but smaller than those at Aksum were constructed to serve as regional centres.( Aksum's stone stelae and monumental stone thrones; most of which were found within the capital, were inscribed in three languages (Ge'ez, "pseudo-Sabaean" and Greek) using three scripts (Ge'ez, "ASAM", and Greek), hence the common term "trilingual inscriptions". They record the military campaigns and other administrative activities carried out at Aksum and the empire's provinces by the kings of Aksum. Atleast 12 of the royal inscriptions were made in Ge'ez language while 3 were made in Greek, all are attributed to 5 kings from the 4th to the 9th/10th century; Ella Amida, Ezana, Kaleb, Wazeba, Dana'el, the last of whom post-dated the empire's collapse.( Aksumite architecture was characterized by the use of dressed rectangular stone blocks in construction, these were placed in neat courses with no mortar (except for the occasional use of lime mortar), with walls reinforced by a framework of timber beams. The stone walls incorporated horizontal beams held together by transverse beams whose rounded ends that extended outside the façade were called ‘monkey-heads’. Flat roofs supported by stone pillars with stepped bases and arches made of fired-bricks were covered with stone-slabs and floors were made of stone paving with dressed rectangular slabs.( _**Map of Aksum’s main archeological sites**_( * * * **Elite structures at Aksum.** Aksumite mansions/villas (at times called Palaces) were the largest and most elaborate residential structures in the metropolis. Each comprised a grand central building or pavilion often set on a high foundation or plinth, with the main house made up of at-most three storeys (plus the occasional basement) in a courtyard surrounded by suites of rooms constituting an extensive complex, that was accessed via a series of monumental stair cases. The largest of these villas was _**Ta‘akha Maryam**_ that covered the size of 1 hectare and was among the largest palatial residences of the ancient world, others include _**Dungur, Enda Mikael,**_ and _**Enda Semon**_.( _**the Dungur ‘palace’**_ _**Plan of Ta‘akha Maryam élite structure at Aksum**_ _**May Šum reservoir / Queen of Sheba’s pool possibly of Aksumite date.**_( * * * **Aksum’s religious architecture** Christianity was adopted in Aksum between 333 and 340 by King Ezana and its presence was soon attested on Ezana's inscriptions and coinage, although the religion's acceptance by the wider population was gradual processes that took centuries, and was symbolized by the construction of large churches (basilicas).( Aksum's oldest basilicas in the capital were essentially an Aksumite variation on the basic basilica typology of the Mediterranean region, as it had a five-aisled hall rather than the usual three-sided arrangement, and it also retained the characteristic Aksumite features, with courses of stone alternating with wooden beams connected by ‘monkey head’ crosspieces. The most typical classic plan of the Aksumite basilica was the church of _**Māryām Şĕyon**_ built during the 6th century by king Kaleb at Aksum but destroyed during the Abyssinia-Adal wars of the 16th century and later reconstructed in the 17th century. Others include the Basilicas placed over the rockcut tombs of _**Kālēb and Gabra Masqal**_ at Aksum.( Another Basilican church named _**Arba‘etu Ensesa**_ was built in the 6th century in Aksum. It measures 26 x 13 m. It had a subterranean chamber accessed externally via a flight of stone stairs, and was fitted with storage niches framed by ornamental stone-carving.( _**panorama of the smaller reconstructed church of Māryām Şĕyon, the old podium and staircase of the original basilica is still visible**_ _**reconstructions of the original Maryam Tsion Cathedral at Aksum by Buxton & Matthews 1974**_ _**Arba‘etu Ensesa church and basement, reconstruction**_ _**tombs of Kālēb and Gabra Masqal and a plan of their Basilicas**_ * * * * * * **Domestic architecture of non-Elite residents.** Lower status Aksumite houses were rectilinear constructions surrounded by open courtyards that were intersected by narrow lanes.( The so-called "domestic area" in the northern section of Aksum features a residential complex built in the 5th century and was abandoned soon after its construction. Less monumental constructions of roughhewn stone that were constantly modified, were erected near the old structure after its abandonment during the 6th century. Another non-elite settlement was at _**Maleke Aksum**_, where rough-hewn stone buildings were constructed in the 6th century and the material culture recovered from inside the residential areas includes debris from crafts production including metalwork, glass-making and lathe-turning of ivory. Both elite and "domestic" houses also contained a number of Aksumite coins.( _**Domestic architecture at Aksum**_ _**rock-cut wine-press at Adi Tsehafi near Aksum**_ * * * **Aksumite coinage, funerary architecture and inscriptions.** The minting of gold, silver and copper coinage at Aksum begun in the 3rd century and continued until the 7th century. Different coins with Ge'ez and Greek inscriptions are attested at Aksum and attributed to the kings; Endybis (270-290), Aliphas, Wazeba, Ella Amida, Ezana (330-360), Wazebas, Eon, MHDYS, Ebana, Nezana, Nezool, Ousas, Ousanas and kaleb (510-540), Ioel, Hataz, Gersem and Armah (7th century). The coins were struck in the capital and depict the monarchs' portraits framed by cereal-stalks and surmounted by a religious symbol. The gold coins were used in internal trade while copper and silver coins were used in regional trade.( _**various Aksumite coins from the 3rd-7th century, British museum**_ **Aksum’s funerary architecture and stone Thrones.** Aksum's central stelea area was gradually built up between the 1st and 3rd century on a series of terraces and platforms, under which were subterranean tombs were carved in substrate rock. The most monumental stelae weighed 170-520 tonnes, and stood ata height of 24-33m, and their associated tombs were the last to be constructed in the early 4th century for Aksum's emperors who were by then presiding over one of the world's largest empires. The stelae were elaborately carved to represent multistoried buildings with typical Aksumite architectural features including monkey-heads and false doors.( The largest of the subterranean royal tombs was the western "Mausoleum" complex, an massive construction built 6 meters deep that extending over 250 sqm, and was roofed with large, rough-hewn granite slabs supported by monolithic columns and brick arches. The tomb had ten side-chambers leading off a central passage, and is understood to have housed the remains of the 4th century kings of Aksum and contained luxury grave goods that were robbed in the past.( Another was the tomb of brick arches is approached via a descending staircase, at the foot of which is a horse-shoe shaped brick arch that opens into the main tomb about 10 meters below the ground surface. The tomb chamber comprises of four rock-cut chambers that were carved from surrounding rock and divided by stone cross-walls and with roofs supported by brick arches built with lime motar. The tomb contained a lot of luxury goods that were robbed in the past, with only elaborate metalwork and ivory carvings recovered in the early 20th century. Other elite tombs at Aksum include Nefas Mawcha and the Tomb of Bazen.( The Gudit stelea Field was the burial ground for lower status Aksumite individuals. The subterranean tombs were built in the same form as the elite tombs with staircases leading down into an underground chamber, but rather than rock-cut chambers, they consisted of a simple pit containing few grave-goods and surmounted by small rough-hewn stela.( _**Main stele field at Aksum, carved details on Stela 3**_ _**entrance to the Tomb of the False Door and Tomb of brick-arches**_ _**Mausoleum of Aksum**_ _**Stone throne bases at the outer enclosure of the Cathedral of St. Maryam Tsion**_ _**Gudit Stelae Field and other shaft tombs including the ‘Tomb of Bazen’**_ _**Inscriptions of King Ezana at Aksum.**_( * * * **Aksum during the ‘Post-Aksumite’ and Zagwe era (700-1270)** Aksum decline as the power of the Aksumite empire waned in the late 6th/early 7th century not long after the reign of king Armah (possibly the celebrated Negash of Islamic tradition that sheltered prophet Muhammad's persecuted followers). The population of the capital diminished sharply, many of its grand monuments were largely abandoned as the center of power shifted to the region of eastern Tigray at a new capital referred to in medieval Arabic texts as Jarma or kubar. The former is first mentioned by al-Khuwarizmi (833) and Al-Farghani (861) while the latter is first reported by Al Yaqubi in 872.( The post-Aksumite era is relatively poorly documented internally, with the few contemporary records about Aksum coming from external accounts. An enigmatic general-turned-king hatsani Dana’el is attested at Aksum by his inscriptions made on broken throne fragments and is variously dated to between the 7th and 9th century. The inscriptions document his campaigns across the region including a civil war within Aksum itself, another in Kassala (in eastern Sudan) to its east and one against the king of Aksum whom Dana'el deposed, imprisoned and released to serve as his subordinate.( The period after Dana’el's reign is described in external documents by Arab authors which offer some insight into the political situation at Aksum, with three different documents from the late 10th and the mid-11 century alluding to an enigmatic queen Gudit governing the region around Aksum. In the years after 979AD, an unnamed King of Aksum reported to the King King George II of Makuria (Nubia) that queen of Banū l-Hamuwīya (presumably Gudit) had killed Aksumite royals and sacked Aksum and other cities. While Gudit's devastation of Aksum definitively marks the end of its role as a royal capital, the activities of the church in Aksum headed by the metropolitan Mikaʾel in the 12th century, affirmed the primacy of Aksum as an ecclesiastical center with reportedly 1009 churches consecrated in the eyar 1150AD (no doubt an exaggeration).( Over the 12th and 13th century, Aksum was part of the Zagwe Kingdom, more famously known for its other ecclesiastical center Lalibela. Despite the deliberate mischaracterization of the Zagwe as usurpers by their successors (the Solomonic dynasty) who claimed the former broke the Aksumite line of succession, It was under the Zagwe that Aksum was gradually restored, especially because of the activities of the abovementioned metropolitan Mikaʾel, and this renewed interest in the old city can also be gleaned from the Zagwe kings' appointment of officeholders at Aksum eg king Lalibela's administrator of the church of Aksum (qäysä gäbäzä Ṣǝyon).( _**inscriptions of hatsani Dana’el at Throne No. 23, Aksum**_ * * * **Medieval Aksum under the Solomonids (1270-1630)** In 1270, the Zagwe dynasty was overthrown by the Solomonic dynasty and Aksum was gradually brought under the latter's control with both its founder Yəkunno Amlak and his successor Yagba Ṣəyon recorded to have been campaigning in the region. In the early 14th century, Aksum was under the rule of Ya’ibika-Egzi of Intarta, presumably a break-away state that had rebelled against the Solomonic emperor Amda Seyon (1314–44). Yeshaq, the author of the kebra nagast who was also the nebura’ed (dean) of Aksum (an office that appears in the Solomonic era) originally composed the text between the years 1314–1322, in service of his patron Ya’ibika-Egzi before Amda Seyon captured the latter at Aksum in 1316/17 , and appropriated the Kebra Nagast as the Solomonic national epic, and Aksum later became the coronation site of Solomonic monarchs.( Aksum continued as a venerated ecclesiastical center and important site of imperial power during the Solomonic era especially beginning In 1400 with Dawit I's coronation and in 1436 with Zara Yaqob’s coronation and 3-year stay in the city. Zara’s coronation was an elaborate ceremony that included seated on the coronation throne (one of the Aksumite stone thrones) for the actual ceremony, and was repeated by most of the succeeding Solomonic monarchs( . Aksum's scribes composed the 15th/16th century ‘Book of Axum’ (_**Liber Axumae**_), a detailed cumulative compilation that was expanded by each generation; it describes the city's ancient monuments, contemporary structures, as well as its political history. ( In the early 16th century, increasing diplomatic contacts between the Ethiopian monarchs and visits by Portuguese envoys in Ethiopia also provide detailed accounts of the city of Aksum. An account written in 1520 by Francisco Alvares provides a full description of Aksum including its churches (especially the Māryām Şĕyon just before its destruction in 1535), its houses, ruined monuments, stone thrones, water wells, and ancient tombs. Subsequent descriptions by Pedro Paez (1603) and Manoel de Almeida (1624-1633) and Alfonso Mendes (1625) would record the aftermath of Aksum's through destruction during the Abyssinia-Adal wars; with only 100 households left in the then ruined town by the time of Almeida's visit, but the latter also noted that royal coronations still took place at the diminished site and provided further descriptions of the ancient stela.( After the sack of 1535, Aksum wasn't rebuilt by its residents until 1579. But by 1611, the now small town was again sacked during wars between Susenyos and the Oromo, its inhabitants fled and it shrunk in size to a population of less than 1,000. Aksum's population gradually increased over the course of the 17th and 18th century to about 5,000 despite records of locust swarms in 1747 and 1749 that devastated its hinterland.( _**15th century copy of the Kebrä nägäst at**_ ( * * * **Aksum, from the Gondarine dynasty to the early modern era (1630-1900)** After the 17th century emperor Fasilädäs had established a permanent capital at Gondar in 1636, he initiated a grand construction project across the empire that included the restoration of the Māryām Şĕyon church in 1655 that was re-built in Gondarine style and extended by his successor Iyasu II in 1750. The present ‘Old Cathedral’ of Fasilädäs Aksum, stands on a massive podium of the ruined basilica that covered an area of 66 m by at 41 m, with a broad flight of steps at the west end( . In 1770, the explorer James Bruce arrived at Aksum as part of his journey through Ethiopia, he described the restored Gondarine church and the "very extensive ruins", and estimated that the town's was home to around 4,000 inhabitants.( In the 19th century Aksum was visited by various explorers including Henry Salt (1805, 1809) and Theodore Bent (1893), all of whom left detailed descriptions of its ancient monuments and inscriptions.( The elaborate coronation ceremonies at Aksum which had ceased during the turbulent “era of princes” of the late 18th century, were resumed under emperor Yohannes IV, who was crowned at Maryam Seyon church in 1872.( Yohannes undertook some significant construction work at Aksum as he had done in other cities, and commissioned the construction of a 'treasury'( , but his relatively long stay in the city may have exhausted its agricultural resources and influenced his return to his capital Mekelle.( Because of the gradual advance of the Italian colonial forces into northern horn of Africa with the establishment of the colony of Eritrea in 1890, Yohannes' successor Menelik II wasn't crowned at Aksum but at Entoto in 1899. Aksum fell under Italian control in 1894 after its un-armed clergy chose to submit rather than face what would have been another devastating destruction of the city, but this brief occupation of Aksum turned to be a prelude to the inevitable war between Menelik and the Italians as both armies arrayed themselves not far from Aksum in February 1896 for the battle of Adwa.( The ancient city of Aksum was spared, and its clergy, who had reportedly carried the Tabots (tablets) of Mary and St. George to the battle of Adwa, are traditionally credited with securing Ethiopian's victory over Italy through divine intervention.( _**Fasilädäs’s 17th century reconstruction of the Māryām Şĕyon church**_ _**The treasury of Yohannes IV at Maryam Seyon church, Aksum**_ * * * Legends of **FOREIGN IMIGRANT** rulers are a popular theme in the **ORIGIN TRADITIONS** across various African societies. In this **PATREON** post, I explain why a number of African groups ascribe the establishment of their civilizations to foreign founders and how these traditions were misused in colonial literature to misattribute African accomplishments to “foreign civilizers” ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts you can reach me at: **[email protected].** twitter: **@rhaplord** ( The Development of Ancient States in the Northern Horn of Africa by R. Fattovich pg 154-157 ( Aksum: An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity by S. C Munro-Hay. pg 41-42, Foundations of an African Civilisation by D. W Phillipson pg 71) ( Africa's urban past by David M. Anderson pg 61, Foundations of an African Civilisation by D. W Phillipson pg 49) ( Foundations of an African Civilisation by D. W Phillipson pg 51-55, 58-62) ( Foundations of an African Civilisation by D. W Phillipson pg 121-123) ( credit: Hiluf Berhe Woldeyohannes ( Foundations of an African Civilisation by D. W Phillipson pg 124-123) ( State formation and water resources management in the Horn of Africa by Federica Sulas pg 8 ( Foundations of an African Civilisation by D. W Phillipson pg 98-99) ( The Basilicas of Ethiopia by Mario Di Salvo pg 5-11) ( Archaeological Rescue Excavations at Aksum, 2005–2007 by T. Hagos ( Aksum: An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity by S. C Munro-Hay. pg 118-199 ( Africa's urban past by David M. Anderson pg 57) ( Foundations of an African Civilisation by D. W Phillipson pg 82, 181-193) ( Foundations of an African Civilisation by D. W Phillipson pg 139-143) ( .Foundations of an African Civilisation by D. W Phillipson pg 143) ( Africa's urban past by David M. Anderson pg 53) ( Africa's urban past by David M. Anderson pg 55) ( image credit for this set; David Phillipson ( Aksum: An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity by S. C Munro-Hay pg 95-96, Foundations of an African Civilisation by D. W Phillipson pg 209-212, ( Archaeological Rescue Excavations at Aksum, 2005–2007 by T. Hagos pg 20-25) ( Letter of an Ethiopian King to King George II of Nubia Benjamin Hendrickx pg 1-18, A companion to medieval eritrea Samantha Kelly pg 36-40) ( A companion to medieval eritrea Samantha Kelly pg 48) ( A companion to medieval eritrea Samantha Kelly pg 64-65, 238 The Ark of the Covenant by Stuart Munro-Hay pg 84-87) ( Aksum: An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity by S. C Munro-Hay pg 162 ( The Ark of the Covenant by Stuart Munro-Hay pg 90-91, 100, Aksoum (Ethiopia) by Hiluf Berhe Woldeyohannes pg 44-50 ) ( Aksoum (Ethiopia) by Hiluf Berhe Woldeyohannes pg 61-75 ) ( Cities of the Middle East and North Africa by Michael Dumper pg 20 ( Aksoum (Ethiopia) by Hiluf Berhe Woldeyohannes pg 76-77, The Ark of the Covenant by Stuart Munro-Hay pg 155) ( The Urban Experience in Eastern Africa, C. 1750-2000 by Andrew Burton pg 6 ( Aksoum (Ethiopia) by Hiluf Berhe Woldeyohannes pg 78-90 ( The Ark of the Covenant by Stuart Munro-Hay pg 94 ( Semitic Studies in Honour of Edward Ullendorff by Geoffrey Khan pg 280 ( Cities of the Middle East and North Africa by Michael Dumper pg 20 ( The Battle of Adwa By Raymond Jonas pg 93-94, 106, 125 ( The Battle of Adwa By Raymond Jonas pg 183.

### The Complete History of Aksum: An Ancient African Metropolis (50-1900 AD) #### Overview of Aksum 1. **Historical Significance**: Aksum has been a major historical center in Africa for nearly 2000 years, serving as the capital of the Aksumite Empire and later as a prominent religious and pilgrimage site. 2. **Cultural Legacy**: It is renowned for its architectural monuments, including large monoliths and intricate funerary structures, marking its wealth and influence as an empire's capital. Aksum is home to the Ark of the Covenant, making it a significant religious location. #### Chronological History (50-1900 AD) 1. **Classical Aksum (50-700 AD)**: - **Foundation**: Aksum was established in the early 1st century AD, succeeding the pre-Aksumite polity centered at Beta Giyorgis. - **Growth**: The region's political and economic strategies evolved over centuries, leading to Aksum emerging as a metropolis by the 1st century AD. - **External Recognition**: Aksum first appears in historical accounts around 40 AD when referenced in the _Periplus of the Erythraean Sea_, noting its leadership under King Zoscales. - **Territorial Expansion**: Through the 3rd century, Aksum incorporated surrounding territories and established itself as a central hub for trade and governance. 2. **Political Structure**: - **Capital Status**: Aksum was the focal point of centralized power, reflected in royal inscriptions from 200 AD that documented the extent of territorial claims by Aksumite kings. - **Urban Layout**: The city featured monumental structures within a 1 square kilometer area, including palaces and elite tombs, and was supported by a network of roads. 3. **Architectural Features**: - **Stone Inscriptions**: Aksum's stelae, inscribed in Ge'ez, "pseudo-Sabaean," and Greek, recorded military campaigns and administrative activities. - **Construction Techniques**: Aksumite architecture showcased dressed rectangular stone without mortar, using timber beams for reinforcement, and featuring distinct “monkey-heads” on walls. 4. **Elite Structures**: - **Mansions and Villas**: The largest, _Ta‘akha Maryam_, exemplified Aksumite grandeur, featuring complex residential arrangements and significant scale. 5. **Religious Architecture**: - **Christian Adoption**: Christianity was established in Aksum between 333 and 340 AD under King Ezana, paving the way for large churches. - **Basilica Construction**: The church of _Māryām Şĕyon_ and other basilicas reflect the blend of Aksumite and Mediterranean architectural styles. 6. **Domestic Architecture**: - **Residential Structures**: Non-elite housing consisted of simpler rectilinear buildings, illustrating a distinct social hierarchy. 7. **Coinage and Funerary Practices**: - **Minting Coins**: Aksum began minting gold, silver, and copper coins in the 3rd century, crucial for trade. - **Funerary Architecture**: Monumental tombs featured elaborate stelae and were constructed for royal figures, highlighting the significance of death and remembrance. #### Post-Aksumite Era (700-1270) 1. **Decline of Power**: The Aksumite empire waned in the late 6th/early 7th century, leading to a population decrease in Aksum. 2. **Shift in Power**: The political center moved to Jarma, with little internal documentation available from this period. 3. **Gudit’s Reign**: Documentation by Arab authors refers to Queen Gudit, indicating turmoil and decline in Aksum’s status. #### Medieval Aksum (1270-1630) 1. **Solomonic Dynasty’s Rise**: The Zagwe Dynasty was overthrown, and Aksum regained significance under Solomonic rule. 2. **Coronations and Restoration**: Aksum became a site for royal coronations and ecclesiastical activities, with major restorations undertaken. #### Aksum in the Early Modern Era (1630-1900) 1. **Gondarine Capital**: Following the establishment of Gondar as the permanent capital under Emperor Fasilädäs, Aksum saw architectural restoration efforts. 2. **Explorers’ Accounts**: Various explorers documented Aksum in the 19th century, highlighting its historical monuments. 3. **Italian Occupation**: Aksum fell under Italian control in 1894, leading to significant cultural and political changes. ### Conclusion The city of Aksum stands out as a key historical site in Africa, symbolizing the rise and fall of a prominent empire while maintaining its religious significance through the centuries. Its architectural, political, and cultural legacy continues to influence the region today.

The Art of Power in central Africa: the political and artistic history of the Kuba kingdom (1620-1900)

an iconography of authority.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers The Art of Power in central Africa: the political and artistic history of the Kuba kingdom (1620-1900) ====================================================================================================== ### an iconography of authority. ( Sep 25, 2022 8 Central Africa in the 17th century witnessed the efflorescence of one of the continent's most elaborate artistic traditions. Nestled on the edge of the Congo rainforest, the Kuba kingdom developed a sophisticated political and judicial system controlled by a hierarchy of title holders, whose status was defined by their corresponding series of prerogatives, insignia and emblems that were displayed in artworks which they commissioned. The Kuba are renown in central Africa for their dynamic artistic legacy that was attested across a broadly diverse array of media, a product of the complexity of Kuba's political organization which facilitated a remarkable artistic tradition where artists visualized their patrons' power. The spectrum of Kuba's decorative arts, from intricate wood carvings to cast-metal and velvet-textured cloth, are the legacy of the versatility and skill of Kuba's artists. This article explores the history of the Kuba kingdom, and the relationship between political authority in the kingdom with its celebrated art traditions. * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Kuba from the 17th-18th century.** The Kuba kingdom's establishment in the early 17th century was preceded by the movement of the Bushong-speakers who originally lived north of the Sankuru river but migrated south, and gradually incorporated autochtonous groups to create the first chiefdoms. The strongest these, the Bushong and Pyang, Bieeng, and Ngeende eventually subsumed the others, and began a struggle for ritual and political supremacy which culminated with the ascension of Shyaam aMbul aNgoong, who in 1625, defeated the Pyang, and founded the Kuba kingdom as its first king at the capital Nsheng. Over the succeeding centuries, internal dynamics within the multi-ethnic kingdom led to thee innovation of complex administrative and judicial institutions out of pre-existing political systems in the region.( Shyaam introduced several innovations that he borrowed from neighboring groups, he is credited with establishing a bureaucratic capital, a patrician class of titled office holders, and an elaborate complex of royal symbols and pageantry; although these innovations were likely developed later but were only credited to him as the founder.( Shyaam's successors, especially king Mboong a Leeng and king Mbo Mboosh whose cumulative reign spanned much of the 17th century, greatly expanded Kuba's territories westwards, concentrating defeated foes within the capital, and consolidating their power by reducing the authority of provincial chiefs. ( Over the course of the 18th century, Kuba's Kings, mostly notably Kota Mbweeky, Kot aNce and Mbo Pelyeeng aNcé, expanded Kuba southwards for control of the copper-trading routes and the kingdom attained its maximum extent. These kings transformed Kuba's institutions, especially Mbo Pelyeeng aNcé who abolished local cults who represented the different ethnic and lineage groups within the kingdom, in favour of more regional nature cults that represented the kingdom itself. Such was the memory of this that his name was during the early colonial era translated by the Kuba as "God" although not possessing the equivalent monotheistic characteristics of the Christian deity.( * * * **The government of Kuba in the 19th century** Kuba's political structure was characterized by the division and balance of power, with court dignitaries organized in councils that constituted a body which counter-balanced the power of the King. The king shared power with councils the most significant of these was the _**ishyaaml**_, which was comprised of around 18 senior titleholders and provincial chiefs that together represented the aristocratic Bushong clans and thus the whole kingdom, this council was in charge of "electing" the King from his matrilineage of potential candidates, it also had the authority on decisions of war and peace, and could veto the king’s orders and edicts. Below this was the Nsheng-based council ; the _**mbok ilaam**_, it was in charge of day-to-day administration and the provincial administration, and it was presided over by the King, the titleholders at the capital, and senior military.( Below the king and councils was a bureaucracy of senior title-holders. There were over 120 distinct titles within the capital and from whom most of the members of the councils were chosen. Their positions were not hereditary as most were selected from candidates elected by their peers. Below these was the provincial administration with subordinate chiefs with similar councils comprised of elected titleholders (county headmen), this provincial administration sent tribute to the capital which was handled by an official , provided labour for crafts manufactures and construction at the capital, and military levies for the army( . “_**The degree to which the whole Bushong population was represented in this government was perhaps its most remarkable feature. All the titleholders were elected by their peers in council without any royal input, so that the whole council truly represented the population of the capital and the free Bushong villages**_.”( _**Kuba in the 19th century, showing the core of the kingdom (dominated by the Bushong), and the provinces it controls.**_ These chiefs also reported to the capital annually at a major festival, and the whole lattice of administration from the king to the councils and provincial chiefs largely derived their income from tributes (agricultural produce, cowries, tradable goods) and revenue collected from the courts (fees and fines paid in cowries).( The judicial system consisted of provincial courts and the main court at the capital , and both of these were comprised of senior title holders who were selected depending on the individuals involved and the type of crime. Appeals could be lodged from the provicial level to the capital and to the highest council that sat with the king, but the fees/fines increased with each level, with lesser crimes handled by lower courts while capital offences were handled by the King's coucil. In all cases, compensation in the form of fees and fines went to the state, which therefore incentivized it to enforce peace using a police force, and incentivized the Kuba citizens to became minor titleholders, of which atleast a quarter of adult males were in the late 19th century.( Kuba's markets were strictly regulated with a representative of the king overseeing law and order, a royal taxcollector who took in sales taxes, and trade disputes were settled by a court on the spot. Transitions were settled not just in cash (cowries) but also on credit and by pawning, the latter forms of exchange often occurred between professional traders who were also engaged in long distance regional trade within the kasai region and to routes that terminated in Luanda. Besides the items traded domestically and regionally including cloth, agricultural products, iron and salt, the Kuba exported cloth, red camwood, Ivory and rubber, that were sold across regional and global markets in exchange for copper and brass, cowrie shells and other commodities.( At its height between the late 17th to mid-19th century, the kingdom's growing population, increased production and expanding trade created a demand for the services of skilled artisans whose products constituted markers of social differentiation. Under the patronage of Kuba's title-holding elites, professional classes of weavers, embroiderers, carvers, and metalsmiths flourished as they innovated and invented new artistic styles to create a variety of functional and ornate works including richly embroidered cloth and intricately carved sculptures made of copper-alloys, iron and wood.( “_**Kuba’s bureaucratic system had the interesting side effect of interesting most men in the operation of the administration and in generating enthusiastic acceptance of the regime.... The system allowed the Kuba to become intoxicated with organization and above all with public honors, insignia, and pageantry...**_"( Nsheng became a vibrant center of decorative arts in the region. kuba's Kings commissioned artists to create numerous miniature sculptures in their likeness (_**ndop**_) which given their fairly standardized figurative convention with the Kuba's royal regalia, is given a personalized signifier (_**ibol**_), the kings also commissioned drums of office (_**pelambish**_), and individualized geometric patterns that were to be depicted on Kuba's textiles (although most patterns were created by the artists themselves). Decorative design (_**bwiin**_) was the very essence of Kuba's artistic activity and particular design forms, which comprise a corpus of about 200 distinct patterns, were often named after their inventors.( _**Ndop figure of king Mbó Mbóosh with drum ibol ca. 1650, Brooklyn museum: 61.33, Ndop figure of king shyaam aMbul aNgoong with a game-board ibol, c. 1630, british museum af 1909, 1210.1**_ _**Ndop figure of king Mbo pelyeeng aNce with an avil ibol, ca. 1765, British museum: Af1909,0513.1. Ndop figure of Kot aNce with a drum ibol, ca 1785, royal museum for central africa : EO.0.0.15256**_( * * * **Kuba Art; Textile and sculpture** Kuba artists manipulated the contrast of four basic properties of; color, line, texture, and symmetrical arrangements of motifs in order to produce a consistent design system which is found on textiles, cast metal, and wood carvings. In the Kuba kingdom, as in much of west-central Africa, possession of large collection of high quality, richly embroidered cloth was considered a symbol of power and the drive for prestige between the titled holders resulted in the amassment of textiles. The most elaborately patterned cloths were worn during important public ceremonials, hang up in homes as wall cloths, they were used to wrap the dead, they were sold across the region's vast textile trade network, were used as currency, and given as tribute.( Kuba cloths are made by stripping white raffia-fibers which are then separated, combed, warped, and weaved on a heddle loom by men, while the women took over the patterning, dyeing and embroidering of the cloth, using low pile plush to produce a tight weave and join many stitches to create raised motifs. The usual colour range included Red, yellow, black and white; with the red dye obtained from camwood; the yellow dye from the brimstone tree, the black dye from charcoal and the white dye from kaolin.( _**textiles, 19th century, British museum, Af1999,07.9, Af1999,07.8**_ _**Textiles, 19th-20th century, Brooklyn museum, 22.1523, 1989.11.6, 1989.11.7**_ The raffia palm tree (_raphia textilis welw_) from which these textiles were obtained was a central item in Kuba's crafts-making; "_**They found a use for absolutely every part of the tree, be it for construction, for roofing, for crafting furniture, as strong string for sewing, as tinder, and even as a medium from which to harvest edible grubs**_"( _**Kuba house under construction, 1920s, boston museum**_ The tree was especially appreciated for its wine, which was the most popular beverage drunk at social gatherings and on other occasions. Intricately carved palm wine cups were a high prestige item among the Kuba and those carved in the anthropomorphic forms and inscribed with elaborate geometric designs were often owned by Kuba's title-holders.( _**anthropomorphic wooden cup depicting a figure whose hairstyle is associated with royalty, 19th century, brooklyn museum, 56.6.37**_ _**anthropomorphic cups made of wood decorated with copper, 19th century, Brooklyn museum 22.1487, British museum; Af1949,46.399, Af1949,46.397**_ Among other carved artworks were the cosmetic boxes whose skillful carving with anthropomorphic features, classic Kuba patterns and an deceitful imitation of other objects illustrate the Kuba desire for prestige. These crescent-shaped and cylindrical-shaped carved boxes held a red powder called _**twool**_ which was obtained by grating the wood of _pterocarpus soyauxii_, it was used to anoint the body and thought to enhance its vitality. This powder was acquired through Kuba cloth's trade with its northern neighboring groups.( Besides the textiles and carvings, the Kuba were excellent smiths who made a variety of cast metalworks with functional and artistic aspects. The majority of the corpus includes a broad range of Kuba swords that are often classified as combat swords or ceremonial swords (but with considerable overlap between them) All types of swords are primarily comprised of iron blades that are often embellished with incised patterning, while the hilts are made with copper alloys, and carved wood, both of which feature intricately inlaid patterns found across other Kuba visual mediums.( _**carved wood cosmetic boxes with anthropomorphic features and geometric patterns, 19th century, British museum, Af1913,0520.6, Af1908,Ty.7.a**_ _**carved ivory cosmetic box, 19th century, Brooklyn museum, 74.33.4a-b**_ _**carved wood drum and drinking horn, 19th century, British museum, Af1909,0513.265**_ _**Ceremonial swords made of iron, copper, wood, brass, 19th century, british museum, Af1909,0513.191**_ * * * **Epilogue** The Kuba kingdom had never been invaded since its establishment in the 17th century and the robustness of its government, which greatly regulated and restricted the movements of ivory traders in the late 19th century but profited from the trade, attracted the attention of the Belgian King Leopold's colonial agents during his brutal conquest of what would later become the Congo colony. In 1899 and 1900, three invasion forces routed the army of the Kuba, the first in a surprise attack, the second with a trap of title holders that were then massacred and and the last sacked the capital Nsheng. ( Despite this destruction, the Kuba title-holders restored a semblance of order once they were reinstalled after a major rebellion in 1904-5 during the chaotic early colonial era, and the Kuba artists’ celebrated artistic traditions continued largely unadulterated, preserving the kingdom's three centuries old legacy of Power through its Art. _**Students at the Nsheng art school in 1973, D.R.C**_ * * * The city of **TIMBUKTU** was once one of the **intellectual capitals of medieval Africa**. Read about its complete history on Patreon; from its oldest iron age settlement in **500BC** until its occupation by the French in **1893**. Included are its **landmarks**, its **scholarly families**, its **economic history** and its **intellectual production**. ( * * * **If you liked this Article and would like to contribute to my African History website project, please donate to my paypal** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( Paths in the Rainforests by Jan Vansina pg 123, 230, Kuba Chronology Revisited by Jan Vansina pg 134-135 ) ( Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures by Alisa LaGamma pg 164 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 byJohn K. Thornton pg 215-216, Kuba Chronology Revisited by Jan Vansina pg 143 ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 byJohn K. Thornton pg 236, The history of god among the kuba pg 35-36) ( Kuba Chronology Revisited by Jan Vansina pg 135, The Early State by H. J Claessen pg 367, 371-372) ( The Early State by H. J Claessen pg 370-371 ( Being Colonized: The Kuba Experience in Rural Congo by Jan Vansina pg 46 ( The Early State by H. J Claessen pg 368) ( The Early State by H. J Claessen pg 373-374) ( The Early State by H. J Claessen pg 363-364, 376) ( Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures by Alisa LaGamma pg 156) ( The Children of Woot by Jan Vansina pg 132 ( Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures by Alisa LaGamma pg 161-163) ( Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures by Alisa LaGamma pg 166 ( Design Categories on Bakuba Raffia Cloth by DK Washburn pg 11) ( Design Categories on Bakuba Raffia Cloth by DK Washburn pg 23, African Textiles by John Picton pg 39) ( Being Colonized: The Kuba Experience in Rural Congo, 1880–1960 By Jan Vansina pg 121 ( Art of central Africa by Hans-joachim Koloss pg 48 ( The Doyle Collection of African Art by Sarah Brett-Smith pg 13 ( African Arms and Armour by Spring Christopher pg 144, Collecting African Art: 1890s-1950s by Christa Clarke pg 46 ( Being Colonized: The Kuba Experience in Rural Congo, 1880–1960 By Jan Vansina pg 69-85).

### The Art of Power in Central Africa: The Political and Artistic History of the Kuba Kingdom (1620-1900) #### Introduction - **Overview**: The Kuba kingdom, located on the edge of the Congo rainforest, developed a complex political structure and rich artistic traditions between 1620 and 1900. This period was marked by a hierarchy of titleholders, whose authority and status were visually represented through various forms of art. #### Establishment of the Kuba Kingdom 1. **Formation**: The Kuba kingdom was established in the early 17th century, influenced by the migration of Bushong-speaking groups from the north of the Sankuru River to the south. - **Integration**: These groups incorporated local populations to form chiefdoms, with the Bushong and Pyang emerging as dominant forces. - **Founding King**: In 1625, Shyaam aMbul aNgoong defeated the Pyang and officially founded the Kuba kingdom, establishing the capital at Nsheng. 2. **Political Innovations**: - Shyaam introduced bureaucratic structures, including a patrician class of titled officeholders and royal symbols. - His successors, including kings Mboong a Leeng and Mbo Mboosh, expanded the kingdom's territories and consolidated power by diminishing the authority of provincial chiefs. 3. **Territorial Expansion**: Throughout the 18th century, notable kings, such as Kota Mbweeky and Mbo Pelyeeng aNcé, expanded Kuba’s influence southward to control copper trading routes. - **Cultural Integration**: Mbo Pelyeeng aNcé abolished local cults in favor of regional nature cults, fostering a unified identity for the kingdom. #### Political Structure in the 19th Century 1. **Balance of Power**: - The Kuba government was characterized by a division of power between the king and councils. The most influential council was the _**ishyaaml**_, comprised of senior titleholders representing various clans. - This council had the authority to elect the king and veto decisions, highlighting a system of checks and balances. 2. **Administrative Councils**: - Below the king and the _**ishyaaml**_ was the _**mbok ilaam**_, responsible for day-to-day governance and local administration. - Over 120 distinct titles existed within the capital, selected through peer elections rather than hereditary succession. 3. **Judicial System**: - The judicial structure included provincial courts and a central court in the capital, featuring senior titleholders as judges. Appeals could be made to higher courts, with fines escalating at each level. - The governance system incentivized participation in administration, with many adult males holding minor titles. #### Economic and Artistic Flourishment 1. **Market Regulation**: - Kuba markets were closely regulated, overseen by royal representatives who collected taxes and resolved disputes. - Trade included local and regional goods, with Kuba exporting textiles, ivory, and rubber while importing metals and commodities. 2. **Artisan Professions**: - The economic growth fostered a demand for skilled artisans. Under the patronage of titleholders, artists developed new styles and produced varied works, including textiles and sculptures. - The artistic output was a reflection of social status and played a significant role in ceremonies and cultural identity. #### Artistic Traditions 1. **Textiles**: - High-quality embroidered cloth was a symbol of power among the elite. Textiles were used for ceremonial purposes, trade, and as currency. - Techniques included weaving raffia fibers and intricate dyeing processes, using natural dyes derived from local plants. 2. **Sculpture and Symbolism**: - The kings commissioned _**ndop**_ figures, miniature sculptures that represented royal figures adorned with Kuba regalia. - Decorative designs (_**bwiin**_) were integral to Kuba art, with over 200 distinct patterns often named after their creators. 3. **Metalwork**: - Kuba artisans excelled in producing ornate metalwork, including ceremonial and combat swords, featuring intricate patterns and embellishments. #### Challenges and Colonial Encounters 1. **Colonial Threats**: - Despite its stability, the Kuba kingdom faced invasion by Belgian forces during King Leopold’s colonial expansion in the late 19th century. - Three military campaigns led to significant loss and destruction in 1899-1900, including the sacking of Nsheng. 2. **Resilience**: - Following a major rebellion in 1904-1905, Kuba titleholders restored order, maintaining their artistic traditions and political structures, albeit in a changing colonial context. #### Conclusion - The Kuba kingdom's enduring legacy of political organization and artistic expression illustrates the complex interplay of power and culture in central Africa from 1620 to 1900. Despite colonial challenges, the kingdom’s artistic and political identity persisted, showcasing the resilience of its cultural heritage.

Foundations of Trade and Education in medieval west Africa: the Wangara diaspora.

networks of gold and learning.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Foundations of Trade and Education in medieval west Africa: the Wangara diaspora. ================================================================================= ### networks of gold and learning. ( Sep 18, 2022 13 As the earliest documented group of west African scholars and merchants, the Wangara occupy a unique position in African historiography, from the of accounts of medieval geographers in Muslim Spain to the archives of historians in Mamluk Egypt, the name Wangara was synonymous with gold trade from west Africa, the merchants who brought the gold, and the mines from which they obtained it. But "Wangara" remained wrapped in mystery that confounded the external writers who described them and their confusion over the word’s usage, colored the medieval conception of west African societies. In west Africa however, the Wangara were far from mysterious, but were the quintessential group of scholar-merchants who came to characterize the political and social landscape of the region. From their merchanttowns and scholarly centers that extended from Senegal to northern Nigeria, the Wangara oversaw a sophisticated commercial and intellectual network that greatly shaped the fortunes of pre-colonial west Africa. As one 17th century west African chronicle written by one of their scholars states "_**there was no land in the West that was not inhabited by the Wangara**_" This article explores the history of the Wangara diaspora in west Africa, from their dispersion across west Africa to their legacy in scholarship and trade. _**Map of west Africa showing the dispersion routes taken by the Jakhanke (yellow), Juula (green) and Wangarawa (red)**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Wangara Origins:** The name Wangara is one of several common ethnonyms including; Serakhulle; Juula; Jakankhe, which refers to closely related groups of northern Mande-speakers (Soninke and Maninka/Malinke languages) who were identified primarily by their involvement in long-distance trade and Islamic scholarship and are associated with the establishment of the medieval empires of Ghana and Mali. ‘Wangara’ originally denoted a loosely defined social-economic reality tied to the two factors of trade and learning, but later gave way to ethno-linguistic claims in some regions, while in other regions it was used by autochthonous groups to identify their communities of Mande scholar-merchants.( The Wangara are known in external accounts as gold traders as early as the 11th century where they first appear in the descriptions of west Africa by al-Bakri as the "_**Gangara**_", and in al-Idrisi's texts who described the inland delta of the Niger as "_**the country of Wangara …its inhabitants are rich, for they possess gold in abundance.**_" A 14th century account by Ibn Battuta identifies the "_**Wanjarat**_" town of Zaghari (Dia-Zagha/Dia-kha) that is home to many "_**black merchants**_" and scholars and is "_**old in Islam**_".( In the mid-15th century, the Portuguese at El-mina (Ghana) had identified the “_**Mandingua**_” (ie Mande; a group which the Wangara belong) as their main suppliers of gold, and in 16th century external accounts, the Serakhullé are placed in the Senegambia region as important traders whose network extended to Egypt. The 17th century Timbuktu chronicle Tarikh al-fattash (whose author was a Wangara scholar) makes the distinction that the Malinke and Wangara are of similar origins but the former were Mali's soldiers while the latter were merchants, and other internal 17th and 19th century documents mention the “_**Wangarawa**_” as having arrived in the Hausalands between the 14th and 15th century.( The heyday of the Wangara trade and scholarship prior to their dispersion was at the height of the Ghana and Mali empires between the 10th and 14th century when both Soninke and Malinke speakers inhabited a broad swathe of territory from the Senegal river to the Niger river. The Soninke in particular are associated with the Neolithic civilization of Dhar tichitt and the early urban clusters around the ancient cities of Dia and Jenne-jenno in the inner Niger delta region (see the green circle on the map) which grew to include the old towns of Kabara and Diakha (Jagha), while the Malinke are associated with the founding of Mali.( Kābara was the dispersion point for Wangara scholars moving eastwards. These scholars became prominent in Timbuktu during the Mali era when the city is described as "_**thronged by sūdānī students, people of the west who excelled in scholarship and righteousness**_"; (sūdānī here being “black” west African in contrast to the bidan/“white” sanhaja-Berbers). The most prominent among whom was the scholar Modibbo Muhammad al-Kābari who moved to Timbuktu in 1446 along with 30 Kābara scholars and taught the (sanhaja) scholars Umar Aqit and Sidi Yahya, both of whose families were predominant at Timbuktu during the Songhay era. (the latter has a Mosque/school named after him).( While Diakha became the point of dispersion for Wangara scholars and clerics moving south and west, and were known as Diakhanke/Jakhanke, they initially moved to Jenne (where virtually all scholars known have Wangara names) and later to Begho (where Jenne's merchants traded) and to the Senegambia regions. The most notable among whom was Muhammad Baghayogho al-Wangari of jenne (d.1593) who was also active in Timbuktu, the teacher of the famous Songhay scholar Ahmad baba as well as the Kunta scholars of the Sahel. The Baghayogho surname was prestigious across west africa including at Timbuktu where the Baghayogho family were the imams of the Sidi Yahya Mosque( , it also among the many soninke names of the Qadis of the jenne mosque, and appears among the Juula scholars who migrated southwards and who claim genealogical links to Jenne. Jenne was a major center of scholarship predating and rivaling Timbuktu with an estimated 4,200 scholars in the 12/13th century when its Great mosque was built, according to the 17th century Timbuktu chronicle tarikh al-sudan.( _**the 15th century Sidi yahya mosque Timbuktu and the 13th century Great Mosque of Jenne.**_ A seminal figure among the Wangara scholars and merchants during their dispersion from Diakha was the scholar AI-Hajj Salim Suware. He is the subject of numerous hagiological references in writings that circulate widely among the Juula and Jakhanke groups and is said to have been born and educated in the city of Dia (Diakha or Ja) and travelled to mecca several times, after which he settled to teach in the city. The exact era in which he flourished is still a subject of debate with some scholars placing him in the 12th/13th century while others place him in the 15th/16th century.( AI-Hajj Salim Suwari established, among Jakhanke and Juula alike, a pedagogical Suwari-an tradition which enjoined the repudiation of arms in favor of peaceful witness and moral example. His principle dicta which regulated the Wangara's relationships with non-Muslims, placed emphasis on pacifist commitment, education and teaching as tools of proselytizing, but it firmly rejected conversion through war (Jihad) which Suwari said was an interference with God's will.( His teachings enabled the Jakhanke and Juula to operate within non-Muslim territories without prejudice to their distinctive Muslim identity, allowing them access to the material resources of this world (through trade) without foregoing salvation in the next.( _**The old Wangara cities of Dia and Jenne**_ * * * **The arcs of Wangara dispersion** Trade appears to have been secondary to education/teaching according to most written and oral accounts among the Wangara diaspora which subscribed to the Suwarian tradition, as they focus not on those who went to do business, but on those who traveled to teach. Despite this emphasis on scholarship, many of the Wangara settlements (especially for the Juula groups) were established along gold trading routes, which betrays their commercial interests.( Over the course of their migration, there were three common ethnonyms used for the Wangara scholar-merchants; in the Volta basin region (Burkina Faso to Ghana and ivory coast) they were called **Juula** (Dyula) which simply means merchant, while in the central Sudan (northern Nigeria and Niger) they were referred to as **Wangarawa**, and in the western-most region from Senegambia through Guinea to Sierra Leone, they are primarily identified as **Jakhankhe**. (although these terms attimes overlapped)( **The Southern expansion of the Juula** The earliest waves of expansion by the Juula following the southern direction into the Volta basin occurred in the 15th and 16th century with the establishment of the town of Begho by merchant-scholars from Jenne . According to a chronicle written in 1747 titled “_**Kitab Ghanja**_” written by Sidi Umar bin Suma -a direct descendant of the original Juula founders of Begho, the town of Begho was founded by a Mali general Nabanga, who had been sent to defend the declining empire's gold supplies, but Nabanga instead stayed there to found the kingdom of Gonja. The Timbuktu chronicle _tarikh al-sudan_ on the other hand, simply mentions Begho as a mine frequented by Jenne traders. These account have been partially collaborated archeologically with the findings of Islamic material culture, burials and long distance trade goods in Begho dated to 1400-1700. Begho's collapse led to the dispersion of many of the Juula groups who are credited with the establishment of the towns of Bondouku, Salaga, Buna and Bole during the 17th/18th century.( To the east of Begho was the 17th century kingdom of Dagomba (in northern Ghana), its non-Muslim King Na Luro (d.1660) is said to have invited the Juula scholar Abdallah Bagayogo from Timbuktu who built a mosque and school that was run by his son Ya'muru, the latter then taught the Dagomba prince Muhammad Zangina that became the kingdom's first Muslim ruler in 1700. A visiting north-African merchant in the 18th century described the Muslim kingdom of Dagomba and its characteristically Suwarian tradition of tolerance that "_**the Musselman and the Pagan are indiscriminately mixed that their cattle feed upon the same mountain, and that the approach of evening sends them in peace to the same village**_"( . A similar trajectory occurred in the kingdom of Wa (northern Ghana) where the Wangara scholar from the city of Dia named Ya'muru Tarawiri (who was the grandson of Suwari's student Bukari Tarawiri the 16th century Qadi of Jenne), got acquainted with prince Saliya of Wa and made Tarawiri the Wa kingdom's first imam.( In other regions, the Juula were converted by their hosts rather than the reverse, including in the region surrounding the city of Bobo (southern Burkina Faso) and Tagara (northern Ghana). From the Juula’s perspective, this threat of backsliding necessitated the need for constant renewal from newer waves of immigrants, so the Juula’s Saganogo clan took on the role of renewers, initiating a wave of construction across the various Juula settlements with mosques and schools built at Kong in 1785, at Buna in 1795, at Bonduku in 1797 and at Wa in 1801. These cities became major centers of learning, especially Buna which the explorer Henrich Barth described in the 1850s that "_**a place of great celebrity for its learning and its schools, in the countries of the Mohammedan Mandingoes to the south.**_"( _**the juula city of Bonduku in Ivory coast and Wa Na’s residence in Ghana**_ The Juula established themselves in the Asante kingdom (central Ghana) during the 18th century. Some decades after the 18th century Asante conquest of northern states including Gonja (which is bitterly recounted in Sidi Umar's chronicle _**Kitab Ghanja**_ mentioned above ). Umar's great-grandson Muhammad Kamagate eventually became a close confidant of the Asante king Osei Tutu, assumed the role of leader of the Juula quarter in Asante's capital Kumase and served as a go-between in the king Osei's correspondence with his Gonja subjects. The Juula merchant-scholar network in Kumase overlapped with other commercial diasporas including the Hausa.( In some rare exceptions, the Juula accompanied military conquerors, as was the case with the Mande general Shehu Watara (d. 1745) who established the Kong kingdom between Ivory coast and Burkina Faso, and subsumed various already-established Juula settlements including at the cities of Kong, Bonduku and Bobo-Dioulasso. Despite the militant circumstances of its founding, Suwarian precepts were upheld in Kongo with one writer in 1907 noting that Kong was "_**a place distinguished, one might almost say, by its religious indifference, or at all events by its tolerant spirit and wise respect for all the religious views of the surrounding indigenous populations**_".( _**the 18th century Juula mosques of Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso and Kong in Ivory coast**_ * * * **Eastern expansion of the Wangarawa** The eastern wave of the Wangara migration begun during the 14th century according to 17th and 19th century chronicles from the Hausaland which recount the arrival and influence of the Wangara scholar-traders on the political and commercial institutions of the region. In the city-state of Katsina during the mid 14th century a Wangarawa (Hausa for Wangara) named Muhammad Korau established a new dynasty, around the same time when a Malinke warlord named Usumanu Zamnagawa seized the throne of Kano and ruled between 1343-1349, but was succeeded by a Hausa ruler king Yaji (r. 1349-1385) under whose reign a group of 40 Wangara scholars are said to have come from Mali and influenced Yaji’s institution of Muslim administrative titles (imam and alkali). His second successor king Kanajeji (1390-1410) acquired cavalry equipment and chainmail from the Wangara, but his mixed military performance forced him to cut ties with the Wangara and reinstate traditional religion, his successor king Umaru (1410-1421) would instead turn to Bornu scholars and traders to play the role previously dominated by the Wangara.( A chronicle written in 1650 from the city state of kano titled _**asl al-Wangariyyin alladhina bi-Kanu**_ (The Origin of the Wangara in Kano) describes the journey of 3,636 scholars from the Mali empire, who travelled against the wishes its emperor in the year 1431, and arrived in Kano in the late 15th century. This group was led by Abd al-Rahmán Jakhite (Zaghayti /Diakhite; whose nisba denotes his origin from the city of Dia), the group was placed under the patronage of king Rumfa of kano (1463-1499) and remained prominent scholars in the city where they reportedly settled in the Madabo quarter.( In the region of Borgu in northern Benin, the Wangara established themselves at an uncertain date during and after the fall of Songhai in the 16th century, becoming the dominant commercial diaspora in the towns of Djougou and Nikki by the 18th and 19th century where their networks overlapped with those of other commercial diasporas such as the Hausa and Yoruba.( * * * **Western Expansion of the Jakhanke** The Jakhanke ethnonym represents the western wing of the northern Mande-speaking trade system, their geneological accounts (tarikhs) written in the 19th century say that under al-Hájj Sálim’s leadership, clerical learning shifted westward from the old city of Dia, toward the 17th century kingdoms of Bundu, Khasso, and Futa Jallon after fall of Mali. In the senegambia, the earliest jakhanke community was established at the town of Sutukho by the scholar Mama Sambu Gassama, this town also appears in several external (European) accounts from the 15th century as a major center of learning and trade where the Portuguese obtained a lot of gold (reportedly 5,000 ounces a year), and whose schools and private libraries are described as "monasteries". Sutukho was later abandoned in the 18th century when the Jakhanke moved to the town of Didecoto in Bundu kingdom, this state that was less militant than its peers due to the influence of Suwarian ideology carried by Didecoto’s main jakhankhe scholar Muhammad Fatima (d.1772) who also taught Bundu's rulers and influenced their adoption of Islamic offices in administration.( Over the course of the 18th century, the Jakhanke expanded their clerical networks into the region of Futa Jallon led by the scholar al-Hajj Salim Gassama (b. 1730-d. 1824) who was born in Didecoto to Muhammad Fatima, and his name pays homage to the Suwarian founder. Gassama had travelled widely for advanced learning, including the cities of; Kounti (Gambia), Djenne and Massina (Mali), Kankan (guinea), and established several settlements for his students across the region before settling late in his life to found the city of Touba in Guinea in 1804.( Touba became a major center of scholarship in the region and Touba's scholars eventually established other smaller centers of learning such as at Casamance (Senegal), Sutukung (Gambia) and Gbile (sierra-Leone). the Americo-Liberian Edward Blyden visited Gbile in 1872 where there was a ‘university’ run by the jakhanke scholar Foday Tarawali, cwhich Blyden called; “_**the Oxford of this region—where are collected over 500 young men studying Arabic and Koranic literature**_.( The scholar's name Tarawiri (which in French is "Traoré) is a common nisba among the Jakhanke and Juula, and their settlement in Gbile (Kambia district, sierra Leone) marks the furthest expansion of the Wangara scholarly network _**19th century copy of copy of Maqāmāt Al-Ḥarīrī with extensive in Soninke, Senegal**_( _**Quranic manuscript with glosses in Soninke, from Casamance, Senegal**_( _**Late 19th/early 20th century manuscripts from the private collection of the jakhanke descendants of Karang Sambu Lamin of Sutukung, stored in large metal boxes**_( * * * **The Wangara as a commercial diaspora** The earliest mention of the Wangara’s trading activities comes from al-Bakri (d.1094), who describes them as a “_**non-Arab sūdān who conduct the commerce in gold dust between the lands**_” ie; from the goldfields of Bure and Bambuk (between Senegal and Mali) up to the markets of ancient Ghana. But despite his mention of Ghana’s scholars (presumably Wangara as well) in Andalusia (Spain) in the same text, his description of the Wangara as traders shows them still confined to their core territories. It wasn’t until the 15th century that accounts of Wangara traders appear outside their ethnic homeland as a commercial diaspora. 15th century accounts of the gold trade at the Portuguese El-mina castle credit the "Mandingua" (identified as Wangara) as the most prominent among the major trading groups that were responsible for the rapid influx of gold arriving at the fort, which in less than a decade had risen from 8,000 ounces in 1487 to 22,500 ounces in 1494, and prompted the Portuguese to send an envoy to Mali through the Wangara’s auspices in the 1490s.( Contemporaneous accounts by external writers in north Africa also record the Wangara trading gold northwards through Jenne and Timbuktu and into north African markets, and by the 1540s, the Wangara had extended their trade westwards to the Gambia where the Portuguese had established a small trading town. An external account from 1578 notes that the Wangara travelled south from Gambia to obtain their gold on orders of the Mali emperor who'd also ordered the occupation of Begho (mentioned above) which ultimately led to the rapid decline of Elmina's gold trade.( An example of a sophisticated Wangara network was the family of Karamo Sa Watara a resident of Timbuktu and Jenne. Karamo's brothers were established in Massina, Kong, and Buna and according to a biography written by his son, Karamo's business activities extended to the Hausalands where he was married to the daughter of a prominent local merchant Muhammad Tafsir in Katsina, to whom he sent a caravan of gold from Buna in the 1790s to which Tasfir paid for with Egyptian silks. Around the same time in 1790, a Wangara trader named aI-Hajj Hamad al-Wangari of Timbuktu organized a caravan of 50 camels carrying 4,000 ounces of gold and gum acacia, that was bound for the town of Akka in southern Morocco as payment for a large consignment of Flemish and Irish cloth.( In the Hausalands, the Wangara were involved in the early establishment of the region's famous dyeing and textile industry as well as cotton growing, with al-Dimashqi (d.1327) referring to a Wangara state in near the Hausalands where "_**the Muslims inhabit the town and wear sewn garments**_" and where "_**cotton grows on great trees**_". The Wangara’s early association with characteristically Islamic chemises and mantles may point to the origin of the Hausa riga, and the wangara group accompanying Abd al-Rahmán Jakhite to Kano in the 1490s specialized in tailoring expensive gowns and its likely that his group joined earlier groups settled in Gobir and Katsina that were also involved in textile production at this early stage, although both activities would later be taken over by the Hausa.( By the 18th century, trade in the Hausa city of Katsina was dominated by the Wangara and this continued through the 19th century despite the disastrous sack of their settlement at Yandoto during the Sokoto conquests that eventually led to their gradual displacement by other commercial diasporas such as the Agalawa-Hausa( . The explorer Heinrich Barth in the 1850s mentions that "_**almost all the more considerable native merchants in Katsena are Wangarawa**_", these traders occupied a ward which bore their name and one of its oldest quarters was called Tundun Melle.( In the Volta region, the Asante's northern conquests in the 18th century are also associated with an influx in Kola-nut and Gold into Juula-dominated markets in Bonduku, Wa, Kong, Bobo and Nikki. Asante's extensive road network was grafted onto pre-existing regional trade routes especially those coming from the city of Salaga, and ultimately connecting the regions of Borgu and the Hausalands( In Borgu, Wangara traders with northern-Mande clan names (jamuw/dyamuw) constituted some of the wealthiest traders and craftsmen especially the Kumate and Traore, the former coming to the Hausalands and Volta region in the 14th century from Mali, while the latter came from the same place around the 17th/18th century. The Kumate and Traore were also indigo dyers and were extensively engaged in textile trade, and while the Hausa dominated textile dyeing in the Hausalands, it was the Wangara that were the preeminent textile dyers and traders across the rest of the region from northern Benin through Burkina Faso to Côte d’Ivoire.( _**Dye-pits outside Bobo**_ In the Senegambia region, the Jakhakhe were associated with closely related merchant groups and were also engaged in long distance trade themselves, despite being primarily identified with clerical/scholarly activity . Jakhanke traders dominated the regional commerce from Bundu in the 18th century, and were the wealthiest merchants in the Gambia according to 17th/18th century external accounts.( In the region extending from Gambia to sierra Leone, the Jakhankhe are associated with crafts-groups of leatherworkers and blacksmiths called the _**garankew**_ who are of soninke origin and accompanied (or more likely preceded) the migrating Jakhankhe clerics, and augmented the regions’ trade networks. Both explorers Mungo Park (1799) in Gambia and Thomas Winterbottom (1803) in Sierra Leone describe the trade and leatherworking activities carried out by "karrankea/garrankees" craftsmen that primarily involved making footwear and horse equipment.( These merchant craftsmen were the southernmost community of a broader commercial diaspora, extending from Senegal to northern Nigeria, and from Sierra Leone to Ghana, making the Wangara diaspora the most widely attested community across West Africa. _**Bonduku rooftops**_ * * * **AFRICAN DIASPORAS of scholars were also established in medieval EUROPE where their writings played a significant role in Europe’s political-religious movements. Read about the legacy of the ETHIOPIAN DIASPORA IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE on Patreon** ( * * * _**If like this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please support my writing via Paypal**_ ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! to receive new posts, **for suggestions and contributions, contact me at [email protected]** ( Outsiders and Strangers by Anne Haour pg 65-66) ( The History of Islam in Africa pg 97, Beyond Jihad by Lamin Sanneh pg 83 ( The wangara an old soninke diaspora by Andreas W. Massing pg 282-285, The Role of the Wangara by Paul E. Lovejoy pg 175) ( See a more detailed discussion in my article on [African History Extra\ \ State building in ancient west Africa: from the Tichitt neolithic civilization to the empire of Ghana (2,200BC-1250AD)\ \ The Tichitt neolithic civilization and the Ghana empire which emerged from it remain one of the most enigmatic but pivotal chapters in African history. This ancient appearance of a complex society in the 3rd millennium BC west Africa that was contemporaneous with Old-kingdom Egypt, Early-dynastic Mesopotamia and the ancient Indus valley civilization, ov…\ \ Read more\ \ 2 years ago · 6 likes · 13 comments · isaac Samuel]( ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John O. Hunwick pg 68-69) ( Social history of Timbuktu by E. Saad pg 72 ( Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire by John O. Hunwick pg xxviii-xxix,lvii, 18-19 ( Beyond Jihad by Lamin Sanneh, Al-Hajj Salim Suwari and the Suwarians by Ivor Wilks pg 45-46 ( Al-Hajj Salim Suwari and the Suwarians by Ivor Wilks 47 ( The History of Islam in Africa by Nehemia Levtzion pg 97-99) ( Al-Hajj Salim Suwari and the Suwarians by Ivor Wilks pg 50 ( The walking Quran by R. Ware pg 93, Arabic Literature of Africa, Volume 4. Writings of Western Sudanic Africa byJohn O. Hunwick. pg 539 ( The History of Islam in Africa by Nehemia Levtzion pg 99, Outsiders and Strangers by Anne Haour pg 71-72, The wangara an old soninke diaspora by Andreas W. Massing pg 297) ( Al-Hajj Salim Suwari and the Suwarians by Ivor Wilks pg 40 ( The History of Islam in Africa by Nehemia Levtzion pg 100-101) ( The History of Islam in Africa by Nehemia Levtzion pg 101, 104) ( The History of Islam in Africa by Nehemia Levtzion pg 105) ( The History of Islam in Africa by Nehemia Levtzion pg 106) ( Government In Kano by M. G. Smith pg 115-121) ( Beyond Jihad by Lamin Sanneh pg 103-106) ( Commerce caravanier et relations sociales au Bénin by Bregand Denise ( Beyond Jihad by Lamin Sanneh pg 91-92, 94-100, Pragmatism in age of jihad by Michael A. Gomez pg 29-30, 65-67) ( Beyond Jihad by Lamin Sanneh pg 132-143, 197 ( Beyond Jihad by Lamin Sanneh pg 164 ( ( ( ( ( Beyond Jihad by Lamin Sanneh pg 166) ( Wangara, Akan and Portuguese in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries I by Ivor Wilks pg 338-339) ( Wangara, Akan and Portuguese in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries II by Ivor Wilks 466-471) ( The History of Islam in Africa pg 103) ( Being and becoming Hausa by Anne Haour pg 189, The Role of the Wangara by Paul E. Lovejoy pg 185) ( Sects & Social Disorder by Abdul Raufu Mustapha pg 29 ( Borgu and Economic Transformation 1700-1900 by Julius O. Adekunle pg 3) ( Asante in the Nineteenth Century by Ivor Wilks pg 245) ( Two Thousand Years in Dendi, Northern Benin by Anne Haour pg 300-304) ( Merchants versus Scholars and Clerics in West Africa: Differential and Complementary Roles by Nehemia Levtzion pg 31-33, Pragmatism in the Age of Jihad by Michael A. Gomez pg 66-67) ( Status and Identity in West Africa by by David C. Conrad pg 137-143.

### Title: Foundations of Trade and Education in Medieval West Africa: The Wangara Diaspora #### I. Introduction - The Wangara, a group of northern Mande-speaking merchants and scholars, played a crucial role in the intellectual and commercial landscape of medieval West Africa. - They are historically associated with gold trade and Islamic scholarship, particularly during the heights of the Ghana and Mali empires between the 10th and 14th centuries. #### II. Wangara Origins - The term "Wangara" encompasses several ethnonyms such as Serakhulle, Juula, and Jakhankhe, referring to groups primarily engaged in trade and education. - Initially signifying a socio-economic identity tied to trade and learning, "Wangara" later evolved into an ethnic label in some areas. - Renowned for their wealth from gold, Wangara merchants appeared in historical records as early as the 11th century, documented by geographers like al-Bakri and al-Idrisi. #### III. Expansion and Dispersion - The Wangara diaspora spread from their original settlements around the Senegal River to various regions, influencing politics and commerce. - Key points of dispersion included: - **Kābara**: A hub for scholars moving eastward to Timbuktu. - **Diakha**: A center for scholars heading south and west to Jenne and Begho. - **Jenne**: A major scholarly center, rivaling Timbuktu, that produced influential scholars such as Muhammad Baghayogho al-Wangari. #### IV. Influential Scholars - **Al-Hajj Salim Suwari**: A pivotal figure who advocated for pacifist teaching and the role of education in Islamic proselytizing. - His followers, the Jakhanke and Juula, established themselves in non-Muslim territories while maintaining their Islamic identity. #### V. Trade Networks - While education was prioritized, many Wangara settlements were strategically located along trade routes. - They operated as a commercial diaspora, with records indicating their extensive involvement in gold trade. - This trade network included significant interactions with North African markets and other regional economies, such as the Hausa. #### VI. Southern Expansion of the Juula - The Juula began migrating into the Volta basin in the 15th century, founding towns like Begho. - They played a significant role in Islamic propagation and temperate governance in regions like Dagomba and Wa. - Notable Juula contributions included establishing schools and mosques. #### VII. Eastern Expansion of the Wangarawa - The Wangarawa began migrating eastward as early as the 14th century, contributing to governance and trade in the Hausa states. - Influential figures such as Muhammad Korau in Katsina and Abd al-Rahmán Jakhite in Kano represent the Wangara's role in shaping administration and scholarship. #### VIII. Western Expansion of the Jakhanke - The Jakhanke migrated westward to establish communities in the Senegambia region. - They maintained a strong emphasis on scholarship while engaging in trade, especially in cities like Sutukho. #### IX. Commercial Diaspora - The Wangara were pivotal in regional commerce, particularly in gold trade across West Africa. - Their commercial activities extended to textiles and agriculture, showcasing their adaptability and economic significance. - By the 18th century, they were prominent in trade networks across the Hausa states, significantly influencing regional economies. #### X. Conclusion - The Wangara represent a unique intersection of trade and scholarship in medieval West Africa. - Their legacy encompasses a wide-ranging diaspora that fostered economic relationships and facilitated the spread of Islamic education across the region.

An African-centered intellectual world; the scholarly traditions and literary production of the Bornu empire (11th-19th century)

A 16th century African scholar's view of his world.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers An African-centered intellectual world; the scholarly traditions and literary production of the Bornu empire (11th-19th century) ================================================================================================================================ ### A 16th century African scholar's view of his world. ( Sep 11, 2022 17 Studies of African scholarship in general, and west African scholarship in particular, are often framed within diffusionist discourses, in which African intellectual traditions are "received” from outside and are positioned on the periphery of a greater system beyond the continent( . But this conceptual framework isn't grounded in any evidence from studies of African history, where African scholars —such as those in west-Africa's Bornu empire— situated themselves firmly within their own environment, and perceived the rest of the world as located on the margins of their African society. From its inception, the Bornu empire's ruling dynasty was closely associated with its scholarly community, encouraging the latter's growth through patronage and privileges in order to legitimate and exercise its own power. The influence of Bornu's scholars spread from Egypt to the Hausalands, and from Morocco to Sudan and its intellectual production and diasporic communities greatly shaped the education networks of West Africa. This article explores the intellectual history of Bornu, including its 16th century chronicles in which the world was perceived as anchored in west Africa with Bornu at its center. _**Map of the Bornu empire in the 17th-18th century.**_( * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **The political and intellectual history of Bornu** The empire of Bornu was originally established in the 9th century in the northeast region of Lake Chad of Kanem, and was the most dominant political power in the region of west Africa historically referred to as the “central Sudan”. Kanem's ruling Seyfuwa ruling dynasty adopted Islam, and quickly transformed their state into a major center of learning. By the late 14th century, the kings (titled _**Mai**_) moved to the Bornu province on the western edge of Lake Chad after being forced out of Kanem by a rival power, and Bornu soon become the heir to the scholarly traditions of Kanem. At the height of Bornu's power in the 16th and 17th century when it reconquered Kanem (hence Kanem-Bornu), the state's administration included scholars who were employed as judges, minsters and members of the powerful advisory council to the King, such that even the position of the imam of the main mosque was a state office.( Beginning in the reign of 'Alī b. Dūnama (1465-1497), many schools were built in the new capital Birni Ngazagamu. The city quickly became a center of Islamic education under Dūnama's successors, who encouraged the growth of its scholarly community and funded the activities of the scholars, a tradition that would be maintained through the 19th century.( Bornu's rulers actively encouraged the spread of scholarship across the provinces by granting scholars _mahrams_ (charters of privilege) of lands and permission to levy taxes from their lands and be exempted from civic duties. These scholars, called _mallemtis_ became influential and their towns grew into important centers of learning( . From the capital came a wave of migration of Bornuan scholars, traders and craftsmen across west Africa, following a voluntary policy on the part of the Bornu rulers, to extend their influence over the administrative structures and cultural practices of Bornu's neighbors.( Some of the most notable Bornu scholars include the 17th century scholar Abd al-ʿAzīz al-Burnāwī (d.1667), that was active in the northern fringes of Bornu at the town of Kulumbardo, from where his students carried his teachings to north Africa especially morocco. His disciples such as the Funj scholar Aḥmad al- Yamanī (d. 1712) from Sennar (in modern Sudan) who'd been to Bornu and was active in the moroccan city of Fez, where he influenced the prominent sufi scholar al-Dabbāgh (d.1719). Through his influence on sufism, al-Burnāwī was considered an axial scholar by his peers; “the master of his time” and the “wonder of his age.”( Another is Hajrami al-Burnāwī (d. 1746), who was born and studied in Ngazargamu, and wrote several works on various subjects, including a famous critique of Bornu's rulers and elites titled _**Shurb al-zulal**_, in which he castigated them for their corruption, the unfairness of the judges and the selfishness of the wealthy merchants. This work was copied across west Africa where it was highly influential to later scholars such as the Sokoto founder Uthman Fodio (d.1817), and was also copied in Egypt's Al-Azhar University by the Egyptian scholar Hasan al-Quwaysini (d. 1839).( _**17th-18th century manuscript, Shurb al-zulal' written by Kanuri scholar Harjami, Kaduna national archives**_ _**17th century Quran with Kanembu glosses, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS.Arabe 402, 17th-18th century, Qur’an copied in Konduga, Bornu, private collection, MS.5 Konduga, 18th-19th century Bornu Quran, With marginal commentaries from al-Qurṭubī's tasfir**_ * * * **Bornu and West Africa: an intellectual diaspora.** Groups of scholars and pilgrims from across west Africa were attracted to Ngazargamu and encouraged to settle in the city, especially the Fulani diaspora which was to become prominent in the central sudan’s scholarly communities and networks during this time( . Among these was the 17th century scholar Muḥammad al-Walī al-Burnāwī al-Fulānī. His family was originally from Kebbi studied in Bornu and eventually settled in its vassal state of Bagirmi. He was a prominent scholar who composed several works across various subjects, he was also the teacher of the Katsina mathematician Al-Kashnāwī (d. 1741), and both were well-know in Egypt where they travelled in later years.( Another was al-Tahir al-Barnawi al-Fullani (d. 1771), who studied and taught in Ngazargamu and served as one of the advisors to the Bornu rulers Mai Muhammad al-Hajj (r. 1729-44) and Mai Ali Dunama (r. 1747-92) for whom he composed two chronicles. Some of his compositions were included in the west African curriculum and were also copied in Egypt.( Bornu scholars also travelled to other learning centers across west Africa and were especially active in the Hausa city-states of Katsina and Kano, as well as in the kingdoms of Bagirmi, Wadai and Nupe.( _**1705 Qur’an with old kanembu glosses, written by a Kanuri scholar in the Hausa city-state of Katsina, now at the kaduna national archives MS.AR33; Old Kanembu manuscript on tawḥīd by Muhammad Suma Lameen written in 1910.**_ * * * **Bornu and the wider Muslim world: pilgrimage and international scholarship** Bornu's scholarship was distantly associated with Mamluk Egypt, where Bornu teachers had the most visible influence outside west Africa. This connection was a product of the deliberate policy by the Seyfuwa rulers who financed the establishment of infrastructure to house pilgrims from Kanem-Bornu in Cairo and Mecca, as well as to elevate their prestige across the Islamic world( . The 11th century Mai Ḥummay reportedly built a mosque in Cairo, and several external accounts mention the construction of a school by pilgrims from Kanem to Cairo in 1242 during the reign of Mai Dūnama b. Salma (1210-1248), other internal documents from 1576, the 17th century and external accounts reveal that many Bornu-educated scholars also taught and studied at the al-Azhar university in Cairo.( Bornu's rulers also legitimized their power by performing the Hajj pilgrimage, demonstrating the remarkable stability of power in Bornu whose institutions allowed for the absence of their King, especially in the 16th- 18th century when 9 out of 15 rulers made the pilgrimage with some travelling as frequently as 5 times. While the obligatory pilgrimage was only rarely undertaken by most Muslim rulers in the wider Islamic world, the Hajj in Bornu had been transformed into a uniquely local legitimating tool as early as the 11th century when the first Seyfuwa ruler travelled to mecca. The pilgrimage later lost its power as a legitimating tool in the 18th and 19th century when the 'Hajj-King' figure was displaced by the Scholar-King figure.( The pilgrimage served other functions besides enhancing the ruler's legitimacy, the retinue of the ruler which attimes numbered several hundred, also included scholars and traders from the empire, which served to augment Bornu's scholarship and trade, and maintain the chain of schools and lodges used by the Bornu diaspora across the Islamic world. Mai Idris b. 'Alī (1564-1596) is said to have spent a tonne of gold in cairo (a sum only rivaled by the Mali emperor Mansa Musa's famous pilgrimage in which the latter spent 12 tonnes in 1324).( Some of this money was likely spent on maintaining Bornu's foreign housing facilities as such were usually the first order of business in the Mai's correspondence with the Mamluk rulers. As the Mamluk-Egypt historian al-Maqrīzī (d. 1442) writes; "_**This madrasa is for the Malikites. It is in the Hamam al Rish district in the medina of Cairo. It is for the Kanem, tribe of Takrur. When they came to Cairo around the years 640 (**_1242 AD_**) for the pilgrimage, they handed over a sum of money to the cadi 'Ilm al-Din b. Rashik. He built the madrasa and taught there; it has since been known by his name. Great fame was made in Takrur at this madrasa. Money was sent there almost every year**_"( _**Copy of Al-ashmawiya written by Abubakar bn Almahir (Goni) Umar in bornu, SOAS; 19th century manuscript with kanembu annotations of Ibn ʿĀshir's poem titled al-Murshid, Imam Shettima Habib’s collection, SOAS london.**_ _**al-Kishnawi’s “Mughni al-mawafi” written in 1732 while he was in Egypt (now at the Khedive library cairo)**_ * * * **Bornu’s intellectual production: calligraphy and competing scholarly communities** The scholarly production of Bornu was fairly extensive. A specialist community of calligraphers and copyists emerged at Ngazargamu where they were engaged in the production of beautifully illuminated Qurans, with a unique form of calligraphy, that were sold across north Africa for 50 MTT, some of which ultimately ended up in western collections.( Bornu's scholars innovated a unite form of calligraphy called _**barnāwī**_ characterized by heavy and angular strokes, and by distinctive letter-shapes and pointing, it inturn influenced related forms of calligraphic styles in the central Sudan such as the _**kanawī**_ used by Kano's scholars. The barnāwī calligraphic style was distinctive from the maghribī style of north africa and its derivatives across west africa, It was created during the early period of Islam's adoption in Bornu between the 11th and 13th century, and is alrgely based on older calligraphic styles used during the abassid era including _Kufic_.( Despite the mostly royal patronage of Bornu's scholarship, the scholarly community of Ngazargamu and across the kingdom was divided between those who were active in the political centers and rendered their services to the royal class, versus those who functioned independently of the royal court and derived their income from commerce and teaching. It was the latter group that maintained a rather antagonistic relationship with the royal court, and acted as a check on the powers of Bornu's rulers by criticizing the excesses of the royal court. In two notable incidents, the scholars at the capital influenced the Bornu King Umar Idriss to get rid of two "troublesome" scholars in 1667 by exiling one named al-Waldede to Baghirmi and allowing the execution of another named al-Jirmi during an inavsion.( _**19th century Qur'an from Bornu ,met museum, 18th century Bornu Quran, SOAS london; 19th-20th century Bornu Quran from Nguigmi, Niger,SOAS, London,**_ _**19th century leather bag for carrying books and writing utensils, Bida, Nigeria; modern leather bag and case for carrying a Bornu Quran.**_ * * * **A monumental work of African intellectual history; The 16th century Bornu chronicles** From the 16th century, Bornu's rulers developed a discourse of legitimacy, the main objective of which was to assert the political and religious superiority of the Seyfuwa rulers in the central Sudan and in the wider Islamic world. The writing of history was closely associated with the need to legitimize all political power and It was this question of legitimacy of Mai Idrīs b. 'Alī that was the most likely the origin of the two Bornu chronicles. The years of their composition in 1576 and 1578 were a turning point in Idrīs’ reign and for the Seyfuwa dynasty, as he definitively imposed himself against the previous dynastic branch and consolidated his military power on the fringes of the Bornu state. He thus commissioned a prominent Ngazargamu scholar; Aḥmad Furṭū, to write an account of his accomplishments.( Aḥmad Furṭū was a Kanuri scholar born and educated in Bornu into a prominent scholarly family who were the beneficiaries of an 11th century charter granted by the first Seyfuwa ruler Mai Ḥummay (r. 1075-1086) to their ancestor Muḥammad Mānī and to a 15th century Bornu chronicler named Masbarma Uṯmān. Furṭū was considered a "man of letters" and had mastered various disciplines including law, theology, sufism and grammar, as reflected in the works he cited as well as his position as Imam of the main mosque at Ngazargamu. Despite never having left the central Sudan (not even for the Hajj) Furṭū was proficient in classical arabic philology and grammar, and cites several "classical" Muslim authors of the 7th-15th century including Ibn Taymiya (d. 1328) and al-Fīrūzābādī (d. 1414), his education reflects the high standard of learning present in Bornu and west Africa at the time.( Furṭū accompanied his patron Mai Idrīs b. 'Alī during the latter's military campaigns and ceremonial visits to provinces, he was also present at the reception of diplomats at Idrīs' court from across the region as well as from the Ottomans, and therefore recorded first-hand accounts of Bornu's politics in the late 16th century. The two chronicles are essentially political works, and are the products of an established tradition which begun with Masbarma Uṯmān’s now lost chronicle for Idrīs' predecessor Mai Alī b. Dūnama (r.1465-1497).( The _**Kitāb ġazawāt Barnū**_ (written in 1576) constituting a legitimation of Idrīs' political and military actions in Bornu during a time of contested power between rival branches of the Seyfuwa dynasty at the capital, while the _**Kitāb ġazawāt Kānim**_ (written in 1578) details the progress of his expeditions into the region of Kanem, and the province's itineraries, alliances and peace agreement.( _**Map of the central Sudan during Mai Idrīs’ reign**_( All of the extant manuscripts of these two chronicles are copies made in the 19th century from an older 17th century copy owned by al-Ḥāǧǧ Bašīr, the vizier of Bornu in 1853; the 19th century copies were further reproduced in 1921 and are currently stored at the SOAS( . The frequent copying of old texts isn't unusual in the region, because paper produced before the 18th century had a life span of only 150–200 years in West Africa, making it necessary to recopy a work at least every two centuries.( The chronicles elevate the evolving genealogical and religious legitimacy of the Bornu rulers, by assuming the title of caliph and tracing the (superficial) origin of his Sefuwa dynasty to the Islamic heartland (initially the Yemeni Hymarites and later, the Meccan Qurayš), inorder to position him at the top of the hierarchy among the sovereigns of west Africa and the Muslim world, whose competitive ideological landscape was contested between the sovereigns of Morocco, Songhai and the Ottomans; **read**: [African History Extra\ \ Morocco, Songhai, Bornu and the quest to create an African empire to rival the Ottomans.\ \ The Sahara has for long been perceived as an impenetrable barrier separating “north africa” from “sub-saharan Africa”, the barren shifting sands of the 1,000-mile desert were thought to have constrained commerce between the two regions and restrained any political ambitions of states on either side to interact; a “desert barrier” theory that was popular…\ \ Read more\ \ 3 years ago · 2 comments · isaac Samuel]( But just like similar mythmaking attempts across the Muslim world however, such bold genealogical claims received a mixed reception in both the domestic and international scholarly community of the time, with just as many scholars refuting them as those accepting them, and they remained a subject of heated debate in the Bornu capital itself.( But this eastern-origin myth created at Bornu was nevertheless very influential in the myths of origin used by the ruling dynasties of the central Sudan region especially among the Hausa city-states.( The majority of the expeditions recorded in the two chronicles were largely political in character, to pacify rebellious regions and to affirm Bornu's authority; but some had a commercial character tied to the salt oases. These were especially important as the taxes and other revenues from the regional salt and natron trade comprised the bulk of Bornu's state revenues( . While the primarily military account of the texts has led historians to see Idrīs' reign as an unbroken succession of wars, this is only an impressionistic reading, as the records of foreign embassies, the inclusion of peace agreements and trade caravans shows that the campaigns were only one among several facets of the exchanges between Bornu and its neighbors( _**Copies of the ghazawāt Barnū (The Book of the Bornu Wars), ghazawāt kānem (The Book of the Kanem Wars) and Diwan salatin al Barnu (Annals of the kings of bornu), at SOAS**_ Importantly, the two chronicles present a very Bornu-centric conception of the world, highlighting the importance of regional relations over long distance contacts. In the world centered at Bornu, the wider Muslim world of North Africa and the Ottomans is only a marginal player in Bornu's politics and trade, the modesty of its presence in the narrative of Aḥmad Furṭū relativizes its place in relation to the relations that Bornu maintains with its closer neighbors.( From his point of observation, Aḥmad Furṭū invites us to discover his world from a more accurately contextualized, African point of view: a Bornu-centric world, shaped by its own interests but open to the outside world, overturning the modern academic construct which perceives Bornu and other West African states as culturally and commercially oriented towards North Africa.( Rather than straddling the long-distance routes crisscrossing western Africa and North Africa, Bornu was at the center of its world, from where all roads radiated. * * * **Conclusion: Bornu’s place in African history.** Bornu's intellectual traditions resituate the legacy of African scholarship with its environment, placing Africa at the center of its own intellectual production. While the old libraries of Ngazargamu were mostly destroyed during the course of the Bornu-Sokoto wars in the early 19th century and the internal conflicts which heralded the ascendance of the Kanemi dynasty, Bornu's scholarship survived the political turmoil. Many cities across the region became home to a vibrant scholarly diaspora from Bornu with some scholars travelling as far as Ethiopia; greatly contributing to the vast corpus of African literature now housed in dozens of archives across west Africa, waiting to be translated and studied. * * * **NSIBIDI is West-Africa’s oldest indigenous writing system, read about its history on our Patreon** ( _**If like this article, or would like to contribute to the African history website project; please donate to my paypal /Ko-fi**_ ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! ** and Share this post.** ( ( see Rudolph Ware’s discussion of ‘Isalm Noir’ in The Walking Qur'an ( mapmaker; twitter handle @Gargaristan ( Doubt, Scholap and Society in 17th-Century Central Sudanic Africa By Dorrit van Dalen pg 32) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 214, The Tradition of Qur'anic Learning in Borno by Yahya Oyewole Imam pg 98) ( Doubt, Scholarship and Society in 17th-Century Central Sudanic Africa By Dorrit van Dalen pg 37 ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 192-193) ( Realizing Islam by Zachary Valentine Wright pg 24-25, The African Roots of a Global Eighteenth-Century Islamic Scholarly Renewal by Zachary Wright pg 34-35 ( Arabic Literature of Africa, Volume 2 pg 39-41, The Kanuri in Diaspora by Kalli Alkali pg 43 ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 230) ( Doubt, Scholarship and Society in 17th-Century Central Sudanic Africa By Dorrit van Dalen ( Arabic Literature of Africa, Volume 2 pg 42-43 ( The Kanuri in Diaspora: The Contributions of the Ulama of Kanem Borno to Islamic Education in Nupe and Yorubalands by Kalli Alkali Yusuf Gazali ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 249) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière 228) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 220-226, 246, 340-341 ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 250) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 247-248,252) ( Doubt, Scholarship and Society in 17th-Century Central Sudanic Africa By Dorrit van Dalen pg 33) ( Central Sudanic Arabic Scripts (Part 2) by Andrea Brigaglia, Mauro Nobili pg 221-223 ) ( Doubt, Scholarship and Society in 17th-Century Central Sudanic Africa By Dorrit van Dalen pg 38-40) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 71-72) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 54- 58) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 67 ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 71-72, 329) ( mapmaker; twitter handle @Gargaristan ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 45-50) ( The Trans-Saharan Book Trade by Graziano Krätli pg 149) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 314-319 ( Some considerations relating to the formation of states in Hausaland by A Smith pg 336 ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 275-277, also see; Salt of the desert sun by Paul Lovejoy, and The Oasis of Salt by Knut S. Vikør ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière 306) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière pg 93-94) ( Du lac Tchad à la Mecque by Rémi Dewière 329-330).

### Title: An African-Centered Intellectual World: The Scholarly Traditions and Literary Production of the Bornu Empire (11th-19th Century) ### Description: A 16th Century African Scholar's View of His World #### Introduction 1. **Context of African Scholarship** - African scholarship, particularly in West Africa, is often placed within diffusionist narratives that suggest intellectual traditions are imported from outside Africa. - This framework is not supported by evidence from studies in African history, especially regarding the Bornu Empire. - Scholars in the Bornu Empire viewed themselves as central figures in their intellectual landscape, with foreign influences seen as peripheral. 2. **Historical Background of the Bornu Empire** - Established in the 9th century in the northeast region of Lake Chad (Kanem). - The Seyfuwa dynasty adopted Islam and promoted learning. - By the late 14th century, the dynasty moved to the Bornu province, becoming heirs to the Kanem’s scholarly traditions. - At its height in the 16th and 17th centuries, Bornu included scholars in its administration, highlighting the integral link between governance and scholarship. #### The Political and Intellectual Landscape 3. **Impact of Rulers on Scholarship** - Rulers like 'Alī b. Dūnama initiated the establishment of schools in Birni Ngazagamu, promoting scholarship through the construction of educational institutions. - The rulers granted privileges to scholars (mahrams), facilitating the establishment of educational centers. 4. **Diaspora and Influence of Bornu Scholars** - Bornu scholars migrated throughout West Africa, spreading influence across regions including the Hausalands, Morocco, and Sudan. - Notable scholars included: - **Abd al-ʿAzīz al-Burnāwī**: Influential in north Africa; his teachings spread through his students. - **Hajrami al-Burnāwī**: Critical of Bornu’s elite; his works were widely copied and influential across West Africa. 5. **Migration and Intellectual Networks** - Additionally, Bornu's intellectual community attracted scholars and pilgrims from neighboring regions, integrating them into Bornu’s scholarly frameworks. - Scholars traveled to and taught in major centers of learning across West Africa. #### Pilgrimage and International Scholarship 6. **Pilgrimage as a Tool of Legitimacy** - Bornu rulers undertook the Hajj pilgrimage frequently, enhancing their legitimacy within the Muslim world. - Historical accounts note significant investments in building facilities for pilgrims which reflects the importance of these journeys. 7. **Educational Ties with Mamluk Egypt** - Associations with Mamluk Egypt allowed for scholarly exchanges; many Bornu scholars studied or taught at al-Azhar University. - The existence of educational infrastructure supported the scholarly diaspora from Bornu. #### Intellectual Production and Calligraphy 8. **Scholarly Output and Calligraphic Innovations** - Ngazargamu became a center for producing illuminated Qurans and unique calligraphic styles (barnāwī). - Calligraphers created a distinct style that influenced neighboring regions, showcasing the rich intellectual culture. 9. **Competition Between Scholarly Communities** - A divide existed between scholars affiliated with the royal court and those independent of it. - Independent scholars often critiqued the ruling class, indicating a dynamic intellectual environment. #### Historical Narratives and Legitimacy 10. **Chronicles of Bornu** - The 16th century produced chronicles to assert the legitimacy of rulers like Mai Idrīs b. 'Alī against rival factions. - Chief among the chroniclers was Aḥmad Furṭū, who documented incursions and political events, reflecting Bornu’s self-perception as central to regional power dynamics. 11. **Emphasis on Bornu-Centric Perspectives** - The chronicles portray a worldview centered around Bornu, where interactions with North Africa and the Ottomans are depicted as secondary. - This self-centered view challenges existing academic narratives that subordinate African states in historical narratives. #### Conclusion 12. **Legacy of Bornu’s Scholarship** - Despite turmoil during the Bornu-Sokoto wars, the intellectual legacy endured with scholars disseminating knowledge across West Africa and contributing to a vast corpus of literature. - The preservation and transmission of Bornu’s scholarly traditions underscore the region's significant role in African intellectual history. ### Final Note - The scholarly traditions of the Bornu Empire provide a crucial perspective on African intellectual history, emphasizing the continent's capacity for self-directed knowledge production and cultural significance.

An African kingdom on the edge of empires: Noubadia between Rome and the Caliphate. (400-700AD)

the transition from classical to medieval Africa.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers An African kingdom on the edge of empires: Noubadia between Rome and the Caliphate. (400-700AD) =============================================================================================== ### the transition from classical to medieval Africa. ( Sep 04, 2022 15 The collapse of Kush heralded a period of upheaval in north-east Africa, with the disappearance of central administration, the abandonment of cities, and a general social decline characterized by unrest and insecurity, that was only stemmed by the rise of the kingdom of Noubadia. Noubadia was at the nexus of cross-cultural exchanges between north-east Africa and the Byzantium, and its military strength served as a bulwark against the region's domination by the expansionist armies of the early caliphate which ultimately subdued much of the Mediterranean. This article explores the history of Noubadia and the relationship which the kingdom had with the Byzantine empire and the Rashidun Caliphate. _**Map showing the extent of the kingdom of Noubadia between Egypt and Sudan**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Ancient Nubia following the fall of Meroe in 360AD.** After the decline of central authority at Meroe and the disappearance of a unified culture of Kush in the 4th century —as pyramid construction ceased, Meroitic writing was discontinued, and the kingdom's palaces and temples fell into ruin—, the former territories of Kush were taken over by smaller incipient states, which quickly grew into three powerful kingdoms that would later dominate most of the Nile valley during the medieval era.( The most socio-politically dominant group within Kush’s successor states were the Noubades (an ethnonym that also appears as the Nobates/Annoubades/Noba/Nubai in other sources), representing a distinct ethnic group in the middle Nile-valley region, that was nevertheless linguistically related to the Meroitic-speakers who had dominated Kush, as both of these languages belong to the North-East Sudanic subgroup of the Nilo-Saharan language family.( The Noubades had been living in the western frontiers of Kush since the 3rd century BC, they were subject to a number of incursions from Kush's armies at the height of Meroe (100BC-100AD) and are represented in a number of "prisoner" figures. The Noubades would later be gradually assimilated into Kush, along with a different nomadic group called the Blemmyes —the latter of whom were often at war with both Kush and Rome, and following the fall of Kush, would establish an independent state centered at the city of Kalabsha in 394. The conflict between the Noubades and the Blemmyes would greatly shape the establishment of the Noubadian kingdom, as the earliest of the three Nubian kingdoms which succeeded Kush.( * * * **Rise of Noubadia and the fall of the Blemmyan state (394-450)** Fragmentary historical sources provide some insights into the socio-political situation in the decades after the fall of Kush, as the latter's power was extinguished following the two Aksumite invasions between 350-360( . There is evidence for continuity between Kushite and Noubadian periods in terms of the continued use and occupation of the sites and the cultural practices of the populations.( Following the establishment of the Blemmyan state at Kalabsha in the late 4th century, a roman diplomat from Thebes named Olympiodorus visited the region in 423, and noted that Blemmyan power centered at Kalabsha extended over several towns within the 1st cataract area (the region now under lake Nasser). The Blemmyan capital Kalabsha was an important cult site centered at the temple of the Kushite deity Mandulis . On this temple’s walls were royal inscriptions of different rulers, in different scripts from the late 4th-mid 5th century including Greek inscriptions left by; the Blemmyan kings (Tamal, Isemne, Degou, and Phonen) and one by the Noubadian king Silko; as well as a meroitic inscription left by (an earlier) Noubadian king Kharamadoye.( _**4th/5th century Meroitic inscription of the Noubadian King Kharamadoye against the Blemmyan king Isemne, found at the Mandulis temple at Kalabsha.**_ The Noubadian inscriptions at Kalabasha on the other hand, represent the kingdom's northward push from its capital at Qasr Ibrim where its kings were based during the 5th century. Early in its formative era, the Noubadian state had extended its control over the old meroitic cities of Faras and Gebel Adda located not far from the Noubadian royal necropolises of Qustul and Ballana within the 2nd cataract region. Between 423 and 450, Noubadia’s kings launched a number of campaigns northwards directed against the Blemmyan rulers in the 1st cataract region.( A 5th-century victory inscription, made by the Noubadian King Silko records his three major campaigns against the Blemmyes, in which he also identifies himself as “_**king of the Nobades and all the Aithiopians**_”. In the course of his campaigns, king Silko's first victory ends with a peace treaty with the Blemmyes, that was reportedly broken by the latter prompting two more campaigns, the last of which ended with his occupation of Kalabsha and the decisive defeat of the Blemmye ruler, who then became Silko's subject. A Blemmyan perspective of these defeats is presented in a letter written by the subordinate Blemmyan ruler Phonen to Silko's successor Abourni found at the latter's capital in the city of Qasr Ibrim, in which the former pleads with the latter to restore some of his possessions, but to no avail.( _**5th century Greek inscription by King Silko and his depiction on the Mandulis temple at Kalabsha.**_ _**5th century Greek letter by the Blemmyan ruler Phonen to the Noubadian king Abourni, found at Qasr Ibrim.**_ * * * **The Noubadian Kingdom** Following their conquest of the 1st cataract region, successive Noubadian kings, including; king Abourni, king Tantani, king Orfulo, and king Tokiltoenon in the 5th-6th century, extended their control south into the 3rd cataract region moving the kingdom's capital from Qasr Ibrim to Faras, and establishing a more complex administrative system, with subordinate regional elites. Noubadia’s cities were major centers of domestic crafts production, and the kingdom engaged in extensive trade, including external trade with Byzantine Egypt, regional trade with the emergent Nubian kingdoms to its south like Makuria and Alodia, as well as domestic trade and gift exchange internally.( Noubadian cities and other urban settlements were characterized by monumental stone and mudbrick architecture for both domestic and public functions, they were enclosed within city walls and other fortifications, and were laid out following the classic meroitic street grid. The largest Noubadian settlements included the capital city of Faras with its palatial residences; the regional administrative centers Qasr Ibrim, Firkinarti and Gebel Sesi; the sub-regional cities like Meinarti and the fortified cities of Sabagura, Ikhmindi and Sheikh Daud; as well as a continuous string of walled towns and villages along the banks of the Nile.( _**ruins of the Noubadian city of Sabagura built in the 6th century**_ _**ruins of the cathedral of Faras, originally constructed in the 7th century, but rebuilt in 707 after the original church was destroyed in a storm.**_( * * * **Relations between Byzantine-Egypt and Noubadia: Christianizing Nubia.** Noubadian rulers cautiously chose certain cultural aspects derived from their interactions with Byzantine Egypt, which they then adapted into their local cultural context. The most notable being the use of the Greek script (in lieu of Meroitic) and the adoption of Christianity. While previous scholarship regarded the Noubadia kingdom as politically subordinate to Rome, recent research has rendered this untenable. The primary claim of Noubadia’s subordinate relationship to Rome is given by the ambiguous status of the early Noubadian state based on the royal titles its kings were referred with, and king Silko’s supposed position as a _**foederati**_ (a term that included both independent and client states on the Roman frontier).( The main source of confusion are the titles for Noubadian kings used by external writers. While the roman official Viventius used the title _**phylarchos**_ for the Noubadian king Tantani, this was because the title _**basileus**_ was reserved for the Roman emperor for roman writers( . But this wasn't the case for Noubadian scribes, as it was this exact title (both _**basileus**_ and _**basiliskos**_) which the Noubadian king Silko used in his Greek inscription to describe himself, as the paramount authority in Noubadia who was independent of any other state( . The other claim that the Romans allied with the Noubadian king Silko in a federate relationship, is mostly conjectural. This is suggested by the existence of archeological finds of roman luxury items in Noubadian elite burials, which in other roman frontiers had been presented to federate rulers, but in Noubadia were most likely derived from gift-exchanges, considering that there are no mentions of such a relationship in Noubadian or Roman texts.( Noubadia’s conversion to Christianity was a gradual and syncretic process as represented by the persistence of non-Christian practices within the kingdom. The former capital at Qasr Ibrim remained a center for “pagan” pilgrimage, alongside other sites such as Kalabsha and Philae (in Byzantine Egypt) , whose temples were open until 537. The monumental Noubadian royal burials at Qustul (in use from 380-420) and Ballana (in use from 420-500)( are also largely pre-Christian, but their grave goods, which include artwork and weaponry of both domestic and foreign manufacture, came to include Christian items during their terminal stages, such as baptismal spoons as well as a reliquary and a censer that were included in a tomb at Ballana, dated to 450-475.( _**5th century Pre-christian Noubadian silver crowns embossed with beryl, carnelian and glass, found in the royal cemetery of Ballana. The design of the crowns was partly based on Meroitic models and insignia but were unlikely to have worn during the king's lifetime**_( _**. (Nubian museum Aswan)**_ The name of one of Silko’s sons; Mouses, which is included in the letter written by Phonen to the Noubadian king Tantani, also points to a conversion to Christianity by the Noubadian royals, as the name was common among the Christianized populations of Byzantine Egypt during the time( . The initial adaptation of Christianity was a top-down affair that enabled the Noubadian rulers to centralize their power and integrate themselves into the then largely Christian Mediterranean world with which they traded and were engaged in cultural exchanges.( The formal adoption of Christianity in Noubadia however, begun with a Monophysite mission from the Byzantine Empress Theodora which reached Faras in 543, and a second mission that returned in 556 to assist in the establishment of an independent Noubadian bishopric at Faras, during the reign of the Noubadian king Orfulo. By the 7th century, the Noubadians had a unique Christian culture centered at Faras, with bishoprics at Qasr ibrim, Sai, and Qurte.( _**Temple ruins at Qasr Ibrim, originally built by taharqa in the 7th century BC, but later converted into a church in early 6th century AD.**_( * * * **Rashidun Caliphate and Noubadia** After the Rashidun caliphate's conquest of Byzantine Egypt between 639 and 641, the caliphate's armies turned their sights on Noubadia. There are several different accounts of the Arab invasion of Nubia in 640/641, most of which post-date the invasion and identify the Noubadian kingdom as the primary foe of the Caliphate's armies, differentiating it from the more southerly kingdom of Makuria, with which Noubadia would later unite and would be conflated in other accounts.( In 641, the Rashidun force led by the famous conquer Uqba Ibn Nafi faced off with the armies of Noubadia. A 9th century account written by the Arab chronicler Al-Baladhur records the decisive Nubian victory over the Arab forces; "_**When the Muslims conquered Egypt, Amr ibn al-As sent to the villages which surround it cavalry to overcome them and sent 'Uqba ibn Nafi', who was a brother of al-As. The cavalry entered the land of Nubi like the summer campaigns against the Greeks. The Muslims found that the Nubians fought strongly, and they met showers of arrows until the majority were wounded and returned with many wounded and blinded eyes. So the Nubians were called 'pupil smiters … I saw one of them \ saying to a Muslim, 'Where would you like me to place my arrow in you', and when the Muslim replied, 'In such a place', he would not miss. . . . One day they came out against us and formed a line; we wanted to use swords, but we were not able to, and they shot at us and put out eyes to the number of one hundred and fifty**_."( The Noubadian victory was reportedly followed by a truce -that was most likely imposed by themselves, and is claimed to have been broken after the death of the caliph Umar in 644, after which the Noubadian forces advanced into upper Egypt, beginning a pattern of warfare that would characterize most of Nubian-Egyptian relations until the 10th century.( The exact nature of Noubadia's unification with Makuria in the 7th or early 8th century is still debated, with most scholars following the common interpretation of the (post-dated) Arabic documents which place it before the battle at Dongola in 651( , while other scholars place the unification in 707 under king Merkurios.( In either case however, the Nubians (Noubadia and/or Makuria) were ultimately victorious over the invading Arab armies and were the ones who imposed a truce on their defeated foes, in a treaty which was modified in later accounts as the balance of power oscillated.( _**the churches at Qasr Ibrim and Sabagura, the earliest phase of construction at Qasr Ibrim begun in the late 7th century during the time of Noubadia’s unification with Makuria.**_( * * * **Conclusion: Noubadia’s position in African history.** The rise of Noubadia was a significant event in the political history of Northeast Africa. While old theories which posited Noubadia as a "conduit" for the diffusion of Mediterranean cultural aspects have been discarded as such aspects were only selectively syncretized into its local cultural milieu, the kingdom was nevertheless at the center of cross-cultural exchanges and trade between north-east Africa and the Mediterranean, and it was thanks to its military strength that the region retained its political autonomy, defining the political trajectory of medieval Africa on its own terms. * * * Is Jared Diamond’s **“GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL”** a work of monumental ambition? or a collection of speculative conjecture and unremarkable insights. My review **Jared Diamond myths about Africa history** on Patreon ( **if you liked this Article and would like to contribute to African History, please donate to my paypal** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( The Nubian past by David Edwards pg 182-183) ( The Meroitic Language and Writing System by Claude Rilly pg 174) ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 515-525) ( Aksum and Nubia by George Hatke pg 97-101) ( The Rise of Nobadia by Artur Obłuski pg 19-22) ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 525-526) ( The Rise of Nobadia by Artur Obłuski pg 98-99, 197) ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 528-529) ( The Rise of Nobadia by Artur Obłuski pg 191-192, 197-198, 151-160) ( The Rise of Nobadia by Artur Obłuski pg 99-105) ( Was King Merkourios (696 - 710), an African ‘New Constantine by Benjamin Hendrickx pg 11 ( Romans, Barbarians, and the Transformation of the Roman World by Ralph W. Mathisen, Military History of Late Rome 284-361 By Ilkka Syvanne, pg 142-143, Aksum and Nubia by G Hatke pg 157 ( The Rise of Nobadia by Artur Obłuski pg 188-190 ( Was King Merkourios (696 - 710), an African ‘New Constantine by Benjamin Hendrickx pg 12-13 ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 523) ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg 520 ( The Christianisation of Nubia by David N. Edwards pg 90-92) ( Daily life of the Nubians by Robert Steven Bianchi pg 267) ( Between Two Worlds by László Török pg pg 529 ( The Rise of Nobadia by Artur Obłuski pg 188-190 pg 175). ( The Rise of Nobadia by Artur Obłuski 169-173) ( The Monasteries and Monks of Nubia by Artur Obłuski pg 98) ( The Rise of Nobadia by Artur Obłuski pg 199) ( Ancient Nubia by P. L. Shinnie pg 123) ( The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia by Bruce Williams pg 761 ( Was King Merkourios (696 - 710), an African ‘New Constantine by Benjamin Hendrickx pg 17 ( The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia by Bruce Williams pg 761-762, The Rise of Nobadia by Artur Obłuski pg 200 ( Medieval Christian Nubia and the Islamic World by Jay Spaulding pg 584 ( The Rise of Nobadia by Artur Obłuski pg 173.

### An African Kingdom on the Edge of Empires: Noubadia between Rome and the Caliphate (400-700 AD) #### Introduction - The transition from classical to medieval Africa saw significant upheavals following the collapse of the Kushite kingdom around 360 AD. - With the fall of Kush, central administration disappeared, cities were abandoned, and there was a general social decline characterized by unrest. - The rise of the kingdom of Noubadia emerged as a response to this instability, becoming a crucial player in regional power dynamics. #### Historical Context 1. **Decline of Kush (4th Century AD)** - The Kushite kingdom experienced a decline in central authority, leading to a fragmentation into smaller states. - Cultural practices, including pyramid construction and Meroitic writing, ceased, resulting in social decline. 2. **Emergence of Noubadia** - The Noubades, an ethnonym for a distinct group in the Nile Valley, emerged as the dominant group among the successor states of Kush. - Although connected linguistically to Meroitic speakers, the Noubades had their own identity and were situated on the western frontiers of Kush. #### Rise of the Noubadian Kingdom (394-450 AD) - Following the fall of Kush, fragmentary historical records indicate the establishment of the Noubadian kingdom. - A Roman diplomat, Olympiodorus, noted the existence of the Blemmyan state centered at Kalabsha during the early 5th century. - The Noubadian kings engaged in multiple campaigns against the Blemmyes, resulting in territorial expansion and the establishment of Noubadia's authority. 1. **Key Campaigns** - King Silko led campaigns against the Blemmyan rulers, achieving significant victories and culminating in the occupation of Kalabsha. - Inscriptions from this period confirm Silko's title as "king of the Nobades and all the Aithiopians," signaling Noubadia's growing influence. #### Noubadian Society and Administration - Following conquests, the Noubadian kings extended their control further south and developed a complex administrative structure. - Noubadian cities like Faras became centers for crafts and trade, with connections to both Byzantine Egypt and other emerging Nubian kingdoms. - Urban settlements featured monumental architecture, fortifications, and a planned layout reminiscent of Meroitic civilization. #### Cultural Exchange with Byzantine Egypt - Noubadian rulers adapted aspects of Byzantine culture, notably the Greek script and Christianity. - Previous scholarship posited that Noubadia was politically subordinate to Rome, but newer research challenges this view, suggesting a more independent stance. 1. **Christianization Process** - The conversion to Christianity in Noubadia was gradual, blending with pre-existing pagan practices. - The formal adoption of Christianity followed missions from the Byzantine Empress Theodora in the 6th century, leading to the establishment of a Noubadian bishopric. #### Interaction with the Rashidun Caliphate (640-641 AD) - The Rashidun Caliphate targeted Noubadia following its conquest of Byzantine Egypt. - Accounts from the time detail a significant Nubian victory against the caliphate's forces, marking the Noubadian kingdom as a formidable adversary. 1. **Outcome of the Arab Invasion** - Despite early Arab military advances, Noubadian forces repelled the invaders, leading to a truce that would later be broken. - The nature of Noubadia's unification with the neighboring kingdom of Makuria remains debated, but both kingdoms successfully resisted Arab domination. #### Conclusion - The rise of Noubadia played a crucial role in shaping the political landscape of Northeast Africa. - The kingdom acted as a center for cross-cultural exchanges and trade, maintaining its political autonomy during a transformative period in African history. - Noubadia's legacy is marked by its military strength, cultural adaptations, and significant contributions to medieval African history.

Kilwa, the complete chronological history of an East-African emporium: 800-1842.

Journal of African Cities chapter-2

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers Kilwa, the complete chronological history of an East-African emporium: 800-1842. ================================================================================ ### Journal of African Cities chapter-2 ( Aug 28, 2022 11 The small island of Kilwa kisiwani, located off the coast of southern Tanzania, was once home to one of the grandest cities of medieval Africa and the Indian ocean world. The city-state of Kilwa was one of several hundred monumental, cosmopolitan urban settlements along the East African coast collectively known as the Swahili civilization. Kilwa's historiography is often organized in a fragmentary way, with different studies focusing on specific eras in its history, leaving an incomplete picture about the city-state's history from its earliest settlement to the modern era. This article outlines the entire history of Kilwa, chronologically ordered from its oldest settlement in 7th century to its abandonment in 1842. It includes all archeological and textual information on Kilwa's political history, its major landmarks, its material culture, its economic history, and its intellectual production. _**Map showing some of the Swahili cities of the east African coast, the red circle includes the archipelagos of Kilwa and Mafia which were under the control of Kilwa's rulers.**_ * * * **Support African History Extra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **Early Kilwa (7th-11th century)** The site of Kilwa _kisiwani_ was first settled between the 7th-9th century by the Swahili; a north-east coastal Bantu-speaking group which was part of a larger population drift from the African mainland which had arrived on the east African coast at the turn of the common era.( Their establishment at Kilwa occurred slightly later than the earlier Swahili settlement at Unguja, but was contemporaneous with other early settlements at Manda, Tumbe and Shanga (7th-8th century). The early settlement at Kilwa was a fishing and farming community, consisting of a few earthen houses, with little imported ceramics (about 0.7%) compared to the locally produced wares.( While the exact nature of the early settlement is still uncertain, it was largely similar with other Swahili settlements especially in its marginal participation in maritime trade and gradual adoption of Islam. Its material culture includes the ubiquitous early-tana-tradition ceramics which are attested across the entire coast( , and a relative large amount of iron slag from local smelting activities( . Iron made in Kilwa (and the Swahili cities in general) is likely to have been exported in exchange for the foreign goods, as it was considered a highly valued commodity in Indian ocean trade.( _**Map of Kilwa and neighboring island-settlements**_( * * * **Classical Kilwa (12th-15th century)** Like most of its Swahili peers, Kilwa underwent a political and economic fluorescence during the 11th century, with increased maritime trade and importation of foreign (Chinese and Islamic) ceramics, local crafts production especially in textiles, and the advent of substantial construction in coral; which at Kilwa was mostly confined to the reconstruction of the (formerly wooden) Great mosque as well as the construction of coral tombs. This transformation heralded the ascendance of Kilwa's first attested ruler (sultan) named Ali bin al-Hassan, whose reign is mostly known from his silver coins, tentatively dated to the late 11th century. ( _**kiln for making lime cement used to bind the dry blocks of coral-rag , in southern Tanzania. Porites coral on the other hand, is often carved while still soft and wet. This lime-making process is described at Kilwa in a 16th century account.**_( Al-Hassan is identified in latter accounts as one of the "shirazi" sultans of Kilwa. The ubiquitous "shirazi" epithet in Swahili social history, is now understood as an endonymous identification that means "the Swahili par excellence" in opposition to the later, foreign newcomers; against whom the Swahili asserted their ancient claims of residence in the cities, and enhanced their Islamic pedigree through superficial connections to the famous ancient Persian city of shiraz that is located in the Muslim heartlands.( Kilwa first appears in external accounts around the early 13th century, in which the city is referred to simply as "_**a town in the country of the Zanj**_" in the account of Yaqut written in 1222.( . In the late 13th and early 14th century, Kilwa extended its control to the neighboring islands of the Mafia archipelago including the towns of Kisimani mafia and Kua( , becoming the dominant power over much of the southern Swahili coast. Kilwa also seized sofala from Mogadishu in the late 13th century and prospered on re-exporting gold that was ultimately derived form the Zimbabwe plateau.( During the late 13th century, Kilwa’s first dynasty was deposed by the a new dynasty from the nearby Swahili city of Tumbatu led by al-Hassan Ibn Talut, who founded the "Mahdali" dynasty of Kilwa. Tumbatu had been a major urban settlement on the Zanzibar island, its extensive ruins of houses and mosques are dated to the 12th and 13th century, and it appears in Yaqut's 1220 account as the seat of the Zanj. The city was later abandoned after a violent episode around 1350.( The new dynasty of Kilwa may have had commercial ties with the Rasulid dynasty of Yemen although this connection would have been distant as Mahdali, who were most likely Swahili in origin, would have been established on Tumbatu and Mafia centuries prior to their takeover of Kilwa( . The most illustrious ruler of this line was the sultan al-Hassan bin sulayman who reigned in the early 14th century (between 1315-1355). Sulayman was a pious ruler who sought to integrate Kilwa into the mainstream Islamic world, prior to his ascendance to the throne, he had embarked on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1331 and spent some time studying in the city of Aden.( Sulayman issued trimetallic coinage (with the only gold coins struck along the coast), he built the gigantic ornate palatial edifice of Husuni Kubwa that remained incomplete, expanded the great mosque, and hosted the famous Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta. In his description of Kilwa, Ibn Battuta writes that; "_**After one night in Mombasa, we sailed on to Kilwa, a large city on the coast whose inhabitants are black A merchant told me that a fortnight's sail beyond Kilwa lies Sofala, where gold is brought from a place a month's journey inland called yufi**_" Battuta adds that Kilwa was elegantly built entirely with timber and the inhabitants were Zanj (Swahili), some of whom had facial scarifications.( Kilwa declined in the second half of the 14th century, possibly due to the collapsing gold prices on the world market as well as the bubonic plague that was spreading across the Indian ocean littoral at the time. This coincided with the collapse of the recently built domed extension of the Great Mosque late in sulayman's reign (or shortly after) and the mosque wasn't rebuilt until the early 15th century.( The decline of Kilwa may only be apparent, as it was during the late 14th century when the settlement on the nearby island of Songo Mnara was established. Songo Mnara was constructed over a short period of time, on a site with no evidence of prior settlement, its occupation was immediately followed by an intense period of building activity that surpassed Kilwa in quality of domestic architecture. The ruins of more than forty houses, six mosques and hundreds of graves and tombs are well preserved and were likely built during a short period perhaps lasting less than half a century.( Kilwa recovered in the early 15th century with heavy investment in coral building around the city as well as the restoration of the Great mosque. This recovery coincides with accounts documented later in the 16th century Kilwa chronicle, in which political power and wealth in early 15th century Kilwa became increasingly decentralized with the emergence of an oligarchic council made up of both non-royal patricians and lesser royals, as well as the 'amir' (a governor with both administrative and military power) who wrestled power away from the sultan. By the late 15th century, the amir was Kiwab bin Muhammad, he installed a puppet sultan and centralized power around his own office, but his rule was challenged by the other patricians including a non-royal figure named Mohamed Ancony who was likely the treasurer. Kiwab was succeeded by his son Ibrāhīm Sulaymān who appears as the 'king of kilwa' in external accounts, and was in power when the Portuguese fleet of Vasco Da Gama arrived in 1502, although his actual power was much less than the title suggested.( _**Map of 13th–14th-century ruins at Kilwa**_( _**, discussed below**_ * * * **Architectural landmarks from the classical Kilwa** **The Great mosque of Kilwa.** The main Friday mosque of Kilwa is the largest among its Swahili peers. The original mosque was a daub and timber structure constructed in the late 1st millennium, and modified on several occasions. In the 11th century, flat-roofed (_porites_) coral mosque supported by polygonal wooden pillars, was constructed over the first mosque, and was occasionally repaired and its walls modified to maintain its structural soundness. During the early 14th century, the mosque was greatly extended and a new roof was constructed, supported by monolithic (porites) coral pillars, as well as by a series of domes and barrel-vaults, but these proved structurally unsound and collapsed. In the early 15th century, the pillars were constructed using octagonal coral-rag pillars, that were bounded with lime (already in use since the earliest constructions).( Just south of the mosque is the Great House, a complex of three houses that were built in the 15th century and likely served as the new palace of the sultan after the abandonment of Husuni Kubwa. This house contained several courtyards, and a number of ornamental features such as niches and inlaid bowls in the plasterwork. A similarly-built "house of the mosque" was constructed nearby, as well as a small domed mosque, all of which are dated to the 15th century.( _**The great mosque of Kilwa, ruins and ground plan**_( _**The Small Domed Mosque, ruins and floor plan**_ **Husuni Ndogo fortress.** This defensive construction was built in the 13th century, it is flanked by several polygonal and circular towers, the walls are currently 2m high and 1.2m thick with many buttresses about 1.8m long. The creation of a fortified palace serving as a caravanserai was likely associated with the increasing trade, around the time Kilwa had seized control of Sofala. Husuni Ndogo was abandoned following the construction of Husuni Kubwa.( _**Ruins of Husuni Ndogo.**_ **Husuni Kubwa** The palace of Husuni Kubwa was built in the early 14th century over a relatively short period and wasn't completed. The grand architectural complex consists of two main sections, the first of which is the palace itself which features the characteristic sunken courtyards and niched walls of Swahili architecture, as well as novel features such as arcaded aisles and an ornate octagonal pool. The Place roof was adorned with a series of fluted cones and barrel vaults built in the same style as the Great mosque. The second section of the complex was attached to the southern end of the palace, its essentially an open-air yard with dozens of rooms along its sides.( _**Ruins of the Husuni Kubwa Palace and ground plan**_ Artificial **causeway platforms** built with cemented pieces of reef coral and limestone were constructed near the entrance to the Kilwa harbor between the 13th and 16th centuries. These served several functions including aiding navigation by limiting risk of shipwrecks, as walkways for fishing activities in the lagoons, and for ceremonial and ostentatious purposes that enhanced the city's status as a maritime trade hub.( _**Causeway II in Mvinje Lagoon, Kilwa, and a Map of Causeways along the coast of Kilwa Kisiwani**_( **Songo Mnara** was built on an island less than 20km away from Kilwa. Its occupation is dated between 1375 and 1500, with most of the construction occurring in the last quarter of the 14th century. The ruins comprise of several coral houses and mosques organized with a form of city plan that is flanked by open spaces and confined within a city wall. The two large structures sometimes referred to as ‘palaces,’ are actually sprawling composite buildings of multiple houses, and likely represent the wealthiest patricians/families in the town, which is unlikely to have had a single ruler.( _**Ruins at Songo Mnara and a Map showing their general layout**_ _**Tombstone of princess Aisha of Kilwa, c. 1360 (Ethnologies museum, berlin)**_( * * * **Kilwa coinage from the classical era.** Coins had been minted on the Swahili coast since the 8th century at Shanga, and coin mints continued to flourish during the classical Swahili era across several cities including at Unguja, Tumbatu, Pemba and Manda, but it was at Kilwa was minting was carried out on a monumental scale.( Kilwa's locally minted coinage was made primarily of copper, with occasional issues in gold and silver. The coins were marked with the names of the Kilwa sultans, and decorated with rhyming couplets in Arabic script. The coins are variably distributed reflecting their different uses in local and regional contexts, with the majority copper coins being found in the immediate vicinity of Kilwa, Songo Mnara, Mafia, (and Great Zimbabwe), while the silver coins found on Pemba Island, and the gold coins were found in Zanzibar.( _**The Mtambwe Mkuu hoard of silver coins from pempa island, made in Kilwa**_ _**Songo mnara hoard of copper coins made in Kilwa**_ Despite the dynastic changes recounted in Kilwa's history, no coins were withdrawn from circulation before the early 16th century, and the coins of earlier sultans are as likely to be attested across all hoards as those of the later sultans; likely because the latter sultans attimes continued to issue new coins with names of earlier sultans as well as their own, which may complicate dating.( Kilwa's coinage was mostly local in its realization and differed from the Indian ocean coinage in a number of aspects. The copper coins of Kilwa weren't standardized by weight nor did they derive most of their value from a conversion value to other "higher metals" of gold and silver, but derived their value from their symbolic legitimating aspects associated with each ruler, as well as functional purposes as currency in local and regional trade.( _**gold coins of Kilwa sultan al-Hassan Sulayman from the 14th centur**_**y** * * * **The Portuguese episode in Kilwa’s history; documenting a crisis of legitimacy.** In 1505 Kilwa was sacked by the Portuguese fleet of Francisco de Almeida who invaded the city with 200 soldiers in order to enforce a botched treaty, signed between the reigning sultan Ibrāhīm Sulaymān and an earlier Portuguese fleet led by Vasco Da Gama in 1502. This invasion ended with the installation of a puppet sultan Mohamed Ancony who was quickly deposed due to local rebellion and for the succeeding 7 years the Portuguese struggled to maintain their occupation of the city, installing Ancony’s son (Haj Hassan) and later deposing him in favor of another figure, until 1512 when they conceded to leave sultan Ibrahim in charge. It was within the context of this succession crisis that the two chronicles of Kilwa's history were rendered into writing; both the _**Crônica de Kilwa**_ and the _**Kitab al-Sulwa ft akhbar Kilwa**_, both written in the mid-16th century. ( Atleast two letters addressed to the Portuguese were written by two of the important Kilwa elites who were involved in this conflict and are inlcuded below.( The Chronicles recount the dynastic succession of a series of Shirazi and later Mahdali sultans in relation to the rise and fall of the city’s fortunes prior to, and leading upto the Portuguese episode. The Chronicles don't relate the true course of events in the settlement and political history of the city-state, they instead describe the urban and Islamic character of the settlement in relation to (and opposition against) its hinterland at the time when they were written.( _**Letter by Sultan Ibrahim of Kilwa written in 1505, requesting the Portuguese king to order his deputy not to attack Kilwa. (Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo)**_ _**Letter written by Mohamed Ancony’s son Haj Hasan around 1506, complaining about his deposition by his erstwhile allies (Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo)**_ * * * **Kilwa in decline; reorientation of trade and the Portuguese colonial era. (1505-1698)** After their occupation of Sofala in 1505 and meddling in Kilwa's politics, the Portuguese interlopers had effectively broken the commercial circuit established by Kilwa which funneled the gold purchased from Sofala into the Indian Ocean world. Kilwa tried to salvage its fortunes in the mid-16th century by reorienting its trade towards its own hinterland, from where it derived ivory which it then sold to the Portuguese and other Indian ocean buyers in lieu of gold, and the city was reportedly still in control of the Mafia islands in 1571.( In 1588, Kilwa was attacked by the enigmatic Zimba forces, an offshoot of the Maravi kingdom from northern Mozambique that had been active in the gold and ivory trade which had since been taken over by the Portuguese. The city had gradually recovered from this devastation by the 1590s as the Yao; new group of Ivory traders from the mainland, created a direct route to Kilwa from the region north of Lake Malawi.( Succession crises plagued Kilwa's throne in the 1610s; and were instigated largely by interventions of the Portuguese, who had effectively colonized the Swahili coast by then and had re-occupied a small fort they constructed in Kilwa in 1505. The Portuguese eventually managed to placate the rivaling factions by channeling the ivory trade exclusively through Kilwa's merchants by 1635, thus maintaining their control of the city despite an Omani attack in 1652, as the city wouldn't revert to local authority until 1698 when the Portuguese were finally expelled from Mombasa.( _**Old Portuguese watchtower, Kilwa (SMB, Berlin). the only surviving section of their original Gereza fort that was reconstructed by the Omanis in the 19th century**_ * * * **Recovery in the 18th century and Omani occupation in the 19th century.** Despite the reorientation of trade, Kilwa was impoverished under Portuguese rule and no buildings were constructed throughout the 17th century. The city's prosperity was restored in the early 18th century, under sultan Alawi and the queen (regent) Fatima bint Muhammad's reign, largely due to the expanding ivory trade with the Yao that had been redirected from the Portuguese at Mozambique island. This Kilwa dynasty with its characteristic ‘al-shiraz’ nisba like the classical rulers, frequently traded and corresponded with the Portuguese to form an alliance against the Omani Arabs, the latter of whose rule they were strongly against.( _**letters written by Mfalme Fatima (queen of kilwa), her daughter Mwana Nakisa; and Fatima's brothers Muhammad Yusuf & Ibrahim Yusuf. written in 1711 (Goa archive, SOAS london)**_ In the early 18th century, Kilwa's rulers built a large, fortified palace known as Makutani, it engulfed the earlier ruins of the “House of the Mosque”, they also repaired parts of the Great Mosque. Kilwa’s influence also included towns on Mafia island especially at Kua where a large palace was built by a local ruler around the same time. They also reconstructed the 'Malindi mosque' which had been built in the 15th century, this mosque is associated with a prominent family from the city of Malindi (in Kenya) which rose to prominence at the court of Kilwa in the 15th century. An 18th century inscription taken from the nearby tombs commemorates a member of the Malindi family.( _**Makutani Palace and plan of principle features.**_ _**Malindi mosque and cemetery**_ * * * **Epilogue: Omani influence from 1800-1842.** Kilwa increasingly came under Omani suzerainty in the early 19th century as succession crises and a conflict with the neighboring town of Kilwa Kivinje provided an opportunity for Sayyid Sa‘id to intervene in local politics. The Gereza fort built by the Omanis in 1800 is the only surviving foreign construction among the Kilwa ruins, the imposing fort had two round towers at diagonally opposed corners serving as platforms for cannons, its interior has a central courtyard with buildings around three sides.( This fort's construction heralded the end of Kilwa _kisiwani_ as an independent city-state. In the early 19th century, the center of trade in the Kilwa and Mafia archipelagos shifted to the mainland town of Kilwa Kivinje. Kilwa’s last ruler, sultan Hassan, was exiled by the Omani rulers of Zanzibar in 1842, and the once sprawling urban settlement was reduced to a small village.( * * * The city of **TIMBUKTU** was once one of the **intellectual capitals of medieval Africa**. Read about its complete history on Patreon; from its oldest iron age settlement in **500BC** until its occupation by the French in **1893**. Included are its **landmarks**, its **scholarly families**, its **economic history** and its **intellectual production**. ( * * * **if you liked this Article and would like to contribute to my African History website project, please donate to my paypal** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and support my work. ( The Swahili: Reconstructing the History and Language of an African Society, 800-1500 by Derek Nurse and Thomas Spear ( A Material Culture by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 24-34, 23) ( Ceramics and the Early Swahili: Deconstructing the Early Tana Tradition by Jeffrey Fleisher & Stephanie Wynne-Jones ( A Material Culture by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 60-61) ( Horn and Crescent by Randall Pouwels pg 21) ( A Material Culture by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 71 ( A Material Culture by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 61-65) ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 42 ( Horn and cresecnt by R. Pouwels pg 34-37, Swahili Origins by James de Vere Allen pg 200-215 ( A Material Culture by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 55) ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 245-252 ( Horn and cresecnt by R. Pouwels pg 25) ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 242, The Archaeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa by Timothy Insoll pg 186) ( the pre-Kilwa origins of the Mahdali is given as Mafia in the kilwa chronicle and possibly tumbatu, but Sutton made a convincing hypothesis based on archeological finds of gold coins at tumbatu. see ‘A Thousand Years of East Africa by JEG Sutton’ ( The African Lords of the Intercontinental Gold Trade Before the Black Death by JEG Sutton pg 228-234) ( A Thousand Years of East Africa by JEG Sutton pg 81-82) ( The Swahili World by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 56) ( A Material Culture by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 73-74) ( Kilwa Dynastic Historiography: A Critical Study by Elias Saad pg 184-193 ( A Material Culture by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 66 ( Kilwa a history by J.E.G sutton pg 135-139) ( A Material Culture by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 65-68) ( This and similar plans are taken from J.E.G sutton ( Swahili pre-modern warfare and violence in the Indian Ocean by Stephane Pradines pg 15-16 ) ( Kilwa a history by J.E.G sutton pg 150-156) ( Inter-Tidal Causeways and Platforms of the 13th- to 16th-Century City-State of Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania by Edward Pollard pg 106-113 ( credit; Edward Pollard ( The complexity of public space at the Swahili town of Songo Mnara, Tanzania by Jeffrey Fleisher, pg 4-6 ( Kilwa a history by J.E.G sutton pg 145 ( A Material Culture by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 49-50) ( Coins in Context: Local Economy, Value and Practice on the East African Swahili Coast by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 23-24) ( Kilwa-type coins from Songo Mnara, Tanzania by J. Fisher pg 112) ( Coins in Context: Local Economy, Value and Practice on the East African Swahili Coast by Stephanie Wynne-Jones 31-34) ( The Arts and Crafts of Literacy by Andrea Brigaglia, ‎Mauro Nobili pg 181-203) ( International Journal of African Historical Studies" Vol. "52", No. 2, pg 263-268 ( A Material Culture by Stephanie Wynne-Jones pg 58 ( Ivory and Slaves in East Central Africa by Edward A. Alpers pg 42-46) ( The Role of the Yao in the Development of Trade in East-Central Africa pg 60-72 ( Ivory and Slaves in East Central Africa by Edward A. Alpers pg 50, 59-62) ( A Revised Chronology of the Sultans of Kilwa in the 18th and 19th Centuries by Edward A. Alpers pg 156-159 ( Kilwa a history by J.E.G sutton pg 142 ( Kilwa a history by J.E.G sutton pg 149 ( A Revised Chronology of the Sultans of Kilwa in the 18th and 19th Centuries by Edward A. Alpers pg 160.

# Kilwa: A Complete Chronological History of an East-African Emporium (800-1842) ## Introduction - **Kilwa Kisiwani** is an island off the southern coast of Tanzania, notable for its significance as a medieval city-state within the Swahili civilization, which includes numerous urban centers along the East African coast. This narrative chronicles Kilwa's history from its earliest settlement to its decline in 1842. ## Early Kilwa (7th-11th Century) 1. **Settlement Origins**: Kilwa was first settled by the Swahili, a Bantu-speaking group, in the 7th to 9th centuries. - This settlement occurred slightly later than Unguja and contemporaneously with other settlements like Manda and Tumbe. - **Economy**: The early community engaged in fishing and farming, characterized by minimal imported ceramics. 2. **Material Culture**: The early Kilwa populace produced local wares and smelted iron, indicating trade participation. - Iron exports were valuable in the Indian Ocean market. ## Classical Kilwa (12th-15th Century) 1. **Political and Economic Flourishing**: Starting in the 11th century, Kilwa experienced increased maritime trade and architectural development. - The first ruler identified was **Ali bin al-Hassan**. 2. **Dynastic Changes**: The late 13th and early 14th centuries saw shifts in dynasties, notably the Mahdali dynasty from Tumbatu. - Sultan **al-Hassan bin Sulayman** (1315-1355) led notable developments, including the expansion of the Great Mosque and the construction of **Husuni Kubwa**. 3. **International Recognition**: Kilwa was mentioned in external accounts, highlighting its status as a significant trade center, especially in gold re-exports. 4. **Decline Factors**: Kilwa began to decline in the late 14th century due to economic shifts and the bubonic plague. 5. **Cultural Resurgence**: By the early 15th century, Kilwa saw reconstruction efforts, including a restored Great Mosque and the emergence of an oligarchic governance structure among local elites. ## Architectural Landmarks 1. **Great Mosque**: Initially built in timber, it underwent several modifications, including the reconstruction with coral architecture. 2. **Husuni Kubwa Palace**: A grand, incomplete palace featuring Swahili architectural styles. 3. **Defensive Structures**: **Husuni Ndogo** was a fortified palace indicating increased trade and military concerns. ## Coinage and Economy 1. **Minting Practices**: Kilwa became prominent in the minting of coins, mainly copper, issued under various sultans and reflecting local economic and political structures. 2. **Value of Coinage**: Coins served both as currency and as symbols of legitimacy for the rulers. ## The Portuguese Episode (1505-1698) 1. **Invasion**: In 1505, the Portuguese, led by **Francisco de Almeida**, sacked Kilwa, establishing a puppet regime. 2. **Political Instability**: The period was marked by local rebellions and challenges to Portuguese authority, leading to fluctuating control over the city. 3. **Trade Reorientation**: Kilwa sought to adapt by focusing on ivory trade instead of gold, partially recovering by the late 16th century. ## Decline and Omani Control 1. **Continued Challenges**: Kilwa’s political and economic stability suffered due to Portuguese actions and local conflicts, leading to the gradual shift of power towards the Omani Arabs. 2. **Omani Occupation**: By the early 19th century, Kilwa had effectively lost its independence to Omani influence, culminating in the exile of Sultan **Hassan** in 1842. ## Conclusion Kilwa's history encapsulates the dynamics of trade, politics, and cultural exchange within the Indian Ocean world. From a thriving city-state to a small village under Omani suzerainty, Kilwa's narrative reflects broader historical trends in East Africa from pre-colonial times through the early modern period.

One woman's mission to unite a divided kingdom: Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the restoration of Kongo. (1704-1706)

Race, theology, and an African church.

=========================== #### Discover more from African History Extra All about African history; narrating the continent's neglected past Over 6,000 subscribers One woman's mission to unite a divided kingdom: Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the restoration of Kongo. (1704-1706) ============================================================================================================ ### Race, theology, and an African church. ( Aug 21, 2022 15 The kingdom of Kongo appears unusual in popular understanding of pre-colonial African societies; A 600-year old kingdom in central Africa, with a unique Christian tradition and its noticeable Iberian influences, but with a history firmly rooted on the continent as a fully independent regional power. While an image of a Muslim or Coptic pre-colonial Africa has come to be accepted, the one of a catholic African state has proved difficult for some to reconcile with their preconceptions of African history. But just like the spread of Axial religions across most of Africa (and indeed, many of the ‘Old world’ societies), Kongo adopted Christianity on its own terms, syncretizing the religion within the structure of Kongo's society and making it one of kingdom's institutions. When internal political processes broke the kingdom apart and foreign priests tried to threaten the independence of Kongo's church; it was Kongo's citizens, led by a charismatic prophetess named Beatriz Kimpa Vita, who rose up to the challenge of reuniting the kingdom and affirming the independence of its Church. This article explores the Politico-religious movement of Beatriz Kimpa Vita and its role in restoring the Kingdom of Kongo and securing the independence of Kongo's Christian tradition as an African religion. _**Map of a divided kingdom of Kongo in 1700**_ * * * **Support AfricanHistoryExtra by becoming a member of our Patreon community, subscribe here to read more about African history, download free books, and keep this newsletter free for all:** ( * * * **The warring dynasties of Kongo** In 1678, Kongo's capital city of Mbanza Kongo , once home to over 100,000 inhabitants, was abandoned as the Kingdom descended into a protracted civil war. The two most powerful royal houses; the _**Kinlaza**_ and the _**Kimpanzu**_ couldn't dominate the other, despite the latter having defeated a Portuguese invasion in 1670. The _**Kinlaza**_ house was itself split between three main figures; king Pedro IV (who also had _**Kimpanzu**_ lineage), the rival king João II, and the Queen regnant Ana Afonso;( all controlling fragments of what was once a large unified kingdom. The toll of their civil war was significant on Kongo's citizenry primarily because of the need to mobilize large armies that served under each rivaling ruler. The size of the armies required were considerably large, with as many as 20,000 soldiers under the command of Queen Ana and her allies in 1702, these armies also required a support train carrying supplies and provisions, as well as cooks, nurses and field companions, that numbered just as large as the main army itself, with as many as 50,000 people being mobilized. The movements of these large armies were attimes destructive to the countryside as campaigns often outlasted their provisions forcing the soldiers to rely on the stored harvests in the villages.( Another negative effect was the uptick in external slave trade as a consequence of the wars. While acquisition of slaves was never the primarily objective of the rivaling rulers, who were above all else hoping to restore central authority, the accumulation of prisoners of war always followed after a major war. Many of these were retained locally and gradually integrated as soldiers, attendants and later as subjects , but a sizeable proportion were also sold through long distance routes that ultimately led to the Atlantic ports.( While the territory dominated by Kongo had not been a significant exporter in the 15th and 16th century, the first decade of the 18th century saw it contribute just under half of the slaves going through Luanda between 1700-1709 (an estimate of about 1,000 a year, and enslaved catholic baKongo (ie; citizens of Kongo begun to appear in American plantation colonies, which had been virtually impossible in the previous centuries, as the kings of Kongo went to great lengths to repatriate their baKongo subjects from as far as Brazil, when they had been wrongfully enslaved.( King Pedro was the most determined among the rivaling contenders to reoccupy the capital and restore Kongo as a centralized Kingdom, but an earlier attempt to settle inside the city after his coronation in 1694 had to be aborted when João's forces threatened to attack . Pedro had retreated to his capital, but sent advance columns in camps of several thousand subjects under two of his officers to re-occupy the capital, the first camp was under Pedro's head of administration; Manuel da Cruz Barbosa and the second was under his captain general Kibenga.( It was in the latter group that became a cause of concern for Pedro, due to the growing mood of religious fervor among the baKongo that threatened to split Kongo's church, and produced popular figures whose religious movements also carried political overtones connected with the reoccupation of the abandoned capital city, and an end of the incessant conflicts. * * * **The church in Kongo: creating an African religious institution.** The church had been a fully Kongo-lese institution from its inception in 1491, and was largely shaped by Kongo's kings as well as educated baKongo laypeople who disseminated religious education in church schools across the kingdom, ensuring that Kongo's form of Catholicism was thus fully syncretized into Kongo's customs and religious beliefs.( The baKongo Christians, who had adopted the religion on their own accord, therefore retained pre-Christian lexicon such as _**nkita**_ (a term for generous deceased ancestors) and _**kindoki**_ (the religious power to do good or bad),as well as the elevated position of ancestors, in the process of indigenizing their church.( For example, in Kongo's Catholicism, the main Christian figures; such as Jesus, Mary and the saints, were powerful _**nkitas,**_ and since they had no living descendants they were thus nonpartisan, universally positive figures who were above petty concerns and were unwilling to do evil on behalf of their descendants unlike the morally ambiguous recently-deceased ancestors who had living descendants.( Since the most important religious rites (especially sacraments like baptism) could only be performed by ordained priests (clergy), Kongo's monarchs tried to create their own clergy by educating baKongo bishops, a plan that opposed by the Portuguese, who wanted to retain some measure of control over Kongo's church however miniscule this control actually was. Kongo nevertheless managed to obtain Vatican approval for the establishment of an independent episcopal see (seat of the Bishop) that was founded at Mbanza Kongo in 1596. (the city henceforth renamed São Salvador after its main cathedral).( _**Mbanza Kongo (São Salvador) by Olfert Dapper in 1668**_ * * * **Containing the foreign clergy into the Kongo church.** Kongo's kings effectively retained control of the church under local authority by strategically altering the source of the priests depending on how well they served their interests. The kingdom thus saw the arrival of secular and regular priestly orders from 1491, including; the Jesuits in 1548, the Franciscans in 1557, the Carmelites in 1585 and the Capuchins in 1645, but these (foreign) priests' work was confined to providing sacraments; often only appearing annually for baptisms, marriages, and the like, while most of church activities and teaching was done by the baKongo laity (non-ordained members of the church).( But after São Salvador’s abandonment in 1678 and the Bishop’s shift to Luanda, the capuchin priests increasingly insisted that they had to be respected as independent religious authorities by all baKongo including the nobility and kings, in a sharp break from the previous priests who strictly observed Kongo’s laws and customs. The capuchins leveraged their _**kindoki**_ through their selflessness, poverty and chastity, to buttress their claims of religious authority, unlike previous priestly orders that had fallen short of all three qualities in the eyes of the baKongo. They also clashed with the baKongo laity on a number of issues, for example, while the former regarded spiritual possession as an acceptable form of revelation, the capuchins regarded all forms of possession as suspect, and often said possession was solely derived from the devil.( In another notable incident, a capuchin priest at king Pedro's court tried to get his friend, an Aragonese layperson, to violate protocol by not observing Kongo customs in greeting the King; claiming that since the Aragonese as a fellow European like himself, he should not follow Kongo's customs. This caused a bitter standoff with king Pedro who insisted that the guest must observe protocol, and the king ultimately prevailed over the priest forcing the Aragonese to be expelled. This incident damaged the reputation of the capuchin's _**kindoki**_ in the eyes of the baKongo who begun to think that the priests were using the power selfishly (ie; negatively), in this case; to acquire special privileges by virtue of being European, which the proud baKongo could never tolerate. (negative _**kindoki**_ is called _**ndoki**_ and is equivalent to witchcraft).( * * * **Politico-Religious movements in early 18th century Kongo and the birth of Beatriz** As the capuchin’s religious authority was being called into question, reports were circulating that a woman named Dona Beatriz, who was in Kibenga's camp, had seen a vision of Mary. In this vision, Mary told her that Jesus was angry with the Kongolese and that they must ask his mercy, that they must re-occupy the capital and end the incessant wars. Her movement soon caught on among the commoners in Kibenga's camp and thousands begun following it.( Similar movements had emerged in the same region, including one led by a man whose preaching about his reflationary dreams of a small child telling him that God was going to punish the baKongo if they did not occupy Sao Salvador as quickly as possible, and another led by a woman called Apollonia Mafuta, who recounted a vision in which Jesus was angry at King Pedro and his subjects for not coming down from his capital to restore the city. She took her message to king Pedro's capital and and was invited by the king, who chose not to arrest her, despite the advice of Father Bernardo; who was the capuchin priest active in Pedro's court at the time.( Dona Beatriz was born in 1684 to a minor noble family, unlike all baKongo of her status who received their education early in their youth, she was only partially literate. Sure about her religious gifts, she joined an (informal) religious society and became one among many informal minor religious figures in Kongo whom people attimes consulted (outside the formal Church practice) for social remedies —but in a Christian context. She got married under traditional custom, but later divorced —which was permissible in Kongo as long as the marriage hadn't advanced to the stage of being formally united by the priest.( _**Illustration of a Capuchin priest performing a catholic wedding in Soyo, Kongo kingdom, 1747**_ * * * **Beatriz’s Antonian movement** Late in 1704, Beatriz fell ill and is said to have led to her death and rebirth as saint Anthony. Her first action was to go straight to King Pedro's residence and rebuke him for not occupying the capital and not ending the wars, saying if he lacked the will to restore the city, she would do it herself. She also denounced Father Bernado as a _**ndoki**_, who didn't want baKongo saints like Mafuta and herself because of his jealousy.( Beatriz preached against all forms of greed and jealousy and the misuse of _**kindoki**_ by the capuchin priests and some of the baKongo. Her preaching mostly revolved around three main points; that saint Anthony (Kongo's patron saint) was the most important saint in Kongo's church; secondly, that Jesus was angry with the baKongo for not reoccupying the old capital; thirdly, she urged her followers to be happy since her rebirth as saint Anthony meant that the baKongo could have saints.( Her message begun to be received by some of the baKongo commoners who were questioning the activities of the capuchins, the latter of whom, since their damaged reputation over the protocol incident, had doubled down in exaggerating their clerical credentials by attimes claiming special privileges in religious matters solely because the saints were of European origin. This was in direct opposition to the baKongo's image of the non-partisan saints who had no living descendants/relatives (whether European or baKongo) and the capuchin's bold claims were therefore very poorly received.( In direct response to the capuchins, Beatriz reinterpreted the nativity story by saying that the event took place in Kongo's capital Sao Salvador, that the infant Christ was baptized in the city of Nsudi and that st. Anthony was from the Vunda lineage of Kongo's nobles. She also made a new commentary on the Marian hymn 'Salve Regina' by providing its full translation into kikongo, and emphasizing the status of st. Anthony in it. ( She also elaborated on the question of race in a novel way using a colour scheme that fitted baKongo concepts. She contended that since white was considered the colour of the deceased; who were thought of as dwelling around bodies of water where white rocks called fuma were found, that the the Europeans could thus be identified as originating from fuma. And since black was considered the colour of the living world and associated with life, and since the black-coloured cloth worn in Kongo came from the Nsanda tree, she thus identified the tree with the origin of the baKongo. The blood of Christ was on the other hand, identified as originating from the takula wood, which produced the red dye used in Kongo's marriages.( Beatriz’s novel conception of race had been directly influenced by the capuchin's attempts to introduce and then leverage their European concepts of race in Kongo's church politics. Its difficult to tell if either the capuchin's concepts of race or Beatriz's had any lasting impact, as the baKongo's understanding of “race” (or rather; population groups) was not based on skin colour, but on their geographic origin. For example, the Europeans who had arrived on whale-like ships were called _**mundele**_ (ie; whale) rather than _**mpembe**_ which meant white.( The term m_**pembe**_ was instead associated with the world of the ancestors and was only rarely conflated with (living) Europeans whose lands many baKongo envoys had been to. The conflation between _**mpembe**_ spirits and Europeans was only reported in regions where European presence was rare, unlike in Kongo.( _**Procession of faithfuls in angola, by Giovanni Antonio Cavazzi c. 1668**_ * * * **Beatriz’s pilgrimage through Kongo and the prophetess’ capital** King Pedro referred Beatriz to the capuchin priest Father Bernardo for examination, sending his own secretary and relative Miguel de Castro who was also a church master (a high position among laypeople), to reassure Beatriz of her security. Beatriz's teachings were examined by Bernardo whose angry rhetorical line of questioning ended with him strongly reprimanding both her and de Castro (for supporting her). Bernardo was convinced she was possessed by the devil following his European interpretation, while de Castro thought she could have been possessed by st. Anthony following his Kongo interpretation. Bernado reported about his interview with Beatriz to king Pedro, but the latter skillfully rebuffed the priest's advice to arrest her, by reminding the priest about Kongo's precarious political realities.( Beatriz then took her movement across Kongo, first going to da Cruz Barbosa's camp, who nearly had her executed had it not for king Pedro instructing him against it, she then went to the rival king Joao's capital —ostensibly to acquire a relic, but she was eventually expelled (although not before claiming to have acquired the relic), she had nevertheless gathered a large following from among the commoners that were subjects of both regions, who then chose to travel with her to re-occupy Kongo's capital.( Beatriz reoccupied Sao Salvador in November 1704, symbolically accomplishing what Pedro had failed to do. King Pedro's captain general Kibenga, whose camp was near the city, seized the opportunity to support Beatriz's followers with supplies and thus effectively rebelled against his king. Beatriz sent some of her followers as disciples called 'little Anthonys' across Kongo to preach her message; which was received by the commoners but rejected by the nobles. The effect of the little Anthonys soon became disruptive to the clergy's work and the baKongo begun breaking their well-established sacrament of baptism, because her message was that God knew people's intention in their hearts. More followers flocked to the capital such that its population had nearly recovered its height in the early 17th century.( As the movement acquired a political character, king Pedro begun to move against it. Gradually descending from his capital in 1705-1706, he advanced against the Sao Salvador-based followers of Beatriz and against his rebel general Kipenga who guarded them. During this time, Beatriz had developed a relationship with one of her followers named Barro (a sort of second in command) and was pregnant in mid-1705 giving birth in early 1706. This birth however, greatly undermined her religious standing especially in contrast to the reputedly chaste capuchins.( _**Bernado’s sketch of Beatriz Kimpa Vita**_ _**figures of st. Anthony and the infant christ made by baKongo artists; (Minneapolis institute of art, Met museum). The first figure depicts the saint with a netted cape typically reserved for Kongo nobility, while the latter places the saint on a traditional kongo staff of office.**_ * * * **Beatriz’s death and the rebirth of Kongo** When Queen Ana's envoys to king Pedro discovered the couple and their baby, they took the trio to king Pedro, who after several days of deliberating with his council and the capuchin priest Bernado, decided that Beatriz and Barro were to be burned at the stake( , while the baby was to be adopted by another family. On her part, Beatriz believed she was only guilty of not being chaste but maintained that she innocent with regards to her message, in which she was steadfast to her death on 2nd July, 1706.( King Pedro launched his final assault against Kibenga’s army in Sao Salvador in February 1709, allying with the forces of Queen Ana's successor Alvaro to create a large army of 20,000 soldiers, they defeated Kibenga's army and permanently occupied the capital. Pedro then moved his forces north to the rival king Joao II's territory and they defeated the latter's forces, giving Pedro control over most of Kongo's core territories( . Recognizing the permanence of Kongo's irreconcilable royal houses, king Pedro arranged for a rotation of Kings from both the Kinlaza and Kimpazu houses, which would remain in place for much of the 18th century, and the city retained its symbolic importance well into the 20th century; when it was renamed Mbanza Kongo.( Sao Salvador remained the capital of the restored kingdom largely due to Beatriz's movement, some of its ruined churches were rebuilt and its population was estimated to be about 35,000 in the mid 18th century( . Besides restoring the capital, Beatriz's most visible legacy was in the further indigenization of Kongo’s Christianity as seen in the visual and material manifestations of her movement. The years following her movement saw the emergence of the artistic representation of crucifixes with stylized depictions of Jesus wearing Kongolese clothing, as well as various figures of st Anthony dressed as a Kongo noble, and depictions of baKongo in praying stances. ( _**Kongo crucifixes from the 18th/19th century (minneapolis institute of art, private collection) depicting Jesus and ancillary figures wearing Kongo’s mpu caps**_( _**, the second figure of Jesus wears a loincloth resembling Kongo’s libongo textile patterns.**_ _**19th century Ivory staff finial (quai branly 73.1991.1.1 D) depicting Kongo figures in praying and crucifixion stances, Saint Anthony on an 18th century Kongo crucifix (metropolitan museum)**_ _**the cathedral of Sao Salvador in Mbanza Kongo, Angola, built in the mid-16th century and currently the only ruin left of the original city, it was restored several times including during Beatriz’s occupation of the city in 1704-6**_( _**.**_ * * * **Conclusion: positioning the Antonian movement and Kongo’s church in African history** Beatriz's movement shows that far from being a divisive foreign intrusion used by the "semi-colonial" elite but opposed by the rest of the people, Kongo's church was a fully indigenous institution situated at the center of the baKongo's identity. It was baKongo commoners and peasants who joined Beatriz’s politico-religious movement to protect the independence of their unique Christian tradition against their seemingly passive rulers and interloping clergy. Beatriz's decisive role in the restoration of the kingdom of Kongo and the legacy of her religious movement, makes her one of the most influential women in African history, and her story highlights the often overlooked but salient contribution of women in **African religions**. * * * Is Jared Diamond’s **“GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL”** a work of monumental ambition? or a collection of speculative conjecture and unremarkable insights. My review **Jared Diamond myths about Africa history** on Patreon ( * * * **If you liked this article, or would like to contribute to my African history website project; please donate on my Paypal** ( * * * Thanks for reading African History Extra! for free to receive new posts and you can contact me via **[email protected]**. ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 205-208) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 95-98) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 99-104) ( There’s no disambiguation that shows where exactly the slaves sold at each port came from, but the port of Ambriz which was in Kongo’s territory wasn’t exporting any slaves until 1786; this figure is taken from “The Atlantic Slave Trade from Angola by Daniel Domingues da Silva”, pg 121 ( i’m using baKongo for simplicity, the correct word is _**Essikongo**_. baKongo simply means speakers of the kikongo language and not all of them were under the kongo kingdom ( Slavery and its transformation in Kongo by LM Heywood ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 91-92) ( Afro-Christian syncretism in the Kingdom of Kongo by J.K.thornton pg 56-59) ( Kongo political culture by Wyatt MacGaffey pg 141, 12) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 117) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg 108) ( Afro-Christian syncretism in the Kingdom of Kongo by J.K.thornton pg 63-65) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 124-125) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 88, 113) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 105) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 107-109) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 17, 54-56, 28) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg pg 110-111) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 112) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 113) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 114-117) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 160-161) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 27) ( Kongo political culture by Wyatt MacGaffey pg pg 27-29) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 120-128) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton 134-137) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 140-154 ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 163-7) ( this could be the only documented case of this sort of punishment in kongo; it was likely influenced by the capuchins since it was still popular in europe at the time, only being outlawed in Britain in 1790 ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 168-183) ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg pg 197-202) ( A History of West Central Africa to 1850 by John Thornton pg pg 245) ( Africa's Urban Past By R. Rathbone pg 75 ( The Art of Conversion by Cécile Fromont pg 75-108) ( The Art of Conversion by Cécile Fromont pg 94 ( The Kongolese Saint Anthony by John Thornton pg 157.

# One Woman's Mission to Unite a Divided Kingdom: Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Restoration of Kongo (1704-1706) ## 1. Background of the Kingdom of Kongo - **Historical Context**: The Kingdom of Kongo was established over 600 years ago in central Africa and developed a unique Christian tradition influenced by Iberian culture while remaining an independent regional power. - **Religion**: Christianity was adopted on the kingdom's terms, integrating local customs and practices to create a distinct Catholic identity. ## 2. Division of the Kingdom - **Civil War**: By 1678, the Kingdom of Kongo was plunged into a civil war between two powerful dynasties: the Kinlaza and Kimpanzu. - **Consequences**: The civil war caused significant loss of life, destabilization, agricultural destruction, and increased slave trade—Kongo contributed nearly half of the slaves shipped from Luanda between 1700-1709. ## 3. The Role of Kongo's Church - **Church Structure**: The church was an indigenous institution since 1491, shaped by Kongo's monarchs and laypeople, ensuring that Catholicism was integrated into local traditions. - **Clerical Dynamics**: Despite foreign priests’ involvement, local baKongo retained control over church practices until the church's authority was challenged during the civil war. ## 4. Emergence of Beatriz Kimpa Vita - **Beatriz's Background**: Born in 1684 into a minor noble family, she had limited formal education but became known for her religious insights. - **Visionary Claims**: In late 1704, Beatriz claimed to have a vision of Mary, urging the Kongo people to seek mercy from Jesus and restore the capital, leading to a burgeoning movement among commoners. ## 5. The Antonian Movement - **Key Teachings**: Beatriz preached three main points: 1. Saint Anthony was the most important saint in Kongo's church. 2. Jesus was angry with the baKongo for not restoring the capital. 3. Her “rebirth” as Saint Anthony signified that baKongo could now have their saints. - **Cultural Impact**: Beatriz’s teachings reinterpreted Christian narratives, positioning Kongo’s capital as pivotal in Christian history. ## 6. Political Ramifications of Beatriz’s Movement - **Political Support**: Her movement received support from various factions, including disillusioned soldiers and commoners, leading to the reoccupation of São Salvador in November 1704. - **Resistance to Authority**: King Pedro IV viewed her growing influence as a threat, particularly given its challenge to the established clerical order and the authority of the king. ## 7. Conflict and Beatriz’s Downfall - **Growing Tensions**: As Beatriz gathered followers, King Pedro began to see her movement as a direct challenge to his authority. - **Arrest and Execution**: In early July 1706, after being discovered with her partner and their newborn, Beatriz was tried and executed by burning, while her child was taken away. ## 8. Aftermath of Beatriz's Death - **Restoration of Kongo**: Following her death, King Pedro launched a military campaign to unify Kongo, achieving significant victories against rival factions. - **Legacy**: Beatriz’s movement indigenized Kongo’s Christian practice, influencing the artistic representation of Christian figures, incorporating Kongo cultural elements. ## 9. Significance of Beatriz Kimpa Vita - **Cultural and Religious Impact**: Beatriz’s actions underscore the role of women in shaping religious and political movements within African history. - **Historical Recognition**: She is remembered not only as a prophetess but also as a pivotal figure in the resistance against colonial and foreign religious authority, solidifying her place in African history. This structured narrative presents a clear and factual chronicle of Beatriz Kimpa Vita's role in the restoration of the Kingdom of Kongo, outlining key events, their significance, and the broader historical context.