AFRICA

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AFRICA

• http//www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/wsem/hd_wsem.htm

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The Empires of the Western Sudan

• The area known as the western Sudan encompasses
  the broad expanse of savanna that stretches
  between the vast Sahara Desert to the north and
  the tropical rain forests of the Guinea coast to
  the south
• The medieval empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai
  that controlled the western Sudan had no fixed
  geopolitical boundaries or singular ethnic or
  national identities.

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The first camel caravans arrived from northern
Africa (third to fourth century A.D.).

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Empire of Ghana

• Ghana was said to possess sophisticated methods
  of administration and taxation, large armies, and
  a monopoly over notoriously well-concealed gold
  mines. The king of the Soninke people who founded
  Ghana never fully embraced Islam, but good
  relations with Muslim traders were fostered.

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Ghana Empire, 5th-11th century
Land of Gold
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8th century Islamic Cities
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The Empire of Mali in the 14th century.
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Empire of Mali

• In the early thirteenth century, the exiled
  prince Sundiata Keita ("the hungering lion") led
  a Mande revolt against the powerful Soso king.
• After Sundiata, the most famous ruler of the Mali
  empire is Mansa Musa I, who came to power several
  decades after the death of his legendary
  predecessor. Musa was not the first emperor of
  Mali to embrace Islam
• Musa's hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) of 132425 --
  lavish wealth and generosity that the Malian king
  displayed during his stopover in Egypt.
  Accompanied by an enormous entourage, Musa
  apparently dispensed so much gold in Cairo that
  the precious metal's value plummeted and did not
  recover for several years thereafter

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Map drawn in Spain and dated to 1375, showing
the king of Mali holding a gold nugget. Image
courtesy of the British Library. The original is
held by the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.
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Ibn Battuta

• The fourteenth-century traveler Ibn Battuta
  visited ancient Mali a few decades after Musa's
  death and was much impressed by the peace and
  lawfulness he found strictly enforced there. The
  Mali empire extended over an area larger than
  western Europe and consisted of numerous vassal
  kingdoms and provinces. Following Mansa Musa's
  death, Mali went into a long decline, shrinking
  to the size of its original territory by 1645.

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http//www.metmuseum.org/explore/symbols/html/el_s
ymbols_index.htm

• Mother and Child,
• 15th20th centuryMali
• Bamana peoples Wood H. 48 3/8 in.
• (123.5 cm)

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Songhai Empire
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15th-16th century

• It began to rise in 1464 when Sonni Ali Ber came
  to power. Sonni cAli conquered much of the
  weakening Mali empire's territory as well as
  Timbuktu, famous for its Islamic universities and
  the pivotal trading city of Jenne.
• Following Sonni cAli's death, Muslim factions
  rebelled against his successor and installed
  Askia Muhammad (formerly Muhammad Ture) as the
  first ruler of the Askia dynasty (14921592).
  Under the Askias, the Songhai empire reached its
  zenith, Timbuktu and Jenne flourished as centers
  of Islamic learning, and Islam was actively
  promoted.

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Art of Mali

• Ring with Equestrian Figure,
• 19th20th centuryMali Dogon peoplesCopper
  alloyGift of Andre Nasser,
• 1981 (1981.425.1)

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The Mosque at Jenna
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