"Examine the religious world of sub-Saharan Africa. What religions and religious concepts were prevalent? How was this religious world transformed by the establishment of trans-Saharan trade? "
AP World History Theme: Development and Interaction of Cultures
What religions and concepts were prevalent?
The most prevalent religion that was widespread throughout multiple states and empire was Islam. Many states such as Ghana had rulers who converted to Islam, which influenced their citizens to also convert to Islam, due to many benefits they would receive. When the Mali empire was formed, Islam spread throughout the empire after the rulers converted to Islam. Flourishing cities such as Niani and Timbuktu were centers for the Islamic religion, which can be highly attributed to the trade that occurred within the cities. Mansu Musa, a ruler of the Mali empire, traveled to Mecca in 1324 for religious pilgrimage, and among his return, he built mosques throughout the empire. The building of mosques in his empire influenced even more people to convert to Islam. Although not as prevalent, Christianity was also a practiced religion throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Christianity reached North Africa during the first century. A city in Egypt called Alexandria became a center for Christianity in north Africa, but other than than no other regions truly appealed to Christianity in Africa.
How was this religious world transformed by the establishment of trans-Saharan trade?
A revolutionary replacement occurred after 300 C.E, which changed trading throughout sub-Saharan Africa immensely. At this time, camels replaced horses & donkeys as the main animal used for means of transportation. The camels arouse many advantages, such as shortening the time it took to travel across land (which evolved into better communication throughout the land), as well as the fact that camels can remain stable without water over several days. This benefited the people because the camels was useful to cross the dry & arid landscape of Africa, influencing greater amounts of trade. Arab conquerors from sub-Saharan Africa traveled to north Africa to trade, in which they established their Islamic faith upon the people they met with. Islamic merchants had spread throughout most of Africa, developing commercial relations with all types of societies in which they influenced the Islamic religion. In the 5th of 6th century, Ghana developed as a state. The land was populated with nomadic camel riders who came out of the Sahara. In the future, Ghana developed into the most important commercial site in west Africa because it was the center for gold trade. Due to Ghana's commercial importance, it brought very high amounts of traders (primarily Islamic traders) throughout its land, which eventually influenced the overall religion of the land. By about the tenth century, Ghana had converted to Islam. Their conversion of religion lead to even more economic benefits, because this gave them improved relations with Muslim merchants from the north. By about 1230, Sundiata built the Mali empire, which became even larger than Ghana. Mali benefited even more from trans-Saharan trade, controlling and taxing nearly all trade in west Africa. Mali had many prosperous cities, such as Niani, which had high numbers of Islamic merchants/traders. The rulers and the majority of people in Mali converted to Islam due to the influence that they received throughout trading relations. These two examples prove the impact that trans-Saharan trade had on religion.
This map shows some of the trade routes that Islamic merchants took as they traveled to north Africa.
This video shows how the Islam and Christianity are still impacting sub-Saharan Africa today.
This is a Venn diagram I created using the online app "Lucid Chart" that explains modern aspects of both Christianity and Islam in Africa.
Bibliography
Bentley, Jerry H., Herbert F. Ziegler, and Heather E. Streets. Traditions and Encounters. a Brief Global History. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2008. Print.
"Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa."Pew Research Centers Religion Public Life Project RSS. N.p., 14 Apr. 2010. Web. 06 Nov. 2015. <http://www.pewforum.org/2010/04/15/executive-summary-islam-and-christianity-in-sub-saharan-africa/>.
"Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa."Pew Research Centers Religion Public Life Project RSS. N.p., 14 Apr. 2010. Web. 06 Nov. 2015. <http://www.pewforum.org/2010/04/15/executive-summary-islam-and-christianity-in-sub-saharan-africa/>.