Islam Spreads: Mali & Delhi

Background for Mali• Indigenous African dynasty earlier

adopted Islam through peaceful influence of Muslim merchants & scholars in the 7th century

• Islam gradually spread to lands south of the Sahara, which Arabs called bilad alsudan (Land of the Blacks)

• Muslim Berbers invading from the desert caused collapse of Ghana in 1076– Did little to spread Islam

• Attacks destroyed Christian Nubian kingdoms in late 13th century– Opened area to Muslim influences– Christian Ethiopia withstood Muslim

advances

• Usually spread south of the Sahara through peaceful conversion

• Takrur became first sub-Saharan African state to adopt Islam, c.1030– Expanded in 1200s under King Sumanguru– Defeated by Sundiata, leader of the Malinke – Both leaders professed Islam– Sundiata created Mali Empire

Sundiata’s Empire• Depended on agricultural

base & control of trade routes (like Ghana did before)

• Mali had greater area than Ghana did– Trading area of upper

Niger River– Gold fields of Niger

headwaters

• Rulers fostered Islam among empire’s political & trading elites

Mansa Kankan Musa• 1280-1337• Empire’s reputation for wealth spread• Made pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324-25

– Fulfilled personal duty as Muslim– Also displayed wealth– Traveled with large entourage

• Senoir wife+ 500 ladies in waiting & slaves• 60,000 porters• Vast caravan of camels carrying supplies• Brought 80 packages of gold for gifts,

depressing value of gold in Cairo for years!

• Built new mosques• Opened Qur’an schools • Reported “complete and general

safety” in his & his successor’s empire

Fall of Mali

• Rebellions broke out among diverse peoples• Other groups attacked from the outside• Tuareg people retook Timbuktu in 1433• Rulers held little more than the Malinke heartland by

1500• Cities of the upper Niger River survived• Some trade and intellectual life moved east to the

central Sudan– Rulers of some Hausa city-states adopted Islam after 1450– Took on importance as manufacturing & trading centers– Kanem-Bornu expanded in late 15th century, also

spreading Islam

Delhi Sultanate 1206-1526• Gupta Empire fell in 550CE, leaving India

in divided states– Prey to raids by Afghan warlords beginning in

11th century– Turkish dynasty captured northern cities of

Lahore & Delhi by end of 12th century– Adventurers from Central Asia flocked to join

invading armies, overwhelming small Indian states

• Muslim invaders extended rule over Hindu princes & chiefs from 1206-1236– Not a peaceful transition– Destroyed Hindu images & temples

• Sultan Iltutmish consolidated conquest in series of military expeditions– Largest realm in India– Secured official recognition of the Delhi

Sultanate as a Muslim state by the caliph of Baghdad

– Transitioned from brutal conquerors to benign rulers

Incorporation of Islam• Brutal Conquerors

– Turkish sultan Mahmud invaded in late 900s• Raided Hindu towns and temples• Slaughtered & enslaved thousands• Broke power of local rulers

– Also despised Buddhist idol worship & sacked major centers– Previous invaders assimilated into prevalent social system– Refused to allow temples to be rebuilt– Muslim conquerors retained Islamic identity

• Created new legal & administrative system• Challenged or superseded existing system of social conduct & ethics

– Turkish rulers were a small minority, relying on terror to keep subjects submissive• Never lost disadvantage of being of foreign origin & different religion

• Benign Rulers– Freed Hindus from persecution in return for special tax– Sultans later promised religious toleration – Hindus never forgot intolerance & destruction of first invaders

Fall of Delhi• Muslim nobles challenged

sultan’s dominion in mid-14th century– Established independent Bahmani

kingdom on the Deccan Plateau– Hindu states of south India formed

Vijayanagar Empire

• Bengal broke away 1338• 1351 – rebellion in North India• Gujarat regained independence

by 1390• 1398 – Timur sacked Delhi

– Sultanate never recovered

• Continued until 1526, when last sultanate was replaced by the Mughal Dynasty