Notes 

2.4: Trade Routes Throughout Trans-Saharan Africa

 

 

We have discussed various North African Empires and the Mongol Empire. Let’s dive deep into trade routes and empires throughout Trans-Saharan Africa. 

 

The Mali Empire (West Africa): The Mali Empire rose to power in the 1200s and replaced the already declining state of Ghana. The government of Mali would earn revenue by taxing all trade entering West Africa, specifically through gold and salt trade. 

• Mali’s founder, Sundiata (known as the Lion Prince) was a proud Muslim who utilized his faith to foster strong connections with North African and Arab merchants. This would allow him to develop a successful gold trade. 

• Mansa Musa, following in the footsteps of Sundiata, would go on to pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324. There, he demonstrated his empire’s wealth to the rest of the world. Upon his return, he would go on to transform the African city of Timbuktu into a respected center of Islamic learning. 

 

The Swahili city-states (East Africa): These East African coastal cities would serve as important trading hubs in the Indian Ocean Basin trade network. Cities like Kilwa, Zanzibar and Mombasa would go on to earn great profits by trading resources like ivory and gold and enslaved people in exchange for foreign goods like Indian cotton and Chinese porcelain. 

• An example of cultural syncretism occurring here would be evident in the term “Swahili” itself, which blends Arabic and Bantu cultures and languages. 

 

The Songhai Kingdom (West Africa): The Songhai Empire had gone on to replace Mali as the most powerful force throughout West Africa. It exemplifies a continuity as like the Mali empire,the Songhai maintained a strong Islamic identity. 

• In terms of administration, the Songhai Empire would go on to execute a similar process as the previous Mali empire, but would go on to accumulate more wealth by controlling Trans-Saharan trade routes.

 

Malacca in Southeast Asia would go on to establish itself as an influential Muslim city-state focused on controlling spice trade. Its strategic location allowing it to control the Strait of Malacca allowed its sultan to tax ships passing between India and China.