Southeast Asiaand

the West African Empires

HIST 100712/2/13

Spread of Islam

• Concentration on the coast• Establishment of mosques and madrassas in port

cities• Conversion of local kings who use Islam to bolster

authority• Trading states established by foreigners from the Muslim world

Grand Mosque of Demak, Indonesia,15th century

Islam and Politics• Local rulers looking to attract Muslim merchants• Access to firearms• Jihad and resistance to older empires• Islamization integrated with existing identities• Token changes:

– Arabic names– Mosques– Renouncing pork

• Older traditions:– Local languages– Local spirits and gods– Homage to ancestral spirits– Traditional arts

Kampung Laut Mosque, Kelantan, Malaysia,Early 18th century

Foreign and Local Muslims• Foreign merchants marry into ruling families

– Diplomatic ties– Wealth– International networks

• Muslim rulers attract Muslim merchants– Mosques– Protection of rights

• Foreign merchants gain foothold in local economies• Local rulers gain international connections

Kotagede Mosque, Indonesia

Missionaries and Merchants

• Trade pays for missionary work– How did Ibn Battuta pay for his travels?

• Access to rulers and local merchants• Sufis and syncretism• Kyai – expert in Islam• Pondoks and pesantren – madrasas• Islam as unifier across ethno-linguistic and geographic lines

Traditional Javanese shadow puppet of a kyai

Islam and Empire on Java• Java – island in modern Indonesia• Majapahit Empire (r. 1293-1527) – Largest empire in the history of SE Asia

– Empire of the sea – ruling over vassal islands– Hindu-Buddhist – Encouraged connections with Muslim merchants

• 1513-1528 – coalition of Muslim kingdoms based in ports overthrow Majapahit

Gate of Majapahit capital at Trowulan, Indonesia

Islam and Empire on Java

• Banten Sultanate (r. 1527-1813) – rule central and western Java

• Mataram Sultanate (r. 1588-1755) – rule central and eastern Java

• Local princes brought under centralized authority• Islamic institutions brought under state control• 1619 – Dutch establish colony at Batavia

Great Mosque of Banten, Indonesia

Islam and Mataram• Use Islam to unite Muslim ports, but only cosmetic• Hindu – Buddhist – Islamic conceptions of the state• Performance of Kingship• Authority derived from God• Wahyu – divine radiance

– Power necessary for legitimacy– Created through Yogic mediation– Channeled through public ritual– Concentrated in heirlooms

• Priyayi – nobility differentiated from commoners by halus or ritual etiquette and ethics

Pepper and Colonialism

• “Spice Islands”• 1515 – Portuguese conquer Malacca• 1619 – Dutch establish colony at Batavia• Control trade – naval dominance• Create monopolies – remove foreign competition• Extract tribute – push cash crops

Islam in Africa

• North Africa• Sub-Saharan Africa• Sahel and Sudan• West Africa – Western Sudan• East Africa –Swahili Coast

Griots and Oral Tradition

Foreign Merchants

Trans Saharan Trade and Islam• 7th-8th centuries - Conquest of North Africa and conversion of

the Berbers• Moroccan trading towns (Sijilmassa, Tahert, etc.) become

centers for spreading Islam• 9th century – conversion of Mauritanian Berbers• 10th century – Muslim merchants established in Awdaghust (Mauritania) and Tadmekaa (Mali)• 11th century – Muslim advisors at courts of West African rulers

Archaeological site at Tadmekaa

Trans Saharan Trade

Gold-Salt Trade

States in Early Islamic West Africa

• Small agricultural villages and herding communities

• Integrated into larger tribal and linguistic groups• States – a tribal elder, warrior, or priest

establishes control over multiple communities• Not about territory, about extracting taxes,

raising troops, and receiving recognition• Reinforcing networks

Early African States

Ghana Empire (r. ca. 400 – ca. 1200)

• 9th – 10th centuries – rival with Moroccan Berbers over control of Trans Saharan trade

• 10th – 11th centuries – Islam adopted by ruling family to strengthen commercial bonds

• Islam as imperial cult• Islam as religion of elites• Traditional beliefs dominate agricultural populationsRuins of Kumbi-Saleh, capital of the GhanaEmpire, presently in Mauritania

Mali Empire (r. ca. 1230-ca. 1600)• 11th century - Almoravids overwhelm Ghana• ca. 1230 – Sunjata (r. 1230-55) expands his authority to fill

void• Adoption of Ghanaian notions of kingship• Mansa – “conqueror,” title of Malian kings• Construction of mosques• Royal participation in public prayer

Sankore Madrasa, Timbuktu, Mali

Great Mosque of Jenne