The Mali Empire (North Africa) and the Swahili Coast (East Africa) were both medieval civilizations in Africa that had similarities and differences throughout their reigns largely due to geography. One of the main similarities between the two is the fact that they were both resource-rich empires who used trading to their advantage. Mali had a lot of natural resources such as gold, salt, copper, and ivory. They got their main source of income from trading and selling these resources throughout the Sahara. The Swahili Coast also was also very fruitful; the merchant class traded things from the interior of Africa to traders from Arabia and India.
An area that was changed due to this, was the city of Timbuktu. It is located about 12 miles North of the southern edge of the River Niger. Subsequent to the pilgrimage, Timbuktu was transformed into a cultural center of the Mali Empire. Trade elevated immensely during this time and as the population grew, a university was created to educate the newcomers. Islam was spread through the merchants and by teachers at the University.
In Medieval Africa, many kingdoms generated wealth and trade throughout Africa. They were supported by salt and gold and were connected by Islam. In Africa, medieval empires traded gold among themselves through the use of Islam, and the use of geographical features to extend their transregional networks of trade. Gold was abundant throughout Africa, which led to wealth throughout the medieval empires. Islam was the basis for the spread of gold in various regions.
In Africa during the Post-Classical era, 600-1450 CE, the Saharan was no longer a barren wasteland hardly suitable for travel, but, an essential part of both North African and Sub-Saharan West African societies. Camels and caravans allowed for quicker and more effective traveling. With trading becoming increasingly popular in this area, it provided the resources to build new and larger political structures. During this era, Africa’s economy began to change and the western part of Sub-Saharan was no different. With the Trans-Saharan trade routes ability to increase with the help of wealthier Islamic states, it allowed for the spread of religious and political ideas such as larger empires and the Islamic faith in which both greatly influenced
Mali became a site of cultural exchange because of its riches and its grand expansion due to trade . Mali is located in the interior west Africa and is mostly flat and has plains covered by sand. Many merchants and traders would travel to Mali for one reason-gold. Gold was one of the many reasons that made Mali a cultural exchange because of how expensive it was . Mali was a place where “ products, ideas, and technologies were shared between people from different cultures and parts of the world.”
Finally, religion was another important cause why Mali became a site of cultural exchange. Throughout trade, merchants brought different religions, and because Mali became a trade center, Mali could adopt diverse religions like Islam. Mansa Musa found Islam very interesting, and he decided to make it Mali’s main religion. Other religions were also allowed, as the Mansa didn’t force people to convert directly to Islam. Instead, people to have their own cultures but encouraged them to use Islam in someway.
Gold trade was a major benefactor that led up to this cultural mixing. Islamic migration brought coral architecture which displayed houses of made of huge blocks of coral. This was very different to the usually mud stone bricks created traditionally in Africa. With Islam control much of the middle east it helped link Africa and India where merchants could sail boats to the Arabian peninsula or to the horn of Africa with multiple stops on the way. Swahili was on the coast allowing it to have many port towns that opened trade into Africa and accepted India goods.
The societies of West Africa, Europe, and North America exhibited similarities and differences in their religious beliefs, values, and government systems. These contrasts and similarities were further made apparent during European expansion across the Atlantic and the subsequent new cross cultural interactions that were created. One way in which the societies of West Africa, Europe, and North America diverged was in their belief systems. Unlike Europe and North America, West Africa gradually adopted Islam in addition to its traditional religions. Islam diffused through the trans-Saharan trade with North Africa and by the 1200’s was assimilated into the Mali and Songhai Empire.
Mansa Musa and his wealth was one reason Mali, lead to a site of cultural exchange, but Mali also became a site of cultural exchange because of the effects of trade, which also lead to spread of knowledge, ideas, and religion. Not only did Mali become a site of cultural exchange from the effects
As for salt, it was seen as a major resource for its nutritional and preservation qualities. It was a vital resource that these Mali people used. The Niger river allowed the Mali empire to trade easily, as the current would calmly drift them into other civilizations. Both empires also utilized camels as the river was not always accessible. All in all these trade routes allowed these civilizations to expand their wealth, and distance of trade.
Mansa Musa, who ruled from 1312 to 1337 CE (often referred to as “the golden age of the Mali Empire”), was the tenth mansa, or king, of the Mali Empire, which was located in the Sahara Desert and “stretched across two thousand miles from the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Chad” (Alkhateeb; Tesfu). In 1324 CE, Musa, a Muslim ruler, decided to begin his pilgrimage to Mecca, called the Hajj, which is the fifth pillar of Islam. Mansa Musa’s visit to Cairo, Egypt during his Hajj to Mecca had an incredibly negative impact on the economy in Egypt for over a decade. Mahmud Kali, a native scholar and Islamic judge of Timbuktu, provided insight into Mansa Musa’s initial reason for deciding to set out on his pilgrimage to Mecca: Muhammad Quma, a scholar, had told Kali that “the Mali-koy Kankan Musa had killed his mother, Nana Kankan, by mistake. For this he felt deep regret and remorse and feared
The biggest impact of Mansa Musa's journey was in Mali itself, which became a religious and educational place based on the amount of exceptional people Mansa Musa recruited upon his return. He instituted mosques at Timbuktu and Gao. During his reign, Timbuktu became an important trade stop for caravans in the region, and an educational center that evolved into a university where history, law and theology were supported by royal funds. His influence on his people was to instill Islam into their lives, so much that his subjects became educated in religious and secular matters.
Before the 1500 ce Africa had many trades, cultures, and also some encounters with Islam. In 1000 ce Islam invaded the West African State, in Dr. Mayers, 2012 study of Africa he stated that the spread of Islam revealed the power of the religion, commercial, and also the military qualities. Many civilizations were being change without being close to at least one Islamic statement. Islam had spread so much in Africa that Islamization had served to connect with Africa and connected more with the outside world through trade, religion, and
Mansa Musa, king of the Malian empire, in specific was a large influence on the religion of the population. Other pieces of Muslim architecture, such as the great Mosque of Djenne, are evidence of the religion’s dominance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Along the Indian Ocean trade routes, we also see Islam as a dominant religion, but there is much more of a variety. Evidence of Islam in Eastern Africa can be found in the language itself. Swahili, the dominant language of the region, is influenced heavily by Arabic.
The Berbers was willing to trade due to sharing the same religion. Since the Berbers were willing to trade, the empire grew richer. Sunni Ali, an important emperor, partnered in Muslim and local religions to build religious
