General History of Africa, Volume 4: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century

774 Pages·1984·45.02 MB·English

by  Djibril Tamsir Niane

GENERAL HISTORY OF AFRICA- IV
\frica from theTwelfth to the Sixteenth Century
UNESCO General History of Africa
Volume I Methodology and African Prehistory
(Editor J. Ki-Zerbo)
Volume II Ancient Civilizations of Africa
(Editor G. Mokhtar)
Volume III Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century
(Editor M. El Fasi)
(Assistant Editor I. Hrbek)
Volume IV Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century
(Editor D. T. Niane)
Volume V Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century
(Editor B. A. Ogot)
Volume VI Africa in the Nineteenth Century until the 1880s
(Editor J. F. A. Ajayi)
Volume VII Africa under Colonial Domination, 1880-1935
(Editor A. A. Boahen)
Volume VIII Africa since 1935
(Editor A. A. Mazrui)
(Assistant Editor C. Wondji)
UNESCO International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa
GENERAL HISTORY
OF AFRICA; IV
Africa from theTwelfth
to the Sixteenth Century
EDITOR D.T.N1ANE
HEINEMANN-CALIFORNIA-UNESCO
First published 1984 by the
United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization,
7 Place de Fontenoy, 75700 Paris
and
Heinemann Educational Books Ltd
22 Bedford Square, London WCiB 3HH
PMB 5205, Ibadan P.O. Box 45314, Nairobi
EDINBURGH MELBOURNE AUCKLAND
HONGKONG SINGAPORE KUALA LUMPUR
NEW DELHI KINGSTON PORT OF SPAIN
First published 1984
in the United States of America by the
University of California Press
2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley
California 94720, United States of America
Reprinted in 2000 by UNESCO Publishing
1 rue Miollis, 75732 PARIS Cedex 15, France
© UNESCO 1984
Heinemann Educational Books ISBN 0 435 94810 5
UNESCO ISBN 92-3-101-710-1
University of California Press ISBN 0-520-03915-7
Filmset in upt Monophoto Ehrhardt by
Northumberland Press Ltd, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear
Contents
List of figures ix
List of plates xi
Acknowledgements for plates xv
Preface xvii
A M A D O U - M A H T AR M'BOW, Director-General of Unesco
Description of the Project xxiii
B. A. OGOT, President of the International Scientific Committee for the
Drafting of a General History of Africa
Note on chronology xxvii
i Introduction i
D. T. NIANE
2 The unification of the Maghrib under the Almohads 15
0. SAIDI
3 The spread of civilization in the Maghrib and its impact on western
civilization 57
M. TALBI
4 The disintegration of political unity in the Maghrib 78
1. HRBEK
5 Society in the Maghrib after the disappearance of the
Almohads 102
R. IDRIS
6 Mali and the second Mandingo expansion 117
D. T. NIANE
7 The decline of the Mali empire 172
M. LY-TALL
8 The Songhay from the 12th to the 16th century 187
S. M. CISSOKO
9 The peoples and kingdoms of the Niger Bend and the Volta basin
from the 12th to the 16th century 211
M. IZARD
10 The kingdoms and peoples of Chad 238
D. LANGE
v
Contents
11 The Hausa and their neighbours in the central Sudan 266
M. ADAMU
12 The coastal peoples: from Casamance to the Ivory Coast lagoons 301
Y. PERSON
13 From the Ivory Coast lagoons to the Volta 324
P. KIPRE
14 From the Volta to Cameroon 339
A. F. C. RYDER
15 Egypt and the Muslim world 371
J. C. GARCIN
16 Nubia from the late 12th century to the Funj conquest in the early
15th century 398
L. KROPÁCEK
17 The Horn of Africa: the Solomonids in Ethiopia and the states of
the Horn of Africa 423
T. TAMRAT
18 The development of Swahili civilization 455
V. V. MATVEIEV
19 Between the coast and the great lakes 481
C. EHRET
20 The Great Lakes region 498
B. A. OGOT
21 The Zambezi and Limpopo basins: 1100-1500 525
B. M. FAGAN
22 Equatorial Africa and Angola: migrations and the emergence of the
first states 551
J. VANSINA
23 Southern Africa: its peoples and social structures 578
L. D. N G C O N G CO with the collaboration of J. Vansina
24 Madagascar and the neighbouring islands from the 12th to the 16th
century 597
F. ESOAVELOMANDROSO
25 Relationships and exchanges among the different regions 614
D. T. NIANE
26 Africa in inter-continental relations 635
J. DEVISSE with the collaboration ofS. Labib
Contents
27 Conclusion 673
D. T. NIANE
Members of the International Scientific Committee for the drafting of a
General History of Africa 687
Biographies of authors 689
Bibliography 692
Index 735
List of figures
2.1 The Maghrib during the i2th century-economic activities ¡6
2.2 The Almohad reconquest 33
4.1 Dismemberment of the Almohad empire 81
6.1 OldManding 128
6.1 Map of the site of the Niani excavation 138
6.3 Niani: plan of the sites in the Siguiri region 13g
6.4 Niani: station 1, a selection of types of pottery found in radiocarbon-dated
layers I—III 140
6.5 Niani: station 6D (Arab quarter), a selection of the pottery found in
radiocarbon-dated layers III—VI 141
6.6 Niani: station 6D (Arab quarter), a selection of ceramics from layers
I-IIb 142
6.7 Niani: station 1, a collection of spindle-whorls 143
6.8 Niani: station 32 (cemetery), a clay cup from burial mound no. 1 144
6.9 Genealogy of the mansas of Mali according to Ibn Khaldûn 147
6.10 The Mali empire, 1325 153
6.11 Main trans-Saharan routes in the 14th century 755
7.1 The states of the Sudan in the 16th century 17g
8.1 The Songhay empire towards the end of the 16th century J92
9.1 The Niger Bend and the Volta basin, 1100-1600 218
10.1 Simplified extract from the large map by al-Idrîsï (1154) after the recon
struction by K. Miller in Y. Kamal, Monumenta 3(4), p. 867 240
10.2 Simplified extract from the 'Shorter Idrïsï' (1192) after the reconstruction
by K. Miller, Mappe Arabicae, 1(3), p. 99 241
10.3 The Lake Chad area (Lake KOri) after the reconstruction of an extract
from the map by Ibn Sa'ïd 242
10.4 Peoples and kingdoms of Chad in the 14th century 25 j
10.5 Peoples and kingdoms of Chad in the 15th century 25g
10.6 Genealogy of the Sefuwa 26/
11.1 The Hausa and the other peoples of northern Nigeria 287
12.1 Upper Guinea in the 15th century 305
13.1 Archaeological sites at Aby lagoon 327
13.2 Akan migrations 333
13.3 Map of the area between the Niger valley and the Gulf of Guinea 336
14.1 Map of the area between the Volta and Cameroon, 1100-1500 340
14.2 Populations of the Niger delta 342
14.3 Schematic drawing of the bronze roped pot 35g
14.4 Sites oftheTsoede bronzes 368
15.1 The Near East during the Mamluk period 378
16.1 Nubia from the late 12th century until the Funj conquest at the beginning
of the 16th century 400
17.1 Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa 424
18.1 Internal and transoceanic trade in the coastal towns of East Africa between
the 12th and 15th centuries 458-g
ix
List of figures
18.2 Island and town of Kilwa 464
19.1 Probable approximate locations of peoples in the East African interior in the
12th century 4Q5
19.2 Probable approximate locations of peoples in the East African interior in
the 16th century 4Q6
20.1 Early migrations of the Luo 506
20.2 The Bachwezi and the immigrants 512
20.3 Kintu to Kimera 520
21.1 Sites and archaeological traditions mentioned in the text 526
21.2 Great Zimbabwe ruins 536
21.3 Great Zimbabwe: the Acropolis and the Great Enclosure 53 j
21.4 Pottery excavated from the later levels on the Acropolis, Great
Zimbabwe 538
21.5 Pottery excavated from Chedzugwe, Zimbabwe 545
21.6 Archaeological traditions and phases ¡4g
22.1 Central Africa, c. 1500 553
22.1 Archaeological sites of southern Africa, 1100-1500 584
23.2 Khoikhoi expansion 59/
24.1 Madagascar: migration streams and peopling $g8
24.2 Ambohitrikanjaka, Imerina 608
25.1 Circulation of men and techniques in West Africa 626
25.2 Central, East and Southern Africa, 1 ith-i5th centuries 62g
26.1 The world according to al-IdrîsT and Ibn Khaldün 638
26.2 Economic relations between places bordering the western Mediterranean
643
26.3 Search for African gold by European merchants, I2th-i5th centuries
644
26.4 Flow of African gold into the Muslim economy of North Africa 647
26.5 The Portuguese encirclement of Africa in the 15th century 663
x