Between 1200 and 1500 the richest Muslim states outside the Islamic heartland were the Mali Empire in the western Sudan and the Delhi Sultanate in India. Enjoying a well-developed agricultural base, Mali controlled the transSaharan trade routes as well as the trading areas of the upper Niger River and the gold fields to the southwest. Such economic advantages provided extraordinary wealth to the Mali Empire and its rulers—as documented, for example, by the pilgrimage to Mecca of Mansa Musa, who brought with him hundreds of courtiers, thousands of porters and slaves, and a staggering quantity of gold.
In contrast to the Mali Empire, which was founded by native African peoples who had earlier adopted Islam on their own initiative, the Delhi Sultanate was created by invading Turkish and Afghan Muslims who showed little tolerance for native religions. Hindu and Buddhist temples were raided for their gold and jewels, women were kidnapped and enslaved, and the Indians who resisted them were killed by the thousands. The Sultan Iltutmish consolidated the conquest of northern India and secured official recognition of the Delhi Sultanate as a Muslim state by the caliph of Baghdad.
Indian Ocean trade expanded greatly after 1200, giving rise to a number of prosperous ports and city-states: Kilwa on the Swahili Coast, Aden at the entrance to the Red Sea, Gujarat in western India, and Malacca at the entrance to the South China Sea. The characteristic ship of the Arabian Sea was the dhow, which followed the coasts from India to East Africa and had a capacity of between 100 and 400 tons. Merchants traveling between India and Southeast Asia, on the other hand, used the junk, capable of carrying a cargo of over 1,000 tons. A huge variety of goods were transported, bought, and sold: gold, ivory, cotton, silk, spices, horses—and slaves.
Life at such urban trading centers was necessarily less repressive and more tolerant of cultural diversity than it would have been for many who lived near centers of imperial power. If we accept ibn Battuta’s account, Sultan Tughluq’s concern for the welfare of his subjects was so small—and his ego so great—that he banished the whole citizenry of Delhi after receiving “letters full of insults.” Ibn Battuta was interested in social customs as much as the personalities and behavior of the rulers he visited, and his narrative clearly shows the dominant role played by cultural norms in determining perceptions of social justice. Although he finds much to praise about Mali society (the value placed on public safety, the respect shown to the property of foreigners) ibn Battuta condemns those aspects of social life which violate his own cultural norms (the public nakedness of women).
S Online Study Center Wage the Test
How did environmental differences shape cultural differences in tropical Africa and Asia?
Under what circumstances did the first Islamic empires arise in Africa and India?
How did cultural and ecological differences promote trade, and in turn how did trade and other contacts promote state growth and the spread of Islam?
What social and cultural changes are reflected in the history of peoples living in tropical Africa and Asia during this period?
By 1500 tropical Africa and Asia contained nearly 40 percent of the world’s population but just over a quarter of its habitable land. Living in every type of ecosystem, from lush rain forests to arid deserts, tropical peoples had become intimately familiar with their environments, learning not merely to survive but also to prosper in them. African pastoralists tended herds of domesticated animals in dry regions, while in Asia the more favorable soil and rainfall enabled farmers to cultivate rice, as well as grains and legumes.
The period from 1200 to 1500 saw the rise of the first powerful Islamic states outside the Middle East. Chief among these were the Delhi Sultanate, which brought South Asia its greatest political unity since the decline of the Guptas, and the Mali Empire in the western Sudan, which extended the political and trading role pioneered by Ghana. Mali was founded by an indigenous African dynasty that had earlier adopted Islam, while invading Turkish and Afghan Muslims founded the Delhi Sultanate.
Of greatest importance to the spread of Islam throughout tropical Africa and Asia was the Indian
Ocean, which directly connected lands as distant as North and East Africa, Arabia, India, and Southeast Asia. Having mastered the seasonal monsoons, merchant sailors made the Indian Ocean the world’s most important and richest trading area. A host of Muslim city-states arose: Kilwa along the Swahili Coast, Aden at the entrance to the Red Sea, Gujarat in India, and Malacca at the entrance to the South China Sea.
With the enlargement of Islam’s presence in the tropical world came changes that could be brutal as well as beneficial. Slavery, common in many parts of the world at this time, was an integral part of commerce and social life. A woman’s status was largely determined by her father, husband, or owner, and women were generally precluded from holding important positions in religious or political life. Muslim culture in this period also brought great benefits, however. Owing to the centrality of the Quran in much of social life, there was a rise in literacy, first in Arabic but later in native languages as well. Centers of higher education arose where subjects such as mathematics, medicine, and science were significantly advanced.
World History
