Sub-Saharan Africa

In the Arabian peninsula, Islam had started. After Muhammad died, the Muslim community embarked on a series of military conquests that extended their control over much of Eurasia and north Africa. Muslim merchants also became a prominent figure in trade during this time. The Islamic empire extended to the Arabian Peninsula and many areas around it. These places were central in the Mediterranean sea, Indian Ocean, and silk road trade routes. The Muslim merchants became a very big part of trade because of their location at the center of many trade routes from Eurasia to Africa. They were also a prominent part of trade because the camel saddle started to be used frequently in 600 CE. Camels were more equipped to walk through the desert, and so the ability to control them made the Muslims a major part of silk road trade. In addition to this, the Muslim agricultural revolution occurred around 600 CE. This caused more crops like cotton to be cultivated and traded, causing a greater income and virtually more trade between Africa and Eurasia. In the Indian Ocean basin, the Gupta empire had declined and there was no centralized rule in India. However, there were still major trading cities and new technologies caused trade to increase. An example of the new technologies would be the dhows and junks that were used at around 800 CE.

Islam spread quickly because of trade. “By the middle of the sixth century… Mecca was… prosperous and important.” (Document A). Mecca was a busy town that was always filled with travelers who would go on to spread the word of Islam. “First it

In this time period there were two major sea trading routes, the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, and a massive network of land trade called the Silk Roads (World History 272). Muslim merchants used Arabic and money credits called sakks in their deals (World History 272). These trade routes provided optimal environments for Islam to spread because the merchants had personal interactions with people where they could inform them of the religion and provide them an opportunity to convert. Muhammad spread his word directly on his journey from Mecca to Medina known as the Hijrah (World History 265). This was a turning point for the spread of Islam because Muhammad became a political leader as well as a religious leader (World History 269). This change allowed religion to inspire governing which was the starting point of the Muslim Empire controlling the region. The Abbasid family pushed out the Umayyads and murdered most of their members as they took control of the Muslim region, but one prince named Abd al-Rahman escaped and fled to Spain (World History 271). He set up a caliphate in Spain and pushed out the Berbers, a Muslim group from North Africa. The Berbers advanced North into Europe and continued to spread Islam farther from its place of origin (World History 271). This change of rule allowed for the Umayyads to

During the Post-Classical Era, the leadership of Prophet Muhammad aided in the creation of the religion of Islam. Unlike any other religion, Islam spread exponentially through trade routes, appealing to the needy and conquest of new areas. As the religion began to gain massive coverage across Afro-Eurasia, it impacted the Post- Classical World both politically and culturally. During the Post-Classical Era, the spread of Islam led to significant political effects such as rise of caliphates, sultanates and empires that expanded to new areas. Furthermore, the spread of Islam had various cultural contributions such as spread of new traditions and arts.

Though the religion started in Mecca, Islam spread far and wide. Under the rule of Muhammad, the Four Caliphs, and the Umayyad caliphs, lands from Spain and North Africa to the Middle East became Muslim territory. (Document C). The expanding of Muslim lands exposed more people to the religion. Previously they may not have heard of Islam until the areas in which they lived in came under Muslim control. Later on, a golden opportunity for the Muslims came from their neighboring kingdoms, "Persia and Byzantium had both been engaged for decades in a long . . . series of wars with one another. Both were exhausted. (Document D). With both kingdoms, Persia and Byzantium, weakened, Muslims had a quick and effortless victory and were able to double the size of their kingdom. Altogether, the expansion of Muslim territory resulted in the spread of Islam due to more people being exposed to the Islamic

Military conquest also played a big role in Islam’s growth. “In the year 636 the Byzantine Emperor… gathered an army… to resist the expansion of Islam. The people… are the… Syrians…

The first reason Islam spread so quickly was because of Mecca’s central location and importance in trade. Its is shown in Document A that Mecca was easily reached from other locations such as Medina, Muscat, and Aden. There were also sea routes to eastern Africa, India, and even Spain. As a trade center, Mecca sees hundreds, even thousands, of traders annually, and when people trade goods they also trade ideas. Because Mecca was such a bustling trade center, as time went on Islam was spread by traders far and wide.

During this moment in history there were already several people in the Songhay Empire that have converted to Islam. The Empire was under the succession of Sonni Ali, that was responsible for the massacre of Tuareg and Sanhaja clerics (were civilized people who contributed greatly ad servants, teachers, and preachers). It was 1492 when this leader fell… and when the rise to Islamic belief began. His son was unable to control the Dynasty and Asia Mohammed stepped in to build the largest state in Western Africa. Document number 3 says he “remodeled” a great portion of the territory by bringing legal and social reforms. That soon appointed an Islamic judge in each large district in the Songhay. African law was eliminated almost completely with the impute of justice. The highest court where the rest could have been brought was obviously Asia’s… this established /prospered a

The expansion began with Muhammad’s ten year reign from 622 to 632, accumulating the western part of the Arabian Peninsula. Through military campaigns, the first four Caliphs that ruled for twenty-nine years after Muhammad’s death gained territory in northwestern Africa, all of the Arabian Peninsula, and areas that cover modern-day Iran and Iraq. By the year 750, the Umayyid Caliphs added territory in Spain, northwestern Africa, and modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan, allowing the Islamic Empire to span across the western world (Document C). Despite being known as a peaceful religion and civilization, Islam had a strong army that defended its territory. In the year 636, the Muslims formed an alliance with the Hims to defeat the Byzantine Empire’s army, who resisted Islam’s expansion. In al-Baladhuri’s account of the Battle of Yarmuk, he claimed that, “By Allah’s help, some 70,000 of them [the Byzantine army] were put to death” (Document F). The Muslims fought and conquered, all while keeping faith in God, and gained a larger population, increasing the amount of

One reason islam spread so fast was because of trade routes.In document A it states they would use camels to carry the product and sell thing like perfumes,ivory,and silk around places like to Yemen and to the market of syria and other places.This provides proof that there trading would move around different places and would spread islam the more places they traded too.

Islam spread quickly through

Changes in political and cultural traditions during the post-classical period occurred in Africa because of intensive Islamic contact. When Arab conquerors introduced the Islamic faith into northern Africa, they expanded the region of commerce. Muslim merchants established trading centers for copper, iron, salts, and cotton textiles. The newly established trade affected traditional social and religious beliefs. After 1000 C.E., the kin-based social structure experienced difficult challenges. Increased conflict between peoples led to the creation of military forces for both offensive and defensive use. This led to the formation of chiefdoms exhibiting more formal structures of governing such as in the kingdoms of Kongo, Ghana, and Mali. Because most traders were Muslim, many African societies converted to Islam to improve their relations with the

The Europeans were able to become direct participants in the Indian Ocean trade network because Alexandrian sailors learned to manipulate the trade winds. This gave them an advantage over the Arabs. Eventually, they were able to directly sail across India’s west coast, cutting out Arab and India. Soon enough Roman trade increased and they gain control of trade between the Red Sea and India under the rule of emperor Augustus. Islam began to spread. It was only a matter of time until culture, customs, religion, laws and language followed. Muslims traded with other Muslims and eventually major trading cities converted to Islam. Their towns nearby followed. Trade made the culture of Islam prosper and trade prospered because of Islam. It was easier

Islam came into Swahili only a few decades after Muhammed and his followers left for Medina. Islam started converting people very slowly, starting with Sudanese Merchants, to the followers and few rulers, then to the Berber community which paid very close attention to Islamic law. The adoption of Islam impacted Swahili people, by a lot. The presence of Muslim merchants resulted in the establishment of mosques, which later made more and more people convert. Due to the amount change in number of Swahili people converting, a Malian King came from the pilgrimage to Mecca to build the mosques.

Islam was introduced by Muhammad in Mecca where he received his recitations. .After some time the local Authority chased Muhammad away from Mecca because his teachings conflicted with their polytheistic beliefs. He then found refuge in El-Medina. This newfound home allowed his teachings to spread over the region and more persons began accepting these teachings. Muhamad’s successors, who were called Caliphs, over time conquered Syria, Palestine, Iraq, North Africa and some of Spain with their military power. With this newfound political power the Islam faith spread to all corners of the empire .Trading within this empire caused the teachings to spread as well because Muslim traders would travel over long distances and when they were selling merchandise they would spread their Muslim beliefs as well. Their trade routes led them to spread the faith throughout West Africa and also many settlements along the Niger River.