Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants [Paperback]

Nehemia Levtzion (Editor), Jay Spaulding (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2002

This book tells the story of West Africa south of the Sahara from the ninth to the fourteenth century from the viewpoint of Arab geographers, historians, and travelers. The first reports in written Arabic sources deal with urban west African centers from the seventh century. The growth of the trans-Saharan trade and the process of Islamization enriched outsiders' knowledge about "the lands of the blacks." Geographers such as al-Bakri and al-Idrisi provided the most accurate descriptions, including maps of the region. In the eleventh and twelve century Ghana converted to Islam and encyclopedists compiled substantial material on the region. The best-known Arab traveler, Ibn Batutta, and the eminent historian Ibn Khaldun provided the most detailed and comprehensive first-hand information about West Africa in the fourteenth century. This book is based on the highly acclaimed 1981 edition of the Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History, translated by N. Levtzion and J.F.P. Hopkins, which is no longer available. The Corpus was geared toward experts. This book is designed in a reader-friendly way with commentaries for the non-expert and the student of world history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

" an introductory overview" -- Africa Spectrum

About the Author

Jay Spaulding, Kean University, is the author of several books including An Islamic Alliance: Ali Dinar and the Sanusiyya, 1898-1916

Product Details

• Paperback: 125 pages
• Publisher: Markus Wiener Pub; Revised edition (November 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558763058
• ISBN-13: 978-1558763050
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,693,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Culturally informative, November 11, 2003

By 

Lina Fairchild (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Medieval West Africa: Views From Arab Scholars and Merchants (Hardcover)

This is a "greatest hits" distillation of culturally informative passages from the writings of some 22 Muslim scholars from the ninth to the 15th century, drawn largely from Lev-tzion's comprehensive Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History (2000, Mar-kus Wiener). These were centuries when West African kingdoms grew wealthy on growing trade with the Muslim world, which then reached from Morocco to China, and the climate in much of West Africa was more temperate than today. This compact, 125-page volume is a useful introduction to the best writing that has survived, from the well-known passages of Ibn Battuta and Ibn Khaldun to many that will be new to all but the most dedicated scholars. DD

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful source, May 16, 2009

By 

Carol - See all my reviews

This review is from: Medieval West Africa: Views From Arab Scholars and Merchants (Hardcover)

Length:: 2:24 Mins

Very helpful book it dispels stereotypes of so called "blacks" always being dominated throughout history. The attached video are quotes from the book these are Medieval writers acknowledging the power of Kanim, Mali and Zafun

Views from Arab scholars and Merchants Jay Spaulding and Nehemia Levtzion

P. 40 quote from Yaqut

"The king of Zafun is stronger than the veiled people of the Maghreb and more versed in the art o kingship. The veiled people acknowledge his superiority over them, obey him and resort to him in all important matters of governmentOne year the king, on his way to the pilgrimage, came to the Maghreb to pay a visit to the commander of the Muslims, the veiled king of the Maghreb, of the tribe of Lamtuna. The Commander of the Muslims met him on foot, wheras the king of Zafun did not dismount for him."

page 44

From Ibn Sa'id

"This sultan has authority there over kingdoms such as those of the Tajuwa, Kawar, and FazzanGod has assisted him and he has many descendants and armies. His clothes are brought to him from the capital of Tunish. He has scholars around him

The region where Zaghawa wander is to the east of Manan. They are for the most part Muslims owing obedience to the sultan of KanimTo the north of Manan are the terrirory of the Kanim the Akawwar wander. Their well-known towns are in the Second Clime and they are Muslims owing obedience to the sultan of Kanim"

page 45

"There is no town worthy of mention in this section (second climate) except for Awdaghust. A mixture of Muslim Berbers inhabits it, but authority rests with the Sanhaja. There is an account of this town and its ruler in al-Bakri. It is on the line of the Second Clime in longitude 22 degrees. In the same latitude is Zafun, which belongs to pagan Sudan and whose ruler enjoys a good reputation among (other) kings of the Sudan"

Page 99 from Ibn Khaldun

"Sultan Abul-Hasan was well known for his ostentatious ways and his presumption to vie with the mightiest monarchs and adopt their customs in exchanging gifts with their peers and counterparts and dispatching emissaries to distant kings and far frontiers. In his time the king of Mali was the greatest of the kings of the Sudan and the nearest to his kingdom in the Maghrib. Mali was 100 stages distant from the southern frontiers of his realms"