Southeast Asia and the West African Empires

1. Southeast Asiaandthe West African Empires HIST 1007 12/2/13

2. Spread of Islam • Concentration on the coast • Establishment of mosques and madrassas in port cities • Conversion of local kings who use Islam to bolster authority • Trading states established by foreigners from the Muslim world Grand Mosque of Demak, Indonesia, 15th century

3. Islam and Politics • Local rulers looking to attract Muslim merchants • Access to firearms • Jihad and resistance to older empires • Islamization integrated with existing identities • Token changes: • Arabic names • Mosques • Renouncing pork • Older traditions: • Local languages • Local spirits and gods • Homage to ancestral spirits • Traditional arts KampungLaut Mosque, Kelantan, Malaysia, Early 18th century

4. Foreign and Local Muslims • Foreign merchants marry into ruling families • Diplomatic ties • Wealth • International networks • Muslim rulers attract Muslim merchants • Mosques • Protection of rights • Foreign merchants gain foothold in local economies • Local rulers gain international connections Kotagede Mosque, Indonesia

5. Missionaries and Merchants • Trade pays for missionary work • How did Ibn Battuta pay for his travels? • Access to rulers and local merchants • Sufis and syncretism • Kyai – expert in Islam • Pondoks and pesantren – madrasas • Islam as unifier across ethno- linguistic and geographic lines Traditional Javanese shadow puppet of a kyai

6. Islam and Empire on Java • Java – island in modern Indonesia • Majapahit Empire (r. 1293-1527) – Largest empire in the history of SE Asia • Empire of the sea – ruling over vassal islands • Hindu-Buddhist • Encouraged connections with Muslim merchants • 1513-1528 – coalition of Muslim kingdoms based in ports overthrow Majapahit Gate of Majapahit capital at Trowulan, Indonesia

7. Islam and Empire on Java • Banten Sultanate (r. 1527-1813) – rule central and western Java • Mataram Sultanate (r. 1588-1755) – rule central and eastern Java • Local princes brought under centralized authority • Islamic institutions brought under state control • 1619 – Dutch establish colony at Batavia Great Mosque of Banten, Indonesia

8. Islam and Mataram • Use Islam to unite Muslim ports, but only cosmetic • Hindu – Buddhist – Islamic conceptions of the state • Performance of Kingship • Authority derived from God • Wahyu – divine radiance • Power necessary for legitimacy • Created through Yogic mediation • Channeled through public ritual • Concentrated in heirlooms • Priyayi – nobility differentiated from commoners by halus or ritual etiquette and ethics

9. Pepper and Colonialism • “Spice Islands” • 1515 – Portuguese conquer Malacca • 1619 – Dutch establish colony at Batavia • Control trade – naval dominance • Create monopolies – remove foreign competition • Extract tribute – push cash crops

10. Islam in Africa • North Africa • Sub-Saharan Africa • Sahel and Sudan • West Africa – Western Sudan • East Africa – Swahili Coast

11. Griots and Oral Tradition

12. Foreign Merchants

13. Trans Saharan Trade and Islam • 7th-8th centuries - Conquest of North Africa and conversion of the Berbers • Moroccan trading towns (Sijilmassa, Tahert, etc.) become centers for spreading Islam • 9th century – conversion of Mauritanian Berbers • 10th century – Muslim merchants established in Awdaghust (Mauritania) and Tadmekaa (Mali) • 11th century – Muslim advisors at courts of West African rulers Archaeological site at Tadmekaa

14. Trans Saharan Trade

15. Gold-Salt Trade

16. States in Early Islamic West Africa • Small agricultural villages and herding communities • Integrated into larger tribal and linguistic groups • States – a tribal elder, warrior, or priest establishes control over multiple communities • Not about territory, about extracting taxes, raising troops, and receiving recognition • Reinforcing networks

17. Early African States

18. Ghana Empire (r. ca. 400 – ca. 1200) • 9th – 10th centuries – rival with Moroccan Berbers over control of Trans Saharan trade • 10th – 11th centuries – Islam adopted by ruling family to strengthen commercial bonds • Islam as imperial cult • Islam as religion of elites • Traditional beliefs dominate agricultural populations Ruins of Kumbi-Saleh, capital of the Ghana Empire, presently in Mauritania

19. Mali Empire (r. ca. 1230-ca. 1600) • 11th century - Almoravids overwhelm Ghana • ca. 1230 – Sunjata (r. 1230-55) expands his authority to fill void • Adoption of Ghanaian notions of kingship • Mansa – “conqueror,” title of Malian kings • Construction of mosques • Royal participation in public prayer Sankore Madrasa, Timbuktu, Mali

20. Great Mosque of Jenne