ISBN:
0-416-75830-4 (paperback)
,
0-416-75820-7 (hardback)
,
978-0-416-75820-7
,
978-0-416-75830-6
Language:
English
Pages:
x, 283 Seiten
,
Karten
Edition:
First published
Series Statement:
Studies in African History 7
Keywords:
Westafrika Ghana
;
Soninke
;
Almoravide
;
Songhai-Reich
;
Mali
;
Sudan
;
Königreich
;
Transsaharahandel
;
Geschichte
;
Geschichte, vorkoloniale
Abstract:
In this book, Professor Levtzion provides the first full-length account of the ancient empires of Ghana and Mali, basing his evidence on the various available sources; the chronicles of black Muslim literati, existing oral tradition, and Arabic and Portuguese works.In Part One the author traces the history of the Western Sudan from the eigth to the sixteenth centuries. He describes the rise, expansion and disintegration of Ghana, followed by the expansion of Mali into the Sahel. In the fifteenth century the kingdom of Mali declined, and many of its people, the Malinke, migrated south to the fringes of the forest region. In Part Two Professor Levtzion considers in detail the principal themes of trade, government and Islam. He builds up a fascinating picture of a sophisticated people, with strong cultural traditions, an effective government system, and a thriving trade. The author stesses the importance of the gold trade in the expansion of the Sudan and in its relation with North Africa and Europe, He also analysis the role of Islam in the royal courts and in the commercial centres. (Umschlagtext)
Description / Table of Contents:
Preface -- Part 1 -- Antecedents -- The Soninke Kingdom - The Almoravids -- The Soninke successor states -- The emergence of Mali -- The kings of Mali -- Mali in the Sahel -- The weight of Songhay -- Malinke expansion and political fragmentation -- Part 2 -- The monarch and his court -- The economic basis of government -- The gold of the Sudan -- The Saharan trade -- Towns and traders -- The staple commdities -- Islam in the Sudanic kingdoms -- Scholars, pilgrims, ambassadors -- Ancient kingdoms and new republics -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index
Note:
Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 255-271
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