Meroe And Aksum: Trade Entrepots

After the collapse of the Roman Empire in 476 AD and the subsequent loss of the Meroe and Aksum as commercial entrepots, a void fell over trade in the Indian Ocean that would persist until 750 AD, which signaled the beginning of Muslim dominance in the area. Initially confined to the Persian Gulf, Muslims began to expand their circle of influence to the eastern coast of Africa. Like Meroe and Aksum, the eastern coast of Africa provided a pipeline to the interior luxuries of the continent, as well as to those of the Indian Ocean. However, unlike Meroe and Aksum, the sheer length of the coast allowed for it be more versatile in what it could produce and how it could sustain its civilization. As a result of this, the coast prospered in trade, but it also experienced a transformation into a powerful area of city-states. This process of urbanization and state-formation, coupled with the significance of Muslim influence over such, is discussed at length by Graham Connah in African Civilizations: An Archaeological Perspective.

Throughout history, the eastern coast of Africa has played a significant role in trade. With trade confined to the Indian Ocean and the western interior of Africa, inhabitants of the eastern coast received attention from Europe because it enabled Europeans to access the goods of distant lands with relative ease. The coast is referenced in relation to trade as early as 100 AD, in a Greek handbook meant to aid Greek traders through the market-towns of the region, known as The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. Although largely constituted of mixed farming communities, the market-towns which are discussed in The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea also dealt with the exchange of ivory, tortoise shell, and coconut oil for iron tools and weapons between themselves and that of Arabia. The market-towns of 100 A.D. were later transformed by the addition of Shi'ite refuges to the northern half of the coast, who brought with them the Islamic religion.

The influence of the Shi'ites helped foster trade between the coast and the Muslim world, as well as with the outside world. Due to the lucrative nature of trade on the coast, a vast quantity of Muslim speaking traders followed the path of the Shi'ite refugees and immigrated to the coast. As the traders began to reap the benefits of coastal exportation of ivory, ambergris, mangrove poles, cotton cloth, and shell beads , the cultures of the two began to merge. Islam had initially been introduced to the area by the Shi'ites, only to be strengthened by continued Muslim presence in the area. However, it was the birth of the Kiswahili language that seemed to cement the union between the Muslims and the residents of coastal Africa permanently. Kiswahili, which is still the spoken language of coastal Africa today, is a combination of Arabic and Bantu, the latter of which was formerly the primary language of coastal Africans. It was most frequently used by coastal Africans in daily speech while Arabic was reserved for writing, yet over time, Kiswahili supplemented Arabic as the written language of the region.

The Muslims continued to dominate the coast of eastern Africa until 1498, when the Portuguese began to assert their supremacy in the Indian Ocean trade. Prior to this, the Muslims had seen the coast flourish from a largely agricultural based area to a region comprised of several city-states possessing of great wealth and power. The prestige of city-states in the region is best exemplified by the city-state of Kilwa, which, being located on the southern end of the coast, held easier access to the gold of Sofala than its competitors, the merchants of Mogadishu. Due to this geographical advantage, Kilwa monopolized the gold trade in southern Africa, and held onto it until the outbreak of Portuguese aggression against the coast at the start of the 16th century.

It is from this general history of the eastern coast of Africa that Graham Connah seeks to trace the process of urbanization. Increased urbanization seems to generate the establishment of stronger forms of government and social hierarchy, and consequently, these are the areas that Connah points to, to show evidence of the manifestation of such. On the coast of eastern Africa, the stronger forms of government materialized in the concentration of power on a Muslim sultan. Meanwhile, the signs of a social hierarchy proved to be most prevalent in attire, diet, and architecture. Connah hones in on the architecture of the area specifically, drawing sharp distinctions between the living conditions of the poor and the affluent. The poor dwelled in rectangular houses made of mud, wood, and thatch while the homes of the more affluent members of society were Ð''coral ragstone houses comprised of a number of narrow oblong roomsÐ'... with plastered walls, inside toilets, washplaces with bidets, underfloor

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