The Archaeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa

The first comprehensive study of the impact of Islam in sub-Saharan Africa from Muhammed onwards.

Timothy Insoll (Author)

9780521657020, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 3 July 2003

488 pages, 106 b/w illus. 19 maps
24.4 x 17 x 2.5 cm, 0.95 kg

'Sub-Saharan Africa is a vast area, incorporating an incredible amount of cultural diversity and encompassing a myriad of material expressions, and this volume captures that diversity.' Journal of African Archaeology

This is the first general study of the impact of Islam in sub-Saharan Africa. Timothy Insoll charts the historical background as well as the archaeological evidence attesting to the spread of Islam across the Sudan, Ethiopia, Eastern Africa, Southern Africa and Nigeria, surveying a time-span from the immediate pre-Islamic period through to the present. He also analyses in detail the syncretism which has occurred between Islam and African traditional religions, and looks at the processes - jihad, trade, missionary activity, prestige - by which Islam spread. This book will be of great relevance to scholars and students, as well as to all those interested in Africa, archaeology, religion and Islam.

1. The archaeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa: an introduction
2. Aksum to Adal: Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa
3. The Nilotic Sudan
4. The Eastern African Coast and offshore islands
5. The Western Sahel
6. The Central Sudan
7. The West African Sudan and Forest
8. The African interior: Eastern, Central, and Southern Africa
9. Conclusions.

Subject Areas: Islam [HRH], History of religion [HRAX], Archaeology by period / region [HDD]