The archaeological site of Jenne-jeno (or Djenné-djenno) is a mound located in the Niger Inland Delta, a region of West Africa just south of the Sahara and part of modern-day Mali, characterized by lakes and floodplains. It was continuously inhabited between 250 BCE and 1300 CE. ’Jenne-jeno IV’ refers to the period from 900 to 1300 CE. This roughly corresponds to the tail end of the region’s ’urban prosperity’ phase, and the beginning of the ’urban shake-up’.
[1]
By this period, the inhabitants of Jenne-jeno had established long-distance trade networks and developed bronzeworking. Around 1000, they started working with brass, and the population continued to grow, reaching its peak between 1100 and 1200. They also produced an impressive corpus of terracotta figurines. However, in the 13th century, the population decreased rapidly, eventually leading to the abandonment of several sites, Jenne-jeno included, by 1400. The reasons for the decline are unclear, but they may include climate change, pandemic diseases such as plague, cultural upheaval deriving from the arrival of Islam and horses, and the emergence of the great West African empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhai.
[2]
Population and political organization
No population estimates could be found specifically for this period. However, the combined population of Jenne-jeno and its satellites within a one-kilometre radius had probably reached 10,000-26,000 people by 800 CE. The population continued to grow until 1200, and then rapidly declined in the 13th and 14th centuries.
[3]
The political organization of Jenne-jeno may have been quite different from that of other ancient cities. In several decades of excavation, clear evidence for hierarchies of any kind has yet to be unearthed: it seems that Jenne-jeno had no palaces, rich tombs, temples, public buildings, or monumental architecture. Indeed, the city’s very layout ‒ an assemblage of dispersed clusters ‒ suggests a resistance to centralization.
[4]
It is possible that, at this time, Niger Inland Delta society was organized ’heterarchically’ rather than hierarchically: that is, it was divided into multiple components, each deriving authority from separate or overlapping sources, with mechanisms in place to prevent any one group from monopolizing power.
[5]
[1]: (McIntosh 2006, 175-76) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. Ancient Middle Niger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[2]: (McIntosh 2006, 176-177) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. Ancient Middle Niger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[3]: (McIntosh 2006, 174-77) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. Ancient Middle Niger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[4]: (McIntosh 2006, 189) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. Ancient Middle Niger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[5]: (McIntosh 2006, 228-29) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. Ancient Middle Niger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
| inferred absent |
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| inferred absent | 900 CE 1000 CE |
| present | 1001 CE 1300 CE |
| absent | 1001 CE 1300 CE |
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| Year Range | Jenne-jeno IV (ml_jenne_jeno_4) was in: |
|---|---|
| (900 CE 999 CE) | Niger Inland Delta |
Djoboro
[1]
, Do-Dojobor and Zoboro.
[2]
Jenne-jeno ("Old Jenne"; Djenne-jeno)
[3]
State of Djenne (if there was a power-relationship between the two cities).
"The western borders of the state of Djenne, before the conquest of the city by Sonni Ali, were defended by the commanders of twelve army corps deployed in the country of Sana: they were specifically assigned to surveillence of the movements of Mali. The Sana-faran was their general-in-chief."
[4]
[1]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 1)
[2]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 9)
[3]: (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ind_1/hd_ind_1.htm)
[4]: (Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
Djoboro
[1]
, Do-Dojobor and Zoboro.
[2]
Jenne-jeno ("Old Jenne"; Djenne-jeno)
[3]
State of Djenne (if there was a power-relationship between the two cities).
"The western borders of the state of Djenne, before the conquest of the city by Sonni Ali, were defended by the commanders of twelve army corps deployed in the country of Sana: they were specifically assigned to surveillence of the movements of Mali. The Sana-faran was their general-in-chief."
[4]
[1]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 1)
[2]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 9)
[3]: (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ind_1/hd_ind_1.htm)
[4]: (Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
Djoboro
[1]
, Do-Dojobor and Zoboro.
[2]
Jenne-jeno ("Old Jenne"; Djenne-jeno)
[3]
State of Djenne (if there was a power-relationship between the two cities).
"The western borders of the state of Djenne, before the conquest of the city by Sonni Ali, were defended by the commanders of twelve army corps deployed in the country of Sana: they were specifically assigned to surveillence of the movements of Mali. The Sana-faran was their general-in-chief."
[4]
[1]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 1)
[2]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 9)
[3]: (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ind_1/hd_ind_1.htm)
[4]: (Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
Djoboro
[1]
, Do-Dojobor and Zoboro.
[2]
Jenne-jeno ("Old Jenne"; Djenne-jeno)
[3]
State of Djenne (if there was a power-relationship between the two cities).
"The western borders of the state of Djenne, before the conquest of the city by Sonni Ali, were defended by the commanders of twelve army corps deployed in the country of Sana: they were specifically assigned to surveillence of the movements of Mali. The Sana-faran was their general-in-chief."
[4]
[1]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 1)
[2]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 9)
[3]: (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ind_1/hd_ind_1.htm)
[4]: (Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
Djoboro
[1]
, Do-Dojobor and Zoboro.
[2]
Jenne-jeno ("Old Jenne"; Djenne-jeno)
[3]
State of Djenne (if there was a power-relationship between the two cities).
"The western borders of the state of Djenne, before the conquest of the city by Sonni Ali, were defended by the commanders of twelve army corps deployed in the country of Sana: they were specifically assigned to surveillence of the movements of Mali. The Sana-faran was their general-in-chief."
[4]
[1]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 1)
[2]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 9)
[3]: (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ind_1/hd_ind_1.htm)
[4]: (Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
Djoboro
[1]
, Do-Dojobor and Zoboro.
[2]
Jenne-jeno ("Old Jenne"; Djenne-jeno)
[3]
State of Djenne (if there was a power-relationship between the two cities).
"The western borders of the state of Djenne, before the conquest of the city by Sonni Ali, were defended by the commanders of twelve army corps deployed in the country of Sana: they were specifically assigned to surveillence of the movements of Mali. The Sana-faran was their general-in-chief."
[4]
[1]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 1)
[2]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 9)
[3]: (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ind_1/hd_ind_1.htm)
[4]: (Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
"Jenne-jeno’s floruit: 450-1100 C.E."
[1]
"Jenne-jeno’s floruit between 800-1000 C.E."
[1]
After 1180 CE "Jenne-jeno begins a 200-year long period of decline and gradual abandonment, before it becomes a ghost town by 1400."
[1]
Decline of Jenne-Jeno accompanied the rise of the new city of Djenne (the modern town, established "much earlier" than 1100 CE
[2]
). We could hypothesize that Djenne started out as a political, military and ritual center which controlled the economic center at Jenne-Jeno, until Djenne took that over itself. However, this is my speculation. R and S McIntosh says "Analyses conducted thus far have not yielded any information on the possible reasons for the new settlement at Djenné."
[2]
[1]: (Susan Keech McIntosh and Roderick J. McIntosh "Jenne-jeno, an ancient African city" http://anthropology.rice.edu/Content.aspx?id=500)
[2]: McIntosh, Roderick. McIntosh, Susan. "Results of recent excavations at Jenné-jeno and Djenné, Mali" in Sanogo, K. Togola, T. 2004. Proceedings of the Eleventh Congress of the Pan-African Association for Prehistory and Related Fields. Institut des Sciences Humaines. Bamako. pp. 469-481.
Decline of Jenne-Jeno accompanied the rise of the new city of Djenne (the modern town, established "much earlier" than 1100 CE
[1]
). We could hypothesize that Djenne started out as a political, military and ritual center which controlled the economic center at Jenne-Jeno, until Djenne took that over itself. However, this is my speculation. R and S McIntosh says: "Analyses conducted thus far have not yielded any information on the possible reasons for the new settlement at Djenné."
[1]
1977 excavation habitation 250 BCE to at least 12th century CE "Gradual abandonment of the site was probably in progress soon thereafter" 1400 CE reasonable estimate for abandonment, but could be as early as 1200 CE.
[2]
"all we can state with confidence is that Jenne-jeno must have been abandoned by at least A.D. 1468, at which time Sonni Ali garrisoned his troops there."
[3]
Hambarketolo was also abandoned same time as Jenne-jeno.
[4]
Phase IV
[4]
dates not stated. inferred: 900-[1200-1400] CE
hypothesize "Muslim market center of Jenne as the primary cause of Jenne-jeno’s abandonment."
[5]
Jenne-Jeno: town certainly existed 400-900 CE and it "developed greatly during the following period, from 900 to 1400." Important centre for regional trade, not linked to Saharan trade.
[6]
[1]: McIntosh, Roderick. McIntosh, Susan. "Results of recent excavations at Jenné-jeno and Djenné, Mali" in Sanogo, K. Togola, T. 2004. Proceedings of the Eleventh Congress of the Pan-African Association for Prehistory and Related Fields. Institut des Sciences Humaines. Bamako. pp. 469-481.
[2]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 15)
[3]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 9)
[4]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 16)
[5]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 17)
[6]: (Devisse 1988, 417)
Earlier coded as Sahel Tell Culture. In this more developed phase there presumably developed a more distinct local identity, so the supracultural entity will be a much smaller area. Al Sa’di’s describes the territory of Jenne as "from Lake Debo in the north to the Volta Bend in the south, and borders on the Bandiagara highlands to the east. It is not clear whether Jenne’s territory was defined by political suzerainty, economic domination, or some other means entirely." [1]
[1]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 6)
km squared. Al Sa’di’s describes the territory of Jenne as "from Lake Debo in the north to the Volta Bend in the south, and borders on the Bandiagara highlands to the east. It is not clear whether Jenne’s territory was defined by political suzerainty, economic domination, or some other means entirely." [1] With Google area calculator this works out at about 25,000 km2. "In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the first unambiguous evidence of North African or Islamic influences appears at Jenne-jeno in the form of brass, spindle whorls, and rectilinear houses. This occurs within a century of the traditional date of 1180 C.E. for the conversion of Jenne’s king (Koi) Konboro to Islam, according to the Tarikh es-Sudan." [2]
[1]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 6)
[2]: (Susan Keech McIntosh and Roderick J. McIntosh "Jenne-jeno, an ancient African city" http://anthropology.rice.edu/Content.aspx?id=500)
"In the ninth century, two noticeable changes occur (Pl. 5) : tauf house foundations are replaced by cylindrical brick architecture, and painted pottery is replaced by pottery with impressed and stamped decoration. The source of these novelties is unknown, although we can say that they did not involve any fundamental shift in the form or general layout of either houses or pottery. So it is unlikely that any major change in the ethnic composition of Jenne-jeno was associated with the changes. Change with continuity was the prevailing pattern." [1]
[1]: (Susan Keech McIntosh and Roderick J. McIntosh "Jenne-jeno, an ancient African city" http://anthropology.rice.edu/Content.aspx?id=500)
"In the ninth century, two noticeable changes occur (Pl. 5) : tauf house foundations are replaced by cylindrical brick architecture, and painted pottery is replaced by pottery with impressed and stamped decoration. The source of these novelties is unknown, although we can say that they did not involve any fundamental shift in the form or general layout of either houses or pottery. So it is unlikely that any major change in the ethnic composition of Jenne-jeno was associated with the changes. Change with continuity was the prevailing pattern." [1]
[1]: (Susan Keech McIntosh and Roderick J. McIntosh "Jenne-jeno, an ancient African city" http://anthropology.rice.edu/Content.aspx?id=500)
There is no evidence of a hierarchical social system and centralized control
[1]
Jenne-jeno was "a large, complex, but non-coercive urban settlement."
[2]
"the demands of specialization pushed groups apart while the requirements of a generalized economy pulled them together ... created a dynamism that ensured growth and the establishment of urban settlements. And they were non-coercive settlements. Groups congregated by choice. This is an instance of transformation from a rural to an urban society that did not establish a hierarchical society and coercive centralized control... The process in the delta and at Jenne-jeno in particular, was one of ’complexification’ rather than centralization."
[3]
[1]: (Reader 1998, 219)
[2]: (Reader 1998, 225)
[3]: (Reader 1998, 228)
Inhabitants.
"At its most densely populated (around AD 800) Jenne-jeno housed up to 27,000 people.
[1]
Estimate hectare size phase II:
settlement size "possibly exceeding 10 hectares"
[2]
1977 archaeological investigation established the 3rd century BCE date and showed that by the eighth-ninth century it had become "an urban center of considerable proportions"
[3]
Estimated hectare size early phase III:
"by 450 C.E., the settlement had expanded to at least 25 hectares (over 60 acres)."
[4]
Estimate size at height phase III/phase IV:
"The total surface area of Jenne-jeno and its satellites was 69 hectares; the total population when most densely occupied approached 27,000."
[5]
"At its most densely populated (around AD 800) Jenne-jeno housed up to 27,000 people.
[1]
33 hectares. 9 hectare Hambarketolo connects to Jenne-jeno via an earthern dike.
[2]
this maximum area extent by 900-1000 CE
[6]
"During this time, the settlement continued to grow, reaching its maximum area of 33 hectares by 850 C.E. We know that this is so because sherds of the distinctive painted pottery that was produced at Jenne-jeno only between 450-850 C.E. are present in all our excavation units, even those near the edge of the mound. And we find them at the neighboring mound of Hambarketolo, too, suggesting that these two connected sites totaling 41 hectares (100 acres) functioned as part of a single town complex (Pl. 4).
[4]
Estimated size phase IV:
12th-14th centuries population at Jenne-jeno collapsed.
[7]
Other notes:
modern town of Jenne (to be distinguished from ancient Jenne-jeno) was occupied by 500 CE.
[8]
"In the ninth century, two noticeable changes occur (Pl. 5) : tauf house foundations are replaced by cylindrical brick architecture, and painted pottery is replaced by pottery with impressed and stamped decoration. The source of these novelties is unknown, although we can say that they did not involve any fundamental shift in the form or general layout of either houses or pottery. So it is unlikely that any major change in the ethnic composition of Jenne-jeno was associated with the changes. Change with continuity was the prevailing pattern."
[4]
50,000: 1000 CE
"An estimate of 50,000 persons seems a reasonalbe minimum estimate for the population here at the turn of the present millennium."
[9]
"By the end of the millennium, fully 69 satellites are in orbit about Jenne-jeno - and this number records only the tells (permanent settlements). Sadly, we too suffer from the classic Mesopotamian disease of seriously underrepresenting the affiliated, mobile segments of the community who seasonally set up temporary (and virtually invisible) camps in the vicinity. Under-counting the nomadic populations is just the beginning of our demographic difficulties."
[9]
[1]: (Reader 1998, 219)
[2]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 16)
[3]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 1)
[4]: (Susan Keech McIntosh and Roderick J. McIntosh "Jenne-jeno, an ancient African city" http://anthropology.rice.edu/Content.aspx?id=500)
[5]: (Reader 1998, 230)
[6]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 19)
[7]: (Reader 1998, 231)
[8]: (Reader 1998, 232)
[9]: (McIntosh, 31) McIntosh, Roderick J. Clustered Cities of the Middle Niger: Alternative Routes to Authority in Prehistory. in Anderson, David M. Rathbone, Richard. eds. 2000. Africa’s Urban Past. James Currey Ltd. Oxford.
in squared kilometers
1,100 square kilometer hinterland
[1]
"over 60 archaeological sites rise from the floodplain within a 4 kilometer radius of the modern town"
[2]
"The mound that rose from the Niger floodplain with the growth of Jenne-jeno did not stand alone. Indeed, it was surrounded by twenty-five smaller mounds, all within a distance of one kilometre, all occupied simultaneously. The total surface area of Jenne-jeno and its satellites was 69 hectares; the total population when most densely occupied approached 27,000."
[3]
[1]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 22)
[2]: (Susan Keech McIntosh and Roderick J. McIntosh "Jenne-jeno, an ancient African city" http://anthropology.rice.edu/Content.aspx?id=500)
[3]: (Reader 1998, 230)
People.
"The mound that rose from the Niger floodplain with the growth of Jenne-jeno did not stand alone. Indeed, it was surrounded by twenty-five smaller mounds, all within a distance of one kilometre, all occupied simultaneously. The total surface area of Jenne-jeno and its satellites was 69 hectares; the total population when most densely occupied approached 27,000."
[1]
"At its most densely populated (around AD 800) Jenne-jeno housed up to 27,000 people.
[2]
[1]: (Reader 1998, 230)
[2]: (Reader 1998, 219)
levels.
Decline of Jenne-Jeno accompanied the rise of the new city of Djenne (the modern town, established "much earlier" than 1100 CE
[1]
). We could hypothesize that Djenne started out as a political, military and ritual center which controlled the economic center at Jenne-Jeno, until Djenne took that over itself. However, this is my speculation. R and S McIntosh says: "Analyses conducted thus far have not yielded any information on the possible reasons for the new settlement at Djenné."
[1]
"First, where are the elites, the chiefs, the kings, the early state bureaucracies? In other words, who keeps the peace? This is the first fundamental complaint raised by the distinctiveness of these towns with the traditional ’hierarchy as adaptive solution’ approach to emerging complex society. To date, excavation at sites such as Jenne-jeno reveals no obvious signs of social stratification, as opposed to abundant evidence of (horizontal) social complexification. Where are the public buildings, the monuments, the shrines to state ideologies that classic preindustrial city theory tells use should be present? One has the strong impression of a highly complex society, with multiple overlapping and competing agencies of authority and decision making, and of resistance to centralization. The city’s lay-out - the dispersed cluster - was an instrument of that resistance."
[2]
"This assertion that heterarchy, rather than hierarchy, is the better description of authority at these cities recalls persistent Mande notions of who has decision-making roles in society, notions very familiar to historians, social anthropologists and art historians. Authority is shared amongst many corporate groups rather than being the monopoly of a charismatic individual (in Weber’s sense) or of one bureaucratic lineage."
[2]
There is no evidence of a hierarchical social system
[3]
Jenne-jeno was "a large, complex, but non-coercive urban settlement."
[4]
"the demands of specialization pushed groups apart while the requirements of a generalized economy pulled them together ... created a dynamism that ensured growth and the establishment of urban settlements. And they were non-coercive settlements. Groups congregated by choice. This is an instance of transformation from a rural to an urban society that did not establish a hierarchical society and coercive centralized control... The process in the delta and at Jenne-jeno in particular, was one of ’complexification’ rather than centralization."
[5]
Clan
(General reference for West African states) "the basic social and political unit appears in the past to have been the small local group, bound together by ties of kinship. When a number of groups came together they formed a clan. The heads of local clans were usually responsible for certain religious rites connected with the land."
[6]
Kinship group
(General reference for West African states) "the basic social and political unit appears in the past to have been the small local group, bound together by ties of kinship. When a number of groups came together they formed a clan. The heads of local clans were usually responsible for certain religious rites connected with the land."
[6]
In West Africa "Early states were simple in their government ... Some were ruled by a single chief or king and his counsellors. Others were governed by a council of chiefs or elders. Others again were formed by several neighbouring peoples whose chiefs were bound in loyalty to one another. Elsewhere, at the same time, there were people who found it better to get along without any chiefs."
[7]
"Traditional groups such as clans ... or age-sets of people born at about the same time, had influence in these early states, as in later times, because they could underpin a system of law and order."
[7]
[1]: McIntosh, Roderick. McIntosh, Susan. "Results of recent excavations at Jenné-jeno and Djenné, Mali" in Sanogo, K. Togola, T. 2004. Proceedings of the Eleventh Congress of the Pan-African Association for Prehistory and Related Fields. Institut des Sciences Humaines. Bamako. pp. 469-481.
[2]: (McIntosh, 31) McIntosh, Roderick J. Clustered Cities of the Middle Niger: Alternative Routes to Authority in Prehistory. in Anderson, David M. Rathbone, Richard. eds. 2000. Africa’s Urban Past. James Currey Ltd. Oxford.
[3]: (Reader 1998, 219)
[4]: (Reader 1998, 225)
[5]: (Reader 1998, 228)
[6]: (Bovill 1958, 53)
[7]: (Davidson 1998, 13) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
before Askia Muhammad of Songhay Empire "Chiefs, kings and emperors of earlier times had relied on simply ’calling up’ their subjects, their vassals or their allies. ... But these were temporary armies. They were amateur armies. They served for a campaign or a war, and then everyone went home again until the next one."
[1]
"The western borders of the state of Djenne, before the conquest of the city by Sonni Ali, were defended by the commanders of twelve army corps deployed in the country of Sana: they were specifically assigned to surveillence of the movements of Mali. The Sana-faran was their general-in-chief."
[2]
There were officers under his orders.
[2]
"Likewise, twelve commanders of army corps were assigned to the east of the Niger toward Titili.
[2]
However, no references to Jenne-Jeno using military force to conquer other peoples and demand tribute. Army that is referred to could have been late in period and intended for defence, to maintain its independence against the growing military power of the empires of Western Sudan.
[1]: (Davidson 1998, 168) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
At Jenne-jeno no evidence of "social ranking or authoritarian institutions such as a ’temple elite’ has been found. [1] In Jenne-Jeno there is no evidence for a state bureaucracy, priesthood, military or a king [2]
[1]: (Reader 1998, 230)
[2]: (McIntosh, 31) McIntosh, Roderick J. Clustered Cities of the Middle Niger: Alternative Routes to Authority in Prehistory. in Anderson, David M. Rathbone, Richard. eds. 2000. Africa’s Urban Past. James Currey Ltd. Oxford.
Djenne was a new city 2.5km south-east of Jenne-jeno - what relationship was there - if any - between the old and the new cities?
Diop (1987) refers to what could possibly be a professional military officer for the state at Djenne: a "Sana-faran was their general-in-chief"
[1]
and he had officers under his orders.
[1]
Diop also references a Sovereign of Djenne who was was converted to Islam in the 12th century probably by ulema religious scholars.
[2]
before Askia Muhammad Songhay Empire "Chiefs, kings and emperors of earlier times had relied on simply ’calling up’ their subjects, their vassals, or their allies. ... But these were temporary armies. They were amateur armies. They served for a campaign or a war, and then everyone went home again until the next one."
[3]
"The western borders of the state of Djenne, before the conquest of the city by Sonni Ali, were defended by the commanders of twelve army corps deployed in the country of Sana: they were specifically assigned to surveillence of the movements of Mali. The Sana-faran was their general-in-chief."
[1]
There were officers under his orders.
[1]
"Likewise, twelve commanders of army corps were assigned to the east of the Niger toward Titili.
[1]
However, no references to Jenne-Jeno using military force to conquer other peoples and demand tribute. Army that is referred to could have been late in period and intended for defence, to maintain its independence against the growing military power of the empires of Western Sudan.
[1]: (Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
[2]: (Diop 1987, 164) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 168) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
Djenne was a new city 2.5km south-east of Jenne-jeno - what relationship was there - if any - between the old and the new cities?
Diop (1987) refers to what could possibly be a professional military officer for the state at Djenne: a "Sana-faran was their general-in-chief"
[1]
and he had officers under his orders.
[1]
Diop also references a Sovereign of Djenne who was was converted to Islam in the 12th century probably by ulema religious scholars.
[2]
before Askia Muhammad Songhay Empire "Chiefs, kings and emperors of earlier times had relied on simply ’calling up’ their subjects, their vassals, or their allies. ... But these were temporary armies. They were amateur armies. They served for a campaign or a war, and then everyone went home again until the next one."
[3]
"The western borders of the state of Djenne, before the conquest of the city by Sonni Ali, were defended by the commanders of twelve army corps deployed in the country of Sana: they were specifically assigned to surveillence of the movements of Mali. The Sana-faran was their general-in-chief."
[1]
There were officers under his orders.
[1]
"Likewise, twelve commanders of army corps were assigned to the east of the Niger toward Titili.
[1]
However, no references to Jenne-Jeno using military force to conquer other peoples and demand tribute. Army that is referred to could have been late in period and intended for defence, to maintain its independence against the growing military power of the empires of Western Sudan.
[1]: (Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
[2]: (Diop 1987, 164) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 168) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
Djenne was a new city 2.5km south-east of Jenne-jeno - what relationship was there - if any - between the old and the new cities?
Diop (1987) refers to what could possibly be a professional military officer for the state at Djenne: a "Sana-faran was their general-in-chief"
[1]
and he had officers under his orders.
[1]
Diop also references a Sovereign of Djenne who was was converted to Islam in the 12th century probably by ulema religious scholars.
[2]
before Askia Muhammad Songhay Empire "Chiefs, kings and emperors of earlier times had relied on simply ’calling up’ their subjects, their vassals, or their allies. ... But these were temporary armies. They were amateur armies. They served for a campaign or a war, and then everyone went home again until the next one."
[3]
"The western borders of the state of Djenne, before the conquest of the city by Sonni Ali, were defended by the commanders of twelve army corps deployed in the country of Sana: they were specifically assigned to surveillence of the movements of Mali. The Sana-faran was their general-in-chief."
[1]
There were officers under his orders.
[1]
"Likewise, twelve commanders of army corps were assigned to the east of the Niger toward Titili.
[1]
However, no references to Jenne-Jeno using military force to conquer other peoples and demand tribute. Army that is referred to could have been late in period and intended for defence, to maintain its independence against the growing military power of the empires of Western Sudan.
[1]: (Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
[2]: (Diop 1987, 164) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 168) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
At Jenne-jeno no evidence of "social ranking or authoritarian institutions such as a ’temple elite’ has been found.
[1]
In Jenne-Jeno there is no evidence for a state bureaucracy, priesthood, military or a king
[2]
[1]: (Reader 1998, 230)
[2]: (McIntosh, 31) McIntosh, Roderick J. Clustered Cities of the Middle Niger: Alternative Routes to Authority in Prehistory. in Anderson, David M. Rathbone, Richard. eds. 2000. Africa’s Urban Past. James Currey Ltd. Oxford.
In Jenne-Jeno there is no evidence for a state bureaucracy, priesthood, military or a king. [1]
[1]: (McIntosh, 31) McIntosh, Roderick J. Clustered Cities of the Middle Niger: Alternative Routes to Authority in Prehistory. in Anderson, David M. Rathbone, Richard. eds. 2000. Africa’s Urban Past. James Currey Ltd. Oxford.
In Jenne-Jeno there is no evidence for a state bureaucracy, priesthood, military or a king. [1]
[1]: (McIntosh, 31) McIntosh, Roderick J. Clustered Cities of the Middle Niger: Alternative Routes to Authority in Prehistory. in Anderson, David M. Rathbone, Richard. eds. 2000. Africa’s Urban Past. James Currey Ltd. Oxford.
In Jenne-Jeno there is no evidence for a state bureaucracy, priesthood, military or a king. [1]
[1]: (McIntosh, 31) McIntosh, Roderick J. Clustered Cities of the Middle Niger: Alternative Routes to Authority in Prehistory. in Anderson, David M. Rathbone, Richard. eds. 2000. Africa’s Urban Past. James Currey Ltd. Oxford.
50-400 CE West African rice (Oryza glaberrima) domesticated. [1] In the Inland Delta region irrigation systems are unnecessary due to the annual inundation of the Niger river. Domesticated rice planted before the flood grows high enough to sprout above the flood waters. However, "Archaeological evidence affirms that the building of terraces and irrigation canals in sub-Saharan Africa pre-dates external influence..." [2] which suggests that irrigation systems are present in the archaeological sub-tradition.
[1]: (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 16)
[2]: (Reader 1998, 248 cite: Adams 1989)
Level of urbanism and domestication of rice and irrigation systems might suggest agricultural surpluses may have been possible and these could have been stored.
"The middle section of the Niger, linking Timbuktu to Djenne (about 400 km upstream), and to Gao (about the same distance downstream), was the busiest inland waterway in West Africa... With its development, water transport transformed the middle Niger into one of the great centres of indigenous trade in Africa. It encouraged the growth of specialized occupations, such as the building and operation of canoes; it lead to the development of specialized ports on the water-ways; and it contributed to the political and economic homogeneity of the region." [1]
[1]: (Reader 1998, 271)
iron mining [1] stone quarries, copper mines [2] Iron Age from 600 BCE in West Africa (e.g. Benue valley in Nigeria and upper Niger River) "the development and spread of the basic technologies of metal production and the forging and smithing of metal tools, notably in iron." [3]
[1]: (Reader 1998, 22)
[2]: (Posnansky 1981, 723, 719)
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 8) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
"There are no written records of any description to throw light on the history of West Africa before 900 A.D." [1] "The West Africans who laid the foundations of their medieval empires during the centuries before 900 C.E. did not develop a written language they could use to record historical events." [2] Oldest example of writing in West Africa c1100 CE tomb inscription at Gao. [3]
[1]: (Bovill 1958, 51) Bovill, E W. 1958/1995. The Golden Trade of the Moors. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Conrad 2010, 13) Conrad, D. C. 2010. Empires of Medieval West Africa. Revised Edition. Chelsea House Publishers. New York.
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 44) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
"There are no written records of any description to throw light on the history of West Africa before 900 A.D." [1] "The West Africans who laid the foundations of their medieval empires during the centuries before 900 C.E. did not develop a written language they could use to record historical events." [2] Oldest example of writing in West Africa c1100 CE tomb inscription at Gao. [3]
[1]: (Bovill 1958, 51) Bovill, E W. 1958/1995. The Golden Trade of the Moors. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Conrad 2010, 13) Conrad, D. C. 2010. Empires of Medieval West Africa. Revised Edition. Chelsea House Publishers. New York.
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 44) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
Classic Arabic of Koran."In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the first unambiguous evidence of North African or Islamic influences appears at Jenne-jeno in the form of brass, spindle whorls, and rectilinear houses. This occurs within a century of the traditional date of 1180 C.E. for the conversion of Jenne’s king (Koi) Konboro to Islam, according to the Tarikh es-Sudan." [1] "There are no written records of any description to throw light on the history of West Africa before 900 A.D." [2] "The West Africans who laid the foundations of their medieval empires during the centuries before 900 C.E. did not develop a written language they could use to record historical events." [3] Oldest example of writing in West Africa c1100 CE tomb inscription at Gao. [4]
[1]: (Susan Keech McIntosh and Roderick J. McIntosh "Jenne-jeno, an ancient African city" http://anthropology.rice.edu/Content.aspx?id=500)
[2]: (Bovill 1958, 51) Bovill, E W. 1958/1995. The Golden Trade of the Moors. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[3]: (Conrad 2010, 13) Conrad, D. C. 2010. Empires of Medieval West Africa. Revised Edition. Chelsea House Publishers. New York.
[4]: (Davidson 1998, 44) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
"There are no written records of any description to throw light on the history of West Africa before 900 A.D." [1] "The West Africans who laid the foundations of their medieval empires during the centuries before 900 C.E. did not develop a written language they could use to record historical events." [2] Oldest example of writing in West Africa c1100 CE tomb inscription at Gao. [3]
[1]: (Bovill 1958, 51) Bovill, E W. 1958/1995. The Golden Trade of the Moors. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Conrad 2010, 13) Conrad, D. C. 2010. Empires of Medieval West Africa. Revised Edition. Chelsea House Publishers. New York.
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 44) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
"There are no written records of any description to throw light on the history of West Africa before 900 A.D." [1] "The West Africans who laid the foundations of their medieval empires during the centuries before 900 C.E. did not develop a written language they could use to record historical events." [2] Oldest example of writing in West Africa c1100 CE tomb inscription at Gao. [3]
[1]: (Bovill 1958, 51) Bovill, E W. 1958/1995. The Golden Trade of the Moors. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Conrad 2010, 13) Conrad, D. C. 2010. Empires of Medieval West Africa. Revised Edition. Chelsea House Publishers. New York.
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 44) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
Koran. "There are no written records of any description to throw light on the history of West Africa before 900 A.D." [1] "The West Africans who laid the foundations of their medieval empires during the centuries before 900 C.E. did not develop a written language they could use to record historical events." [2] Oldest example of writing in West Africa c1100 CE tomb inscription at Gao. [3]
[1]: (Bovill 1958, 51) Bovill, E W. 1958/1995. The Golden Trade of the Moors. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Conrad 2010, 13) Conrad, D. C. 2010. Empires of Medieval West Africa. Revised Edition. Chelsea House Publishers. New York.
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 44) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
Koran. "There are no written records of any description to throw light on the history of West Africa before 900 A.D." [1] "The West Africans who laid the foundations of their medieval empires during the centuries before 900 C.E. did not develop a written language they could use to record historical events." [2] Oldest example of writing in West Africa c1100 CE tomb inscription at Gao. [3]
[1]: (Bovill 1958, 51) Bovill, E W. 1958/1995. The Golden Trade of the Moors. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Conrad 2010, 13) Conrad, D. C. 2010. Empires of Medieval West Africa. Revised Edition. Chelsea House Publishers. New York.
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 44) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
"There are no written records of any description to throw light on the history of West Africa before 900 A.D." [1] "The West Africans who laid the foundations of their medieval empires during the centuries before 900 C.E. did not develop a written language they could use to record historical events." [2] Oldest example of writing in West Africa c1100 CE tomb inscription at Gao. [3]
[1]: (Bovill 1958, 51) Bovill, E W. 1958/1995. The Golden Trade of the Moors. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Conrad 2010, 13) Conrad, D. C. 2010. Empires of Medieval West Africa. Revised Edition. Chelsea House Publishers. New York.
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 44) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
"There are no written records of any description to throw light on the history of West Africa before 900 A.D." [1] "The West Africans who laid the foundations of their medieval empires during the centuries before 900 C.E. did not develop a written language they could use to record historical events." [2] Oldest example of writing in West Africa c1100 CE tomb inscription at Gao. [3]
[1]: (Bovill 1958, 51) Bovill, E W. 1958/1995. The Golden Trade of the Moors. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Conrad 2010, 13) Conrad, D. C. 2010. Empires of Medieval West Africa. Revised Edition. Chelsea House Publishers. New York.
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 44) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
"There are no written records of any description to throw light on the history of West Africa before 900 A.D." [1] "The West Africans who laid the foundations of their medieval empires during the centuries before 900 C.E. did not develop a written language they could use to record historical events." [2] Oldest example of writing in West Africa c1100 CE tomb inscription at Gao. [3]
[1]: (Bovill 1958, 51) Bovill, E W. 1958/1995. The Golden Trade of the Moors. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Conrad 2010, 13) Conrad, D. C. 2010. Empires of Medieval West Africa. Revised Edition. Chelsea House Publishers. New York.
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 44) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
"There are no written records of any description to throw light on the history of West Africa before 900 A.D." [1] "The West Africans who laid the foundations of their medieval empires during the centuries before 900 C.E. did not develop a written language they could use to record historical events." [2] Oldest example of writing in West Africa c1100 CE tomb inscription at Gao. [3]
[1]: (Bovill 1958, 51) Bovill, E W. 1958/1995. The Golden Trade of the Moors. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Conrad 2010, 13) Conrad, D. C. 2010. Empires of Medieval West Africa. Revised Edition. Chelsea House Publishers. New York.
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 44) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
"There are no written records of any description to throw light on the history of West Africa before 900 A.D."
[1]
"The West Africans who laid the foundations of their medieval empires during the centuries before 900 C.E. did not develop a written language they could use to record historical events."
[2]
Oldest example of writing in West Africa c1100 CE tomb inscription at Gao.
[3]
[1]: (Bovill 1958, 51) Bovill, E W. 1958/1995. The Golden Trade of the Moors. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[2]: (Conrad 2010, 13) Conrad, D. C. 2010. Empires of Medieval West Africa. Revised Edition. Chelsea House Publishers. New York.
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 44) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
Koran. Classic Arabic of Koran."In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the first unambiguous evidence of North African or Islamic influences appears at Jenne-jeno in the form of brass, spindle whorls, and rectilinear houses. This occurs within a century of the traditional date of 1180 C.E. for the conversion of Jenne’s king (Koi) Konboro to Islam, according to the Tarikh es-Sudan." [1] "There are no written records of any description to throw light on the history of West Africa before 900 A.D." [2] "The West Africans who laid the foundations of their medieval empires during the centuries before 900 C.E. did not develop a written language they could use to record historical events." [3] Oldest example of writing in West Africa c1100 CE tomb inscription at Gao. [4]
[1]: (Susan Keech McIntosh and Roderick J. McIntosh "Jenne-jeno, an ancient African city" http://anthropology.rice.edu/Content.aspx?id=500)
[2]: (Bovill 1958, 51) Bovill, E W. 1958/1995. The Golden Trade of the Moors. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
[3]: (Conrad 2010, 13) Conrad, D. C. 2010. Empires of Medieval West Africa. Revised Edition. Chelsea House Publishers. New York.
[4]: (Davidson 1998, 44) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
"no trace of a die or mint has been found south of the desert." [1] Currency "consisted of salt, cowries, or gold in either dust or pieces (of foreign or local mintage)." [2] Currency included blocks of salt of different sizes. [2] According to Leo Africanus cowries used as currency for trading came from the Indian Ocean, via Persia. [3] According to al Bakri (11th century) ’The dinars they used were of pure gold and were called sola [bald] because they bore no imprints.’ ... Thus these documents allow us to be sure of the use in Black Africa of imprinted gold coins, without, however, being able to know whether such imprints were effiges of local emperors or kings, or to know whether there was any generalized imperial currency minited apart from the mitkal standard." [4]
[1]: (Devisse 1988, 387) Devisse, J "Trade and Trade Routes in West Africa" in El Fasi, M and Hrbek, I. eds. 1988. General History of Africa III: Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century. Heinemann. California.http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001842/184282eo.pdf
[2]: (Diop 1987, 133) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
[3]: (Diop 1987, 134) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
[4]: (Diop 1987, 135) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
"no trace of a die or mint has been found south of the desert." [1] Currency "consisted of salt, cowries, or gold in either dust or pieces (of foreign or local mintage)." [2] Currency included blocks of salt of different sizes. [2] According to Leo Africanus cowries used as currency for trading came from the Indian Ocean, via Persia. [3] According to al Bakri (11th century) ’The dinars they used were of pure gold and were called sola [bald] because they bore no imprints.’ ... Thus these documents allow us to be sure of the use in Black Africa of imprinted gold coins, without, however, being able to know whether such imprints were effiges of local emperors or kings, or to know whether there was any generalized imperial currency minited apart from the mitkal standard." [4]
[1]: (Devisse 1988, 387) Devisse, J "Trade and Trade Routes in West Africa" in El Fasi, M and Hrbek, I. eds. 1988. General History of Africa III: Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century. Heinemann. California.http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001842/184282eo.pdf
[2]: (Diop 1987, 133) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
[3]: (Diop 1987, 134) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
[4]: (Diop 1987, 135) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
Cosmopolitan commerce centers: Timbuktu, Djenne, Biru, Soo, Ndob, Pekes and some others. [1] Currency "consisted of salt, cowries, or gold in either dust or pieces (of foreign or local mintage)." [2]
[1]: (Diop 1987, 132-133) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
[2]: (Diop 1987, 133) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
Barter "at the periphery of the African kingdoms, some backwards tribes, such as the Lem-Lem in Southwest Ghana, perhaps on the banks of the present-day Faleme River, had been carrying on barter trade since the Carthaginian period." [1] This was where, without any direct contact, Carthaginian and Arab traders exchanged their goods for gold dust. However, this simple form of economy was not characteristic of the economies of the polities of these times. [2] barter economy and no professional merchants. "The non-essential items and foreign durables found at sites remote from their point of origin were traded from village to village, in relays, as part of what was certainly a vigorous trade in essential goods between local centres." [3]
[1]: (Diop 1987, 130) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
[2]: (Diop 1987, 131) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
[3]: (Reader 1998, 261)
Level of urbanism and economic development (e.g. market and port) might suggest a messenger would have been necessary.
no evidence of "external threats to Jenne-jeno" [1] "For much of every year, Jenne was encircled by the flood waters of the Niger river ... Its inhabitants also built high protecting walls round their city, somewhat like those that may still be seen at Kano". [2]
[1]: (Reader 1998, 230)
[2]: (Davidson 1998, 58) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
no evidence of "external threats to Jenne-jeno" [1] Later, at least, Djenne known to have been "fortified by a system of ramparts, with a variable number of guarded gates. A fortified city was called a tata." [2]
[1]: (Reader 1998, 230)
[2]: (Diop 1987, 121) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
no evidence of "external threats to Jenne-jeno" [1] Later, at least, Djenne known to have been "fortified by a system of ramparts, with a variable number of guarded gates. A fortified city was called a tata." [2]
[1]: (Reader 1998, 230)
[2]: (Diop 1987, 121) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.
Iron Age from 600 BCE in West Africa (e.g. Benue valley in Nigeria and upper Niger River) "the development and spread of the basic technologies of metal production and the forging and smithing of metal tools, notably in iron." [1] "Iron-headed hoes, probably invented some time after iron-pointed spears." [2] "Iron also brought, from about 600 BC onwards, a new source of military power." [3]
[1]: (Davidson 1998, 8) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Davidson 1998, 12) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 13) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
Iron Age from 600 BCE in West Africa (e.g. Benue valley in Nigeria and upper Niger River) "the development and spread of the basic technologies of metal production and the forging and smithing of metal tools, notably in iron." [1] "Iron-headed hoes, probably invented some time after iron-pointed spears." [2] "Iron also brought, from about 600 BC onwards, a new source of military power." [3]
[1]: (Davidson 1998, 8) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Davidson 1998, 12) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
[3]: (Davidson 1998, 13) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.
"The earliest irrefutable evidence of horses in sub-Saharan Africa comes from the Arabic texts, beginning with the writings of Al-Muhallabi from about AD 985. By then, however, the horse was a highly valued prestige animal, and camels were the vehicle of trans-Saharan trade." [1]
[1]: (Reader 1998, 266)
"The earliest irrefutable evidence of horses in sub-Saharan Africa comes from the Arabic texts, beginning with the writings of Al-Muhallabi from about AD 985. By then, however, the horse was a highly valued prestige animal, and camels were the vehicle of trans-Saharan trade." [1]
[1]: (Reader 1998, 266)
"The earliest irrefutable evidence of horses in sub-Saharan Africa comes from the Arabic texts, beginning with the writings of Al-Muhallabi from about AD 985. By then, however, the horse was a highly valued prestige animal, and camels were the vehicle of trans-Saharan trade." [1]
[1]: (Reader 1998, 266)