Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants Revised edition

Marc Notes: Incl. bibl. ref. & index; Paper also avail. Publisher Marketing: Kingdoms arose during the early centuries of the Common Era across a wide region of West Africa. A rich source of information about West Africa is available in the Arabic sources written by geographers and chroniclers in the Muslim world between the 8th and the 15th centuries. In this volume are the actual primary sources upon which much modern knowledge about the kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, Kanem-Borno and their neighbors depends. Here is the story of the conversion of the western Sudan to Islam, as well as accounts of the famous medieval gold trade, testimonies about the pilgrimage of Mansa Musa, and insightful introductions to many other less familiar personalities, activities and events.

Contributor Bio:  Levtzion, Nehemia Nehemia Levtzion was a director with the Council for Higher Education in Israel and was a professor of history at the Hebrew University. Contributor Bio:  Spaulding, Jay Jay Spaulding is Professor of History, Kean University.