Arab Migrations to East Africa in Medieval Times

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3911452
AutoresB G Martins (0000-0002-5051-8831), Bradford G Martin (autor de correspondencia)
Año1974
Volumen7
Número3
Páginas367
Fecha de publicación1974-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe International Journal of African Historical Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0361-7882 • E-ISSN: 2326-3016
EditorialJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/217250
OpenAlexW2263224894
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas44

In the following paper I attempt to indicate some details of Arab migrations to East Africa (and a few to Indonesia) in medieval times. Most originated in Hadramawt, although some came from Yaman, and in these cases the migrants were members of clerical clans, descendants of the Prophet; thus they were a special sort of migrant.1 The clans I have tried to trace departed their homelands from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, and they are not very far removed in time. All the same, they demonstrate a number of points typical of seaborne movement, colonization, and settlement by Muslims in East Africa over a very long period in the past. Many Arabs migrated because of demographic pressures at home, a bad climate, famines and floods, or political upheavals. Abroad they aimed for high religious and juridical posts, trying to garner good situations for themselves through marital alliances. Frequently they played for high stakes by creating, enlarging, or taking over political structures in the places where they settled.2

Ancient history · Geography · Political science · African history and culture analysis · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History