In the City of the Marabouts

In the City of the Marabouts: Islamic Culture in West Africa by Geert Mommersteeg is the latest of several revised editions and translations of the author's In de stad van de marabouts, first published in Dutch in 1998. The work is based on Mommersteeg's PhD thesis defended at the University of Utrecht in 1996, which is in turn mainly grounded in two long fieldwork terms in Djenne from October 1985 to October 1986, and June 1987 to January 1988. Djenne, located in the modern Republic of Mali south east of the Niger River, was an important entrepôt for long-distance trade until the colonial period. The town played a crucial role in the exchange of goods, such as gold, salt, and slaves between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Historically, the trans-Saharan trade routes terminated in Timbuktu, while, in a specular way, the sub-Saharan routes met in Djenne. The two towns were connected through a riverine trade axis on the Niger River that allowed these commercial networks to communicate and permitted the region to develop and prosper. At the same time, Djenne also flourished as a vibrant Muslim town and as a centre of Islamic learning after its ruler, Kai Komboro, converted around the late twelfth century

Ancient history · Archaeology · Colonial period · Colonialism · Economic history · Ethnology · Geography · Hajj · Islam · Islamic culture · Middle East · Ruler · African history and culture analysis · African Studies and Geopolitics · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History

• Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer of the Faith

  Open Access•Mauro Nobili•Sultan, Caliph, and the Renewer…•2020

  Add to list