Abstract
The disciplines of politics and history tend to be Eurocentric. Even at the best universities, World or Global history tends to be limited to the study of certain societies. Large, sophisticated and in some cases transcontinental historical empires are ignored by the social sciences. The tools used to study the few non-Western cases (China, Japan or Iran) are also artifacts of Western civilization. Outside the small and specialized discipline of African Studies, nearly no attempt is made to understand these societies on their own terms, let alone appreciate and grapple with their achievements and practices. This is especially the case with Africa.
Michael Gomez’ African Dominion: A New History of Empire in East and Medieval West Africa is a book in the classical tradition of African studies as exemplified by Patrick Chabal, Stephen Ellis, John Fage, and Ann Hugon among others. In addition to oral histories, the book is built upon previously unpublished and unexplored archival data. Organized in 4 parts and 14 chapters, it uses a classical historical methodology. Inspired by his mentor, John C. Wood, a professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago, the author learned Arabic to be able to read the manuscripts from the Islamic era onward in Western Africa.
The book is a close look at the cycle of West African empires, focusing especially on Mali and Songhay using the chronicles of medieval West Africa, Ta’rīkh as-Sūdān and Ta’rīkh al-Fattāsh. These works focus on the rise and fall of imperial Songhay (20). Gomez argues that West Africa has had a significant impact on world history and must not be ignored. Critiquing World History, he argues that while the study of civilization often starts with the Near East and Egypt, the discipline disdains West African empires like Mali and Songhay – if they are mentioned at all (12). The author connects West Africa to the World system through the Middle East and North Africa. As the 2012–2013 warfare in Mali showed, the region is deeply connected to the Middle East and North Africa, and in many ways, the conflict there was an extension of the Arab Spring which had devastated Libya and opened its vast arsenals to whoever can loot them. Immediately, after Muammar al-Qadhafi's death in October 2011, over two thousand of his loyalists crossed the border with Mali, joining forces with local opponents of the Malian government (369).
The author explores the historical antecedents of these links in detail. These links are not new and have existed historically, as shown by the manuscripts and oral histories consulted by the author. The Middle Niger Valley region lies at the heart of West Africa and it has been continuously inhabited for at least 9000 years, but a civilization as we would recognize it appeared about 5000 years ago. Between 2300 and 1700 years ago, the region experienced a population spike, perhaps environmental migrants from a massive drought called “the big dry” which saw declines in the populations of other regions in West Africa (14). With a larger population base, consolidating political projects led to the creation of empires centered on the region. Ghana emerged about 1700 years ago and survived in one form or another for about 800 years.
At one point in time, its ruler could field 200,000 troops, including 40,000 archers against the Takrur city of Silla, located in today's Senegal on the Senegal river (35). This history has been re-imagined to represent a golden age, when Africa was independent from external imperialism. This “golden age” became a centerpiece of anticolonial, antislavery, and antiracist resistance to Western hegemony, and its attendant stereotypes of Africa as backward. Histories that portray West African civilizations as urbane, large, organized, extensive and globally connected undermine that colonialist narrative. The progression and succession of civilization-empires beginning with Ghana, continuing on with Mali and concluding with Songhay implies a foundational embedded civilization in West Africa and became a template for studies on West African history (20).
The author is correct in criticizing the marginalization of West Africa in the Social Sciences. His book aims to raise awareness about the importance of the region and to encourage others to take the region seriously. While his perspective is correct, it is important to note that the discipline of history has not ignored the region entirely. The interactions of the region with the rest of the world were understood to be important as evidenced by the very manuscripts the author referred to. The discipline does acknowledge the early development of institutionalized government, including a 44-article constitution that contains human rights, the Kukukan-Fuga, of the Empire of Mali, promulgated by Mansa (Emperor) Sundiata Keita in 1235 CE. While the Empire of Mali was not a democracy, its system allowed for assemblies where people could speak. That phenomenon is underestimated in historiography, however, the study of African assemblies can show the genesis and evolution of the development of democratic processes and institutions from ancient times to the present day. Historicism and a systematic study of assemblies can shed light on the role of democracy in Africa and disprove the thesis that democracy is irrelevant to the continent.
Article 5 of its constitution held that people have a right to life and physical integrity. Article 41 forbade the humiliation of enemies in a manner the foreshadowed the laws of war adopted after the Hague Conventions and the two most recent World Wars. Another article excused the theft of food by the hungry. This book helps acquaint scholars with West Africa, it is designed to intellectually excite them and to encourage them to take the region seriously. It follows an Edward Gibbons-like structure (The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire) with regard to the rise and fall of Songhay which makes the reading more interesting and as a result, this book is bound to attract younger scholars to the discipline. The author's use of manuscripts and archival materials gives the book a fresh feel, meaning that the work is novel and unique.
