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African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa
A groundbreaking history that puts early and medieval West Africa in a global context
Pick up almost any book on early and medieval world history and empire, and where do you find West Africa? On the periphery. This pioneering book, the first on this period of the region's history in a generation, tells a different story. Interweaving political and social history and drawing on a rich array of sources, including Arabic manuscripts, oral histories, and recent archaeological findings, Michael Gomez unveils a new vision of how categories of ethnicity, race, gender, and caste emerged in Africa and in global history more generally. Scholars have long held that such distinctions arose during the colonial period, but Gomez shows they developed much earlier.
Focusing on the Savannah and Sahel region, Gomez traces the exchange of ideas and influences with North Africa and the Central Islamic Lands by way of merchants, scholars, and pilgrims. Islam's growth in West Africa, in tandem with intensifying commerce that included slaves, resulted in a series of political experiments unique to the region, culminating in the rise of empire. A major preoccupation was the question of who could be legally enslaved, which together with other factors led to the construction of new ideas about ethnicity, race, gender, and caste--long before colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade.
Telling a radically new story about early Africa in global history, African Dominion is set to be the standard work on the subject for many years to come.
Pick up almost any book on early and medieval world history and empire, and where do you find West Africa? On the periphery. This pioneering book, the first on this period of the region's history in a generation, tells a different story. Interweaving political and social history and drawing on a rich array of sources, including Arabic manuscripts, oral histories, and recent archaeological findings, Michael Gomez unveils a new vision of how categories of ethnicity, race, gender, and caste emerged in Africa and in global history more generally. Scholars have long held that such distinctions arose during the colonial period, but Gomez shows they developed much earlier.
Focusing on the Savannah and Sahel region, Gomez traces the exchange of ideas and influences with North Africa and the Central Islamic Lands by way of merchants, scholars, and pilgrims. Islam's growth in West Africa, in tandem with intensifying commerce that included slaves, resulted in a series of political experiments unique to the region, culminating in the rise of empire. A major preoccupation was the question of who could be legally enslaved, which together with other factors led to the construction of new ideas about ethnicity, race, gender, and caste--long before colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade.
Telling a radically new story about early Africa in global history, African Dominion is set to be the standard work on the subject for many years to come.
520 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2018
59 people are currently reading
1394 people want to read
About the author
Michael A. Gomez
6 books9 followersMichael A. Gomez is the Silver Professor of History and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University. His books include Black Crescent: African Muslims in the Americas; Exchanging Our Country Marks: The Transformation of African Identities in the Colonial and Antebellum South; Reversing Sail: A History of the African Diaspora; and Pragmatism in the Age of Jihad: The Precolonial State of Bundu.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
September 13, 2021
I feel like the author switched on the thesaurus plugin and replaced all normal words and phrases with those of unnecessary complexity. Case in point- "...demographic atrophy was precipitous..." Come on! Just say the population declined rapidly!
The author tirelessly tries to prove how medieval sources have been misinterpreted while constructing the history of West Africa. But this tirelessness is tiring because the book devolves into a historiographical critique. Yes, we get that there was a concerted effort to dismiss the rich history of Africa. I think especially now, we don't need to be convinced of this - we know. What we don't know are the specifics of African civilization - who were the people, what were their political structures, their social practices, their economic lifelines.
By Chapter 3, I gave up. This work is clearly seminal and I suppose it is needed to set the ground for other academics to build upon. But it feels like a very technical book meant for academics. I'll wait for a "dumbed-down" version.
The author tirelessly tries to prove how medieval sources have been misinterpreted while constructing the history of West Africa. But this tirelessness is tiring because the book devolves into a historiographical critique. Yes, we get that there was a concerted effort to dismiss the rich history of Africa. I think especially now, we don't need to be convinced of this - we know. What we don't know are the specifics of African civilization - who were the people, what were their political structures, their social practices, their economic lifelines.
By Chapter 3, I gave up. This work is clearly seminal and I suppose it is needed to set the ground for other academics to build upon. But it feels like a very technical book meant for academics. I'll wait for a "dumbed-down" version.
June 25, 2018
This book was absolutely incredible. It’s basically the story of the real Wakanda.
It is an excellent narrative, a great work of political economy, and also a remarkable work of scholarship drawing on many diverse sources and incorporating some of them with remarkable rigor. The narrative covers medieval West Africa from shortly after the arrival of Islam in West Africa to the destruction of the Songhai empire by Morocco at the end of the tenth centuryAH/sixteenth century AD. The dating of all events in both the Islamic calendar and the Gregorian is done throughout the work and helps contextualize the events in a way that surprised me.
The book covers the rise of the Malian Empire, its zenith under Mansa Musa and it’s engagement with the wider world via his pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. Then it chronicles the eclipse of Mali by Songhai and various failed efforts to consolidate that state and it’s long decline through a series of cataclysmic succession wars. It also goes into great depth about the role of the religious elites in Timbuktu and Jenne in alternately legitimizing and undermining the ruling family in Gao. The inter-imperial rivalry of these three major cities is an important theme of the book.
The role of Islam in the attempt to formulate a constitutional state is also of great interest. The uniformity, universality, and divine sanction of the sharia provided a solid bulkwark and was perhaps the greatest force for stability and it was what put the rulers, on occasion, at the mercy of the clerical families of Timbuktu and Jenne. The governance structure was a sort of feudalism, combined with an Islamic judicial branch and with the sons of the rulers occupying different governorates to monitor the compliance of feudal families.
There were issues with Islam as well. The legal sanction it gave to slavery accelerated its use though the area was known as a source of slaves to the Arab world long before Islam arrived. Islam prohibited enslaving fellow Muslims and this resulted in very detailed discussions about who precisely counted as a Muslim and which ethnic groups were this eligible to be enslaved. Sharia treatment of sexual slavery also complicated succession conflicts as a slave girl who gave birth to a son altered her legal status and her sons were legitimate. While the ruler was alive, this was extremely useful. One of the later rulers of Songhai had over 300 sons who formed the administrative core of the empire. But on his death, the succession conflicts were often decade in their resolution. These succession conflicts were ultimately the undoing of the Empire.
Europeans are of course completely absent from the narrative until the very end when the Moroccan expedition is commanded by Spaniards who had been captured by he Moroccans and converted to Islam to escape enslavement. There is almost no European contact at all with these two Empires though they are fairly well connected to the rest of the Islamic world with diplomatic encounters with the Mamelukes, Ottomans, Moroccans and other Islamic states in central and East Africa as well as the animist tribes surrounding them with shone they were more or less constantly at war.
The sources are interesting. He uses a combination of local documents, accounts of Arab and Maghrebi travelers and, most intriguingly, the oral legends of griots. These are interrogated and compared to one another and when they cannot be reconciled, serveral hypotheses are put forward and weighed. As a person used to reading straight narrative drawn from contemporary texts, this method was extremely interesting and frankly required a level of rigor one rarely sees in histories written with better source documents.
All in all, it was a fascinating book and I would absolutely recommend it.
It is an excellent narrative, a great work of political economy, and also a remarkable work of scholarship drawing on many diverse sources and incorporating some of them with remarkable rigor. The narrative covers medieval West Africa from shortly after the arrival of Islam in West Africa to the destruction of the Songhai empire by Morocco at the end of the tenth centuryAH/sixteenth century AD. The dating of all events in both the Islamic calendar and the Gregorian is done throughout the work and helps contextualize the events in a way that surprised me.
The book covers the rise of the Malian Empire, its zenith under Mansa Musa and it’s engagement with the wider world via his pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. Then it chronicles the eclipse of Mali by Songhai and various failed efforts to consolidate that state and it’s long decline through a series of cataclysmic succession wars. It also goes into great depth about the role of the religious elites in Timbuktu and Jenne in alternately legitimizing and undermining the ruling family in Gao. The inter-imperial rivalry of these three major cities is an important theme of the book.
The role of Islam in the attempt to formulate a constitutional state is also of great interest. The uniformity, universality, and divine sanction of the sharia provided a solid bulkwark and was perhaps the greatest force for stability and it was what put the rulers, on occasion, at the mercy of the clerical families of Timbuktu and Jenne. The governance structure was a sort of feudalism, combined with an Islamic judicial branch and with the sons of the rulers occupying different governorates to monitor the compliance of feudal families.
There were issues with Islam as well. The legal sanction it gave to slavery accelerated its use though the area was known as a source of slaves to the Arab world long before Islam arrived. Islam prohibited enslaving fellow Muslims and this resulted in very detailed discussions about who precisely counted as a Muslim and which ethnic groups were this eligible to be enslaved. Sharia treatment of sexual slavery also complicated succession conflicts as a slave girl who gave birth to a son altered her legal status and her sons were legitimate. While the ruler was alive, this was extremely useful. One of the later rulers of Songhai had over 300 sons who formed the administrative core of the empire. But on his death, the succession conflicts were often decade in their resolution. These succession conflicts were ultimately the undoing of the Empire.
Europeans are of course completely absent from the narrative until the very end when the Moroccan expedition is commanded by Spaniards who had been captured by he Moroccans and converted to Islam to escape enslavement. There is almost no European contact at all with these two Empires though they are fairly well connected to the rest of the Islamic world with diplomatic encounters with the Mamelukes, Ottomans, Moroccans and other Islamic states in central and East Africa as well as the animist tribes surrounding them with shone they were more or less constantly at war.
The sources are interesting. He uses a combination of local documents, accounts of Arab and Maghrebi travelers and, most intriguingly, the oral legends of griots. These are interrogated and compared to one another and when they cannot be reconciled, serveral hypotheses are put forward and weighed. As a person used to reading straight narrative drawn from contemporary texts, this method was extremely interesting and frankly required a level of rigor one rarely sees in histories written with better source documents.
All in all, it was a fascinating book and I would absolutely recommend it.
March 25, 2020
Really enjoyable read, at some points can get a bit bogged down with dates and names which can be hard to follow, however the wealth of knowledge provided is simply amazing. The story of Sunjata and Mansa Musa had me on the edge of my seat and the timeline of Songhay is expertly crafted. Very important work for those seeking erudition!
September 12, 2021
A history of empire in medieval West Africa, this book covers Gao, Ghana, Mali, and Songhay - with most of the book focusing on Mali and Songhay. The book reviews both written and early sources and covers issues of gender, slavery, and race. Gomez shows how Mali under Mansa Musa became a globally renowned empire, renowned for its gold and for the impressive hajj to Mecca. Songhay became a significant power as well, until weakened by internal conflict and occupied by Morocco. Weakened internally, empire dwindled, making West Africa vulnerable to subsequent Western colonialism.
"African Dominion" is a very dry book and not easily digestible. As other reviewers have mentioned, it really does seem like the author replaced normal words and phrases with unnecessarily difficult and complex ones. Because of this writing style I cannot recommend this book except to those who are very dedicated to West African history and have an introductory background already. This is definitely not a book for the general reader. I almost gave the book two stars for its writing style but decided to give it a third star due to its rigorous scholarship. (If only that scholarship had been presented in a more accessible format).
"African Dominion" is a very dry book and not easily digestible. As other reviewers have mentioned, it really does seem like the author replaced normal words and phrases with unnecessarily difficult and complex ones. Because of this writing style I cannot recommend this book except to those who are very dedicated to West African history and have an introductory background already. This is definitely not a book for the general reader. I almost gave the book two stars for its writing style but decided to give it a third star due to its rigorous scholarship. (If only that scholarship had been presented in a more accessible format).
April 1, 2022
In African Dominion, author Michael Gomez takes on the colossal task of seeking to highlight a history of a region and collection of peoples—during a transitory period of human history—by relying on sources that are as explicitly political as they are incomplete. Nevertheless, Gomez puts forth a valiant and highly valuable effort detailing the rise, fall, and legacies of various West African kingdoms and empires in the Middle Ages. African Dominion specifically traces the trajectories of the African Kingdoms / Empires of Gao, Ghana, Mali, and Songhay, told through the eyes of Islamic primary sources and African oral histories. In doing so, Gomez situates these great states as players on the international stage, while simultaneously shedding light and detailing the strengths that led to their rise, and the weaknesses that led to their fall. This book also discusses the origin of racecraft in this region of Africa, exposing the poisonous roots that would soon take hold and facilitate the European plunder of the region.
Gomez tells the history of these West African states by focusing on the ruling classes of the Sorko (Songhay), Sonike (Ghana), and Malinke / Mande (Mali). While Gomez weaves-in aspects of these peoples’ oral history, the most frustrating aspect of this retelling is how singular its focus is on African royalty. Little (if anything) is said about the masses of people, leaving the everyday lives of the masses of people largely up to our imagination. This is especially true once Islam takes hold, as the Islamic primary sources on the region were explicitly developed for political purposes centering on propping up the Islamic ruling classes. Further, as Gomez notes, Muslims viewed non-Muslims with extreme hostility, and largely dismissed those "non-believers" as uncivilized and heathen. Thus, the African masses—of whom were predominantly non-Muslim (or at least only nominally Muslim)—got very little analysis by the primary sources.
Gomez situates the rise of Islam among West African royalty as a vehicle for international economic cooperation and political validation. As such, Islam is a focal point throughout the book. This is made especially clear in Gomez’s retelling of Mali’s Mansa Musa’s epic pilgrimage across the African continent through Cairo, and eventually, to Mecca. While Musa’s trek to Mecca has been featured in countless sources throughout history, Gomez provided great detail on specific aspects of the endeavor that causal lovers of history may not have known. In noting Musa’s motivations for the pilgrimage as seeking to legitimatize his rule in Mali and put Mali on the map as a world power, Gomez described how Musa refused to prostrate himself to the Egyptian Mamluk Sultan in Cairo. However, Gomez also detailed Musa’s tremendous folly and economic waste during the pilgrimage, showing how it not only resulted in serious debt for the Mali Empire, but it opened-up Malian citizens (including Mansa Musa himself) for exploitation by non-African people.
Gomez’s exploration of the Songhay empire was fascinating. Without explicitly stating it, he described Songhay as a Pan African state comprised of multiple ethnic groups that truly bought into Songhay as a national identity. However, the ties that bound these different groups together wasn’t a larger African identity, it was Islam. It was during the Songhay portion of the book that Islam looms the largest, as Gomez details Sunny Ali’s persecution of Muslim clerics, as well as Askia Muhammed’s redemption of Islam as the singular pillar of the Empire. While Gomez doesn’t explicitly state it, the contradiction of characterizing Songhay as a Pan African empire under the banner of Islam becomes clear when one views Songhay’s violent relationship with its non-Muslim neighbors, including the Mossi Kingdoms. True Pan Africanism would not have sidelined African identity in favor of an Abrahamic religion. Further and perhaps even more consequential, Gomez spends much time detailing the role of Islam in facilitating enslavement in Songhay and Mali. Gomez makes clear that not all Sahelian states in engaged in the slave trafficking known as the Trans Saharan Slave Trade. Instead, the West African states whose ruling class had close affiliations with Islamic states to the North and East tended to not only engage in outright slave trading with Arab empires, they even sometimes situated their origins in Muslim lands. In exploring the relationship between Islam and enslavement in West Africa, Gomez highlights the origins of the racial slavery that would come to define Euro-American colonization, and in doing so, examines “Blackness” as a category tied to the enslavement of non-Muslim Africans.
Finally, Gomez’s analysis of slavery in the Mali and Songhay empires demonstrates the complicated nature of enslavement in these societies. While the existence of slavery in West Africa—even in its plantation form along the Niger river—should not be analogized to the horrors of New World enslavement, there can be no doubt that it had a consequential impact on these societies, especially when one considers the role Islam played in facilitating it. Ultimately, Gomez does a masterful job demonstrating how and why these African empires fell, pointing the finger at a number of issues, including unceasing succession disputes, foreign incursions, and environmental disruptions. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to grapple with the history of this part of Africa before the dawn of the Maafa.
Gomez tells the history of these West African states by focusing on the ruling classes of the Sorko (Songhay), Sonike (Ghana), and Malinke / Mande (Mali). While Gomez weaves-in aspects of these peoples’ oral history, the most frustrating aspect of this retelling is how singular its focus is on African royalty. Little (if anything) is said about the masses of people, leaving the everyday lives of the masses of people largely up to our imagination. This is especially true once Islam takes hold, as the Islamic primary sources on the region were explicitly developed for political purposes centering on propping up the Islamic ruling classes. Further, as Gomez notes, Muslims viewed non-Muslims with extreme hostility, and largely dismissed those "non-believers" as uncivilized and heathen. Thus, the African masses—of whom were predominantly non-Muslim (or at least only nominally Muslim)—got very little analysis by the primary sources.
Gomez situates the rise of Islam among West African royalty as a vehicle for international economic cooperation and political validation. As such, Islam is a focal point throughout the book. This is made especially clear in Gomez’s retelling of Mali’s Mansa Musa’s epic pilgrimage across the African continent through Cairo, and eventually, to Mecca. While Musa’s trek to Mecca has been featured in countless sources throughout history, Gomez provided great detail on specific aspects of the endeavor that causal lovers of history may not have known. In noting Musa’s motivations for the pilgrimage as seeking to legitimatize his rule in Mali and put Mali on the map as a world power, Gomez described how Musa refused to prostrate himself to the Egyptian Mamluk Sultan in Cairo. However, Gomez also detailed Musa’s tremendous folly and economic waste during the pilgrimage, showing how it not only resulted in serious debt for the Mali Empire, but it opened-up Malian citizens (including Mansa Musa himself) for exploitation by non-African people.
Gomez’s exploration of the Songhay empire was fascinating. Without explicitly stating it, he described Songhay as a Pan African state comprised of multiple ethnic groups that truly bought into Songhay as a national identity. However, the ties that bound these different groups together wasn’t a larger African identity, it was Islam. It was during the Songhay portion of the book that Islam looms the largest, as Gomez details Sunny Ali’s persecution of Muslim clerics, as well as Askia Muhammed’s redemption of Islam as the singular pillar of the Empire. While Gomez doesn’t explicitly state it, the contradiction of characterizing Songhay as a Pan African empire under the banner of Islam becomes clear when one views Songhay’s violent relationship with its non-Muslim neighbors, including the Mossi Kingdoms. True Pan Africanism would not have sidelined African identity in favor of an Abrahamic religion. Further and perhaps even more consequential, Gomez spends much time detailing the role of Islam in facilitating enslavement in Songhay and Mali. Gomez makes clear that not all Sahelian states in engaged in the slave trafficking known as the Trans Saharan Slave Trade. Instead, the West African states whose ruling class had close affiliations with Islamic states to the North and East tended to not only engage in outright slave trading with Arab empires, they even sometimes situated their origins in Muslim lands. In exploring the relationship between Islam and enslavement in West Africa, Gomez highlights the origins of the racial slavery that would come to define Euro-American colonization, and in doing so, examines “Blackness” as a category tied to the enslavement of non-Muslim Africans.
Finally, Gomez’s analysis of slavery in the Mali and Songhay empires demonstrates the complicated nature of enslavement in these societies. While the existence of slavery in West Africa—even in its plantation form along the Niger river—should not be analogized to the horrors of New World enslavement, there can be no doubt that it had a consequential impact on these societies, especially when one considers the role Islam played in facilitating it. Ultimately, Gomez does a masterful job demonstrating how and why these African empires fell, pointing the finger at a number of issues, including unceasing succession disputes, foreign incursions, and environmental disruptions. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to grapple with the history of this part of Africa before the dawn of the Maafa.
October 10, 2019
Fantastic scholarship. This is a history that should be known by Europeans and North and South Americans. Western Africa had a vibrant and unique political system that easily rivaled its European counterparts. If Mali had the good fortune of having the tides on their side, it seems possible that Europe could have been, at least, partially subjugated by Mali through Spain if allied with Andalusian Moors and African Berbers.
Gomez doesn't speculate on these possibilities, but it is hard not to see them.
This book is a great example of scholarship. I would hate to see it generalized in textbooks claiming that Mali and Songhai rivaled Byzantium or Baghdad, but I'm afraid that the complex nature of this history will be lost without an attempt to define a solid narrative.
Great work for the scholarly inclined. This might be too much for the casual reader. However, this is clearly marketed to academics.
Gomez doesn't speculate on these possibilities, but it is hard not to see them.
This book is a great example of scholarship. I would hate to see it generalized in textbooks claiming that Mali and Songhai rivaled Byzantium or Baghdad, but I'm afraid that the complex nature of this history will be lost without an attempt to define a solid narrative.
Great work for the scholarly inclined. This might be too much for the casual reader. However, this is clearly marketed to academics.
September 12, 2019
We have a two for one special here, where both the traditional narrative of the rise and proliferation of the west African slave trade is reexamined as getting its first real state-directed jolt from Mali and Songhai...as well as a straight primary source infused narrative of the history of the region as it relates to imperial projects.
I was far more interested in the imperial history but was glad for the extra regional context that would later connect so directly to Atlantic history. Though I have long held a fascination for Ghana-Mali-Songhai one thing I did not know until this book is how robust traditional regional animism was even in ruling elites, with even the first two rulers of Songhai being arguably on the fence of closet traditionalists.
This is probably the best work in English I know of on medieval West Africa.
I was far more interested in the imperial history but was glad for the extra regional context that would later connect so directly to Atlantic history. Though I have long held a fascination for Ghana-Mali-Songhai one thing I did not know until this book is how robust traditional regional animism was even in ruling elites, with even the first two rulers of Songhai being arguably on the fence of closet traditionalists.
This is probably the best work in English I know of on medieval West Africa.
January 25, 2019
Gomez chronicles the rise and fall of the Mali and Songhay empires in medieval West Africa. It’s an important book based on an eclectic body of sources: of oral histories, Arabic merchant travel reports, archeological records and much else. That said, because Gomez envisions his study as a chronicle it’s light on critique.
July 16, 2025
end of the songhay empire was messier and more murdery than any soap opera
January 21, 2021
BRIEF BOOK REVIEW
Title: African Domination
Author: Michael A. Gomez
Reviewer: Bashir Abubakar
Content:- Introduction
- Synopsis
- Verdict
- Critique
- Rate
Introduction:- When talking about the past (history) anytime "West Africa" were mentioned, the first thing that came to the minds of vast majority of the listeners is "colonialism" which shape our thoughts and keep puzzling in our imagination. But in 14 chapters, 4 parts, and 521 pages a nonfiction book title "African Dominion" Michael A. Gomez took the minds of historians back to the early and medieval West Africa. The author lamented on the silence of world historians and their exclusion of West Africa in their history books, so He decided to bridge the gap in this book. The author focus on "Mali" and it dynasties with Sunjata, Mansa Musa, Askia Al-Hajj Muhammad and other rulers of the pivot of the historian journey, especially Mansa Musa whom his luxurious pilgrimage is something unforgettable. In Michael's words "Mali would undergo dramatic transformation with the Pilgrimage of Mansā Mūsā, arresting the world’s attention while enshrining its iconic dimension in written reportage."
Synopsis:- As everyone knows that every society need to connect itself with the others to exchange social experience both physical and psychological. "The introduction of the camel into the Maghrib between 100 BCE and 100 CE that regularized trade between North and West Africa became viable." And By 800 CE, then, Jenne-jeno had emerged as “a full and heterogeneous agglomeration of craftsmen, herders, farmers, and fisherfolk of diferent flavors,”
Sunjata wrote his name in the history of Medieval Mali and West African as a whole. "Ibn Khadūn records that Sunjata, ruled for twenty-five years. If used to date the beginning of Sunjata’s rule, the Battle of Kirina would have taken place around 1233, and Sunjata would have died around 1258. Since that time, 'gender' is still something that covered the social discussions. The subsequent close association between Sunjata and his mother, then between Sunjata and his sister, reflects the degree to which Sunjata is the product of women, not just in the biological sense, but also in the ideational realm, their spiritual abilities indispensable to Sunjata’s survival and rise. If men are “the instruments of conquest and destruction, women are the sources (providers) of all that these men accomplish.
Mansa Musa is a strong pillar of Islam in the region. Al-‘Umarī states Mūsā “brought jurists of the Malikite school to his country,” Musa's pursuit of Islam was therefore as much a political mobilization as anything else. Far more than war, Islam became the quintessential implement of dominion. Musa also built Jingereber mosque, the “Great Mosque,” adding to it a tower-minaret (ṣawma’a) while establishing a personal residence, the ma’aduku or “place of the ruler,” most likely outside of the city, in or near Timbuktu’s river port of Kabara. And I hope, Timbuktu University (Mosque) isn't something new in the reader's mind?
Developments through the fifteenth century constitute a period of Malian retrenchment, refected in a loss of interest in the external Arabic sources At the same time, this is precisely the dawn of European activity along the West African coast, from where observation open a window onto the West African interior. Yet; it is hardly surprising that Islam’s development in Mali is best legible as a component of its political narrative. That Islam emerges as a powerful, state-sanctioned force is discernible in imperial signage, constituting the site of its most compelling claim.
Despite the development of Islam, Ibn Baṭṭūṭa appears to complain: "One of their disapproved acts is that their female servants and slave girls and little girls appear before men naked, with their privy parts uncovered. Another is that their women go into the sultan’s presence naked and uncovered, and that his daughters go naked. On the night of 25 Ramaḍān I saw about 200 slave girls bringing out food from his palace naked, having with them two of his daughters with rounded breasts having no covering upon them."
Amongs the rulers, one name that people don't want to hear his name is Sunni Ali. He painted every positive with his unfair activities "...from Kabara, ‘Alī launched a second wave, de-manding thirty virgin daughters of the Sankore be brought to him on foot to become his concubines, a decidedly of f ensive and illegal move." The man never cares about what Islam said. This is why Al-Maghīlī takes pains to make his position wholly transparent said "Sunni ‘Alī and all his of facials and followers and helpers are no doubt among the most evil tyrants and miscreants, so that the jihād of the Amīr Askia against them and his seizing of power from their hands is among the most worthy and important of jihāds."
When talking about "Jihad and expansion" The only name that will come to mind is Askia Muhammad Al-hajj. Just as Mansa Musa’s return from the Pilgrimage stimulated Islam’s indigenization in Mali and the Savannah, Askia Muḥammad was the beginning of far-reaching developments in West African polity, initializing an era of Islamic reform not only in Songhay, but in Hausaland as well."
The other rulers Such as Askia Dawud and Askia Musa among others continue with the habits of the forefathers both positive and negatives.
Verdict:- The prowess used by the author is absolutely sensational. He involved the thoughts and experience of the greatest people in history such as Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Batuta, Ibn Khathir, Ibn Hajar among others. In a funny way Ibn Batuta lamented the habit of Mansa Sulayman for being stingy Saying “I have journeyed to the countries of the world and met their kings,” stated Ibn Baṭṭūṭa, and given the lack of a suitable reception gift, “What shall I say of you in the presence of other sultans?” “I have not seen you nor known about you,” the mansā replied." Also the author didn't shy to say truth separating his thought and his source, when there's no evidence, he never mention it, especially during the Mansa Musa's pilgrimage saying "there's internal source of what transpired especially is un-details.
Critique:- The title of the book (African Dominion: A new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa) but the focus of the author is "Mali" it will be better if the author just use "Imperial Songhay or Mali" because as a Nigeria, I keep waiting to read what happened in the early and medieval of Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo land, unfortunately, It only appeared briefly because of the Askia Muhammad al-hajj. Ousmane Omar Kane in His book Beyond Timbuktu, he did justice to all by touching every angle of the region.
To rate the book, I can give it 3/6
Title: African Domination
Author: Michael A. Gomez
Reviewer: Bashir Abubakar
Content:- Introduction
- Synopsis
- Verdict
- Critique
- Rate
Introduction:- When talking about the past (history) anytime "West Africa" were mentioned, the first thing that came to the minds of vast majority of the listeners is "colonialism" which shape our thoughts and keep puzzling in our imagination. But in 14 chapters, 4 parts, and 521 pages a nonfiction book title "African Dominion" Michael A. Gomez took the minds of historians back to the early and medieval West Africa. The author lamented on the silence of world historians and their exclusion of West Africa in their history books, so He decided to bridge the gap in this book. The author focus on "Mali" and it dynasties with Sunjata, Mansa Musa, Askia Al-Hajj Muhammad and other rulers of the pivot of the historian journey, especially Mansa Musa whom his luxurious pilgrimage is something unforgettable. In Michael's words "Mali would undergo dramatic transformation with the Pilgrimage of Mansā Mūsā, arresting the world’s attention while enshrining its iconic dimension in written reportage."
Synopsis:- As everyone knows that every society need to connect itself with the others to exchange social experience both physical and psychological. "The introduction of the camel into the Maghrib between 100 BCE and 100 CE that regularized trade between North and West Africa became viable." And By 800 CE, then, Jenne-jeno had emerged as “a full and heterogeneous agglomeration of craftsmen, herders, farmers, and fisherfolk of diferent flavors,”
Sunjata wrote his name in the history of Medieval Mali and West African as a whole. "Ibn Khadūn records that Sunjata, ruled for twenty-five years. If used to date the beginning of Sunjata’s rule, the Battle of Kirina would have taken place around 1233, and Sunjata would have died around 1258. Since that time, 'gender' is still something that covered the social discussions. The subsequent close association between Sunjata and his mother, then between Sunjata and his sister, reflects the degree to which Sunjata is the product of women, not just in the biological sense, but also in the ideational realm, their spiritual abilities indispensable to Sunjata’s survival and rise. If men are “the instruments of conquest and destruction, women are the sources (providers) of all that these men accomplish.
Mansa Musa is a strong pillar of Islam in the region. Al-‘Umarī states Mūsā “brought jurists of the Malikite school to his country,” Musa's pursuit of Islam was therefore as much a political mobilization as anything else. Far more than war, Islam became the quintessential implement of dominion. Musa also built Jingereber mosque, the “Great Mosque,” adding to it a tower-minaret (ṣawma’a) while establishing a personal residence, the ma’aduku or “place of the ruler,” most likely outside of the city, in or near Timbuktu’s river port of Kabara. And I hope, Timbuktu University (Mosque) isn't something new in the reader's mind?
Developments through the fifteenth century constitute a period of Malian retrenchment, refected in a loss of interest in the external Arabic sources At the same time, this is precisely the dawn of European activity along the West African coast, from where observation open a window onto the West African interior. Yet; it is hardly surprising that Islam’s development in Mali is best legible as a component of its political narrative. That Islam emerges as a powerful, state-sanctioned force is discernible in imperial signage, constituting the site of its most compelling claim.
Despite the development of Islam, Ibn Baṭṭūṭa appears to complain: "One of their disapproved acts is that their female servants and slave girls and little girls appear before men naked, with their privy parts uncovered. Another is that their women go into the sultan’s presence naked and uncovered, and that his daughters go naked. On the night of 25 Ramaḍān I saw about 200 slave girls bringing out food from his palace naked, having with them two of his daughters with rounded breasts having no covering upon them."
Amongs the rulers, one name that people don't want to hear his name is Sunni Ali. He painted every positive with his unfair activities "...from Kabara, ‘Alī launched a second wave, de-manding thirty virgin daughters of the Sankore be brought to him on foot to become his concubines, a decidedly of f ensive and illegal move." The man never cares about what Islam said. This is why Al-Maghīlī takes pains to make his position wholly transparent said "Sunni ‘Alī and all his of facials and followers and helpers are no doubt among the most evil tyrants and miscreants, so that the jihād of the Amīr Askia against them and his seizing of power from their hands is among the most worthy and important of jihāds."
When talking about "Jihad and expansion" The only name that will come to mind is Askia Muhammad Al-hajj. Just as Mansa Musa’s return from the Pilgrimage stimulated Islam’s indigenization in Mali and the Savannah, Askia Muḥammad was the beginning of far-reaching developments in West African polity, initializing an era of Islamic reform not only in Songhay, but in Hausaland as well."
The other rulers Such as Askia Dawud and Askia Musa among others continue with the habits of the forefathers both positive and negatives.
Verdict:- The prowess used by the author is absolutely sensational. He involved the thoughts and experience of the greatest people in history such as Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Batuta, Ibn Khathir, Ibn Hajar among others. In a funny way Ibn Batuta lamented the habit of Mansa Sulayman for being stingy Saying “I have journeyed to the countries of the world and met their kings,” stated Ibn Baṭṭūṭa, and given the lack of a suitable reception gift, “What shall I say of you in the presence of other sultans?” “I have not seen you nor known about you,” the mansā replied." Also the author didn't shy to say truth separating his thought and his source, when there's no evidence, he never mention it, especially during the Mansa Musa's pilgrimage saying "there's internal source of what transpired especially is un-details.
Critique:- The title of the book (African Dominion: A new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa) but the focus of the author is "Mali" it will be better if the author just use "Imperial Songhay or Mali" because as a Nigeria, I keep waiting to read what happened in the early and medieval of Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo land, unfortunately, It only appeared briefly because of the Askia Muhammad al-hajj. Ousmane Omar Kane in His book Beyond Timbuktu, he did justice to all by touching every angle of the region.
To rate the book, I can give it 3/6
January 30, 2023
I came to this book because of A Fistfull of Shells by Toby Green and wanted to see what West Africa (or at least a part of it) was like before the begining of that book. Gomez's book delivers. I found it a little rough going through no fault of the author.
He rightly uses dual time dates (from the Islamic date system and the Common system) and multiple names for each town plus I am unfamilar with many of the historical books that document the era..so it means many sentences for me take a bit longer to process...but again that is a ME thing not a book problem
This book so firmly anchors West Africa into place that a whole region of the world has become more solid for me. I am going to be able to use this book as reference whenever I read about any of the players from the Mediteraian to the Red Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. I can't wait to put what I've learned into practice and then come back to this book again.
He rightly uses dual time dates (from the Islamic date system and the Common system) and multiple names for each town plus I am unfamilar with many of the historical books that document the era..so it means many sentences for me take a bit longer to process...but again that is a ME thing not a book problem
This book so firmly anchors West Africa into place that a whole region of the world has become more solid for me. I am going to be able to use this book as reference whenever I read about any of the players from the Mediteraian to the Red Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. I can't wait to put what I've learned into practice and then come back to this book again.
August 30, 2025
What an interesting history, I never knew any of this. I do really enjoy reading about history and life in the past.
March 24, 2026
Michael A. Gomez legt mit diesem Werk eine wegweisende Neudarstellung der Imperiengeschichte im frühen und mittelalterlichen Westafrika vor. Während der afrikanische Kontinent in klassischen Weltgeschichten häufig marginalisiert wird, rückt Gomez die Regionen von Savanne und Sahel konsequent ins Zentrum der Analyse.
Er verwebt politische, soziale und intellektuelle Geschichte zu einer dichten Darstellung, die eine neue Perspektive auf afrikanische Machtstrukturen eröffnet. Dabei zeigt das Buch, wie zentrale Kategorien wie Ethnizität, Rasse und Geschlecht in diesem historischen Kontext entstanden und wirksam wurden.
Ein besonderer Fokus liegt auf der Ausbreitung des Islam sowie der Intensivierung transsaharischer Handelsnetzwerke, die nicht nur wirtschaftliche Dynamiken beförderten, sondern auch neuartige politische Formationen ermöglichten. Diese Entwicklungen führten zu komplexen Herrschaftsformen und zum Aufstieg einflussreicher Reiche, deren Innovationskraft lange unterschätzt wurde.
Gomez macht deutlich, dass das frühe Westafrika kein peripherer Raum war, sondern ein dynamisches Zentrum politischer und kultureller Entwicklung. In dieser Perspektive erscheint der Kontinent als aktiver Mitgestalter globaler Geschichte.
„African Dominion“ ist damit mehr als eine regionale Studie: Es ist ein künftiges Standardwerk, das unser Verständnis von Herrschaft, Staatlichkeit und historischer Entwicklung grundlegend erweitert.
Gerade vor diesem Hintergrund erschließt sich auch die innere Struktur des Werkes als mehr als bloße Chronologie – nämlich als bewusst komponierte Argumentation.
Der folgende Überblick führt tiefer in die innere Architektur von Michael A. Gomez’ Darstellung ein. Nach der grundlegenden Verschiebung der Perspektive – weg von der Marginalisierung Westafrikas hin zu seiner Einordnung als eigenständiges Zentrum historischer Dynamik – entfaltet sich das Werk entlang einer klaren, zugleich erzählerisch dichten Struktur.
Gomez erzählt diese Geschichte nicht linear im Sinne einer bloßen Abfolge von Herrschern und Reichen, sondern als ein Geflecht politischer, sozialer und intellektueller Entwicklungen. Die einzelnen Teile des Buches markieren dabei keine isolierten Epochen, sondern miteinander verflochtene Räume von Experimenten: von den frühen Formationen im Sahel über die imperialen Verdichtungen in Mali und Songhay bis hin zu den Krisenmomenten, in denen sich die Fragilität dieser Ordnungen offenbart.
Die Kapitel lassen sich daher als Bausteine einer größeren These lesen: dass Westafrika über Jahrhunderte hinweg ein Labor politischer Imagination war, in dem Fragen von Herrschaft, Religion, Handel und sozialer Differenz immer wieder neu ausgehandelt wurden. Die folgende Gliederung macht sichtbar, wie Gomez diese These Schritt für Schritt entfaltet – von den frühen urbanen Zentren am Niger bis zum dramatischen Ende der großen Imperien im späten 16. Jahrhundert.
Prolog & Teil I: Früher Sahel und die Savanne
Teil II: Das Imperium Mali
Teil III: Das Imperium Songhay
Teil IV: Le Dernier de L’Empire
Er verwebt politische, soziale und intellektuelle Geschichte zu einer dichten Darstellung, die eine neue Perspektive auf afrikanische Machtstrukturen eröffnet. Dabei zeigt das Buch, wie zentrale Kategorien wie Ethnizität, Rasse und Geschlecht in diesem historischen Kontext entstanden und wirksam wurden.
Ein besonderer Fokus liegt auf der Ausbreitung des Islam sowie der Intensivierung transsaharischer Handelsnetzwerke, die nicht nur wirtschaftliche Dynamiken beförderten, sondern auch neuartige politische Formationen ermöglichten. Diese Entwicklungen führten zu komplexen Herrschaftsformen und zum Aufstieg einflussreicher Reiche, deren Innovationskraft lange unterschätzt wurde.
Gomez macht deutlich, dass das frühe Westafrika kein peripherer Raum war, sondern ein dynamisches Zentrum politischer und kultureller Entwicklung. In dieser Perspektive erscheint der Kontinent als aktiver Mitgestalter globaler Geschichte.
„African Dominion“ ist damit mehr als eine regionale Studie: Es ist ein künftiges Standardwerk, das unser Verständnis von Herrschaft, Staatlichkeit und historischer Entwicklung grundlegend erweitert.
Gerade vor diesem Hintergrund erschließt sich auch die innere Struktur des Werkes als mehr als bloße Chronologie – nämlich als bewusst komponierte Argumentation.
Der folgende Überblick führt tiefer in die innere Architektur von Michael A. Gomez’ Darstellung ein. Nach der grundlegenden Verschiebung der Perspektive – weg von der Marginalisierung Westafrikas hin zu seiner Einordnung als eigenständiges Zentrum historischer Dynamik – entfaltet sich das Werk entlang einer klaren, zugleich erzählerisch dichten Struktur.
Gomez erzählt diese Geschichte nicht linear im Sinne einer bloßen Abfolge von Herrschern und Reichen, sondern als ein Geflecht politischer, sozialer und intellektueller Entwicklungen. Die einzelnen Teile des Buches markieren dabei keine isolierten Epochen, sondern miteinander verflochtene Räume von Experimenten: von den frühen Formationen im Sahel über die imperialen Verdichtungen in Mali und Songhay bis hin zu den Krisenmomenten, in denen sich die Fragilität dieser Ordnungen offenbart.
Die Kapitel lassen sich daher als Bausteine einer größeren These lesen: dass Westafrika über Jahrhunderte hinweg ein Labor politischer Imagination war, in dem Fragen von Herrschaft, Religion, Handel und sozialer Differenz immer wieder neu ausgehandelt wurden. Die folgende Gliederung macht sichtbar, wie Gomez diese These Schritt für Schritt entfaltet – von den frühen urbanen Zentren am Niger bis zum dramatischen Ende der großen Imperien im späten 16. Jahrhundert.
Prolog & Teil I: Früher Sahel und die Savanne
Prolog: Gomez setzt den Ton, indem er zeigt, dass das mittelalterliche Westafrika kein statischer Ort war, sondern ein Raum dynamischer politischer Innovationen, in dem sich Kategorien wie Rasse, Sklaverei und Geschlecht entwickelten.
Kapitel 1 (Der mittlere Niger im globalen Kontext): Dieses Kapitel ist eine methodische Provokation. Gomez kritisiert, dass Westafrika in der „Weltgeschichte“ oft ignoriert wird, obwohl der mittlere Niger bereits in der Eisenzeit urbane Zentren besaß, die mit Mesopotamien vergleichbar waren.
Kapitel 2 (Frühes Gao): Gao wird als entscheidender Knotenpunkt des Sahel-Handels gewürdigt. Gomez zeigt die lange Kontinuität dieser Stadt auf, die vom späten Steinzeitalter bis ins 17. Jahrhundert eine führende Rolle spielte.
Kapitel 3 (Die Königreiche von Ghana): Hier analysiert er den Aufstieg von Ghana und die Bedeutung des Senegal-Flusses für den Goldhandel. Besonders spannend ist die Darstellung der Islamisierung des Königshofes.
Kapitel 4 (Sklaverei und Rasse): Ein intellektuelles Highlight. Gomez untersucht, wie sich Vorstellungen von „Schwarzsein“ und Sklaverei im Bilād as-Sūdān entwickelten, lange bevor der transatlantische Sklavenhandel begann.
Teil II: Das Imperium Mali
Kapitel 5 (Sunjata und der Aufgang Malis): Gomez dekonstruiert das Sunjata-Epos nicht nur als Mythos, sondern als politisches Fundament für die imperiale Expansion Malis.
Kapitel 6 (Mansā Mūsā und das globale Mali): Dieses Kapitel würdigt die berühmte Pilgerreise nach Mekka als Akt globaler Diplomatie. Mūsā wollte Mali als ebenbürtige Macht in der islamischen Welt etablieren.
Kapitel 7 (Intrigen, Islam und Ibn Battūța): Durch die Augen des Reisenden Ibn Battūța beleuchtet Gomez die inneren Spannungen Malis, insbesondere die Rolle der Frauen (wie die Rebellion der Königin Qāsā) und den Einfluss des Islams.
Teil III: Das Imperium Songhay
Kapitel 8 (Sunni ‘Alī und die Neuerfindung Songhays): Gomez beschreibt Sunni ‘Alī als radikalen Innovator, dessen Herrschaft durch militärische Gewalt und eine Abkehr von religiösen Konventionen geprägt war.
Kapitel 9 (Die Sunni und die Gelehrten): Ein tiefer Einblick in den Konflikt zwischen der politischen Macht und der religiösen Elite von Timbuktu, ein „Märchen von Rache“ und intellektuellem Widerstand.
Kapitel 10 (Renaissance: Das Zeitalter von Askia Muhammad): Unter Askia Muhammad erlebt Songhay eine kulturelle Blüte. Gomez zeigt, wie eine anspruchsvolle Politik des Pluralismus verschiedene Ethnien in die Machtstruktur einband.
Kapitel 11 (Kleriker und Konkubinen): Hier wird die soziale Tiefe des Reiches untersucht – von der Bedeutung islamischer Bildung bis hin zur Rolle der Sklaverei und der Frauen am Hof.
Teil IV: Le Dernier de L’Empire
Kapitel 12 (Fitnas und Brudermord): Der Beginn des Abstiegs. Gomez analysiert, wie dynastische Kämpfe und interne Instabilität (Fitna) das imperiale Gefüge nach dem Tod Askia Dawuds schwächten.
Kapitel 13 (Überfluss und Stabilität: Die Ära von Askia Dāwūd): (Interessanterweise gehört Dawud hier chronologisch zum Zenit, Gomez nutzt ihn jedoch als Kontrastfolie zum kommenden Fall).
Kapitel 14 (Das Ende des Dominions): Das dramatische Finale: Die marokkanische Invasion von 1591 zerschlägt das Songhay-Reich und beendet die Ära der großen westafrikanischen Imperien.
Fazit: Gomez’ Würdigung liegt darin, dass er diese Geschichte nicht als bloße Chronik von Königen erzählt, sondern als eine Geschichte von „politischer Phantasie“. Das Buch beweist, dass Westafrika über ein Jahrtausend lang innovative Modelle der Herrschaft und des sozialen Zusammenlebens entwickelte, die globale Bedeutung besaßen.
June 20, 2021
Another reviewer on this site wondered who was the audience for this book. I would classify it as an advanced textbook; the author assumes that the reader already has a basic familiarity with sub-Saharan African history and geography. Also, it's excruciatingly dry.
One of the things I appreciated about the narrative is it provides historical context for the hajj of Mansa Musa, popularly known as the man so rich he wrecked the economy of every country he passed through. In reality his pilgrimage to Mecca, years in planning and preparation, was a strategic move to cement Mali as a major regional power in the Islamic world, and himself as ruler of a new empire.
This is a carefully researched book on an important, neglected topic. A scant handful of maps are provided that don't quite match the text (this seems to be an ongoing problem with modern history texts). As well a few genealogical charts would have been helpful to understand the complex succession of rulers , especially in Imperial Songhay.
One of the things I appreciated about the narrative is it provides historical context for the hajj of Mansa Musa, popularly known as the man so rich he wrecked the economy of every country he passed through. In reality his pilgrimage to Mecca, years in planning and preparation, was a strategic move to cement Mali as a major regional power in the Islamic world, and himself as ruler of a new empire.
This is a carefully researched book on an important, neglected topic. A scant handful of maps are provided that don't quite match the text (this seems to be an ongoing problem with modern history texts). As well a few genealogical charts would have been helpful to understand the complex succession of rulers , especially in Imperial Songhay.
May 3, 2021
Come on! Be quick to get into the theme!
I am really sick of the verbose style of the author. I even lost my patience reading the prologue. But when I skipped and read the chapters, Oh dear! It looked like another prologue, long, no use, non-informative, and boring! Why should I waste my time reading such a book?
I am really sick of the verbose style of the author. I even lost my patience reading the prologue. But when I skipped and read the chapters, Oh dear! It looked like another prologue, long, no use, non-informative, and boring! Why should I waste my time reading such a book?
March 20, 2024
In African Dominion, the empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai take center stage alongside the fantastic writing ability of Michael A. Gomez. From the first page Gomez sets the tone of a scholarly historian, one who isn’t afraid to use a few words you have to look up (cue Goodreads complaints).
Gomez takes a close look at the empires of West Africa, at times overwhelmingly so due to this reader’s lack of knowledge of the people involved, as he likes to drop a lot of names that I couldn’t keep straight. Not a complaint, but I would have been well served to read this after having read the Sunjata epic and a few other histories of the region.
I still found more than enough to latch onto, the famous Timbuktu, Mansa Musa and his famous hajj, Askia Muhammad, the growth of Islam, the dynamics of slavery, women in society, and power. All this and more is expertly discussed in great detail and was often supplemented with period quotes.
The book appropriately leaves off at the Moroccan invasion of Songhai, which was then followed by that of the Europeans.
Even with my lack of prior knowledge this definitely helped define the outlines of early and medieval West Africa. I’m very much looking forward to returning to this one in the future. Tip of the cap to Princeton University Press for this quality production and refreshingly scholarly account.
More than anything the fifth start is missing because of my lack of knowledge. Maybe a few things could be cleaned up to make it read a bit more smooth but overall 4.5 starts is probably more accurate. Definitely pick it up if you have prior knowledge of West Africa!
Gomez takes a close look at the empires of West Africa, at times overwhelmingly so due to this reader’s lack of knowledge of the people involved, as he likes to drop a lot of names that I couldn’t keep straight. Not a complaint, but I would have been well served to read this after having read the Sunjata epic and a few other histories of the region.
I still found more than enough to latch onto, the famous Timbuktu, Mansa Musa and his famous hajj, Askia Muhammad, the growth of Islam, the dynamics of slavery, women in society, and power. All this and more is expertly discussed in great detail and was often supplemented with period quotes.
The book appropriately leaves off at the Moroccan invasion of Songhai, which was then followed by that of the Europeans.
Even with my lack of prior knowledge this definitely helped define the outlines of early and medieval West Africa. I’m very much looking forward to returning to this one in the future. Tip of the cap to Princeton University Press for this quality production and refreshingly scholarly account.
More than anything the fifth start is missing because of my lack of knowledge. Maybe a few things could be cleaned up to make it read a bit more smooth but overall 4.5 starts is probably more accurate. Definitely pick it up if you have prior knowledge of West Africa!
November 5, 2023
African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa by Michael Gomez is an interesting history that is somewhat worn down by an overly niche academic style that can, at times, become impenetrable with its jargon. A particularly notorious example was when Gomez was justifying the use of an oral mythical tradition as opposed to a written source from a near contemporary, only to then describe a story not unlike Jason or Hercules. Is there something to be learned there? Sure. But so much academic weight was given to justifying an alternative form of knowledge which surrounded a mythological birth story. I will say that overall Gomez is a fair historian doing his best, but it is also clear that the source material available to cover parts of West African history is threadbare.
His mission, however, is perfectly sound and laudable: he was to resurrect and support the idea that West Africa is a cradle of human civilization. That the popular global historical approach focuses on the middle east, south asia, china, and the mediterranean, but otherwise ignoring West Africa. Sometimes the Americas are brought in, usually before their conquest, but West Africa is little considered. So, this is supposed to provide a new history to challenge that approach. That's a good goal, though I think his complaints have been steadily remediated over the last couple decades. The problem is that the book is probably not accessible to most people, with the exception of scholars and those with a serious interest in the field.
His mission, however, is perfectly sound and laudable: he was to resurrect and support the idea that West Africa is a cradle of human civilization. That the popular global historical approach focuses on the middle east, south asia, china, and the mediterranean, but otherwise ignoring West Africa. Sometimes the Americas are brought in, usually before their conquest, but West Africa is little considered. So, this is supposed to provide a new history to challenge that approach. That's a good goal, though I think his complaints have been steadily remediated over the last couple decades. The problem is that the book is probably not accessible to most people, with the exception of scholars and those with a serious interest in the field.
June 27, 2024
This authoritative text compromises between readability for non-specialists in Western African history and historians. Concerning non-specialists, Michael Gomez underpins the opening to knowledge and need for further analysis as a challenge to learn more. Any history book covering several centuries and with a very generalized title is a daunting task to form a narrative and series of analysis. In any case, further challenges are highlighted in writing this text in that written sources are limited. This is where Africanists compliment pitfalls of written text by analyzing texts with oral traditions, archeology, and epigraphy. If anything, Gomez busts several myths that are surprisingly still believed among many people today: Myth one: Africans are primarily tribespeople; Africans are organized first and foremost into tribes while Europeans are primarily organized into nations; Myth two: Africa has no ancient cultures, histories or civilizations and has therefore made no meaningful contributions to world history. Subsidiary to this, the values that Westerners hold dear today like political freedom and democracy had and have no tradition or history in Africa; Myth 3: Africans have no literary, philosophical and historical traditions in either the recent or the far past; Myth 4: All Africans are black. To be African is to be black. Africans are not culturally diverse. Africans share an essentially unified culture; Myth 5: Africans have no part in the history of civilization.
May 5, 2025
African Dominion is a masterful and deeply scholarly work that reshapes how we understand early West African empires—not as peripheral or derivative, but as complex, politically sophisticated civilizations with internal logics of power, legitimacy, and mythmaking.
Gomez does not offer a linear narrative. Instead, he reconstructs a layered “cartography of power,” exploring how religion, kinship, military might, and strategic storytelling shaped the rise and fall of polities like Ghana, Mali, and Songhay. His attention to theocratic governance, elite formation, and the indigenization of Islam challenges readers to grapple with how internal agency—often through brutal or self-interested leadership—played a role in Africa’s precolonial development and eventual vulnerability to external forces.
It was not an easy read, for me anyway, but it rewards persistence. I read the full book three times, and reread key chapters multiple times to fully absorb Gomez’s subtle arguments. His thesis becomes clearer with each pass: West African history must be understood on its own terms, with its own structures, aspirations, and contradictions—not merely as a prelude to colonial tragedy.
For readers looking to go beyond surface-level histories and into the foundational mechanics of African political and religious life, African Dominion is essential. It changed how I see the continent’s past—and how I will engage with its future stories.
Gomez does not offer a linear narrative. Instead, he reconstructs a layered “cartography of power,” exploring how religion, kinship, military might, and strategic storytelling shaped the rise and fall of polities like Ghana, Mali, and Songhay. His attention to theocratic governance, elite formation, and the indigenization of Islam challenges readers to grapple with how internal agency—often through brutal or self-interested leadership—played a role in Africa’s precolonial development and eventual vulnerability to external forces.
It was not an easy read, for me anyway, but it rewards persistence. I read the full book three times, and reread key chapters multiple times to fully absorb Gomez’s subtle arguments. His thesis becomes clearer with each pass: West African history must be understood on its own terms, with its own structures, aspirations, and contradictions—not merely as a prelude to colonial tragedy.
For readers looking to go beyond surface-level histories and into the foundational mechanics of African political and religious life, African Dominion is essential. It changed how I see the continent’s past—and how I will engage with its future stories.
September 24, 2023
I really liked this book myself, however I was fortunate to have attended school in California, so I was already familiar with the basic history of Medieval West Africa. Thus, I was still eager to learn more about this largely overlooked region in the worldwide academic community, so I was looking for a book to start. Reading Dr. Gomez's book was like going back to college.
I was able to follow along the early history from Jenne Jenno to Mali, but I got lost in the later history of the Songhay Empire. I presume it was because Dr. Gomez wrote this for African history scholars, already familiar with the material. I wish he included a chronology and a glossary, as that would have made the history easier to follow. I was able to understand the verbose writing more or less, but again I have already taken the GRE multiple times.
Overall, I do not recommend this book to anyone unless they have college or preferably graduate degrees, are already familiar with Medieval West Africa, and really want to learn more. Fortunately I fit into all three categories. Reading this book made me understand why some of the best history books are not written by the professors themselves.
I was able to follow along the early history from Jenne Jenno to Mali, but I got lost in the later history of the Songhay Empire. I presume it was because Dr. Gomez wrote this for African history scholars, already familiar with the material. I wish he included a chronology and a glossary, as that would have made the history easier to follow. I was able to understand the verbose writing more or less, but again I have already taken the GRE multiple times.
Overall, I do not recommend this book to anyone unless they have college or preferably graduate degrees, are already familiar with Medieval West Africa, and really want to learn more. Fortunately I fit into all three categories. Reading this book made me understand why some of the best history books are not written by the professors themselves.
November 28, 2023
One reason I like history is that historians mostly don’t use trade specific jargon, tho we do use jargon of the topic we are writing about. So you don’t need to be a specialist to get something from a decent history book.
But every so often one is confounded.
I started Michael A. Gomez’s African Dominion: a New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa, on audio. I had to give up. No maps and never an explanation as to whereabouts the polities he was describing actually were. But worse, I was having to pause to look up words.
So I borrowed the book.
Well I’m 8 chapters in. The maps are tiny and often don’t match the text. And the language!
A very old joke/insult is that someone has “swallowed a dicker…” (dictionary).
Every sentence is beautifully written, but I’m having to check the meaning and implication of so many words and parse so many sentences, that I end up losing actual meaning.
So highly recommended on one level: it’s masterly history. But you will have to work hard if you find the preference for the multi syllabic Latinate tough to read.
But every so often one is confounded.
I started Michael A. Gomez’s African Dominion: a New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa, on audio. I had to give up. No maps and never an explanation as to whereabouts the polities he was describing actually were. But worse, I was having to pause to look up words.
So I borrowed the book.
Well I’m 8 chapters in. The maps are tiny and often don’t match the text. And the language!
A very old joke/insult is that someone has “swallowed a dicker…” (dictionary).
Every sentence is beautifully written, but I’m having to check the meaning and implication of so many words and parse so many sentences, that I end up losing actual meaning.
So highly recommended on one level: it’s masterly history. But you will have to work hard if you find the preference for the multi syllabic Latinate tough to read.
October 30, 2022
Gomez does a great job presenting a reinterpretation and overview of the history of West Africa before 1600. He does a good job of explaining the problems with how the history of West Africa has been presented in the past, especially in the context of world history. He makes a strong case for how West African kingdoms developed unique models of states that don’t always match up with the traditional historical narratives. He has an excellent command of all the sources related to West Africa and weaves together textual sources, oral traditions, and archaeology. At times, Gomez’s writing get dense and overly academic. This book is more for scholars and teachers with a deep interest in understanding the nuances of West African history.
April 4, 2024
While certainly informative, this book suffers from too many and too ambitious goals. Gomez does not simply want to tell the history of the Malian and Songhai empires, he also wants to defend his approach to the historiography of the region, parse which parts of the Arabic sources can be relied upon or not, and much more. The end result is a book that is too detailed in many respects and that fails to give the reader a graspable sense of the context and arc of these empires. Perhaps more patient readers will follow Gomez along his many digressions and jumps back and forth across time periods.
December 24, 2020
I'm not sure who this book was written for. I picked it up to learn more about the subject but it is not a reader/beginner friendly book. I luckily had some shallow background kowledge and have a history background so I was able to read it. Sometimes it was harder cause the writing style is slow and disruptive at times. I would not give this book to others who want to learn more about African history.
August 1, 2020
Sheese, I hate to rate a history so low but, for me at least, this is a soporific read. Not that I didn't learn something new but--well, I am at the time in my life where I am a consumer more so-called "popular" histories. This is for the classroom. There's enough here to distill down to something more readily accessible.
June 15, 2024
"al-Umari observed that the price of gold, rarely selling for less than 25 dirhams prior to Musa's visit, never exceeded 22 dirhams after it." (107).
"As a principal adhesive, the enslaved would have served as the collective living tissue more firmly connecting Mande kufus with non-Mande towns and rural areas." (325)
"As a principal adhesive, the enslaved would have served as the collective living tissue more firmly connecting Mande kufus with non-Mande towns and rural areas." (325)
March 6, 2022
Enjoyed this a lot & it's incredibly in depth on historical incidents / polities of which I knew little. But ultimately it's still very focused on nation-level macropolitics (XXX ruler conquered YYY place) which makes it harder to absorb.
Read
June 1, 2025A comprehensively researched, relatively readable history of the great pre-colonial West African empires. Limitations in the historical record make the early portions a little touch and go but the later bits offered valuable (to me) insight into the basis framework of the epoch.
August 8, 2020
The second truly astonishing work of history I’ve read this year (the first was Death in Hamburg).
A remarkably innovative rethinking of early West African history.
A remarkably innovative rethinking of early West African history.
Did not finish
August 1, 2022Time to acknowledge that I can't take this book in on audio. The dense academic writing--plus the understandable, helpful use of two dating systems--means I need to put eyeballs on it.
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