Muslim Historical Spaces in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa: A Reassessment

Abstract

Based on the evidence related to funerary inscriptions and archaeological remains, this article provides a tentative reconstruction of the penetration routes of Islam and the zones of Muslim presence in pre-sixteenth-century Ethiopia and the Horn. Two routes and two areas appear, respectively, along the Eastern escarpment of the central plateau and the Čärčär massif. Adding this information to the sources written in Arabic, particularly al-'Umarī's description of Ethiopian Muslim polities of the fourteenth century, the article discusses the chronological sequence of Muslim penetration. A discussion of the process of Islamization, compared to such processes at work elsewhere in Africa, ends the article.