Source Collection: Influence of Belief Systems in Afro-Eurasia c. 1200–1450 CE
Introduction to this collection
This collection brings together primary sources from Afro-Eurasia, which are largely focused on the themes of culture and beliefs, governance, and economic systems.
Guiding question to think about as you read the documents: How did belief systems affect state formation, social interactions, and economic exchange in Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to 1450 CE?
WHP Primary Source Punctuation Key
When you read through these primary source collections, you might notice some unusual punctuation like this: . . . and [ ] and ( ). Use the table below to help you understand what this punctuation means.
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ELLIPSES words … words |
Something has been removed from the quoted sentences by an editor. |
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BRACKETS [word] or word[s] |
Something has been added or changed by an editor. These edits are to clarify or help readers. |
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PARENTHESES (words) |
The original author of the primary source wanted to clarify, add more detail, or make an additional comment in parentheses. |
Contents
Source 1 – al-Qazwini’s Monument of Places, 1275 (0:40)
Source 2 – Sukhothai Inscription No. 1, 1292 (5:45)
Source 3 – Clericis laicos, 1296 (9:00)
Source 4 – A Schedule for Learning, 1315 (12:50)
Source 5 – Ibn Khaldun on Human Society and Governance, 1377 (16:25)
Source 6 – Sant Soyarabai’s poems, c. 1300–1400 (20:40)
Source 7 – Narrative of the Journey of Abd-er-Razzāk, 1442 (23:10)
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Timestamps are in the source title. To locate a specific source in the audio file:
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This document is also available as an audio file. Click Listen to audio button to access a reading of the article.
Source 1 – al-Qazwini’s Monument of Places, 1275 (0:40)
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Title Monument of Places and History of God’s Servants |
Date and location 1275, Persia/Baghdad |
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Source type Primary source – geographical dictionary |
Author Abu Yahya Zakariya’ ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini (1203–1283), Arab-Persian physician, astronomer, and geographer |
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Description This excerpt is taken from al-Qazwini’s geographical dictionary, Monument of Places and History of God's Servants. While this may read like a travel chronicle, al-Qazwini largely relied on other Arab sources, whom he references in his text. Other times, he does not directly cite his sources. This document demonstrates al-Qazwini’s extensive reading and learning in a wide range of disciplines. It also shows that knowledge of sub-Saharan Africa was limited in the Arab world despite trade relations. |
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Key vocabulary ramparts signet rings |
dinars husbandry |
Guiding question
How did belief systems affect state formation, social interactions, and economic exchange in Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to 1450 CE?
Excerpt
The land of Gold. It is the land of the Sudan1 … In this country it is very hot, and during the daytime the people stay in cellars under the ground. Gold grows in the sand of this country as carrots do in our land, and the people come out at sunrise to pluck the gold. …
It is a three months’ journey from Sijilmasa2 to this country and merchants from Sijilmasa go there with great exertion. Their stock-in-trade is salt, pine and cedar wood, glass beads, bracelets of red copper and signet rings of the same, and bangles of brass. They have to cross over thirsty deserts with scorching winds …
[Taghaza].3 A town in the south of the Maghrib near the Ocean … the ramparts of the city were of salt as also all its walls, pillars, and roofs. The doors, too, were made of slabs of salt covered with leather … all the land around that town is a salt pan. … Salt is very precious in the land of the Sudan and the merchants import it from [Taghaza] to all their regions, where every load is sold for 100 dinars. … There is neither crop nor animal husbandry in that town.
Their livelihood, as we have said, is from the salt.
Takrur.4 A great and famous city in the land of the Sudan. The [Islamic scholar] Ali al-Janahani al-Maghribi said: “I have seen it. It is a great town without walls. Its inhabitants include both Muslims and pagans, but the kingship there is in the hands of the Muslims. Its inhabitants go naked, both men and women, except for the Muslim nobles …”
Sijilmasa. A city in the south of the Maghrib on the edge of the land of the Sudan … The people of this town are among the richest men and the most wealthy, for it is on the road to Ghana, which is the mine of gold. …
Ghana. A great town to the south of the Maghreb adjacent to the land of Gold. Merchants meet in Ghana, and from there they enter the land of Gold. Were it not for Ghana that would be impossible. Ghana is the richest in gold of all God’s countries. …
Citation
Hopkins, J. F. P., and Nehemia Levtzion, eds. Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History. Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2000.
1 This does not refer to modern-day Sudan but rather is based on the Arabic word for black, which refers to sub-Saharan Africa as a whole, most of which was largely unknown to other people of Europe and Asia at this time.
2 Sijilmasa: a medieval city in modern-day Morocco, located at the edge of the Sahara Desert.
3 Taghaza: the name of an abandoned salt-mining town located in a salt pan in the desert region of northern Mali which was a major source of rock salt for West Africa until the end of the sixteenth century.
4 Takrur, Tekrur or Tekrour (c. 800–c. 1285) was an ancient state of West Africa, which flourished roughly parallel to the Ghana Empire. Takruri was a term, like Bilad-ul-Sudan, that was used to refer to all people of West African ancestry.
Source 2 – Sukhothai Inscription No. 1, 1292 (5:45)
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Title Sukhothai Inscription No. 1 |
Date and location 1292, Sukhothai Kingdom (Thailand) |
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Source type Primary source – royal inscription |
Author Likely King Ram Khamhaeng, who reigned from 1279 to 1298 |
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Description This inscription features the earliest example of Thai script. It describes the Sukhothai Kingdom during the reign of King Ram Khamhaeng, who likely wrote this text. The Sukhothai kingdom flourished from the mid-thirteenth century until a century later. |
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Key vocabulary equitable collusion complainant |
sovereign hardiness levies (verb) |
Guiding question
How did belief systems affect state formation, social interactions, and economic exchange in Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to 1450 CE?
Excerpt
During the life of King Ram Khemhaeng this city of Sukhothai has prospered. In the water there are fish; in the fields there is rice. The lord of the country levies no tolls on his subjects as they travel along the roads, driving cattle to go trade, riding horses to go sell. Whoever desires to trade elephants does so; whoever desires to trade horses does so; whoever desires to trade silver or gold does so. … If some commoners, nobles, or chieftains are in disagreement, the king makes a true inquiry, and settles the matter for his subjects in an equitable fashion; he is never in collusion with [thieves and con artists] …
Kim Ram Khamhaeng, the sovereign of this city of Sukhotai, the princes as well as the princesses, the men as well as the women, the nobles, and the chieftains, all without exception, without distinction of rank or sex, practice the religion of the Buddha with devotion. … In the middle of this city of Sukhothai there are sanctuaries. There are some gold statues of the Buddha … [and] there are monks …
To the west of this city of Sukhotai is found the monastery of Aranyik. King Ram Khamaeng founded it and offered it to the patriarch—the chief monk—a scholar who has studied completely the Three Scriptures and who is more learned than all the other monks of the country. …
This king, Ram Khamhaeng, seeks to be the chief and the sovereign of all the Thai. He is the master who instructs all of the Thai so that they may know about merit and the true Law. Among all the men who live in this Thai country, none is his equal in knowledge and in wisdom, in bravery and in hardiness, in force and in energy.
Citation
Benda, Harry Jindrich, and John A. Larkin. The World of Southeast Asia: Selected Historical Readings. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.
Source 3 – Clericis laicos, 1296 (9:00)
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Title Clericis laicos |
Date and location 1296, Rome |
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Source type Primary source – public decree |
Author Pope Boniface VIII |
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Description This is a Papal bull, a public decree issued by the Catholic pope. It is significant because it made a statement to the monarchs and aristocrats of France and England asserting that they could not take church revenues without the pope’s permission. |
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Key vocabulary antiquity laymen ecclesiastical monastic secular levies exact extort iniquitous |
counsel subsidy incur absolved dissimulation indignation prelates apostolic excommunication |
Guiding question
How did belief systems affect state formation, social interactions, and economic exchange in Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to 1450 CE?
Excerpt
Antiquity teaches us that laymen are in a high degree hostile to the clergy, a fact which is also made clear by the experiences of the present times; in as much as, not content within their own bounds, they strive after what is forbidden and loose the reins in pursuit of what is unlawful. … They exact and extort from them the half, the tenth or twentieth or some other portion or quota of their revenues or of their goods. … We, therefore, wishing to put a stop to such iniquitous [sinful] acts, by the counsel of our brothers, of the apostolic authority, have decreed the following:5 Whatever prelates [high-ranking clergy members], or ecclesiastical [church] persons monastic or secular … [who] shall pay, or promise, or agree to pay as levies or [land taxes] to laymen … part of their own and their churches’ revenues or goods … under the name of an aid, loan, [grant], subsidy or gift … without the authority of that same chair: likewise emperors, kings or princes, dukes, counts or barons … who shall impose, exact or receive such payments, or shall anywhere arrest, seize or presume to take possession of the belongings of churches or ecclesiastical persons which are deposited in the sacred buildings, or shall order them to be arrested, seized or taken possession of, or shall receive them when taken possession of, seized or arrested also all who shall knowingly give aid, counsel or favor in the aforesaid things, whether publicly or secretly: shall incur, by the act itself [of taking money from the church], the sentence of excommunication …
Citation
Rymer, Thomas, ed. Foedera. Vol. I, Pt. II, 1896. In Select Historical Documents of the Middle Ages, translated by Ernest F. Henderson London: George Bell, 1910. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/b8-clericos.asp.
5 Syntax has changed a lot in the last seven centuries, so the editor has bolded portions of this 220-word sentence to reveal its basic structure. Whatever prelates shall pay to laymen, without the authority of that same chair, shall incur, by the act itself [of taking money from the church], the sentence of excommunication. Likewise emperors, kings, or princes who shall impose, exact or receive such payments shall incur, by the act itself [of taking money from the church], the sentence of excommunication. (But read all those other words because they are important!)
Source 4 – A Schedule for Learning, 1315 (12:50)
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Title A Schedule for Learning |
Date and location 1315, China |
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Source type Primary source – list of rules |
Author Cheng Duanli (d. 1345) |
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Description This document shows the behaviors and beliefs of upper-class Chinese, as shown in their manuals for schoolchildren. The Yuan Dynasty official Cheng Duanli (d. 1345) put together a guide for teachers and students called A Schedule for Learning, which the ministry of education shared with teachers across China. This excerpt is taken from the preface listing the regulations for students. |
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Key vocabulary gait discourse verifiable boisterous |
vulgar insolent incense |
Guiding question
How did belief systems affect state formation, social interactions, and economic exchange in Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to 1450 CE?
Excerpt
All students of this school must observe closely the following regulations.
- … At daybreak … you should rise, wash your face, comb your hair, and put on proper clothing … The teachers will then lead you to the image of Confucius, to which you will bow twice. After the incense has been lit, you will make two more bows.
Afterwards, the teachers walk over to the southwestern corner, and you line up in order of your ages in the northeast. Then you pay respect to the teachers by making two bows to them …
- Daily behavior: You should have a defined living area. When in a group you will be seated according to your ages. … At night, you should always wait for the elders to go to bed first. After they are in bed, you should keep quiet …
- Gait and posture: You should walk slowly. When standing, keep your hands folded in front. Never walk or stand in front of an elder. Never turn your back on those who are your superiors in age or status. Do not step on doorsills. Do not limp. Do not lean on anything.
- Looking and listening: Do not gape. Do not eavesdrop.
- Discourse: Statements should always be verifiable. Keep your promises. Your manners should be serious. Do not be boisterous or playful. Do not gossip about your neighbors. Do not engage in conversations about vulgar matters.
- Appearance: Be dignified and serious. Do not be insolent. Do not be rough or rude. Do not be vicious or proud. Do not reveal your joy or anger.
- Attire: Do not wear unusual or extravagant clothing. Yet do not go to the other extreme and appear in clothes that are ragged, dirty, or in bad taste …
If you can follow the above regulations closely, you are approaching the true realm of virtue.
Citation
Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook. 2nd edition. New York: The Free Press, 1993.
Source 5 – Ibn Khaldun on Human Society and Governance, 1377 (16:25)
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Title Selections from Ibn Khaldun’s Al Muqaddimah (Prolegomena or Introduction) |
Date and location 1377, Algeria and Egypt |
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Source type Primary source – historical and sociological treatise |
Author Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406) |
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Description This is an early attempt at writing a world history, but it is also an early example of sociology, geography, and political theory. Ibn Khaldun was an Arab philosopher and historian who was well-known throughout the middle ages in the Middle East and Europe. In this universal history, Ibn Khaldun explores themes of civilization, evolution, political structure, and royal authority. |
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Key vocabulary sedentary dint mediator censured enjoined |
dissension chieftain Bedouins caliph |
Guiding question
How did belief systems affect state formation, social interactions, and economic exchange in Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to 1450 CE?
Excerpt
Human social organization is something necessary. The philosophers expressed this fact by saying: ‘Man is “political” by nature.’ That is, he cannot do without the social organization for which the philosophers use the technical term ‘town’ (polis). This is what civilization means …
Bedouins are closer to being good than sedentary people … Sedentary people are much concerned with all kinds of pleasures. They are accustomed to luxury and success in worldly occupations and to indulgence in worldly desires. Therefore, their souls are colored with all kinds of blameworthy and evil qualities. The more of them they possess, the more remote do the ways and means of goodness become to them. Eventually they lose all sense of restraint.
… [Bedouins] are closer to the first natural state and more remote from the evil habits that have been impressed upon the souls of sedentary people through numerous and ugly, blameworthy customs. Thus, they can more easily be cured than sedentary people …
By dint of their nature, human beings need someone to act as a restraining influence and mediator in every social organization, in order to keep its members from fighting with each other. That person must, by necessity, have superiority over the others in the matter of group feeling. If not, his power cannot be effective. Such superiority is royal authority. It is more than leadership. Leadership means being a chieftain, and the leader is obeyed, but he has no power to force others to accept his rulings. Royal authority means superiority and the power to rule by force …
God made the caliph his substitute to handle the affairs of His servants. He is to make them do the things that are good for them and forbid them to do those that are harmful. …
We also find that Muḥammad censured royal authority and its representatives. He blamed them because of their enjoyment of good fortune, their senseless waste, and their deviations from the path of God. He enjoined friendship among all Muslims and warned against discord and dissension.
It should be known that in Muḥammad’s opinion, all of this world is a vehicle for transport to the other world. He who loses the vehicle can go nowhere. …
Citation
Khaldûn, Ibn Ibn. The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History – Abridged Edition. Edited by N.J. Dawood. Translated by Franz Rosenthal. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2015.
Source 6 – Sant Soyarabai’s poems, c. 1300–1400 (20:40)
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Title Sant Soyarabai’s poems |
Date and location c. 1300–1400, Maharashtra, India |
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Source type Primary source – spiritual poems |
Author Sant Soyarabai, fourteenth century |
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Description Soyarabai was a saint who lived in fourteenth-century Maharashtra. While we know little about her life, we know that she was part of the Bhakti movement, and that she expressed her spiritual ideas and feelings through her poetry. She belonged to a lower caste, and she often writes about this social hierarchy. She explores themes related to caste, spiritual purity, and love of the divine. |
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Key vocabulary defilement menstrual |
fertilizes |
Guiding question
How did belief systems affect state formation, social interactions, and economic exchange in Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to 1450 CE?
Excerpt
“How much more must I plead, Lord?
How much more jealousy must I bear?
The love of others touches you.
Why do you refuse mine?
I feel no fear of you now.
Not of you, nor of any other.
How much more must I say, Lord?
I don’t care if you bear a grudge.
Soyara says: I’m here. I won’t budge.”
“You say some bodies are untouchable.6
Tell me what you say of the soul.
You say defilement is born in the body.
If menstrual blood makes me impure,
Tell me who was not born of that blood.
This blood of mine fertilizes the world.
Tell me who has not sprung from this source.
Soyara says: this impurity is the cornerstone of your world.
That’s why I praise only Panduranga,7
Who lives in every body, pure, impure.”
Citation
Subramaniam, Arundhathi, ed. A Book of Bhakti Poetry: Eating God. Translated by Jerry Pinto and Neela Bhagwat. Gurugram: Penguin Random House India, 2014.
6 considered untouchable.
7 Panduranga: a Hindu deity worshipped in Maharashtra who is considered to be a manifestation of the god Vishnu.
Source 7 – Narrative of the Journey of Abd-er-Razzāk, 1442 (23:10)
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Title Narrative of the Journey of Abd-er-Razzāk |
Date and location 1442, Persia |
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Source type Primary source – travel chronicle |
Author Abd-al-Razzāq Samarqandī (1413–1492) |
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Description Abd-er-Razzāk was a Persian Timurid chronicler, an Islamic scholar, and an ambassador of Shah Rukh, the Timurid dynasty ruler of Persia. He writes about a journey he undertook between 1442 and 1445 as part of a much larger work, The Rising of the Auspicious Twin-Stars, and the Confluence of the Ocean. This document is excerpted from this narrative. It is an early external representation of Calicut and the surrounding Indian Ocean region. |
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Key vocabulary resort duty abide levy |
idolators infidels bazaars |
Guiding question
How did belief systems affect state formation, social interactions, and economic exchange in Afro-Eurasia from c. 1200 to 1450 CE?
Excerpt
Narrative of my voyage into Hindoostan, and description of the wonder of Remarkable Peculiarities which this country presents.
Continuing my journey, I arrived … at the shore of the Sea of Oman, and at Bander-Hormuz.8 … a port situated in the middle of the sea, and which has not its equal on the surface of the globe. … Travelers from all countries resort here, and, in exchange for commodities which they bring, they can without trouble or difficulty, obtain all that they desire. Bargains are made either by money or exchange. For all objects, with the exception of gold and silver, a tenth of their value is paid by way of duty.
Persons of all religions, and even idolaters, are found in great numbers in this city, and no injustice is permitted toward any person whatever. This city is also named Dar-alaman [the abode of security]. …
Calicut [Kozhikode] is a perfectly secure harbor, which, like that of Hormuz, brings together merchants from every city and from every country … from time to time ships arrive there from shores of the House of Allah [also called Mecca] and other parts of the [Hijaz], and abide at will, for a greater or longer space, in this harbor; the town is inhabited by infidels, and situated on a hostile shore. It contains a considerable number of Muslims, who are constant residents, and have built two mosques, in which they meet every Friday to offer up prayer. … Security and justice are so firmly established in this city, that the wealthiest merchants bring to this place from maritime countries considerable cargoes, which they unload, and unhesitatingly send into the markets and the bazaars. … When a sale is made, they levy a duty on the goods of one-fortieth part; if they are not sold they make no charge on them whatsoever.
Citation
Ali, Omar H. Islam in the Indian Ocean World: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.
8 Port region in modern-day Iran
Eman M. Elshaikh
Eman M. Elshaikh is a writer, researcher, and teacher who has taught K-12 and undergraduates in the United States and in the Middle East and written for many different audiences. She teaches writing at the University of Chicago, where she also completed her master’s in social sciences and is currently pursuing her PhD. She was previously a World History Fellow at Khan Academy, where she worked closely with the College Board to develop curriculum for AP World History.
Image credits
This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0 except for the following:
Cover: A Sultan and his court. © Leemage/Universal Images Group via Getty Images.