Editing Africa (section)

=== 7th to 18th centuries ===

From the 7th century onward, Islam spread across North Africa and into the Sahara, the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and parts of the East African coast. This process occurred through conquest, trade, scholarship, migration, and local conversion. Arabic became an important language of religion, law, administration, and scholarship in many regions.

In West Africa, the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires became major powers connected to the trans-Saharan trade. Gold, salt, textiles, horses, manuscripts, and enslaved people moved across long-distance routes. Cities such as Timbuktu, Gao, Jenne, Kano, and Agadez became commercial, political, or scholarly centers.

In East Africa, Swahili city-states developed along the coast. These cities traded with Arabia, Persia, India, and other Indian Ocean regions. The Swahili language and culture developed from African, Arabic, Persian, and other influences while retaining a strong regional identity.

In Central and Southern Africa, kingdoms such as Kongo, Luba, Lunda, Mutapa, and Rozvi developed through trade, agriculture, mineral production, and political authority. Great Zimbabwe became an important stone-built urban and political center associated with gold trade and regional power.

In North Africa, Islamic dynasties and empires controlled cities, trade routes, agricultural lands, and religious institutions. The Maghreb was linked to Iberia, the Sahara, the Mediterranean, and the wider Islamic world.