XIIᵉ siècle – XVIIIᵉ siècle
Comoro Islands and north-western Madagascar
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Comoros were an early southern Indian Ocean zone of Muslim settlement and cultural mixing. Traditions connect Anjouan and other islands with the arrival of so-called Shirazi migrants around the transition from the twelfth to the thirteenth century, followed by later groups associated with the Ahdali or Mahdali dynasty. Muslim settlers, together with slaves brought with them, mixed with Malagasy and possibly non-Muslim African populations. The chronology and historical reliability of these traditions remain uncertain.
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Le récit
The earliest Muslim settlements identified in the southern region appear to have been located in the Comoro Islands. Traditions preserved in Kilwa and in the islands describe a group from Shiraz arriving in several ships, with one party settling on Anjouan. Related versions place other members of the migration on Ngazija, Mayotte, or Madagascar, linking the islands to wider networks of Indian Ocean Islam.
If the traditions are broadly contemporary with the Islamic settlement at Kilwa, the migration would belong around the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The evidence is not secure: the Comorian traditions are confused about both sequence and dates, were recorded only recently, and lack archaeological confirmation for the early period. A family associated with the Ahdali or Mahdali name is nevertheless remembered as arriving after the Shirazis and later providing rulers of Anjouan.
The Muslim settlers did not remain socially separate. They mixed with Malagasy populations and perhaps with non-Muslim Africans on the islands, while slaves brought with them may also have entered the developing communities. The resulting history belongs to a zone where migration, enslavement, maritime mobility, and religious change intersected.
XIIᵉ siècle – XVIIIᵉ siècle
Comoro Islands and north-western Madagascar
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Comoros were an early southern Indian Ocean zone of Muslim settlement and cultural mixing. Traditions connect Anjouan and other islands with the arrival of so-called Shirazi migrants around the transition from the twelfth to the thirteenth century, followed by later groups associated with the Ahdali or Mahdali dynasty. Muslim settlers, together with slaves brought with them, mixed with Malagasy and possibly non-Muslim African populations. The chronology and historical reliability of these traditions remain uncertain.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
The earliest Muslim settlements identified in the southern region appear to have been located in the Comoro Islands. Traditions preserved in Kilwa and in the islands describe a group from Shiraz arriving in several ships, with one party settling on Anjouan. Related versions place other members of the migration on Ngazija, Mayotte, or Madagascar, linking the islands to wider networks of Indian Ocean Islam.
If the traditions are broadly contemporary with the Islamic settlement at Kilwa, the migration would belong around the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The evidence is not secure: the Comorian traditions are confused about both sequence and dates, were recorded only recently, and lack archaeological confirmation for the early period. A family associated with the Ahdali or Mahdali name is nevertheless remembered as arriving after the Shirazis and later providing rulers of Anjouan.
The Muslim settlers did not remain socially separate. They mixed with Malagasy populations and perhaps with non-Muslim Africans on the islands, while slaves brought with them may also have entered the developing communities. The resulting history belongs to a zone where migration, enslavement, maritime mobility, and religious change intersected.
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