Equatorial region between the Tropic of Cancer and

the Tropic of Capricorn. It is characterized by generally

warm or hot temperatures year-round, though much variation exists due to altitude and other factors. Temperate

zones north and south of the tropics generally have a winter

season.

Seasonal winds in the Indian Ocean caused by the

differences in temperature between the rapidly heating and cooling landmasses of Africa and Asia and the slowly changing ocean waters. These strong and predictable winds have long been ridden across the open sea by sailors, and the large amounts of rainfall that they deposit on parts of India, Southeast Asia, and China allow for the cultivation of several

crops a year.

(1304–1369) Moroccan Muslim scholar, the

most widely traveled individual of his time. He wrote a

detailed account of his visits to Islamic lands from China to

Spain and the western Sudan.

(1206–1526)

Centralized Indian empire of

varying extent, created by Muslim invaders.

Empire created by indigenous Muslims in western

Sudan of West Africa from the thirteenth to fifteenth century.

It was famous for its role in the trans-Saharan gold trade

Ruler of Mali (r. 1312–1337).

Ship of small to moderate size used in the western

Indian Ocean, traditionally with a triangular sail and a sewn

timber hull

East African shores of the Indian Ocean between the Horn of Africa and the Zambezi River; from the

Arabic sawahil, meaning “shores.”

Port city in the modern south Arabian country of

Yemen. It has been a major trading center in the Indian

Ocean since ancient times.

 Port city in the modern Southeast Asian country of

Malaysia, founded about 1400 as a trading center on the

Strait of Malacca. Also spelled Melak

 A Persian-influenced literary form of Hindi written in

Arabic characters and used as a literary language since the

1300

City on the Niger River in the modern country of

Mali. It was founded by the Tuareg as a seasonal camp

sometime after 1000. As part of the Mali empire, Timbuktu

became a major terminus of the trans-Saharan trade and a

center of Islamic learning