Skip to main content
G:S2:3 4
Edit position
Edit position

Last set 5 days, 5 hours ago. Manual moves override automatic placement until the next shelfie/spine match.

African dominion : a new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa
Diagnose this book
Open in Vernon Browser

African dominion : a new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa

by Michael A. Gomez

This history of early and medieval West Africa places the Savannah and Sahel regions in a global context. It analyses how trans-Saharan commerce, Islam, and political expansion shaped concepts of ethnicity, race, gender, and caste long before the colonial era.

Accession 13178 ISBN 9780691177427 Publisher Princeton University Press
Book Images
Reference and live side by side Hover to see live images
Reference
African dominion : a new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa spine
African dominion : a new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa cover
Live
African dominion : a new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa live spine
No live
African dominion : a new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa spine African dominion : a new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa live spine
African dominion : a new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa cover
No live
TAGS
Curated Derived
Culture Economics History Religion Slavery Social Sciences
CONNECTIONS
No connections
State
on_shelf
True
position_updated_at
2026-06-01 16:22
orientation
vertical
Details

Physical

binding_type
Hard Back
dimensions
none captured
spine_text
none captured

Metadata

Book form
LOCATION HISTORY
G:S2:3 4 Current vertical
5 days, 5 hours ago
Book Location
Updated 5 days, 5 hours ago
Vernon snapshot
View live

Frozen copy of Vernon's record from the last sync. Fields tagged → flow back into the Pulse record.

Last synced 2026-05-21 01:00 (2 weeks, 2 days ago)

Identity

name→ title
African dominion : a new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa
vernon_id
20633
accession_no→ accession_number
13178
vernon_slug
african-dominion-a-new-history-of-empire-in-early-and-medieval-west-africa-michael-a-gomez

Drives Pulse state

curr_loc_status→ on_shelf
On Shelf
location_name
Zone S2/Level 1/Phrontisterion/MONA
location_reason
On Shelf
isbn_issn→ isbn (when valid)
9780691177427

Descriptive

production_date
2018
object_type
Books/Document genres/Information forms/Visual and Verbal Communication
object_status
Accessioned
brief_description
This pioneering book, the first on this period of the region’s history in a generation, tells a different story. Interweaving political and social history and drawing on a rich array of sources, including Arabic manuscripts, oral histories, and recent archaeological findings, Michael Gomez unveils a new vision of how categories of ethnicity, race, gender, and caste emerged in Africa and in global history more generally. Scholars have long held that such distinctions arose during the colonial period, but Gomez shows they developed much earlier. Focusing on the Savannah and Sahel region, Gomez traces the exchange of ideas and influences with North Africa and the Central Islamic Lands by way of merchants, scholars, and pilgrims. Islam’s growth in West Africa, in tandem with intensifying commerce that included slaves, resulted in a series of political experiments unique to the region, culminating in the rise of empire. A major preoccupation was the question of who could be legally enslaved, which together with other factors led to the construction of new ideas about ethnicity, race, gender, and caste―long before colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade. Telling a radically new story about early Africa in global history, African Dominion is set to be the standard work on the subject for many years to come.

Subjects & people

authors→ author (initial fill only)
Michael A. Gomez
tags→ tags
Religions, History, Social sciences, Civilisation, Economics, Commerce, Islam, World history, Middle Ages, Civilisation -- History, Slave trade, Iron age, Civilisation, Medieval, Trade routes -- Asia
subject_people
—
subject_objects
—

Cover image

vernon_cover_image_id→ cover_image
20700

Raw Vernon JSON

click to inspect

The source payload behind the snapshot above.
Use ⌘F to search once expanded.
{7 keys}
"slug": "african-dominion-a-new-history-of-empire-in-early-and-medieval-west-africa-michael-a-gomez"
"opacObjectId": "20633"
"opacCollection": {1 keys}
"opacCollectionId": "1"
"imagesCollection": {2 keys}
"images": [1 items]
"[0]": {5 keys}
"imageId": "20700"
"cssColors": [5 items]
"[0]": {9 keys}
"hex": "d2b48c"
"hue": 34
"rank": 1
"presence": 61.54
"colorName": "tan"
"lightness": 69
"colorGroup": "brown"
"saturation": 44
"formattedColorName": "tan"
"[1]": {9 keys}
"hex": "f5f5dc"
"hue": 60
"rank": 2
"presence": 5.43
"colorName": "beige"
"lightness": 91
"colorGroup": "white"
"saturation": 56
"formattedColorName": "beige"
"[2]": {9 keys}
"hex": "8b4513"
"hue": 25
"rank": 3
"presence": 7.23
"colorName": "saddlebrown"
"lightness": 31
"colorGroup": "brown"
"saturation": 76
"formattedColorName": "saddle brown"
"[3]": {9 keys}
"hex": "deb887"
"hue": 34
"rank": 4
"presence": 11.59
"colorName": "burlywood"
"lightness": 70
"colorGroup": "brown"
"saturation": 57
"formattedColorName": "burly wood"
"[4]": {9 keys}
"hex": "a0522d"
"hue": 19
"rank": 5
"presence": 13.53
"colorName": "sienna"
"lightness": 40
"colorGroup": "brown"
"saturation": 56
"formattedColorName": "sienna"
"rawColors": [7 items]
"[0]": {6 keys}
"hex": "b69060"
"hue": 33
"rank": 1
"presence": 61.54
"lightness": 54
"saturation": 37
"[1]": {6 keys}
"hex": "f4eeda"
"hue": 46
"rank": 2
"presence": 5.43
"lightness": 90
"saturation": 54
"[2]": {6 keys}
"hex": "493d2a"
"hue": 36
"rank": 3
"presence": 7.23
"lightness": 22
"saturation": 26
"[3]": {6 keys}
"hex": "e2d59c"
"hue": 48
"rank": 4
"presence": 11.59
"lightness": 74
"saturation": 54
"[4]": {6 keys}
"hex": "765d3e"
"hue": 33
"rank": 5
"presence": 13.53
"lightness": 35
"saturation": 31
"[5]": {6 keys}
"hex": "664220"
"hue": 29
"rank": 6
"presence": 0.39
"lightness": 26
"saturation": 52
"[6]": {6 keys}
"hex": "704e22"
"hue": 33
"rank": 7
"presence": 0.3
"lightness": 28
"saturation": 53
"imageLabels": [10 items]
"[0]": {5 keys}
"count": 1140
"score": 87.66
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "World"
"imageLabelId": 89
"[1]": {5 keys}
"count": 19411
"score": 85.19
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Font"
"imageLabelId": 12
"[2]": {5 keys}
"count": 15171
"score": 84.24
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Book"
"imageLabelId": 67
"[3]": {5 keys}
"count": 1236
"score": 79.76
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Landscape"
"imageLabelId": 120
"[4]": {5 keys}
"count": 1442
"score": 79.19
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Adaptation"
"imageLabelId": 43
"[5]": {5 keys}
"count": 19018
"score": 77.97
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Publication"
"imageLabelId": 23
"[6]": {5 keys}
"count": 152
"score": 76.84
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Landmark"
"imageLabelId": 195
"[7]": {5 keys}
"count": 2364
"score": 72.52
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Tints and shades"
"imageLabelId": 13
"[8]": {5 keys}
"count": 3468
"score": 70.31
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Paper"
"imageLabelId": 54
"[9]": {5 keys}
"count": 3188
"score": 68.64
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Wood"
"imageLabelId": 3
"imageDerivatives": [6 items]
"[0]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/large/6984/0286f61a0305830816210824f26b05c6ce1c7cad.jpg"
"width": "525"
"height": "800"
"identifier": "LARGE"
"[1]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/medium/6984/0286f61a0305830816210824f26b05c6ce1c7cad.jpg"
"width": "263"
"height": "400"
"identifier": "MEDIUM"
"[2]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/nano/6984/0286f61a0305830816210824f26b05c6ce1c7cad.jpg"
"width": "23"
"height": "35"
"identifier": "NANO"
"[3]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/small/6984/0286f61a0305830816210824f26b05c6ce1c7cad.jpg"
"width": "99"
"height": "150"
"identifier": "SMALL"
"[4]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/tiny/6984/0286f61a0305830816210824f26b05c6ce1c7cad.jpg"
"width": "49"
"height": "75"
"identifier": "TINY"
"[5]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/xlarge/6984/0286f61a0305830816210824f26b05c6ce1c7cad.jpg"
"width": "788"
"height": "1200"
"identifier": "XLARGE"
"totalImages": 1
"objectSearchScore": 0.31199765
"opacObjectFieldSets": [40 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "accession_no"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "13178"
"[1]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "name"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "African dominion : a new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa / Michael A. Gomez"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "title"
"value": "African dominion : a new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa / Michael A. Gomez"
"[2]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "other_name"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[3]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "artist_last_first"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Gomez, Michael A."
"[4]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "prod_pri_date"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "2018"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [2 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "earliest_date"
"value": "2018-01-01Z"
"[1]": {2 keys}
"key": "latest_date"
"value": "2018-12-31Z"
"[5]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "prod_pri_date_notes"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[6]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "edition"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[7]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "brief_desc"
"opacObjectFields": [5 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "This pioneering book, the first on this period of the region’s history in a generation, tells a different story. Interweaving political and social history and drawing on a rich array of sources, including Arabic manuscripts, oral histories, and recent archaeological findings, Michael Gomez unveils a new vision of how categories of ethnicity, race, gender, and caste emerged in Africa and in global history more generally. Scholars have long held that such distinctions arose during the colonial period, but Gomez shows they developed much earlier."
"[1]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[2]": {1 keys}
"value": "Focusing on the Savannah and Sahel region, Gomez traces the exchange of ideas and influences with North Africa and the Central Islamic Lands by way of merchants, scholars, and pilgrims. Islam’s growth in West Africa, in tandem with intensifying commerce that included slaves, resulted in a series of political experiments unique to the region, culminating in the rise of empire. A major preoccupation was the question of who could be legally enslaved, which together with other factors led to the construction of new ideas about ethnicity, race, gender, and caste―long before colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade."
"[3]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[4]": {1 keys}
"value": "Telling a radically new story about early Africa in global history, African Dominion is set to be the standard work on the subject for many years to come."
"[8]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "measure_desc"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[9]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "credit_line"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[10]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "curr_loc_status"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "On Shelf"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "curr_loc_status:"On Shelf""
"[11]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "ob_status"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Accessioned"
"[12]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "lender"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[13]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_owner"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[14]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_type"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[15]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_start"
"opacObjectFields": [0 items]
"[16]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_expiry"
"opacObjectFields": [0 items]
"[17]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_notes"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[18]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "curr_loc"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Zone S2/Level 1/Phrontisterion/MONA"
"[19]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "object_type"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "Books/Document genres/Information forms/Visual and Verbal Communication"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "object_type:"Books/Document genres/Information forms/Visual and Verbal Communication""
"[20]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "collection"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "African Collection/Special Collections/Library"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "collection:"African Collection/Special Collections/Library""
"[21]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "prod_pri_place"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Princeton/New Jersey/United States of America"
"[22]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "prod_pri_publisher"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Princeton University Press"
"[23]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "physical_notes"
"opacObjectFields": [2 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "viii, 505 pages ; 26 cm."
"[1]": {1 keys}
"value": "Includes maps, bibliographical references and index."
"[24]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "language"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "English"
"[25]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "isbn_issn"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "9780691177427"
"[26]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "user_sym_1"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "AFR 966.02 GOM"
"[27]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "usual_loc_being"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Zone S2/Level 1/Phrontisterion/MONA"
"[28]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_class"
"opacObjectFields": [8 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "Middle Ages/World history/History"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Middle Ages/World history/History""
"[1]": {2 keys}
"value": "Civilisation, Medieval/Civilisation -- History"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Civilisation, Medieval/Civilisation -- History""
"[2]": {2 keys}
"value": "History"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"History""
"[3]": {2 keys}
"value": "World history/History"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"World history/History""
"[4]": {2 keys}
"value": "Islam/Religions"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Islam/Religions""
"[5]": {2 keys}
"value": "Slave trade"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Slave trade""
"[6]": {2 keys}
"value": "Iron age/Civilisation"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Iron age/Civilisation""
"[7]": {2 keys}
"value": "Trade routes -- Asia/Commerce/Economics/Social sciences/Civilisation"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Trade routes -- Asia/Commerce/Economics/Social sciences/Civilisation""
"[29]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_date"
"opacObjectFields": [0 items]
"[30]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_event"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[31]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_period"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[32]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_object"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[33]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_person"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[34]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_place"
"opacObjectFields": [5 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "Nigeria"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_place:"Nigeria""
"[1]": {2 keys}
"value": "West Africa/Africa"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_place:"West Africa/Africa""
"[2]": {2 keys}
"value": "Mali"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_place:"Mali""
"[3]": {2 keys}
"value": "Ghana"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_place:"Ghana""
"[4]": {2 keys}
"value": "Western Sahara"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_place:"Western Sahara""
"[35]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "assoc_person"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[36]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "assoc_place"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[37]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "assoc_event"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[38]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "assoc_object"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[39]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "user_sym_9"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"relationshipsCollection": {2 keys}
"relationships": [1 items]
"[0]": {4 keys}
"relatedRecords": [1 items]
"[0]": {3 keys}
"slug": "michael-a-gomez"
"title": "Michael A. Gomez"
"relatedRecordId": "26061"
"relationshipId": "object_prod_pri_person"
"relatedRecordType": "person"
"totalRelatedRecords": 1
"totalRelationships": 1
Topics and Themes