With the Islamization of Egypt in the 7th century, one of the greatest economic and political powers in North Africa, the following 3 centuries will be one of territorial expansion and the consequent advancement of Arab culture and the Islamization of more countries. This results in the emergence of many caliphates, which continue to expand and increase their cultural influence in the region. In this context, several openly Muslim African empires will emerge, including the Empires of Mali. Due to a jihad, that is, a war for religious reasons, many soldiers defeated in northern Nigeria were sold as slaves to Europeans, masters of human trafficking in the Atlantic. This is where many of the enslaved Muslims who arrive in Brazil will come from - the Hausa, who in Bahia became known as Malês, are one of them.