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The Mali Empire was one of the biggest empires in the world. I was located in West Africa and went from Atlantic Ocean (near today's Senegal and Gambia) all the way to the Sahel region. The main area was around the Niger River. Thanks to its location and geography the empire became powerful because it was in the middle of trade - gold came from the south and salt came from the north.

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Grand Mosques and Palaces primarily built from sun dried bricks. 

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Background (Culture, Religion, and How it Spread out)

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Background (Culture, Religion, and How it Spread out)

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The Mali Empire had rich culture that mixed African traditions with Islam. The king and rich people followed Islam, but many others still believed in their old traditional gods. This mix made their culture special. The Mali empire spread out through its control of gold and salt trade routes, and Islamic influence.

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Sundiata Keita, prince and founder of the Mali empire. 

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The Mali Empire started around 1235 CE when a leader named Sundiata Keita beat the Sosso Kingdom in a big battle. After that, he made the Mali Empire, which over time it started to become big and rich from trade.

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Mansa Musa, became the ruler of the Mali Empire in the 1300s. His wealth was so legendary that when he traveled he gave out gold as if it was spare change. So much gold infact that it wrecked entire economies. Mali was not just about gold but it was major in global trade, it was a hub of knowledge, and home to some of the most influential cities in history. The reign of Mansa Musa I saw the empire reach new heights in terms of the land controlled, cultural florescence, and the wealth brought through Mali's control of regional trade routes.

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Trade routes connecting West African gold and salt mines with North African markets

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The Niger River was very important because people used it to trade and travel. Big cities like Niani (the capital) and Timbuktu were along the river; the land had deserts, savannas, and grasslands, which made trade easier because people could get things from different places. Thanks to trade the Empire became powerful. This empire was also very rich in terms of Education and learning. This Empire had big libraries full of books and lots of people from different places, traveled to see the libraries.

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The city of Timbuktu being raided and burned by warriors from the east

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For centuries, the Mali Empire remained strong, but the entire situation began to fall apart in the 1400s. Successors to Musa had been weak kings internal groups fighting among themselves that made firm control difficult. Meanwhile, the Songhai Empire gained strength, capturing key cities like Timbuktu. Trade routes changed too, to Mali's detriment in money, prestige, and power. Eventually, the empire shattered into chunks and ceased to be in existence.

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Thanks to their location in geography they were able to become rich, due to trade. The Mali Empire was in the middle of trade, which meant that gold came from the South and salt came from the North, becoming rich and using that gold to increase their power and Empire. Their culture and religion was mixed due to their location. Their leader started giving out gold like it was a spare change, which in other words means that they got so rich they didn't know what to do with so much gold. In summary their location played a big role in the development of this Empire.

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The Mali Empire was a powerful and wealth West African state, known for its huge amounts of gold, and very long Saharan trade networks, it flourished from the 13th to 17th centuries. It was ruled by centralized kings called mansa, the empire was built by Sundiata Keita and later expanded to include the Islamic scholarly city of Timbuktu, a center of learning that hosted many books and scholars. The Mali Empires legacy had a significant impact through its gold trade, it influenced economies across continents and it left a lasting mark on African culture and history.