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The World  A Television History #15 Africa Before The Europeans

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In the vast fictional universe of Marvel Comics, T'Challa, better known as Black Panther, is not only king of Wakanda, he's also the richest superhero of them all. And although today's fight for the title of wealthiest person alive involves a tug-of-war between billionaire CEOs, the wealthiest person in history, Mansa Musa, has more in common with Marvel's first Black superhero.

Musa became ruler of the Mali Empire in 1312, taking the throne after his predecessor, Abu-Bakr II, for whom he'd served as deputy, went missing on a voyage he took by sea to find the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. Musa's rule came at a time when European nations were struggling due to raging civil wars and a lack of resources. During that period, the Mali Empire flourished thanks to ample natural resources like gold and salt.

And under the rule of Musa, the prosperous empire grew to span a sizeable portion of West Africa, from the Atlantic coast to the inland trading hub of Timbuktu and parts of the Sahara Desert. As the territory grew while Musa was on the throne, so did the economic standing of its citizens.

It wasn't until 1324 that the world outside of Mali's border would get a glimpse of the king's expansive wealth. A devout Muslim in a majority Muslim community, Musa set off on a journey to Mecca for his Hajj pilgrimage. But the king didn't travel by himself.

The voyage, which would span an estimated 4,000 miles, was travelled by Musa and a caravan that included tens of thousands of soldiers, slaves and heralds, draped in Persian silk and carrying golden staffs. Although records of the exact number of people who participated in the voyage are scarce, the elaborate convoy that accompanied Musa marched alongside camels and horses carrying hundreds of pounds of gold.

Of course, this spectacle was noticed by residents of the territories that Musa passed through-after all, a group so massive was impossible to overlook. The impact the Malian emperor left on the Egyptian people would reverberate for more than a decade.

Arriving in Cairo, Musa's character was put on full display during his reluctant encounter with Cairo's ruler, al-Malik al-Nasir. According to texts from the ancient historian Shihab al-Umari, Musa was greeted in Cairo by a subordinate of al-Nasir, who invited him to meet with the fellow monarch. Musa declined the proposition, claiming that he was only passing through on his pilgrimage to Mecca.

The reason why soon became clear to onlookers. "I realized that the audience was repugnant to him, because he would be obliged to kiss the ground and the sultan's hand," said a man named emir Abu, as chronicled in the documents. "I continue to cajole him, and he continued to make excuses, but the sultan's protocol demanded that I should bring him into the royal presence, so I kept on at him till he agreed."

The meeting grew contentious when Musa refused to kiss the feet of the sultan, and only turned calm after Musa elected to properly greet al-Nasir. Following a conversation between the two men, al-Nasir offered lodging to Musa and everyone accompanying him, and Musa, in turn, left a piece of his incomprehensible wealth in Egypt.

From the markets of Cairo to royal offices to the impoverished people who crossed his path in Egypt, Musa's generosity and purchase of foreign goods left the streets littered with gold-a resource that was greatly appreciated and in short supply. The people were thrilled-at least at first. Though well-intentioned, Musa's gifts of gold actually depreciated the value of the metal in Egypt, and the economy took a major hit. It took 12 years for the community to recover.

But the king's trip wasn't all about giving. On his voyage, he acquired the territory of Gao within the Songhai kingdom, extending his territory to the southern edge of the Sahara Desert along the Niger River. He would go on to have an empire that spanned several territories, including current-day Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Mauritania, in addition to Mali.

However, Gao would be of special importance to the king. This territory, in today's Mali, is where Musa would build one of several mosques after completing his Hajj. Timbuktu was also an important city for the affluent king, who used his wealth to build schools, universities, libraries, and mosques there. The burgeoning trading hub was where Musa commissioned the Djinguereber Mosque, a famed place built of mudbrick and wood that has stood the test of time, remaining active for more than 500 years.

Word of Musa's wealth and influence only spread beyond Africa after his voyage to Mecca. Tales of his enormous convoy and generosity continued to be passed on long after his death, which is believed to have taken place sometime between 1332 and 1337. By the late 14th century, Musa had been drawn in the 1375 Catalan Atlas, an important resource for navigators of Medieval Europe. Created by Spanish cartographer Abraham Cresques, the atlas depicted Musa sitting on a throne with a gold scepter and crown, holding a gold nugget.

From the abundance of natural resources he cultivated to the growth and development of communities that he left behind, Musa has a legend that could give the fictional Black Panther a run for his money. As far as wealth goes, it is nearly impossible to quantify the riches that Musa had during his lifetime. The vastness of Musa's land and material holdings, University of Michigan associate history professor Rudolph Ware explained in Time, seems downright incomprehensible today: "Imagine as much gold as you think a human being could possess and double it, that's what all the accounts are trying to communicate," he said. "This is the richest guy anyone has ever seen."

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This 14th-Century African Emperor Remains the Richest Person in History

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In the vast fictional universe of Marvel Comics, T'Challa, better known as Black Panther, is not only king of Wakanda, he's also the richest superhero of them all. And although today's fight for the title of wealthiest person alive involves a tug-of-war between billionaire CEOs, the wealthiest person in history, Mansa Musa, has more in common with Marvel's first Black superhero.

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n the early 16th century, rumours of a mysterious fortress with gargantuan walls, abandoned in the African jungle, spread around Europe. Surrounded by goldmines and sitting on a 900-metre-high hill, the city was thought to represent the summit of a unique African civilisation which had traded with distant Asian countries, including China and Persia.

A Portuguese sea captain, Viçente Pegado, was one of the first foreigners to encounter the site, in 1531. He wrote: "Among the goldmines of the inland plains between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers [is a] fortress built of stones of marvellous size, and there appears to be no mortar joining them ... This edifice is almost surrounded by hills, upon which are others resembling it in the fashioning of stone and the absence of mortar, and one of them is a tower more than 12 fathoms high."

Great Zimbabwe was constructed between the 11th and 14th centuries over 722 hectares in the southern part of modern Zimbabwe. The whole site is weaved with a centuries-old drainage system which still works, funnelling water outside the houses and enclosures down into the valleys.

At its peak, an estimated 18,000 people lived in the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe. Only 200 to 300 members of the elite classes are thought to have actually stayed inside its massive stone buildings, watched over at night by guards standing on the walls, while the majority lived some distance away.

Today, the ruins of Great Zimbabwe are a shell of the abandoned city that Captain Pegado came across - due in no small part to the frenzied plundering of the site at the turn of the 20th century by European treasure-hunters, in search of artefacts that were eventually sent to museums throughout Europe, America and South Africa.

It was said that Great Zimbabwe was an African replica of the Queen of Sheba 's palace in Jerusalem. The idea was promoted by the German explorer Karl Mauch, who visited in 1871 and refused to believe that indigenous Africans could have built such an extensive network of monuments.

"I do not think that I am far wrong if I suppose that the ruin on the hill is a copy of Solomon's Temple on Mount Moriah," Mauch declared, "and the building in the plain a copy of the palace where the Queen of Sheba lived during her visit to Solomon." He further stated that only a "civilised nation must once have lived there" - his racist implication unmistakeable.

Other European writers, also believing that Africans did not have the capacity to build anything of the significance of Great Zimbabwe, suggested it was built by Portuguese travellers, Arabs, Chinese or Persians. Another theory was that the site could have been the work of a southern African tribe of ancient Jewish heritage, the Lemba.

Adding to the mystery, the indigenous people living around the site were said to believe it was the work of demons, or aliens, on account of its impressive size and the perfection of its workmanship.

In 1905, however, the British archaeologist David Randall-MacIver concluded the ruins were medieval, and built by one or more of the local African Bantu peoples. His findings were confirmed by another British archaeologist, Gertrude Caton-Thompson, in 1929, and this remains the consensus today. In the language of the builders' descendents, the Shona people who live in the region today, Zimbabwe means "big stone houses" or "venerated houses".

The city's buildings were made of impressive granite walls, embellished with turrets, towers, decorations and elegantly sculpted stairways. The most notable of the buildings, an enclosure 250 metres in circumference and 9.75 metres high, was crafted with 900,000 pieces of professionally sliced granite blocks, laid on each other without any binders. Its perimeter columns were decorated with soapstone sculptures of a silhouetted bird with human lips and five-fingered feet.

The function of the Great Enclosure's conical tower has been the subject of much speculation. Photograph: Alamy

More than 4,000 gold and 500 copper mines were found around the site, and it was suggested that for three centuries, 40% of the world's total mined gold came from the area, compounding to an estimated 600 tonnes of gold. Thousands of necklaces made of gold lamé have been discovered among the ruins.

Great Zimbabwe's prosperity came from its position on the route between the gold producing regions of the area and ports on the Mozambique coast; over time it became the heart of an extensive commercial and trading network. The main trading items ranged from gold, ivory, copper and tin to cattle and cowrie shells. Imported items discovered in the ruins have included glassware from Syria, a minted coin from Kilwa, and assorted Persian and Chinese ceramics.

The period of prosperity at Great Zimbabwe continued until the mid-15th century, when the city's trading activity started to decline and its people began to migrate elsewhere. The most common hypothesis to explain the abandonment of the site is a shortage of food, pastures and natural resources in Great Zimbabwe and its immediate surroundings. But the precise cause remains unclear.

Unparalleled architecture

Great Zimbabwe is a fusion of manmade and natural beauty; a complex of 12 groups of buildings spread over 80 stunning hectares of the Mutirikwi valley. In the words of the Zimbabwean archaeologist and art historian Peter Garlake, the site displays "an architecture that was unparalleled elsewhere in Africa or beyond".

The ruins are divided into three main architectural zones: the Hill Complex, the Great Enclosure and the Valley Complex. The oldest, the Hill Complex, was occupied from the ninth to the 13th centuries. Believed to have been the spiritual and religious centre of the city, its ruins extend some 100 metres by 45 metres.

Remains of the Great Enclosure: the most popular explanation for Great Zimbabwe's abandonment is a shortage of food, pastures and natural resources. Photograph: Alamy

Notable features of the Hill Complex included a huge boulder in a shape similar to that of the Zimbabwe Bird, from where the king presided over every important ritual, such as the judgment of criminals, the appeasing of ancestors and sacrifices to rainmaker gods. The sacrifices happened over a raised platform below the king's seat, where oxen were burned. If the smoke went straight up, the ancestors were appeased. If it was crooked, they were unhappy and another sacrifice must be made.

South of the Hill Complex lies the Great Enclosure, occupied from the 13th to the 15th centuries: a spectacular circular monument made of cut granite blocks. Its outer wall, five metres thick, extends some 250 metres and has a maximum height of 11 metres, making it the largest ancient structure in Africa south of the Sahara.

The most fascinating thing about the Great Enclosure walls is the absence of sharp angles; from the air they are said to resemble a " giant grey bracelet ". A narrow passage just inside the walls leads to a conical tower, the use of which has been the subject of much speculation - from symbolic grain bin to phallic symbol.

The last part of the ruins is the Valley Complex: a series of living ensembles made up of daga (earth and mud-brick) houses, scattered throughout the valley and occupied from the 14th to 16th centuries.

Here lived about 2,000 goldsmiths and equally numerous potters, weavers, blacksmiths and stonemasons - who would heat large granite rocks in a fire before tossing water on the red-hot rock. The shock of cold water cracked the granite along fracture planes into brick-shaped pieces that could be stacked without the need for mortar to secure them. Millions upon millions of these pieces were produced in the plains below and hauled up the hill, as the city constantly expanded.

The walls of the great enclosure reach 11 metres in height. Photograph: Alamy

The function of its massive, non-supportive walls have various interpretations: some believe they were martial and defensive, or that they were a symbolic show of authority, designed to preserve the privacy of royal families and set them apart from commoners.

Unfortunately, the ruins have been damaged over the last two centuries - not least due to the British journalist Richard Nicklin Hall, who in 1902 was appointed curator of Great Zimbabwe by the British South Africa Company for the purposes "not [of] scientific research, but the preservation of the building."

How a powerful African empire built a kingdom that covered vast swathes of southern Africa is a source of pride

Clinton Dale Mutambo

Hall destroyed a significant part of the site, claiming he was removing the "filth and decadence of the Kaffir [ie African] occupation". In his search for signs that the city had been created by white builders, layers of archeological deposits up to four metres deep were lost.

Reconstruction attempts by Zimbabwe nationalists since 1980 have caused further damage - as have some of the roughly 20,000 tourists who visit the site every year, climbing the walls for thrills and to find souvenirs.

Political and ideological battles have also been fought over the ruins. In 1890, the British mining magnate and coloniser Cecil Rhodes financed archeologist James Theodore Bent, who was sent to South Rhodesia by the British Association of Science with instructions to "prove" the Great Zimbabwe civilisation was not built by local Africans.

The government of Ian Smith, prime minister of Southern Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe) until 1979, continued the colonial falsification of the city's origins in official guide books, which showed images of Africans bowing down to the foreigners who had allegedly built Great Zimbabwe.

In 1980, Robert Mugabe became prime minister, and the country was renamed "Zimbabwe", in honour of the Great Zimbabwe civilisation, and its famous soapstone bird carvings were depicted in the new Zimbabwean flag.

Yet much is still to be known about the ancient capital city. With no primary written documents discovered there or elsewhere, Great Zimbabwe's history is derived from archaeological evidence found on the site, plus the oral history of the local Shona-speaking people, particularly regarding spiritual beliefs and building traditions.

Designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1986, the preservation of Great Zimbabwe - led by the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe organisation - is now challenged by uncontrolled growth of vegetation, which threatens the stability of its dry stone walls. The spread of , an invasive flowering shrub introduced to Zimbabwe in the early 20th century, has put added of strain on the preservation work.

"Great Zimbabwe's significance - not only in Zimbabwe's history, but Africa's as a whole - is immense," says Clinton Dale Mutambo, founder of the marketing company Esaja in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital. "How a powerful African empire built a kingdom that covered vast swaths of southern Africa is a source of pride for Zimbabweans - and something that colonial governments tried for a long time to undermine by linking this wondrous kingdom to the Phoenicians."
Please share your stories of other 'lost cities' throughout history in the comments below. F ollow Guardian Cities on Twitter and Facebook to join in the discussion

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Lost cities #9: racism and ruins - the plundering of Great Zimbabwe

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In the 19th century, European visitors to this abandoned medieval city refused to believe that indigenous Africans could have built such an extensive network of monuments. Such ignorance was disastrous for the remains of Great Zimbabwe

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The Reason Europeans Erased Africans from History

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Benin Kingdom: BASIC NIGERIAN HISTORY #8

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Mansa Musa and Islam in Africa: Crash Course World History #16

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The Ghana Empire

The Ghana Empire was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, western Mali, and eastern Senegal, and derived its power from the control of trans-Saharan trade, particularly gold trade.

Learning Objectives

Describe the Ghana Empire and the source of its wealth

Key Takeaways

Key Points

The Ghana Empire, called the Wagadou (or Wagadu) Empire by its rulers, was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, western Mali, and eastern Senegal. There is no consensus on when precisely it originated. Different traditions identify its beginnings between as early as 100 CE and the 9th century, with most scholars accepting the 8th or 9th century.

Ghana's economic development and eventual wealth was linked to the growth of regular and intensified trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt, and ivory, which allowed for the development of larger urban centers and encouraged territorial expansion to gain control over different trade routes.

The empire's capital is believed to have been at Koumbi Saleh on the rim of the Sahara desert. According to the description of the town left by Al-Bakri in 1067/1068, the capital was actually two cities, but "between these two towns are continuous habitations," so they might have merged into one.

The Ghana Empire lay in the Sahel region to the north of the West African gold fields, and was able to profit by controlling the trans-Saharan gold trade, which turned Ghana into an empire of legendary wealth.

Ghana appears to have had a central core region and was surrounded by vassal states. One of the earliest sources notes that "under the king's authority are a number of kings." These "kings" were presumably the rulers of the territorial units often called kafu in Mandinka.

Although scholars debate how and when Ghana declined and collapsed, it is clear that it was incorporated into the Mali Empire around 1240.

Key Terms

the Almoravids: A Berber imperial dynasty of Morocco that formed an empire in the 11th century that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus. Founded by Abdallah ibn Yasin, their capital was Marrakesh, a city they founded in 1062. The dynasty originated among the Lamtuna and the Gudala, nomadic Berber tribes of the Sahara, traversing the territory between the Draa, the Niger, and the Senegal rivers.

the Soninke people: A Mandé people who descend from the Bafour and are closely related to the Imraguen of Mauritania. They were the founders of the ancient empire of Ghana c. 750-1240 CE. Subgroups include the Maraka and Wangara.

Koumbi Saleh: The site of a ruined medieval town in southeast Mauritania that may have been the capital of the Ghana Empire.

Disputed Origins of the Ghana Empire

The Ghana Empire, called the Wagadou (or Wagadu) Empire by its rulers, was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, western Mali, and eastern Senegal. There is no consensus on when precisely it originated, but its development is linked to the changes in trade that emerged throughout the centuries after the introduction of the camel to the western Sahara (3rd century). By the time of the Muslim conquest of North Africa in the 7th century, the camel had changed the earlier, more irregular trade routes into a trade network running from Morocco to the Niger River. This regular and intensified trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt, and ivory allowed for the development of larger urban centers and encouraged territorial expansion to gain control over different trade routes.

The Ghana ruling dynasty was first mentioned in written records in 830, and thus the 9th century is sometimes identified as the empire's beginning.
In the medieval Arabic sources the word "Ghana" can refer to a royal title, the name of a capital city, or a kingdom. The earliest reference to Ghana as a town is by al-Khuwarizmi, who died around 846. Research on the site of Koumbi Saleh (or Kumbi Saleh), a ruined medieval town in southeast Mauritania that may have been the capital of the Ghana Empire, suggests earlier beginnings. The earliest author to mention Ghana is the Persian astronomer Ibrahim al-Fazari, who, writing at the end of the eighth century, refers to "the territory of Ghana, the land of gold." From the 9th century, Arab authors mention the Ghana Empire in connection with the trans-Saharan gold trade. Al-Bakri, who wrote in the 11th century, described the capital of Ghana as consisting of two towns six miles apart, one inhabited by Muslim merchants and the other by the king of Ghana. According to the tradition of the Soninke people, they migrated to southeastern Mauritania in the 1st century, and as early as around 100 CE created a settlement that would eventually develop into the Ghana Empire. Other sources identify the beginnings of the empire some time between the 4th century and the mid-8th century.

When the Gold Coast in 1957 became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to regain its independence from colonial rule, it was renamed in honor of the long-gone empire from which the ancestors to the Akan people of modern-day Ghana are thought to have migrated.

The Capital City: Koumbi Saleh

The empire's capital is believed to have been at Koumbi Saleh on the rim of the Sahara desert. According to the description of the town left by Al-Bakri in 1067/1068, the capital was actually two cities, but "between these two towns are continuous habitations," so they might have merged into one. According to al-Bakri, the major part of the city was called El-Ghaba, and was the residence of the king. It was protected by a stone wall and functioned as the royal and spiritual capital of the empire. It contained a sacred grove of trees used for Soninke religious rites in which priests lived. It also contained the king's palace, the grandest structure in the city. There was also one mosque for visiting Muslim officials. The name of the other section of the city is not recorded. It was surrounded by wells with fresh water, where vegetables were grown. It had twelve mosques, one of which was designated for Friday prayers, and had a full group of scholars, scribes, and Islamic jurists. Because the majority of these Muslims were merchants, this part of the city was probably its primary business district.

Economy and Government

Most of our information about the economy of Ghana comes from al-Bakri. He noted that merchants had to pay a one gold dinar tax on imports of salt and two on exports of salt. Al-Bakri mentioned also copper and "other goods." Imports probably included products such as textiles and ornaments. Many of the hand-crafted leather goods found in old Morocco also had their origins in the Ghana Empire. Tribute was also received from various tributary states and chiefdoms at the empire's periphery. The Ghana Empire lay in the Sahel region to the north of the West African gold fields, and was able to profit from controlling the trans-Saharan gold trade. The early history of Ghana is unknown, but there is evidence that North Africa had begun importing gold from West Africa before the Arab conquest in the middle of the 7th century.

Much testimony on ancient Ghana comes from the recorded visits of foreign travelers, who, by definition, could provide only a fragmentary picture. Islamic writers often commented on the social-political stability of the Empire based on the seemingly just actions and grandeur of the king. Al-Bakri questioned merchants who visited the empire in the 11th century and wrote of the king hearing grievances against officials and being surrounded by great wealth. Ghana appears to have had a central core region and was surrounded by vassal states. One of the earliest sources, al-Ya'qubi, writing in 889/890 (276 AH), noted that "under the king's authority are a number of kings." These "kings" were presumably the rulers of the territorial units often called kafu in Mandinka. In al-Bakri's time, the rulers of Ghana had begun to incorporate more Muslims into government, including the treasurer, his interpreter, and "the majority of his officials."

Decline

Given scarce Arabic sources and the ambiguity of the existing archaeological record, it is difficult to determine when and how Ghana declined and fell. According to Arab tradition, Ghana fell when it was sacked by the Almoravid movement in 1076-1077, but this interpretation has been questioned. Conrad and Fisher (1982) argued that the notion of any Almoravid military conquest is merely perpetuated folklore, derived from a misinterpretation of or limited reliance on Arabic sources. Dierke Lange agreed with the original military incursion theory but argued that this does not preclude Almoravid political agitation, claiming that Ghana's demise owed much to the latter. Sheryl L. Burkhalter
argued that while the idea of the conquest was unclear, the influence and success of the Almoravid movement in securing West African gold and circulating it widely necessitated a high degree of political control. Furthermore, the archaeology of ancient Ghana does not show signs of the rapid change and destruction that would be associated with any Almoravid-era military conquests.

It is assumed that the ensuing war pushed Ghana over the edge, ending the kingdom's position as a commercial and military power by 1100. It collapsed into tribal groups and chieftaincies, some of which later assimilated into the Almoravids, while others founded the Mali Empire. Despite ambiguous evidence, it is clear that Ghana was incorporated into the Mali Empire around 1240.

Mali

The Mali Empire was an empire in West Africa that lasted from 1230 to 1600 and profoundly influenced the culture of the region through the spread of its language, laws, and customs along lands adjacent to the Niger River, as well as other areas consisting of numerous vassal kingdoms and provinces.

Learning Objectives

Evaluate each period in the history of the Mali Empire

Key Takeaways

Key Points

The Mali Empire, also historically referred to as the Manden Kurufaba, was an empire in West Africa that lasted from c. 1230 to 1600. It was the largest empire in West Africa and profoundly influenced the culture of the region through the spread of its language, laws, and customs along lands adjacent to the Niger River, as well as other areas consisting of numerous vassal kingdoms and provinces.

Modern oral traditions recorded that the Mandinka kingdoms of Mali or Manden had already existed several centuries before unification. This area was composed of mountains, savanna, and forest providing ideal protection and resources for the population of hunters. Those not living in the mountains formed small city-states.

The combined forces of northern and southern Manden defeated the Sosso army at the Battle of Kirina in approximately 1235. This victory resulted in the fall of the Kaniaga kingdom and the rise of the Mali Empire.

The Mali Empire covered a larger area for a longer period of time than any other West African state before or since. What made this possible was the decentralized nature of administration throughout the state. Its power came, above all, from trade.

The Mali Empire reached its largest size and flourished as a trade and intellectual center under the Laye Keita mansas (1312-1389). The
empire's total area included nearly all the land between the Sahara Desert and the coastal forests.

The 1599 battle of Djenné marked the effective end of the great Mali Empire and set the stage for a plethora of smaller West African states to emerge.

Key Terms

mansa: A Mandinka word meaning "sultan" (king) or "emperor." It is particularly associated with the Keita dynasty of the Mali Empire, which dominated West Africa from the 13th century to the 15th century.

muezzin: The person appointed at a mosque to lead and recite the call to prayer for every event of prayer and worship. The muezzin's post is an important one, and the community depends on him for an accurate prayer schedule.

Introduction

The Mali Empire, also historically referred to as the Manden Kurufaba, was an empire in West Africa that lasted from c. 1230 to 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers. It was the largest empire in West Africa and profoundly influenced the culture of the region through the spread of its language, laws, and customs along lands adjacent to the Niger River, as well as other areas consisting of numerous vassal kingdoms and provinces.

Pre-Imperial Mali

Modern oral traditions recorded that the Mandinka kingdoms of Mali or Manden had already existed several centuries before unification by Sundiata, a Malian mansa also known as Mari Djata I, as a small state just to the south of the Soninké empire of Wagadou (the Ghana Empire). This area was composed of mountains, savanna, and forest providing ideal protection and resources for the population of hunters. Those not living in the mountains formed small city-states such as Toron, Ka-Ba, and Niani.

In approximately 1140, the Sosso kingdom of Kaniaga, a former vassal of Wagadou, began conquering the lands of its old masters. By 1180, it had even subjugated Wagadou, forcing the Soninké to pay tribute. In 1203, the Sosso king Soumaoro of the Kanté clan came to power and reportedly terrorized much of Manden, stealing women and goods from both Dodougou and Kri.

After many years in exile, first at the court of Wagadou and then at Mema, Sundiata,
a prince who eventually became founder of the Mali Empire, was sought out by a Niani delegation and begged to combat the Sosso and free the kingdoms of Manden. Returning with the combined armies of Mema, Wagadou, and all the rebellious Mandinka city-states, Maghan Sundiata, or Sumanguru, led a revolt against the Kaniaga Kingdom around 1234. The combined forces of northern and southern Manden defeated the Sosso army at the Battle of Kirina (then known as Krina) in approximately 1235. This victory resulted in the fall of the Kaniaga kingdom and the rise of the Mali Empire. After the victory, King Soumaoro disappeared and the Mandinka stormed the last of the Sosso cities. Maghan Sundiata was declared "faama of faamas" and received the title "mansa," which translates roughly to emperor. At the age of eighteen, he gained authority over all the twelve kingdoms in an alliance known as the Manden Kurufaba. He was crowned under the throne name Sunidata Keita, becoming the first Mandinka emperor. And so the name Keita became a clan/family and began its reign.

Imperial Mali (1250-1559)

The Mali Empire covered a larger area for a longer period of time than any other West African state before or since. What made this possible was the decentralized nature of administration throughout the state; yet the mansa managed to keep tax money and nominal control over the area without agitating his subjects into revolt. Officials at the village, town, city, and county levels were elected locally, and only at the state or provincial level was there any palpable interference from the central authority in Niani. Provinces picked their own governors via their own custom (election, inheritance, etc.), but governors had to be approved by the mansa and were subject to his oversight.

The Mali Empire flourished because of trade above all else. It contained three immense gold mines within its borders, and the empire taxed every ounce of gold or salt that entered its borders. By the beginning of the 14th century, Mali was the source of almost half the Old World's gold, exported from mines in Bambuk, Boure, and Galam. There was no standard currency throughout the realm, but several forms were prominent by region. The Sahelian and Saharan towns of the Mali Empire were organized as both staging posts in the long-distance caravan trade and trading centers for the various West African products (e.g., salt, copper). Ibn Battuta,
a Medieval Moroccan Muslim traveler and scholar, observed the employment of slave labor. During most of his journey, Ibn Battuta traveled with a retinue that included slaves, most of whom carried goods for trade but would also be traded themselves. On the return from Takedda to Morocco, his caravan transported 600 female slaves, which suggests that slavery was a substantial part of the commercial activity of the empire.

The number and frequency of conquests in the late 13th century and throughout the 14th century indicate that the Kolonkan mansas (who ruled at the time) inherited and/or developed a capable military. However, it went through radical changes before reaching the legendary proportions proclaimed by its subjects. Thanks to steady tax revenue and a stable government beginning in the last quarter of the 13th century, the Mali Empire was able to project its power throughout its own extensive domain and beyond. The empire maintained a semi-professional full-time army in order to defend its borders. The entire nation was mobilized, with each clan obligated to provide a quota of fighting-age men. Historians who lived during the height and decline of the Mali Empire consistently recorded its army at 100,000, with 10,000 of that number being made up of cavalry.

The Mali Empire reached its largest size under the Laye Keita mansas (1312-1389). The empire's total area included nearly all the land between the Sahara Desert and the coastal forests. It spanned modern-day Senegal, southern Mauritania, Mali, northern Burkina Faso, western Niger, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, the Ivory Coast, and northern Ghana.
The first ruler from the Laye lineage was Kankan Musa Keita (or Moussa), also known as Mansa Musa. He embarked on a large building program, raising mosques and madrasas in Timbuktu and Gao.
He also transformed Sankore from an informal madrasah into an Islamic university.
By the end of Mansa Musa's reign, the Sankoré University had been converted into a fully staffed university, with the largest collections of books in Africa since the Library of Alexandria. During this period, there was an advanced level of urban living in the major centers of the Mali. Sergio Domian, an Italian art and architecture scholar, wrote the following about this period: "Thus was laid the foundation of an urban civilization. At the height of its power, Mali had at least 400 cities, and the interior of the Niger Delta was very densely populated."

Collapse

Mansa Mahmud Keita IV was the last emperor of Manden, according to the Tarikh al-Sudan. He launched an attack on the city of Djenné in 1599 with Fulani allies, hoping to take advantage of Songhai's defeat. Eventually, the army inside Djenné intervened, forcing Mansa Mahmud Keita IV and his army to retreat to Kangaba. The battle marked the effective end of the great Mali Empire and set the stage for a plethora of smaller West African states to emerge. Around 1610, Mahmud Keita IV died. Oral tradition states that he had three sons who fought over Manden's remains. No single Keita ever ruled Manden after Mahmud Keita IV's death, thus the end of the Mali Empire.

The old core of the empire was divided into three spheres of influence. Kangaba, the de facto capital of Manden since the time of the last emperor, became the capital of the northern sphere. The Joma area, governed from Siguiri, controlled the central region, which encompassed Niani. Hamana (or Amana), southwest of Joma, became the southern sphere, with its capital at Kouroussa in modern Guinea. Each ruler used the title of mansa, but their authority only extended as far as their own sphere of influence. Despite this disunity in the realm, the realm remained under Mandinka control into the mid-17th century. The three states warred on each other as much if not more than they did against outsiders, but rivalries generally stopped when faced with invasion. This trend would continue into colonial times against Tukulor enemies from the west.

Songhai

The Songhai Empire dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th centuries; at its peak, it was one of the largest states in Africa.

Learning Objectives

Explain the importance of Timbuktu after locating the Songhai Empire

Key Takeaways

Key Points

The Songhai Empire was a state that dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest states in African history. Initially, the empire was ruled by the Sonni dynasty (c. 1464-1493), but it was later replaced by the Askiya dynasty (1493-1591).

In the second half of the 14th century, disputes over succession weakened the Mali Empire and in the 1430s Songhai, previously a Mali dependency, gained independence under the Sonni Dynasty.

Sonni Ali reigned from 1464 to 1492. In the late 1460s, he conquered many of the Songhai's neighboring states, including what remained of the Mali Empire. He was arguably the empire's most formidable military strategist and conqueror. Under his rule, Songhai reached a size of over 1,400,000 square kilometers.

The internal political chaos and multiple civil wars within the empire allowed Morocco to invade Songhai. The main reason for the Moroccan invasion was to seize control of and revive the trans-Saharan trade in salt and gold. The empire fell to the Moroccans and their firearms in 1591.

The empire's power was linked to economic trade; their government system granted authority to local chiefs as long as they did not undermine Songhai policy and tightly controlled labor division system.

Key Terms

Gao: A city in Mali located on the River Niger that for much of its history was an important commercial center involved in the trans-Saharan trade. Towards the end of the 13th century, it became part of the Mali Empire, but in the first half of the 15th century the town regained its independence and with the conquests of Sonni Ali (ruled 1464-1492) it became the capital of the Songhai Empire.

Sonni dynasty: A dynasty of rulers of the Songhai Empire of medieval West Africa. The first ruler of the dynasty, Sunni Ali Kulun, probably reigned at the end of the fourteenth century. The last ruler, Sonni Baru, ruled until 1493 when the throne was usurped by the Askiya Muhammad I (known also as Askia the Great), the founder of the Askiya Dynasty.

Sahel: The ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition in Africa between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian Savanna to the south. Having a semi-arid climate, it stretches across the south-central latitudes of Northern Africa between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea.

Timbuktu: A historical and still-inhabited city in the West African nation of Mali, situated 20 km (12 mi) north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. In its Golden Age, the town's numerous Islamic scholars and extensive trading network enabled an important book trade. Together with the campuses of the Sankore Madrasah, an Islamic university, this established the city as a scholarly center in Africa.

Introduction

The Songhai Empire (also transliterated as Songhay) was a state that dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest states in African history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its leading ethnic group and ruling elite, the Songhai. Sonni Ali established Gao as the capital of the empire, although a Songhai state had existed in and around Gao since the 11th century. Other important cities in the empire were Timbuktu and Djenné, conquered in 1468 and 1475 respectively, where urban-centered trade flourished. Initially, the empire was ruled by the Sonni dynasty (c. 1464-1493), but it was later replaced by the Askiya dynasty (1493-1591).

During the second half of the 13th century, Gao and the surrounding region had grown into an important trading center and attracted the interest of the expanding Mali Empire. Mali conquered Gao towards the end of the 13th century and the town would remain under Malian hegemony until the late 14th century. But as the Mali Empire started to disintegrate, the Songhai reasserted control of Gao. Songhai rulers subsequently took advantage of the weakened Mali Empire to expand Songhai rule.

Imperial Songhai

In the second half of the 14th century, disputes over succession weakened the Mali Empire and in the 1430s, Songhai, previously a Mali dependency, gained independence under the Sonni Dynasty. Around thirty years later, Sonni Sulayman Dama attacked Mema, the Mali province west of Timbuktu, paving the way for his successor, Sonni Ali, to turn his country into one of the greatest empires sub-Saharan Africa has ever seen.

Sonni Ali reigned from 1464 to 1492. Like Songhai kings before him, he was a Muslim. In the late 1460s, he conquered many of the Songhai's neighboring states, including what remained of the Mali Empire. He was arguably the empire's most formidable military strategist and conqueror. Under his rule, Songhai reached a size of over 1,400,000 square kilometers. During his campaigns for expansion, Ali conquered many lands, repelling attacks from the Mossi to the south and overcoming the Dogon people to the north. He annexed Timbuktu in 1468, after Islamic leaders of the town requested his assistance in overthrowing marauding Tuaregs (Berber people with a traditionally nomadic pastoralist lifestyle) who had taken the city following the decline of Mali. However, Ali met stark resistance after setting his sights on the wealthy and renowned trading town of Djenné (also known as Jenne). After a persistent seven-year siege, he was able to forcefully incorporate it into his vast empire in 1473, but only after having starved its citizens into surrender

Oral traditions present a conflicted image of Sonni Ali. On the one hand, the invasion of Timbuktu destroyed the city; Ali was described as an intolerant tyrant who conducted a repressive policy against the scholars of Timbuktu, especially those of the Sankore region who were associated with the Tuareg. On the other hand, his control of critical trade routes and cities brought great wealth. He is thus often presented as a powerful politician and great military commander and under his reign, Djenné and Timbuktu became great centers of learning.

Following Ali's reign, Askia the Great strengthened the Songhai Empire and made it the largest empire in West Africa's history. At its peak under his reign, the Songhai Empire encompassed the Hausa states as far as Kano (in present-day Nigeria) and much of the territory that had belonged to the Songhai empire in the west. His policies resulted in a rapid expansion of trade with Europe and Asia, the creation of many schools, and the establishment of Islam as an integral part of the empire. Askia opened religious schools, constructed mosques, and opened up his court to scholars and poets from throughout the Muslim world, but he was also tolerant of other religions and did not force Islam on his people. Among his great accomplishments was an interest in astronomical knowledge, which led to the development of astronomy and observatories in the capital.

Not only was he a patron of Islam but he was also gifted in administration and encouraging trade. He centralized the administration of the empire and established an efficient bureaucracy that was responsible for, among other things, tax collection and the administration of justice. He also demanded that canals be built in order to enhance agriculture, which would eventually increase trade. More importantly than anything he did for trade was the introduction of weights and measures and the appointment of an inspector for each of Songhai's important trading centers. During his reign Islam became more widely entrenched, trans-Saharan trade flourished, and the Saharan salt mines of Taghaza were brought within the boundaries of the empire.

However, as Askia the Great grew older, his power declined. In 1528, his sons revolted against him and declared Musa, one of Askia's many sons, as king. Following Musa's overthrow in 1531, Songhai's empire went into decline. Multiple attempts at governing the empire by Askia's sons and grandsons failed and between the political chaos and multiple civil wars within the empire, Morocco invaded Songhai. The main reason for the Moroccan invasion of Songhai was to seize control and revive the trans-Saharan trade in salt and gold. The Songhai military, during Askia's reign, consisted of full-time soliders, but the king never modernized his army. The Empire fell to the Moroccans and their firearms in 1591.

The Organization of Songhai

At its peak, the Songhai city of Timbuktu became a thriving cultural and commercial center where Arab, Italian, and Jewish merchants all gathered for trade. Economic trade existed throughout the empire due to the standing army stationed in the provinces. Central to the regional economy were independent gold fields. The Julla (merchants) would form partnerships, and the state would protect these merchants and the port cities of the Niger.

The Songhai economy was based on a clan system. The clan a person belonged to ultimately decided one's occupation. The most common were metalworkers, fishermen, and carpenters. Lower caste participants consisted of mostly non-farm working immigrants, who at times were provided special privileges and held high positions in society. At the top were noblemen and direct descendants of the original Songhai people, followed by freemen and traders. At the bottom were war captives and European slaves obligated to labor, especially in farming. Historian James Olson describes the labor system as resembling modern day unions, with the empire possessing craft guilds that consisted of various mechanics and artisans

Criminal justice in Songhai was based mainly, if not entirely, on Islamic principles, especially during the rule of Askia the Great. Upper classes in society converted to Islam while lower classes often continued to follow traditional religions. Sermons emphasized obedience to the king. Sonni Ali established a system of government under the royal court, later to be expanded by Askia, which appointed governors and mayors to preside over local tributary states situated around the Niger valley. Local chiefs were still granted authority over their respective domains as long as they did not undermine Songhai policy.

Tax was imposed onto peripheral chiefdoms and provinces to ensure the dominance of Songhai, and in return these provinces were given almost complete autonomy. Songhai rulers only intervened in the affairs of these neighboring states when a situation became volatile, usually an isolated incident. Each town was represented by government officials, holding positions and responsibilities similar to today's central bureaucrats.

The Yoruba States

While Ile-Ife is considered to be the spiritual homeland of the Yoruba people, numerous Yoruba states were eventually centralized within the modern Oyo Empire, which grew to become one of the largest African states.

Learning Objectives

Discuss the Yoruba states and their progression towards centralized government

Key Takeaways

Key Points

Yorubaland is the cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo, and Benin. Its pre-modern history is based largely on oral traditions and legends. According to Yoruba religion, Oduduwa became the ancestor of the first divine king of the Yoruba.

By the 8th century, Ile-Ife was already a powerful Yoruba kingdom, one of the earliest in Africa south of the Sahara-Sahel. Almost every Yoruba settlement traces its origin to princes of Ile-Ife. As such, Ife can be regarded as the cultural and spiritual homeland of the Yoruba nation.

Ile-Ife was a settlement of substantial size between the 12th and 14th centuries, with houses featuring potsherd pavements. It is known worldwide for its ancient and naturalistic bronze as well as stone and terracotta sculptures, which reached their peak of artistic expression between 1200 and 1400.

The mythical origins of the Oyo Empire lie with Oranyan, who made Oyo his new kingdom and became the first oba with the title of Alaafin of Oyo. The oral tradition holds that he left all his treasures in Ife and allowed another king named Adimu to rule there.

Oyo had grown into a formidable inland power by the end of the 14th century, but it suffered military defeats at the hands of the Nupe led by Tsoede. During the 17th century, Oyo began a long stretch of growth, becoming a major empire. It never encompassed all Yoruba speaking people, but it was the most populous kingdom in Yoruba history. The key to Yoruba rebuilding Oyo was a stronger military and a more centralized government.

In the second half of the 18th century, dynastic intrigues, palace coups, and failed military campaigns began to weaken the Oyo Empire. It became a protectorate of Great Britain in 1888 before further fragmenting into warring factions. The Oyo state ceased to exist as any sort of power in 1896.

Key Terms

Oranyan: A Yoruba king from the kingdom of Ile-Ife; although last born, he was heir to Oduduwa. According to Yoruba history, he founded Oyo as its first Alaafin at around the year 1300 and one of his children, Eweka I, went on to become the first Oba of the Benin Empire.

Yorubaland: The cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo, and Benin, and covers a total land area of 142,114 square kilometers. The geocultural space contains an estimated 55 million people, the overwhelming majority of whom are ethnic Yorubas.

Ile-Ife: An ancient Yoruba city in southwestern Nigeria (located in the present-day Osun State) that turned into the first powerful Yoruba kingdom, one of the earliest in Africa south of the Sahara-Sahel.
It is regarded as the cultural and spiritual homeland of the Yoruba nation.

Oduduwa: The King of Ile-Ife, whose name is generally ascribed to the ancestral dynasties of Yorubaland because he is held by the Yoruba to have been the ancestor of their numerous crowned kings. Following his posthumous deification, he was admitted to the Yoruba pantheon as an aspect of a primordial divinity of the same name.

Yorubaland: Introduction

Yorubaland is the cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo, and Benin. Its pre-modern history is based largely on oral traditions and legends. According to Yoruba religion, Olodumare, the Supreme God, ordered Obatala to create the earth, but on Obatala's way he found palm wine, which he drank and became intoxicated. Therefore, his younger brother, Oduduwa, took the three items of creation from him, climbed down from the heavens on a chain, and threw a handful of earth on the primordial ocean, then put a cockerel on it so that it would scatter the earth, thus creating the land on which Ile-Ife would be built. On account of his creation of the world, Oduduwa became the ancestor of the first divine king of the Yoruba, while Obatala is believed to have created the first Yoruba people out of clay. The meaning of the word " ife " in Yoruba is "expansion." "Ile-Ife" is therefore in reference to the myth of origin, "The Land of Expansion."

Ile-Ife

Evidence suggests that as of the 7th century BCE, the African peoples who lived in Yorubaland were not initially known as the Yoruba, though they shared a common ethnicity and language group. By the 8th century CE, Ile-Ife was already a powerful Yoruba kingdom, one of the earliest in Africa south of the Sahara-Sahel. Almost every Yoruba settlement traces its origin to princes of Ile-Ife. As such, Ife can be regarded as the cultural and spiritual homeland of the Yoruba nation. Archaeologically, the settlement at Ife can be dated to the 4th century BC, with urban structures appearing in the 12th century CE.
Until today, the Oòni (or king) of Ife claims direct descent from Oduduwa.

The city was a settlement of substantial size between the 12th and 14th centuries, with houses featuring potsherd pavements. Ile-Ife is known worldwide for its ancient and naturalistic bronze as well as stone and terracotta sculptures, which reached their peak of artistic expression between 1200 and 1400. In the period around 1300 the artists at Ife developed a refined and naturalistic sculptural tradition in terracotta, stone, and copper alloy-copper, brass, and bronze-many of which appear to have been created under the patronage of King Obalufon II, the man who today is identified as the Yoruba patron deity of brass casting, weaving, and regalia. After this period, production declined as political and economic power shifted to the nearby kingdom of Benin, which, like the Yoruba kingdom of Oyo, developed into a major empire.

Ile-Ife is known worldwide for its ancient and naturalistic bronze, stone, and terracotta sculptures, which reached their peak of artistic expression between 1200 and 1400.

The Rise of the Oyo Empire

The mythical origins of the Oyo Empire lie with Oranyan (also known as Oranmiyan), the second prince of Ile-Ife, who made Oyo his new kingdom and became the first oba with the title of Alaafin of Oyo (Alaafin means "owner of the palace" in Yoruba). The oral tradition holds that he left all his treasures in Ife and allowed another king, named Adimu, to rule there.

Oranyan was succeeded by Oba Ajaka, but he was deposed because he allowed his sub-chiefs too much independence. Leadership was then conferred upon Ajaka's brother, Shango, who was later deified as the deity of thunder and lightning. Ajaka was restored after Shango's death. His successor, Kori, managed to conquer the rest of what later historians would refer to as metropolitan Oyo. The heart of metropolitan Oyo was its capital at Oyo-Ile.

Oyo had grown into a formidable inland power by the end of the 14th century, but it suffered military defeats at the hands of the Nupe led by Tsoede. Sometime around 1535, the Nupe occupied Oyo and forced its ruling dynasty to take refuge in the kingdom of Borgu.
The Yoruba of Oyo went through an interregnum of eighty years as an exiled dynasty. However, they re-established Oyo to be more centralized and expansive than ever. During the 17th century, Oyo began a long stretch of growth, becoming a major empire. It never encompassed all Yoruba-speaking people, but it was the most populous kingdom in Yoruba history.

The Oyo Empire rose through the outstanding organizational skills of the Yoruba, gaining wealth from trade and its powerful cavalry. It was the most politically important state in the region from the mid-17th century to the late 18th century, holding sway not only over most of the other kingdoms in Yorubaland, but also over nearby African states, notably the Fon Kingdom of Dahomey in the modern Republic of Benin to the west.

The Power Of Oyo

The key to Yoruba rebuilding Oyo was a stronger military and a more centralized government. Oba Ofinran succeeded in regaining Oyo's original territory from the Nupe. A new capital, Oyo-Igboho, was constructed, and the original became known as Old Oyo. The next oba, Eguguojo, conquered nearly all of Yorubaland. Despite a failed attempt to conquer the Benin Empire sometime between 1578 and 1608, Oyo continued to expand. The Yoruba allowed autonomy to the southeast of metropolitan Oyo, where the non-Yoruba areas could act as a buffer between Oyo and Imperial Benin. By the end of the 16th century, the Ewe and Aja states of modern Benin were paying tribute to Oyo.

The reinvigorated Oyo Empire began raiding southward as early as 1682. By the end of its military expansion, its borders would reach to the coast some 200 miles southwest of its capital. At the beginning, the people were concentrated in metropolitan Oyo. With imperial expansion, Oyo reorganized to better manage its vast holdings within and outside Yorubaland. It was divided into four layers defined by relation to the core of the empire. These layers were Metropolitan Oyo, southern Yorubaland, the Egbado Corridor, and Ajaland.

The Oyo Empire developed a highly sophisticated political structure to govern its territorial domains. Scholars have not determined how much of this structure existed prior to the Nupe invasion. Some of Oyo's institutions are clearly derivative of early accomplishments in Ife.
The Oyo Empire was not a hereditary monarchy, nor an absolute one.
While the Alaafin of Oyo was supreme overlord of the people, he was not without checks on his power. The Oyo Mesi (seven councilors of the states) and the Yoruba Earth cult known as Ogboni kept the Oba's power in check. The Oyo Mesi spoke for the politicians while the Ogboni spoke for the people, backed by the power of religion. The power of the Alaafin of Oyo in relation to the Oyo Mesi and Ogboni depended on his personal character and political shrewdness.

Oyo became the southern emporium of the trans-Saharan trade. Exchanges were made in salt, leather, horses, kola nuts, ivory, cloth, and slaves. The Yoruba of metropolitan Oyo were also highly skilled in craft making and iron work. Aside from taxes on trade products coming in and out of the empire, Oyo also became wealthy off the taxes imposed on its tributaries. Oyo's imperial success made Yoruba a lingua franca almost to the shores of the Volta. Toward the end of the 18th century, the empire acted as a go-between for both the trans-Saharan and trans-Atlantic slave trade. By 1680, the Oyo Empire spanned over 150,000 square kilometers.

Decline

In the second half of the 18th century, dynastic intrigues, palace coups, and failed military campaigns began to weaken the Oyo Empire. Recurrent power struggles and resulting periods of interregnum created a vacuum, in which the power of regional commanders rose.
As Oyo tore itself apart via political intrigue, its vassals began taking advantage of the situation to press for independence. Some of them succeeded, and Oyo never regained its prominence in the region. It became a protectorate of Great Britain in 1888 before further fragmenting into warring factions. The Oyo state ceased to exist as any sort of power in 1896.

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The Ghana Empire was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, western Mali, and eastern Senegal, and derived its power from the control of trans-Saharan trade, particularly gold trade. Describe the Ghana Empire and the source of its wealth Key Points The Ghana Empire, called the Wagadou (or Wagadu) Empire by its rulers, was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, western Mali, and eastern Senegal.

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Hausaland, sometimes referred to as the Hausa Kingdoms, was a group of small independent city-states in northern central Africa between the Niger River and Lake Chad which flourished from the 15th to 18th century CE. The origins of the Hausa are not known, but one hypothesis suggests they were a group of indigenous peoples joined by a common language - Hausa - while another theory explains their presence as a consequence of a migration of peoples from the southern Sahara Desert. The cities prospered thanks to local and interregional trade in such commodities as salt, precious metals, leather goods, and slaves. Islam was adopted by many of the rulers and elite of the city-states in the 14th and 15th century CE but was also one of the reasons for their loss of independence when the Muslim Fulani leader Usman dan Fodio (r. 1803-1815 CE) launched a holy war and conquered the region in the early 19th century CE.

Geography & Origins

The name Hausaland derives from the Hausa term Kasar hausa, meaning the 'country of the Hausa language', although the area also included other peoples such as the Tuareg, Fulbe, and Zabarma. The term 'Hausa' was in use only from the 16th century CE as the people called themselves according to which specific city-state or kingdom they belonged to.

Hausaland was located in the Sahel region between the Niger River and Lake Chad in north-central Africa in what is today northern Nigeria. The Sahel is the semi-arid strip of land running across Africa between the Sahara Desert in the north and the Savannah grassland to the south. Hausland, specifically, stretched from the Air mountains (north) to the Jos plateau (south) and from Borno (east) to the Niger Valley (west). This region saw the development of towns by the Hausa-speaking people from 1000 to 1300 CE.

Hausaland became Famous (and still is today) for its finely worked leather goods such as water bags, saddles, harnesses, & sacks.

The exact origins of the Hausa cities are not known, but theories include a migration of peoples from the southern Sahara who, abandoning their own lands following the increased desiccation of that area, established new settlements in what would become known as Hausaland. An alternative theory suggests that the Hausa people originally lived on the western shore of Lake Chad and when the lake shrank (as a consequence of the same climatic changes that affected the Sahara) they occupied this new and fertile land and then eventually spread to the immediate north and west. There is as yet, unfortunately, no archaeological evidence to support either of these two theories. As a consequence, there is a third hypothesis, which is that the Hausa had not migrated from anywhere but were indigenous to the region. Support for this theory lies in the fact that there is no tradition of migration in Hausa oral history.

There is, though, a foundation legend, known as the Bayajida or Daura legend, although this probably dates to the 16th century CE and reflects the increased influence of Islam in the region at that time. According to this tradition, Bayajida, a prince from Baghdad, arrived at the court of the ruler of the Kingdom of Kanem (or the Bornu Empire as it became by the 16th century CE). Receiving an unfavourable reception, Bayajida headed eastwards until he came upon the city of Daura. There, the queen and her kingdom were being terrorized by a great snake. Bayajida stepped in and killed the troublesome serpent and promptly married the queen. Together they had a son called Bawogari who then went on to have six sons of his own, each of which became the king of a Hausa city-state. Meanwhile, Bayajida had another son, this time with one of his concubines. This illegitimate son, called Karbogari, had seven sons, and these went on to rule seven other Hausa cities. This story neatly explains how the various cities were established but not, of course, just where Daura and its queen came from.

Key Cities & Government

Wherever they had sprung from, by the early 15th century CE many small Hausa chiefdoms had come together to create several walled cities which controlled their respective surrounding countryside. Traditionally, there were seven city-states (the hausa bakwai), but there were, in fact, many more. The most important were (the traditional seven are marked with an asterisk):

Each city had its own king or ruler, the sarkin kasa, who was advised by a chief councillor or vizier, the galadima, and a small council of elders - typically consisting of nine members who also determined the next ruler in line. Various officials were appointed by the king to, for example, collect taxes and customs duties, lead the city's cavalry units or infantry, maintain security on roadways, and look after certain crops. The city ruled over various smaller chiefdoms or villages in its immediate vicinity, each ruled by a chief or sarkin gari. The third tier of this political pyramid was the family clan or gida, many of which made up an individual village.

Hausa cities specialised in the manufacture or trade of certain goods, for example, dyes - especially indigo - at Katsina & Daura.

Rural Hausa populations were farmers who worked the land which belonged to the community as a whole. Over time, as the city-states became more centralised, this system was corrupted by the kings giving out parcels of land as rewards to certain individuals. Hausa agriculture also became heavily reliant on slaves, too. Meanwhile, the society within the main city of each kingdom was cosmopolitan, although dominated by the Hausa. There were slaves, craftworkers, merchants, religious officials, scholars, eunuchs and aristocrats ( masu sarauta) related to or favoured by the king.

Trade

The Hausa states traded gold, ivory, salt, iron, tin, weapons, horses, dyed cotton cloth, kola nuts, glassware, metalware, ostrich feathers, and hides. There was trade with the coastal region of West Africa, Oyo in the Bight of Benin, and the Songhai Empire (c. 1460 -1591 CE) to the east. Slaves were an important source of revenue for all the cities but Zaria, in particular, specialised in acquiring slaves via raids to the south.

Cities specialised in the manufacture or trade of certain goods, for example, dyes - especially indigo - at Katsina and Daura or silver jewellery at Kebbi and Zamfara. Hausaland became famous (and still is today) for its finely worked leather goods such as water bags, saddles, harnesses, and sacks to transport goods for the region's trade caravans. Various crafts were organised into guilds which ensured standards were maintained and prices were kept fair. Hausa agriculture, boosted by such techniques as crop rotation and the use of fertilizers, produced crops which included millet, sorghum, rice, maize, peanuts, beans, henna, tobacco, and onions. In addition, fishing and hunting were carried out and goats raised (important for ritual sacrifices) and donkeys bred (the principal form of transport). Each city had its own markets where both men and women sold their wares, and many cities also had international trade markets where merchants sold in bulk. Goods were exchanged in kind although salt, cloth, and slaves were often used as a standardised form of commodity-currency.

Traditional Hausa houses are made from dried mud bricks which are pear-shaped and laid in rows using mortar and with the pointed end facing upwards. The walls are then faced with plaster and given either painted or incised decoration. Houses were further decorated with sculpted additions, again using mud, creating three-dimensional geometric designs such as interlaced patterns and spirals. A secure roofing is achieved by creating a mud vault which is strengthened by a frame of split palms and palm fronds, an architectural feature particular to Hausaland. Each house is enclosed in its own high wall which may have additional buildings set into it. The chief cities were protected by massive fortification walls - an indication of the frequent siege warfare that went on in Hausaland throughout its history.

Conversion to Islam

Unlike much of Sub-Saharan Africa, the area occupied by Hausaland was largely untouched by Islam until the 14th century CE. Finally, though, a form of Islam was adopted and adapted following contact with Muslim merchants, missionaries, and scholars, who came from the east, the Niger River bend area. Islam was typically blended with traditional animist rituals and so took on its own distinct character in the region. Not having any commercial incentive to gain favour with foreign merchants like the Hausa rulers and elite, rural populations proved as difficult as in other parts of Africa to fully convert to the new religion, despite (or perhaps because of) sometimes brutal methods such as the destruction of shrines and the burning of ancient sacred groves. Despite this resistance from some chiefs and much of the rural populace, Islam did eventually take a strong hold in the region. Mosques were built in the cities and one of the oldest surviving remnants of these early structures is the dried mud Gobarau minaret of the mosque at Katsina, which dates to the early 15th century CE.

Regional Rivalries & Decline

Relations with the neighbouring Songhai Empire were not always peaceful, as when - at least according to the historian Leo Africanus (c. 1494 - c. 1554 CE) - the Songhai king Askia Muhammad (r. 1494-1528 CE), managed to subdue the cities of Katsina, Kano, and Gobir, making them, albeit briefly, tributary states. It may be that this invasion was carried out by other smaller neighbouring states as the Songhai records and those from Timbuktu for the period are remarkably silent on the matter. Meanwhile, Hausa states made frequent raids to the south in the Benue Valley against various peoples including the Bauchi, Gongola, Jukun, and Yawuri.

The Fulani, nomadic cattle-herders from Senegal who migrated across Africa to Lake Chad in the mid-16th century CE, settled in Hausaland and brought with them another surge in interest in the Islamic religion and learning. In the last quarter of the 18th century CE, the Fulani abandoned their peaceful evangelism and launched a religious war in the region. In this, the Fulani were aided by the sometimes long-standing rivalries between Hausa cities, the internal disputes between the elites in several city-states, and a generally disaffected populace who had grown ever poorer while the Hausa trading aristocracy had grown richer. Thus, from 1804 CE, the Fulani leader Usman dan Fodio conquered all of the Hausa city-states, converting them to Islam. Usman dan Fodio, who was himself from the Hausa city-state of Gobir, then went on to expand his empire and establish his capital at Sokoto in 1817 CE which gave its name to the new state.

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Hausaland, sometimes referred to as the Hausa Kingdoms, was a group of small independent city-states in northern central Africa between the Niger River and Lake Chad which flourished from the 15th to 18th century CE.

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Mali Empire 1: BASIC NIGERIAN HISTORY #2

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BRIA 18 1 c Ibn Battuta: The Greatest Traveler in the Middle Ages

In 1325, the year after Marco Polo's death, another young traveler, Ibn Battuta, embarked on a tour of Asia and Africa that lasted nearly 30 years. His travels took him throughout the Islamic world. In total, he traveled an astonishing 75,000 miles, much more than Marco Polo. When he finished his journeys, he dictated his story to a scribe. His travel book provides the best eyewitness account of the diverse Muslim cultures of the 14th century.

Abu Abdallah ibn Battuta was born in 1304 in Tangier, Morocco, across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain. He came from a Muslim family of legal scholars and judges. Like them, he studied the , the sacred law of the Muslims based on the Koran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. This prepared him to become a , a Muslim judge.

In 1325, at age 21, Ibn Battuta left his parents to go on a . This was a pilgrimage to , the holy city of Islam. After traveling across North Africa to Egypt, he took a detour through Palestine and Syria.

By 1300, the Muslims had expelled the last of the Christian crusaders from the Holy Land. The end of the Crusades brought peace to the eastern Mediterranean, which greatly stimulated commerce and allowed individuals like Ibn Battuta to travel freely through the area.

In 1326, he finally reached Mecca. Somewhere along the way, he decided what he really wanted to do was to visit every part of the Muslim world and even beyond. Early on, he vowed "never to travel any road a second time."

The World of Ibn Battuta

In Ibn Battuta's time, Dar al-Islam (The Home of Islam) extended from West Africa across North Africa to the Middle East, Persia, Central Asia, India, and the East Indies. Throughout these regions, Islam unified many different peoples with a common religion and system of law.

After Ibn Battuta studied for a while in Mecca, he left in 1328 to make his way down the Red Sea. He boarded a trading ship and sailed halfway down the east coast of Africa. Muslim merchants had established trading ports in East Africa, mainly to trade for African gold.

Ibn Battuta next traveled north through the Middle East and Persia to Russia and then eastward into Central Asia. The under Genghis Khan had conquered the Muslims in many of these regions during the mid-1200s. But by the time of Ibn Battuta's travels, a hundred years later, the Mongols had settled down and were rapidly adopting Islam.

Ibn Battuta reached India in 1333. Muslim sultans (kings) ruled most of India. By now, many had heard of Ibn Battuta and his travels. The sultan of Delhi welcomed him with gifts and money, a form of hospitality that he came to expect from the rulers he visited. His fame had earned him wealth. He no longer traveled alone, but with servants and a harem.

The sultan also made him a qadi, a Muslim judge. He held this post for several years. When a rebellion broke out, however, the sultan grew suspicious of many around him, even of Ibn Battuta. Ibn Battuta was briefly arrested. When released, he fled Delhi. But the sultan called him back. Much to Ibn Battuta's surprise, the sultan appointed him as his ambassador to the emperor of China. He set sail for China in 1342, but was shipwrecked. He eventually arrived by sea in southern China in 1346. This was about a half-century after Marco Polo had left China.

The Mongols still ruled China when Ibn Battuta made his visit. Unlike the other areas that the Mongols had conquered, China never became a Muslim land. But Ibn Battuta did visit Muslim merchant communities in China, especially in , which may have been the largest city in the world at this time. He might have traveled to Peking, but never met the ruling emperor.

When Ibn Battuta returned from China by way of India and the Middle East, he encountered the first outbreak of the bubonic plague, the Black Death, in 1348. Surviving the plague, he made another pilgrimage to Mecca and then headed for home.

Ibn Battuta arrived in Tangier late in 1349. He had been away from home for 24 years. He learned that his mother had died of the plague a few months earlier, and his father had died years before.

At age 45, Ibn Battuta had not yet finished traveling. He crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to tour in southern Spain. This was the last Muslim kingdom left in Spain, which the Christians had been trying to reconquer for several hundred years.

One last part of Dar al-Islam remained that Ibn Battuta had not visited--the West African empire of . It lay a thousand miles south of Morocco across "the empty waste" of the Sahara Desert. In 1352, Ibn Battuta joined a desert caravan headed for Mali on his last great adventure.

Born in Tangier, Morocco.

Left home and went across North Africa.

Arrived in Cairo, Egypt.

Traveled through Syria and Palestine.

Went on a hajj to Medina and Mecca.

Sailed down the coast of East Africa, sailed to the Persia Gulf, and returned across land to Mecca.

Went to Asia Minor (Turkey), traveled through Persia and Iraq, and crossed Central Asia.

Reached Delhi, India, and served as a judge.

Trip to China via Maldive Islands, Ceylon, and Malaysia.
Traveled in China.

Returned home via India and the Middle East.

Went to Granada (Spain) and returned home to Morocco.

Traveled through West Africa.

Returned home to Morocco.

Died in Morocco.

*These are approximations. The exact dates of when he was in certain places are unclear.

The Empire of Mali

Mali was known for its gold and great wealth. The year before Ibn Battuta left home to start his world travels, the Muslim emperor of Mali, Mansa Musa, had made a spectacular appearance in Cairo, Egypt. He was on a hajj to Mecca. The royal caravan of the mansa (sultan or king) included thousands of attendants and slaves along with 100 camels loaded with bags of gold. During his stay in Cairo, Mansa Musa spent and gave away so much gold that its market value temporarily fell.

Islam had spread south to Mali many years before. Arabs and Berber peoples from North Africa had begun trading with black Africans around A.D. 800. Soon, large caravans crossed the Sahara, carrying slabs of mined salt to trade for gold in African market towns along the southern border of the forbidding desert. Many Arab and Berber traders gradually settled in these towns as merchants. They were Muslims, and they were the ones who first brought Islam to black Africa.

From their ties with the Muslim merchants, many African rulers and merchants along the lands bordering the Sahara adopted Islam. Most of the common people, though, still held on to their traditional religious beliefs.

Because of the gold trade, several successive empires arose in West Africa south of the Sahara. The Empire of Mali took over this area in the early 1200s and soon adopted Islam as its official religion. Mali included many different African peoples as well as Arab and Berber immigrants. Its gold financed a strong army of bowmen and an armored cavalry. But the real source of Mali's success was its flourishing commerce with Muslim merchants and caravan traders. Africans traded gold, ivory, hides, and slaves for Arab and Berber salt, cloth, paper, and horses. The peak of Mali power and wealth took place under Mansa Musa and his successor, Mansa Sulayman whom Ibn Battuta met on his journey.

Ibn Battuta reached the Mali capital in the spring of 1352. He was pleased that the Muslims of Mali strictly observed traditional Islamic practices and had a "zeal for learning the Koran by heart." But he disapproved that the sexes were not segregated as he was accustomed to in other Muslim lands. He wrote that "their women show no bashfulness before men, and do not veil themselves."

Mansa Sulayman largely ignored him and gave him only small gifts, which greatly displeased the famous world traveler. Ibn Battuta did, however, get to witness an audience before Mansa Sulayman in the palace courtyard. The mansa did not speak directly to the people, but only through a spokesman. Ibn Battuta reported, with some disgust, "If anyone addresses the king and receives a reply from him, he uncovers his back and throws dust over his head and back . . . like a bather splashing himself with water. I used to wonder how it was [that the people the king spoke to] did not blind themselves. "

Ibn Battuta also observed a state ceremony that began with Muslim prayers. But afterward came several dancers, dressed as birds, chanting before the mansa. Ibn Battuta viewed this as an insult to Islam. He did not recognize that the mansa needed to satisfy the common people, most of whom still held on to the old religious beliefs.

Despite his disappointments, Ibn Battuta was impressed that the Mali people "have a greater hatred of injustice than any other people." He related that the mansa showed little mercy to the guilty. "There is complete security in their country," he wrote. "Neither traveler nor inhabitant in it has anything to fear from robbers or men of violence."

City of Scholars

Ibn Battuta left the Mali capital early in 1353, heading down the Niger River for . This city of about 10,000 people was never a military stronghold or seat of a king. Instead, its fame rested on its reputation as a city of scholars.

Timbuktu was founded around 1100 as a market town bordering the Sahara. Almost from the beginning, it seems to have been a Muslim town. It was self-governing until Mansa Musa annexed it without bloodshed to the Mali Empire in 1325. Even after that, the city continued running its own affairs with little control from the Mali kings.

Black African farmers and river people as well as white Arab and Berber merchants populated the city, making it an ethnically mixed settlement. It became known as a place open to newcomers and a city of refuge.

When Ibn Battuta came to Timbuktu in 1353, it was becoming the major center of Islamic learning in black Africa. Because it had a large Muslim population and was also on the pilgrimage route to Mecca, the city drew many Muslim scholars. The sons of wealthy Timbuktu merchant families studied under them to become Islamic scholars, too. They studied Islamic religion, law, literature, science, and medicine. Islamic books became expensive import items.

Elementary schools, sometimes supported by rich merchants, taught boys to read and memorize the Koran. Most Muslim males, both black and white, learned to read. (Muslim countries at this time normally excluded females from formal schooling.)

Timbuktu reached the height of its influence in the 1500s as part of the Muslim Songhai Empire, which replaced Mali. Many colleges, elementary schools, and libraries flourished in Timbuktu, whose population had grown to about 50,000. All of this became possible because of the leadership and financial contributions of wealthy black and white Muslim merchant families.

Although the Mali and Songhai kings appointed a governor for Timbuktu, the qadi, or judge, was the real leader of the community. The most important scholars of the city selected the qadi from a few long-established families. The qadi had to be a scholar of the law and above suspicion of ever accepting bribes.

The qadi heard lawsuits argued by legal scholars, who acted as lawyers for each side of the case. He relied on the testimony of witnesses and other types of evidence presented in his court. He made judgments and ordered punishments, which included beating and imprisonment. He enforced his own decisions, calling on the help of his personal followers or the people of the city. He directed a police force made up of lower-ranking scholars. He also represented the Muslim community when the king came to call.

Occasionally, qadis interpreted the law and established precedents. For example, a Timbuktu qadi made an important ruling on slaves captured in war. If they claimed that they were Muslims, they had to be given the benefit of doubt and freed. (Islamic law prohibited Muslims enslaving other Muslims.)

"Traveler of the Age"

After visiting with the qadi, scholars, and merchants of Timbuktu, Ibn Battuta joined a caravan going north to Morocco. He arrived home early in 1354. This ended his travels to foreign lands. Altogether, he covered about 75,000 miles in 29 years, meeting with 60 rulers in Asia and Africa. He probably had several wives. (Islamic law permitted a man up to four wives at once.)

Like Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta dictated a report of his travels. He then served as the qadi of a Moroccan town and disappeared from history. The scribe who wrote down Ibn Battuta's account of his travels added these words: "It is plain to any man of intelligence that this [learned man] is the traveler of the age."

For Discussion and Writing

1. Describe Dar al-Islam. What unified its diverse peoples?

2. How did Timbuktu become a Muslim "city of scholars"?

3. Why do you think Ibn Battuta is important? Explain.

For Further Information
The Travels of Ibn Battuta-A Virtual Tour
Ibn Battuta-the great traveller By A.S. Chughtai.

Travels of Ibn Batuta in Asia and Africa Selections from his book. From Medieval Sourcebook.

Ibn Battuta and his Saharan Travels More selections.

Ibn Battuta's Travels in Mali Still more selections.

Medieval Cultures

In the late medieval period, Ibn Battuta traveled through many countries and saw many different cultures. In this activity, students will use their textbooks and other resources to describe the elements of different cultures in the late Middle Ages.

1. Divide the class into five groups. Assign each group one of these cultures: China, Mali, India, Japan, Europe.

2. Each group should research and write a one-paragraph description for each of the following elements of their culture: Languages, Law and Government, Education, Warfare, Religion, Slavery, Treatment of Women, Architecture, Food, Transportation, Literature, and Art and Music.

3. Each group should create a chart describing each element and prepare a five-minute presentation to the class on the chart.

Links to Additional Lessons

To Timbuktu-A Journey with Ibn Battuta From Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE).

The Achievements and Challenges of Mali From The Odyssey, World Trek.

Ibn Battuta-Virtual Tour By Nick Bartel.

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CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION Bill of Right in Action Fall 2001 (18:1) Africa BRIA 18:1 Home | The United States and the Barbary Pirates | AIDS in Africa | Ibn Battuta: The Greatest Traveler in the Middle Ages Ibn Battuta: The Great, Ibn Battuta traveled further and visited more countries than any other person in medieval times.

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Songhai Empire: BASIC NIGERIAN HISTORY #4

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Traditions more than 1,000 years old still thrive in Ghana. Ghanaian boys are perfectly at home with traditional masks.

Between the 9th and 11th centuries C.E., the kingdom of Ghana was so rich that its dogs wore golden collars, and its horses, which were adorned with silken rope halters, slept on plush carpets. Based on animal luxuries alone, it is no wonder that foreigners touted Ghana's kings as the richest men in the world.

Certainly they were living the high life ... but how did they do it?

Located within the present-day borders of Mauritania, Mali, and Senegal, medieval Ghana literally sat on a gold mine. The land's abundance of resources allowed Ghana's rulers to engage in years of prosperous trading. Strategic governing coupled with great location led to the rapid emergence of a very wealthy empire.

Gold in Wagadugu

Most of what we know about ancient Ghana - which is more accurately called Wagadugu - is based on writings of Arab travelers who came in contact with the nation's peoples. "Ghana" was actually the title given to Wagadugu kings and was used by the Islamic "reporters" to describe the rich and mysterious place they observed.

Evidence of Ghana's occupation dates back to the 4th century, but it was several hundred years later that it became established as a nation by a tribe known as the Soninke, whose leaders have been credited with the early strengthening of the Wagadugu state and the expansion of its territories.

By 1000 B.C.E., the nation had undergone strategic expansion and taken control of a large pocket of land between the upper Niger and Senegal Rivers. The region was rich in gold, and its acquisition meant that Ghana would become a leading force in the trans-Saharan trade network.

The golden stool of the Ashanti kings of Ghana, a symbol of their power, has not been seen by the general public for 300 years. Its location is kept secret, and a replica is used for public display.

Ghanaian Politics

The leader of all leaders was the king, who was also known as the ghana, or war chief. His word was law. He served as the commander in chief of a highly organized army, the controller of all trade activities, and the head administrator of justice. Mayors, civil servants, counselors, and ministers were appointed by the king to assist with administrative duties - but at all times, the king was in charge.

Each day, the king assembled his court and allowed people to publicly voice their complaints. Beating drums that resounded throughout the area signaled the courts assemblage and people gathered to speak their minds. Whether they were neighborly conflicts, or cases of violated rights, the king listened to the complaints and gave his judgment.

Such hearings were reportedly peaceful, unless they involved issues of criminal nature. Two of the most serious criminal offenses were the denial of debt and the shedding of blood. These crimes were tried by ordeal.

According to Islamic reports, the criminally accused was given a foul concoction to drink that consisted of sour and bitter-tasting wood and water. If he vomited after tossing back the nasty brew he was declared innocent and was congratulated for passing the test. If he did not vomit, and the beverage remained within, he was considered guilty as charged and suffered the king's wrath.

Ghanaian citizens were not the only ones put to the king's test. Inhabitants of its conquered lands were examined for their good behavior and loyalty as well. In territories where order and obedience prevailed, and taxes were properly paid, autonomy was granted. But in areas which struggled for independence or defied the king's laws, Ghanaian governors were appointed as watchdogs and little went unreported to the king.

Trans-Saharan Trade

When the king was not busy enforcing his power among the people, he was spreading it internationally through trade. At its peak, Ghana was chiefly bartering gold, ivory, and slaves for salt from Arabs and horses, cloth, swords, and books from North Africans and Europeans.

This is a map of the ancient kingdom of Ghana, displaying its location well north of present-day Ghana. Today this area is part of the countries of Mali and Mauritania.

As salt was worth its weight in gold, and gold was so abundant in the kingdom, Ghana achieved much of its wealth through trade with the Arabs. Islamic merchants traveled over two months through the desert to reach Ghana and "do business." They were taxed for both what they brought in and what they took out.

With this system, it is no wonder that Ghana got rich quickly. The wealth that the kingdom acquired did not, however, serve in its favor forever. Competition from other states in the gold trade eventually took its toll.

Jealousy, fear, and anger of Ghana's power prompted its neighbors to stand up against the kingdom. Their efforts were at first weak and insignificant, but eventually, in the mid-11th century, a Muslim group known as the Almoravids launched a devastating invasion on the capital city of Koumbi Saleh. Though territories were seized, and a tribute tax was enforced, Ghana recovered and forced the invaders to withdraw.

A little less than 200 years later, however, Ghana was not so lucky. Weakened by subsequent attacks, and cut-off from international trade, the kingdom was vulnerable and unable to prevent defeat. In 1240 C.E., Ghana was absorbed into the growing nation of Mali, which would soon become the next great empire.

History of Ghana
Ancient Ghana was a society with a complex court system, military organization and gold trade. This site from GhanaWeb provides a full history from ancient days to the present.

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The Story of Africa: Ancient Ghana
Its origins are mysterious, and its history has mainly been told through foreigners, but the Kingdom of Ghana was definitely a powerful empire based on abundant gold. This BBC website presents some of the scattered facts, primary source writings, and traditional legends that elucidate this empire that flourished between the Niger and Senegal river.

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Traditions more than 1,000 years old still thrive in Ghana. Ghanaian boys are perfectly at home with traditional masks. Between the 9th and 11th centuries C.E., the kingdom of Ghana was so rich that its dogs wore golden collars, and its horses, which were adorned with silken rope halters, slept on plush carpets.