Ghana Empire

The Ghana Empire 1240) was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania and part of Mali. Their empire grew rich from its great trade of gold and salt. Relatively little is known about the kingdom, with most information coming from the Andalusian traders who frequently traveled to the country and the Almoravids who conquered the kingdom. It was the first of many empires that would rise in that part of Africa. Eighth century saw a dramatic change in the economy of the Sahel area south of the Sahara. The introduction of the camel and other forms of livestock by Arabs brought about a revolution in trade. For the first time the extensive, gold, ivory, and salt resources of the region could be sent north and east to the population centers of North Africa and the Middle East. This trade produced an increasing surplus allowing larger urban centres, it also encouraged territorial expansion to gain control of the lucrative trade routes. Ghana, believed to have originally been a small Berber principality, had existed since at least the fourth century, but during this period it began to expand greatly annexing a number of neighbouring cities and peoples. The empire eventually came to be dominated by the Soninke people who built the empires capital of Kumbi Saleh, which would grow to a town of 30,000 on the edge of the Sahara. The Kingdom was ruled by a king known as the Ghana, from which we derive the name of the state. The state followed matrilineal succession. As Islam grew throughout the region the kings of Ghana permitted the religion but did not convert to it. The growing power of the Almoravids to the northwest soon lead them to launch a jihad against the kingdom, this accompanied by a revolt of the empire's vassal states destroyed the Ghana Empire in the thirteenth century. The Almoravid's quickly also collapsed and a new state, the Mali Empire rose to dominate the region. The modern country of Ghana is named after the ancient empire, but there is no territory shared between the two states. There are traditional stories that the survivors of the Ghana Empire migrated to the region of modern Ghana, but there is no evidence that this is a true tale.

External link

\n*A map of the Ghana Empire Category:Mali