Where is ghana mali and songhai located

This army was a formidable fighting force, which enabled Mansa Musa to double the size of his kingdom. He is remembered most notably as the richest man who ever lived. Mansa Musa, the richest man in history. Being a devote Muslim, Mansa Musa traveled across the continent and brought back scholars and architects. These experts would establish universities and mosques.

His 4, mile pilgrimage to Mecca gave him the chance to show his generosity to the common people. His great generosity literally put him on the map.

He was depicted with a golden scepter and crown, seated upon a golden throne. The Catalan Atlas was one of the most important world maps of its day. Mansa Musa of Mali, as one of the world's most important leaders, was pictured on it offering some of his gold.

However, Mansa Musa contributed far more to the world than gold. In an early form of globalization, Mansa Musa sent ambassadors across the continent of Africa. In Mali he cultivated "a place of splendor, wealth, and sophistication," attracting European and Middle Eastern travelers alike. Mansa Musa also modernized the great city of Timbuktu, building public schools, universities, and mosques. These include the legendary Djinguereber, the oldest mosque in Timbuktu, built in , which still stands today.

Unfortunately, emperors who followed would lose control of several smaller states within Mali, causing disunity, revolt, and the erosion of central power. As Mali rose from the fall of Ghana, so Songhai would assert its independent power over the region, emerging as the next great Western African Empire.

While Mali quickly fell apart due to rampant disunity, a new king reigned. Sonni Ali ruled Songhai from to The Songhai kingdom was a small contemporary state of Ghana but later rose to defeat its Malian conquerers. The Songhai controlled the trade on the Niger river at the time of the Mali Empire. Through endless campaigns for expansion, Songhai became the largest of the three great empires of Western Africa —— and larger than all of continental Europe.

The Songhai kingdom under Ali had the only naval fleet in West Africa. Ali was a military tyrant, also referred to as Sunni the Merciless, intolerant of any resistance to his rule. These brutal tactics explain how the empire grew so large in such a short amount of time, also suggesting why the empire would last just as briefly.

Sonni Ali is also known, however, for his wise economic decisions, reviving the ancient trade routes of empires past. Another proficient ruler of the Songhai Empire was Askia the Great. Known for encouraging international trade between Songhai and both Europe and Asia, Askia was also known for his religious tolerance.

He opened religious schools and mosques across the empire. Oral histories relate that he did not force Islam on his people or punish those who chose to believe otherwise. Simultaneously orchestrating a strategy of expansion and consolidation, Askia the Great did not form his domain along traditional Islamic lines.

He instead instituted a system of bureaucratic government unparalleled at this time in Western Africa. By the 17 th century satellite kingdoms along the borders began to rebel, and civil wars developed across the empire. The central power of the emperor also fell into constant strife as decedents fought over the right to rule.

With the empire splintering apart from within, the neighboring region of Morocco decided to take advantage and launched an invasion.

Despite having a tenth of the manpower, the Moroccan muskets far outperformed the traditional spears and arrows of the Songhai military. He eventually absorbed all of the empire into a Moroccan province, dissolving the last of the Great Western African Empires.

Like many historic empires, Ghana, Mali, and Songhai, did not survive into modern times. However, they were fundamental in shaping the world we live in today. The slave trade was also important for the economic development of West Africa. For a very long time, West African kingdoms had relied on slaves to carry out heavy work.

The Songhai kingdom under the rule of Askia Mohammed used slaves as soldiers. Slaves were trusted not to overthrow their rulers. Slaves were also given important positions as royal advisers. Songhai rulers believed that slaves could be trusted to provide unbiased advice unlike other citizens who held a personal stake in the outcome of decisions.

Another group of slaves was known as palace slaves or the Arbi. The Arbi slaves served mainly as craftspersons, potters, woodworkers, and musician. Slaves also worked on village farms to help produce enough food to supply the growing population in towns. The Asante kingdom of the Akan people grew in about the 15th and 16th century into a powerful kingdom in the most southern parts of West Africa, present day Ghana. This growth was made possible by the rich gold mines found in the kingdom.

The Akan people used their gold to buy slaves from the Portuguese. Since , the Portuguese who were interested in obtaining Asante gold, had opened a trading port at El Mina. As a result, their first slave trade in West Africa was with the Akan people.

Slave labour made it easy for the Akan people to shift from small scale agriculture to large scale agriculture Giblin The shift transformed the Asante kingdom and it developed a wealthy agricultural and mining economy. The Akan people needed slaves to work their gold mines and farms.

Passing traders and a growing population in the Asante towns demanded increasing supplies of food. The slave trade with the Portuguese continued until the early s. The Akan people supplied the Portuguese with slaves to work on sugar plantations in Brazil. A small number of slaves were kept in the Asante kingdom. However, by this period, the Atlantic slave trade dominated trade with West Africa. Kingdoms like the Asante and Dahomey used their power to raid societies like the Bambara, Mende, and Fulanis for slaves.

The kingdom of Benin is the only known kingdom in West Africa to abolish slave trading in Benin. The slave trade ban was succesful and forced the Portuguese to search for slaves elsewhere in West Africa. However, Dutch traders took over the role. From the s the Dutch dominated the West african and Atlantic Slave trade. The Portuguese and Dutch governments were unable to colonise West African kingdoms because they were too strong and well organised. As a result, the slave and ivory, rubber and gold trades remained under the control of Asante, Fon, and Kongo kingdoms.

In , the British government abolished the slave trade. Because West African kingdoms did not co-operate with the British, the slave trade across the Atlantic Ocean continued. However, the slave trade declined in areas where the British had influence, for example the Gold Coast. Industrial development in Britain led to increasing trade with West Africa in agricultural products like palm oil, rubber, and cocoa.

To supply Britain with these products, the Asante kingdom kept the slaves they had captured for the Atlantic slave trade and used them as farm workers instead. This led to the growth of slavery in West Africa because each kingdom wanted to profit from this new trade.

West African slavery came to a slow end towards the end of the 19th century when many of these kingdoms were colonised by the French and British. Former slaves became the landless lower classes. Due to the many rivers, which cross over each other, the main source of transport was by canoe. Unlike other West African states, Niger ones were different in character.

They were small states that maintained contact through war, trade and migrations. The Atlantic trade brought about great prosperity in this region. Their long history of internal trade had brought these small states together and led to economic growth of Bonny also known as Igbani and Warri states. The Kingdom of Dahomey also known as the Fon Kingdom of Dahomey was the southern part of the Republic of Benin, a country that divides the dense forest of Nigeria from those of modern Ghana.

Dahomey was the most prominent coastal state in the region. It was ruled by a king on the authority of the queen mother who held the power to appoint an heir. The king and queen mother ruled Dahomey from their capital Abomey.

Dahomey began emerging as a great power in the early 18th century because of the slave trade. It also managed to overtake other coastal states competing for control of both the slave and inland trade. The Fon army was unusual in West Africa because its soldiers were women feared by other neighbouring coastal states.

In about there was a great demand from the West Indies sugar plantations for African slaves. The Fon people used their position as sea-merchants to ensure that they held a monopoly of the slave trade. The Dahomey kingdom also relied on its strong military to dominate weaker inland states and to conquer coastal states. States looking to trade in the region were expected to pay a fixed amount of tax and fixed prices for slaves. Custom duties were paid in respect of each ship as well. By the 18th century the Fon king had absolute power and under his rule Dahomey became strong enough to capture neighbouring coastal states.

The Fon were still paying tribute to the Oyo kingdom and this meant that they had to appease the Oyo with guns and other goods each year. In , Dahomey conquered the Oyo kingdom, and three years later they pushed south to Savi and Whyad, Jakin was taken in but it was only in that the Fon won complete control when Whydah became a Fon colony.

This ushered in control of the coast and even visiting Europeans had to gain prior permission to go ashore. The arrival of the Portuguese in the 15th century in search of new trading opportunities changed the trade networks in West Africa. An important change was the new direction of the slave trade across the Atlantic Ocean instead of the Sahara desert.

This increased the power of small West African kingdoms like the Asante and Dahomey kingdoms. 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.

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 , the Sosso kingdom of Kaniaga, a former vassal of Wagadou, began conquering the lands of its old masters.

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 The combined forces of northern and southern Manden defeated the Sosso army at the Battle of Kirina then known as Krina in approximately 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.

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. 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. 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.

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.

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 female slaves, which suggests that slavery was a substantial part of the commercial activity of the empire. 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 ,, with 10, of that number being made up of cavalry.

The Mali Empire reached its largest size under the Laye Keita mansas — 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. During this period, there was an advanced level of urban living in the major centers of the Mali. At the height of its power, Mali had at least cities, and the interior of the Niger Delta was very densely populated.

Extent of the Mali Empire c. 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 , Mahmud Keita IV died. 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 midth 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.

Timbuktu manuscripts, c. After a shift in trading routes, Timbuktu flourished from the trade in salt, gold, ivory, and slaves. It became part of the Mali Empire early in the 14th century.

Together with the campuses of the Sankore Madrasah, an Islamic university, this established Timbuktu as a scholarly center in Africa. 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. 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.

Initially, the empire was ruled by the Sonni dynasty c. 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. In the second half of the 14th century, disputes over succession weakened the Mali Empire and in the s, 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 to Like Songhai kings before him, he was a Muslim. Under his rule, Songhai reached a size of over 1,, 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 , 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.

After a persistent seven-year siege, he was able to forcefully incorporate it into his vast empire in , 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. Songhai Empire in Songhai rulers took advantage of the weakened Mali Empire to expanded Songhai rule. Under the rule of Sonni Ali, the Songhai surpassed the Malian Empire in area, wealth, and power, absorbing vast areas of the Mali Empire and reaching its greatest extent.

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.

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. The main reason for the Moroccan invasion of Songhai was to seize control and revive the trans-Saharan trade in salt and gold. The Empire fell to the Moroccans and their firearms in 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.