Mali

• Also known as Wagadou

• Existed from around 300 CE until 1300 CE

• Ghana became powerful by first controlling the salt trade and then the gold trade

Beginning in the late 900s, Ghana was attacked by various groups from North Africa. The Ghanaians fought off the first few attacks.

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However, in 1076, their capital was conquered. Muslim conquerors seized control. This was the beginning of Ghana’s decline.

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Fall of Ghana

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Conquered by Mali

In the early 1200s, Ghana came under attack yet again. This time the attacker was a West African king named Sundiata Keita, whose people had previously served Ghana as a conquered state. In 1240 Sundiata Keita and his army captured Ghana.

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They added the defeated kingdom of Ghana to the new empire of Mali.

As Ghana’s power decreased, many of the areas it had controlled became independent. One area was Mali. Mali eventually became the most powerful empire in West Africa. But during its early years, Mali was dominated by other powerful kingdoms.

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Imports: products that enter a country through trade

Exports: products that exit a country through trade

• Imports are goods and resources brought into a country.

• Exports are goods and services sold or traded from a country.

• Mali’s city of Timbuktu,

at the crossroads of the

desert and savannah,

became a center for trade

and learning.