-
300
Ghana Control Trades
Ghana controlled the trade routes. From where there location was since it was by the Niger River it was easier to trade. Ghana was known for gold so they would get many other things like Salt and Iron and so one and so forth. -
Jan 1, 800
Ghana Expansion Of Empire
Part of Ghana's wealth went to support its powerful army. For Ghana to get more land and so they used there powerful army to fight off the other armies and that's how Ghana expanded its empire. -
Jan 1, 1230
Beginning Of The Mali Empire
Mali was conquered and later it was conquered again by Sundaita. He took over the salt and gold routes. He started to make make new farmhouses cleared for beans, onions, and rice. He even introduced a new crop to the country of Mali. The crop that he showed was cotton which they don't use today there. They used the cotton for clothes that was comfortable in the hot climate. -
Jan 1, 1300
Mansa Musa Trip To Mecca For Hajj (Mali)
Mansa Musa was one of the great emperors of Mali. He was the richest person to live and ruled for 25 years. He was famous for his great trip to Mecca for Hajj. He brought thousands of people and 300 camels each holding pounds and pounds of gold. During his trip he would just throw tons of gold on the streets for anyone to grab. He was just giving away free gold to everyone. No wonder why so many people liked him so much as an emperor. -
Jan 1, 1400
The Building Of Songhai
Songhai was conquered by Mansa Musa but when Mali started ti fall they regained there land back and was ready to start an empire. Then there were too many North African Berbers who traded in West Africa. They shared religions and the Berbers were willing to trade with Songhai which made them a richer empire. As Songhai gained wealth they started to expand their territory and build an empire. The leader that led this new empire was Sunni Ali. -
Jan 1, 1431
The Fall Of Mali
When Mansa Musa died, his son Maghan took the throne. He was a very weak leader so that was a sign for raiders to attack Mali. Then the raiders would set fire to Timbuktu's great schools and Mosques. Mali never recovered from this giant blow. The empire continued ti weaken and decline. After Maghan died all of the land that they had was gone. All there was, was this small area of Mali that remained. -
Jan 1, 1492
Askia the Great (Songhai)
Askia was the leader of the rebellion after over throwing Sunni Baru and then he became the ruler. He greatly supported education and learning. He even made a college names University of Sankore. People arrived from North Africa so they could learn math, science, medicine, grammar, and law. He also encouraged the growth of Islamic influence. He made many similar to those in other Muslim nations. He also created a professional army and specialized departments to oversee specific tasks. -
Jan 1, 1500
Ghana Decline
After the years started to go by Ghana started to go into a big decline. They were getting invaded and defeated by the Almoravids. They would destroy there city. Another thing that the Almoravids did was they would bring herds of animals to eat all the grass which left patches in the hot desert and would kill the crops. Next there own people started to rebel against there own country and the people of Ghana won. That was a bad sign for Ghana which lead into it's decline. -
The Fall Of Songhai To Morocco
The northern rival of Songhai was Morocco and they wanted to gain control of Songhai's salt mines. So the Moroccan soldiers came into the heart of Songhai and attacked Songhai.Songhai was defeated terribly and they lost there salt mines. Changes in the trade patterns drastically changed that was the cherry on top of Songhai's fall. Slowly the period of the great West African empires came to an end.
