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The first group of people to emerge from Ghana were the Soninke.
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Sundiata was the first ruler of Ghana. Some parts of Ghana were very like Mali, they both had an abundance of gold and salt.
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Sundiata dies and other rulers were now named as 'mansas'.
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Mali's most famous ruler was Mansa Musa. He was the richest person in the world.
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Mansa Musa made the importance of learning to read the Arabic language so that Muslims read the Qur’an. Mansa Musa hired Muslim architects to build mosques throughout his empire.
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When Mansa Musa died, his son Maghan took the throne. When raiders from the southeast came into Mali, he couldn’t stop them. Mali never fully recovered from this raid. The Tuareg then seized Timbuktu.
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When Mali was reaching its heights, a rebellion was rising. Songhai, a kingdom, who traded with Mali and Ghana, to make them so rich.
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The Songhai leaders rebelled and regained their freedom. They traded with lots of people and became rich. The Songhai were led by Sunni Ali.
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Later, Askia the Great ruled the Songhai empire and made sure that everyone in West Africa had an education. He built lots of universities, schools, libraries, and mosques. He also helped to maintain order by building provinces and strengthing their army.
