What role did trade play in the emergence and subsequent history of the kingdoms of Ghana, Middle Niger, and Mali?
What role did trade play in the emergence and subsequent history of the kingdoms of Ghana, Middle Niger, and Mali?
Ghana and Mali both emerged from key communication links linking the Mediterranean with the Sahel. They started as temporary markets, gradually growing into powerful cities that controlled vast territories. Their rulers paid tribute to the trade, and they used the money to finance their troops. When they lost important trading posts in rival armies, tax revenues were reduced, and their regimes obtained an agreement.
The Ghana Empire was located in the southeastern part of Mauritania, west of Mali, and east of Senegal. There is no consensus as to when exactly it began, but its development is linked to commercial changes that occurred centuries after the introduction of the camel in western Sahara (third century). By the time of the Muslim conquest of North Africa in the 7th century, the camel had transformed its former trading routes, which were rarely a commercial network from Morocco to the Niger River. This common and strengthened Trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt and ivory allowed the construction of large urban centers and encouraged the expansion of territories to gain power in various trade routes.
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