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The Mali Empire, 1235–1645
The Mali empire was created by
another Mandé group, the
Mandinka, and developed from the
state of Kangaba on the upper Niger
river, whose inhabitants acted as
middlemen in the ancient Ghanaian
gold trade. Its boundaries extended
to the Hausa people in the east and
to the Fulani and Tukulor peoples in
the west.
In 1235, a legendary figure,
Sundiata Keïta, established a
federation of Mandinka tribes,
which developed into an empire
ruling millions of people from
ethnic
groups all over West Africa.
It became immensely rich, and
Mali continued to expand in the
14th century when it absorbed Gao
and Timbuktu.
Mali was the second and most
powerful of the African empires and
a model of its kind, exerting
profound cultural influences and
fostering the spread of its laws and
customs along the Niger river. It
stretched from the Atlantic to the
upper reaches of the Niger and
Senegal rivers, and was able to trade
gold and luxuries over a wide area,
from the Atlantic to the forests of the
south, up through the Sahara and far
to the east.
By the 14th century, its capital,
the city of Timbuktu, was the jewel
in the crown not only of the Mali
empire but also of the whole of West
Africa. It was famous for the wealth
of its rulers, and one of them, Mansa
Musa, is said to have taken with
him, on the
hajj
to Mecca, an
impressive 180 tons of gold. Scholars
and artisans were attracted to Mali,
and Islam flourished; Timbuktu
would have its ancient universities,
while Djenné would become pivotal
to Mali’s trade.
The end came as a result of
intrigues and struggles for the
succession, which weakened the
state and eventually led to revolts.
The Songhai empire emerged from a
Mali vassal state, became
independent, and ultimately
eclipsed the Mali empire.
West Africa
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BELOW:
Traditional mud houses of
the Dogon people, an ethnic group
living in the central plateau region of
Mali, near the city of Bandiagara, in the
Mopti region.
OPPOSITE:
A market in Djenné, Mali.