Mansa: Did you mean...?

Following the conquest of North Africa by Muslim Arabs in the 7th century CE, Islam spread throughout West Africa via merchants, traders, scholars, and missionaries, that is largely through peaceful means whereby African rulers either tolerated...

Did you know that at the time, the Mali Empire was the largest empire Africa had seen? Founded by Sundiata Keita in 1240, the Mali Empire became the wealthiest kingdom of West Africa and was Africa’s largest empire up to that time. The...

A map of the Mali Empire (1240-1645 CE) at its peak c. 1337 CE after the reign of Mansa Musa (1312-1337 CE).

The Djinguereber Mosque, Timbuktu, Mali. The mosque, made from pounded earth and wood, was built during the reign of Mansa Musa (1312-1337 CE), ruler of the Mali Empire. Photo credit: UN Photo/Marco Dormino

The camel caravans which crossed the great dunes of the Sahara desert began in antiquity but reached their golden period from the 9th century CE onwards. In their heyday caravans consisted of thousands of camels travelling from North Africa...

Prince Henry the Navigator (aka Infante Dom Henrique, 1394-1460) was a Portuguese prince who famously helped capture the North African city of Ceuta, sponsored voyages of exploration with the aim of building colonies in the North Atlantic...

The ancient and medieval Mediterranean might have been a bustling stage of ever-changing empires but, across the inhospitable barrier of the Sahara Desert, West Africans were equally busy building up and toppling down their own kingdoms and...

Did you know that the Ghana king would automatically keep any gold nugget extracted that weighed between 25 grams and half a kilo? This video is all about the lucrative gold trade of ancient and medieval West Africa. West Africa was...

The Sankore Mosque, Timbuktu, Mali. The mosque, made from pounded earth and wood, was built in the late 1100s CE.

A map illustrating the rise and extent of the Mali Empire (c. 1235 - 1672) as it reached its height in the 13th century as one of the most powerful and wealthy states in West Africa. Spanning a vast territory that included modern-day Mali...