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Transporting Salt on the Niger River
Boats transporting slabs of rock salt on the Niger River delta, Mopti, Mali. The salt comes from ancient mines in the Sahara desert.

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Saharan Rock Carving of Two Cats Fighting
This prehistoric Saharan rock carving from Wadi Mathendous in the Fezzan, Libya depicts two cats fighting. Similar petroglyphs can be found in rock escarpments throughout the Sahara, providing valuable clues to the people who inhabited and...

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Carthaginian Trade
The Carthaginians, like their Phoenician forefathers, were highly successful traders who sailed the Mediterranean with their goods, and such was their success that Carthage became the richest city in the ancient world. Metals, foodstuffs...

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Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion was a violent uprising that occurred in western Pennsylvania in 1794, in opposition to an excise tax on liquor. After anti-tax protestors assaulted federal tax collectors and threatened to march on Pittsburgh, President...

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The Rise and Fall of the Ghana Empire of West Africa
Did you know that the rulers of the Ghana Empire were so rich they were known as Kings of Gold? This video is all about the rise and fall of the great Ghana Empire, once known as the land of gold. The Ghana Empire flourished in West Africa...

Definition
Juba II
Juba II (c. 48 BCE - 23 CE) was a Numidian prince and the king of Mauretania from c. 25 BCE until his death in 23 CE. He was raised in the household of Julius Caesar (c. 100-44 BCE) and married Cleopatra Selene II (40 - c. 17/5 BCE), the...

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The History of the West African Salt Trade
Did you know that salt was literally worth its weight in gold in ancient West Africa? This video is all about the lucrative trade of salt in West African history. Salt from the Sahara desert was one of the major trade goods of ancient...

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Ancient and Medieval Gold Trade in West Africa
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...

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Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata (UNESCO/NHK)
Founded in the 11th and 12th centuries A.D. to serve the caravans crossing the Sahara, these trading and religious centres in Mauritania became focal points of Islamic culture. They have managed to preserve an urban fabric that evolved between...

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Rock-Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus (UNESCO/NHK)
On the borders of Tassili N'Ajjer in Algeria, also a World Heritage site, this rocky massif has thousands of cave paintings in very different styles, dating from 12,000 B.C. to A.D. 100. They reflect marked changes in the fauna and flora...