Search Results: Mali Empire

The Mali Empire (1240-1645) of West Africa was founded by Sundiata Keita (r. 1230-1255) following his victory over the kingdom of Sosso (c. 1180-1235). Sundiata's centralised government, diplomacy and well-trained army permitted a massive...

Mansa Musa I was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa from 1312 to 1337. Controlling territories rich in gold and copper, and monopolising trade between the north and interior of the continent, Mali grew extremely wealthy. Mansa Musa...

The Songhai Empire (aka Songhay, c. 1460 - c. 1591) covered what is today southern Mauritania and Mali. It replaced the Mali Empire (1240-1645) as the most important state in West Africa. Originating as a smaller kingdom along the eastern...

Timbuktu (Timbuctoo) is a city in Mali, West Africa which was an important trade centre of the Mali Empire which flourished between the 13th and 15th centuries CE. The city, founded c. 1100 CE, gained wealth from access to and control of...

Sundiata Keita (aka Sunjaata or Sundjata, r. 1230-1255 CE) was the founder of the Mali Empire (1240-1645 CE) in West Africa. A prince of the Malinke tribe, Sundiata would not only overthrow the rule of the kingdom of Sosso (c. 1180-1235 CE...

The Ghana Empire flourished in West Africa from at least the 6th to 13th century CE. Not connected geographically to the modern state of Ghana, the Ghana Empire was located in the western Sudan savannah region (modern southern Mauritania...

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 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...

A terracotta figurine depicting a cavalry warrior of the Mali Empire (1240-1645 CE). 13th-15th century CE. (National Museum of African Art, Washington D.C.)

A 1375 CE illustration of Mansa Kanku Musa (r. 1312-1337 CE) who ruled the Mali Empire in West Africa. (Detail from the Catalan Atlas Sheet 6, National Library of France, Paris)