Ancient Ghana and Mali

Ghana and Mali Paragraph

            Ghana was an Empire located in West Africa. West Africa has three vegetation zones, the desert, grasslands, and forests. Each vegetation zone has certain types of resources which led to great wealth within the Ghana Empire. The people called their king Ghana and eventually led to the region being called Ghana. The people of Ghana played an important role in the trade of gold and salt. The people of Ghana monitored all trade and they kept the locations of the gold mines a secret so it made the gold scarcer and more valuable. The king of Ghana gained wealth by taxing trade and using that wealth expanded the kingdom to an Empire. The city of Koumbi Saleh was the capital of Ghana and the center of the Empire because of all the trade. The Berbers introduced both the Arabic language and Islam which had a lasting effect on all the Empires in West Africa. Ghana was attacked by the Almarovids which weakened their trade routes which supported the entire Empire and led to Ghana’s collapse. The Empire of Mali was formed in the southern area of what had been the Empire of Ghana. It was founded by the Malinke people led by Sundiata. Sundiata established the city of Timbuktu as a center of trade and culture. After Sundiata’s death came a leader named Mansa Musa and was the most famous ruler of the Mali Empire. Mansa Musa greatly expanded Mali’s trade and culture thanks to his pilgrimage to Mecca. After Mansa Musa’s death there was internal fighting to decide the next ruler which led to their decline and eventual collapse with the Berbers invading.