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Ghana Empire

AfricaHeartland today: Mauritania and Mali

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Known to its Soninke rulers as Wagadu, this Sahel state taxed the trade that carried salt and goods south and gold north across the Sahara. Arab writers called it Ghana, after its king's title. It gave way to the Sosso and then Mali in the 13th century.

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Key events

  1. Wagadu's king gains control of trade at Awdaghust, a key Saharan trading townDisputed

    EBSCO dates this to 992; Wikipedia gives 990 and mentions 992 as an alternative.

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  2. Sanhaja Berbers allied with the Almoravids seize Awdaghust from GhanaDisputed

    EBSCO says the Sanhaja army had taken Awdaghust by 1055; Wikipedia gives 1054.

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  3. Al-Bakri, writing in Córdoba from merchants' and travellers' reports, describes Ghana's king, his gold and his taxesDisputed

    Al-Bakri never visited Ghana; his account is second-hand. Wikipedia dates his book to 1068; the Boston University extracts date it to 1057.

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  4. Traditional date for an Almoravid capture of Ghana's capitalDisputed

    EBSCO calls an outright capture contested. Conrad and Fisher (1982) found no source, external or internal, that clearly points to a conquest. Wikipedia reports that Lange agrees but allows for Almoravid political pressure.

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  5. The Sosso kingdom rises against Ghana and takes over its landsDisputed

    The date is approximate: Wikipedia's Sosso article cites Heinrich Barth for about 1203, and World History Encyclopedia has Sumanguru ruling from about 1200.

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  6. Mali takes over the old Ghana lands; one account dates Sundiata's capture of the capital to 1240Disputed

    Only World History Encyclopedia gives 1240 for the capture. Wikipedia says Ghana became Mali's ally after Kirina (c. 1235) and later a vassal, and the date of the old capital's fall is uncertain.

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