< Y T i i i K HOOI<S HY HASIL I)III>SON BASIL DAVIDSON Hon DLirt Ibada,,

in collaboraiion with
Old Africa Rediscoiered F. K. BUAH MA
Black Mother: Africa, the Yrorr of rhr Slave Trodr Headmaster Tema Secondary School, Ghana
The African Paw Ciironiclir from .4ntiquriy to Modern Times snd wirh the n i l v i r ~nf
~~ ~~~~ ~~ ..
Africa in History: Thrnier and Ourl!ner I. F. ADE AlAYl BA PhD
A Hisrory of Easr and Ccnrral Africa to the L a r e Ninerrmrh Century Vice ChancGior,
T h e Africans: a n Enrrv i o Soctal and Culiurol Hzsror)~ University of Lagos, Nigeria
T h e African Awakening
The Liberation of Guine: Aspucu 4 f an African Rrvoluizon
In rhe Eye of the Storm: Angolo's People

O W E R UOO1<S BY PROI'LSSOK A l h Y l

Christian Missions in Nigeria 1841-91

THE GROWTH OF AFRICAN CIVILISATION
Milestones in Nigerian Hisroiy
Yoruba Warfare in rhe Ninereenth Century (wirh R. S. Smith) A History of West Africa
U l H E K iiO01<S BY F. K. RUAH:

Modern World History since 1750

1000-1800
Misrory Nares: West Africa since A D . 1000 (2 uals)
An Elementary Hisrory far Schools ( 5 "01s)
A New Hislory lor Schools and Cullegrs (2 vois)

OTHER ROOl<S IN T H E GROWTH O F l F K l C A N CII'ILIS.4TION SERIES

The Revolutionary Years: West Africa Since 1800 by Professor J. B. Websrer and Professor
A. A. Boahen wiih a conrriburion by H. 0 . Idowu
T h e Making af Modern Africa 1800-1960 (2 "01s) by Professor J. D. Omer-Cooper, Dr A.E.
Afigbo, Dr E. A. Ayandelr and Professor R. I. Gavin
Easr Africa ro rhe Lare Xincrecnth Cenrury by Basil 1)avidson with 1. E. F. Mhina and the
advice of Professor B. A. Oaor

. .. .. .
LONGMAN
 WESTERN REGION I

CHAPTER FOUR
The empire of Ghana

Soninke and Berber traders

Our three main sources of knowledge about the ancient Sudan -
archaeology, oral history, and the books written by Africans or Arabs- Ghana (wry approximare frontiers).
tell us a good deal about the famous empire of Ghana.
We can be sure of some of the things they tell us; other things must be hat was written in Timbuktu about AD 1650, says that there were
left in doubt. What we can be sure of is that early West Africans wh wo kings of Ghana before the beginning of the Muslim Era
lived to the north of the upper waters of the Niger River forme )and twenty-two kings after that. If this were true, it could place
themselves into a strong trading state. This state spread its power ove ins of the Ghana kingdom in about AD 300.
many neighbouring peoples: in other words, the state became a , in any case, Ghana had become a powerful trading state.
empire. It commanded a large region of trade, security and stron agadu by its rulers, the name of Ghana came into general use
government. It lasted for several hundred years. It was deeply respec of one of the king's titles, ghana or war chief.' Each succeeding
by travellers who came within its borders, and by others, living known by his own name, and also by the title of ghana Another
beyond Ghana's borders, who heard of it or read about it. es was kaya maghan. This means 'lord of the gold', because the
We can be fairly sure, too, that the peoples who formed this state a trolled the export of that precious metal.
empire were Soninke who spoke one of the languages of the Ma ng is known about the political methods or history of Ghana
group; languages that are spoken today by many of the peoples of s early kings. What probably happened was that heads of large
westerly regions of the Western Sudan. These founders of Ghana or descent-lines2 among the Soninke, encouraged by the needs
good trading relations with the Berber chiefs and traders who lived t rtunities of the trade in gold and other goods with Berber
the north of them, in oasis towns in the Sahara; and it was through the
that they conducted their trade across the desert. two reasons why rhe modern state of Ghana, though situated far away from
na, has the same name. One reason is that the old traditions speak of a
some of [he people of Ancient Ghana southward into the region of Asante.
son is that the modern leadersof Ghana wishedrocelebrate theindependenceof
Growth of Ghana formerly called the Gold Coast -by linking their new freedom to the

I be used often in these pages. A descent-line or lineagemeans just whar ir

T h e Soninke certainly built their state before A D 773, the date of family descent, through fathers or through mothers, which links one
first North Africanreference to it. But exactly how long before we do nother, and goes on far severalor for many generations. This means that all
've members of a descent-line look back ro the same 'foundingancestors'. Nearly
know. It is possible that they were traders in this region invery dist revered these ancesrors as persons of great authoriry and power in the worldof
times. A traditionrecordedin the Tarikh as-Sudan,animportant hist

34 35
 merchants of the Sahara, saw an advantage in having a single ruler. So
they elected a king from among themselves. This king's duty was to
organise the trade and keep good relations with the Saharan traders, as
well as acting as senior religious leader and as representative on earthof
the 'founding ancestors' of the Soninke people.
In this way the king gathered power. He controlled the trade within
Soninke territory. He made gifts and gave rewards to all who served him.
Next came an expansion of Soninke power over neighbouring
peoples who were also busy with trade: the wider the territory the
Soninke could control, the more prosperous they would be. By 800, the
king of Ghana was able to make lesser kings or chiefs obey his laws and
pay him taxes. And so the king's wealth increased. Withmore wealth, he
also had more power. He could command the services of many descent-
lines. He could raise big armies. He could employ large numbers of
messengers and other servants. He could pay for the needs of a growing
empire.
Some account of how this was done for the later kings of Ghana is on lo rtrerlr.
glven in books written by North African and Spanish Arab authors
during the eleventh and twelfth centuries AD. ed to build their houses in stone, according to their own customs
One of these books offers a brilliantly clear picture of the court of the orth Africa. It is not known exactly where the capital was when
emperor of Ghana in about AD 1065, and of the way in which that akri wrote his book. In the course of Ghana's long history, the
emperor, whose name was Tunka Manin, organised his power and apital was undoubtedly movedfrom one place to another. But we
wealth. This book was the work of a Spanish Arab called Al-Bakri.I He d a good deal to Al-Bakri's picture by studying the remains of
finished it in 1067. 's last capital, which lay at Kumbi Saleh about 320 kilometres
f modern Bamako. Here too there was a town where the king of
lived, and another nearby town where the Muslim traders had
The achievement of Ghana ouses and stables. At the height of its prosperity, beforeAD 1240,
of Kumbi was evidently the biggest West Africancity of its day,
From this account of Al-Bakri's we can know a little more about what as many as 15,000 inhabitants or even more.
had happened during earlier times. It appears that many of the North ong as they obeyed the laws of Ghana and paid their taxes, the
African and Berber traders of the Sahara accepted Islamafter the Arab from the north were sure of safety and hospitality. This was a
conquest of the eighth century. They abandoned their old religions and ship in long-distance trade that went on for a very long time. Its
became Muslims. They were made welcome at the capital of the depended on the strength of the emperor and his government.
emperor of Ghana. He was not a Muslim; he believed in Ghana's own ri has left us a description of all that. King ~ u n k aManin, he
religion, but he allowed the Muslims to build a town of their own. 'is the master of a large empire and of a formidable power'. So
T h e 'town of the Muslim traders' was ten kilometres away from the ul was this king, that he could put out '200,000 warriors in the
emperor's own town with its surrounding settlements. While the latter ore than 40,000 of them being armed with bow and arrow'. But
were built in the traditional materials of West Africa - hardened clay, I strength of the Ghana armies, as we know from other North
thatch, and wooden beams - the most successful Muslim traders sources, came from their power in iron-pointed spears. Their
, like their government, were stronger than those of their
' Al-Bakri did not visit Ghana himself, but collecred iniormarion irom North Africa uring peoples; and it was this strength which helped to build
travellers who did.

36
 Working from eyewitness accounts which he had received from overning themselves, of raising money to pay for government, and of
Muslim travellers, Al-Bakri described the pomp and majesty of King roducing wealth. These ways needed a single strong authority or
Tunka Manin: overnment which could rule over many lesser authorities or govern-
When the king gives audience to his people, to listen to their ts. This central authority or government could only, in the thought
complaints and to set them to rights, he sits in a pavilionaround customs of the times, be a king.'
which stand ten pages holding shields and gold-mounted swords. states like Ancient Ghana, the power of government increased still
On his right hand are the sons of the princes of his empire, er. Important kings became kings over lesser kings. They became
splendidly clad and with gold plaited in their hair. are called emperors. At the heart of the explanation of why this
The governor of the city is seated on the ground in front of the ened there was the growth, as we have seen, of international trade.
ccupying the lands to the north of the upper waters of the Niger, the
king, and all around him are his counsellors in the same position.
T h e gate of the chamber is guarded by dogs of an excellent breed. Ghana rulers and their people enjoyed a position of great power and
These dogs never leave their place of duty. They wear collars of e. Their towns and trading settlements became the go-betweens or
lemen between the Berber and Arab traders of the north and the
gold and silver, ornamented with metals.
d and ivory producers of the south.
The beginning of a royal meeting is announced by the beating
of a kind of drum they call deba. This drum is made of a long piece t was this middleman position which made Ghana strong and
of hollowed wood. T h e people gather when they hear its sound.. . sperous. It was this that gave its rulers gold and glory. It was this that
d for its armies, and made its civilisation shine with a light whose
T h e memory of these old glories were long remembered among the ling brilliance we can still glimpse in the writings of Al-Bakri.
peoples of the Western Sudan. Five hundred years later, for example, a e by little, the people of Ghana and their rulers felt the need for a
writer of Timbuktu called Mahmud IZati entertained his readers with government not only over themselves, but also over their
the stories of those ancient days. In his valuable history book, the ours, so that they could ensure peace and order throughout a
Tarikh al-Fattush, he tells how a certain king of Ghana of the seventh region of the Western Sudan. For only in this way could they make
century, called Icanissa'ai, possessed one thousand horses, and how t use of their middleman position. And at the same time as they
each of these horses 'slept only ona carpet, with a silkenrope for halter', 's need, they also had the chance of realising it. They were skilled
and had three personal attendants, and was looked after as though it s i n iron. They were able to use iron weapons against neighbours
were itself a king. enerally did not have any.
These old stories, magnified and embroidered with the passing of the 'me passed, the ruling men of Ghana, the Soninke people of
years, also tell how the kings of Ghana used to give great banquets to ande group, further extended their political power. They
their subjects, feeding ten thousand people at a time, and dispensing thened their middleman position by bringing lesser states like
gifts and justice to all who came. Such stories give an idea of the r (in modern Senegal) under their control. They pushed their
greatness of Ghana's reputation in the years of its power. s southeastward in the direction of the land of the gold producers,
hey also pushed their influence northward into the Sahara. They
ontrol of south-Saharan cities like Audoghast, a famous market
Government of the empire , as we noted before, has long since disappeared. In this way the
ors of Ghana wielded power and commanded wealth. They were
If we look carefully behind the travellers' information collected and the greatest men of their time.
written down by Al-Bakri and other Arab writers, and behind the stories r system of government expanded with their success in trade. As
that were afterwards told in countless homes for many years, we can anded, it became more complicated. A king and his counsellors
trace several developments in ways of life. These were of ereat imoort-
ance to West Africa. They must be clearly understood. of course, a central govcrnmenr can be many things besides a king. In fact, kings
s t disappeared from themodern world.They havedisappeared becauserhe rtngdof
With the growth of Ghana, and of other states like Ghana, the peoples onirarion, which required kings in rhe old days, requires them no longer. People
of West Africa were inventing new methods of living together, o more modern ways of governmenl.

38 39
could rule over a small country. They could not rule over a large one
unless they could also rule through lesser kings and counsellors. Even
with the swift horses of the Western Sudan, a king's orders would have
gone too slowly through the land, and would not have been obeyed. So
the king of Ghana needed governors whom he could place in charge of
distant provinces. 'belong to the emperor'. But this regulation was more than a
In this way there grew up a number of lesser governments, under of collecting royal wealth. It was also a way of keeping up the
lesser kings or governors. These gave loyalty and paid taxes to a single
central government. Compared with what we have today, all this was a
simple and crude sort of government. Ordinary folk ran many dangers.
They were often bullied or plundered. But the growth and conduct of
trade over a wide region meant peace and security over this region; and
many people of Ghana benefited from this. The formationof Ghana and ~amondsof the world are mined by a handful of big companies.
its growth into a large empire therefore marked an important stage in e companies work hand-in-hand with each other. They have
social development. It was a big political and economic achievement.

Revenue and wealth of Ghana ,the diamond companies sell their diamonds in small quantities,

Before leaving this subject we must look a little more closely at how the
emperors ruled, maintained their public services, and met the expenses
of keeping law and order. For they established ways of government
which appeared again and again, afterwards, in the Sudan. frican gold was important to Europe as well as to North Africa
Where did King Tunka Manin and the emperors who ruled before Near East. In earlier times the Europeans had obtained the gold
him find the wealth to pay many soldiers, and to feed and arm them?
Where did they get the means to make rich gifts to strangers from other from mines in Europe or in western Asia. These mines were
lands? Questions like these take us back to the economic systemof worked out at about the time of the rise of Ghana. Where else
Ghana empire. And it is Al-Bakri, once again, who gives the answer opeans and North Africans obtain gold? Only, as history
He explains how the rulers of Ghana used their control of the Ion
distance trade. it came about that the gold used in North Africa and Europe
T h e ruler of Ghana, Al-Bakri tells us, had two main sources o ly supplied, century after century, by the producers of West
revenue,' of wealth with which to pay for government. These were taxes ven kings in distant England had to buy West African gold
of two kinds. T h e first of these was what we should today call an impo hey could order their craftsmen to make coins in this precious
and export t a r This tax consisted of sums of money (or more prohabl was on this steady demand for gold that the states and empires
their equal in goods) which traders had to pay for the right to bring good
into Ghana, or to take other goods out of the empire. 'The king o
Ghana', wrote Al-Bakri, 'places a tax of one dinar of gold on each hana's success. When Ghana disappeared in the thirteenth
donkey-load of salt that comes into his country'. But he also 'places a tax
of two dinars of gold on each load of salt that goes out'. Similar taxes,

' 'Revenue' means rhe money or other kinds of wealrh char governments ger from iaxe was a gold coin of Norrh Africa.

40 41
empire was called Mali. It carried the progress made under Ghana to a some success. In 1056, moving northwards into Morocco, the Al-
new level of development. moravids captured the great city of Sijilmasa, themain northern trading
centre for West African gold. From there they went further to the north,
conquering the rest of Morocco. Then they crossed the Straits of
The fall of Ghana: the Almoravids Gibraltar, and took over Al-Andalus, or Muslim Spain.
A southern section of the Almoravid movement meanwhile moved
But a long period of confusion came between the fall of Ghana and the against Ghana. Its leader, Abu Bakr, put himself at the head of a Berber
triumph of Mali. confederation, made an alliance with the people of Takrur, whom we
After about 1050, Ghana began to be invaded by Berber warriors from shall discuss in a moment,and wageda long war against Ghana. In 1054
the north-west, from the Mauretanian Sahara. These Berbers were he took the city of Audoghast. In 1076. after many battles. the
driven by troubles of their own, mainly poverty, into striving for a share Almoravids seized the capital of the empire.
in the wealth of more prosperous neighbours. Soon after AD 1000 they But these invaders, like others after them, could not hold the West
began to look for a new means of livelihood. African lands they had taken. There was much resistance. There were
T h e solution they found, as so often in history, took areligious form. many revolts. Abu Bakr was killed while attempting to suppress one of
There arose among them a devout and very strict Muslim leader called these in 1087. By this time, however, the Ghana empire had fallen apart.
Abdullah ibn Yasin. H e established a centre of religious teaching, Its last kings had authority over only a few of its former provinces, and
called a hermitage. He and those who followed him became known as ost nothing about them. Great changes were on the way.
the people of the hermitage, Al-Murabethin, or the Almoravids. Gradu-
ally, ibn Yasin brought the Berber commmities of the far western lands
under his influence. At the same time hismissionaries set about the task he successor states of Ghana
of the rulers of those states in far western Africa whom they
could reach, especially in Takrur (or Futa Toro), and in this they had
bringing other peoples into action, the Ghana empire broke up,
some smaller states tried to build small empires of their own. One
the state of Takrur. Anorher was Diara. A third was IZaniaga. In
e of these, a new name now enters on the scene, that of the Peul (or

- Main vlvslio". by me
Almamuid rrpnn.ion
h old hnring
W"..
a.ru of
a"* Baud
ry. T h e biggest of these will be described later on. Meanwhile we

t AD 1200 they took control of the kingdom of Diara, once a

9 The Almoravid invasions.
 Ghana ates

:AD 300 Origins of Ghana.

New trade begins with Muslims of
North Africa and Sahara.
Ghana at height of its power.
Al-Bakri describes King Tunka Manin
(in 1067).
Beginning of Almoravid invasion.
Almoravids capture Audaghost, one
of Ghana's important trading towns.
Almoravids capture Ghana capital
(probably Kumbi Saleh).
Sumanguru takes IZumbi Saleh.
The door loo ihiefi home in Wninla. This hi ration has not changedfor hundreds of
yeorr. End of Ghana empire.

province of Ghana. Their most successful leader, whose name wa

Sumanguru, seized IZumbi Saleh, then the capital of Ghana, in abou
1203. Meanwhile other Fulani and allied peoples became powerful
another old Ghana province, the kingdom of Kaniaga.
But this new attempt at building an empire out of the ruins of Gha
met with no better fortune than the Berber efforts led by Abu Bakr.
developments brought Sumanguru's enterprise to defeat. The firs
that the Muslim traders of Kumbi Saleh, Ghana's last capital, reject
Sumanguru's overlordship. For reasons that were no doubt par
religious and partly commercial, they left Kumbi Saleh and travel1
northward, to form a new trading centre at Walata,' far beyond thereac
of Sumanguru's soldiers. Secondly, in about 1240 or maybe a few yea
earlier, Sumanguru was challenged by theMandinkapeople of the lit
state of Kangaba, near the headwaters of the River Niger. T h e t
armies fought each other at a famous battle. Sumanguru was defeat
and killed. His chiefs and generals retreated to Takrur, where they a
their successors continued to rule for many years.
Sumanguru's defeat opened a new chapter in history. For the li
state of IZangaba was rhe heart and core of the future empire of Ma1
was to be the Mandinka people who would now bring peace andorder
wide regions of the Western Sudan.

' See map an page 35.

44
 WESTERN REGION I1 umanguru
- had mastered Kumbi and the main caravan routes, it was
th him and his agents that the Mandinka of Kangaba had to conduct
r business.
et Sumanguru, as we have also noted, was never able to set upa firm
CHAPTER FIVE lasting system of law and order over the lands he had conquered.
The empire of Mali thers challenged his power. The caravan routes ceased to be safe and
aceful. And no doubt the people of Kangaba, whose livelihood was
s threatened and who were increasingly oppressed by Sumanguru,
e troubled by all this. Inabout 1240, at any rate, they decided toenter
struggle themselves. They made a bid for their own independence,
they won

Kangaba
The old traditionsof the Western Sudansuggest that Kangaba, the little nds tell the story in more colourful and personal terms. They
state that was to grow into the mighty empire of Mali, was founded some Sumanguru's harsh taxation, of his bad government, of his
time before AD 1000. What is certain is that the Mandinka people of Mandinka women. These abuses caused the Mandinka to
Kangaba were also middlemen in the gold trade during the later period
of Ancient Ghana. They were important among those who carried to the
north the gold of Wangara, the gold-bearing country that is now the
northern part of the Republic of Guinea, to the market centres of
Ghana. Probably it was through these gold-traders of Kangaba that the
rulers of Ghana and their agents were able to secure their main supplies
of gold.
I n later times the traders of Mali, the Dyula or Wangara as they are
still called, were to become famous for their skill and enterprise. There
is reason to think that they were similarly active in the days of Ancient
Ghana as well. It is likely that while Kangaba was a subject country of
the Ghana empire, perhaps sending yearly gifts to its ruler in exchange
y
\\ .hem, M.l udrr S"di" Kciu
for friendly protection against enemies and rivals, the traders of
Y// mli ~~~i~~ vndv ~ . M~~
~ b
Kangaba enjoyed positions of privilege within the empire.
There was a two-sided interest here. T h e government of Ghana DRAR OR THE

needed gold, and it was largely from Wangara that Ghana's gold must
come. But the traders who dealt in the gold of Wangara also needed a
market, and it was only in Ghana that they could find this market.'
When the empire of Ghana was split into pieces by attacks from
without and revolts from within, this peaceful system of two-way HAUSAUND
interest was destroyed. All was then in the melting-pot for new rivalries .UM BORN
for power. Eventually, as we have seen, Sumanguru prevailed. Once
I
See map on page 42. panrion of the empire of Muli (very approrimate frontiers).
brother was Sundiata IZeita. Returning from exile with an army, 1050. He became a Muslim, andmade the pilgrimage to Mecca that all
Sundiata gathered friends and allies, increased his forces, gave them Muslims are supposed to make at least once in their lives. He was
fresh heart and courage, and marched boldly against the dreaded followed by other kings of whom we know nothing but their names.
Sundiata, sometimes called Mari-Diata, came to the throne in about
Sumanguru.
'As Sundiata advanced with his army tomeet Sumanguru', say the old 1245. He ruled for about 25 years, doing great deeds.
Next came his son Uli, who also took the royal title of mansa (lord in
legends, the Mandinka language), and followed in the conquering path of his
he learned that Sumanguru was also coming against him with an more famous father. Heruledfrom about 1260 to about 1277. Like other
army prepared for battle. They met in a place called IZirina [not far ali kings, he made the pilgrimage.
from the modern IZulikoro]. When Sundiata turned his eyes on Then came two of Uli's brothers, Wati and Khalifa, but we do not
the army of Sumanguru, he believed they were a cloud and he ow the dates of their reigns. They were said to be weak kings who
said: 'What is this cloud on the eastern side? They told him it was ed badly. IZhalifa's subjects revolted against him, and killed him.
the army of Sumanguru. As for Sumanguru, when he saw the wer then passed to Abn Bakr who ruled until 1298.
army of Sundiata, he exclaimed: 'What is that mountain of stone? In 1298 the throne was seized by a freed 'slave of the court'. This was
For he thought it was a mountain. And they told him: 'It is the kuru who proved one of Mali's strongest rulers. He held power till
army of Sundiata, which lies to the west of us.' 08. After him came Mansa Qu and Mansa Muhammad.
Then the two columns came together and fought a terrible In 1312 another great ruler came to power, Mansa KankanMusa. He
battle. In the thick of the fight, Sundiata uttered a great shout in led till 1337', and was followed by Mansa Magha, who ruled for about
the face of the warriors of Sumanguru, andat once these ran to get ur years, and then by Mansa Suleyman,whoruledwithmuchsuccess
behind Sumanguru. T h e latter, in his turn, uttered a great shout 1 about 1360. Then came another Mari-Diata who ruled for about
in the face of the warriors of Sundiata, all of whom fled to get 'rteen years, and was followed by other kings of less importance. By
behind Sundiata. Usually, when Sumanguru shouted, eight heads out 1400 the great period of the Mali empire was drawing to a close.
would rise above his own head.
But Sumanguru's witchcraft, the legends say, proved less powerful
than the witchcraft of Snndiata. Sumanguru was struck with an arrow e achievement of Mali
bearing the spur of a white cock, fatal to his power, and 'Sumanguru
vanished and was seen no more. . .'After this victory, Sundiata became ali repeated theachievement of Ancient Ghana on a still greater scale.
the master of a new empire, governing through powerful and able men rulers secured or regained control of the gold-producing lands of
who were the heads of leading Mandinka descent-lines, each with a angara and Bambuk. They invaded most of Diara to the north-west.
province under his control. pushed their power down the Niger River to the shores of Lake
T h e capital of Kangaba at this time was at a place called Niani, a city . They formed one of the largest of the world's empires of those
that has long since disappeared but was located near the River Niger,
not far from the frontier of Modern Guinea and modern Mali. And from ree periods of success occurred:
about this time the name 'Mali', which meant 'where the king resides', der Sundiata (about 1235-60). He founded the empire.
absorbed the name IZangaba, and the empire of Mali was born. der Mansa Sakuru (about 1298-1308). He extended the empire.
der his powerful government,' wrote the great North African
orian, ibn Ichaldun, in about 1400, 'the power of Mali became
hty. All the nations of the Sudan stood in awe of Mali, and the
erchants of North Africa travelled to his country.'
The rulers of Mali
e year of Musa'sdeath is oftengiven as1332. But Ibn Khaldun(bornTunis 1332;died
Sundiata was the founder of the empire of Mali, but not the first of 406)whose wrirings are our besr source of information on the dares of rhe rulers of
has recorded that Musa was still alive in 1337.
Mali's kings. This was Barmandana, who is said to have ruled inabo

48 49
3 Under Mansa Kankan Musa (about 1312-37). He againextended the North African Scholar, Al-Omari, who lived in Cairo a few years
empire. His success was maintained by Mansa Suleyman (about nsa Musa's visit and wrote the words we have just quoted,
1340-60).
ful, the richest, themost fortunate, themost feared by hisenemies
most able to do good to those around him'. Behind these words
Mansa Kankan Musa e we can glimpse the power and reputation that Mali drew from
troi of a very wide region of trade in precious goods such as gold,
When Mansa Musa came to power, Mali already had firm control of th vory and kola nuts.
trade routes to the southern lands of gold and the northern lands of salt i was now a world power, and recognised as such. Under Mansa
Now Musa brought the lands of the MiddleNiger under Mali'srule. H Mali ambassadors were established in Morocco; Egypt, and
enclosed the cities of Timbuktu and Gao within his empire. H ere. Mali's capital was visited by North African and Egyptian
imposed his rule on southern trading towns such as Walata. He pushe s. On returning from pilgrimage, Musa brought back with him a
his armies northward as far as the important salt-producing place calle
Taghaza, on the northern sideof the great desert. He sent themeastwar
beyond Gao to the borders of Hausaland. He sent them westward int
Takrur.
Soit came about that Musa encloseda large part of the Western Suda
within a single system of law and order. He did this so successfully t
Ibn Batuta, travelling through Mali about twelve years after Mu
death, found 'complete and general safety in the land'. This was a
political success, and made Mansa Musa into one of the great
statesmen in the history of Africa.
The Dyula (Wangara) traders were greatly helped by all this. T h
trading companies began to travel in many parts of West Africa.
These Dyula traders were men of skill and energy. But they also
strength from being Muslims. Belonging to Islam gave them
They stuck together even when members of their trading camp
came from different clans or territories.
Islam was now important in the western Sudan (seepage 136: Is1
and West Africa).
Like the Mali kings before him, Musa was a Muslim. But most of
people were not Muslims. So he supported the religionof the Man
people as well as Islam. Different religious customs and ceremo
were allowed at his court.
Musa's pilgrimage toMecca became famous. He beganit in 1324.
magnificent journey through the Egyptian capital of Cairo was lo
remembered with admiration and surprise throughout Egypt
Arabia, for Musa took with him so much gold, and gave away so
golden gifts, that 'the people of Cairoearnedvery bigsums' thanks
visit. So generous was Musa with his gifts, indeed, that he ups
value of goods on the Cairo market. Gold became more plentif
therefore worth less, and so prices rose.

50
51
number of learned men from Egypt. These settled in Mali andTimbuk- ideas of kingship and of strong central government, the pressures of
tu. One of them, called As-Saheli, designed new mosques at Gao and wealth and trading rivalry - all these and similar influences stirred
Timbuktu, and built a palace for the emperor. T h e fashion of building many peoples in West Africa. Some of these peoples saw that there were
houses in brick now began to be popular among wealthy people in the new advantages in being free to run their own affairs. T h e ruler and
cities of the Western Sudan. people of the city of Gao, for example, had to pay taxes to the emperor of
Niani, the capital of all this empire, has long since disappeared. Yet as Mali. Now they became determined to be rid of these taxes. They
late as the sixteenth century, the Moroccan traveller Leo Africanus believed they could do better on their own. Others thought as they did.
(Hassan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan az-Zayyati) could still describe it as The truth was that Mali had outgrown its political and military
a place of 'six thousand hearths', and its inhabitants as 'the most strength. Only supremely skilful leadership at the centre could hold this
civilised, intelligent and respected' of all the peoples of the Western wide empire together. Mansa Musa commanded that skill. His succes-
Sudan. sors, generally, did not. For a while, all remained well with the empire,
The spread of Islamalsocalled for newmethodsof rule. MansaMusa especially under the rule of Mansa Suleyman (about 1340-60). Then the
opened courts of law for Muslims, alongside the old courts of law for good days were over. Mansa Mari Diata 11, who followed Suleyman,
those who were not Muslims. was described by Ibn Ichaldun as 'a bad ruler who oppressed the people,
depleted the treasury, and nearly pulled down the structure of the
government'. He was followed by several other rulers who did little
The government of Mali better than he had done.
Mali remained a powerful empire until about 1400. Then it raninto a
Like Ghana before it, Mali was ruled by kings who were the heads of ost of troubles. Gao rebelled. The Tuareg nomads of the southern
important descent-lines or leading families. (See note on page 35). The Sahara, always hoping to wincontrol of the market cities of the Western
kings ruled the different parts of the empire, called provinces, through dan, seized Walata and even Timbuktu. The peoples of Takrur and
governors; these governors were also the heads of local descent-lines. neighbouring lands, notably the Wolof, threw off their subjection to
As well as these persons of important families, who were persons of ali. Others in the south-western region of the empire, especially the
privilege because of their birth, the king had some officials who did not si in what is now the modern Republic of Upper Volta, began to
come from important families. Some of these came from families who ss the emperor's governors and garrisons.
'belonged' to the king because they had lost their civic rights, usually et the grand old system, now more than two hundred years old if we
through being captured in wars. Later on, as we shall see, such 'slave eckon its life from the time of Sundiata Keita, still enjoyed widespread
officials', or 'king's men', were to get more power. pect. Many peoples had grown accustomed to thinking of the Mali
In the capital, at Niani, there were various top officials. Most of these nsa, the Mali koy, as their rightful overlord. The habit of thinking
were noblemen: that is, they came fromimportant families. One was the s was slow todie. And so it came about that the fame and reputation of
hari-farma, in charge of the fishing on the Niger. Another was the once wide system of imperial rule lived on for a long while after it
sao-farma, responsible for looking after the forests of the empire. A become weak and defenceless.
third was the babili-farma, the king's 'minister of agriculture', just as ven in the time of the powerful Songhay emperor, Askia Muham-
the khalissi-farma was the 'minister of finance'. d (1493-1528), the traditional frontier of Songhay and Mali was still
This was a more complicated kind of government than Ancient ognised as running through the region of Sibiridugu-astride of the
Ghana's. That was because populations had grown in size; trade was per Niger, that is, in the neighbourhood of theriver-city of Segu. And
bigger than before; society had become more complicated. ani, the capital of the old empire, was still a large and -prosperous city.
-
ommercially, too, the traders of Mali, the famous Dyula companies,
Rivals and successors re the most enterprising and successful merchants of all the western
central regions of West Africa. Thev travelled far and wide. across
But the very success of this far-reaching empire was also a reason for it
decline. T h e spread of metal-working and of trade, the growth of tb
 But the political power was mostly gone. As early as 1400the Songhay
ruler of Gao is said to have pillaged Niani itself. In 1431 the Tuareg
rushed into Timbukru. By the end of the century Mali had no power to
the east of Segu. Even within his homeland, the Mali emperor could
seldom do more than stand aside and let things happen. Yet he certainly
tried. In 1534 he sent an ambassador to the coast for help from the
Portuguese, with whom he and his predecessors had enjoyed good
diplomatic and trading relations. But the king of Portugal was unable to
help, and did nothing except send messengers and gifts to his ally
Mansa Muhammad 11. The time was still far ahead when Europeans
would be strong enough to have any direct influence on the affairs of
West Africa.