-
1500 BCE
Ghana Empire
Complex societies had existed in the region. -
1464 BCE
Songhai
Songhai, the last of these three great empires, remained, and it started under the control of the Mali Empire. -
Period: 1464 BCE to 1591 BCE
Songhai
Songhai, the last of these three great empires, remained. It started under the control of the Mali Empire. -
Period: 1230 BCE to 1600 BCE
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka. -
Period: 1200 BCE to 1500 BCE
Mali Empire
Mali came next and lasted. -
1000 BCE
Iron Technology
Iron technology spreads to the rest of Africa. -
800 BCE
The Religion of Islam
The religion of Islam begins to spread through Africa. -
800 BCE
Songhai
The Songhai are thought to have settled at Gao. -
500 BCE
Evidence of Iron
Evidence of iron smelting in Nigeria and central Niger. -
300 BCE
Ghana Empire
Ghana was the first of the three early African empires. -
2 BCE
Ghana Empire
The Ghana Empire or Wagadou Empire was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, and Western Mali. -
Period: 300 to
The First African Empire
Ghana was the first of the three early African empires. -
Period: 970 to 1054
Ghana's Decline
Ghana had forced Awdaghast in the desert to accept its rule. -
1067
The Capital
The capital was actually two cities six miles apart but “between these two towns are continuous habitations”, so that they might be said to have merged into one. -
1067
Ghana
Ghana was surrounded by independent kingdoms, and Sila, one of them located on the Senegal River was “almost a match for the king of Ghana.” -
1076
Ghana Fell
Ghana fell when it was sacked by the Almoravid movement. -
1100
Songhai Empire
It was established as the capital, during the reign of Dia Kossoi. -
1300
Military
The Mali Empire was able to project its power throughout its own extensive domain and beyond. -
Period: 1300 to 1400
Military
The number and frequency of conquests indicate the Kolonkan mansas inherited and or developed a capable military. -
1340
Ghana Incorporation
Ghana was incorporated into the Empire of Mali, according to a detailed account of al-‘Umari. -
1400
In the 14th century
Mali was the source of almost half the Old World’s gold exported from mines in Bambuk, Boure and Galam. -
Songhai Fall
Judar proceeded to sack Gao destroying the Songhai as a regional power, and having control of the region. -
The Battle of Tondibi
When the Emperor met Judar, Songhai forces, were routed by a cattle stampede triggered by the Saadi’s gunpowder weapons. -
Mahmud's Death
Mahmud IV died. Oral tradition states that he had three sons who fought over Manden’s remains. -
The Collapse
The realm remained under Mandinka control. -
Artifact 1: Folio from a Qur'an, sura 5:13-15
It's of an ink, color, and gold on parchment. By the thirteenth century, different regions throughout the Islamic world had developed their own scripts. In north Africa and Islamic Spain, the so-called maghribi, or Western style, became predominant and changed little over the centuries. -
Artifact 2: Ritual wine container (fanghu) with interlaced dragons
It's made of bronze. The person who made this artifact was Charles Vignier (1863-1932), with a method of acquisition unknown. -
Artifact 3: Bottle of Cizhou type
It's a stoneware with white slip and iron glaze. It was a wine bottle with a full, pear-shaped body tapering to a long, waisted neck ending in a flared mouth with lipped rim. The vessel sits on a splayed, slightly stepped foot that is unglazed on the bottom except where trimming has left a thin strip of glaze on the underside edge. -
Artifact 4: Figure
It's a ceramic figure seated cross-legged, with the upper arms missing. -
Artifact 5: Processional cross
Its provenance is from Rémy Audouin collection, Paris. Cast copper alloy cross with openwork design and engravings of four archangels on its arms. Their bodies form a maltese cross ending in a hollow shaft for mounting on a pole during religious processionals.