Ghana and Mali timeline.

Period: 6000 BCE to 500

Before Ghana

Before the Ghana Empire developed in the Sudan region of West Africa in the 6th century, the region had been inhabited for thousands of years since the Neolithic period. Advanced societies began developing in West Africa around 1500 BCE. The civilizations were agrarian states, centering their cultures around iron-age technology. By the time Ghana would rise, many small kingdoms and city states inhabited the region.
300

West Africans Domesticate Camels

Shortly before the rise of the Ghana Empire, the Western African states domesticated camels. This marked one of the most significant innovations in African history, laying the groundwork for the trans-Sahara trade routes that Ghana would come to dominate.
500

Ghana Begins

The Ghana Empire was the first major agrarian state to form in West Africa. Despite having a complex social structure with labor division and trade influence, they did not have a written language. Knowledge of the empire was passed down from oral history and tradition, as well as Arab traders' medieval writings. Although the exact date is unclear, most evidence shows that Ghana's first king, Dinga Cisse, united the empire around 500 CE.
500

Ghana Begins Continued

According to legend, the King of Wagadou, Kaya Magar Cissé, became powerful in 300 CE. His children and grandchildren went on to form smaller kingdoms. These kingdoms later came back together when they were joined into the empire.
500

Political Establishment

The Ghana Empire was ruled by a king who had complete power and was treated as half-man, half-god. The king's word was law, and all military officers, mayors, counselors, and ministers were appointed by the king. It was required that every gold nugget mined in Ghana was given to the king, giving him complete control over the empire’s currency and primary form of trade. Most kings kept the good of the citizens in mind, holding daily meetings where people could voice their opinions.
500

Dinga Cisse

Dinga Cisse was Ghana's first and only known king. He was an outsider, who was likely traveling a Saharan trade route when he united a number of states into an empire and founded the capital of Koumbi Saleh. It is unclear how he went about uniting the empire. Little is known about Ghana's future kings because they did not keep written records, and verbal history has become too vague to determine who ruled after Cisse.
Period: 500 to 1000

Rise of the Ghana Empire - Trading Superpower

Ghana’s trade influence was drawn from the vast amounts of gold that the Empire mined and traded. During their rise, Ghana took over all three of the major goldfields in West Africa giving them a monopoly on West African gold production. Their monopoly allowed them to dominate trans-Saharan trade. They used gold as their currency, exporting gold, ivory, and slaves. While importing horses, textiles, weapons, and tools from the north, and salt (worth its weight in gold), from the Arabs.
Period: 500 to 1000

Rise of the Ghana Empire

In the next half a century, the empire would rise to dominate West Africa, expanding both the empire’s size and its trade influence. Ghana started from just a few trading posts, as they grew wealthy from their trade, they built armies which were used to conquer neighboring states. Ghana offered them protection in exchange for loyalty, reducing the chances of retaliation. They used this approach to expand the empire and take control of the gold rich fields of West Africa.
Period: 500 to 1000

Rise of the Ghana Empire - Military Dominance

Ghana's strong military force allowed them to expand their empire and control their gold rich land. Their army was composed of regular soldiers, reserve soldiers, and special forces. Made up of several thousand career soldiers, the regular army maintained border security and order across the empire. Every man was required to complete military training to be available to fight during wartime as part of the reserve. Special forces soldiers served as the king’s guards and generals.
1000

Muslim Influence

A large portion of Ghana's trade was with Arab Muslim merchants. Being in contact with the Muslims eventually caused the whole empire to convert to Islam. Initially, the religion was tolerated but not accepted by the kings as Ghana's religion. Many towns, were divided into Muslim and non-Muslim. In the 12th century, Muslim towns and neighboring Muslim states invaded non-Muslim towns and forced the entire empire to convert. This religious turmoil ultimately contributed towards their decline.
Period: 1000 to 1200

Decline of the Ghana Empire

In the 11th century, Ghana was invaded by a Muslim force from the Atlas region called the Almoravids. Ghana did succeed in fending off the Almoravids, but not before their capital was sacked. This marked the beginning of the empire’s decline. The second and final blow to the empire came as a result of climate change. In the 13th century, extreme drought ravaged the agrarian empire, which combined with political unrest caused by the loss of their capital, was enough to end the Ghana Empire.
1210

Sundiata Keita

Born in 1210, Sundiata Keita would become the founder of the Mali Empire and its first king. Born as a prince of the Malinke tribe, Sundiata could not walk. This prompted the tyrant who had taken power over his father exile him rather than kill him. After learning to walk using painful iron braces, Sundiata formed powerful allies with other exiled chiefs. He waged war on smaller kingdoms, gaining power and working his way up the food chain until he seized the remains of the Ghana Empire in 1240.
1230

Mali Begins

The empire began with a group of many tribal chiefs, who elected Sundiata as their supreme king. Sundiata promptly declared all future kings would be the descendants of Sundiata. Clans were reorganized and ruled by Sundiata's allied chiefs. Mali's capital of Niani was protected by mountains and located near key rivers and forests, making it a perfect hub for Mali’s trade. After Sundiata's death in 1255, power was transferred to his son and the empire continued to grow.
Period: 1230 to 1320

Rise of the Mali Empire - Military Power

The Mali government in Naini was made up of clan leaders and appointed Arab merchants to broaden their trade contract. The empire itself was divided into northern and southern hemispheres, each with their own military governor. As the empire expanded, conquered chiefs were allowed to remain as governor, meaning the empire functioned as a union of smaller kingdoms. Little is known of the army itself, other than that they were strong, able to double the empire’s size in a short period of time.
Period: 1230 to 1320

Rise of the Mali Empire - Trade Influence

Similar to Ghana, the driving force behind Mali’s expansion was its trade power. They traded gold, ivory, copper, and iron throughout the regional trade routes by river and camel. Again taking influence from Ghana, they used gold coins and dust as their currency. The richer classes acted as the middlemen between the Arab traders and the lower class farmers and tradesmen. Mali’s trade was crucial to their economy, its taxes supported an estimated 50 million people at its height.
1312

Mansa Musa

During the reign of Mansa Musa from 1312 to 1337, Mali reached the peak of its power, becoming one of the richest kingdoms in Africa. Musa built major cities including Timbuktu and Gao, where he focused on developing education. He was converted to Islam on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, he imposed the religion using his academic influence in Timbuktu. While in power, Musa conquered an estimated 24 neighboring states and their land. Shortly after his death in 1337, the empire began its decline.
Period: 1327 to 1380

Decline of Mali

Masa Musa's death triggered a civil war which troubled the empire with many bad kings with short reigns between 1340 and 1380. Power was regained by the Musa family, but only for a short period, in 1387, the final descendant of Mansa Musa was killed, triggering a downward spiral.
Period: 1380 to 1600

Fall of Mali

Naini was conquered in 1433 by Tuareg Nomads. In the following century, the Empire sustained attacks from nomads from the east. By 1500 all that was left was its core lands, which were broken into the smaller clans. By the 17th century, little remained of the dominant empire that it once was.