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300
Ghana 1
Silent Barter is a process in which people exchange goods with out contacting each other directly. -
Jan 1, 800
Ghana 2
Ghana was firmly in control of West Africa’s trade routes. Nearly all trade between northern and southern Africa passed through Ghana. -
Jan 1, 1000
Ghana 3
Ghana was rich and powerful, but by the early 1200s, the empire had collapsed. Three major factors contributed to its end. -
Jan 1, 1000
Songhai 2
Strong kingdoms also arose in other parts of Africa. Great Zimbabwe, for example, was a powerful kingdom in southern Afri-ca. Great Zimbabwe was founded in the late 1000s as a small trading and herding center. -
Jan 1, 1230
Mali 1
When Sundiata was a boy, a harsh ruler conquered Mali. But as an adult, Sundiata built up an army and won back his country’s independence. He then conquered nearby kingdoms, including Ghana, in the 1230s. -
Jan 1, 1431
Mali 2
When Mansa Musa died, his son Maghan (MAH-gan) took the throne. Maghan was a weak ruler. When raiders from the southeast poured into Mali, he couldn’t stop them. -
Jan 1, 1431
Mali 3
As ruler, Sunni Ali worked to unify, strengthen, and enlarge his empire. Much of the land that he added to Songhai had been part of Mali. -
Jan 1, 1500
Songhai 3
Trade made Great Zimbabwe’s rulers wealthy and powerful. They built a huge stone-walled fortress to protect their capi-tal. In the 1400s the gold trade declined. Deprived of its main source of wealth, Great Zimbabwe weakened. By 1500 it was no longer a political and trading center. -
Songhai 1
A northern rival of Songhai, Morocco, wanted to gain control of Songhai’s salt mines. So the Moroccan army set out for the heart of Songhai in 1591.
