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300
Ghana
Ghana was the first group of people in Africa to use iron weapons and farming tools which caused them to become a much larger empire. Food became plentiful and they created silent barter. -
Jan 1, 1200
Silent barter
Silent barter allowed the people of Ghana and other countries to trade without meeting directly. -
Jan 1, 1230
Mali
Mali was great because it had very fertile soil and great money that Mali earned from trade on the Niger river. The ruler, Sundiata, brought lots of crops to Mali and took over Ghana and most trade routes in the area. Sundiata took power away from all local leaders and controlled the land successfully. -
Jan 1, 1240
Taking Over Trade and Farming
Mali took over some of Ghana's trade routes and had there own trade routes which meant huge money for Mali. A good portion of there money came from salt and gold trade. Sundiata cleared out some farming area to plant new crops that Mali did not have such as beans, onions, cotton, and many more crops. -
Jan 1, 1300
Ghana's Fall
Ghana fell for multiple reasons. The first reason is because of a huge invasion. The Almoravids (people from the north) went down south and fought for years to capture Ghana. The second reason why Ghana fell is the Almoravids brought lots farm animals which caused overgrazing. The sand blowing in the wind caused the soil's fertile value was dwindle to nothing, leaving the Almoravids with no crops. The final reason why Ghana fell was because of rebels who eventually took down the Almoravids. -
Jan 1, 1312
Mansa Musa
Mansa Musa was the most popular ruler of Ghana. Mansa Musa was such a skilled leader that he brought Mali to the height of its wealth, power, and fame. He spread the Islamic religion, introduced many new trade cities to Mali, and cared very much about education. He sent many scholars to build and teach in schools in Mali. -
Jan 1, 1400
Songhai
Songhai originally was take over by the empire of Mali but during Mali's decline, Songhai regained there independence. They had no order until 1464 when Sunni Ali became the ruler. He guided the empire to trade with the northwest. That is when Songhai became very wealthy. The empire took over much land including part of Mali. -
Jan 1, 1431
The Fall of Mali
Mali fell because Mansa Musa died and his son took over as ruler. His sons name was Maghan. Raiders from the south east came and hit Mali hard. Maghan couldn't stop them from attacking. This was just the begging of the end of Mali. As Mali kept declining A group of Nomads from the Sahara called the Tuareg attacked Timbuktu and groups kept attacking until about 1500 when Mali completely crumbled. -
The Fall of Songhai
Songhai fell because there greatest rival, Morocco, wanted the salt mines that Songhai had so the Moroccan army marched into the heart of Songhai in an attempt to take them down. The people of Songhai didn't have a fighting chance against Morocco because Morocco had guns and cannons. The final action that took down Songhai was lack of money because everyone stopped trading with them.
