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Timeline. 250 BCE - 1100 CE. The city of Djenne-Djenno flourishes in West Africa . 1230 CE - 1255 CE. Reign of Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire . 1235 CE. Sundiata Keita defeats Sumanguru, the king of Sosso, and establishes independence for the Malinke. 1240 CE - 1645 CE. The Mali Empire rules in West Africa .
- Mark Cartwright
- Publishing Director
Apr 9, 2024 · Mali empire, trading empire that flourished in western Africa from the 13th to the 16th century. Mali rose to the apogee of its power under Mansa Musa (1307–32?). It later outgrew its political and military strength and by about 1550 ceased to be important as a political entity.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- West Africa & The Sudan Region
- Sundiata Keita & Government
- Trade & Timbuktu
- Mansa Musa I
- Spread of Islam
- Mali Architecture
- Mali Art & Culture
- Decline
The Sudan region of West Africa where the Mali Empire would develop had been inhabited since the Neolithic period as evidenced by Iron Age tumuli, megaliths, and remains of abandoned villages. The Niger River regularly flooded parts of this dry grassland and savannah, which provided fertile land for agriculturebeginning at least 3,500 years ago, an...
Sundiata Keita (aka Sunjaata or Sundjata, r. 1230-1255) was a Malinke prince, whose name means 'lion prince', and he waged war against the kingdom of Sosso from the 1230s. Sundiata formed a powerful alliance of other disgruntled chiefs tired of Sumanguru's harsh rule and defeated the Sosso in a decisive battle at Krina (aka Kirina) in 1235. In 1240...
Like its political predecessors, the Mali Empire prospered thanks to trade and its prime location, situated between the rain forests of southern West Africa and the powerful Muslim caliphates of North Africa. The Niger River provided ready access to Africa's interior and Atlantic coast, while the Berber-controlled camel caravans that crossed the Sa...
After a string of seemingly lacklustre rulers, the Mali Empire enjoyed its second golden era during the reign of Mansa Musa I in the first half of the 13th century. With an army numbering around 100,000 men, including an armoured cavalry corps of 10,000 horses, and with the talented general Saran Mandian, Mansa Musa was able to maintain and extend ...
Islam spread through parts of West Africa via the Arab merchants who traded there. Noted Muslim travellers and chroniclers like Ibn Battuta (1304 - c. 1369) and Ibn Khaldin (1332-1406) recorded that even Mali's first ruler Sundiata converted to Islam. However, the Malinke oral tradition, which was kept up over the generations by specialised bards (...
The buildings of the Mali Empire, some of which like the Sankore mosque in Timbuktu still stand, are one of the most recognisable features of the region and have become international symbols of Africa's rich pre-colonial history. Mali architects had a distinct disadvantage because of the rarity of stone in the region, and for this reason, buildings...
We have already noted that the Malinke had a rich tradition of recounting legends and community histories orally by specialised story-tellers know as griots. These stories, passed down from generation to generation (and continuing today), were often accompanied by music. During the Mali Empire, there were even songs reserved for certain people who ...
The Mali Empire was in decline by the 15th century. The ill-defined rules for royal succession often led to civil wars as brothers and uncles fought each other for the throne. Then, as trade routes opened up elsewhere, several rival kingdoms developed to the west, notably the Songhai. European ships, especially those belonging to the Portuguese, we...
- Mark Cartwright
The Empire of Mali was one of the largest empires in West African History, and at its height, it spanned from the Atlantic Coast to central parts of the Sahara desert . The Empire was founded in 1235 CE by the legendary King Sundiata and lasted until the early 1600s CE .
May 14, 2024 · published on 14 May 2024. Did you know that at the time, the Mali Empire was the largest empire Africa had seen? Founded by Sundiata Keita in 1240, the Mali Empire became the wealthiest kingdom of West Africa and was Africa’s largest empire up to that time.
Aug 26, 2020 · 26 August 2020. A chronology of key events: 11th century - Empire of Mali becomes dominant force in the upper Niger basin, its period of greatness beginning under King Sundiata in 1235 and...
“The Empires of the Western Sudan: Mali Empire.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mali/hd_mali.htm (October 2000)
