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Oct 19, 2023 · From the 13th to 17th century, West Africa was home to the great Mali Empire. Established by King Sundiata Keita, the kingdom united several smaller, Malinké Kingdoms near the Upper Niger River. Protected by a well-trained, imperial army and benefiting from being in the middle of trade routes, Mali expanded its territory, influence, and ...
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
Apr 4, 2019 · The Mali Empire (known also as the Manding Empire or Manden Kurufa) was a state that dominated West Africa between the 13th and 17th centuries. At its height of power during the 14th century, the Mali Empire ruled over an area larger than western Europe.
- Dhwty
Summary. The Mali Empire is one of the largest and most widely known precolonial African states. It has featured in films, video games, works of fiction, and its memory is still a profound force in the articulation of social and political identities across Mande West Africa.
May 14, 2024 · 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. The Mali Empire flourished under its first king as a centralised government.
The Mali Empire or Manding Empire or Manden Kurufa was a medieval West African state of the Mandinka from c. 1235 to c. 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I.
