Mali Empire Research Paper

The kingdom of Mali was established around 1235 CE. Sundiata Keita was a ruler who formed the empire of Mali. Mansa Sundiata and his grandson Mansa Musa are known as two of the most influential Malian kings. The capital city of the empire was Niani. Around the year 1000 CE, West Africa was home to three major kingdoms, the Mali, Ghana, and Sosso. Ghana was a massive empire, sustained by trade routes stretching across the continent. Mali was a smaller kingdom and a province within the empire of Ghana. One of the aspiring rulers was Soumaoro, king of the city of Sosso. The Sosso started invading and conquering other cities and managed to invade Mali. However, Soumaoro found himself opposed by a Mali leader of the Keita clan named Sundiata. Sundiata

The people of Mali occupied land as far west as the Atlantic Ocean. They also traveled as far east as Gao, the capital of the Songhai, as far south as the Niger bend, and as far north as the Sahara desert. The Mali was situated on an ecotone, an area that straddled the borders of desert, Sahel, and savanna. Mali Empire controlled important trade routes across the Sahara Desert to Europe and the Middle East. All of the Gold was owned by the king. The Mali Empire had 2 immense gold mines.Traders from Mali carefully controlled the breeding and use of horses in West Africa. Traders moved their goods across the Sahara in large groups called caravans. Camels were the main mode of transportation and were used to carry goods and people.The camel was the most important part of the caravan. Without the camel, trade across the Sahara would have been impossible. Sometimes slaves carried goods as well. Travel by camel caravan was slow, strenuous, and dangerous. Gold and Salt was the most important industry. Another thing they traded was copper. Salt was mostly traded in the south of Africa where it was most needed. Copper was traded in bars. It was mined from Takeda in the north, and then traded in the south for gold. 60 copper bars were traded for 100

The empire was then divided up into a territory that were each led by a governor called a ferba. Mali is among the poorest countries in the world, with 65% of its land area desert or semidesert. The military of the Mali Empire which dominated western Africa from the mid 13th to the late 15th century. The military culture of the empire’s driving force, the Mandinka people. The Mandinka were early adopters of iron in West Africa, and the role of blacksmiths was one of great religious and military prestige among