Ghana

Today, there is a country named Ghana in western Africa. It is named after the ancient kingdom of Ghana. But the ancient kingdom of Ghana was in a different place. The ancient kingdom of Ghana is located within today's borders of Mauritania, Mali and Senegal in western Africa. Back then, this land had an abundance of resources and Ghana literally sat on a gold mine.

Ancient Ghana was called Wagadugu, Wagadou or Awkar. Ghana" was actually the title given to Wagadugu kings and was used by the Islamic writers to describe the rich and mysterious place they observed.

Evidence of Ghana's occupation dates back to the 4th century. By 1000 B.C., the nation had undergone an important expansion. Its rulers had taken control of the land between the upper Niger and Senegal Rivers, which was rich in gold. Having control of this land meant that Ghana would become a leading force in the trans-Saharan trade network. This was a trade route the went across the Sahara Desert.

The leader with the most power was the king, who was also known as the ghana, or war chief, and his word was law. Its leaders' actions and the country's great location led to Ghana becoming very wealthy. The king of Ghana also used his power to spread international trade. At its peak, Ghana was chiefly bartering gold, ivory and slaves for salt from Arabs and horses, cloth, swords and books from North Africans and Europeans.

Back then, salt was worth its weight in gold. Because gold was so abundant in the kingdom, Ghana achieved much of its wealth through trade with the Arabs. Islamic merchants traveled over two months through the desert to reach Ghana to trade. They were taxed for both what they brought in and what they took out. With this system, it is no wonder that Ghana got rich quickly. Between the 9th and 11th centuries A.D., the kingdom of Ghana was rich. So rich, in fact, that its dogs wore golden collars and its horses wore silken rope halters and slept on plush carpets. Based on animal luxuries alone, it is no wonder that foreigners touted Ghana's kings as the richest men in the world. The wealth that the kingdom acquired did not, however, serve in its favor forever. Competition from other states in the gold trade eventually took its toll.

Jealousy, fear and anger of Ghana's power prompted its neighbors to stand up against the kingdom. Their efforts were at first weak and insignificant. But, by the mid-11th century, a Muslim empire led by a dynasty known as the Almoravids invaded Ghana's capital city of Koumbi Saleh. The Almoravids controlled North Africa and had their base in the area now called Morocco. Some of Ghana's territories were seized and the government had to pay taxes to the Almoravids. But, Ghana eventually recovered and forced the invaders to withdraw.

A little less than 200 years later, however, Ghana was not so lucky. The kingdom was weakened by attacks and cut off from international trade, making it vulnerable and unable to prevent defeat. In A.D. 1240, Ghana was absorbed into the growing nation of Mali, which would soon become the next great empire.

Songhai

The Songhai Empire replaced the Mali Empire as the most important state in West Africa (covering modern southern Mauritania and Mali). Originating as a smaller kingdom along the eastern bend of the Niger River c. 1000, the Songhai would expand their territory quickly.

With its capital at Gao and managing to control trans-Saharan trade through such centers as Timbuktu and Djenne, the Songhai empire prospered throughout the 16th century. By 1469 the Songhai had control of the important trade 'port' of Timbuktu on the Niger River. and by 1473 the other major trade center of the region, Djenne, also on the Niger, had been conquered.

Songhai was able to gain access to the gold supply and monopolise the Saharan caravan trade which brought rock salt and luxury goods like fine cloth, glassware, sugar, and horses to the Sudan region in exchange for gold, ivory, spices, kola nuts, hides, and slaves. Timbuktu, with a population of around 100,000 in the mid-15th century, continued to thrive as a trade 'port' and as a center of learning into the 16th and 17th centuries when the city boasted many mosques and 150-180 schools.

Trade centers, in particular, became sophisticated urban centers with housing built in stone and many having a large public square for regular markets and at least one mosque. Rural communities, meanwhile, continued to be wholly dependent on agriculture, but the presence of rural markets indicates there was usually a food surplus. Certainly, famine was a rare event during the first half of the Songhai Empire's reign, and there are no records of any peasant revolts.