Misplaced Pages

#185814

70-507: From the ninth century, Arab authors mention the Ghana Empire in connection with the trans-Saharan gold trade . Al-Bakri who wrote in eleventh century described the capital of Ghana as consisting of two towns 10 kilometres (6 mi) apart, one inhabited by Muslim merchants, and the other by the king of Ghana. The discovery in 1913 of a 17th-century African chronicle that gave the name of the capital as Koumbi led French archaeologists to

140-468: A different climate and environment . In Libya and Algeria , from at least 7000 BCE, pastoralism (the herding of sheep and goats), large settlements and pottery were present. Cattle were introduced to the Central Sahara ( Ahaggar ) between 4000 and 3500 BCE. Remarkable rock paintings (dated 3500 to 2500 BCE) in arid regions portray flora and fauna that are not present in the modern desert. As

210-539: A zouave , second class, before returning to his formal studies at the École des langues orientales. After receiving his diploma, he was appointed as an assistant to Indigenous Affairs in the new French colony of Côte d'Ivoire . For a period the future ethnologist Charles Monteil was his assistant in the Côte d'Ivoire. Delafosse had disagreements with the French government over the administration of French Africa , and, as

280-478: A 120 mi (200 km) section in northern Niger, but border restrictions still hamper traffic. Only a few trucks carry trans-Saharan trade, particularly fuel and salt. Three other highways across the Sahara are proposed: for further details see Trans-African Highways . Building the highways is difficult because of sandstorms. Maurice Delafosse Maurice Delafosse (20 December 1870 – 13 November 1926)

350-405: A caravan, an average one would amount to 1,000 camels, but some caravans were as large as 12,000. The caravans were guided by highly-paid Berbers , who knew the desert and could ensure protection from fellow desert nomads . The caravans' survival relied on careful coordination: runners would be sent ahead to oases for water to be shipped out to the caravan when it was still several days away, as

420-442: A city wall. In the king's town, and not far from his courts of justice, is a mosque where Muslims who arrive in his court pray. Around the king's town are domed buildings and groves and thickets where the sorcerers of these people, men in charge of the religious cult, live. The descriptions provided by the early Arab authors lack sufficient detail to pinpoint the exact location of the town. The much later 17th-century African chronicle,

490-400: A common language of trade and the increase of literacy through Quranic schools , also facilitated commerce. Muslim merchants conducting commerce also gradually spread Islam along their trade network. Social interactions with Muslim merchants led many Africans to convert to Islam, and many merchants married local women and raised their children as Muslims. Islam spread into Western Sudan by

560-585: A desert, the Sahara is now a hostile expanse that separates the Mediterranean economy from the economy of the Niger River Basin . As Fernand Braudel points out, crossing such a zone, especially without mechanized transport, is worthwhile only when exceptional circumstances cause the expected gain to outweigh the cost and the danger. Trade was conducted by caravans of camels . According to Maghrebi explorer Ibn Battuta , who once traveled with

630-520: A footnote in which they comment that local tradition also suggested that the first capital of Kayamagna was at Koumbi and that the town was in the Ouagadou region in Mali, northeast of Goumbou on the road leading from Goumbou to Néma and Oualata . Ann Kritzinger, relying on a re-reading of ibn Battuta and other Arabic writers, has argued that the archaeological site of Koumbi Saleh in fact represents

700-419: A marketplace. The main mosque was centrally placed on the avenue. It measured approximately 46 m east to west and 23 m north to south. The western end was probably open to the sky. The mihrab faced due east. The upper section of the town covered an area of 700 m by 700 m. To the southwest lay a lower area (500 m by 700 m) that would have been occupied by less permanent structures and

770-462: A plaster of red mud, featured decorative slabs of slate with intricate painted designs, including epigraphic, geometric and floral motifs. Throughout its existence, the Kumbi Saleh mosque has undergone several phases of expansion and renovation. Later extensions raised the height of the prayer hall to about 3 metres, supported by columns with stone drums on top. Architectural excavations revealed

SECTION 10

#1732771962186

840-576: A series of mihrabs, demonstrating the mosque's continuous adaptation to the changing needs of its community. The urban vitality of Kumbi Saleh is exemplified by the successive additions and alterations to the mosque, demonstrating the historical importance of the area as a cultural and religious centre. Similarly, the mosque of Awdaghust shares many architectural characteristics with the mosque of Kumbi Saleh, with stone construction and decorative elements, albeit with unique variations reflecting its own historical context and development. The archaeological site

910-525: A twelfth-century writer, described Ghana's royal city as lying on a riverbank, a river he called the "Nile." This followed the geographic custom of his day, which confused the Niger and Senegal Rivers and believed that they formed a single river often called the "Nile of the Blacks". Whether al-Idrisi was referring to a new and later capital located elsewhere, or whether there was confusion or corruption in his text

980-524: Is known for his contributions to West African history and African languages. He began his study of Arabic in 1890 at the École des langues orientales with the renowned orientalist , Octave Houdas. He traveled to Algeria in 1891 with the Frères armés du Sahara, a Catholic organization concerned with combating the Trans-Saharan slave trade. Shortly afterwards, he spent one year in the French military as

1050-418: Is likely that some of the buildings had more than one storey. The rooms were quite narrow, probably due to the absence of large trees to provide long rafters to support the ceilings. The houses were densely packed together and separated by narrow streets. In contrast a wide avenue, up to 12 m in width, ran in an east–west direction across the town. At the western end lay an open site that was probably used as

1120-665: Is likely that the Empire's trade was privileged as a result. Around 1050, Ghana lost Aoudaghost to the Almoravids , but new goldmines around Bure reduced trade through the city, instead benefiting the Malinke of the south, who later founded the Mali Empire . Unlike Ghana, Mali was a Muslim kingdom since its foundation, and under it, the gold–salt trade continued. Other, less important trade goods were slaves, kola nuts from

1190-412: Is now Mali , Senegal , and southern Mauritania , accompanied the increase in trans-Saharan trade. Northern economies were short of gold but at times controlled salt mines such as Taghaza in the Sahara, whereas West African countries like Wangara had plenty of gold but needed salt. Taghaza, a trading and mining outpost where Ibn Battuta recorded the buildings were made of salt, rose to preeminence in

1260-534: Is unclear. However, he does state that the royal palace he knew was built in 510 AH (1116–1117 AD), suggesting that it was a newer town, rebuilt closer to the river than Koumbi Saleh. This has led to the suggestion that at some point the capital may have been moved south to the Niger River. In the French translation of the Tarikh al-fattash published in 1913, Octave Houdas and Maurice Delafosse include

1330-467: Is unknown but there is evidence that North Africa had begun importing gold from West Africa before the Arab conquest in the middle of the seventh century. In the medieval Arabic sources the word "Ghana" can refer to a royal title, the name of a capital city or a kingdom. The earliest reference to Ghana as a town is by al-Khuwarizmi who died in around 846 AD. Two centuries later a detailed description of

1400-661: The Tarikh al-fattash , states that the Malian Empire was preceded by the Kayamagna dynasty which had a capital at a town called Koumbi. The chronicle does not use the word Ghana. The other important 17th-century chronicle, the Tarikh al-Sudan mentions that the Malian Empire came after the dynasty of Qayamagha which had its capital at the city of Ghana. It is assumed that the "Kayamagna" or "Qayamagha" dynasty ruled

1470-588: The Berber town of Awdaghost , and that the capital of the Ghana Empire was Djenne . The extensive ruins at Koumbi Saleh were first reported by Albert Bonnel de Mézières in 1914. The site lies in the Sahel region of southern Mauritania , 30 km north of the Malian border, 57 km south-southeast of Timbédra and 98 km northwest of the town of Nara in Mali. The vegetation is low grass with thorny scrub and

SECTION 20

#1732771962186

1540-555: The French invasion of the Sahel in the 1890s and subsequent construction of railways to the interior. A railway line from Dakar to Algiers via the Niger bend was planned but never constructed. With the independence of nations in the region in the 1960s, the north–south routes were severed by national boundaries. National governments were hostile to Tuareg nationalism and so made few efforts to maintain or support trans-Saharan trade, and

1610-613: The Horn of Africa . Records exist documenting knowledge of the route among Senusret I , Seti, Ramesses IV and also, later, the Roman Empire , especially for mining. The Darb al-Arbaʿīn trade route, passing through Kharga in the south and Asyut in the north, was used from as early as the Old Kingdom for the transport and trade of gold , ivory , spices , wheat , animals and plants. Later, Ancient Romans would protect

1680-554: The Tuareg rebellion of the 1990s and Algerian Civil War further disrupted these routes, closing many. Traditional caravan routes are largely void of camels, but the shorter Azalai routes from Agadez to Bilma and Timbuktu to Taoudenni are still regularly—if lightly—used. Some members of the Tuareg still use the traditional trade routes, often traveling 2,400 km (1,500 mi) and six months out of every year by camel across

1750-698: The Wadi Hammamat from the Nile to the Red Sea was known as early as predynastic times; drawings depicting Egyptian reed boats have been found along the path dating to 4000 BCE. Ancient cities dating to the First Dynasty of Egypt arose along both its Nile and Red Sea junctions, testifying to the route's ancient popularity. It became a major route from Thebes to the Red Sea port of Elim , where travelers then moved on to either Asia , Arabia or

1820-609: The factories established on the coast since 1445, and trade with Europeans became of prime importance to West Africa. North Africa had declined in both political and economic importance, while the Saharan crossing remained long and treacherous. However, the major blow to trans-Saharan trade was the Battle of Tondibi of 1591–92. In a major military expedition organized by the Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur , Morocco sent troops across

1890-426: The 1st century CE, safeguarding the southern border of the empire for two and half centuries. The Garamantes also engaged in the trans-Saharan slave trade . The Garamantes used slaves in their own communities to construct and maintain underground irrigation systems known as the foggara . Early records of trans-Saharan slave trade come from ancient Greek historian Herodotus in the 5th century BCE, who records

1960-641: The 5th century BCE, was stimulated by its position at the southern end of a trans-Saharan trade route. To the east, three ancient routes connected the south to the Mediterranean. The herdsmen of the Fezzan of Libya , known as the Garamantes, controlled these routes as early as 1500 BCE. From their capital of Germa in the Wadi Ajal, the Garamantean Empire raided north to the sea and south into

2030-512: The 7th and 8th centuries. Two main trade routes developed. The first ran through the western desert from modern Morocco to the Niger bend, the second from modern Tunisia to the Lake Chad area. These stretches were relatively short and had the essential network of occasional oases that established the routing as inexorably as pins in a map. Further east of the Fezzan with its trade route through

2100-570: The Awdaghust, found in the Adrar and Hodh regions. Despite the limited historical documentation, these mosques are of great importance in understanding the architectural heritage of the region. In particular, in the eleventh century, Al-Bakri identified Kumbi Saleh as the capital of the Kingdom of Wagadu, also known as the Kingdom of Ghana. Situated in what was probably a Sahelian steppe environment,

2170-514: The Garamantes enslaving cave-dwelling Egyptians in Sudan. Two records of Romans accompanying the Garamantes on slave raiding expeditions are recorded - the first in 86 CE and the second a few years later to Lake Chad . Initial sources of slaves were the Toubou people , but by the 1st century CE, the Garamantes were obtaining slaves from modern day Niger and Chad . In the early Roman Empire ,

Koumbi Saleh - Misplaced Pages Continue

2240-612: The Mosque of Kumbi Saleh has undergone numerous transformations and extensions throughout its history. Original measurements suggest that the building spanned approximately 46 metres on the east-west axis and 23 metres on the north-south axis, making it one of the larger structures of its time. First observations by Raymond Mauny and Paul Thomassey in 1950 led to extensive excavations between 1979 and 1982 by Serge Robert, which provided important insights into its architectural development. The mosque, built primarily of dry stone and decorated with

2310-555: The Roman Empire. Herodotus wrote of the Garamantes hunting Ethiopian Troglodytes from chariots ; this account was associated with depictions of horses drawing chariots in contemporary cave art in southern Morocco and the Fezzan , giving origin to a theory that the Garamantes or some other Saharan people had created chariot routes to provide Rome and Carthage with gold and ivory. However, it has been argued that no horse skeletons have been found dating from this early period in

2380-491: The Sahara and attacked Timbuktu, Gao and some other important trading centres, destroying buildings and property and exiling prominent citizens. This disruption to trade led to a dramatic decline in the importance of these cities and the resulting animosity reduced trade considerably. Although much reduced, trans-Saharan trade continued. But trade routes to the West African coast became increasingly easy, particularly after

2450-476: The Sahara trading in salt carried from the desert interior to communities on the desert edges. The African Union and African Development Bank support the Trans-Sahara Highway from Algiers to Lagos via Tamanrasset , to stimulate economic development, and the latter noted an increase in traffic at the border with Chad due to exports to Algeria crossing Niger. The route is paved except for

2520-501: The Sahel. By the 4th century BCE, the independent city-states of Phoenicia had expanded their control to the territory and routes once held by the Garamantes. Shillington states that existing contact with the Mediterranean received added incentive with the growth of the port city of Carthage . Founded c. 800 BCE, Carthage became one terminus for West African gold, ivory, and slaves. West Africa received salt, cloth, beads, and metal goods. Shillington proceeds to identify this trade route as

2590-456: The caravans could usually not carry enough to make the full journey. In the mid-14th century CE, Ibn Battuta crossed the desert from Sijilmasa via the salt mines at Taghaza to the oasis of Oualata . A guide was sent ahead, and water was brought over a four-day journey from Oualata to meet the caravan. Culture and religion were also exchanged on the trans-Saharan trade routes. Many West African states eventually adopted Arabic writing and

2660-558: The city of Lepcis established a slave market to buy and sell slaves from the African interior. The empire imposed customs tax on the trade of slaves. In the 5th century CE, Roman Carthage was trading in black slaves brought across the Sahara. Black slaves seem to have been valued in the Mediterranean as household slaves for their exotic appearance. Some historians argue that the scale of slave trade in this period may have been higher than medieval times due to high demand of slaves in

2730-522: The city was a hub for the exchange of gold, iron, salt, ivory, and other commodities. One of the most significant archaeological discoveries at Koumbi Saleh was the uncovering of large numbers of Islamic coins, ceramics, and glassware. This suggests that the city had extensive trading links with other Islamic regions such as North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. The coins were minted in locations as far away as Baghdad, providing evidence of

2800-464: The empire of Ghana mentioned in the early Arabic sources. In recent years, the identification of Koumbi Saleh with the 'city of Ghana' described in the sources has been increasingly disputed by scholars. No inscription has been found to unambiguously link the ruins with the Muslim capital of Ghana described by al-Bakri. Moreover, the ruins of the king's town of Al-Ghaba have not been found. al-Idrisi ,

2870-547: The end of the 10th century , into Chad by the 11th century , and into Hausa lands in 12th and 13th centuries . By 1200, many ruling elites in Western Africa had converted to Islam, and from 1200 to 1500 saw a significant conversion to Islam in Africa. The Portuguese forays along the West African coast opened up new avenues for trade between Europe and West Africa. By the early 16th century, European trading bases,

Koumbi Saleh - Misplaced Pages Continue

2940-399: The environs are wells with sweet water, from which they drink and with which they grow vegetables. The king's town is six miles [10 km] distant from this one and bears the name of Al-Ghāba. Between these two towns are continuous habitations. The houses of the inhabitants are of stone and acacia wood. The king has a palace and a number of domed dwellings all surrounded with an enclosure like

3010-496: The far-reaching trade networks that once existed in West Africa. The French archaeologist Raymond Mauny estimated that the town would have accommodated between 15,000 and 20,000 inhabitants, acknowledging that this is an enormous population for a town in the Sahara with a very limited supply of water ("Chiffre énorme pour une ville saharienne"). The archaeological excavations at Koumbi Saleh have provided valuable insights into

3080-421: The form of bricks, bars, blank coins, and gold dust went to Sijilmasa , from which it went out to Mediterranean ports and in which it was struck into Almoravid dinars . The spread of Islam to sub-Saharan African was linked to trans-Saharan trade. Islam spread via trade routes, and Africans converting to Islam increased trade and commerce which increased the trade's population. Historians give many reasons for

3150-542: The major trade centres in what is now Mauritania, while the Tuareg towns of Assodé and later Agadez grew around a more easterly route in what is now Niger . The eastern trans-Saharan route led to the development of the long-lived Kanem–Bornu Empire as well as the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires, centred on the Lake Chad area. This trade route was somewhat less efficient and only rose to great prominence when there

3220-466: The occasional acacia tree. In the wet season (July–September) the limited rain fills a number of depressions, but for the rest of the year there is no rain and no surface water. Beginning with Bonnel de Mézières in 1914, the site has been excavated by successive teams of French archaeologists. Paul Thomassey and Raymond Mauny excavated between 1949 and 1951, Serge Robert during 1975-76 and Sophie Berthier during 1980–81. The urban planning of Koumbi Saleh

3290-428: The occasional stone building. There were two large cemeteries outside the town suggesting that the site was occupied over an extended period. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal fragments from a house near the mosque have given dates that range between the late 5th and the 14th centuries, with the main period of urbanization extending from the 11th to the 14th centuries. The archaeology of Koumbi Saleh provides insight into

3360-437: The political, economic, and social structures of the Ghana Empire. The city's ruins and ancient artifacts have been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, and ongoing research continues to shed light on the rich history of West Africa's ancient kingdoms. Believed to have been built between the ninth and fourteenth centuries, the Kumbi Saleh mosque is one of the earliest recognised structures among its counterparts, such as

3430-512: The region, and chariots would have been unlikely vehicles for trading purposes due to their small capacity. The earliest evidence for domesticated camels in the region dates from the 3rd century. Used by the Berbers , they enabled more regular contact across the entire width of the Sahara, but regular trade routes did not develop until the beginnings of the Islamic conversion of West Africa in

3500-815: The religion of North Africa, resulting in these states' absorption into the Muslim world . Ancient trade spanned the northeastern corner of the Sahara in the Naqadan era. Predynastic Egyptians in the Naqada I period traded with Nubia to the south, the oases of the Western Desert to the west, and the cultures of the eastern Mediterranean to the east. Many trading routes went from oasis to oasis to resupply on both food and water. These oases were very important. They also imported obsidian from Senegal to shape blades and other objects. The overland route through

3570-465: The route by lining it with varied forts and small outposts, some guarding large settlements complete with cultivation. Described by Herodotus as a road "traversed ... in forty days", it became by his time an important land route facilitating trade between Nubia and Egypt , and subsequently became known as the Forty Days Road. From Kobbei , 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of al-Fashir ,

SECTION 50

#1732771962186

3640-524: The route passed through the desert to Bir Natrum, another oasis and salt mine, to Wadi Howar before proceeding to Egypt. The Darb el-Arbain trade route was the easternmost of the central routes. The westernmost of the three central routes was the Ghadames Road , which ran from the Niger River at Gao north to Ghat and Ghadames before terminating at Tripoli . Next was the easiest of

3710-406: The ruins at Koumbi Saleh. Excavations at the site have revealed the ruins of a large Muslim town with houses built of stone and a congregational mosque but no inscription to unambiguously identify the site as that of capital of Ghana. Ruins of the king's town described by al-Bakri have not been found. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the site was occupied between the late 5th and 14th centuries, with

3780-497: The salt trade under the hegemony of the Almoravid Empire . The salt was mined by slaves and purchased with manufactured goods from Sijilmasa. Miners cut thin rectangular slabs of salt directly out of the desert floor, and caravan merchants transported them south, charging a transportation fee of almost 80% of the salt's value. The salt was traded at the market of Timbuktu almost weight for weight with gold. The gold, in

3850-399: The source for West African iron smelting. Trade continued into Roman times. Although there are Classical references to direct travel from the Mediterranean to West Africa (Daniels, p. 22f), most of this trade was conducted through middlemen, inhabiting the area and aware of passages through the drying lands. The Legio III Augusta subsequently secured these routes on behalf of Rome by

3920-650: The south and slave beads and cowry shells from the north (for use as currency). It was under Mali that the great cities of the Niger bend—including Gao and Djenné —prospered, with Timbuktu in particular becoming known across Europe for its great wealth. Important trading centers in southern West Africa developed at the transitional zone between the forest and the savanna; examples include Begho and Bono Manso (in present-day Ghana) and Bondoukou (in present-day Côte d'Ivoire ). Western trade routes continued to be important, with Ouadane , Oualata and Chinguetti being

3990-444: The spread of Islam facilitating trade. Islam established common values and rules upon which trade was conducted. It created a network of believers who trust each other and therefore trade with each other even if they do not personally know each other. Such trade networks existed before Islam but on a much smaller scale. The spread of Islam increased the number of nodes in the network and decreased its vulnerability. The use of Arabic as

4060-582: The three routes: the Garamantean Road, named after the former rulers of the land it passed through and also called the Bilma Trail . The Garamantean Road passed south of the desert near Murzuk before turning north to pass between the Alhaggar and Tibesti Mountains before reaching the oasis at Kawar . From Kawar, caravans would pass over the great sand dunes of Bilma , where rock salt

4130-452: The town is provided by al-Bakri in his Book of Routes and Realms which he completed in around 1068. Al-Bakri never visited the region but obtained his information from earlier writers and from informants that he met in his native Spain: The city of Ghāna consists of two towns situated on a plain. One of these towns, which is inhabited by Muslims, is large and possesses twelve mosques, in one of which they assemble for Friday prayer. ... In

4200-505: The urban period extending approximately from the 11th to the 14th centuries. The earliest author to mention Ghana is the Persian astronomer Ibrahim al-Fazari who, writing at the end of the eighth century, refers to "the territory of Ghana, the land of gold". The Ghana Empire lay in the Sahel region to the north of the West African gold fields and was able to profit from controlling the trans-Saharan gold trade. The early history of Ghana

4270-517: The urbanization process of one of the earliest West African states. According to Es'andah (1976), the city was either founded or greatly expanded upon in the 8th century AD with recent estimates in the last 2 decades of a possible foundation period as far back as the 2nd century to 1st century BCE and as of the 8th century AD served as the primary epicenter of a vast trade network that spanned the Sahara Desert. Archaeological evidence suggests that

SECTION 60

#1732771962186

4340-414: The use of mosques and the orientation of streets towards Mecca. The main section of the town lay on a small hill that nowadays rises to about 15 m above the surrounding plain. The hill would have originally been lower as part of the present height is a result of the accumulated ruins. The houses were constructed from local stone ( schist ) using banco rather than mortar. From the quantity of debris it

4410-514: The valley of Kaouar to Lake Chad, Libya was impassable due to its lack of oases and fierce sandstorms. Several trade routes became established, perhaps the most important terminating in Sijilmasa ( Morocco ) and Ifriqiya to the north. There, and in other North African cities, Berber traders had increased contact with Islam, encouraging conversions, and by the 8th century, Muslims were traveling to Ghana. Many in Ghana converted to Islam, and it

4480-730: Was Benghazi to Kufra to the lands of the Wadai Empire between Lake Chad and Darfur. The western routes were the Walata Road past present-day Oualata, Mauritania , from the Sénégal River , and the Taghaza Trail , from the Niger River, past the salt mines of Taghaza , north to the great trading center of Sijilmasa , situated in Morocco just north of the desert. The growth of the city of Aoudaghost , founded in

4550-526: Was a French ethnographer and colonial official who also worked in the field of the languages of Africa . In a review of his daughter's biography of him he was described as "one of the most outstanding French colonial administrators and ethnologists of his time." Delafosse was born on 20 December 1870 in the village of Sancergues in central France. He was the son of René Françoise Célestin Delafosse and Elise Marie Bidault and had five siblings. Delafosse

4620-604: Was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on June 14, 2001 in the Cultural category. Trans-saharan trade Trans-Saharan trade is trade between sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa that requires travel across the Sahara . Though this trade began in prehistoric times , the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the early 17th century CE. The Sahara once had

4690-455: Was complex and well-organized. Connah (2008) notes that the city was divided into two main areas: the royal palace and the commercial district. The palace was located on a raised platform and was surrounded by a moat. The commercial district consisted of a large central market and numerous smaller markets that specialized in specific goods. Insoll (1997) suggests that the layout of the city was influenced by Islamic urban planning principles, such as

4760-509: Was mined in great quantities for trade, before reaching the savanna north of Lake Chad . This was the shortest of the routes, and the primary exchanges were slaves and ivory from the south for salt. One early 20th century researcher wrote of the Tripoli-Murzuk-Lake Chad route , "Most of the [trans-Saharan] traffic from the Mediterranean coast during the last 2,000 years has passed along this road." Another Libyan route

4830-476: Was the son of slave, and relied on an army of black slaves for support. The West African states imported highly trained slave soldiers. It has been estimated that from the 10th to the 19th century some 6,000 to 7,000 enslaved people were transported north each year. Perhaps as many as nine million enslaved people were exported along the trans-Saharan caravan route. The rise of the Ghana Empire , in what

4900-570: Was turmoil in the west such as during the Almohad conquests. The trans-Saharan slave trade , established in Antiquity , continued during the Middle Ages . The slaves brought from across the Sahara were mainly used by wealthy families as domestic servants, and concubines. Some served in the military forces of Egypt and Morocco. For example, the 17th century sultan Mawlay Ismail himself

#185814