Introduction

 

My only resource was the Internet, I choose to research the three major trading empires of early Western Africa. The time period of these empires ranged from the early 300`s AD to 1612 AD. The major empires of the period include…

 

Ghana was the first Sudanic Empire south of the Niger River. The empire began in 300 AD and lasted until they were concurred in 1087 AD.

 

Mali was the second Sudanic Empire. Mali began in 1230 and ended in 1412. The history of medieval Mali is essential in the understanding the history of Africa.

 

The two Empires I am covering here are the best documented of the ancient west African empires, other states that emerged from the migration westward were Nok, Mossi, and Kanem.  However, there is very little documentation available on these empires.

 

What is known is since the Third Punic War, the Romans controlled all the coastline of northern Africa.  In the fourth century, however, the Romans pulled out.  That left the desert Berbers, an indigenous African people.

 

The Berbers were primarily a nomadic people and would eventually play a critical role in the spread of the Islam religion across northern Africa.

 

In the fifth century, they formed a new kingdom called Ghana. However, I need to point out the single most important development in the history of Western Africa was the use of the camel for transportation. In ancient times there was just a trickle of trade with West Africa. The reason for this was the Sahara, which simply means the desert. Around 750 under the influence of Islamic peoples Africans began to use the camels to transport goods across this forbidding terrain. Camels do several things very well: they can carry unbelievable loads for long distances, and keep there footing on sandy terrain.