Ghana continue
The fall of Ancient Ghana
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For more information read pages 362-367 in your text book.
For additional information check out the following websites:
Empire of Ancient Ghana
Wrapped in Pride
Republic of Ghana
History of Kente
Strip cloth
Ghana
The People of Ghana
The strength and territorial expansion of ancient Ghana greatly threatened its neighbors of their independence and they felt they had to put a halt to it. The wealth of ancient Ghana also attracted to it, envy from its neighbors and distant nations, which conspired to take control of its gold mines and the Trans-Saharan international trade. In the ninth century AD, a leader of the Berber tribe named Tilutane united a number of Berber units into a confederacy with the aim of taking over control of the ancient nation of Ghana. They failed to achieve their objective, but nevertheless annexed the important commercial town of Audaghost in 990 AD. Their victory was short lived as Audaghost was recovered by the ancient nation of Ghana. The Berbers reunited again under the leadership of Tarsina and launched another fruitless attack on ancient Ghana. Tarsina lost his life and was succeeded by his brother-in-law, Mahya Ibn Ibrahim. Yahya Ibn Ibrahim introduced a religious man named, Ibn Yasin among the Berbers who later introduced the "Almoravid movement". The term "Almoravid" is derived from the Arabic word "Al-murabitin" which means "people of the monastery". It was used to refer to fanatical Muslims who came up in the northwestern Sudan in the eleventh century. They were rebuffed, when they started preaching to the Sanhaja Berbers to return to the pure Islamic way of life and were forced to exiled to an island by the river Senegal, where they recruited new members and increased their strength. In 1042 AD Ibn Yasin launched a militant attack on the Berbers in an effort to bring them back to the pure Islamic way of life and to convert the pagan tribes to Islam. In 1054 AD a wing of Almoravids attacked and recaptured Audaghost and annexed Kumbi Saleh, the capital city of ancient Ghana. In 1087 AD Ghana regained its independence when the Berbers appointed leader, Abubakar died in 1087 AD. Arabic historian, Ibn Khaldun, narrated about the Almoravid�s invasion of ancient Ghana in the following words; "The domination of the people of Ghana weakened them and their power declined, while that of the veiled men of the Berberland (The Almoravids) adjoining them to the north increased. They overcame the Negroes (The people of Ghana), plundered their territories, imposed upon them the tribute and poll tax, and forced many of them to join Islam. Meanwhile the ancient nation of Ghana was plunged into chaos as many vassal states began to declare their independence. The Silla, Tekrur, and Anbara amongst others declared themselves independent of Ghana and attacked Kumbi Saleh. This forced the Arab merchants to flee to a new place called Walata in 1224 and establish a new commercial city. This ended the Trans-Saharan international trade in the ancient nation of Ghana, which made the government and the citizens impoverished, because they had depended greatly on Ghana�s wealth. The weakened army failed to suppress the increasing rebellions and unending attacks of the Almoravids. The final and total collapse of the ancient nation of Ghana came in 1240 AD when it was annexed by King Sundiata of the emerging nation of Mali. Sundiata reduced the famous nation of Ghana, which lasted for almost a thousand years, to a mere city, the city of Kumbi Saleh. Ibn Khaldun narrated; "Ghana�s power declined and the authority of the rulers of Ghana dwindled away and the neighboring people of Susu conquered and enslaved them and annexed their territory. Next the people of Mali, increasing in population, gained the ascendancy over the Negro people of the region. They conquered the Susu and took over all they possessed, both their original territories and that of Ghana as far as the sea to the west." That was how the end of ancient Ghana, as the strongest nation in the Sudan came about.
