Successor Polities of the Ghana Empire (1140s)

Timeline

1. 1141–1144Former Wagadu territory · MauritaniaThe Ghana Empire's former control over gold sources and trans-Saharan routes was greatly weakened; military powers such as the Sosso rose from the south, occupying the former empire's southern territories, while influence around the old capital Kumbi-Saleh declined.
2. 1143–1148Sosso · MaliThe Sosso kingdom used cavalry superiority to control Ghana's former southern territories, facing off against Manding chiefdoms in the upper Niger; local chiefs contested gold route access and salt trade taxes, with West Africa's political map under reorganization.
3. 1147–1150Trans-Saharan trade routes · SahelDespite political division, trans-Saharan gold and salt trade continued, with trading towns such as Timbuktu gradually rising; Manding chiefdoms accumulated strength through trade profits and Islamization, laying socio-economic conditions for Mali's unification of West Africa in the early 13th century.