Mali Empire Trade Network

Timeline

1. 1235–1300Niani · GuineaSundiata united the Mandinka polities to found the Mali Empire, integrating trade nodes of the former Ghana lands, establishing control over gold-producing areas, and regulating tariffs on trade routes.
2. 1312–1337Timbuktu · MaliUnder Mansa Musa's rule Timbuktu became a center of scholarship and trade; his 1324 pilgrimage to Mecca made West African gold famous throughout the Mediterranean world, and the trade network reached its historical peak.
3. 1401–1410Timbuktu–Gao trade belt · MaliSuccession disputes weakened central authority, but market cities such as Timbuktu remained active, trans-Saharan caravans continued to operate, and Songhai power gradually rose around Gao.
4. 1460–1500Gao · MaliUnder rulers such as Sunni Ali the Songhai Empire seized Timbuktu and Gao; the core nodes and institutional legacy of Mali's trade network were inherited and reorganized by Songhai.