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Trans-Saharan Trade Routes

Type Object Region Africa Time c. 500

A network of land trade routes linking the West African Sahel with the North African Mediterranean coast, with salt, gold, slaves, and luxury goods a…

Timeline

  1. c. 500–600West African Sahel–northern edge of the Sahara · SahelA stable exchange developed between West Africa's gold-producing regions and Saharan salt mines, with Berber and Saharan nomadic groups acting as intermediaries; the routes extended along oases and wells.
  2. 601–700Timbuktu–Fez trade hub belt · MaliDromedaries were used on a large scale for trans-desert transport, caravan size and frequency increased, and in addition to salt and gold, cloth, copper goods, and horses entered the trade, supporting the accumulation of wealth by Sahelian polities.
  3. c. 650–700Trade-route nodes within the Ghana Kingdom's domain · SenegalTrade-route taxes and armed escorts became the foundation of royal power; the gold sources and route directions recorded by Arab geographers mark the entry of trans-Saharan trade into a phase documented in written sources.

Sources