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Saharan Camel Caravans
A camel caravan transport system crossing the Sahara in the late 16th century, linking North African Mediterranean ports with West African Sahelian c…
Timeline
- 1591–1593Taghaza · TaghazaCaravans loaded slabs of rock salt at the Taghaza salt mines, each camel capable of carrying several hundred kilograms of salt blocks; they completed assembly before the rainy season and hired desert guides familiar with the well routes in preparation for crossing the Sahara southward.
- 1593–1596Taoudenni-Timbuktu corridor · MaliLarge caravans traveled south via relay points such as Taoudenni; although the political landscape shifted after the Moroccan expedition against Songhai in 1593-1596, the salt-for-gold exchange still relied on camel caravans to maintain the flow of goods between the Sahel and North Africa.
- 1596–1600Timbuktu · TimbuktuAfter reaching Timbuktu, caravans exchanged salt for gold and cloth; in the late 1590s some caravans returned north to Marrakesh or Fez in Morocco, with the camel caravan system and Islamic commercial law continuing to regulate trans-Saharan transport.
Sources
- The Caravan Routes of the Sahara — E. W. Bovill (1963)
- Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire — John Hunwick (2003)