Mali Gold Camel Caravan

Timeline

1. c. 1235–1337Niani · MaliThe Mali Empire controlled the Bambuk goldfields and the Gao corridor, using Timbuktu as a scholarly and trade hub and organizing regular caravans to carry gold dust, kola nuts, and slaves north in exchange for horses, cloth, and salt.
2. 1360–1370Taghaza · SaharaIn the 1360s Mali still maintained large-scale Sahara caravans: assembling at Gao and Timbuktu, traveling north via the Taghaza salt mines and the Wargla route, with single caravans of hundreds to over a thousand camels carrying gold dust, ivory, and slaves, joining Berber merchants in caravans bound for Fez and Tunis.
3. c. 1370–1591Gao · GaoAfter the Mali Empire fragmented, the Songhai Empire inherited dominance of the trade routes; the caravan system continued until before the Moroccan expedition of the 16th century, still carrying West African gold north, but political turmoil and the rise of coastal trade gradually reduced its scale.