Kumbi Saleh (capital of the Ghana Empire)

Timeline

1. c. 850–950Kumbi Saleh · MauritaniaThe Ghana king built palaces and ritual sites at El-Kumbi, while northern Muslim merchants established mosques, markets, and warehouses at El-Ghaba six miles away; the division let the pagan royal court and the Islamic commercial community each maintain autonomy.
2. c. 950–1040Kumbi Saleh · MauritaniaAs trans-Saharan gold trade expanded, El-Ghaba's merchant quarter built multi-story stone houses and mosques, and the royal quarter expanded palaces and walls; the city became a hub for salt, gold dust, ivory, and slaves, attracting merchants from the Maghreb and across the Sahel.
3. 1041–1050Kumbi Saleh · MauritaniaArabic sources record that in the 1040s Kumbi Saleh had some thirty thousand households; the Ghana king adorned his palace and mounts with gold, the court employed Arabic-speaking interpreters, and caravans carried large quantities of gold dust north each year, marking the city's zenith.
4. c. 1070–1100Kumbi Saleh · MauritaniaAlmoravid forces captured Kumbi Saleh around 1076; the Ghana royal house moved south, the sacked capital's population plummeted, stone buildings fell into ruin, and by the 14th century it was a ruin whose former scale was revealed by 20th-century excavations.