Ghana Empire Trade Network

Timeline

1. 1041–1044Southern gold belt of the Ghana Empire · West AfricaThrough suzerainty and indirect rule the empire controlled southern goldfields and miners, levying heavy taxes on outflowing gold and monopolizing bulk trade, accumulating enormous wealth for the royal house and nobility while restricting foreign merchants' direct access to mining sources to maintain trade advantages.
2. 1044–1048Trans-Saharan trade route (western line) · Trans-SaharanCaravans from North Africa and the Sahel brought salt blocks, copperware, and cloth south, exchanging for gold, ivory, and slaves at imperial checkpoints; caravan scale and frequency remained high in the 1040s, with Kumbi Saleh becoming a core node for caravan rest and trade.
3. 1048–1050Gao trading port · SahelThrough intermediaries the Ghana Empire maintained indirect trade contacts with eastern Sahel nodes such as Kanem and Gao, forming a goods circulation network covering West Africa to the Lake Chad basin, pre-positioning the structure for the later Mali Empire to inherit its trade position.