Decline of the Mali Empire

Timeline

1. 1520–1525Timbuktu · MaliSince Songhai's rise in the late 15th century, Mali had progressively lost strategic cities such as Timbuktu, Gao, and Jenne. By the 1520s these hubs belonged to the Songhai Empire, depriving Mali of the main revenues and taxes from trans-Saharan trade and severely damaging its economic lifeline.
2. 1524–1528Niani · MaliThe Mali mansa's control over outlying provinces was greatly reduced, and local chiefs and military leaders acted independently. The imperial army could not match Songhai's standing forces, the tributary system existed in name only, and the traditional capital Niani's political influence was confined to the core region; the 1520s were a critical stage in the empire's disintegration.
3. 1526–1530Upper Niger basin · MaliBy the late 1520s the Mali Empire still retained the mansa title and some traditional ceremonies, with rulers such as Mansa Muhammad maintaining symbolic authority. The empire's actual territory had shrunk to upstream of the Niger bend; although Mansa Mahmud IV later attempted to recover lost lands, the decline of the 1520s was by then irreversible.