Late Ghana Empire Soninke Trade Network

Name: Late Ghana Empire Soninke Trade Network
Start: 1060
End: 1069

Type Event Region West Africa Time 1060–1069

In the 1060s, the Ghana Empire (Wagadu) still relied on the Soninke to control trans-Saharan gold-salt trade, with its capital Kumbi Saleh continuing…

Timeline

1060–1065Wagadu goldfields and trade routes · West AfricaSoninke rulers continued to monopolize the exchange of southern gold for northern salt, copper, and cloth; Arab chronicles still called the empire wealthy, with gold shipped north via nodes such as Fez and Sijilmasa.
1065–1069Kumbi Saleh · SahelBerber and Muslim caravan forces from the northern edge of the Sahara strengthened, requiring the empire to reinforce border tariffs and military garrisons; relations between Soninke royal power and vassal tribes grew tense.

Sources

Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History — N. Levtzion and J. F. P. Hopkins (1981)
Ancient Ghana and Mali — Nehemia Levtzion (1973)