Ghana Empire gold trade

Timeline

1. 1033–1035Bambuk and Bure goldfields · West AfricaThe king of Ghana strictly controlled gold mining rights, forbade subjects from privately holding gold, and collected gold uniformly in the form of gold dust or sand. Local chieftains paid tribute of gold and slaves to the capital Koumbi Saleh, forming the empire's fiscal foundation.
2. 1035–1038Koumbi Saleh · SenegalBerber and Arab caravans from North Africa crossed the Sahara Desert, exchanging salt, cloth, copper goods, and horses for West African gold. Caravans paid heavy taxes at the empire's border posts before passing; Soninke and Mande merchants served as intermediaries, linking the Sahel and Sudanian savanna trade networks.
3. 1038–1040Sijilmasa trade route · MaghrebWest African gold was transshipped via North African hubs such as Sijilmasa and Fez to Egypt, Sicily, and Al-Andalus, supplying Mediterranean coinage and luxury goods demand. Arab geographers recorded that the king of Ghana possessed enormous quantities of gold, making West African gold an important source of monetary circulation in the 11th-century Islamic world.