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Trans-Saharan Caravan Trade System

Type Object Region West Africa Time c. 800

A long-distance trade network of camel caravans crossing the Sahara linking the West African Sahel with the North African Mediterranean world, reachi…

Timeline

  1. c. 800–1100Central Sahara trade routes · West Africa–North Africa corridorBerber and Arab merchants crossed the Sahara by camel caravan, connecting Gao, the Ghana Empire's mining areas, and North African ports, with salt and gold as core commodities.
  2. c. 1200–1500Timbuktu · MaliThe Mali Empire controlled gold-producing areas and collected trade taxes; caravans resupplied and rested at oasis relay stations, and Timbuktu became a hub city where scholarship, religion, and trade converged.
  3. c. 1500–1900Gao · MaliThe Songhai Empire inherited control of the trade routes; the Moroccan invasion and firearms changed the landscape; in the colonial period maritime shipping replaced overland routes, and traditional camel caravan trade gradually declined.

Sources