Decline of the Ghana Empire

Timeline

1. 1111–1115Western segment of trans-Saharan trade routes · SahelGold, salt, and slave trade routes shifted further south and east; the central monarchy's ability to collect tribute from vassal states weakened, while local chieftains and caravan leaders gained autonomy.
2. 1115–1120Koumbi Saleh · MauritaniaThe capital's population and building scale contracted markedly from the empire's zenith; royal rituals and taxation persisted but could no longer govern the vast vassal states, and West Africa's political center of gravity began shifting toward the Mali basin.