Trans-Saharan Gold-Salt Trade

Timeline

1. c. 700–1000Sijilmasa–Taghaza corridor · Western SaharaAfter the Arab conquest of North Africa, Muslim merchants established fixed trading stations between the Taghaza salt mines and the Sijilmasa oasis; camel caravans crossed the Sahara seasonally, carrying rock salt south and gold north, forming sustainable long-distance trade infrastructure.
2. 1071–1080Sahara–Sahel trade route network · North AfricaThe Almoravids unified the northern Maghreb trade routes, the Ghana Empire controlled the southern gold sources, and Fatimid Egypt drew in gold via the Mediterranean; the three parties competed for tolls and exchange rights within the same trade system, and the gold-salt trade reached its medieval peak in the 1170s.
3. c. 1200–1400Timbuktu–Gao corridor · MaliAfter the rise of the Mali Empire, the focus of the trade routes shifted southward from the former Ghana heartland to the Niger River basin; Timbuktu became a new scholarly and trade hub, the gold-salt trade model continued but its political controllers changed, and caravan sizes and routes expanded further.