← Explore on the interactive map
Mali Empire Gold Trade
The Mali Empire's gold trade was an institutionalized long-distance system exporting gold from West Africa to North Africa and the Mediterranean via …
Timeline
- 1001–1235Wangara (Bure region) · GuineaGold from the Wangara area was collected and distributed through river ports like Djenné, with camel caravans traveling north along the Niger bend, laying the resource and route foundation for the later Mali Empire's monopoly on gold exports.
- 1240–1250Niani · MaliIn the 1240s the Mali Empire controlled the Sahelian gold corridor, levying tribute and customs duties on mines and caravans; Timbuktu and Djenné became directly administered trading cities, and North African caravans needed imperial permission to purchase gold.
- 1250–1401Timbuktu · MaliTimbuktu gathered Berber and Arab merchants, where gold, salt, and slaves were exchanged; the trading hub's system of joint governance by Islamic scholars and merchants expanded the empire's gold trade and scholarly networks in tandem.
Sources
- A History of Islamic Societies — Ira M. Lapidus (2014)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Mali https://www.britannica.com/place/Mali-historical-empire-Africa