Trans-Saharan Trade

Timeline

1. c. -500–700Fezzan–Tadmakkat oases · FezzanBerber tribes of North Africa domesticated dromedary camels and linked Fezzan, Tadmakkat, and Kanem along chains of Saharan oases, transporting salt blocks, hides, and small quantities of gold; caravans relied on stellar navigation and seasonal water sources, forming the earliest documented skeleton of trans-desert trade routes.
2. c. 800–1350Gao–Timbuktu–Fez · MaliThe Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires controlled the southern gold mines and northern salt mines; Muslim merchants carried gold dust, ivory, and slaves north by camel caravan, returning with salt, copper, cloth, and horses. Timbuktu became a scholarly and entrepôt hub, and travelers such as Ibn Battuta recorded the scale of the trade routes and the spread of Islamic culture.
3. 1591–1700Timbuktu · MaliMoroccan Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur sent troops to occupy Gao and Timbuktu, the Songhai Empire collapsed, and the traditional gold trade routes were disrupted by political turmoil and warfare with firearms; some routes were diverted or shrank in scale, though local caravans still maintained north–south exchange of goods.
4. c. 1500–1900Senegal–Guinea coast · SenegalPortugal and subsequent European powers established trading posts on the West African coast; slaves, palm oil, and peanuts were shipped to Europe by sea, and gold was also partly exported via the coast. Trans-Saharan routes declined further under 19th-century colonial railways and administrative divisions, though groups such as the Tuareg still maintained limited desert trade.