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Mali Empire

Type Object Region Africa Time c. 1235–1600

The Mali Empire was an important Islamized empire of the West African Sahel–Sudan zone from the thirteenth to seventeenth centuries, founded around 1…

Timeline

  1. c. 1235–1250Niani · GuineaSundiata Keita unified the Manden peoples, defeated the Soso kingdom, established the political framework of the Mali Empire, and set up a ruling system centered on Niani.
  2. c. 1250–1300Middle Niger · MaliThe empire advanced control over key trade-route towns such as Gao and Timbuktu, integrated local chieftains and networks of Islamic scholars, and around 1291–1300 CE its territory and tax system tended toward stability.
  3. c. 1300–1337Timbuktu · Tombouctou RegionAfter Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca the empire's prestige reached its peak; Timbuktu became a major center of scholarship and gold trade, and commercial networks from the Sahara to the Sudan zone were highly integrated.

Sources