The Sahel: The Empire of Mali
The Sahel: The Empire of MaliBy Trevor R. Getz South of the vast Sahara desert there is a great grassland nestled into and around the bend of the Niger River. Called the Sahel, this is a region that gave birth to many states, including three large kingdoms, one after another, whose rulers spoke closely related languages and learned from each other. These kingdoms are known to us as Ghana, Mali, and Songhay. In this article, we’ll focus on Mali.1090LLearn more at www.oerproject.com
2The Sahel: The Empire of MaliTrevor R. Getz Geography and Environment The territory occupied by Mali was rich. It had many of the traits humans needed to develop large and dense societies with cities. Pearl millet, wild rice, and sorghum grew along the riversides. These would become the staple crops of the region. They were more difficult to domesticate than crops like barley and millet, which were being grown in Mesopotamia, but the people of the region gradually improved them for eating. By contrast, wild cattle were domesticated quite quickly. Together with goats and fish, they provided plenty of protein for a society that included fishers, herders, and farmers. These groups came together to trade in cities, mainly along the Niger River, cities that were already quite large by the time Mali emerged.The cities along the Niger River traded with many other parts of West Africa and North Africa. These long-distance trade routes required large caravans of merchants. Caravans traveling north had to include camels, because they were the only animals that could cross the Sahara desert. Trade routes connected Mali to the world, bringing in new ideas like Islam, new skills like literacy, and of course the new goods.Still, a lot of the Sahelian region was wilderness in the twelfth century. Hunters were important members of society. They ventured out from farming villages, river communities, and herder camps into the plains and forests. It is said that these hunters played an important role in the rise of Sunjata Keita, the first emperor of Mali.The Mali Empire2000 BCE1500 BCE1000 BCE500 BCE1500 CE1000 CE1500 CE2000 CE1235 CE–1670 CE
3The Sahel: The Empire of MaliTrevor R. Getz A natural border The map to the left is a part of the Catalan Atlas—a map created by a Jewish man living in fourteenth-century Spain. This panel of the map shows the cities of Mali and its greatest emperor, Mansa Musa. The cities of Mali are shown south of a line that represents the Sahara desert. North of that line is the coast of North Africa.Detail from the Catalan Atlas, 1375. © Getty Images. Big Question #1:How did geography and the environment shape the development of societies in the Sahel?Political StructureMali had probably already been a small kingdom for a few centuries, overshadowed by nearby Ghana. But around 1235 CE, Mali defeated local enemies and conquered the whole region. The leader responsible for this expansion was named...well, it’s a bit complicated: His family name, Keita, came from his father and the royal household he was born into. His first name, Sunjata, was a combination of his mother’s name—Sogolon—and his own—Djata. In this way, everyone knew he was connected to two powerful families: His father’s family were rulers, and his mother was known to have great spiritual power and came from a neighboring land whose alliancewas needed.These are some of the many Islamic manuscripts found in Timbuktu, Mali. These manuscripts are written in Arabic, and some were written as early as the thirteenth century. © Getty images.
4The Sahel: The Empire of MaliTrevor R. Getz Sunjata had been exiled as a youth (the result of a fight for power in his father’s kingdom). In the story told about his rise to power, it was a hunter who predicted Sunjata’s return. This story probably reflects an important political fact of the time. Hunters were an influential political force—a sort of military. According to the story, Sunjata gathered support by visiting all the neighboring communities while in exile. This part of the story gives us important information. It tells us that the empire Sunjata built was made of alliances with communities that neighbored his own.Together, under Sunjata’s rule, these communities attacked and conquered the big cities along the Niger River, including Timbuktu, Gao, and Djenne. But as Mali’s borders expanded, politics began to change. First, the Malian emperor now ruled over lots of people who spoke different languages. Some of them were treated as conquered people and even forced into labor in Malian households. Others were allowed to mostly govern themselves. Second, by conquering these cities, Mali now ruled over communities full of mosques and Islamic scholars, some of whom also became politically powerful. By the time of the great emperor Mansa Musa, around 1312 CE, power was shared (and sometimes fought over) between the emperor, Islamic rulers, and governors of the many regions. Within cities like Timbuktu, the imperial governor had only limited power. It was the Islamic judge, the qadi, who applied the law and made most daily decisions. Big Question #2:What type of rulers did the Mali Empire have? How did they govern?CultureBy the time of Mansa Musa, the society of Mali was at a new height. It was a largely Islamic society, with important schools and centers of learning in large cities. Islamic schools and scholars connected Mali with the world through a web of interactions. Those interactions also included trade. Mali was perfectly positioned to control the flow of trade goods—especially gold—from West Africa to North Africa. Caravans headed north through the big cities of the Niger River laden with gold, and returned with goods that were needed in return, especially salt.Islam, while very important, also mixed with local beliefs in this part of West Africa. We know this partly because the stories told in this time featured ideas and practices of magic and belief that were very old in this region, as well as references to Muslim forms of worship.An artist’s depiction of Mansa Musa’s journey to Egypt. © Getty images.
5The Sahel: The Empire of MaliTrevor R. Getz Big Question #3:How was Mali’s culture shaped by trade and geography?SocietyWe also know that some visitors were surprised that in this mainly Muslim region, women in Mali did not wear veils or confine themselves to the household. The great Muslim traveler Ibn Battuta, for example, reported with pleasure that the people of Mali “know the Koran by heart.” But he was surprised that “in this country, the women are permitted to have male friends and companions among men who are not members of her family.” In general, Mali was a place where women had quite a bit of freedom for this period, and even held some political power. They were also able to inherit wealth from their parents and husbands.Although women had more freedom in Mali than in some other parts of the world at this time, Mali did have an institution that was a kind of slavery. The slavery of Mali was quite different from the slavery we know of in the recent history of the Atlantic world. In fact, in Mali, enslaved people could possess property and accumulate wealth. Many worked in houses, although some raised crops or did other agricultural work. They had the protection of many laws, including Islamic law, and often did achieve their freedom. Nevertheless, they did not own the results of their labor, nor could they leave or move if they wanted to, and they could not easily be full members of society.At the other end of the social hierarchy from those enslaved people was Mansa Musa. By the early fourteenth century, he knew a great deal about the world. He was interested in global politics and interacted with rulers of North Africa and even Egypt. He played an important role in promoting long-distance trade. He was a devout Muslim. As a result, in 1324 he made a pilgrimage to Mecca, traveling thousands of miles across North Africa and through Egypt. This was a diplomatic and trade venture as well as a personal religious pilgrimage.An expensive journey!Both to pay his way and to impress the rulers whose countries he passed through, Mansa Musa brought tens of thousands of servants and A LOT of West African gold with him on his journey to Mecca. He spent so much gold buying souvenirs and giving gifts that he caused inflation in Egypt and even changed in the price of gold in Europe! You can see a closeup of his portrait in the Catalan Atlas to the left, pictured with a golden crown and holding a golden coin. Big Question #4:How was Mali’s society organized? Who were at the top of the social hierarchy, and who was at the bottom?Mansa Musa, King of Mali, holding a sceptre and a piece of gold as represented in the Catalan Atlas. © Getty Images.
6The Sahel: The Empire of MaliTrevor R. Getz Decline and TransformationAfter the reign of Mansa Musa, Mali went into a slow decline. The center of trade shifted toward the coast of West Africa. Within the Mali government, different groups and families began to fight about who should become emperor. A series of weak rulers left the state unable to govern its many different inhabitants.But as Mali went into decline, one of its conquered regions was on the rise. This was the region known as Songhay. The people of this region had a unified leadership in the fifteenth century, good access to trade routes, and the support of some important Islamic scholars. The Songhay rulers also claimed to be descended from the emperors of Mali, connecting themselves to this earlier empire. So it wasn’t that there was a “collapse” in this region. Rather, power shifted to a different part of the Sahel, which remained an important and organized set of societies.A map showing the borders of the Songhai Empire, which followed the decline of the Mali Empire. By WHP, CC BY 4.0. Explore more here. Big Question #5:What led to the decline and transformation of the Mali Empire? What empire replaced it?
7The Sahel: The Empire of MaliTrevor R. Getz Trevor R. GetzTrevor Getz is professor of African history at San Francisco State University. He has written 11 books on African and world history, including Abina and the Important Men. He is also the author of A Primer for Teaching African History, which explores questions about how we should teach the history of Africa in high school and university classes.Credit: Getz, Trevor R. “The Sahel: The Empire of Mali.” OER Project, 2023. https://www.oerproject.com/Image credits This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0 except for the following: Cover image: The Great Mosque of Djenne. There was a mosque on this site under the rule of the Mali Empire, as well. © Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images.Map showing the Empire of Mali. By WHP, CC BY-NC 4.0.Detail from the Catalan Atlas, 1375. © Art Images / Hulton Fine Art Collection / Getty Images.These are some of the many Islamic manuscripts found in Timbuktu, Mali. These manuscripts are written in Arabic, and some were written as early as the thirteenth century. © Getty images.An artist’s depiction of Mansa Musa’s journey to Egypt. © Getty images.Mansa Musa, King of Mali, holding a sceptre and a piece of gold as represented in the Catalan Atlas. © Getty Images.A map showing the borders of the Songhai Empire, which followed the decline of the Mali Empire. Explore more here.https://www.oerproject.com/OER-Materials/OER-Media/Images/WHP-Maps/1450-layer-2Articles leveled by Newsela have been adjusted along several dimensions of text complexity including sentence structure, vocabulary and organization. The number followed by L indicates the Lexile measure of the article. For more information on Lexile measures and how they correspond to grade levels: www.lexile.com/educators/understanding-lexile-measures/To learn more about Newsela, visit www.newsela.comThe Lexile® Framework for ReadingThe Lexile® Framework for Reading evaluates reading ability and text complexity on the same developmental scale. Unlike other measurement systems, the Lexile Framework determines reading ability based on actual assessments, rather than generalized age or grade levels. Recognized as the standard for matching readers with texts, tens of millions of students worldwide receive a Lexile measure that helps them find targeted readings from the more than 100 million articles, books and websites that have been measured. Lexile measures connect learners of all ages with resources at the right level of challenge and monitors their progress toward state and national proficiency standards. More information about the Lexile® Framework can be found at www.Lexile.com.OER Project aims to empower teachers by offering free and fully supported history courses for middle- and high-school students. Your account is the key to accessing our standards-aligned courses that are designed with built-in supports like leveled readings, audio recordings of texts, video transcripts, and more. Offerings include a variety of materials, from full-year, standards-based courses to shorter course extensions, all of which build upon foundational historical thinking skills in preparation for AP, college, and beyond. To learn more about The OER Project, visit www.oerproject.com