Ghana Empire

Also known as Wagadu

c. 300 CE – c. 1240 CE · about 940 years approximate dates

The Ghana Empire (Wagadu) of the Soninke people controlled the gold and salt trade of the western Sahel, in what is now Mauritania and Mali. Arab geographers such as al-Bakri described its capital, which had separate royal and Muslim towns. It declined from the late 11th century and was absorbed by Mali in the 13th century.