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The territory known as Mali can be traced back to the fourth
century of the Common Era when south west Mali was part of the
Empire Of Ghana. By the thirteenth century the Ghana empire was
in rapid decline and the Mali Empire was born from an area
within the Ghana Empire known as Manden which had been ruled in
Ghana's name. This came about as the
Sosso people under their King Soumaoro Kante, who had leapt to
fill the void of the collapsed Ghana Empire, conquered the
Mandinka kingdoms of what is now Mali. The Mali warlords then
formed a pact and turned to one Sundiata Keita, born 1217CE, to
liberate the Mandinkas and their homeland.
Keita took up the fight and roundly
defeated King Soumaoro Kante at the Battle of Kirina in 1235CE establishing his pre-eminence in the area. By
1240 Sundjata Keita had conquered and destroyed what was left of
the Ghana Empire and established his own Mali Empire taking the
title of Mansa, emperor, and bringing the other Mandinke clan
rulers under his leadership in exchange for the title 'farbas'
(commander) allowing them to rule their old kingdoms in the name
of himself, the Mansa. Sundjata Keita
established
his capital at Niani, which in turn became an important
financial and trading centre not least because it was located
near the Bure goldfields, a significant resource that led to the
rise and wealth of the Mali Empire. Further territorial
expansion took place together with the development of trade with
the new empire's neighbours making it the envy of
the region. In 1255 Mansa Uli,
Sundiata Keita's only biological son, succeeded his father after
the emperor reportedly drowned in the Sankarani River. Uli I, a
highly ambitious prince expanded the empire further to the east
and set about increasing agricultural production. When he died
in 1270 he left no heirs resulting in a power struggle between
his adopted brothers Mansa Ouati (Wati) Keita and Mansa Khalifa
Keita with Wati becoming Mansa and forcing his brother into
exile.
Wati ruled (badly) for
just four years before being succeeded by his adopted brother,
a former freed slave, Khalifa Keita. In turned out that Khalifa
was to be an even worse leader reportedly spending time shooting
passers by with arrows for sport. It was an ugly precedent as he
ended up being assassinated and succeeded by his uncle and
Sundjata Keita's brother, Abubakari I, who had previously been
appointed to serve as regent until Uli was old enough to serve
as Mansa, but was usurped by Uli claiming the throne early. The reign of Abubakari I
(1275 - 1285) saw the restoration of Mali's fortune's after the
mismanagement of his nephews. He was succeeded by former slave
and army general Mansa Sakura who seized the throne in 1285 who
reinforced the Mali empire's military position including the
conquest of Gao. However he was assassinated in 1350 and succeeded by Sundjata Keita's
sister' son, Gao. Gao ruled until 1305 when he was succeeded by his son
Mohammed ibn Gao who himself ruled for a further five years before being
succeeded by his uncle Abubakari II in 1310. Abubakari II himself
abdicated in favour of exploration and there were unsubstantiated reports
that he had actually discovered the New World.
By this time the Mali rulers had converted to Islam and
Abubakari II's successor, following his abdication, Musa I, was a
devout Muslim, who made an historic pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324,
promoting Mali along the way as a prosperous, educated and awe
inspiring empire. On his return, Musa
started a building program, constructing mosques and
universities across his fiefdom. By this time ancient Mali was
the source of half the world's gold ands its territory had
expanded north and west to the Atlantic ocean and, by the
fourteenth century, was about the size of Western Europe and
the envy of many other African nations. The reign of Musa is widely regarded as being ancient Mali's most powerful
period. He was succeeded by his son Maghan (1337 - 1341) who, in turn, was
succeeded by his uncle and father's brother Suleyman who ruled until 1360.
However these and subsequent kings were widely regarded as weak and unable to
maintain the integrity of the empire.
Over these and subsequent years Mali became fragmented and after the
death of Mahmud IV in 1610, there was no clear ruler with his
three sons fighting over his legacy. The Empire of Mali was
effectively over. There followed a long period of various groups
running the area which changed in shape and size over the
centuries until Mali came under French colonial rule in 1892 as
part of the Scramble for Africa. The area, then known as French
Sudan, became the autonomous state of the Sudanese Republic in
1958 and gained full independence from France in 1960, forming,
together with Senegal, the Federation of Mali. However months
later Senegal withdrew from the federation and the Sudanese
Republic was renamed the Republic of Mali.
Ancient Mali: Volunteer in Mali
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Ancient Mali: Life in Mali
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Ancient Mali: Child Sponsor Mali
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Ancient Mali: Mali Country Profile
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A history of the ancient Mali Empire formed from the Mandinka Kingdoms and reaching the height of its power by the 14th century together with a Mali history video documentary
TAGS: Ancient Mali, Ancient Mali Empire, Mandinka Kingdoms, Ancient Mali History, Empire of Mali, History of Ancient Mali
