The kingdom of Mali was founded around 1000 CE, when the kingdom of Ghana was in solid control of the gold and salt trade. Ghana was absorbed into the Mali Empire in 1240 after its capital city was destroyed by the Mande emperor Sundiata.
The map below shows the part of West Africa occupied by the Empire of Ghana as well as the area absorbed to form the Empire of Mali in the 13th century.
Question
The kingdom of Mali was larger than the Empire of Ghana, and included the city of Timbuktu, which you learned about in a previous lesson. Looking at the map above, identify two other cities that probably played a role in the gold and salt trade.
Gao and Djenne were the other cities in the Empire of Mali, and both--like Timbuktu--developed along the Niger River.
