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The Ghana Empire in Africa

The Kingdom of Ghana existed from approximately 750 C.E. to 1076 C.E. in modern day southeastern Mauritania, Western Mali, and Eastern Senegal. The kingdom of Ghana was known as Wagadou in the native Sonicke language of the region, a word that combines the word dou ( land) and the word waga (herd). The term the Kingdom of Ghana, or sometimes the Empire of Ghana, came about in Europe and Arabia as a way to identify the region. Ghana is a traditional honorific title of leaders in Wagadou, thus the term Ghana Empire relates to the title of the emperor not a geographic area.

Origins

The Ghana Empire is believed by many to have been a continuation of the cultural complex at Tichitt-walata attributed to Mandé people known as the Soninke. Subsequent incursions of Amazigh Berber tribes however, collapsed the earlier socio-political organization in the region and established small settlements in the area known as Awkar, around the middle of the fourth century. Around 750 or 800 C.E. however, the Soninke adjusted and united under Majan Dyabe Cisse or Dinga Cisse in taking over Awkar..^[1]^[2]

Some people believe that the Ghana Empire was a small kingdom, with its base at the city of Kumbi, and that Al Fazari was the first to describe it to the world. Later, it was conquered by King Sumaguru Kante of Sosso in 1203. It was later incorporated by the King of Mali around 1240.

Archaeological testimony supports that the Mandé are thought to have been among the first peoples on the continent, outside the Nile region and Ethiopia, to produce stone settlement civilizations. These were built on the rocky promontories of the Tichitt-Walata and Tagant cliffs of Mauritania where hundreds of stone masonry settlements, with clear street layouts, have been found. Dating from as early as 1600 B.C.E., these towns had a unique four-tier hierarchy and tribute collection system. This civilization began to decline around 300 B.C.E. with the intrusion of Berber armies from the Sahara, but with later reorganization and new trade opportunities, the Wagadou/Ghana Kingdom arose. This polity seems to have inherited the social and economic organization of the Tichitt-Walata complex.

The rise of the Ghana Empire in the 8th century marked a shift in Western Africa from small political organizations rooted in village life to large scale political entities that controlled vast geographic regions. The burgeoning kingdom was aided my a convenient location in the Sahel that provided an access route to trans-Saharan trade routes by camel. Due to the trade routes crossing the desert the Kingdom of Ghana grew rich exporting gold, ivory and salt. Market surpluses allowed urban centers to develop, where inhabitants could live comfortable lives through specialized occupations.

As well as being important to the political formation of the Kingdom of Ghana, trade was also responsible for providing historical documentation of the region. The first written sources about the region can be traced to Andalusian traders who frequently visited the area. Documentation of the Kingdom of Ghana increased in the late 9th century C.E. and the early 10th century C.E. when a centralized monarchy emerged in the region and controlled all trade routes through Ghanian territory. The most detailed account of life in the Kingdom of Ghana was written by the Cordoban scholar al-Bakri, who collected stories from a number of travelers to the region and consolidated the accounts into a detailed description of the kingdom in 1067. His contemporaries argued that Ghana could raise an army of 200,000 soldiers and calvary if the need arose.

Over time, Wagadou became the center of power for trade in the region. The Dinga Cisse became the first Ghana (warrior king) and his clan became the rulers of the new state. To this day, the Cisse name is prominent in the politics of Mali and Mauritania.

Height of the Kingdom of Ghana

Kumbi Saleh

The empire's capital was built at Kumbi Saleh on the edge of the Sahara. The capital was actually two cities six miles apart separated by a six-mile road. But settlements between the cities became so dense due to the influx of people coming to trade, that it merged into one. Most of the houses were built of wood and clay, but wealthy and important residents lived in homes of wood and stone. This large metropolis of over 30,000 people remained divided after its merger forming two distinct areas within the city.

El Ghaba Section

The major part of the city was called El-Ghaba. It was protected by a stone wall and functioned as the royal and spiritual capital of the Empire. It contained a sacred grove of trees used for Soninke religious rites. It also contained the king's palace, the grandest structures in the city. There was also one mosque for visiting Muslim officials. (El-Ghaba, coincidentally or not, means "the Forest" in Arabic.)

Merchant Section

The name of the other section of the city has not been passed down. We do know it was the center of trade and functioned as a sort of business district of the capital. It was inhabited almost entirely by Arab and Berber merchants. Because the majority of these merchants were Muslim, this part of the city contained more than a dozen masjids.

Decline

The empire began struggling after reaching its apex in the early 11th century. By 1059, the population density around the empire's leading cities was seriously overtaxing the region. The Sahara desert was expanding southward threatening food supplies. While imported food was sufficient to support the population when income from trade was high, when trade faltered, this system also broke down. The growing power of the Almoravids soon led them to launch a war against Ghana in 1062 under Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar to gain control of the coveted Saharan trade routes. The war was justified as an act of conversion through military arms (lesser jihad). The Almoravids fought the Ghana empire for five years before reaching and laying siege to the capital city in 1067. For ten more years, under the leadership of Ghana Bassi and his successor Ghana Tunka Menin, the empire resisted. Finally, in 1076, General Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar captured the capital and ended the state as an empire while converting many to Islam.

Aftermath

General Abu Bakr died in 1087 and the Almoravid rule over the remains of the Ghana Empire did not long survive him. The now fractionalized region came under the rule of the Soninke again though with far less power.

Sosso Occupation

Around 1140, the rabidly anti-Muslim Sosso people of the Kaniaga kingdom captured much of the former empire. Diara Kante took control of Koumbi Saleh in 1180 and established the Diarisso Dynasty. His son, Soumaoro Kante, succeeded him in 1203 and forced the people to pay him tribute. The Sosso also managed to annex the neighboring Mandinka state of Kangaba to the south, where the important goldfield of Bure were located.

Mandinka Rule

In 1230, Kangaba led a rebellion under Prince Sundiata Keita against Sosso rule. Ghana Soumaba Cisse, at the time a vassal of the Sosso, rebelled with Kangaba and a loose federation of Mande speaking states. After Soumaoro's defeat at the Battle of Kirina in 1235, the new rulers of Koumbi Saleh became permanent allies of the Mali Empire. As Mali became more powerful, Koumbi Saleh's role as an ally declined to that of a submissive state. It ceased to be an independent kingdom by 1240.

Lasting Influence

The modern country of Ghana is named after the ancient empire, though there is no territory shared between the two states. There are traditional stories that the survivors of the Ghana Empire migrated to the region of modern Ghana, but there is no evidence that this is true. The Sosso, however, are present along the Atlantic coast of West Africa and claim to have migrated after the fall of the Sosso kingdom.

External links

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

↑ Jackson, John G.: "Introduction to African Civilization". Citadel Press, 1970
↑ http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-8537(1980)21%3A4%3C457%3AAATPOO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-%23

Mauny, R. (1971), “The Western Sudan” in Shinnie: 66-87.
Monteil, Charles (1953), “La Légende du Ouagadou et l’Origine des Soninke” in Mélanges Ethnologiques (Dakar: Bulletin del’Institut Francais del’Afrique Noir)
Expansions And Contractions: World-Historical Change And The Western Sudan World-System 1200/1000 B.C.E.–1200/1250 C.E. Ray A. Kea. Journal of World Systems Research: Fall 2004
Davidson, Basil. West Africa Before the Colonial Era: A History to 1850. Essex: Pearson Education Limited, 1998. ISBN 0582318521
Lewis, Brenda Ralph. Great Civilizations. Bath: Parragon Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0752561413
Brooks, George E. Eurafricans in Western Africa. Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2003. ISBN 0821414852

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[1] Jackson, John G.: "Introduction to African Civilization". Citadel Press, 1970

[2] ttp://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-8537(1980)21%3A4%3C457%3AAATPOO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-%23

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@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 [[Image:Empire ghana.png|thumb|right|The Ghana Empire in Africa]]
-The '''Kingdom of Ghana'' existed from approximately 750 C.E. to 1076 C.E. in modern day southeastern [[Mauritania]], Western [[Mali]], and Eastern [[Senegal]].  The kingdom of Ghana was known as Wagadou in the native Sonicke language of the region, a word that combines the word ''dou'' ( land)  and the word ''waga'' (herd). The term the Kingdom of Ghana, or sometimes the Empire of Ghana, came about in Europe and Arabia as a way to identify the region. Ghana is a traditional honorific title of leaders in Wagadou, thus the term Ghana Empire relates to the title of the emporer not a geographic area.
+The ''Kingdom of Ghana'' existed from approximately 750 C.E. to 1076 C.E. in modern day southeastern [[Mauritania]], Western [[Mali]], and Eastern [[Senegal]].  The kingdom of Ghana was known as Wagadou in the native [[Sonicke]] language of the region, a word that combines the word ''dou'' ( land)  and the word ''waga'' (herd). The term the Kingdom of Ghana, or sometimes the Empire of Ghana, came about in [[Europe]] and [[Arabia]] as a way to identify the region. Ghana is a traditional honorific title of leaders in Wagadou, thus the term Ghana Empire relates to the title of the emperor not a geographic area.
-It is believed to be the first of many empires that would rise in that part of Africa.  It first began in the eighth century, when a dramatic shift in the economy of the [[Sahel]] area south of the [[Sahara]] allowed more centralized states to form.  The introduction of the [[camel]], which preceeded Arabs and [[Islam]] by several centuries, brought about a gradual revolution in trade, and for the first time, the extensive [[gold]], [[ivory]], and [[salt]] resources of the region could be sent north and east to population centers in [[North Africa]], the [[Middle East]] and [[Europe]] in exchange for manufactured goods.
-The Ghana empire grew rich from the [[trans-Saharan trade]] in gold and salt. This trade produced an increasing surplus, allowing for larger urban centres.  It also encouraged territorial expansion to gain control over the lucrative trade routes.
-Most of the early written information about the empire coming from [[Al-Andalus|Andalusian]] traders who frequently visited the country, and from the [[Almoravid dynasty|Almoravids]], who invaded the kingdom in the late 11th century.
-The first written mention of the kingdom comes soon after it was contacted by [[Sanhaja]] traders in the eighth century.  In the late ninth and early tenth centuries, there are more detailed accounts of a centralized monarchy that dominated the states in the region.  The [[Córdoba, Spain|Cordoba]]n scholar [[al-Bakri]] collected stories from a number of travelers to the region, and gave a detailed description of the kingdom in [[1067]].  At that time it was alleged by contemporary  writters that the ''Ghana'' could field an army of some 200,000 soldiers and calvary.
-Upon the death of a ''Ghana'', he was succeeded by his sister's son.  The deceased ''Ghana'' would be buried in a large dome-roofed tomb.  The religion of the kingdom involved [[imperial cult|emperor worship]] of the Ghana and worship of the ''Bida'a'', a mythical water serpent of the [[Niger River]].
 ==Origins==
@@ Line 22: / Line 11: @@
 Archaeological testimony supports that the Mandé are thought to have been among the first peoples on the continent, outside the Nile region and Ethiopia, to produce stone settlement civilizations. These were built on the rocky promontories of the Tichitt-Walata and Tagant cliffs of Mauritania where hundreds of stone masonry settlements, with clear street layouts, have been found. Dating from as early as 1600 B.C.E., these towns had a unique four-tier hierarchy and tribute collection system. This civilization began to decline around 300 B.C.E.  with the intrusion of Berber armies from the Sahara, but with later reorganization and new trade opportunities, the Wagadou/Ghana Kingdom arose.  This polity seems to have inherited the social and economic organization of the Tichitt-Walata complex.
+The rise of the Ghana Empire in the 8th century marked a shift in [[Western Africa]] from small political organizations rooted in village life to large scale political entities that controlled vast geographic regions. The burgeoning kingdom was aided my a convenient location in the Sahel that provided an access route to trans-Saharan trade routes by camel. Due to the trade routes crossing the desert the Kingdom of Ghana grew rich exporting gold, ivory and salt. Market surpluses allowed urban centers to develop, where inhabitants could live comfortable lives through specialized occupations.
+As well as being important to the political formation of the Kingdom of Ghana, trade was also responsible for providing historical documentation of the region. The first written sources about the region can be traced to [[Al-Andalus|Andalusian]] traders who frequently visited the area. Documentation of the Kingdom of Ghana increased in the late 9th century C.E. and the early 10th century C.E. when a centralized monarchy emerged in the region and controlled all trade routes through Ghanian territory. The most detailed account of life in the Kingdom of Ghana was written by the [[Córdoba, Spain|Cordoba]]n scholar [[al-Bakri]], who collected stories from a number of travelers to the region and consolidated the accounts into a detailed description of the kingdom in [[1067]]. His contemporaries argued that ''Ghana'' could raise an army of 200,000 soldiers and calvary if the need arose.
 Over time, Wagadou became the center of power for trade in the region. The Dinga Cisse became the first ''Ghana'' (warrior king) and his clan became the rulers of the new state. To this day, the Cisse name is prominent in the politics of [[Mali]] and [[Mauritania]].