Kingdom of Ghana

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 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 founders of the Ghana Empire were Sonicke, whose modern day counterparts live in the republic of Senegal. The Sonicke traditionally were traders and they capitalized on the ideal location of Ancient Ghana to form relationships with the caravans in the north and gold traders in the south. 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. The Sonicke established a monarchy in Ghana, and twenty two individuals took the throne before the beginning of the Muslim era in 622 C.E.

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 report documents a new form of expansion, where subdued kingdoms were forced to pay tribute to the Kingdom of Ghana and pay taxes. His contemporaries argued that Ghana was a massive political force that could raise an army of 200,000 soldiers and calvary if the need arose.

In the 7th and 8th centuries C.E. Islam began to spread across Northern Africa. The religion reached the Kingdom of Ghana in the 9th and 10th century when Saharan traders introduced their new religion to the region. The royal court of Ghana, however, did not convert to Islam and retained traditional religious practices throughout the city. Recognizing the importance of placating the Muslim Saharan traders, the King of Ghana allowed them to engage in trade and create their own city ten kilometers from the emperor's town.

Height of the Kingdom of Ghana

The empire's capital was built at Kumbi Saleh on the edge of the Sahara in a region called the Sahel. The capital was formed from two distinct cities that were originally situated six miles apart. As populations increased the two cities merged into one. While technically merged into one single city, both sides of the city retained a distinct character. One half of the city, called the El Ghaba section, was considered the spiritual center of the Kingdom of Ghana. It was home to the royal palace, as well as other wealthy residents of the town. Most homes in the El Ghaba section were built from wood and stone, while poorer sections of the town contained houses made of wood and clay. Flanked on all sides by a stone wall, the El Ghaba side of town also contained a sacred grove of trees that was used in religious ceremonies. The other section of the town, whose name has not been preserved in historical record, was considered a trading center. It functioned as the business district of the town and was inhabited almost entirely by Arab and Berber merchants. Due to the fact that Islam was the prominent religion on this side of the town, more than a dozen mosques were located within the trading center. At its height Kumbi Saleh boasted a population of over 30,000 inhabitants.

The Kingdom of Ghana was able to retain its position in Western Africa by collecting tribute and taxes from its citizens. There were two distinct types of taxes that were paid the royal treasury: import and export tax and production tax. The import and export tax was paid by traders for the right to bring commodities in or out of Kumbi Saleh. The second tax, the production tax, was applied to the production of gold.

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

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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