Ghana Empire

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Image:Empire ghana.png The Empire of Ghana (existed c. 750-1240) was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania and part of Mali. Though known to its own citizens as the Wagadou Empire (pronounced Wah-guh-doo), the Empire became known in Europe and Arabia as the Ghana Empire by the title of its ruler (the Ghanas meaning "Warrior King"), and the name stuck for centuries to come. The dou in the empire's name is Mande for "town" and prevalent in place names throughout central West Africa. The waga in the name roughly translates to "herd". Thus, Wagadou means "Town of Herds".

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 and other forms of livestock by Arabs brought about a 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 and the Middle East 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.

Relatively little is known about the kingdom, with most information coming from Andalusian traders who frequently visited the country, and from the 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 Cordoban 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, the Ghana could field an army of some 200,000 soldiers.

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 emperor worship of the Ghana and worship of the Bida, a mythical sea serpent of the Niger.

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History

Ghana is believed to have originally been a small Mandé and Berber inhabited principality also known as Awkar, that had existed since at least the fourth century. Awkar was originally ruled by Berber pastoralists. Around 750 or 800 AD Majan Dyabe Cisse or Dinga Cisse united the Soninke in taking over Awkar and establishing a state. The Cisse clan became the rulers of the new state called Wagadou. To this day, the Cisse name is prominent in the politics of Mali and Mauritania.

The Ghanas expanded their territory greatly, annexing a number of neighbouring cities and peoples. The empire's capital was built at Koumbi Saleh. This would grow to a size of 30,000 on the edge of the Sahara, a large metropolis divided into two sections. One section was a center of trade and was inhabited almost entirely by Arab and Berber merchants. Because the majority of these merchants were Muslim, this part of town contained more then a dozen mosques. The other part of the city was called El-Ghaba. This stoned-wall protected section was the royal and spiritual capital of the Empire of Ghana. Most of the houses here were built of wood and clay, but wealthy and important residents lived in homes of wood and stone. The king's palace was the grandest of sturctures in this part of the city.

As Islam grew throughout the region, the kings of Ghana permitted the religion, but did not convert to it, as did the smaller state of Takrur in modern Senegal. The important city of Aoudaghost was captured in 1050, but was soon lost to Takrur, who had joined themselves with the Almoravides, fanatical Muslims to the North. The growing power of the Almoravides soon led them to launch a jihad against Ghana in about 1076 under Abu Bekr, who conquered it by 1083.

Ghana had long been struggling. The population density around the empire's leading cities had also overtaxed the region, and the Sahara desert was expanding southward. While imported food was sufficient to support the population whenever the income from trade was high, when trade faltered, this system also broke down.

After 1147, when the Almoravide dynasty collapsed, the Sosso, native, non-Muslim Soninke peoples of Takrur, led by Diara Kante of the dynasty of Diarisso from Kaniaga, reasserted themselves, capturing much of the kingdom, and Koumbi Saleh in 1180. His son Soumaoro Kante again occupied it in 1203 and forced it to pay tribute. However, the Sosso did manage to annex the neighboring state of Mali to the south, where the important goldfield of Bure were located.

In the 1230's, the Sosso's vassal states, including Mali, rose in rebellion under Sundiata Keita. Wagadou's vassal king, Ghana Soumaba Cisse, sheltered Sundiata during his exile. He later gave half his army to Sundiata on his quest to liberate Mali from the Sosso. After Soumaoro's defeat at the Battle of Kirina in 1235, Ghana Soumaba Cisse became a permanent ally of Mali. As Mali became more powerful, Wagadou's role as an ally declined to that of a submissive state, and eventually ceased to be an independent kingdom.

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.

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