Sahelian kingdoms

The Sahelian kingdoms were a series of powerful states that grew up in the Sahel, the grassy lands just south of the Sahara, from the 8th century until the 19th century. These kingdoms got very rich by controlling important trade routes that crossed the desert. Because they had many fast pack animals such as camels and horses, they could manage large areas and defend themselves well.

Even though these kingdoms were big, they were not always tightly controlled. Many cities in their lands could make their own decisions and rules. The Sahelian kingdoms could not move far south into the thick forest zone where people like the Bono and Yoruba lived. This was because the horses and camels could not survive there, and warriors on horseback could not fight effectively in the forests.

Economy

The Sahelian kingdoms had big cities and many towns, along with areas where people lived more spread out. People in these places grew crops, raised animals, hunted, fished, and made things like metal tools, clothes, and pottery. They traveled along rivers and lakes, traded goods both nearby and far away, and even had their own money to use for trading.

History of Sahel kingdoms

The Sahelian kingdoms were powerful states that grew up in the grasslands just south of the Sahara Desert, from around the 8th century until the 19th century. They became rich by controlling important trade routes that crossed the desert.

The first big kingdom was the Ghana Empire, which started around the 3rd century in parts of modern-day Senegal and Mauritania. Ghana got very wealthy from trade, especially after camels were introduced, which made travel easier. Later, the Mali Empire became powerful, reaching its height in the 1350s along the Niger River. The largest of these kingdoms was the Songhai Empire, which grew quickly under King Sonni Ali in the 1460s and stretched from Cameroon to the Maghreb. Far to the east, near Lake Chad, the Kanem-Bornu state also became very important. In 1810, the Sokoto Caliphate emerged, conquering the nearby Hausa city-states and forming a larger, more organized state.

Maps

African states between 500 BCE and 1500 CE

The main slave trade routes in Africa during the Middle Ages.

Trade routes of the western Saharan Desert, c. 1000–1500. Goldfields are indicated by light brown shading.

The Ghana Empire at its greatest extent, c. 1050

The successor states to the Ghana Empire c. 1200

Influence of the Kanem Empire c. 1200

Extent of the Mali Empire, c. 1350

Approximate extent of the Mali Empire, next to the Songhai Empire, c. 1350

Constituent states of the Wolof Empire.

Constituent states of the Wolof Empire, c. 1400

Carte des peuplades du Sénégal de l'abbé Boilat (1853): an ethnic map of Senegal at the time of French colonialism. The pre-colonial states of Baol, Sine and Saloum are arrayed along the southwest coast, with the inland areas marked "Peuple Sérère".

The Songhai Empire, c. 1500

Bornu Empire territory by 1500

The Mali Empire, the Songhai Empire and Mossi kingdoms, 1530

Map of the Pashalik of Timbuktu (yellow-striped) as part of the Saadi dynasty of Morocco (outlined black) within the Songhai Empire (outlined red), c. 1591

The Mali Empire and surrounding states, c. 1625

Senegambia, c. 1707. Waalo marked as Re. D'Oualle in the upper left.

Bornu Empire and eastern Sahelian kingdoms, c. 1750

The extent of the Bornu Empire, c. 1750

Shilluk Kingdom (yellow) and its neighbors, c. 1800

Bornu Empire in 1810

The Fulani Jihad States of West Africa, c. 1830

Sokoto Caliphate, 19th century

French West Africa (in green) after World War II, and other French possessions (in dark grey).

Major slave trading regions of West Africa, 15th–19th centuries

Depiction of the classical model of the triangular trade.

Depiction of the triangular trade of slaves, sugar, and rum with New England instead of Europe as the third corner.