3.1.3

Foundation of the Malian Empire

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The Foundation of the Malian Empire

The Malian Empire was ruled by Sunjata Keita.

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Control of West Africa

  • West Africa had been largely dominated by the Empire of Ghana.
  • But Islamic forces attacked the Empire of Ghana across North Africa in 1076.
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West Africa falls apart

  • The 1076 attack by Islamic forces weakened West Africa.
  • West Africa fell apart by the end of the 1100s and different groups tried to take control.
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The Mandinka people

  • One of the groups that tried to take control of West Africa was the Mandinka people.
  • The Mandinka lived in a small place called Kangaba on the banks of the Upper Niger River.
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Trade

  • The Mandinka took part in trading across Africa.
  • The Mandinka traded between places in the South and the North.
  • They were a group of ‘middlemen’, taxing the trade that crossed their lands.
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The success of the Mandinka

  • The Mandinka were also successful farmers, producing rice and other foods.
    • The Mandinka quickly became rich.
    • The Mandinkas' wealth enabled them to be successful in battle.
  • By around 1230, the Mandinkans were able to establish power over the neighbouring tribes.

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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