An ancient
African empire. Originally a small
state which broke away from the ancient kingdom of
Ghana. It later became a powerful
kingdom which controlled much of Western Africa.
An early
king of Mali, Sundiata Keita, defeated his rivals in 1235 A.D. and began conquering neighboring states. By 1300 A.D., Mali had swelled to encompass its
parent kingdom of Ghana. Under King Sundiata, agriculture and
trade was improved, and large
tracts of grassland were burned to create planting areas for local
people.
Mansa Musa is Mali's best known king, who reigned from 1312 to 1332. He opened trade with other
nations and guarded trade routes with a powerful
army. In addition, he introduced
Islam to Mali. He made a pilgrimage to
Mecca in 1324, in grand style and hired
Spanish architects he met there to build
mosques throughout his kingdom as well as a grand palace in the capital,
Timbuktu.
In 1332, after Musa's death, Mali was invaded by Berber tribesman. Also, tribal warriors from surrounding
rainforests attacked Malian territory. Various other uprisings led to the split-up of Mali into several smaller states by 1550.