Desert Empires – History of Africa with Zeinab Badavi

BBC New Africa (2020)

Film Review

In this film, BBC presenter Zeinab Badavi explores the history of the Ghana, Mali and Songhay Empire and the Berber trading center of Chinguetti. All four successively occupied the region encompassing modern Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Guinea

The Ghana Empire (which didn’t include modern day Ghana) ruled the region between 600 and 1076 AD. Known then as the Empire of Wagadou, it was a federation of 10 independent states whose rulers were required to provide food for the federation’s king (he ensured this by keeping their sons captive). Most of the empire’s inhabitants were farmers and fishermen using iron tools. Although it became very wealthy from its control of the African gold trade,* the Ghana Empire, which considered it more valuable, used copper. They traded gold with Arab merchants, Berber nomads (for camels) and North Africans and salt with their southern neighbors.

Chinguetti in modern day Mauritania was the trading center for a confederation of Berber tribes in the 11th-14th century. It became a holy city for pilgrims traveling to Mecca and eventually a learning center, the source of carefully preserved medieval Chinguetti manuscripts.

In the 11th century the Ghana empire was conquered by the Mandinko or Mali Empire. By 1235, the latter substantially exceeded the size of  the Ghana empire it replaced. In 1236 the emperor established the Charter of Mandé or the Charter of Rights, which was passed along by oral tradition.

Between 1235-1255 Sundiata Keita was became the Mali mansa (king) after capturing Timbuktu from Turag nomads. Mansa Keiti, Timbuktu became Africa’s center for trade and scholarship. Although technically a center for Islamic study, the empire’s religious tolerance drew scholars from the far corners of the known word experiencing religious persecution in their own countries. As the modern day city has been afflicted by Islamic terrorists since 2012, Badavi was only allowed to visit Timbuktu under armed guard.

In 1320, Keita’s nephew Mansa Musa I became Africa’s best known ruler when he and a large retinue made a pilgrimage  a lavish pilgrimage dressed in garments decorated with gold and carrying gold staffs. The king gave away so much gold during his pilgrimage that the global price of gold plummeted.

In 1468 Sonni Ali the Great conquered Timbuktu and Mali became part of the Songhay Empire. The latter was larger still than Mali, as far east as the Niger River. In 1591 the Songhay empire collapsed into the Songhay kingdom, the area immediately surrounding ding its capitol Goa.

*Gold mining occurred in regions just south of the Ghana empire.