Ghana Empire

Ghana Empire
غانا
Wagadu
واغادو
c. 100–300–c. mid-1200s
The Ghana Empire at its greatest extent
The Ghana Empire at its greatest extent
CapitalKoumbi Saleh (likely a later capital)[1]
Common languagesSoninke, Malinke, Mande
Religion
African traditional religion
Later Islam
GovernmentFeudal Monarchy
Ghana 
• 700
Kaya Magan Cissé
• 790s
Dyabe Cisse
• 1040–1062
Ghana Bassi
• 1203–1235
Soumaba Cisse
Historical era1st–3rd century–13th century
• Established
c. 100–300
• Conversion to Islam
1076
• Conquered by Sosso/Submitted to the Mali Empire
c. 15th century c. mid-1200s
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Tichitt culture
Djenné-Djenno
Sosso Empire
Kingdom of Diarra
Méma
Pre-imperial Mali
Gajaaga
Today part of

The Ghana Empire (Arabic: غانا), also known as simply Ghana,[2] Ghanata, or Wagadu, was a West African classical to post-classical era western-Sahelian empire based in the modern-day southeast of Mauritania and western Mali.

It is uncertain among historians when Ghana's ruling dynasty began. The first identifiable mention of the imperial dynasty in written records was made by Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī in 830.[3] Further information about the empire was provided by the accounts of Cordoban scholar al-Bakri when he wrote about the region in the 11th century.

After centuries of prosperity, the empire began its decline in the second millennium, and would finally become a vassal state of the rising Mali Empire at some point in the 13th century. Despite its collapse, the empire's influence can be felt in the establishment of numerous urban centers throughout its former territory. In 1957, the British colony of the Gold Coast, under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah named itself Ghana upon independence.

  1. ^ Gestrich, Nikolas (2019). "The Empire of Ghana". Oxford Research Encyclopedias. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.396. ISBN 978-0-19-027773-4.
  2. ^ Etheredge, Laura (2009-04-14). "Ghana". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  3. ^ al-Kuwarizmi in Levtzion and Hopkins, Corpus, p. 7.