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Out of them in days without date flowed the beginnings of Egypt; among them rose, later, centers of culture at Ghana, Melle, and Timbuktu. Kingdoms and empires flourished in Songhay and Zymbabwe, and art and industry in Yoruba and Benin.
Gháná, whence, perhaps, the Portuguese Guiné and our Guinea of 'the dreadful mortal name, became the great gold-mart of the day. Famous in history is its throne, a worked nugget of solid gold, weighing 30 lbs. Most of the wealth came from a district to the south-west, Wangara, Ungura, or Unguru, bordering on the Niger, and supposed to correspond with modern Mandenga-land.
Some think it unites with the Nile, and forms the great western branch of that river, called the Bahr el Abiad, or White River; others think that it loses itself in the lakes or swamps of Wangara, or Ghana, and is there wasted by evaporation; while another opinion is, that its course takes a bend to the west, and that it falls into the Atlantic, or that it discharges itself into the Indian Ocean.
Though the elite ruled and the masses served, rights and obligations which limited the amount of exploitation were always in existence. One of the signs of the trend toward the increasing centralization of power within the society of West Africa was the development of a professional army. The gigantic armies of Ghana had been conscripted from the common citizenry.
Presently Tinbukhtu succeeded, according to Leo Africanus , Gháná as the converging point of the trade, and made the name for wealth which endures even to the present day. Its princes and nobles lavishly employed the precious ore in ornaments, some weighing 1,300 ounces.
Vartarian complacently nods assent, and his brother, with equal complacency rolls me a cigarette, after which a good half-hour is consumed in preparing for me a letter of introduction to their friend Mudura Ghana in the village of Kachahurda, which I expect to reach somewhere near noon; mine host dictates while his brother writes.
After mentioning Ghana as the principal Mahometan city of Nigritia, spoken of by Edrisi, he says that many of the Fatimites, who escaped from the power of the Califs, took refuge in the interior of Africa, where they formed various states. He then proceeds as follows: "Tombut ou Tombouctou, est actuellement entre les villes de la Nigritie, celle dont on parle davantage.
It cannot be stated with certainty that these events were merely calculated responses to the changing world situation, but the Cold War and the emergence of an independent Africa were nevertheless realities which could not be overlooked. Ghana had gained its status as an independent nation.
The Mandinka people, who had been the middlemen in the gold trade and who had received protection from the king of Ghana, achieved their independence in 1230 A.D. They went on to use their position in the gold trade to build an empire of their own. The peak of their influence and power was achieved in the early fourteenth century under Mansa Kankan Musa who ruled Mali for a quarter of a century.
These were the necessary ingredients that led to the building of three large and powerful empires: Ghana, Mali and Songhay. Commerce was another factor which contributed to their development. Governmental control of a thriving trade in both gold and salt provided the wealth and power necessary for establishing these large empires.
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