1.10 – Not With a Bang…
(Source: Wikimedia Comons. Photo of the streets of Djenne. The failed 1599 siege of the city was the catalyst for …
1.9 – Trade Wars
(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons. Photo of Elmina Castle today. While Elmina would later become an infamous slave trading fortress, it …
Episode 1.8 – Merchants and Marabouts
(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons. Image depicts a Saharan salt caravan in December 1985) Trade, commerce and religion were the defining …
Episode 1.7 – Social History Part One: The Court and Commons
(Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons. 19th Century French depiction of a Malinke woman. I would prefer not to use a later …
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Episode 1.6 – The Traveler at the Mansa’s Court
(Featured Image: Modern Walata, gateway to Medieval Mali for travelers coming from the North) In 1352, the Moroccan traveler Ibn …
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Episode 1.5 – Caravans of Gold
Mali’s Mansa Musa ruled from 1312 to 1337. His reign – and those of his son and brother – represents …
Episode 1.4 – Peering Through the Fog
Genealogy of the Keita Dynasty What did Mali look like after Sunjata’s defeat of Soso? The newly founded empire was …
Episode 1.3 – The Lion of Manden
The story of Sunjata, founder of Mali. From the search for a special wife to the defeat of the Soso …
Episode 1.2: The Fractured Land
Ghana is no more. West Africa in the 13th century was a divided land of conflict and petty kingdoms. Among …
Episode 1.1: In Search of Ghana
The history of human civilization in the Sahara and Sahel, culminating with the Empire of Ghana. We introduce what made …