Ghana empire decline

1160

The once-great West African kingdom of Ghana, whose kings had drawn tribute from the salt-and-gold trade across the western Sahara, was fragmenting under pressure from Sahelian Muslim states. Successor polities including the Sosso and rising Mali lineages began positioning themselves. The breakup of Ghana's commercial network scattered its merchant communities across the western Sahel, spreading Islam and Soninke trading practices to regions that had never known them.