A Short History of the early
Ghana Empire (300 – 1200 AD)
HARPRIYA SINGH
The Ghana Empire started in 300 AD in Western Africa. It is also
called the Wagadou Empire. The Ghana Empire from 300 AD to 700 AD was
larger than the Ghana we know today. Under King Dinga Cisse, the Ghana
Empire was given the name ‘Ghana.’ Ghana means ‘War Chief’ in the
Mande language. The Mande language is important because the people
living in the Ghana Empire were the Mande people. It was the Mande
people who founded the Ghana Empire.
TRADE WAS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE EARLY GHANA EMPIRE
The Ghana Empire was known as the ‘The Land of Gold.’ It was the most
powerful state in Western Africa. It controlled a large part of West
Africa. From its capital city Koumbi Saleh, the Ghana Empire looked
after the trade of gold, salt and kola nuts. The Ghana Empire took
salt and cloth from the Kingdom of Morocco in North Africa. The Ghana
Empire gave gold and kola nuts to the Moroccan Kingdom. From the
Moroccan Empire, gold would be sent to Europe, Asia and the Middle
East.
The Ghana Empire also developed iron. Iron was used to make farming
tools and weapons. The Empire had an army of over 200,000 soldiers. By
770 AD, the kings of the Ghana Empire had complete control over the
trade routes of the Sahara. People had to pay tax to the kings of the
Ghana Empire if they wanted to trade with West Africa.
WHILST EUROPE WAS IN THE DARK AGES, GHANA FLOURISHED AS AN EMPIRE
By 1000 AD, the Empire of Ghana had grown very large. It grew in all
directions – north, east, south and west. The Empire of Ghana
controlled 650,000 square kilometres of land, which is 3 times the
size of Britain today. Because of this growth, the Ghana Empire was
the most powerful empire in the region at its time.
The Empire’s wealth was incredible. At the time, Europe was in the
Dark Ages and had disease, no education and war. But, the Ghana Empire
was rich, well-educated and famous around the world.
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