The Mali Empire was a west African empire that lasted from 1230 to
1600.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Evaluate each period in Malian Empire history
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
There are three time periods: Pre­Imperial, Imperial, and Late­Imperial.
Sundiata is credited with uniting and founding the Mali Empire in the Pre­Imperial period.
A series of mansas (rulers) expanded the borders of the empire in the Imperial period.
By 1610, neighboring kingdoms had captured so much of the empire that it fell apart.
TERMS [ edit ]
mansa
Ruler of the Mali Empire.
muezzin
The person who issues the call to prayer from one of the minarets of a mosque in Islam.
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The Mali Empire was a west African empire that lasted from 1230 to 1600. Malian history
can be divided roughly into three time periods: Pre­Imperial, Imperial, and Late Imperial.
Pre­Imperial Mali
Per oral traditions, the kingdom of Mali had already existed several centuries before
unification by Sundiata, a Malian mansa also known as Mari Djata I, as a small state just to
the south of the Soninké empire of Wagadou (the Ghana Empire). This area was composed of
mountains, savannah and forest providing ideal protection and resources for the population
of hunters. Those not living in the mountains formed small city­states such as Toron, Ka­Ba
and Niani.
Some historians suggest that Sundiata was Muslim. According to others, however, there is
nothing in the original epos that supports the claim. Sundiata is regarded as a great hunter
and magician whose subjects predominantly adhered to traditional African beliefs and some
claim so did Sundiata in order to gain their favors. Still others claim that Sundiata was a
Muslim with more syncretic practices. Sundiata Keita's son, adopted sons and brother all had
Muslim names, suggesting that he was at least a nominal Muslim, who may have complied
with followers of the traditional African religion to gain their favor and loyalty.
In the epic of Sundiata, Sundiata claims "an ancestral origin among the companions of
Muhammad in Mecca" and speaks of himself as a successor to Dhu al­Qarnayn, the Quranic
name for Alexander the Great. In exile, Sundiata learns about Islam when he travels to the
city of the Cissés, and returns wearing Muslim robes. It is mentioned that there was "only
one mosque" in Niani, Sundiata's hometown, but we can also see the invocation of "Allah
Almighty" by Sundiata's mother, indicating that Islamic terms, at least, were known.
Although it is unknown whether Sundiata was actually Muslim, it is clear that the epic of
Sundiata was affected by what Ralph Austen calls "Islamicate" culture—that is, the
integration of Islamic and Arab culture by inhabitants of the region, whether they are
Muslim or not.
However, many of Sundiata's successors, including his son Uli I of Mali, were Muslims; his
son Mansa Musa was one of the most celebrated.
The Keita dynasty from which nearly every Mali emperor came traces its lineage back to
Bilal, the muezzin of Islam's prophet Muhammad
Imperial Mali (1250­1559)
There were 21 known mansas, or rulers, of the Mali Empire after Sundiata and probably
about two or three more yet to be revealed. They were not content to rule the subjects unified
by the victory of Sundiata, and eventually would conquer and annex Fula, Wolof, Bamana,
Songhai, Tuareg, and countless other peoples into an immense empire. The Songhai are
thought to have settled at Gao as early as 800 CE, but did not establish the city as their
capital until the 11th century, during the reign of Dia Kossoi. During the second half of the
13th century Gao was conquered by the Mali Empire, and remained under its control until
the 15th century, when Songhai reclaimed it as its capital.
The Mali Empire flourished because of trade above all else. It contained three immense gold
mines within its borders unlike the Ghana Empire, which was only a transit point for gold.
The empire taxed every ounce of gold or salt that entered its borders. By the beginning of the
14th century, Mali was the source of almost half the Old World's gold exported from mines in
Bambuk, Boure and Galam. There was no standard currency throughout the realm, but
several forms were prominent by region. The Sahelian and Saharan towns of the Mali Empire
were organized as both staging posts in the long­distance caravan trade and trading centers
for the various West African products.
The number and frequency of conquests in the late 13th century and throughout the 14th
century indicate the Kolonkan mansas (who ruled at the time) inherited and or developed a
capable military. However, it went through radical changes before reaching the legendary
proportions proclaimed by its subjects. Thanks to steady tax revenue and stable government
beginning in the last quarter of the 13th century, the Mali Empire was able to project its
power throughout its own extensive domain and beyond. They maintained a semi­
professional, full­time army in order to defend its borders. The entire nation was mobilized
with each clan obligated to provide a quota of fighting age men. Historians who lived during
the height and decline of the Mali Empire consistently record its army at 100,000 with
10,000 of that number being made up of cavalry.
The Mali Empire reached its largest size under the Laye mansas (1312­89). The empire's total
area included nearly all the land between the Sahara Desert and coastal forests. It spanned
the modern­day countries of Senegal, southern Mauritania, Mali, northern Burkina Faso,
western Niger, the Gambia, Guinea­Bissau, Guinea, the Ivory Coast and northern Ghana.
Mansa Musa embarked on a large building program, raising mosques and madrasas in
Timbuktu and Gao. Most famously the ancient center of learning Sankore Madrasah or
University of Sankore was constructed during his reign. In Niani, he built the Hall of
Audience, a building communicated by an interior door to the royal palace. It was "an
admirable Monument" surmounted by a dome, adorned with arabesques of striking colours.
The windows of an upper floor were plated with wood and framed in silver foil, those of a
lower floor were plated with wood, framed in gold. Like the Great Mosque, a
contemporaneous and grandiose structure in Timbuktu, the Hall was built of cut
stone.During this period, there was an advanced level of urban living in the major centers of
the Mali. Sergio Domian, an Italian art and architecture scholar, wrote the following about
this period: "Thus was laid the foundation of an urban civilization. At the height of its power,
Mali had at least 400 cities, and the interior of the Niger Delta was very densely populated. "
After 1389, there were no distinguished lineages of mansas. In this period, the Malians
encounter the Portuguese beginning in the 1450s. The Portuguese trade with the Mali
Empire, but do not offer military support to defend the empire against neighboring
kingdoms such as the Songhai (also spelled Songhay) or the Fouta Tooro. Over a series of
years, neighboring kingdoms chipped away militarily at the Mali Empire, and by the end of
Mansa Mahmus III's rule in 1559, the empire was a shadow of its former self.
Extent of the Mali Empire (c. 1350)
Late­Imperial Mali
Mansa Mahmud III's reign ended around 1559. There seems to have been either a vacancy or
unknown ruler between 1559 and the start of the last mansa's reign. A vacancy or rule by a
court official seems the most likely since the next ruler takes the name of Mahmud IV. By
1560, the once powerful empire was really only the core of the Manden Kurufaba. The next
notable mansa, Mahmud IV, doesn't appear in any records until the end of the 16th century.
However, he seems to have the distinction of being the last ruler of a unified Manden. His
descendants are blamed for the break­up of the Manden Kurufaba into north, central and
southern realms.
Timbuktu Manuscripts ca 14c
Mathematics and astronomy written in Sudanese and Arabic