Influence of the West-African State of Mali

The Western State of Mali

The Ancient West African state of Mali, was once known widely known for its great power in trade and wealth. Its Empire was located on the edge of the Sahara Dessert and stretched all the way through the Atlantic coast on the West side of Africa. Mali had many great cities such as Djenne' and Gao but the one that flourished beyond the others that even today we hear about it is the great city of Timbuktu. When this city was at its height it had the potential to influence many countries and foreigners alike, to begin on an adventure to find out what was so majestic about the city of Timbuktu.

Timbuktu, at its time was a prosperous city and through its prosperity it attracted many merchants for their resources and valuables. The empire of Mali had control of many goods that were very valuable in their age, which they would use for trade such as gold, copper, books, slaves and were extremely well known for their salt, which at the time was just as valuable as gold. At the time salt was rare in those regions and many people, especially in the south needed it, so they would come from Mali with camels full and loaded with salt to trade all across Africa. (Davidson, The Lost cities of Africa, Pg 90-91) Trade was a very important key to the success of Mali, they used the Niger river or caravans to transport their goods with the use of their trade routes that ran through out all of Western Africa and the Niger River that continued to even parts of Europe and the middle east. All traded goods were taxed by Mali and collected. Eventually, Timbuktu became a center for commercial trade which attracted many Arabic and European merchants to Mali. Timbuktu was once named “The city of Gold” or “The Empire of Gold” which ...

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... created such an impact that would be felt for many generations to come. Many words of languages survived due to the influences Mali had on writing and linguistics, it is the reason that it carried out the beliefs of Islam even long after its fall, continuing to influence other regions of Africa.

In conclusion, The West African State of Mali was one of the most influential regions of its time, being able to grow into a center of learning and wealth, it welcomed many foreigners to come not only for its valuable resources but also for its education. It prospered in many aspects and influenced many countries and regions of Africa in Architecture, Art, and Faith. The Western State of Mali contributed so much for its day and age, as we continue to find out more about The Mali Empire, we can only hope that we unravel more mysteries of about the glorious city of Timbuktu.