Editing Africa (section)

=====Mali and Songhai=====

Located around the upper reaches of the Senegal and Niger rivers, the Mali Empire developed at the beginning of the 11th century from a group of Mandé tribes. In the mid-13th century, the state experienced a period of expansion under the leadership of the ruler Sundjata Keita and converted to Islam. The Mali Empire reached its zenith under Musa, who made a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324-25, established diplomatic relations with Tunis and Egypt, and brought numerous Muslim scholars and artisans to the empire; from the time of Musa onwards, Mali appeared on geographical maps. After 1400, the empire declined, and the Songhai emerged as the leading state in western Sudan (Sahel region).

The greatest expansion of this state coincided with the reigns of Sonni Ali and Askia Muhammad; during the latter's reign, Islam flourished at court, and Timbuktu became one of the main centers of Islamic culture, famous for its university and book trade. Attracted by the kingdom's wealth, the armies of al-Mansur of Morocco annihilated Gao, the capital of Songhai, in 1591. Following the collapse of Songhai, numerous small kingdoms – Macina, Gonja, Ségou, Kaarta – attempted to establish dominance over western Sudan, but this only resulted in permanent conflicts and economic decline.