<p> The Kingdom of Gold</p><p>Ghana was the first of the three great West African trading empires. The countries of Mauritania, Mali, and Senegal- an area known as the Western Sudan are the modern day sites of the territory that comprised the great empire of ancient Ghana. Although archaeological findings suggest that Ghana existed at least as early as A.D. 300, historians agree that the empire’s most glorious period lasted from the eighth through the eleventh century. Because he controlled the trade in the region, the king of Ghana was the “the master of gold” and called himself Ghana, which meant “warrior king.” (One ninth century visitor described him as the “the wealthiest of all kings on the face of the Earth.”) Visitors to the area mistakenly thought Ghana was the name of the country and thus recorded it as such. The territory was actually called Koumbi, and its people were the Soninke.</p><p>Ghana’s power came from its ability to use iron weapons to control the trading of gold between West Africa and North Africa. Interestingly, however Ghana never owned any goldfields of its own; the gold came from an area south of Ghana, called Wangara which scholars place somewhere near the Senegal River. The Wangara people who are related to the contemporary Fulani tribes of West Africa, never lost control of their gold to Ghana, but needed to trade gold (mined by the Mande people) for salt in order to survive. The salt they traded gold for came from salt mines in the Sahara Desert and North Africa. Arab traders in North Africa wanted gold as much as the people of Wangara and other parts of the western Sudan wanted Salt, but both had to pass through Ghana to trade. Thus, Ghana exploited its geographic location and military power to tax individuals who traded within its borders. This was a key to the considerable wealth generated in Ghana after the ninth century.</p><p>The gold and salt trade established Koumbi, Ghana’s capital as the wealthiest city in West Africa from about A.D. 800 to 1050. Although gold and salt were the most prized commodities, other items were traded as well. The people of Ghana raised peanuts, honey, and other dried fruit and vegetables. Kola nuts, imported from forest zones, were offered as a welcome gift to guests. Food was also part of the system of taxation, as peasants living outside the trading centers contributed a portion of their production each year to the people living in the cities. This contribution of food freed city dwellers such as traders and craftsmen to focus more exclusively on their particular trade.</p><p>To build stability and foster feelings of unity throughout his military and political empire, the king of Ghana maintained a strong, centralized government. Aided by his nobles and a large, powerful army of horsemen and bowmen, the king’s powers were absolute. He was expected by his people, though to use this political strength to promote justice throughout the empire. In all criminal matters the monarch personally acted as a Judge. Ibn Battuta a Berber scholar and theologian wrote of Ghana’s safety: “There is complete and general safety throughout the land. The traveler here has no more reason than the man who stays at home to fear brigands, thieves or ravishers.”</p><p>A common system of beliefs among its inhabitants was another factor that encouraged a strong and unified state of Ghana. The king of Ghana and most of his people practiced their traditional African religions. Central to traditional West African religious beliefs was the conviction that gods could protect people from disaster. By pleasing the gods, as well as the spirits of their ancestors, through prayer and ritual, many Africans believed they could avoid being passive recipients of ill fortune. Most West Africans believed that one god created their world, and that lesser gods of nature ruled over their daily life.</p><p>Although Ghana’s kings held tightly to the practice of their traditional religion, they were tolerant of Muslims who traveled within their empire to trade. At one time Koumbi had 12 different mosques, but to keep Islam separate from Ghana’s traditional religion, many West African government officials and merchants eventually converted to Islam and some spent huge sums of money to build impressive mosques.</p><p>The Ghana Empire weakened in the mid-11th century when North African Beber warriors called Almoravids attacked Ghana. The Almoravids were strict Muslims who believed they should conquer land and spread the message of Islam. When a drought drove them from their homelands, they first raided settlements on the fringes of the Sahara Desert and later attacked Ghana. Under Almoravid rule, many members of the royal family of Ghana became Muslims. The Almoravids destroyed the capital city of Koumbi in 1076 and although they never succeeded in subjugating Ghana, the Almoravids weakened the empire enough to make way for the rise of the second of the great Sudanic states: Mali</p>