How was the Mali Empire organized administratively?

The Empire of Mali was organised into provinces with a strict hierarchical structure [xxxviii] in which each province had a Governor, and each town had a mayor or mochrif [xxxix]. Large armies were deployed to stop any rebellions in the smaller kingdoms and to safeguard the many trade routes [xl].

How did Mali expand its empire?

Protected by a well-trained, imperial army and benefiting from being in the middle of trade routes, Mali expanded its territory, influence, and culture over the course of four centuries. An abundance of gold dust and salt deposits helped to expand the empire’s commercial assets.

How did the Mali Empire exercise power?

The great wealth of Mali came from gold and salt mines. The Mali Empire controlled important trade routes across the Sahara Desert to Europe and the Middle East. The city of Timbuktu was considered a center of education and learning and included the famous Sankore University.

How did the Mali government maintain authority?

He ruled the empire with total authority, passed down by heredity. In fact, nearly every part of Mali society was based on ancestry. Each clan had its own founding ancestor, and most people were required to be whatever their parents were.

What did the Mali empire trade?

In the ancient empire of Mali, the most important industry was the gold industry, while the other trade was the trade in salt. Other items that were commonly traded included ivory, kola nuts, cloth, metal goods, beads, and also human beings in the slave trade.

What did the Mali empire import and export?

The most important export items are gold, cotton, and live animals, while imports consist largely of machinery, appliances, and transport equipment and food products. Mali’s major trading partners are China and other Asian countries, neighbouring countries, South Africa, and France.

What were the achievements of the Mali Empire?

He incorporated the laws of the Koran into his justice system. Cities such as Timbuktu and Gao were developed into international centers of Islamic learning and culture. Elaborate mosques and libraries were built. The university arose in Timbuktu might well have been the world’s first.

How did Mali influence the medieval world as a site of cultural exchange?

One effect of the exchanges was that West Africa became connected to the Islamic trade networks and thus to all of Afro-Eurasia. Mali was one of three medieval kingdoms that ruled over West Africa. Trade with the Arabs did not create the Ghana empire, but it certainly made the rulers and merchants of Ghana much richer.

What did the Mali Empire import and export?

How did Mali empire grow and prosper?

The Mali Empire grew and prospered by monopolizing the gold trade and developing the agricultural resources along the Niger River. Like Ghana, Mali prospered from the taxes it collected on trade in the empire. All goods passing in, out of, and through the empire were heavily taxed.

How did Mali influence trade?

Mali was ruled by kings called mansa. Mali gained power through gold and salt mining and through control of the Trans-Saharan trade routes in the region. Mali’s relative location lay across the trade routes between the sources of salt in the Sahara Desert and the gold mines of West Africa.

How did Mali become the dominant state in West Africa?

Thus, by the 14th century, the Mali Empire became the dominant state in West Africa. The success of the Mali Empire, however, rested not only on its territorial expansion, but also on its economy.

What happened to the Mali Empire?

The surrounding Songhay Empire would conquer most of the Mali kingdom by the late 15th century, leaving little remaining of the once proud Mali Empire. By the 17th century, the Moroccan Empire occupied the area. Modern day Kirina, this town used to be one of the main strongholds of the Mali Empire.

What were the most important commodities of the Mali Empire?

Gold, salt, and copper were the most important commodities of the Mali Empire and their trade enriched the empire. The Mali Empire at the end of Mansa Musa’s reign 1337. (Mossmaps / CC BY-SA 4.0 )

Was the Mali Empire an absolute monarchy?

In other words, the Mali Empire was not an absolute monarchy, but may be considered to be a constitutional monarchy, long before this idea was even conceived in Europe. Although Sundiata founded the Mali Empire, it was not quite an empire yet. It was up to his successors to expand the empire’s boundaries.