WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Ghana, first of the great medieval trading empires of western Africa (fl. 7th–13th century). It was situated between the Sahara and the headwaters of the Sénégal and Niger rivers, in an area that now comprises southeastern Mauritania and part of Mali.

Detailed explanation-2: -The West Africans exchanged their local products like gold, ivory, salt and cloth, for North African goods such as horses, books, swords and chain mail. This trade (called the trans-Saharan trade because it crossed the Sahara desert) also included slaves.

Detailed explanation-3: -Rapidly growing trade brought a lot of wealth and power to West Africa, just as the Ghana Empire was getting its start. The Ghana Empire, in particular, grew rich from the trans-Sahara trade. It certainly helped that the empire had control over the three major gold fields to the south of them.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Songhai controlled the trade on the Niger river at the time of the Mali Empire. Through endless campaigns for expansion, Songhai became the largest of the three great empires of Western Africa –– and larger than all of continental Europe. The Songhai kingdom under Ali had the only naval fleet in West Africa.