WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Gold, sought from the western and central Sudan, was the main commodity of the trans-Saharan trade.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Sahara Desert was a thriving crossroads of exchange for West Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe in the medieval period. Fueling this exchange was West African gold, prized for its purity and used for minting currencies and adorning luxury objects such as jewelry, textiles, and religious objects.

Detailed explanation-3: -The trans-Saharan trade remained important for Berber traders who wanted gold so they can buy goods from Arab countries and Europe. At the same time, Muslim merchants from North Africa brought metal, goods, textiles, horses, and salt to Ghana. Salt was used to preserve and flavor food.

Detailed explanation-4: -Camel caravans from North Africa carried bars of salt as well as cloth, tobacco, and metal tools across the Sahara to trading centers like Djenne and Timbuktu on the Niger River. Some items for which the salt was traded include gold, ivory, slaves, skins, kola nuts, pepper, and sugar.

Detailed explanation-5: -Gold and salt trade via the Sahara Desert has been going on for many centuries. Gold from Timbuktu, a city in the modern-day West African country of Mali, and other West African states was traded north to the Mediterranean in exchange for luxury goods and, ultimately, salt from the desert.