Seventh Grade · History · week 10

Ghana, Mali and Songhai

Describe how Ghana, Mali, and Songhai rose to power in West Africa by controlling trans-Saharan trade, especially in gold and salt.

Three great empires rose in West Africa, one after another, each controlling the same valuable trans-Saharan trade routes you studied last unit. The Ghana Empire (not the same location as the modern country of Ghana) grew powerful by around 800 CE by taxing every load of gold and salt that crossed its territory -- rulers took a cut of every trade caravan's cargo without producing the gold or salt themselves. Ghana's capital, Koumbi Saleh, grew into a major trading city until Ghana weakened and finally fell in the 1200s.

The Mali Empire rose in Ghana's place after Sundiata Keita united several kingdoms, defeating a rival ruler at the Battle of Kirina around 1235 CE. Mali grew even larger and wealthier than Ghana, and one of its later rulers, Mansa Musa, gets his own lesson next week. Eventually Songhai, once part of Mali, broke away and grew into the largest of the three empires under leaders like Sunni Ali and Askia Muhammad in the 1400s and 1500s. All three empires shared a pattern: control the trade routes, tax the trade, and grow rich -- and all three built famous trading and learning cities, especially Timbuktu, home to mosques, libraries, and a university that drew scholars from across the Muslim world.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • Trace the trade routes from week 5 again on a map, now adding Ghana, Mali, and Songhai's territory on top -- the geography connection should click.
  • Point out clearly: modern Ghana (the country) is not in the same location as the historical Ghana Empire -- a common mix-up worth heading off early.
  • Frame the "tax the trade" strategy in modern terms: a toll booth on a busy highway gets rich from traffic, not from making the cars.
  • Preview next week's Mansa Musa lesson as the most famous ruler of this trio of empires.
Talk about it:
  • Why might controlling trade be a more reliable way to get rich than mining or farming?
  • Why do you think one empire after another controlled the SAME trade routes, instead of new routes opening up?
  • What does it say about these empires that they built major centers of learning, not just wealth?

Mastery looks like: They can name all three empires in correct order, explain the gold-salt tax strategy that built their wealth, and identify Timbuktu's dual role as trade hub and center of learning.

Common stumbles: Confusing the order of the three empires, or confusing the historical Ghana Empire's location with the modern country of Ghana.

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Records attendance + 15 min of History for this learner.
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