What was the Mali Empire?

The Mali Empire was a West African state that dominated the western Sahel from the mid-13th to the early 17th century. At its height, it was one of the largest empires in the world, controlling territory from the Atlantic coast to the Niger Bend, and one of the wealthiest, thanks to its control of the trans-Saharan gold and salt trade.

The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita, whose victory at the Battle of Kirina in 1235 overthrew the Sosso king Sumanguru Kante and established Mandinka dominance over the region. Sundiata is credited with creating the Kouroukan Fouga — an oral constitution that organized governance, established social structures, and codified rights. Under his successors, Mali expanded to control the vital trade routes connecting the gold-producing regions of the south to the salt mines and Mediterranean markets of the north.

The empire reached its zenith under Mansa Musa (r. c. 1312–1337), whose legendary pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 displayed such extraordinary wealth that it depressed gold prices across the Mediterranean. Musa used his wealth to transform Timbuktu into a major center of Islamic scholarship, building mosques and attracting scholars from across the Muslim world. The University of Sankore became one of the preeminent centers of learning in the medieval world.

Mali's decline in the 15th and 16th centuries was gradual, as provincial territories broke away and the rising Songhai Empire absorbed its eastern regions. But Mali's legacy — in the oral traditions of the Mandinka people, in the intellectual heritage of Timbuktu, and in the architectural traditions of the Sahel — endures to this day.