The Rise & Fall Of The Old Ghana Empire

About 1400 years ago, existed the old Ghana Empire. This rich and great empire was located in the now southern Mauritania, western Mali and eastern Senegal. The Great Ghana Empire, which was originally called Wagodu by its rulers, was the first major agrarian empire to rise in the region of West Africa. As rich and successful as this great empire, they didn't have any form of writing or record. Their history of their civilization, rise and fall were largely from oral histories and the medieval writing of the Arab traders, who traded in the old Ghana Empire. Although the medieval writers were known to exaggerate in their writings. The Ghana's empire-ruling dynasty was first mentioned in written records in 830, indicating that the empire began in the 9th century. According to the medieval writers, a man called Kaya Magakasia, who was the then king of Wagodu, rose to prominence in West Africa around 300 CE. His sons and grandsons extended their rule over several other kingdoms, turning them into vassal states under the old Ghana Empire. Around 300 CE, West Africans domesticated the camel because of its distinct advantage of crossing the Sahara desert. This singular act revolutionized trade across the Sahara, bringing rapid growing trade, which in turn brought a lot of wealth and power to West Africa. The empire controlled three major gold fields, further to the south of its territory, and such as was referred to as the Land of Gold or the Gold Coast. The king of the Ghana Empire monopolized all gold nuggets found in the gold mine and allowed his people to trade in gold dust. This made the empire so rich and powerful. The Sahara was known to have a wetter climate all year round, thus immeasurably contributing to the empire's success in agriculture coupled with aid civilization in the use of iron for agricultural tools. As the trans-Saharan trade intensified, Ghana grew even richer. It sold ivory, salt, iron, tools and weapons, money shots, sandals, textile, herbs, spices, fish, rice, honey and kola nuts. But they majorly deal in gold and exchange it for salt, which gave birth to the trans-Saharan trade. Also, at the time, the empire exported a large number of slaves from West Africa to the Islamic world. With the arrival of the Portuguese, a similar exportation of African people and slave labor would kick off the massive, coerced exodus of Africans to the Americas, in which millions died in the appalling conditions of the crossing, and millions more were led to a life of subjugation and cruelty upon their rise. To the early agrarian civilization, from Mesopotamia to Egypt to the Graeco-Romans, slavery was a negative characteristic. At a time when Europe was undergoing decline, after the fall of the Roman Empire, Ghana Empire had reached the height of its powers through its monopoly on gold. As far as the Niger Valley, Ghana's rulership extended there. Kumbisale, which holds a population of over 20,000 people, was known to be the capital of the old Ghana Empire. Kumbisale was known to have scarce water supply as a result of its dry climate. To further ameliorate this condition, the town had many wells, which provided water for its populace and for irrigation purposes. Outstanding feat of architecture and engineering was the common site in Kumbisale. These magnificent structures were reserved for noble officials of the king and the king himself. According to the medieval writers, the Ghana Empire was so great that in 1000, the empire could boast of 200,000 soldiers, of whom 40,000 were archers. The competition between agrarian states is a universal characteristic of this stage of human complexity. As such, empires rise and also fall. And it was time for the Great Ghana Empire to fall, after centuries of powerful rulership and control of the Trans-Saharan trade and the West African region. In the 11th century, the Amoravites challenged the power of the Ghana Empire, but they were defeated and the Amoravites went into decline in the next century. The fall of the Ghana Empire began in the 12th century, when its vassal state started seeking complete rulership of the great empire. This was as a result of the increasing number of Muslims that were integrated into the government of the Ghana Empire. The Muslim officials were so much that by the end of 1100, Ghana had converted entirely to Islam, which was completely different from the animist religion which the people of the old Ghana Empire practiced. By 1200, Ghana became more and more culturally incorporated into the Afro-Eurasian world zone, as trade continued to share collective learning. Ghana's long period of dominance in the West African region came to an end in 1240, as the climate of the Sahel continued to deteriorate. With dwindling resources and power, alongside political infighting, the Great Ghana Empire came to its knees. The power vacuum Ghana left was briefly filled by the arrivals called the Soso tribe. The Soso were later conquered by the Mali Empire, who forged an even larger and wealthier empire in West Africa. In 1400, the Mali Empire was overthrown by the Songha Empire, and in 1890, the Songha Empire fell to the Moroccans, who also used early muskets to overpower them. Although the current Ghana of today may not be as big as the old Ghana Empire, but it is definitely filled with wonderful and happy loving people. The current Ghana of today is not located in the same region as the old Ghana Empire, but due to its resources and civilized economy, the economy of the current Ghana has continued to grow in the West African region. This is the history of the old Ghana Empire. Thanks for watching. Always remember to subscribe, share and please leave a comment. Thank you. 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