GHANA EMPIRE ORIGIN & LOCATION OF THE ANCIENT GHANA EMPIRE

WEEK 1

TOPIC: GHANA EMPIRE ORIGIN & LOCATION OF THE ANCIENT GHANA EMPIRE

An empire is a political unit that is made up of several nations, states or kingdoms ruled by one supreme leader or monarch. Many popular empires existed in the world, and some were in Africa, such as the Sudanic Empires of ancient western Africa.

In history, the ancient Ghana Empire, properly known as Awkar, was the earliest known empire that existed in ancient West Africa. The ancient Ghana Empire lasted from 700 to 1240 C.E and it flourished in the present-day region of southeastern Mauritania and western Mali (western Sudan) around the Niger and Senegal Rivers, which is today referred to as West Africa.

The ancient Ghana Empire was founded as the state of Wagadugu by the Soninke or Sarakole people in the 5th century A.D. The king of Wagadugu was then known by his title, Ghana. With time, the state of Wagadugu expanded and became an empire. Subsequently, Arabs and merchants who visited and traded in Wagadugu started using the title Ghana' to refer to the people of Wagadugu and in describing the empire. Koumbi Saleh was the capital city of the empire.