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The Ghana Empire (Arabic: غانا), also known as simply Ghana, [2] Ghanata, or Wagadu, was a West African classical to post-classical era western-Sahelian empire based in the modern-day southeast of Mauritania and western Mali. It is uncertain among historians when Ghana's ruling dynasty began.
The area of the Republic of Ghana (the then Gold Coast) became known in Europe and Arabia as the Ghana Empire after the title of its Emperor, the Ghana. [1] Geographically, the ancient Ghana Empire was approximately 500 miles (800 km) north and west of the modern state of Ghana, and controlled territories in the area of the Sénégal River and east towards the Niger rivers, in modern Senegal ...
Koumbi Saleh, or Kumbi Saleh, is the site of a ruined ancient and medieval city in south east Mauritania that may have been the capital of the Ghana Empire. It is also a commune with a population of 11,064 (census 2013). [1] From the ninth century, Arab authors mention the Ghana Empire in connection with the trans-Saharan gold trade.
From the 18th century, the Ashanti embarked on an expansionist policy like the Denkyira, conquering a chunk of modern day Ghana as well as some parts of Ivory Coast and Togo. [22] By the 20th century, the Ashanti Empire was annexed by the British Empire after its defeat in the Anglo Ashanti war. [23] [24]
There were many kingdoms and empires in all regions of the continent of Africa throughout history. A kingdom is a state with a king or queen as its head. [1] An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant centre and subordinate peripheries".
The name was a powerful reminder of their shared heritage and the legacy of the ancient empire that once thrived in the wider region. It encapsulated the aspirations of the Ghanaian people for self-governance, progress, and a future marked by dignity and resilience. [20] [21]
By the 10th century, Ghana was an immensely rich and prosperous empire, controlling an area the size of Texas, stretching across Senegal, Mali, and Mauritania. When visiting the capital city of Kumbi Saleh in 950 AD, Arab traveler Ibn Hawqal described the Ghanaian ruler as the "richest king in the world because of his gold."
From Ibn Hawqal writing in around 977 we learn that the distance from Aoudaghost to Ghana (presumably the capital of the Empire) was 10 days' journey for a lightly loaded caravan. [5] He wrote that the "king of Awdaghurst maintains relations with the ruler of Ghana", which suggests that at that time Aoudaghost was not part of the Ghana Empire. [6]