Mali Empire

State · 1236–1611 CE · at its largest around 1415 CE

West African empire founded by Sundiata Keita, rich in gold and famed for Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca; Timbuktu became a centre of Islamic scholarship under its rule.

On its lands while it lasted

Djenné-Djenno (c. 250 BCE – c. 1400 CE): One of the oldest known towns in sub-Saharan Africa, in the inland Niger delta of Mali; occupied from about the 3rd century BCE and abandoned by around 1400.
Sundiata Keita (c. 1217 CE – 1255 CE): Founder of the Mali Empire, celebrated in the oral Epic of Sundiata, who defeated the Sosso king Sumanguru around 1235.
Mali Empire (c. 1235–1670 CE): West African empire founded by Sundiata Keita that at its height in the 14th century stretched from the Atlantic coast to the Niger bend and controlled major gold sources.
Mansa Musa (c. 1280 CE – 1337 CE): Ruler of the Mali Empire whose lavish pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324–25, carrying vast quantities of gold through Cairo, made Mali famous across the Mediterranean world.
Djinguereber Mosque (1327 CE): Mud-brick mosque in Timbuktu commissioned by Mansa Musa after his pilgrimage, completed around 1327; a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Ibn Battuta’s journey to Mali (1351–1354 CE): Home in Morocco after nearly a quarter-century away, Ibn Battuta crossed the Sahara via the salt mines of Taghaza to the Mali Empire, visiting Walata, the Mali capital and Timbuktu before returning to Fez in 1354.
Askia Muhammad I (c. 1443 CE – 1538 CE): Emperor of Songhai from 1493 to 1528 who expanded and centralised the empire and promoted Islamic learning in Timbuktu.
Songhai Empire (c. 1464–1591 CE): Empire centred on Gao that under Sunni Ali and Askia Muhammad became one of the largest states in African history before falling to a Moroccan invasion in 1591.
Gao (c. 1464 CE): Capital of Songhai Empire (1464–1591).
Battle of Tondibi (1591 CE): Moroccan army of the Saadi dynasty, equipped with firearms, defeated the Songhai near Gao, bringing about the collapse of the Songhai Empire.