Empire of Ghana
Location

Ghana lay between
the Niger and Senegal
Rivers
 This location was
North and West of
modern day Ghana
 Landlockedsurrounded entirely
by land; having no
coastline
Ghana’s Beginnings

Around 300 A.D., farmers,
known as the Soninke, banded
together to fight off nomadic
herders
 Once banded together, the
people of Ghana grew in
strength
 Used iron tools and farmed
along the Niger River
 Iron weapons were responsible
for making Ghana’s army
strong
Trade

Gold and salt made
the Soninke wealthy
 Other goods that were
exchanged were:
slaves, textiles, beads,
and copper
 Koumbi Saleh became
the most important
trade city
Taxes
Ghana’s rulers looked
for ways to make
money to support
their growing army
 They taxed traders,
residents, and
conquered tribes

Ghana’s leaders



Ghana’s kings used their
wealth to build powerful
armies
These strong armies
conquered many of
Ghana’s neighboring
areas
Ghana’s empire reached
its height in the mid
1000’s under the rule of
King Tunka Manin
Ghana’s Decline

Three factors contributed to the decline of
the Ghana Empire:
1. Invasion
2. Overgrazing
3. Internal Rebellion
Factor #1- Invasion



A Muslim group called
Almoravids attacked
Ghana in the 1060’s.
After 14 years of fighting,
the Almoravids won and
destroyed the city of
Koumbi Saleh
They stopped trading in
Ghana and instead traded
with Muslim leaders
Factor #2- Overgrazing

After the Almoravids
moved into Ghana,
they brought herds of
animals with them
 These animals ate all
of the grass in the
pastures and left the
soil exposed to the hot
desert winds, thus
making the land
worthless for farming
Factor #3- Internal Rebellion

In 1200 A.D. the people of a country that
Ghana had conquered rebelled against
them
 After a few years the rebels took over the
entire empire of Ghana
 However, the rebels were not able to
control Ghana and the empire fell apart