The Sahelian kingdoms were a remarkable series of centralized kingdoms and empires that flourished in the Sahel, a region of grasslands south of the Sahara, spanning from the 8th century to the 19th century. What set these states apart was their ability to harness the wealth generated from controlling the key trade routes across the desert. This control, coupled with the possession of large pack animals like camels and horses, enabled them to maintain central authority over expansive territories and also prove decisive in battle. Despite their centralized power, the Sahelian kingdoms maintained a degree of decentralization, allowing member cities a significant level of autonomy.
One of the defining factors in the expansion of the Sahelian kingdoms was their limitation from moving south into the forest zone of the Bono and Yoruba due to the unsuitability of mounted warriors in forest warfare and the susceptibility of horses and camels to the region’s diseases.
The first significant state to emerge in this region was the Ghana Empire, established around the 8th century. Centered in present-day Senegal and Mauritania, Ghana was the first to benefit from the introduction of pack animals by Wolof traders, ultimately dominating the region from about 750 to 1078. Concurrently, other smaller states such as Takrur to the west, the Malinke kingdom of Mali to the south, and the Songhai centered on Gao to the east, coexisted in the area.
Following the decline of Ghana due to the invasion from the Almoravids, a succession of brief kingdoms emerged, notably the Sosso, until the rise of the Mali Empire after 1235. This powerful empire, which traded with the Bono state in the far south, reached its zenith in the 1350s. However, by 1400, it had relinquished control of several vassal states. Notably, the Songhai Empire, emerging in the 1460s, swiftly expanded to become the largest state in African history by 1500, extending from Cameroon to the Maghreb. Despite its eventual reduction to the Dendi province in 1591 following an invasion by the Saadi Dynasty of Morocco, the empire endured until 1901 when the French deposed the last askia. Far to the east, the state of Kanem-Bornu, founded in the 9th century, gained prominence in the central Sahel region on Lake Chad. Concurrently, the Hausa city-states to the west, while loosely united, exerted dominance.
In 1810, the Sokoto Caliphate emerged, conquering the Hausa and establishing a more centralized state. This new power and Kanem-Bornu continued to exist, representing a significant chapter in the history of the Sahelian kingdoms.
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