World History › Section M · Medieval sub-Saharan Africa › Topic M.3
The peoples and empires of the Sahel
The trans-Saharan trade was run by people who knew the desert: Amazigh herders and guides, river peoples of the Niger, and the kings of Gao and Kanem. From the same desert edge came reforming movements, the Almoravids and the Almohads, that built empires reaching into Spain.
In this topic
- Peoples of the shore
- Masters of the desert routes
- Gao and the early Songhai
- Worked example: the Gao tombstones
- Kanem near Lake Chad
- The Fatimids and the Zirids
- Worked example: did the Banu Hilal ruin Ifriqiya?
- The Almoravids
- The Almohads
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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