Mali Empire

By the 13th century, Mali was a vassal kingdom to a moribund Ghana Empire. Internal power struggles left Ghana open to rebellions and invasions. Sumanguru, the king of Kaniaga, gained the upper hand in the ensuing scramble for power. Eventually, Mali under Sundiata defeated Sumanguru at the Battle of Krina in 1235, ushering in a new epoch in the history of Mali. Thus, from a modest beginning, Mali under Sundiata went on to become one of the most prosperous and enduring empires in medieval Africa. Indeed, the griots of Siguiri compared Sundiata to Alexander the Great. Again, the wealth of Mali was made memorable by Mansa Musa's famed pilgrimage to Mecca in the 14th century. Like the Ghana Empire before it and the Songhai Empire which succeeded it, the Mali Empire was plagued with succession disputes at certain critical stages, eventually reducing it to a state of vassalage by the latter part of the 15th century.