Middle Ages

Mali Empire

Period
AD 1236 – AD 1611
Duration
approx. 375 years
Greatest extent
around AD 1415
Area (max.)
approx. 1.1 million km²
Mali Empire at its greatest extent (around AD 1415) · Borders: Cliopatria
▶ View on the interactive map

Profile

Strength

Wealth from the gold and salt trade; Mansa Musa is often named one of the richest people in history.

Famous figures

  • Sundiata Keita
  • Mansa Musa
  • Mansa Sulayman

Wars & battles won

  • Battle of Kirina (c. 1235)

Wars & battles lost

  • Loss of Timbuktu to the Tuareg (1433)
  • Decline against the Songhai Empire (15th–16th century)

Languages

  • Mandinka
  • Arabic

Period and duration

Mali Empire — according to the map data from AD 1236 to AD 1611, roughly 375 years. The dates refer to the time the empire is drawn as its own territory on the world map; historians sometimes date its founding and end differently.

Greatest extent

Mali Empire — greatest extent around AD 1415: the mapped borders then cover about 1.1 million km², roughly 0.8% of Earth's land area. The area is calculated from the border lines of the map and is therefore an approximation.

AD 1236Area according to the map data (max. 1.1 million km²)AD 1611

Predecessors and successors

States that ruled the same territory directly before and after:

Before (AD 1235)

  • Sosso Empire

After

No successors in the map data.

Neighbours around AD 1415

The largest states in the region at the same time:

No neighbouring states in the map data.

Learn more

Borders and dates: Cliopatria / Seshat Global History Databank (CC BY 4.0). Coastlines: Natural Earth. Text: Centaurian.