Kingdom of Ghana

Kingdom of Ghana, medieval West African state from which the modern republic of Ghana takes its name. It arose in what is now southeastern Mauritania and southwestern Mali by the 5th century ad, when it was first mentioned by Arabic writers, and was described in some detail by the Spanish Muslim geographer al-Bakri. Ghana's ruling dynasty belonged to the Soninke people, but a number of other peoples in the area were subject to it. Its economy was based on a trade in gold acquired from the south, which was exchanged for products from Muslim North Africa, especially salt. Its capital was at Kumbi Saleh (Koumbi Saleh) in what is now southeastern Mauritania. Ghana's principal enemies were the Muslim Sanhaja Berbers, who, under Almoravid leadership, overran the kingdom in 1076. It later revived but was finally destroyed when one of its former subject peoples, the Susu, captured Kumbi Saleh in 1203.