ABSTRACT
The Empire of Ghana (see Appendix A) was bordered on the north by the Sahara, on the south by the Senegal River, on the west by Mauritania, and on the east by the Niger River. Kumbi-Saleh, which is located in presentday Mauritania, was its capital city. By 750 C.E. the Soninke people who founded the Ghana Empire, had organized a powerful army that enabled them to conquer neighboring kingdoms and important villages and extend their Empire towards both the north and the west. In 990 C.E. Ghana was able to take over the Berber center, Aoudaghost. By the 11th century, the Ghana Empire encompassed the cities of Wagadou, Mena, and Aouker as well as the areas inhabited by the Mande, Sosso and Dô people as far north as Ras-El-Mâ, Galam, and part of the Tekrour Kingdom.
