ABSTRACT
The old traditions of the Western Sudan suggest that Kangaba, the little state that was to grow into the mighty empire of Mali, was founded some time before Ad 1000. Sundiata was the founder of the empire of Mali, but not the first of Mali’s kings. Mali repeated the achievement of Ancient Ghana on an even greater scale. Its rulers secured or regained control of the gold-producing lands of Wangara and Bambuk. When Mansa Musa came to power, Mali already had firm control of the trade routes to the southern lands of gold and the northern lands of salt. Mali was a power of more than local or even regional significance. Under Mansa Musa, Mali ambassadors were established in Morocco, Egypt, and elsewhere. Like Ghana before it, Mali was ruled by kings who were the heads of important descent-lines or leading familie. The truth was that Mali had outgrown its political and military strength.
