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How Did Oral Tradition Build the Mali Empire? - From Mande Chiefdoms to Imperial Realm | Sleepy Facts About History
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In the early thirteenth century, the western Sahel was a region without a center. The old dominance of the Wagadu Empire had faded, leaving fragmented chiefdoms scattered across the upper Niger River valley. When the aggressive Sosso kingdom expanded under the ruler Sumanguru, it disrupted trade and threatened the autonomy of local Mande-speaking communities. This episode explores how a regional crisis forged a durable political realm called Mali, and how the memory of that emergence…
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