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Decline & Fall of the
Ghana Empire |
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Decline:
 In the 11th century, the Ghana Empire
certainly presented the familiar picture
of a centralised government with stable
state institutions. However, in spite of
statehood, splendour and wealth, Ghana
was no more by 1240. The reasons for its
decline and fall were due to a
combination of internal and external
factors.
The first reason was the
way in which the empire was organised.
At its peak it was made up of many
states and peoples and so lacked
political and cultural unity which the
kings of Ghana failed to achieve. The
different ethnic groups such as the
Soninke, Susu, Serer, Berber and Tuclor
each with its own distinctive language
and cultures owed allegiance to the
king.
 Conquered states such as
Futa Toro, Silla, Diara and Kaniaga were
left to operate under their own
traditional rules and were only expected
to pay annual tribute and contribute
contingents or levies to the kings in
times of war. As these conquered states
and peoples were always anxious to
regain their independence, the survival
of the empire came to depend on the
military strength of the central
government and the ability of the
reigning monarch. It follows, therefore,
that if and that military power became
weakened, the empire was bound to break
up into its component parts. This,
unfortunately, was what happened from
the second half of the 11th century
onwards owing first to an invasion by
Berber warriors from the Mauritanian
Sahara, and secondly to the rise of two
strong new kingdoms to the south, first
the Susu Kingdom and then the empire of
Mali.
The Almoravids:
The Sanhaja Berbers, who started to
invade Ghana after about 1050, were
driven by troubles of their own, mainly
over poverty, into attempting to get a
share of the wealth of more prosperous
neighbours. Soon after 1000 AD they
began to look for a new means of
livelihood.
The answer to their predicament was
religion. A leader emerged within their
society named Abdullah-Ibn Yasin who set
up a religious teaching centre. These
people were known as the Al-Murabethin
or the Almoravids. Over time
Abdullah-Ibn Yasin bought the Berber
peoples of the western most lands under
his authority as well as converting
various rulers of the states they came
into contact with as with the case of
Futa Toro.
In 1056, moving
northwards into Morocco, the Almoravids
captured the important city of Sijilmasa,
the main northern trading centre for
West African gold. From there they went
further to the north, conquering the
rest of Morocco. Then they crossed the
straits of Gibraltar, and took over
Muslim Spain. A southern part of the
Almoravids meanwhile moved south against
the Empire of Ghana. Its leader, General
Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar, put himself at the
lead of the Berber Confederation, made
an alliance with the people of
Futa Toro
and waged a long war against Ghana.
In 1054 Abubakr and his men took the
city of Audoghast. In 1075 they declared
a holy war, or jihad against Ghana. In
1076 after many battles, the Almoravids
seized Koumbi Saleh which was the
capital of the empire.
However,
these Berber invaders could not hold the
lands they had conquered. There were
many revolts and much resistance. Abu
Bakr was killed while attempting to
suppress one of these in 1087. By this
time, however, the Ghana Empire had more
or less fallen apart. Although the
people re-conquered their capital in
1087 and regained their independence,
the earlier defeats inflicted on them by
the Almoravids weakened them militarily.
This military weakness gave he
opportunity for states such as
Futa Toro, Diara, Kaniage and Silla to seize
their moment and achieved their
independence. By the start of the 12th
century , the ancient
Ghana Empire had
been reduced to is original metropolitan
roots.
During the earlier
conflicts with the Almoravids attention
was diverted away from the land and
agriculture and much of the land was
laid waste. The caravan trade routes
were also severely disrupted. These two
essential components for the wealth of
Ghana lead to its inevitable demise.
Fall:
T he Metropolitan area saw a resurgence
in power and splendour in the 1130's as
it turned once again into a great
commercial centre. This resurgence
didn't stop the metropolitan area losing
its independence once again and it soon
lost its importance forcing the traders
to migrate out and establish a new
centre of commerce in Walata to the
north east of Kumbi Saleh. This change
was caused by a defeat inflicted by one
of its former tributary states, Kaniaga.
By 1200 Kaniaga had become a strong Suso
kingdom. Its king, Sumanguru Kante,
conquered Ghana in 1203 and reduced it
to a vassal state. In 1240 the city was
raised to the ground by an emerging
empire called
Mali.
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