Ghana Empire
مملكة غانة القديمة
c. 300 CE – c. 1235 CE · c. 633 AH
The greatest of the old Sudanese kingdoms, its capital Ghana standing in two cities on the banks of the Niger among the largest cities of the world, Muslim from early times, whose first convert king was Barmandana the pilgrim, until the Susu then Mali absorbed it.
At a glance
- Era
- The Rashidun Caliphate · The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks
- Region
- West Africa & Sahel
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
In time
Overview
The ancient kingdom of Ghana, which Ibn Khaldun describes as the greatest of the kingdoms of the Sudan in early times. Its seat was Ghana, two cities on the two banks of the Nile, which by his description were among the greatest cities of the world. 1
Islam and the pilgrimage
Ibn Khaldun says that it was Muslim from ancient times. The first of its kings to embrace Islam was Barmandana, who made the pilgrimage, and its kings after him followed his practice in the pilgrimage. 1
Decline
Its king weakened, and the people of Sosso prevailed over it, then the people of Mali. The data date this decline roughly to 633 AH (1235 CE); the conversion is derived. 1
An account of a king of the Banu Salih
In the accounts of the Idrisids, Ibn Khaldun mentions that in the city of Ghana, on the side facing the sea, there was a king of the Banu Salih ibn Abd Allah, of the descendants of Musa al-Jawn ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Hasan al-Muthanna. It is said that they joined the Maghrib after al-Ma'mun imprisoned their grandfather in Khurasan. This is reported from some historians, and Ibn Hazm did not mention it. 1
A second source is needed: the beginning of the kingdom is not fixed in the data beyond an old approximate estimate.
Connections
- Predecessor of
- Almoravid dynasty· Mali Empire
People and things also explored
ابن زهر الحفيد· Ishaq ibn Ali al-Murabiti· Mansa Musa· Mansa Sulayman· Mari Jata (Sundiata Keita)· Tashfin ibn Ali· Almoravid dynasty· Mali Empire
Sources
- Kitab al-Ibar of Ibn Khaldun
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Ghana Empire”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/polity/ghana-empire/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.