The Bantu were a group of people who originally lived in West Africa. Several powerful empires developed around the trade of gold and salt and would control much of Western Africa for almost 1,000 years. Other pack animals cannot cross the Sahara, but camels can because they can go up to 40 days without water. Ghana became powerful because of its control of gold in the gold-salt trade across the Sahara Desert. Muslims brought their religion to the people of Ghana.

As Ghana declined in the 1200’s AD, the kingdom of Mali gained in power. Mali’s powerful king was named Sundiata Keita. In 1324, he traveled with somewhere between 12,000 - 60,000 people each wearing silk and carrying gold bars, which were given to the poor. Mali established the city, Timbuktu, which was a center for trade and learning. Songhai was a Muslim kingdom, Islam was a unifying force for the people and an important factor for maintaining state power.