WEB Resources:

Map of  African kingdoms:

Africa Overview:

Africana.com
Scroll through the subject listings to find your assigned culture.

African Voices
 This Smithsonian site is wonderfully rich graphically and has a huge, well organized compiliation of resources on the history of Africa from ancient times to now. 

Ancient African Civilizations
This article describes the civilizations that flourished in Africa before the arrival of European colonial powers.

West African Gallery
West Africa has long been the home of hundreds of kingdoms over the years.   Of these, four gained enough power over time to be called Empires.

Multi-media Africa Archives
Here are pictures and maps of modern and historical Africa.

Timeline of African History to 1500
This is a timeline of West African History with links to supporting information.

Islam and Indigenous African Culture
Discusses howiIn West Africa, much of the  conversion to Islam prior to the 18th century occurred through interaction with Islamicized Berber traders, who controlled the trans-Saharan trade routes.

Ghana:

Ghana Empire
The Ghana Empire lay in what is now southeastern Mauritania and
western Mali. Ghana empire was an important black trading state
in West Africa from about the A.D.  300's to the
mid-1000's.

Civilizations in Africa: Ghana
Although it originated in the late fourth century, Ghana only
became a major regional power near the end of the millenium.
Although the state was originally formed by Berbers, it was built
on the southern edge of Berber populations. Eventually the state
became dominated by the Soninke, a Mande speaking people living
in the region bordering the Sahara.

Ghana in 1067 C.E.
This is a concise, easy to read description of Ghana in 1067 C.E.

Mali:

Mali Empire
Mali empire was a black empire that flourished in west Africa
from about 1240 to 1500. At its height, the Mali Empire controlled
most of what are now Gambia, Guinea, Mali, and Senegal, and parts
of  present-day Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Niger.

Dogon People
According to oral tradition, the Dogon people of south-central
Mali originated near the headwaters of the Niger River.

Mansa Musa
Mansa Musa captured the attention of the Arab world when he left
his home in Mali to make a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324.

Sundiata
Sundiata's forces killed Samanguru and destroyed his forces in
the Battle of Kirina in 1235.  Sundiata then became mansa, or
king of a new empire which we know today as Mali.

Annenburg/CPB Projects Exhbits Collection:Collapse of Empires
 Explores the collapse of four ancient civilizations, including Mali and Songhai. 

Mali
This site includes a short history of Mali, information on its African neighbors, interactive tests, links, an art gallery, maps and links to Songhay.

Islamic History of Timbuktu
Description: Here is an extensive investigation into the Islamic legacy of this legendary African city. It includes information about many famous travelers who visited and wrote about Timbuktu. 

Mali and Songhai
Article on the decline of the kingdoms of Mali and Songhai, as well as the smaller kingdom of Ghana before them, were once great trading kingdoms famous for their gold. Yet despite their greatness, they each declined for similar reasons.
 

Ancient Mali
Mali Empire, empire in West Africa that rose to dominance in the 13th and 14th          centuries. The Mali Empire was the second and most extensive of the three great        successive empires, which included the Kingdom of Ghana and Songhai. The Mali      Empire served as a model of statecraft for later kingdoms long after its decline in the  15th and16th centuries.

The Islamic Legacy of Timbuktu
No word in English connotes remoteness more than Timbuktu. Thanks to the astonishing wealth that Mansa Musa had displayed on his visits to Cairo and Makkah, it also connoted riches. For eight centuries, Timbuktu captured the imaginations of both East and West, albeit for very different reasons.

Songhai:

Annenburg/CPB Projects Exhbits Collection:Collapse of Empires
 Explores the collapse of four ancient civilizations, including Mali and Songhai. 

Songhai Empire
Songhai empire was a black trading state in Africa that reached
its peak during the 1400's and 1500's. Songhai  began during
the 700's, and by the 1400's had more power and wealth than any
other west African empire. It extended from the central area
of what is now Nigeria to the Atlantic coast and included parts
of what are now Burkina Faso, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania,
Niger, and Senegal.

Mali and Songhai
Article on the decline of the kingdoms of Mali and Songhai, as well as the smaller kingdom of Ghana before them, were once great trading kingdoms famous for their gold. Yet despite their greatness, they each declined for similar reasons.

Saharan Trade: A Link Between Europe and Africa
This student created ThinkQuest describes the Saharan trade which extended from the Sub-Saharan West African kingdoms across the Sahara desert to Europe. The Saharan Trade linked such African empires as Ghana, Mali, and Songhay to the European world.

Songhai Empire
Here you will find a brief profile of the Songhai people and their rise to                          eminence between the 14th and 16th centuries. Includes a short slide show. 

Books:

Brooks, Larry. Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Timbuktu (Cities Through Time)
Runestone, 1999.

Conrad, David. The Songhay Empire (First Book). Watts, 1998

Green, Rebecca L.  The Empire of Ghana.  Watts, 1998.

Herr, Myra.  West Africa : Ghana (Ancient and Living Cultures).  Goodyear Pub Co., 1992.

Koslow, Philip.  Ancient Ghana : The Land of Gold. Chelsea House, 1995.

Koslow, Philip.  Centuries of Greatness : the West African Kingdoms, 750-1900. Chelsea House, 1995.

Koslow, Philip.  Songhay: the Empire Builders (The Kingdoms of Africa). Chelsea House, 1995.

McKissack, Patricia and Fredrick. The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali and Songhay : Life in Medieval Africa. Holt, 1995.

Thompson, Carol.  The Empire of Mali. Watts, 1998.