The other name for the Kingdom of Ghana was Wagadu or Wagadugu. This was the greatest empire in western Sudan, and the people of Soninke founded it. It was named Ghana by mistake by the Europeans and Arabs to mean ‘rulers.’ The historical records of this nation came into being before the end of the 8th century. From the oral histories, it is evident that the Kingdom came into existence in the 7th century and was ruled by over 144 kings. It is necessary to note that the present day Ghana has no historical connection to the medieval Kingdom (Ancient History Encyclopedia, 2019). On the other hand, the Kingdom of Mali is argued to have existed between 1200 and 1500. This was one of the wealthiest empires in entire Africa. The Kingdom emerged from a small state known as Kangaba, and the Madingo or Mandinka built it. The Kingdom was one of the greatest Muslim states that ever existed in western Sudan. The people from this Kingdom were farmers and took part in gold trade as middlemen before being conquered by the Kingdom of Ghana (Ancient Origin, 2019). Eleven kings ruled the Kingdom.

These two kingdoms have some similarities and differences. This paper is, therefore, going to compare and contrast the rise, consolidation, and decline of the Kingdom of Ghana and the Empire of Mali.

The Kingdom Ghana and Kingdom of Mali are considered to be the most powerful kingdoms that ever existed in the history of sub-Saharan Africa. The empires were much similar to one another. However, the empire of Mali was bigger and better as opposed to Ghana (Conrad, 2010). When looking at the similarities of these two empires then the focus will be on the political, religious and economic matters. On the contrary, the difference will focus specifically on the beginning of these two empires and their powers.

The other similarity that existed between these two kingdoms is that both of them relied heavily on trade. Trade played a significant role in the development of these two kingdoms. They traded foods from Western and central Africa across various trade routes to distant places like Europe, India and the Middle East. Both Empire of Mali and Kingdom of Ghana trade gold, salt, ivory, kola nuts, cloth, metal good, beads and slaves (South Africa History Online, 2018).

However, it played an essential role as it was the primary source of wealth and it was found in abundance in Western Africa. There major trading partners apart from the Europeans, Middle Easterners and India were Timbuktu, Gao, Sijilmasas, Djenne, and Agadez in Western Africa. In North Africa they trade with Marrakesh, Cairo, and Tunis. Additionally, these two kingdoms shared the trade routes as their goods were going to the same place. The common trade route was Timbuktu that cuts across the Saharan to Sijilmasa. From Sijilmasa the goods could be moved to other parts like port cities of Marrakesh and Tunis. The trade route was Gao to Tunis as well as Cairo to Agadez (Ancient Civilization, n.d.).

These two Kingdoms cannot be compared by looking at the similarities alone. The similarities must go hand in hand with the differences. Therefore, it must be acknowledged that even though these kingdoms were similar in some ways, they must have had some differences. In this part of the paper, the focus will be on the differences between these two kingdoms. The first difference to consider is that how Ghana was formed is unknown following the different theories that surround the history of the Kingdom. On the other hand, it is easy to point out that Mali was created by the union of smaller states that came together under the leadership of Sundiata.

Therefore this doubtfulness on the formation of Ghana has been brought about by various theories that attempt to explain its structure but ends up contradicting each other. The other difference is on the account that Mali managed to enlarge its territories, became prosperous and influential more than Ghana (McKissack, Mckissack & Recorded Books, Inc. 2016). The claim is much evident in the modern claim that almost two-thirds of the world’s gold comes from the Mali Empire. Mali additionally occupied some regions that were occupied by Ghana and their territories.

The other difference comes in that Ghana was more of a commerce kingdom through transaarian trade and wealthier probably it is considered as the wealthiest at its time. Similarly, the people lived in stone settlements with every few stone houses and stone towers which were started in Tichitt –Oualata that was discovered by the people of Soninke. Further, it is necessary to note that the military of the Kingdom of Ghana was not that strong. Therefore any kingdom with powerful and sophisticated weapons could easily overpower them (Conrad, 2010).

On the other hand, the Empire of Mali is considered to be greater than the Kingdom of Ghana. Mali became the richest empire in entire Africa since Ancient Ghana was part of it.

Economic wise it was the richest Kingdom in the universe such that it’s Emperor Musa Keita also referred Mansa is respected around the globe such that he was added in the Catalan Atlas. Catalan Atlas is one of the most essential maps of its time, and this was during the period of 13th and 14th century (McKissack, Mckissack & Recorded Books, Inc. 2016). Additionally, just like Ghana, Mali also had stone houses. However, the building of Mali stone houses was based on Sudano-Sahelian architecture where they made houses out of mud bricks, adobe, and stones. This made Mali stand out more than Ghana.

The other difference between Mali and Ghana is that the Empire of Mali had a strong military as opposed to that of Ghana. The army of Mali had already fought against the Portuguese in Gambian Coast known as Uli II from Mali and emerged victorious. Mali managed to conquer Berbers cities and build its empire in them and also black Kingdom around these cities (Conrad, 2010). The victory over the Portuguese made Mali more powerful and rule for a century as Ghana could no longer compete with it.

In summative, looking at the similarities that existed between the Kingdom of Ghana and the Empire of Mali requires closer observation on the economic development of these kingdoms. The economic development will entail the trading materials and the trade routes that the two Kingdoms used when carrying out their trade as well as who were the trading partners. Similarly, the similarity will also require an analysis of the leadership styles that these two kingdoms employed. It is evident that Kings played a significant role in the leadership of these two kingdoms. On the other hand, it is essential to look at how these two kingdoms were formed and the style of lives that they lived. Ghana came about as a result of commerce that is trading with other regions. However, Mali was already rich following the abundant resources that it had which placed it at the world map particularly the Catalan Atlas. There was also a difference in the stone houses that these two kingdoms constructed. Therefore, understanding the concept of the Kingdom of Ghana and the Empire of Mali will require comparison and contradiction of the two kingdoms.