Dinga Cisse

Djenné, also spelled Jenne or Dienné, ancient trading city and centre of Muslim scholarship, southern Mali. It is situated on the Bani River and on floodlands between the Bani and Niger rivers, 220 miles (354 km) southwest of Timbuktu.

Jenne-jeno (ca. 750 AD-1150 ) These early states developed out of complex chiefdoms which had developed in the area shortly after horticulture became prevalent. One of the earliest was the city of Jenne-Jeno, located on the Niger River in present day Mali.

From its foundation, Jenne-jeno served as the focus of long-distance trade networks that linked gold and forest goods producers far to the south with those who brought the semiprecious stone and salt of the Sahara (and, eventually metal goods, beads, and books from North Africa).

With the help of archaeological excavations mainly by Roderick and Susan McIntosh, the site is known to have been occupied from 250 B.C. to 900 A.D. The city is believed to have been abandoned and moved where the current city is located due to the spread of Islam and the building of the Great Mosque of Djenné.

Djenne-Djenno (aka Djenné-Jeno, Jenne-Jeno, or Old Jenne) was an ancient city located in modern Mali, West Africa which flourished between c. 250 BCE – 1100 CE, making it one of the oldest cities in Sub-Saharan Africa.

What theory did the discovery of Jenne-jeno prove wrong? Trade between villages only occurred in the Sahara desert. Cities did not exist in West Africa until outsiders came in.

Timbuktu

Great Mosque of Djenné

Timbuktu is best known for its famous Djinguereber Mosque and prestigious Sankore University, both of which were established in the early 1300s under the reign of the Mali Empire, most famous ruler, Mansa Musa. Timbuktu’s greatest contribution to Islam and world civilization was its scholarship.

Timbuktu was the starting point for trans-Saharan camel caravans which transported goods northwards. Timbuktu was one of the most important cities in the Mali Empire because of its location near the Niger River bend and so it was fed by the trade along both the east and west branches of this great water highway.

The Mali Empire collapsed in the 1460s following civil wars, the opening up of trade routes elsewhere, and the rise of the neighbouring Songhai Empire, but it did continue to control a small part of the western empire into the 17th century.

One site of encounter was when the muslim priests journeyed to Africa. We have learned about others this year: Mali, Spain, and different spots across the Arabian Peninsula. There was a lot of trade in the West African kingdoms and they gained wealth through the trans-Saharan trade routes.

Mansa Musa’s net worth adjusted to today’s value is roughly US$400 billion. The source of his wealth was his land’s vast amounts of natural resources particularly, gold. His wealth became known to the world in 1324 during his pilgrimage to Mecca.

Commonly, the Sahel stretches from Senegal on the Atlantic coast, through parts of Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Sudan to Eritrea on the Red Sea coast. Culturally and historically, the Sahel is a shoreline between the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.

It is a transitional ecoregion of semi-arid grasslands, savannas, steppes, and thorn shrublands lying between the wooded Sudanian savanna to the south and the Sahara to the north. The topography of the Sahel is mainly flat; most of the region lies between 200 and 400 meters (660 and 1,310 ft) in elevation.

The Sahel countries—Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad—face many challenges, including chronic insecurity, rising extremism, a lack of economic prospects, and poor access to education, employment and essential services such as water and electricity.

The animal life of the Sudan and of the Sahel is rich and varied. Large herbivorous mammals include gazelles, antelopes, giraffes, and elephants. The main carnivores are lions, panthers, and hyenas.

The need for food, animal feed and fuel in the Sahel belt is growing year on year, but supply is not increasing at the same rate. Over this ten-year period, the population of the region grew from 367 million to 471 million. …

The Sahel, the vast semi-arid region of Africa separating the Sahara Desert to the north and tropical savannas to the south, is as much a land of opportunities as it is of challenges.

Its fringe, the Sahel, is too dry and receives too little rain to keep the desert at bay. Well over half of some countries where the lion has become extinct — Mali, Mauritania and most of Niger, for example — have already disappeared beneath the Sahara.

Which of these is a major difference between the Sahara and the Sahel? The Sahara has larger forests. The Sahel receives more rainfall. The Sahel records higher temperatures.

Although the 1973 ordinance gives the description that it is a “legendary vulture” originating from Malian folklore, other sources claim it is actually a dove that symbolizes peace. The Djenné mosque is flanked by two bows and arrows, with the rising sun pictured at the very bottom.

Mali lions are found only around the Faleme River in the far west of cerde of Kenieba. Papio papio (Guinea baboon) and Massoutiera mzabi (Mzab gundi) are also reported.

Country Summary: Violent crime, such as kidnapping and armed robbery, is common in Mali. Violent crime is a particular concern during local holidays and seasonal events in Bamako, its suburbs, and Mali’s southern regions. Terrorist and armed groups continue plotting kidnappings and attacks in Mali.

The small population of West African giraffe in the Ansongo-‐Menaka Partial Faunal Reserve is now presumed to be locally extinct (Fennessy & Brown 2010). No other population of giraffe is known to persist in Mali and the (sub)species is thus assumed to be locally extinct in the county.

French

Mali

1. French: Bonjour (Hello)
2. Bambara: I ni ce (Hello)

Islam