Gao: Did you mean...?

An aerial view of Gao and the Niger River in Mali, West Africa. The river and trade along it were fundamental in the rise of African empires such as the Mali Empire (1240-1645 CE). Photo Credit: UN Photo/Harandane Dicko

Tomb of Askia Mohammad I (r. 1494-1528 CE) of the Songhai Empire. Gao, Mali. The complex includes the pyramidal tomb, two flat-roofed mosque buildings, the mosque cemetery, and the open-air assembly ground.

The Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) was the first dynasty of Imperial China (defined as the era of centralized, dynastic government in China between 221 BCE and 1912 CE) which united the separate states following the Warring States Period (c. 481-221...

The Songhai Empire (aka Songhay, c. 1460 - c. 1591) covered what is today southern Mauritania and Mali. It replaced the Mali Empire (1240-1645) as the most important state in West Africa. Originating as a smaller kingdom along the eastern...

Ancient China produced what has become the oldest extant culture in the world. The name 'China' comes from the Sanskrit Cina (derived from the name of the Chinese Qin Dynasty, pronounced 'Chin') which was translated as 'Cin' by the Persians...

Ghost stories were the earliest form of literature in ancient China. They were almost certainly part of a very old oral tradition before writing developed during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE) and they continue to be popular in China today...

The Mali Empire (1240-1645) of West Africa was founded by Sundiata Keita (r. 1230-1255) following his victory over the kingdom of Sosso (c. 1180-1235). Sundiata's centralised government, diplomacy and well-trained army permitted a massive...

Mansa Musa I was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa from 1312 to 1337. Controlling territories rich in gold and copper, and monopolising trade between the north and interior of the continent, Mali grew extremely wealthy. Mansa Musa...

Shi Huangdi (l.259-210 BCE/r.221-210 BCE, also known as Qin Shi Huang, Qin Shih Huandi, Shi Huangti or Shih Huan-ti) was the first emperor of a unified China. Shi Huangdi means `First Emperor' and is a title, not a proper name. The Qin Dynasty...

The dramatic 17-m pyramidal structure of the Tomb of Askia in Mali was built by Askia Mohamed, the Emperor of Songhai, in 1495 A.D. in his capital Gao. It bears testimony to the power and riches of the empire that flourished in the 15th and...