Sahara: Did you mean...?

The Wolof (aka Jolof or Djolof) Empire was a state on the coast of West Africa, located between the Senegal and Gambia rivers, which thrived from the mid-14th to mid-16th century CE. The empire prospered on trade thanks to the two...

Juba II (c. 48 BCE - 23 CE) was a Numidian prince and the king of Mauretania from c. 25 BCE until his death in 23 CE. He was raised in the household of Julius Caesar (c. 100-44 BCE) and married Cleopatra Selene II (40 - c. 17/5 BCE...

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. Prospering...

A map indicating the major trans-Saharan trade routes across West Africa c. 1100-1500 CE. The darker yellow areas indicate gold fields.

A trans-Saharan camel caravan carrying salt. Agadez to Bilma, Niger.

A modern camel caravan in Morocco.

Artist's impression of camel riders in the desert. The camel was a common mode of transport in Africa and the Middle East during ancient, medieval and early modern times.

The society of ancient Egypt was strictly divided into a hierarchy with the king at the top and then his vizier, the members of his court, priests and scribes, regional governors (eventually called 'nomarchs'), the...

The estimated expanse of the Achaemenid Empire at its height c. 500 BCE was two million square miles. Most of this territory was conquered by Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Empire, who reigned from 559 to 530 BCE...

European colonising powers sought to exploit Africa's resources from the 15th century onwards. Arab traders had been doing the same in North Africa and East Africa through the Middle Ages, but it was from the 17th...