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 History |
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The middle and upper reaches of the
Niger River have played an important role in West African history.
This area in Western Sudan was a base for the camel caravan routes
crossing the Sahara to the Mediterranean, while a black nation
is reputed to have existed there from around the 3rd or 4th centuries
A.C.
The Mali Empire flourished in the 13th century, with the city of Timbuktu on
the banks of the Niger River as an intellectual, artistic and religious center.
The Songhai Empire reigned in the 15th century, followed notably by the Bambara
Kingdom in the 17th and 18th centuries. From the latter half of the 16th century,
Mali experienced a period under Moroccan control in its north party.
In the 19th century the French army advanced into the region,
making Mali a part of French West Africa from 1898 to 1960.
Mali became an autonomous republic within the French Community
in 1958, formed the Mali Federation with Senegal in April 1959,
and gained independence in its own right on September 22, 1960. |
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Ambassador's
message