Saharan Trade Routes

EARLY MODERN AFRICA and the WIDER WORLD HIST 1301 | History Saharan Trade Routes Ancient camel caravans crossed the Sahara Desert on foot from North Africa (the time Before the Common Era, or BCE). A web-like network of trade routes spanning the entirety of North and West Africa was traversed by thousands of camels during the zenith of the trade, which occurred between the ninth and the sixteenth centuries of the Common Era (CE). They transported a wide range of products, including textiles, gold, ivory, copper, salt, and slaves from sub-Saharan West Africa to the Mediterranean coast in the north, east to Egypt and the Horn of Africa, and south into the semiarid Sahel, which is located between the Sudanian savanna and the Sahara Desert. Before the heyday of the trans-Saharan trade route, trade in the Sahara was mostly limited to the exchange of agricultural items like rice, sorghum, and millet for rare or technologically advanced commodities like salt or iron goods. Pack animals like mules, horses, and donkeys enabled these early inter- and intraregional trades, but commerce was restricted since these animals were not adapted to the harsh conditions of the Sahara. The camel, already a beast of burden in Egypt, was brought to North Africa by the Roman conquerors in the second century BCE. Beginning in the seventh century CE, camels allowed the inhabitants of North Africa to conduct regular long-distance trade across the Sahara. These animals were able to go days without water and had feet and eyelashes designed for navigation in sandy areas. The Tuareg tribe of North Africa devised the camel saddle, which made riding possible for camels and increased their use for trans-Saharan commerce. Systematic long-distance trading was also made possible by the arrival of the date palm. The date palm's fruit is rich in sugar, which acts as a natural preservative. When dried, the fruit offers a high-calorie, portable food source that may be used to fuel merchants on lengthy trips. The highly compensated nomadic North African Berber (Amazigh)1 middlemen and the network of oasis communities that connected remote segments of the network in an otherwise harsh terrain were also vital to the trans-Saharan commerce. Travelling merchants could find a spot to relax, rehydrate their animals, and restock on supplies for the next part of their journey in oasis towns. Similar to caravanserais, which were inns for travellers found all across the Islamic world, notably in Egypt and Morocco, they fulfilled the same purpose as the Silk Roads in Asia and the Middle East. The Imazighen were adept at leading caravans and acting as go-betweens, which made it easier to transport goods over thousands of square miles of desert, including ostrich plumes and gold ingots. However, Amazigh traders were in charge of much more than only the transportation of products. Additionally, they were devoted followers of Islam who worked to disseminate Islamic law, customs, and traditions as well as to combine a network of local and regional trading lines into an operation that genuinely crossed continents. During this early phase of commerce, salt was a major commodity that was traded and served as a kind of money. with addition to being essential for both human and animal life, salt also aids with food preservation, which was a major issue for humans in the days before refrigeration technology. In this commerce, communities on the outskirts of the desert served as middlemen, selling salt to southern woodland tribes that had access to goldfields. Other extremely expensive commercial products, including gold and copper, were only later introduced. These goods were then transported over the desert from tropical West Africa to the furthest regions of the North African coast and beyond. Between the fifth and seventh centuries CE, trade across the Sahara grew steadily, and in the eighth and ninth centuries, a number of important linkages were built. Two significant adjustments were mostly responsible for these outcomes. First, the Islamic conquest of North Africa gave rise to Muslim governments and a broad unity of the region's culture. Secondly, the Ghana Empire of West Africa became the first significant political entity in the region. When taken as a whole, these events created an environment where people with similar goals and traits might unite and strengthen their economic interests, especially as demand for gold from the Sudan rose. Sub-Saharan gold was acquired by Arab traders in Morocco and other Islamic nations in North Africa as commerce increased. The gold trade was so prosperous by the eleventh century that it was impacting Mediterranean trade and society. European coins were initially minted using gold from West Africa. A important trading route was created between the cities of Sijilmasa, which is located north of the Sahara, and Awdaghost, which is located south, as a consequence of the increase in the gold market, which encouraged the construction of additional connections in the trans-Saharan trade route. Mali was one of the most significant early Sudanic empires, a powerful kingdom that arose in the part of West Africa that is south of the Sahara Desert. The essential elements that had before aided in the growth of trans-Saharan commerce were united in Mali. Its rulers were Muslims, and the bonds between these groups were reinforced by the fact that many trans-Saharan traders practiced the same faith. However, these kings had direct authority over the Bure goldfields. The empire included the commercial centres of Awdaghost, Oualata (Walata), Tadmekka, and Timbuktu, which were all very significant trading hubs. While salt and gold continued to be the major commodities of trade, other goods were also regularly sent, including textiles, slaves, ivory, precious stones, and shea butter, a vegetable fat derived from the shea tree nut. Caravans traversed the sands of the Sahara on a regular basis between the ninth and the fifteenth centuries, transporting goods from far-off West Africa to Egypt and North African trade centres. From there, the goods were transported either overland via the Sinai Peninsula to the Near East's Levant region (presentday Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel) or across the Mediterranean to southern Europe. From there, goods from West Africa may make their way to one of the Silk Roads' land-based western ports, which might be found in commercial hubs like Aleppo, Syria, or the seaside city of Tyre in Lebanon. During this period, Africa played a significant role in the massive commercial venture that established the first global economy.