Nowadays, the Middle East is regarded as breeding grounds of civil unrest, where people struggle to make a living in the war torn cities and countries. However, it was not always like this. Seven centuries ago, in the 1300s, the Middle East was very different. With Europe in the Middle Ages, the Middle East was one of the most advanced regions on Earth. The medical practices there were one of best in the world. It was a wealthy region as well, with trade routes connected different parts of the region together. The trade routes distributed wealth and riches across the region. The trade routes rose to prominence in the eighth and ninth century before declining in importance in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries with the rise of new trade routes via the oceans, which were faster. During these seven hundred years, many commodities were traded across the desert, including salt, gold, and slaves. A few of the many impacts of the trade routes was that Arabic became increasingly influential through the spread of Islam. The Saharan trade also supplied much of the gold that was used for coins in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages until the discovery of the New World.
In its former years, the Sahara was not as harsh as it is today. People inhabited the vast land as far back as 5000 years. Their cave drawings indicate that the area was fertile and full of animals such as buffalos, elephants, rhinoceroses, and hippopotamus. Therefore, establishing a strong empire there would not be too difficult. However, this fertile land did not last forever, and the land was slowly transformed into a desert environment, a process known as desertification. This process increased with the rise of Islam in the early seventh century and the establishment of the early Caliphs.
A few hundred years later, the desert became more heavily populated with the Almoravid movement. This happened in the eleventh century when Berber Muslims migrated north from the Senegal river to seek a purer form of Islam. They then conquered the Kingdom of Morocco, and founded the city of Marrakech in 1062. Afterwards, they swept into Al-Andualus in southern Spain in 1080s when the Christian kings of Spain tried to reconquer territory. In West Africa, the most important geographical changes happened in Ghana. Muslim and worshippers of African religion had existed together for some time, but in 1076, the Almoravids sacked the city and it fell into decline. The Mali empire would not rise until the thirteenth century.
As mentioned before, in the trading existed in the Sahara desert due to existing empires and cities. This was due to the introduction of the camel, which actually originated from the North American continent. The camel allowed for more consistent communication across the desert, but it was not until the conquest of Islam across North Africa that regular trading was established. This happened during the seventh and eighth centuries. As always, money was the primary motivator and the cause for early Arab traders in West Africa. Overtime, two major lines of trade developed through the desert. A western route had its point in the Berber town of Sijilmasa in southern Morocco and its most southern point in the cities of Timbuktu and Gao. The eastern route stretched from southern Tunisia and the Ghadames in western Libya south, towards Aagades and cities near Lake Chad. These routes intensified during the Middle Ages and Muslim influence increased in the Niger region.
There were fifteen different trade routes in total that spanned the desert and allowed travelers and goods to go from one part of the Sahara to the other. There were seven primary routes that went from North to south, six forest routes, and two routes that went from East to West. During the time periods that they existed, these routes rose and declined in importance, depending on how safe they were and which empire was in power at the time.
In order to obtain gold from the Bambuk fields in the south, traders from Fez and Marrkesh in Morocco had to travel the Aduaghost Trail, which ran through Sijilmasa and Wada to Azukki and from, there, to Kumbi Saleh in Ghana. The North South routes were primarily used for the gold trade. For the gold in the Bure fields, merchants traveled from Fez through Sijilmasa, Taghaza and Tichitt-Walata, to Timbuktu and Djenné. Another route from the Bure fields led from Algiers through Wargla, In Salah, and Arawan to Timbuktu. For the gold from the Lobi-Pourra fields, traders and would leave Qayrawan in Tunisia and travel through Wargla, In Salah, Tadmekka, and Timbuktu to Gao. This route was especially active during the Songhai Empire. Another route from began in Tripoli. This passed through Fezzan, Bilma, and Kanem to the Bornu city of Bauchi. Finally, from Cyrenaicain or Aujila in eastern Libya a route led through Wadai to Bornu. Excluding Cairo, there were five major starting or ending points for the trade in the north: Marrakesh, Fez, Algiers, Qayrawan, and Tripoli. Gold and other products were regularly transported to Europe from these cities. There were also five major rendezvous stations where merchants gathered money, camels, drivers, guides, water, provisions, and trade goods for the journey south. These were Sijilmasa, In Salah, Wargla, Ghadames, and Aujila.
At the end of the camel caravan routes, goods were carried further south to the forest regions via donkeys, human porters, or canoes. One of the routes went from Kumbi Sahel through Diara, down the Senegal and Faleme rivers, and ended at the Bambuk goldfields. Another led from Kumbi Saleh to Kangaba, and down the Niger river to the Bure goldfields.
Through its existence, there were only two routes that went from West to East. One went from Takedda to Agades, to Bilma, to Tibesti, and ended in Cairo. The other ran through Takedda, Ghat, Fezzan, Aujila, and also ended at Cairo. This was also called the Mecca route as it was the preferred route and was used back West African Muslims on their pilgrimages. This route was probably taken by Ibn Battuta on his way to Mecca, as he had left Tangier which was in West Africa.
Many goods were traded between eighth and seventh century, but the most common commodities that were traded were salt, gold, and slaves. These were essential commodities throughout the existence of the trade routes. Cloth later became an important trade good. Less important commodities that were traded included silk clothing, textiles, and copper. Archaeological excavations in the region have uncovered the remnants of silk clothing. These presumably came from commercial contact with countries like China or the Mongolian Empire. Textiles were traded, but these were usually meant for the elite in society. These included foreign merchants and rulers. The Byzantine Empire also exported many commodities such as copper, silver tin, lead, perfumes, bracelets, books, stone and coral beads, glass jewelry, and drinking implements. In kingdoms of Mali and Songhai, the Kola nut became on the primary sources of income. Dyula-Wangara traders brought them from the forests to the savanna and Sahel wrapped in wet leaves in order to keep them fresh. They were not a product of international trade until the nineteenth century, but were widely traded in Western Sudan from the twelfth century onwards. As previously mentioned, gold was widely traded throughout the region. There were two main areas for gold in West Africa. One was located on the Upper Senegal river and the other was in the forests of the Gold Coasts. The gold fields in the Bambuk mountains was very valuable coinage metal for the Mediterranean and Europe. Salt was also traded in great quantities, mainly using the southbound trade routes.
The traders and merchants most active in the Trans-Saharan trading routes were the Wangara. By the fifteenth century, the had formed an important trade diaspora that spanned from Gambia in West Africa to Borno in the east. They also had connections within the Mali Empire and as far south south as Bono Bansu. Islam had also become very closely related to the Trans-Sahara trade. Therefore, most traders from North Africa with caravan were Muslim who prefered to trade with other Muslims.
Despite its success, the Tran-Saharan Trade Routes still went into a decline around the 15th and 16th centuries due to multiple factors. Advances in naval technology had allowed the Portuguese to build and extensive merchant fleet. They had explored the coast of West Africa and had established multiple sea routes that were faster. North Africa had lost much political importance as the individual West African kingdoms had begun to trade directly with European countries through sma;; European outposts that been established. However, the final nail in the coffin came at the Battle of Tondibi in 1591, when a Moroccan army crossed the desert and sacked Timbuktu, destroying the Songhai Empire.
The Trans-Saharan trade routes had many effects, however, only a few were notable. The Spanish word for the gold coin in the fifteenth century was derived from the Almoravid word, murabitun dinar. The gold trade saw the rise of powerful empire such as Mali, Bono-Mansu, and the Songhai. The trade supplied much of the gold that was used for coins in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages until the discovery of the New World. It also led to the expansion of urban centers such as Kano, as well as the rise of the powerful trading class, such as the Wangara. Arabic became increasingly influential through the spread of Islam. It was became the language of faith and religious scholarships with many mallans and shareefs. Aside from spreading Arabic, the trade also increased the growth of many urban cities on the Niger river such as Djenne, Timbuktu, and Gao. These remained primarily as urban cities until the European colonization of West Africa in the nineteenth century.