Where? Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, The Gambia

When? circa 1000 CE – 1591 CE

Lauded as one of the largest states in history on the continent, you’ll probably know the Songhai Empire at the mention of one of its most prominent cities: Timbuktu, which was one of the most important learning centers in the region. Academics and skilled workers came from all over the continent, the Middle East, and even as far afield as Spain to study and work there. The Songhai Empire rose out of the decline of the Mali Empire and was responsible for expanding and controlling several important trans-Saharan trade routes at the time.