The
Ghana Empire (c. 300 until c. 1200) was located in what is now southeastern
Mauritania and western
Mali. Complex societies based on
trans-Saharan trade with salt and gold had existed in the region since ancient times But the introduction of the camel to western Sahara in the 3rd century A.D. gave way to great changes in the area that became the Ghana Empire. By the time of the
Muslim conquest of North Africa in the 7th century the camel had changed the ancient more irregular trade routes into a trade network running from
Morocco to the
Niger river. The Ghana empire grew rich from this increased trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt allowing for larger urban centers to develop. It further more encouraged territorial expansion to gain control over the different traderoutes.