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.