History Mali

 Historical dates

The dawn of our time: appearance of the first towns.

Major empires:
From the 4th Century A.D. to the late 11th Century: Ghana Empire (also referred to as Wagadou).

From the 11th Century to the end of the 14th Century: Mali Empire (the Mandé region). This was federated in the 13th Century by Sundjata Keyita and reached its peak in the 14th Century under the reign of Kankou Moussa.

15th Century: founding of the Songhai Empire by Sunni Ali Ber.
Late 15th Century: reached its peak under Askia Mohamed
1591: fall of the last of Mali's empires at the Battle of Tondibi against the Moroccans over the gold in the region.

16th Century: the empires are divided into small kingdoms.

Late 17th Century to 19th Century: Bambara kingdom in Ségou which collapses as a result of conflict with the Massina Empire and El Hadj Umar Tall's Toucouleur Empire.

1898 : Mali becomes French Sudan.
22nd September 1960: independence is declared and the country reverts back to the name 'Mali'.
Dictatorship until 1991, when democracy is restored in Mali. Alpha Oumar Konaré is elected President of the Republic (two terms), followed by Amadou Toumani Touré (re-elected in 2007).