Koumbi

Capital of the Empire of Ghana as from the 4th century, Koumbi Saleh was localized in the south of current the Mauritania, at the time of archaeological excavations in 1913.

It was used as gold and salt deposit, in connection with North Africa. At the 11th century, its population bordered the 30.000 inhabitants. It would have been taken in 1076 by the chief almoravide Abu Bahr. After the decline of the Empire of Ghana, it falls to the hands from Soumaoro Kanté (1190 - 1235), king of the Royaume of Sosso. Towards 1240, the emperor of the Mali Sundjata Keïta seizes some and destroys it.

Testimony

In 1067, the Arab geographer El-Bekri had gone to Koumbi, where Arab tradesmen had their own district. It describes the city:

“Ghâna is composed of two cities located in a plain. That inhabited by the Moslems is very large and contains twelve mosques, in which one celebrates the prayer of Friday. All these made fun their paid Imams, their muezzins and their readers have. The city has jurisconsults and men filled with scholarship. In the surroundings several fresh water wells are, which provide drink of the inhabitants and auprès which vegetables are cultivated.

“The city inhabited by the king is with six miles of this one. The territory which separates them is covered with dwellings. The buildings are built with stones and wood of acacia. The residence of the king is composed of a palate and several huts with the roofs rounded and the circumference is surrounded by a fence similar to a wall.

“The city of the king is surrounded by huts, of solid masses of trees and thickets, which are used as residences to the magi of the nation, responsible for the religious worship; it is there that they placed their idols and the tombs of their sovereigns. Men appointed with the guard of these wood prevent which that is there to enter or to take note what there does without. It is there too that the prisons of the king are. As soon as a man is locked up there, one does not hear any more of him. ”

El-Bekri describes also the king and his court;

“The king avoids himself, like the women, with collars and bracelets, wears for hairstyle several gilded bonnets, surrounded by very fine cotton fabrics. ”

“When it gives audience to the people, in order to listen to its objections and to cure it, it has oneself in a house around whose six caparaçonnés gold horses are rages; behind him are however held ten pages shields and swords assembled out of gold; on its line are the wire of the princes of his empire, vêtus of splendid clothes and having the braided hair of gold.

“The governor of the city sat by ground in front of the king, and around are held the viziers in the same position. The door of the house is kept by dogs of an excellent race which almost never leave the place where the king is held; they carry money and gold collars furnished with grelots. The meeting is opened by the noise of a drum, named déba , made of a long piece of wood dug. When the co-religionists of the king appear in front of him, they are put at knees and throw dust on the head to greet it. King de Ghâna can put in shift two hundred and thousand warriors, including more than forty thousand armed with arc and arrows. ” ----

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