Trans-Saharan Caravans
A long-important source of income for the African Empires (especially the Mali and Songhai Empires of western Africa) was the Trans-Saharan Caravans. Local rulers grew rich due to Western Africa's large supply of Gold. Keeping the supply of Gold down, the rulers of the west African Empires traded their Gold for Salt, generating enormous amounts of wealth, with the legendary wealth in Gold of Timbuktu. With the rise of Islam, Islam would be introduced to West Africa through Muslim traders, slowly settling in to Africa until the West African Empires became one of the largest of the Muslim Empire in the world. |
A. The spread of crops, including rice and cotton from South Asia to the Middle East, encouraged changes in farming and irrigation techniques.
Changes in farming and irrigation techniques:
B. The spread of disease pathogens diminished urban populations and contributed to the decline of some empires. |