Sahel 97as scorpions and sand lice. Th e Berbers of northern Africa
navigated the desert well, and eventually with the help of
the camel, formed caravans that facilitated the trade for
those involved. Aft er surviving the dangers of the desert,
one would reach the Sahel or the grasslands where some
trade occurred and then continue to the forest region where
additional trading posts were located.
During the trade of salt and gold, the religion Islam
began to be spread through the Sahel and into the kingdoms
of West Africa. Th e infl ux of Islam was directly related to
trade, as many times the traders from the north were Mus-
lim and would require that those they traded with would
convert to Islam, thus facilitating the spread of Islam. With
the spread of Islam came the erection of Islamic schools and
learning centers, one of which, Sankore University of Tim-
buktu, is located within the Sahel (in modern-day Mali).
Th ese trans-Saharan trade routes brought along with them
the Islamic slave trade, in which slave raids that occurred in
West Africa would supply enslaved persons to be traded to
northern Africa and the Mediterranean. In the Islamic slavebelow the Sahel is also known as the Bilad-al Sudan, or the
“Land of the Blacks” in Arabic.
Th e Sahel had many trading posts that connected the
salt trade from the north to the gold trade of western Africa.
Th erefore, the Sahel became the “coastline” that emerged
aft er traversing the expansive, yet symbolic, sea of sand (the
desert). Th is trade system existed during the time period
when the ancient kingdoms of West Africa were forming
and fl ourishing. Th e salt mines in the north were generally
controlled by Berbers, who brought salt to trade from the
mines such as those in Taghaza and Taoudenni to be traded
for gold from the kingdoms of Takrur, Ghana, and Kanem,
to name a few. Th is trade was essential to rise of the West
African kingdoms. Th e Sahel itself included such places as
Timbuktu, Djenne, and Gao.
Th e passage across the Sahara desert and into the Sahel
was a journey that could take up to two months. Th e pas-
sage was grueling and many dangers were encountered
along the way, some stemming from the lack of water avail-
able and others related to poisonous or pesky animals such
Sahel region near Timbuktu, Mali, in West Africa. An important feature of the western Sudan, the sahelian region was the site of intense
commercial activity which led to the rise of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. (Ian Nellist)