Editing History of Guinea (section)

==West African empires==
What is now Guinea was on the fringes of the major [[West Africa]]n empires. The [[Ghana Empire]] is believed to be the earliest of these which grew on trade but contracted and ultimately fell due to the hostile influence of the [[Almoravids]]. It was in this period that Islam first arrived in the region.

The [[Sosso]] kingdom (12th to 13th centuries) briefly flourished in the void but the Islamic [[Mandinka people|Mandinka]] [[Mali Empire]] came to prominence when [[Sundiata Keita|Soundiata Kéïta]] defeated the Sosso ruler, [[Soumaoro Kanté|Sumanguru Kanté]] at the semi-historical [[Battle of Kirina]] in {{circa|1235}}. The Mali Empire was ruled by [[Mansa (title)|Mansa]] (Emperors), the most famous being [[Musa I of Mali|Kankou Moussa]], who made a famous [[hajj]] to Mecca in 1324. Shortly after his reign the Mali Empire began to decline and was ultimately supplanted by its [[vassal]] states in the 15th century.

The most successful of these was the [[Songhai Empire]], expanding its power from about 1460, and eventually surpassing the Mali Empire in both territory and wealth. It continued to prosper until a civil war over succession followed the death of [[Askia Daoud]] in 1582. The weakened empire [[Moroccan invasion of the Songhai Empire|fell to invaders]] from [[Morocco]] in 1591. The Moroccans proved unable to rule the kingdom effectively, however, and it split into many small kingdoms.

Starting in the 13th century, the [[Arab slave trade]] flourished in the region and the [[Gulf of Guinea]].<ref>Gakunzi, David. "The Arab-Muslim Slave Trade: Lifting the Taboo." ''Jewish Political Studies Review'' 29, no. 3/4 (2018): 40-42. Accessed June 15, 2021. {{JSTOR|26500685}}.</ref><ref name=":0">Elbl, Ivana. "The Volume of the Early Atlantic Slave Trade, 1450-1521." ''The Journal of African History'' 38, no. 1 (1997): 31-75. Accessed June 15, 2021. {{JSTOR|182945}}.</ref> The slave trade was greatly expanded in the 15th century when [[Portugal]] established a number of trading posts in Guinea, purchasing exporting, and kidnapping captives as part of the [[Atlantic slave trade]].<ref name=":0" /> Other European nations would eventually participate in the trade, which persisted into the mid 19th century.<ref name=":0" />