Editing The Gambia (section)

=== Muslim and Portuguese influence (9th–16th centuries) ===

[[Arab]] traders provided the first written accounts of The Gambia area in the ninth and tenth centuries. During the tenth century, Muslim merchants and scholars established communities in several West African commercial centres. Both groups established trans-Saharan trade routes. They carried out a large export trade of local people taken captive in raids and sold as [[slaves]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gambia, The (10/02) |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/gambiathe/26367.htm |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=U.S. Department of State}}</ref> Gold and ivory were also exported, and the trade routes were used to import manufactured goods to these areas.

[[File:Wassu Stone Cirles shaunamullally 02.jpg|thumb|left|[[Senegambian stone circles]] (megaliths) run from Senegal through The Gambia. They are described by [[UNESCO]] as "the largest concentration of stone circles seen anywhere in the world".]]

By the 11th or 12th century, the rulers of kingdoms such as [[Takrur]] (a monarchy centred on the [[Senegal River]] just to the north), ancient Ghana and [[Gao]] had converted to Islam. They had appointed to their courts Muslims who were literate in the [[Arabic language]].<ref>Easton, P. (1999) [http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/581121468329358898/Education-and-Koranic-literacy-in-West-Africa "Education and Koranic Literacy in West Africa"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220150050/http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/581121468329358898/Education-and-Koranic-literacy-in-West-Africa |date=20 December 2016}}. ''IK Notes on Indigenous Knowledge and Practices'', no. 11, World Bank Group. pp. 1–4</ref> At the beginning of the 14th century, most of what is today called The Gambia was part of the [[Mali Empire]]. The Portuguese reached this area by sea in the mid-15th century and began to dominate overseas trade.