The Empire of Mali

Mali was roughly the 13th to 15th centuries, but there was significant overlap with Ghana before it and Songhay after it. Mali derived its power from controlling the trade routes — of gold to the north, and copper to the east (with Egypt).

The founder and first ruler of the Kingdom of Mali was Sundiata Keita. We know about him through the writings of a 14th century North African historian named Ibn Khaldun. He is also remembered through an epic story told by griots (hereditary storytellers and historians in western Africa). Sundiata expanded the kingdom to include the Kingdom of Ghana and West African gold fields. The other famous Malian king was Mansa Musa. He is remembered for his pilgrimage to Mecca. Mansa Musa traveled with sixty thousand in his retinue, and impressed upon all who saw it the wealth and power of Mali.

The empire developed into a center of Islamic learning, with major universities at the cities of Gao, Djenne, and Timbuktu. Scholars from across the Islamic world traveled to study there. Although Islam was not the dominant religion, as indiginous religions were still widely practiced, it became an established religion during the Malian Empire.

(Source: exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu)