Senegal

Abstract

For much of the 1st millennium AD Senegal was under the infuence of the gold-rich Ghana Empire of the Soninke people. In western Senegal the Takrur state was established in the 9th century. Islam was brought in the 11th century by the Zenega Berbers of southern Mauritania, who gave their name to the region, and the Moroccan Almoravids embarked on a proselytizing campaign. Te power of the Malinke (Madingo) in present-day Mali expanded in the 13th and 14th centuries, especially under Mansa Musa, who subjugated Takrur and the Tukulor in Senegal. Te west was dominated by the Jolof empire, which fragmented into four kingdoms in the 16th century.