World History up to 1500: Pax Mongolica: States and Societies in Sub-Saharan Africa Q&A

Question: Why was the Sahara vital to the prosperity of medieval West African kingdoms despite its hostile environment?
Answer: The Sahara provided powerful West African kingdoms with a vital commodity: salt. Saharan salt was mined from sites such as Taghaza and transported in enormous slabs on the backs of camels in caravans that traversed the desert to West African villages and beyond. It became the second most prized good traded by Mali (the first was gold).

Question: Which were the most important factors that helped spread Islam in Africa?
Answer: Military conquest helped spread Islam until the eighth century. From that point forward, its diffusion was largely accomplished by traveling merchants, traders, scholars, and missionaries who spread the faith across North Africa. Ruling elites in the savanna south of the Sahara adopted it, in some cases blending it with their traditional beliefs. Islamized Africans leading trade caravans across North Africa brought Islam to the trading towns of the West African kingdoms.

Question: How did the success of Mali differ from that of Ghana?
Answer: Unlike Ghana’s rulers, Mali’s kings were able to exert direct control over the goldfields, so they could tap directly into the mining of gold rather than only its trade. Mali was larger than Ghana and held more oases on the trans-Saharan trade route, which encouraged commerce in commodities and captives to grow, while gold and salt remained prominent. The Middle Niger heartland of Mali was agriculturally rich and productive, and because the ruling mansas were Muslim, Mali had the culturally unifying forces of Islam and the Arabic language, which helped make trade safer and more secure.
 

Question: Why were nomadic Africans essential to the operation of the trans-Saharan trade?
Answer: centuries of experience gave the nomads of North Africa knowledge about the location of oases and familiarity with the terrain and climate of the desert. Nomadic groups acted as guides for caravans but were also merchants and traders themselves.