Topic summary
Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Tarikh al-Sudan.
Origin of the Kingdom of Mali
The Berber author of Ta'rikh al-Sudan, Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di, recorded the oral tradition surrounding the origin of the Ghana empire and Mali. He states, "Mali is the name of an extensive territory lying in the far west (of the Sudan) to the direction of the Ocean. It was Kaya-Magha who founded the first kingdom in that region. His capital was Ghana, an important town in the country of Baghana. It is said that their kingdom was in existence before the hijra, and that twenty-two kings reigned before it and twenty-two afterwards, making forty four in all. In origin they were white, though we do not know to whom they trace their origin. Their subjects, however, were Wa'kore (Soninke). When their kingdom came to an end, the people of Mali succeeded to hegemony."