Data Module 069 — Historical & Trade Intelligence
Trans-Saharan
Trade Routes
Salt south, gold north. For twelve centuries, camel caravans crossed the world’s largest desert carrying the commodities that built empires, spread Islam, funded dynasties, and made Timbuktu and Marrakech two of the richest cities on earth.
001 — The Network
Ten Cities, Five Routes
Click any city to explore its role in the trade network. Major hubs shown larger.
002 — The Routes
Five Paths Across the Desert
The Taghaza Trail
From: Sijilmasa (Morocco)
Through: Taghaza salt mines → Tichitt-Walata
To: Timbuktu → Djenné
The great western route. Salt from Taghaza's mines (buildings made of salt blocks — Ibn Battuta, 1352) carried south to Timbuktu where it was traded almost weight-for-weight with gold. Gold went to Sijilmasa, struck into Almoravid dinars, shipped to Mediterranean. Peak under Mali Empire.
The Audaghost Trail
From: Fez / Marrakech (Morocco)
Through: Sijilmasa → Wadan → Audaghost
To: Kumbi Saleh (Ghana Empire)
Primary route to the Ghana Empire's Bambuk goldfields. Traders from Fez and Marrakech rented camels from Berber pastoralists. Ghana's capital Kumbi Saleh had separate quarters for Muslim traders. Route declined when Ghana fell to Almoravids (1076).
Timbuktu–Gao–Takedda
From: Algiers / Wargla
Through: In Salah → Arawan → Timbuktu
To: Gao (Songhai Empire)
Central route active during Songhai Empire. Connected Algiers through the Sahara to Gao. Timbuktu served as both trade hub and Islamic scholarly centre. Caravans of 12,000+ camels recorded passing near Takedda. Route to Egypt branched east through Agades and Bilma.
Tripoli–Fezzan–Lake Chad
From: Tripoli (Libya)
Through: Fezzan → Bilma salt mines → Kanem
To: Bornu (Lake Chad)
The oldest route. "Most of the trans-Saharan traffic from the Mediterranean coast during the last 2,000 years has passed along this road." Shortest crossing. Primary exchanges: slaves and ivory from the south for Bilma rock salt.
Marrakech–Essaouira–Timbuktu
From: Essaouira / Marrakech
Through: Draa Valley → Tindouf
To: Timbuktu
Western Atlantic route. Essaouira (Mogador) served as the port connecting trans-Saharan trade to European maritime networks. Jewish traders in both Essaouira and Timbuktu exchanged goods as late as the 19th century — including gunpowder tea from China. Aït Benhaddou served as fortified caravan stop.
Fez and Marrakech are nowhere near the ocean. But in a very real sense, they are ports on the edge of a great sea — the Sahara.
— Open Ended Social Studies
003 — What Crossed the Desert
The Commodities
Gold
From Bambuk, Bure, and Lobi-Pourra goldfields. Transported as dust, bricks, bars, and blank coins to Sijilmasa, struck into Almoravid dinars. Reached Mediterranean and European markets.
Funded the Almoravid and Almohad empires. West African gold was first minted for European markets c. 1000 CE. Mansa Musa's 1324 pilgrimage displayed so much gold it crashed Egypt's economy.
Salt
Mined by slaves at Taghaza, Teghaza, and Taoudenni as rectangular slabs cut from the desert floor. Transport fee: ~80% of value. Traded almost weight-for-weight with gold at Timbuktu. Also mined at Bilma (eastern route).
Essential for human survival. In short supply in West Africa. The salt-gold axis was the engine of the entire trade system. Buildings in Taghaza were made entirely of salt blocks.
Enslaved people
Purchased in West African cities. Ibn Battuta recorded a caravan of 600 enslaved women travelling to Morocco (1353). Slaves served as household servants, concubines, sugar plantation labour (Saadian dynasty), and porters carrying goods and water across the desert.
Estimated 7,000+ enslaved people transported northward into Morocco over 10th–19th centuries. Under the Saadians, Moroccan sugar industry depended on sub-Saharan slave labour — a major motive for the 1591 invasion of Songhai.
Manuscripts & knowledge
Scholars accompanied caravans. Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin manuscripts traded. Timbuktu accumulated libraries of thousands of manuscripts. Islamic scholarship, mathematics, medicine flowed south; indigenous knowledge flowed north.
Timbuktu became one of the world's great centres of learning. Sankore University. 700,000+ manuscripts survive. Trade spread Islam from North Africa to West Africa.
Ivory, ostrich feathers, hides
Luxury goods from the savanna. Ivory for European and Mediterranean markets. Ostrich feathers for fashion and military display. Animal hides for leather.
Supplementary luxury goods that diversified trade beyond the gold-salt axis.
Textiles, copper, weapons, horses
Cloth from North Africa and Europe. Copper vessels (al-Bakri recorded 2,000+ brass rods in one caravan). Horses for cavalry. Weapons. Sugar, dates, wheat, perfumes, paper, books.
Manufactured goods from the north fuelled demand for raw materials from the south, creating reciprocal dependency.
004 — Chronology
1,200 Years of Desert Commerce
Dromedary camel reintroduced to North Africa. Berbers begin desert crossings.
First historical references to Ghana Empire. Kumbi Saleh as capital. Western Sahara route to Sijilmasa.
Sijilmasa founded near present-day Rissani (Tafilalt). Becomes "northern port of the Sahara."
West African gold first minted for European markets. Almoravid dinars circulate in Mediterranean.
Almoravids from Senegal River valley conquer Morocco, establish Marrakech. Control trans-Saharan routes.
Almoravids sack Kumbi Saleh. Ghana Empire collapses. Trade shifts eastward.
Mali Empire rises. Caravans of 5,000–10,000 camels. Timbuktu becomes centre of learning and trade.
Mansa Musa's hajj to Mecca. Displays so much gold he crashes Egypt's economy. "The richest human being who ever lived."
Djinguereber Mosque built in Timbuktu. Architect As-Sahili from Andalusia (Spain). Trade spreads Islamic architecture.
Ibn Battuta visits Taghaza and Mali. Records buildings of salt, caravans of 600 enslaved women, 12,000-camel trains.
Songhai takes Timbuktu from Mali. Gao becomes new imperial centre.
Saadian Morocco invades Songhai (Battle of Tondibi). Seeking direct control of salt mines and gold routes. Gnawa origins.
Decline begins. European maritime trade bypasses Sahara. Gold discovered in Americas. Caravan cities lose influence.
Last active Essaouira–Timbuktu trade. Jewish merchants exchange European goods for gold and slaves. Routes fade.
In some regions, a slab of salt was worth its equivalent in gold. Salt — essential for food preservation and health — was the engine of an entire civilisation.
— Desert-Morocco.net
005 — Key Numbers
The Data
1:1
Salt-to-gold ratio
At Timbuktu, salt traded almost weight-for-weight with gold. A slab of salt was worth its equivalent in gold.
400 lbs
Single camel capacity
Standard desert crossing load. Up to 1,200 lbs over shorter distances. Berbers improved the saddle for heavier loads.
80%
Transport fee on salt
Caravan merchants charged ~80% of salt's value for the crossing. Logistics were the real business.
1324
Mansa Musa's hajj
Tens of thousands of camels. A fortune in gold. Crashed Egypt's economy. Created European myths of African gold.
1591
Morocco invades Songhai
Saadian sultan sought direct control of salt and gold. Brought thousands of captives — origins of Gnawa culture.
700,000+
Timbuktu manuscripts
Centuries of scholarly accumulation via trade routes. Arabic, Hebrew, Latin. Mathematics, medicine, astronomy, law.
Sources
Wikipedia — Trans-Saharan trade: Routes (Taghaza Trail, Audaghost Trail, Tripoli–Chad), Sijilmasa, Almoravid dinars, salt-gold ratio, Ibn Battuta records
Wikipedia — Trans-Saharan slave trade: 600 enslaved women (Ibn Battuta 1353), Saadian sugar plantations, 7,000+ enslaved via Morocco 10th–19th C
Encyclopedia.com — Trans-Saharan Caravan Trade: Five northern termini, Dyula-Wangara network, 1,000-camel caravans by 11th C, route mapping
Encyclopedia.com — Expanding Trade Routes: Nine-century route Tangier-Fez-Sijilmasa, 2,000 brass rods, Maqqari brothers communications network
OER Project: Camel reintroduction ~300 BCE, 400 lb capacity, Berber saddle improvements, caravan organisation Oct–March, Timbuktu as caravanserai
BlackPast.org: Gold-salt trade 500 BCE–1800, Ghana → Mali → Songhai succession, Mansa Musa 1324 hajj, Morocco 1591 invasion
Desert-Morocco.net: Sijilmasa "northern port of Sahara," Tikna confederation (UCLA research), caravan logistics, decline from 17th C maritime trade
Morocco Travel Blog: Aït Benhaddou caravan stop, Essaouira-Timbuktu Jewish traders 19th C, gunpowder tea from China, 7,000 slaves estimate
Open Ended Social Studies: Fez/Marrakech as "ports on the Sahara," Almoravid/Almohad dynasty wealth from trade, Aït Benhaddou ighrem
WASCE History Textbook: Mansa Musa as "richest human ever," 10,000-camel caravans post-1325, Djinguereber Mosque architect from Andalusia
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Sources: Historical records, UNESCO