All three places flourished economically because of the Sand Roads. North and West Africa would not have been able to survive without trade which was impossible with the Sahara desert in the way but camels and the spread of Islam made it all possible, and they lasted longer than expected. The vast wealth and resources coming in allowed West Africa to build states, empires, and city-states like Ghana, Mali, Songhay, Kanem, and the city-states of the Hausa people. Europe was pretty well off but did dramatically better with the slaves from West Africa. It is estimated that 17 million slaves were sold on the coast of the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, and North Africa. As expected there were some slave revolts occasionally throughout that time. Politically, the route affected the empire of Ghana which was founded by Berbers that were nomadic people but was controlled by the Soninke. The Ghana empire was ruled by a king who was called the Ghana who not only had military control but was the supreme judge of the kingdom. The capital of the kingdom, a city, named Kumbi Saleh, sat on the edge of the Sahara which made the city a significant stop on the trade route. The king took advantage of the Sand Roads and required traders to give him a percentage of the products being traded and even placed taxes on local goldmines which were a significant product for trading from West Africa. Because of this massive increase in wealth, the kingdom eventually turned into an empire known as the Ghana Empire. As all empires do they come to an end for many reasons. Ghana fell when Berbers calling themselves Amoravids, hoping to gain control of the trade route, launched a war on Ghana and captured Kumbi Saleh. For a social effect, the Saharan Trade had, we can look at West Africa. As we've discussed, Islam has a considerable impact on the Sand Roads. So much so that traders from North Africa were mainly Muslims and only wanted to trade with Muslims. With Ghana falling at the hands of the Almoravid, it was clear for rulers that converting to Islam would give you a better chance of trading. Though nobles and the trader class religion was Islam, not everyone liked it and most resisted it. So rulers had to be seen as Muslims to be able to trade but at the same time please and relate to their subjects' religion which was not Islam. Historians call this "plural societies." It's explained as, "A plural society can be defined as one in which more than one religion is allowed and tolerated where people can mix across ethnic and religious lines, and where the ability to respect more than one faith is an important part of political and social life." This type of strategy was employed by a lot of rulers like Sunjata Keita, king of Mali, and Sumanguru Kante who was defeated by Sunjata. They both paid respect for West African religions even though they were Islamic to entice trade for their kingdom further. Now the Sand Roads trade route continued for about 300-400 years until new technology is developed, ships, and now goods can be traded by sea, and they can skip crossing the desert entirely now. But that doesn't eliminate the fact that the Saharan-Trade Route was very influential for West Africa, North Africa, and Europe.
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