Mali
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The Kingdom of Mali (A.D. 1235-1403) was located in West Africa and was mostly Muslim. The capital city of Timbuktu was a center of trade and education. Ibn Battuta, a Muslim traveler who toured the Islamic regions of the world around 1352, wrote of his admiration of Mali. It thrived under strong rulers and the very active gold-salt trade across the Sahara. Trade was based on leopard skins, slaves, pepper, ivory, bronze, brass and copper.
The modern state of Mali - known as French Sudan until the country gained independence from France in 1960 - took its name from the former Kingdom. The capital city is Bamako.