Reigning in West Africa from 800-1550 A.D., the Kingdom of Mali was one of the greatest empires in West African history.  It was home to much of present day Mali, southern and western Mauritania, and Senegal.  The Mali Empire flourished in the midst of the trade of gold and silver between the kingdoms of West Africa and Muslim travelers of North Africa.  The Mali Empire boasted between 40-50 million people at its height and secured power throughout the region with a unique way of allowing the regions inhabitants to keep their identities while being ruled by imperial powers in Djenne, Gao, and Timbuktu.  Amongst a wealth of gold, the empire was home to elaborate mosques built as a result of blossoming commerce in the region and identified by the ruler who commissioned them.  The Kingdom of Mali was also made famous in the world of Islam and much of Europe due to one of its most famous rulers', Mansa Musa, extravagant pilgrimage to Mecca.  Musa dispensed gold in Egypt and brought about the inhabitance of Egyptian scholars in both Timbuktu and Gao.  Not long after, the Mali empire saw a decline in its authority and superiority across the region.  Though Gao rebelled and a host of other areas were conquered, The Kingdom of Mali remains a significant part of West African royal history. 

Source: Photograph--http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/resources/mali/#; Information--http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/resources/mali/#; http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mali/hd_mali.htm;     http://www.britannica.com/place/Mali-historical-empire-Africa