Taghaza
Encyclopedia
Taghaza is an abandoned salt
-mining centre located in a salt pan
in the desert region of northern Mali
. It was an important source of rock salt for West Africa up to the end of the 17th century when it was abandoned and replaced by Taoudenni
. Salt from the mines formed an important part of the long distance trans-Saharan trade
. Taghaza is located 857 km (532.5 mi) south of Sijilmasa
(in Morocco
), 787 km (489 mi) north-northwest of Timbuktu
(in Mali) and 731 km (454.2 mi) north-northeast of Oualata
(in Mauritania
).
who spent most of his life in Iraq
but obtained information from a traveller who had visited the Sudan
. He wrote that the town was situated south of the Maghreb
near the Ocean and that the ramparts, walls and roofs of the buildings were made of salt which was mined by slaves of the Masufa, a Berber
tribe, and exported to the Sudan by a caravan that came once a year. A similar description had been given earlier by Al-Bakri in 1068 for the salt mines at a place that he called Tantatal, situated twenty days from Sijilmasa
. It is possible these were the same mines.
In 1352 the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta
arrived in Taghaza after a 25 day journey from Sijilmasa on his way across the Sahara to Oualata
to visit the Mali Empire
. According to Ibn Battuta, there were no trees, only sand and the salt mines. Nobody lived in the village other than the Musafa slaves who dug for the salt and lived on dates imported from Sijilmasa and the Dar'a valley
, camel meat and millet imported from the Sudan
. The buildings were constructed from slabs of salt and roofed with camel skins. The salt was dug from the ground and cut into thick slabs, two of which were loaded onto each camel. The salt was taken south across the desert to Oualata and sold. The value of the salt was chiefly determined by the transport costs. Ibn Battuta mentions that the value increased fourfold when transported between Oualata and the Malian capital. In spite of the meanness of the village, it was awash in Malian gold. Ibn Battuta did not enjoy his visit, he found the water brackish and the village full of flies.
The salt mines became known in Europe not long after Ibn Battuta's visit as Taghaza was shown on the Catalan Atlas
of 1375 on the trans-Saharan trade route linking Sijilmasa and Timbuktu
.
In around 1510 Leo Africanus
spent 3 days in Taghaza. In his Descrittione dell’Africa
he mentions that the location of the mines, 20 days journey from a source of food, meant that there was a risk of starvation. At the time of Leo's visit, Oualata was no longer an important terminus for the trans-Saharan trade
and salt was instead taken south to Timbuktu. Like Ibn Battuta before him, Leo complained about the brackish well water.
. Al-Sadi in his Tarikh al-Sudan chronicles the efforts of the Moroccan rulers of the Saadi dynasty
to wrestle control of the mines from the Songhai during the 16th century. In around 1540 the Saadian Sultan Ahmad al-Araj
asked the Songhai leader Askia Ishaq I
to cede the Takhaza mines. According to al-Sadi, Askia Ishaq I responded by sending men to raid a town in the Dara valley as a demonstration of Songhai power. Then in 1556-7 Sultan Muhammed al-Shaykh
occupied Taghaza and killed the Askia's representative. However the Tuareg shifted the production to another mine called Taghaza al-ghizlan (Taghaza of the gazelles). On his succession in 1578 Ahmad al-Mansu asked for the tax revenues from Taghaza but Askiya Dawud responded instead with a generous gift of 47 kg of gold. In 1586 a small Saadian force of 200 musketeers again occupied Taghaza and the Tuareg moved to yet another site – probably Taoudeni. Finally, a new demand by Ahmad al-Mansu in 1589/90 was met with defiance by Askiya Ishak II
. This provided the pretext for Ahmad al-Mansu to sent an army of 4,000 mercenaries across the Sahara led by the Spaniard Judar Pasha
. The defeat of the Songhai in 1591 at the Battle of Tondibi
led to the collapse of their empire. After the conquest Taghaza was abandoned and Taoudenni
, situated 150 km (93.2 mi) to the southeast and thus nearer to Timbuktu, took its place as the region's key salt producer.
In 1828 René Caillié stopped at Taghaza on his journey across the Sahara from Timbuktu. He was travelling with a large caravan that included 1,400 camels transporting slaves, gold, ivory, gum and ostrich feathers. At that date the ruins of houses constructed of salt bricks were still clearly visible.
). They are separated by a distance of 3 km. The larger more westerly settlement covered an area of approximately 400 m by 200 m. All the houses, except the mosque, were aligned in a northwest to southeast direction, perpendicular to the prevailing wind. The houses in the more easterly settlement were aligned in the same manner and occupied an area of 200 m by 180 m. The reason for the dual settlements is not known but could be connected with the fact that Taghaza served both as a salt mine and as a stopping point on an important trans-Saharan trade route.
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
-mining centre located in a salt pan
Dry lake
Dry lakes are ephemeral lakebeds, or a remnant of an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts. Dry lakes are also referred to as alkali flats, sabkhas, playas or mud flats...
in the desert region of northern Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
. It was an important source of rock salt for West Africa up to the end of the 17th century when it was abandoned and replaced by Taoudenni
Taoudenni
Taoudenni is a remote salt mining center in the desert region of northern Mali, north of Timbuktu. The salt is dug by hand from the bed of an ancient salt lake, cut into slabs and transported either by truck or by camel to Timbuktu. The camel caravans from Taoudenni are some of the last that...
. Salt from the mines formed an important part of the long distance trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara to reach sub-Saharan Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the late 16th century.- Increasing desertification and economic incentive :...
. Taghaza is located 857 km (532.5 mi) south of Sijilmasa
Sijilmasa
Sijilmasa was a medieval trade entrepôt at the northern edge of the Sahara Desert in Morocco. The ruins of the town lie along the River Ziz in the Tafilalt oasis near the town of Rissani...
(in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
), 787 km (489 mi) north-northwest of Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
(in Mali) and 731 km (454.2 mi) north-northeast of Oualata
Oualata
Oualata or Walata is a small oasis town in south east Mauritania that was important in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as the southern terminus of a trans-Saharan trade route...
(in Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
).
Early Arabic sources
The mines are first mentioned by name (as Taghara) in around 1275 by al QazwiniZakariya al-Qazwini
Abu Yahya Zakariya' ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini , was a Persian physician, astronomer, geographer and proto-science fiction writer....
who spent most of his life in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
but obtained information from a traveller who had visited the Sudan
Sudan (region)
The Sudan is the name given to a geographic region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western to Eastern Africa. The name derives from the Arabic bilâd as-sûdân or "land of the Blacks"...
. He wrote that the town was situated south of the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
near the Ocean and that the ramparts, walls and roofs of the buildings were made of salt which was mined by slaves of the Masufa, a Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
tribe, and exported to the Sudan by a caravan that came once a year. A similar description had been given earlier by Al-Bakri in 1068 for the salt mines at a place that he called Tantatal, situated twenty days from Sijilmasa
Sijilmasa
Sijilmasa was a medieval trade entrepôt at the northern edge of the Sahara Desert in Morocco. The ruins of the town lie along the River Ziz in the Tafilalt oasis near the town of Rissani...
. It is possible these were the same mines.
In 1352 the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta , or simply Ibn Battuta, also known as Shams ad–Din , was a Muslim Moroccan Berber explorer, known for his extensive travels published in the Rihla...
arrived in Taghaza after a 25 day journey from Sijilmasa on his way across the Sahara to Oualata
Oualata
Oualata or Walata is a small oasis town in south east Mauritania that was important in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as the southern terminus of a trans-Saharan trade route...
to visit the Mali Empire
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka from c. 1230 to c. 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I...
. According to Ibn Battuta, there were no trees, only sand and the salt mines. Nobody lived in the village other than the Musafa slaves who dug for the salt and lived on dates imported from Sijilmasa and the Dar'a valley
Draa River
The Draa is Morocco's longest river . It is formed by the confluence of the Dadès River and Imini River. It flows from the High Atlas mountains south-ward to Tagounit and from Tagounit mostly westwards to the Atlantic Ocean somewhat north of Tan-Tan...
, camel meat and millet imported from the Sudan
Sudan (region)
The Sudan is the name given to a geographic region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western to Eastern Africa. The name derives from the Arabic bilâd as-sûdân or "land of the Blacks"...
. The buildings were constructed from slabs of salt and roofed with camel skins. The salt was dug from the ground and cut into thick slabs, two of which were loaded onto each camel. The salt was taken south across the desert to Oualata and sold. The value of the salt was chiefly determined by the transport costs. Ibn Battuta mentions that the value increased fourfold when transported between Oualata and the Malian capital. In spite of the meanness of the village, it was awash in Malian gold. Ibn Battuta did not enjoy his visit, he found the water brackish and the village full of flies.
The salt mines became known in Europe not long after Ibn Battuta's visit as Taghaza was shown on the Catalan Atlas
Catalan Atlas
The Catalan Atlas is the most important Catalan map of the medieval period. It was produced by the Majorcan cartographic school and is attributed to Cresques Abraham , a Jewish book illuminator who was self-described as being a master of the maps of the world as well as compasses...
of 1375 on the trans-Saharan trade route linking Sijilmasa and Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
.
In around 1510 Leo Africanus
Leo Africanus
Joannes Leo Africanus, was a Moorish diplomat and author who is best known for his book Descrittione dell’Africa describing the geography of North Africa.-Biography:Most of what is known about his life is gathered from autobiographical...
spent 3 days in Taghaza. In his Descrittione dell’Africa
Description of Africa
Description of Africa, a largely firsthand geographical book, which was published under the title Descrittione dell’ Africa by Giovanni Battista Ramusio in his collection of travellers' accounts Delle navigationi e viaggi in Venice in 1550, contained the first detailed descriptions published in...
he mentions that the location of the mines, 20 days journey from a source of food, meant that there was a risk of starvation. At the time of Leo's visit, Oualata was no longer an important terminus for the trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara to reach sub-Saharan Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the late 16th century.- Increasing desertification and economic incentive :...
and salt was instead taken south to Timbuktu. Like Ibn Battuta before him, Leo complained about the brackish well water.
Sixteenth century
At some date Taghaza came under the control of the Songhai EmpireSonghai Empire
The Songhai Empire, also known as the Songhay Empire, was a state located in western Africa. From the early 15th to the late 16th century, Songhai was one of the largest Islamic empires in history. This empire bore the same name as its leading ethnic group, the Songhai. Its capital was the city...
. Al-Sadi in his Tarikh al-Sudan chronicles the efforts of the Moroccan rulers of the Saadi dynasty
Saadi Dynasty
The Saadi dynasty of Morocco , began with the reign of Sultan Mohammed ash-Sheikh in 1554, when he vanquished the last Wattasids at the Battle of Tadla....
to wrestle control of the mines from the Songhai during the 16th century. In around 1540 the Saadian Sultan Ahmad al-Araj
Ahmad al-Araj
Ahmad al-Araj was a member of the Saadi Dynasty, son of Abu Abdallah al-Qaim bi Amrillah and brother of his successor Mawlay Mohammed ash-Sheikh ash Sharif al-Hassani al-Drawi at-Tagmadert, the first Saadi sultan of Morocco....
asked the Songhai leader Askia Ishaq I
Askia Ishaq I
Askia Ishaq I was ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1539 to 1549, elected Askia following the death of Askiya Ismail. He was the fifth ruler of the Askiya Dynasty which had the town of Gao as its capital....
to cede the Takhaza mines. According to al-Sadi, Askia Ishaq I responded by sending men to raid a town in the Dara valley as a demonstration of Songhai power. Then in 1556-7 Sultan Muhammed al-Shaykh
Mohammed ash-Sheikh
Mawlay Mohammed ash-Sheikh ash Sharif al-Hassani al-Drawi at-Tagmadert was the first sultan of the Saadi dynasty ruling over Morocco . "Al-Drawi at-Tagmadert" means: the man from the Draa river valley, from Tagmadert. He was particularly successful in expelling the Portuguese from most of their...
occupied Taghaza and killed the Askia's representative. However the Tuareg shifted the production to another mine called Taghaza al-ghizlan (Taghaza of the gazelles). On his succession in 1578 Ahmad al-Mansu asked for the tax revenues from Taghaza but Askiya Dawud responded instead with a generous gift of 47 kg of gold. In 1586 a small Saadian force of 200 musketeers again occupied Taghaza and the Tuareg moved to yet another site – probably Taoudeni. Finally, a new demand by Ahmad al-Mansu in 1589/90 was met with defiance by Askiya Ishak II
Askia Ishaq II
Askia Ishaq II was ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1588 to 1591.Ishaq came to power in a long dynastic struggle following the death of the long-ruling Askia Daoud. Sensing the Empire's weakness, Moroccan Sultan Ahmad I al-Mansur Saadi dispatched a 4,000-man force under the Islamicized Spaniard...
. This provided the pretext for Ahmad al-Mansu to sent an army of 4,000 mercenaries across the Sahara led by the Spaniard Judar Pasha
Judar Pasha
Judar Pasha was a military leader of Morocco's Saadi Dynasty and the conqueror of the Songhai Empire.Born a Spaniard, Judar had been captured as a baby. As a young boy he joined the service of Moroccan Sultan Ahmad I al-Mansur Saadi...
. The defeat of the Songhai in 1591 at the Battle of Tondibi
Battle of Tondibi
The Battle of Tondibi was the decisive confrontation in Morocco's 16th-century invasion of the Songhai Empire. Though vastly outnumbered, the Moroccan forces under Judar Pasha defeated the Songhai Askia Ishaq II, guaranteeing the Empire's downfall....
led to the collapse of their empire. After the conquest Taghaza was abandoned and Taoudenni
Taoudenni
Taoudenni is a remote salt mining center in the desert region of northern Mali, north of Timbuktu. The salt is dug by hand from the bed of an ancient salt lake, cut into slabs and transported either by truck or by camel to Timbuktu. The camel caravans from Taoudenni are some of the last that...
, situated 150 km (93.2 mi) to the southeast and thus nearer to Timbuktu, took its place as the region's key salt producer.
In 1828 René Caillié stopped at Taghaza on his journey across the Sahara from Timbuktu. He was travelling with a large caravan that included 1,400 camels transporting slaves, gold, ivory, gum and ostrich feathers. At that date the ruins of houses constructed of salt bricks were still clearly visible.
Ruins
At Taghaza there are ruins of two different settlements, one on either side of the ancient salt lake (or sabkhaSabkha
Sabkha is a transliteration of the Arabic word for a salt flat. Sabkhas are supratidal, forming along arid coastlines and are characterized by evaporite-carbonate deposits with some siliciclastics. Sabkhas form subaerial, prograding and shoaling-upward sequences that have an average thickness of a...
). They are separated by a distance of 3 km. The larger more westerly settlement covered an area of approximately 400 m by 200 m. All the houses, except the mosque, were aligned in a northwest to southeast direction, perpendicular to the prevailing wind. The houses in the more easterly settlement were aligned in the same manner and occupied an area of 200 m by 180 m. The reason for the dual settlements is not known but could be connected with the fact that Taghaza served both as a salt mine and as a stopping point on an important trans-Saharan trade route.