GHANA ACCORDING TO IBN-HAOUKAL AND BEKRI

In the region from Nema to Bassikounou, we must approximate the truth as closely as possible.

Ibn-Haoukal, who visited Ghana in the 10th century and was the first to speak of this city (1), places it at a distance of 10 to 20 days' march to the East of Aoudaghost, which we have located (2) about sixty kilometers Northeast of Kiffa. He adds, while providing his itinerary from Ghana to Fezzan via Koukaoua Kouka, that it takes almost a month to travel from Ghana to Sâmat by passing through Kaoga or Gaoga (for Gaogao). If one identifies this latter city with Gao and Sâmat with the current locality of Samet or Samit, situated about 100 kilometers East-Northeast of Gao—two very plausible identifications—it follows that the location I assign to Ghana would have been about 750 kilometers West of Samit, or 30 days of 25 kilometers each. This corresponds well with Ibn-Haoukal's assessment.

Bekri (11th century) (3) is even more precise. He gave us several itineraries leading to or from Ghana. One places this city four days from the last Berber village when coming from the Oued Draa, a village called Mouddoûken and populated by the Zenaga, which clearly indicates that Ghana was at the extreme northern limit of the land of the Negroes. Another itinerary, starting from the Senegal River, places Ghana 20 days from Silla which, as I said above (4), was a little to the West of Bakel. A third places it 18 days from Gadiaro or Gadiara, a city located 12 miles from the Senegal near Yaressi or Diaressi, that is to say in the Guidimaka (5). Elsewhere, Bekri tells us that Ghana

(1) Massoudi, who died in 956, simply mentions the name of Ghana in his Prairies of Gold as that of a Negro state.
(2) 1st vol., page 187.
(3) Abou-Obeïd-Abdallah el-Bekri, born in Spain around 1030 to an Arab family, died in 1094. He did not travel to the Sudan, but he had at his disposal in Cordoba highly detailed documents emanating from various travelers. Furthermore, he drew heavily from the works of Mohammed-ibn-Youssof, which have not come down to us. He finished his book on Africa around 1070.
(4) 1st vol., p. 262.
(5) See the same page.