Sundiata Keita

Sundiata Keita (died 1255) was a West African monarch who founded the western Sudanese empire of Mali. During his reign, he established the territorial base of the empire and laid the foundations for its future prosperity and political unity. Sundiata belonged to the Keita clan of the Malinke people from the small kingdom of Kangaba, near the present Mali-Guinea border. Little is known about his early life. Malinke oral traditions indicate that he was one...