Covenant of Sanhaja

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The Sanhādscha League was an economic union of several Berber tribes from West Africa at the turn of the first millennium.

One of the Berber groups that arrived in Mauritania in the 8th century was 'Lamtuna'. In the 9th century the Lamtuna had usurped political dominance in the regions of Adrar and Hodh . With two other important Berber groups, the Masufa and Jodalla , they founded the Sanhādscha League. From their capital ' Aoudaghoust ', Lemtuna controlled this loose union and the western desert routes of the caravans , which were just beginning to flourish after the introduction of the camel in these regions. During its heyday between the 8th and 10th centuries, the Sanhādscha League pursued a decentralized policy based on two different groups:

the urban Muslim traders who carried out the caravan trade and
the independent nomads who continued to uphold their traditional religions.

Dominated by the merchants of Sanhādschas, the caravan trade had its border in the north in the trading city of the Maghreb Sidschilmasa and in the south in Koumbi Saleh , capital of the Empire of Ghana . Later the trade route ended in the south in Timbuktu , capital of the Mali Empire . Gold , ivory, and slaves were transported north and exchanged for salt, copper, clothing, and other luxury goods. In the old mines near ' Kediet Ijill ' in the north of Mauritania, salt is still mined and transported south in salt caravans .

Important cities along the trade routes were built. The easiest, but not the shortest route between Ghana and Sijilmasa led from Koumbi Saleh via Aoudaghoust , Oualâta , Tichitt and Ouadane . These towns along the route became major shopping and political centers.

The 11th century Arab chronicler Al-Bakri described Aoudaghoust as a large city with a population of 5,000 to 6,000 people, one large and many small mosques , surrounded by large fields cultivated under irrigation. Oualâta was an important connection point on the route of the gold and salt trade , but also a meeting point for pilgrims to Mecca , for the Hajj .

Koumbi Saleh was a large cosmopolitan city that comprised two different sections:

the Islamic quarter with an architecture influenced by the Arabs and
the black quarter of traditional thatch and mud architecture where the non-Muslim king of Ghana resided.

Another important trading city of the Confederation of Sanhādscha in Mauritania was Chinguetti , later an important religious center (Seventh Holy City of Islam). Although Koumbi Saleh did not survive the fall of the Ghana Empire, Aoudaghoust, and Oualâta in particular, retained their importance until the 16th century when trading activities shifted to the European-controlled coasts.