The Fall of the Empire
After the death of Mansa Musa, no ruler was powerful or influential enough to hold the vast empire together [i] Mali’s power was eventually weakened by a lack of orderly succession of imperial power, and by the desire of smaller states to break free to reap the benefits of the salt and gold trade[ii]. During the four year reign of Mansa Musa's son, the city of Timbuktu was raided and burned by warriors from the east, which demonstrated to others how vulnerable the Empire of Mali was[iii]. For the following century, the empire was constantly attacked from all sides[iv]. Mali has lost its northern provinces by the mid-1400s, and city states in the west such as Tucolor and Wolof began to revolt[v]. The southern trade routes and market towns were attacked by Mossi cavalry, and the Songhay Kingdom in the east was gathering force, and would emerge as the next great empire[vi]. The greatest challenge, however, came from a rebellion in Gao that led to rise of Songhay[vii]. By 1500, nearly all of the lands the empire had once ruled were lost[viii]. Only a small area of Mali remained.
The Aftermath
By the mid 1500s, the area of the Empire of Mali was taken over by the Songhay Empire (1340–1591AD), which had already established around Gao[ix]. However, in 1590, the land was invaded by the Moroccan army from the north[x]. The Moroccan's managed to break up the existing government, but they were not able to rule such an enormous area[xi]. By the end of the 18th century, the region was left with no central government, and without strong leaders, its prosperous years ended[xii]. Smaller, regional kingdoms arose, and in the 19th century, the French and two Muslim-controlled empires battled for control[xiii]. By 1898, the French had gained total control of a large portion in west Africa, and Mali became a part of French West Africa, known as French Sudan[xvi].