el ▁on ▁the ▁southern ▁edge ▁of ▁the ▁Sah ara ▁which ▁made ▁immense ▁prof its ▁from ▁trad ing ▁across ▁the ▁Sah ara . ▁The ▁first ▁of ▁these ▁was ▁the ▁Kingdom ▁of ▁Gh ana , ▁reaching ▁it ▁peak ▁in ▁the ▁ 1 2 th ▁century . ▁So on , ▁others ▁such ▁as ▁the ▁M ali ▁Empire ▁and ▁Kan em - B orn u , ▁also ▁arose ▁in ▁the ▁region . ▁The ▁main ▁trade ▁of ▁these ▁states ▁was ▁gold , ▁which ▁was ▁pl ent iful ▁in ▁Guinea . ▁Also ▁important ▁was ▁the ▁trans - S ah aran ▁slave ▁trade ▁that ▁sh ipped ▁large ▁numbers ▁of ▁slaves ▁to ▁North ▁Africa . ▁▁ 6 0 0 – 1 6 0 0 ▁AD ▁ ▁Many ▁wealth y ▁emp ires ▁grew ▁around ▁coast al ▁areas ▁or ▁large ▁rivers ▁that ▁served ▁as ▁part ▁of ▁important ▁trade ▁routes . ▁The ▁kingdom s ▁of ▁M ali ▁and ▁Song hai ▁Empire ▁grew ▁along ▁the ▁Niger ▁River ▁between ▁ 1 2 0 0 ▁and ▁ 1 5 9 0 . ▁Ber ber ▁trad ers ▁from ▁the ▁Sah el — a ▁region ▁south ▁of ▁the ▁Sah ara ▁Des ert — tr aded ▁dates , ▁co pper , ▁horses , ▁weapons ▁and ▁cloth ▁that ▁they ▁brought ▁from ▁north ▁Africa ▁in ▁Cam el ▁trains . ▁Trade ▁with ▁the ▁Ber ber ▁people , ▁and ▁other ▁groups , ▁drove ▁the ▁growth ▁of ▁the ▁Gh ana ▁emp ire , ▁which ▁trad ed ▁its ▁gold , ▁k ola ▁n uts , ▁and ▁slaves . ▁West ▁Afr icans ▁created ▁a ▁demand ▁for ▁salt