大象传媒

Episode nine - the kings and warriors who dominated west Africa for 300 years

How the Mali under the leadership of Sundiata Keita in the 13th Century, and the Songhay under Sonni Ali the Great in the 15th Century, built the largest empires in African history.

"Mali guards its secrets jealously. There are things which the uninitiated will never know, for the griots, their depositories, will never betray them." oral history recited by Malian djeli Mamadou Kouyate.

Presented by Hugh Quarshie.