The medieval Ghana Empire was not in Ghana at all but in today's Mauritania and Mali.

1068 · 1957 · apart: 889 years

The British Gold Coast borrowed its name on independence in 1957.

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• Al-Bakri describes the Ghana Empire1068 · Koumbi Saleh. The Andalusian geographer al-Bakri described the capital of Ghana as a twin town with a Muslim merchant quarter and a royal residence. The Ghana Empire grew rich by controlling the trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt.

11th century · 20th century

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