One of the first West African civilizations was Ancient Ghana. It was located in western Sudan's savannah region. It was located by the Niger River, which made trading very easy for them. 

The ancient civilization of Ghana was extremely rich. They had many gold mines, which led them to be very rich in gold. They were very successful in trade because of this resource. 

Trading was amazing in Ancient Ghana. Since it was located near the Niger River, they could trade very easily. They traded gold, ivory, and slaves. Trading made the people of Ancient Ghana very wealthy. 

The king of Ghana had all the power over the people that lived there. The king held hearings where people could talk about issues and he would give his judgement about these problems. These hearings were mostly peaceful.   

Salt was an important resource to the people of Ancient Ghana. They traded their gold and other resources for salt from the Arabs. Salt was almost as valuable as gold to these people, and was sometimes used as a form of money or payment. 

 Unfortunately, the Almoravids, who ruled North Africa, started invading the land of Ancient Ghana. These attacks made the Ancient Ghana civilization very weak. Because they became so weak, they ended up getting absorbed by the Ancient Mali empire. 

  The Soso group took over the Ghana civilization. Soon after, Sundiata Keita took over the land that would soon become the land of the Mali Empire. 

Sundiata was known as the "Lion King." Sundiata was strict with career choice, as he allowed no choice in what career you pursued. They had to pursue the career that their parents did.