Gao

Sister cities

• Thionville
• Berkeley

History

The history of the Gao Empire precedes that of the Songhai Empire in the region of the Middle Niger. Both empires had the town of Gao as their capital. There are over 100 medieval inscriptions in Arabic from Gao and nearby Gao-Saney, the oldest dating from 1042 CE. This includes many details about 15th-century social and economic history, such as information about inheritance, pre-Islamic religious practices, and gender relations between men and women. Gao thus represents a form of urbanism driven largely by local urban-rural dynamics, but in a way in which local elites capitalized on and, in fact, co-opted the opportunities offered by long-distance trade. Ibn al-Faqih (writing ) mentions a caravan route from Egypt to ancient Ghana via Kawkaw, but Ibn Hawqal (writing c. 988) states that the old route from Egypt to the Sudan was abandoned in the reign of the Egyptian ruler Ibn Tulun (ruled 868–884) as some of the caravans were attacked by bandits while others were overwhelmed by the wind-blown sand. The more direct route was replaced by one that went to Sijilmasa before heading south across the Sahara. In the 10th century, Gao was already Muslim and was described as consisting of two separate towns. Al-Muhallabi, who died in 990, wrote in a lost work quoted in the biographical dictionary compiled by Yaqut: Their king pretends before his subject to be a Muslim and most of them pretend to be Muslims too. He has a town on the Nile [Niger], on the eastern bank, which is called Sarnāh, where there are markets and trading houses and to which there is continuous traffic from all parts. He has another town to the west of the Nile [Niger] where he and his men and those who have his confidence live. There is a mosque there where he prays but the communal prayer ground is…

Geography

Gao is located on the eastern bank of the Niger River at the junction with the Tilemsi Valley. The sprawling town is the largest in eastern Mali. It is connected to the capital, Bamako at the western end of Mali, by 1200 km (750 mi) of paved road. In 2006, the Wabaria bridge was opened to replace the ferry service across the Niger. The bridge was constructed by the China State Construction Engineering Corporation and financed by the Islamic Development Bank and the Malian government. The town is located with road links (unpaved) to the desert Kidal Region to the north and to Niamey, the capital of Niger, to the south. The road to the south runs along the left bank of the river. The town of Ansongo is 103 km (65 mi) from Gao. The border with Niger is just south of the village of Labbézanga, a distance of 204 km (127 mi). The prime meridian marker runs right through Gao, Mali. There are also seasonal ferry services on the Niger River. A service between Gao and Koulikoro, a distance of 1380 km (860 mi), is managed by the Compagnie Malienne de Navigation (COMANAV). It usually operates from the end of July, after the annual rains when there is sufficient water in the river, until mid November. Smaller boats are able to operate for a longer season between Bourem and Ansongo. In the 1998 census, the population of the urban commune was 52,201. By the census in 2009 this had increased to 86,633, a 4.7% annual growth rate. For administrative purposes, the commune is divided into nine quartiers: Gadeye, Farandjiré, Aljanabanbia, Djoulabougou, Saneye, Sosso Koïra, Boulgoundjé, Château, and Djidara. The urban commune is bounded to the north by the commune of Soni Ali Ber, to the east by the commune of Anchawadi and to the south and west by…