Sahel (Of Lions and Falcons)

The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition in Africa between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian Savanna (historically known as the Sudan region) to the south. Having a semi-arid climate, it stretches across the south-central latitudes of Northern Africa between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea.

The Arabic word sāḥil (ساحل) literally means "shore, coast", describing the appearance of the vegetation found in the Sahel as being akin to that of a coastline delimiting the sand of the Sahara.

Sahelian polities
The Sahelian polities were a series of monarchies centered in the Sahel. Their wealth of the states came from controlling the trans-Saharan trade routes across the desert, especially the slave trade with the Islamic world. Their power came from having large pack animals like camels and horses that were fast enough to keep a large empire under central control and were also useful in battle. All of these empires were quite decentralized with member cities having a great deal of autonomy. The main polities are:
 * Mali Empire
 * Songhai Empire
 * Jolof Empire

The Sahel states were hindered from expanding south into the forest zone of the Ashanti and Yoruba peoples as mounted warriors were all but useless in the forests and the horses and camels could not survive the heat and diseases of the region.

The Islamization of the Sahel encompasses a prolonged period of military conquest and religious conversion spanning from the 8th century.

Trade and economy
There are integrated kingdoms and empires, with substantial cities and significant towns; and less organised territories with large scattered populations.

People practised agriculture, stock-rearing, hunting, fishing, and crafts (metalworking, textiles, ceramics). They navigated along rivers and across lakes, trading over short and long distances, using their own currencies.

Its major trade is slaves, salt, copper, gold and gum arabic.