Units of History - Mali Cavalry - Knights of Africa (1235) DOCUMENTARY

In this Units of History episode we turn our attention beyon the traditional confines of medieval history to explore the realm of West Africa and in particular the African Knights of the Mali Empire. We begin with a general overview of the region's geography which spans the vast, diverse lands between the Sahrara desert and the Atlantic ocean.

We then explore the rise of the Ghana Empire which set the stage for our story. Upon this great power's fall in the 11th century of Medieval Africa, the region would fall into conflict. For a time the Sosso rose as successors. However they would be challenged by the southern Mandinka people. Their clash for the fate of the realm would be decided by the charge of heavy cavalry. But to understand the dynamics of this fight we cover the equipment, training, tactics, and organization of these Knights of Africa.

Sources:
Spring, Christopher, African Arms and Armour, British Museum Press, 1993
Walker, Robin, When We Ruled: The Ancient and Medieval History of Black Civilizations, Black Classic Press, 2011
Diop, Cheikh Anta, Precolonial Black Africa, A Cappella Books, 1988
Niane, Djibril Tamsir, Sundiata: an Epic of Old Mali, Pearson Longman; 2nd edition, 2006

Music:
"Desert Night" by Luke PN
"Heart of Africa" by Luke PN
"Life in Africa" by Luke PN

Credits:
Research = J. Bela
Script = Invicta
Narration = Guy Michaels
Art = Penta Limited

Other Units of Africa

Timestamps
00:00 Intro
02:57 West Africa
07:00 Origins
10:08 Equipment
15:29 Blacksmithing
16:43 Training
20:53 Organization
22:56 Service History
26:20 Outro

#africa #history #documentary

[undead]

Netflix should take notes. THIS is an African story worth telling

[josephlongbone]

According to legend, King Sunjata was quite severely disabled with spinal deformations, and it took him a long time as a teenager to learn how to ride and fight.
If true, it makes his triumph over the Sosso even more impressive.

[Dataism]

I am surprised this got covered, even afro-centric channels tend to ignore Mali's army focusing more the Mansas and their ambitions and never the wars they fought.

[Bumbaclart]

Now this is what we need. Africa has such a rich history that is so frequently ignored.

[gilbertopara]

As a longtime viewer of your channel and African I’m truly grateful for this video, the continent is not short on its number of kings and generals

[Vadim_Ibragimov]

If only netflix made a series about these guys instead of black Cleopatra

[ajgraves]

West Africa has a very deep calvary and horsemanship culture. The Oyo empire, Songhai empire, Mali empire, Sokoto Caliphate and Mossi kingdoms all had very powerful calvary heavy armies.

[deadmanthehekatonkheire]

This was an incredible video. The rich history of Africa is often ignored. It was great of you to cover one of history's most underrated empires.

[SomasAcademy]

I'm SO happy seeing this channel cover some West African history. It's really unfortunate how little a lot of African history gets talked about outside of channels that specifically focus on the topic, because I feel like a lot of history buffs who know nothing about Africa would find it just as interesting as any other history if they just had a place to start.

[nhandinh]

The last time I was this early Ghana was still an empire

[TGBurgerGaming]

Its a wonderfully rich region of the world. The african prince who became obsessed with the idea that a land existed over the ocean to the west is a great one.

[admirekashiri]

Oh finally I’ve been waiting to see this.

5:30 - 5:40 Small nitpick but, most of the icons there are depicting East African warriors, not west African.

6:40 The horse armor predates Islamic influence it’s actually from Kush. There is art and accounts which mention it. In the book "On the Erythraean Sea", the Greek historian Agatharchides, relating the history of Ptolemy II's Nubian campaign,  refers to a native (Nubian) type of felt armour for horse and rider that covers the whole body except for the eyes:

"For the war against the Aithiopians Ptolemy recruited 500 cavalrymen from Greece. To those who were to fight in the front ranks and to be the vanguard - they were a hundred in number - he assigned the following form of equipment. For he distributed to them and their horses garments of felt (stolas piletas), which those of that country (hoi kata ten choran; "the natives of the country" in Burstein) call kasas, that conceal the whole body except for the eyes."

In this military context, "stolas piletas" has been translated as "quilted garment" or more literally "felted clothing". The term "kasas" has also been associated with a type of Persian saddle cloth, or the term "Kassos", which translates as "thick garment". It was used by Kushites as an effective protection against arrows, which made it important for the Ptolemies in their campaign against the archery heavy Kushite army. This type of quilted (usually cotton) armor became ubiquitous to the greater Sahel region, south of the Sahara, from Sudan to Mali in medieval times. It was used to cover horse and rider, concealing the whole body except for the eyes (or face), and was even used to make skullcaps.

[IsengardMordor]

Oh, yes. Another interesting topic i was not aware of previously. Thanks for making this

[snakes]

I wish people would recognize there's more to Africa then just the slave trade and colonialism, the people had myths and legends, kings and emperors, warriors and heroes who deserve to have their tales told.

[BilalMarcus]

im very excited as an african american man with malian ancestry pre-slavery. this was very rewarding! thank you. please do more.

[LiShuBen]

I don’t normally buy things based off of YouTuber recommendations, but I will make an exception today

[theknave]

Don't even need to watch the video. I want that caparison. I don't care how whether it's a movie or a video game i want to see a knight rock up in a african multi-colored caparison. These mali knights has serious drip and it needs to be in pop culture now!

[Owlbearwolf]

Forget Netflix. The Epic of Sundiata needs a 10-hour movie trilogy with a 13-hour director’s cut.

[Niani]

Can you please do a video on the roads and bridges of the Ashanti Empire?

[ChrisLawson-hq]

Mali, Ghana, Timbuktu there are so many rich and vibrant stories to tell About African history, and yet they always get ignored, like others have said, for black Cleopatra