Mali

= = ** __Mali__ **



__Capital City: Bamako__ Bamako is the largest city of Mali. It also is currently expected to be one of the fastest growing cities in the world. Bamako is on the Niger River, by the rapids that separate the Middle and Upper Niger Valleys, in the southwest section of the country. It is the nation’s governmental center that has a river port near Koulikoro and a major regional trade and conference center. Bamako is the 7th largest urban center in West Africa and its name comes from the Bambara word that means “crocodile river”

==== Population: 12,666,987 Birth Rate: 49.38 births/1,000 population Death Rate: 16.16 deaths/1,000 population Languages: French (official), Bambara 80%, other African Languages. Median Age: // Total // - 15.8 years // Male // - 15.5 years // Female // - 16.2 years Life Expectancy at Birth: // Total // - 50.35 years // Male // - 48.38 years // Female // - 52.38 years ==== ==== __**MILITARY **__ // __Strength__ // Mali had a full-time army to defend it's borders. Each tribe obligated to provide fighting-age men. They had to be freemen and have their own arms. Contemporary historinas consistently record its arm at 100,000 to 10,000 of that being made up of the cavalry. With help from the river tribes, this army would be deployed in a very short a mount of time. __// Order of Battle //__ During the 14th century the army divided into northern and southern commands. These commands were led by Farim-Soura and Sankar-Zouma. Those men were part of the wrrior elite known as the // ton-ta-jon-ta-ni-woro // ("sixteen slave carriers of quiver"). Each // ton-tigi // provided council to the mansa at Gbara, but only 2 held such wide ranging power. the ton-tigi belonged to an elite force of cavalry commanders called // farari //, or brave men. each individual farariya had a number of officers beneath them called kèlè-koun. A kèlè-koun ==== ==== __**Weather and Location**__ The best toime to travel to Mali is the cool dry season. This time is around November-February. It would be harder to travel during rain between June-September, but the rivers are higher and the scenery is beautiful. At the start of October is the start of more than just October, it is also when winds from the northeast blow sands and it is arid and dry. Unless you like extreme heat don't come during March-June for this time of the year is the hottest. Mali is located in western Africa in the inland country. Mali covers an area of about 1,200,000 sq km. timbuktu is the legendary city of Mali it is located in the center of Mali and is a very important city for trade. ====