What kingdom conquered the mali empire, built the cities of timbuktu and gao, and is considered the largest and most powerful of the ancient african kingdoms?

The most powerful African kingdom was "The Songhai Empire" which was a pre-colonial West African trading state;

(the first African kingdom to trade)

dominating around the 15th and 16th century and extending from the Atlantic coast all the way through Niger and Nigeria, controlling the gold and salt trade, conquering the Mali Empire, and absorbing main cities such as Gao and Timbuktu.

The empire started its decline after "The Battle of Tondibi" under a Moroccan army in the late 16th century.

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