In the 12th century, West Africa was a complex network of city-states and small kingdoms. One of those was Mali (also known as Manden), located in an area of mountain and verdant forest in present-day Ghana.By the middle of the 12th century, Mali (like most other states in the region) was threatened by the aggressive expansion of the Sosso Kingdom of Kaniaga.Maghan Sundiata, a prince of Mali, gathered an army and comprehensively defeated the Sosso army in the Battle of Kirina in 1235.This marked the beginning of the Mali Empire, and Sundiata was given the title Mansa (“ruler” or “Emperor”). The territory ruled by Mansa Sundiata contained wealth that was the envy of many other states in the region.