1.
Regions of Mali
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Since 2016, Mali has been divided into ten regions and one capital district. A reorganization of the country from eight to nineteen regions was passed into law in 2012, each of the regions bears the name of its capital. The regions are divided into 56 cercles, the cercles and the capital district are divided into 703 communes. The regions are numbered, originally west to east, with Roman numerals, the capital Bamako is administered separately and is in its own district. The ten regions and the Bamako District are listed below, the population figures are from the 1998 and 2009 censuses
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
Mali
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Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of just over 1,240,000 square kilometres, the population of Mali is 14.5 million. The countrys economy centers on agriculture and fishing, some of Malis prominent natural resources include gold, being the third largest producer of gold in the African continent, and salt. About half the population lives below the poverty line of $1.25 a day. A majority of the population are Muslims, present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade, the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, and the Songhai Empire. During its golden age, there was a flourishing of mathematics, astronomy, literature, at its peak in 1300, the Mali Empire covered an area about twice the size of modern-day France and stretched to the west coast of Africa. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali, French Sudan joined with Senegal in 1959, achieving independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. Shortly thereafter, following Senegals withdrawal from the federation, the Sudanese Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali. After a long period of one-party rule, a coup in 1991 led to the writing of a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state. In January 2012, a conflict broke out in northern Mali, in which Tuareg rebels took control of by April and declared the secession of a new state. The conflict was complicated by a coup that took place in March. In response to Islamist territorial gains, the French military launched Opération Serval in January 2013, a month later, Malian and French forces recaptured most of the north. Presidential elections were held on 28 July 2013, with a second round held on 11 August. The name Mali is taken from the name of the Mali Empire, the name was originally derived from the Mandinka or Bambara word mali, meaning “hippopotamus”, but it eventually came to mean the place where the king lives. The word carries the connotation of strength, D. Niane suggests in Sundiata, An Epic of Old Mali that it is not impossible that Mali was the name given to one of the capitals of the emperors. 14th century Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta reported that the capital of the Mali Empire was indeed called Mali and this name could have formerly been that of a city. In old Mali there is one village called Malikoma which means “New Mali. ”Another theory suggests that Mali is a Fulani pronunciation of the name of the Mande peoples. It is suggested that a sound shift led to the change, whereby in Fulani the alveolar segment /nd/ shifts to /l/, Mali was once part of three famed West African empires which controlled trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt, slaves, and other precious commodities
4.
Capital (political)
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A capital city is the municipality exercising primary status in a country, state, province, or other region, usually as its seat of government. A capital is typically a city that encompasses the offices and meeting places of its respective government. In some jurisdictions, including countries, the different branches of government are located in different settlements. In some cases, a distinction is made between the capital and the seat of government, which is in another place. The word capital derives from the Latin caput, meaning head, in several English-speaking states, the terms county town, county seat, and borough seat are also used in lower subdivisions. In unitary states, subnational capitals are known as administrative centres. The capital is often, but not necessarily, the largest city of its constituent, historically, the major economic centre of a state or region often becomes the focal point of political power, and becomes a capital through conquest or federation. Examples are Ancient Babylon, Abbasid Baghdad, Ancient Athens, Rome, Constantinople, Changan, Ancient Cusco, Madrid, Paris, London, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, Vienna, and Berlin. Some of these cities are or were also religious centres, e. g. Constantinople, Rome, Jerusalem, Ancient Babylon, Moscow, Belgrade, Paris, and Peking. A capital city that is also the economic, cultural. The convergence of political and economic or cultural power is by no means universal, traditional capitals may be economically eclipsed by provincial rivals, e. g. Nanking by Shanghai, Quebec City by Montreal, and numerous US state capitals. The decline of a dynasty or culture could also mean the extinction of its city, as occurred at Babylon. Although many capitals are defined by constitution or legislation, many long-time capitals have no legal designation as such, for example Bern, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London, Paris, are located in or near them. In Canada, there is a capital, while the ten provinces. The states of such countries as Mexico, Brazil, and Australia all have capital cities, for example, the six state capitals of Australia are Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. In Australia, the capital cities is regularly used, to refer to the aforementioned state capitals plus the federal capital Canberra and Darwin. Abu Dhabi is the city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. In unitary states which consist of multiple constituent countries, such as the United Kingdom or the Kingdom of Denmark, the national capitals of Germany and Russia, the Stadtstaat of Berlin and the Federal City of Moscow, are also constituent states of both countries in their own right
5.
Kayes
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Kayes is a city in western Mali on the Sénégal River, with a population of 127,368 at the 2009 census. Kayes is the capital of the region of the same name. The name Kayes comes from the Soninké word karré, which describes a low humid place that floods in rainy season, the city is located 420 kilometres northwest of the capital Bamako. Prior to French colonial expansion, Kayes was a small village and its location on the path of the future Dakar-Niger Railway, and the French need for trade centers, led to the creation of the Kayes market town in 1881. It remains a hub, primarily for Senegalese trade, to this day. Kayes lies on the Route Nationale 1 highway and is 612 km by road from Bamako and 96 km from the border with Senegal. The town has an airport, and lies on the Dakar-Niger Railway which offered regional passenger train service to Bamako three times a week via Kati and Diamou as of 2013. The area is rich in gold and iron, the climate is subject to the West African Monsoon with all the rainfall occurring between June and October. There is almost no rainfall during the seven months of the year. The total annual rainfall is around 650 mm. Kayes is nicknamed the pressure cooker of Africa due to its extreme heat, the town has been described as the hottest continuously inhabited town in Africa. The average daily temperature in the city is 37 °C. Colonial history of Kayes, from Web Site of Dr. Jim Jones, African History Since 1875, view of Sénégal River Bridge at Kayes, Kidira Border Crossing into Mali, December 16,2004 by NKOverland
6.
Cercles of Mali
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A cercle is the second level administrative unit in Mali. Mali is divided into eight régions and one district, the régions are subdivided into 49 cercles. These subdivisions bear the name of their principal city, during French colonial rule in Mali, a cercle was the smallest unit of French political administration that was headed by a European officer. A cercle consisted of several cantons, each of which in turn consisted of several villages, in 1887 the Cercle of Bafoulabé was the first cercle to be created in Mali. In most of former French West Africa, the term cercle was changed to Prefecture or Department after independence, since these reforms, cercles are now directly subdivided into rural and urban communes, which in turn are divided in Quartiers which have elected councils at each level. There are 703 communes,36 urban communes and 667 rural communes, Mali Maplibrary, vector maps of national subdivisions of Mali. Regions, Cercles and Places in Mali, African Development Information Services Database, contains listing of Arrondissements under each Cercle page, as well as some Communes and places of interest in each Cercle. French Colonialism in Tropical Africa 1900-1945
7.
Ghana Empire
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The Ghana Empire, properly known as Awkar was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania and western Mali. By the time of the Muslim conquest of North Africa in the 7th century the camel had changed the ancient more irregular trade routes into a trade running from Morocco to the Niger river. The Ghana Empire grew rich from this increased trade in gold. It furthermore encouraged territorial expansion to gain control over the different trade-routes, when Ghanas ruling dynasty began is uncertain, it as mentioned for the first time in written records by Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī in 830. In the 11th century the Cordoban scholar Abu Ubayd al-Bakri collected stories from a number of travelers to the region, and gave a detailed description of the kingdom. He claimed that the Ghana could put 200,000 men into the field, more than 40,000 of them archers, as the empire declined it was finally made a vassal to the rising Mali Empire at some point in the 13th century. The origins of Ghana have often been obscured by fights between ethno-historic accounts and interpretations and archaeology, the earliest discussions of its origins are found in the Sudanese chronicles of Mahmud Kati and Abd al-Rahman as-Sadi. In addressing the origin, the Tarikh al-Fettash provides three different opinions, one that they were Black, another that they were Wangara, which are a Soninke group. Al-Kati favored another interpretation in view of the fact that their genealogies linked them to this group and he says that 22 kings ruled before the Hijra and 22 after. While these early views lead to many interpretations of a foreign origin of Wagadu. In addition, the archaeologist and historian Raymond Mauny argues that al-Katis and al-Sadis view of a foreign origin cannot be regarded as reliable, modern scholars, particularly African Muslim scholars, have argued about the extension of the Ghana Empire and tenure of its reign. Islamic religion was very well around the Asian-African-European area. Several such traditions were recorded and published, while there are variants, these traditions called the most ancient polity they knew of Wagadu, or the place of the Wago the term current in the nineteenth century for the local nobility. Upon Dingas death, his two sons Khine and Dyabe contested the kingship, and Dyabe was victorious, founding the kingdom. While Delafosse produced a theory of an invasion by Judeo-Syrians. Raymond Mauny, synthesizing early archaeology, various traditions, and the Arabic materials in 1961 concluded that trade was vital to the empires foundation. While there has not been much study of either traditions or documents, archaeologists have added considerable nuance to the ultimate play of forces. Archaeological research was slow to enter the picture, the Dar Tichitt site had clearly become a complex civilization by 1600 BCE and had architectural and material culture elements that seemed to match the site at Koumbi-Saleh
Mali
