| has gloss | eng: Takedda was the name of both a town and a former kingdom in current-day Niger's Western Sahara. The town of Takedda itself was founded by the Sanhaja, a Berber tribal confederation of the Maghreb. In 1285, a court slave freed by Mari Djata, the founder of the Mali Empire, whom had also served as a general, usurped the throne of the Mali Empire. In the 14th century (possibly also earlier and later) the Tuareg-controlled kingdom of Takedda, west of the Aïr Massif, played a prominent role in long-distance trade, notably owing to the importance of its copper mines. Efforts to uncover the actual site of the ancient Takedda, described by Ibn Battuta in the fourteenth century, have accurately identified Azelik wan Birni. This was an ancient copperworking site dating to the first millennium BC. Danilo Grébénart, who has conducted archaeological excavations and reconnaissance in the region, described the site, his findings, and the significance of this prehistoric non-ferrous metal industry. |
