WATCH AD-FREE: https://www.patreon.com/fallofcivilizations_podcast Today, the Songhai Empire is all but forgotten by history. But this medieval kingdom was once the most powerful force in Africa. Find out how this civilization grew up on the fringes of the Sahara Desert, among some of the most extreme conditions that nature can throw at us. Discover how it grew and flourished, passing through a process known as the imperial cycle, and learn about what ultimately caused its sudden and dramatic collapse. ** Fall of Civilizations the book is now available to pre-order: linktr.ee/fallofcivilizations ** SOURCES: https://www.patreon.com/posts/29534736 Credits: Sound engineering by Thomas Ntinas Voice Actors: Jake Barrett-Mills Rhy Brignell Bryan Tshiobi Pip Willett Music by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: incompetech.com/ Title theme: Home At Last by John Bartmann. https://johnbartmann.com/ Special thanks to the Trust for African Rock Art (TARA) and Emma Silvester at Royal African Safaris for footage of the Dabous Giraffe: www.africanrockart.org