Taghaza

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Taghaza is an extinct town in the desert region of contemporary northern Mali. Founded in the 10th century, it was once an important salt-mining centre, visited by Ibn Batuta in 1352. Slaves quarried the salt in 200 lb. blocks, which were then transported 500 miles by camel to Timbuktu and exchanged for gold. Taghaza produced salt throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries under Berber supervision. It was drawn into the Songhay Empire in the late 15th century. Because the area in and around Taghaza was unsuitable for farming, the inhabitants traded salt for gold from the secret mines near Wangara and traded that gold with other nations for food and supplies.

After the town's destruction by the Moroccan Judar Pasha's forces in 1591, Taoudenni took its place as the region's key salt producer.