Africa's astonishing achievements West Africa, before the arrival of Europeans, was a prosperous and flourishing land, at the height of its wealth and prosperity. The land they inhabited was filled with natural resources such as gold and salt. This led the people of West Africa to great wealth. The government has also been supportive and brilliantly strategic, proposing a smart tax system that has also led to a rise in the wealth category. Although it presented difficult geographical obstacles, the geographical location of the West African kingdoms proved very beneficial to their society. These three characteristics all constituted the successful civilization of West Africa before the arrival of Europeans. The following paragraphs help describe how important this culture was. Unlike some parts of modern Africa, during the 300s and until their decline, most parts of the region were awash in wealth. Cities like Ghana, Mali and Songhai were located in an area teeming with specimens of gold, salt and even iron waiting to be recovered. Al-Bakir observed in The Book of Roads and Kingdoms: “…He sits in a pavilion around which stand ten pages holding shields and swords mounted in gold: and to his right are the sons of the princes of his empire, magnificently dressed and with golden braids in their hair” (Document 1). In this quote, Al-Bakir expressed the true wealth of the city of Ghana. There was an excessive amount of gold, as evidenced by the excerpt that it was used for frivolous purposes. Ghana, like Mali and Songhai, were rich in resources, which led them to use them for exorbitant purposes. Examples of this include a silk carpet, silk umbrellas, a golden bird... in the middle of a paper government, recognizing the scale of trade taking place on their lands. In imposing a tax on each visitor, the government demonstrated brilliant intelligence and skillful technique (Document 1). This was a significant achievement made by civilizations and provided each with a significant amount of money that sent each city into a reservoir of wealth and wealth. Ghana, Mali, and Songhai all proved to be advanced cultures in West Africa from the 300s to 1400s. Each city prospered with wealth and demonstrated organized and stable governments. Resources such as gold and salt provided valuable trade materials. Each kingdom demonstrated independence and control over its people as well as skillful and thoughtful trading systems. Overall, the West African empires all progressed in their own ways and experienced many achievements during their peak..