It greatly influenced the culture of the entire region through the spread of the empire's languages (it was Mandinka language), laws, and customs.
There is a lot of recorded information about the Mali Empire from the 14th century North African historian Ibn Khaldun and two 14th century Moroccan travelers: Ibn Battuta and Leo Africanus.
Another important source of information about the empire is the Mandinka oral tradition, written down by storytellers known as griots.
