THE MIDDLE AGES. 
It appears, that, in the interval between the 
Arabian writers and Leo, some very important 
changes had taken place. Ghana, mentioned un- 
der the name of Cano, no longer held the supre- 
macy among the states on the Niger, but had be- 
come subject to the kingdom of Tombuctoo. 
Wangara, called Guangara, had become an inde- 
pendent kingdom, the sovereign of which main- 
tained a considerable army. The gold, for which 
this region is so celebrated, is represented by Leo 
as found, not within itself, but in mountains to 
the south. Bornou is described under its modern 
name, also Cassina, under the name of Gasena, 
though it does not appear to have then occupied 
that high place among the African states which 
it afterwards attained. But the most remarkable 
change is the foundation of the kingdom of Tom- 
buctoo, called here Tombuto, which took place in 
the year of the Hegira 610 (a. d. 1215). Izchia, 
one of its early sovereigns, appears to have been 
a most warlike and powerful monarch, and had 
subjected and rendered tributary all the sur- 
rounding kingdoms, among which were Ghinea, 
or Genni, Melli, Casena, Guber, Zanfara, and 
Cano. The city itself does not appear to have 
been very splendid. The houses were built in 
the form of bells ; the walls of stakes or hurdles, 
plastered over with clay, and the roofs of reeds 
interwoven together. One mosque, however, and 
