Mali is located in Africa. The history of the territory of modern Mali may be divided into:

1. Pre-Imperial Mali, before the 13th century
2. The history of the eponymous Mali Empire and of the Songhai Empire during the 13th to 16th centuries.

The borders of Mali are those of French Sudan, drawn in 1891. They are artificial, and unite part of the larger Sudan region with parts of the Sahara. As a consequence, Mali is a multiethnic country, with a majority of its population consisting of Mand