Libyan conquest of Mali

The Libyan conquest of Mali, also known as the First Libyan-Mali War, was a war between the First Libyan Empire against the Mali Empire, originally attempting to retake Libyan lands lost after the Carolina War in modern day Algeria, Mali and Niger. Later, it would escalate into a full-on conquest of the Mali Empire, with Bharat also invading and seizing the southern half of Mali before the end of the war. Despite its long length, most of the war's duration saw no actual conflict. 
The war began in the year 151AD when the First Libyan Empire declared war on the Mali Empire following Keita II's death. They soon began an invasion from the Hoggar Mountains, focusing on the lands that they had lost to Mali due to the Carolina War. Despite extensive plans being made regarding the war, due to the extensive disorganization within the Libyan military, the soldiers being both low in number and underequipped, and the scorching environment of the Sahara, the invasion completely bogged down after mere kilometers of advancements. After being unable to push further south or encircle any territory, the Libyans ceased any further operations against Mali, halting their advance. 
The equally disorganized response from Mali led to no attempts on retaking what was considered by them to be worthless desert. The Libyans did not annex any of their gains, but maintained de facto control the areas they managed to conquer, and shifted their focus to expanding into the newly freed parts of Africa. Libya's assassination of Keita III may have been an attempt to continue the war, but no military operations followed it. The reason for this remains unknown, but may have been due to most military resources being focused on southern African conquests. 
The war was at a standstill for nearly thirty years until the arrival of Magadha on the Gold Coast of Africa in 179 AD. After many nations including Libya engaged in a border gore war nearby, Libya, in an attempt to contain Magadha's expansion in Africa, invaded the Mali Empire from the south-east. Libyan forces were following the Niger river to Timbuktu at a much more rapid pace, due to the Malians being significantly weaker after decades of turmoil and the Libyans working out most of the issues with their army. In response, Magadha declared that they would occupy the rest of Mali "to protect them against the foreign invaders", and began their own invasion into Mali.
Ultimately, Magadha would only manage to take the southwestern chunk of what remained of Mali, while the rest became a vassal of Libya, as per the peace treaty signed in Timbuktu. Later on, all of the former territory of the Mali Empire would fall under Libya during the Second Worlda War after a treaty between them and Bharat.
Category:Wars