Ghana Bassi was a leader of the Ghana empire

Ghana Empire

The Ghana Empire or Wagadou Empire was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, and Western Mali. Complex societies had existed in the region since about 1500 BCE, and around Ghana's core region since about 300 CE...

 during the time of conquest by the Almoravids

Almoravids

The Almoravids were a Berber dynasty of Morocco, who formed an empire in the 11th-century that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus. Their capital was Marrakesh, a city which they founded in 1062 C.E...

. The Almoravids had grown in power while seeking Sahara

Sahara

The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...

 trade routes. They started a war with Ghana under Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar

Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar

Abu Bakr ibn Umar ibn Ibrahim ibn Turgut, sometimes suffixed al-Sanhaji or al-Lamtuni was a chieftan of the Lamtuna Berbers of the western Sahara, and commander of the Almoravids from 1056 until his death....

 and successfully laid siege to the capital city in 1067. Ghana Bassi and his successor Ghana Tunka Manin led the resistance, but the city and the empire finally fell in 1076 when General Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar felled the capital and ended the Ghana empire, converting many subjects to Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...