Knowledge of the last 1000 years in the West African Sahel comes largely from historical sources, which say that many regions were ruled by vast polities.The aim of my archaeological project is to seize how, in fact, lhe 'empires' of this region structured the landscape, and the movemenl of peoples, ideas, andthings, with a focus on the period AD 1200-1850. Is 'empire' really a useful term? I will ...