Senegambian

Senegambian, also called the North Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo family, covers the languages of the western Sahel and Atlantic coast: Wolof around the Senegal river, Serer in the kingdoms of Sine and Saloum, and Fula, whose pastoralist speakers spread from Senegambia east across the Sahel. Unusually for Niger-Congo languages they have no tones.

The Wolof founded the Jolof Empire, at first a vassal of Mali, which became independent about 1360 and dominated the country between the Senegal and Gambia rivers until its defeat at the battle of Danki in 1549.

Fulani jihads built the Islamic states of Futa Bundu, Futa Tooro and Fouta Djallon between 1650 and 1750, while the scholar Usman dan Fodio founded the Sokoto Caliphate in 1803 and wrote more than a hundred works in Fula Ajami, an Arabic-based script.