1. A medieval African kingdom in what is now eastern Senegal, southwest Mali, and southern Mauritania. It was founded probably in the 8th century AD and prospered because of its location astride the trans-Saharan caravan routes. The kingdom declined after the 11th century.

2. A country of western Africa on the Gulf of Guinea. It was inhabited in precolonial times by a number of ancient kingdoms, including an inland Ashanti kingdom and various Fante states along the coast. Trade with European states flourished after contact with the Portuguese in the 1400s, and the British established a crown colony, Gold Coast, in 1874. Ghana became independent in 1957. Accra is the capital and the largest city.