Old Tuareg-Bella Cross – Niger

Silver, carnelian grams 27,2 (0.96 oz.); cm. 8,7 high x cm. 5,5 width (3.43″ x 2.17″) .

Bella live Niger and Mali but are of Sudanese origin in Africa. The Bella tribe was formerly held in slavery by the Tuareg.

The Tuareg people inhabit a large area, covering almost all the middle and western Sahara and the north-central Sahel. They are probably descended from the ancient Libyan people of the kingdom of the Garamantes, described by Herodotu. Tuareg are mostly nomads. For over two millennia, the Tuareg operated the trans-Saharan caravan trade connecting the great cities on the southern edge of the Sahara via five desert trade routes to the northern coast of Africa (Mediterranean).

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