Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a country in West Africa, and its capital is Bamako. The Niger and Senegal Rivers run through the country’s southern area. The Mali Empire was at its peak in the 1300s and saw a Golden Age in which mathematics, literature, and art flourished. In the nineteenth century, France colonized the region and made it part of French Sudan. Mali achieved independence in 1960. It has since seen several coups and regime changes.