Niger is a landlocked country in West Africa, named for the Niger River, and is the largest country in West Africa. Over 80% of its land area is in the Sahara Desert. Its capital is Niamey. Niger is threatened by desertification and drought. The Songhai Empire ruled from 1000 to 1325 CE, when it was overtaken by the Mali Empire for ten years, and then returned to rule through the late sixteenth century. Europeans arrived in the nineteenth century, and France colonized Niger in 1922. It gained independence in 1958. Niger has seen several military regimes and in 2010, it began its Seventh Republic.