Yeelen (Bambara for "brightness"/"light") is a 1987 Malian film directed by Souleymane Cissé, though the era is undefined, it is presumably set in the 13th century in which empire in West Africa, from 1230 to 1670?
Mali Empire The Mali Empire (Manding: "Nyeni" or "Niani"; also historically referred to as the Manden Kurufaba, sometimes shortened to Manden) was an empire in West Africa from 1230 to 1670. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Musa Keita. The Manding languages were spoken in the empire. It was the largest empire in West Africa and profoundly influenced the culture of West Africa through the spread of its language, laws and customs. Much of the recorded information about the Mali Empire comes from 14th century North African Arab historian Ibn Khaldun, 14th century Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta and 16th century Moroccan traveller Leo Africanus. The other major source of information is Mandinka oral tradition, through storytellers known as griots.
History of Mauritania (1978–91) This article is about the history of Mauritania from 1978 to 1991. Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is an Arab Maghreb country in West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest. It is named after the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, which later became a province of the Roman Empire, even though the modern Mauritania covers a territory far to the south of the old Berber kingdom that had no relation with it.