Niani was the capital city of the ancient Mali Empire, located south of the Sahara Desert. There are at least two cities in modern-day Mali named Niani, but neither are the former capitals of the great empire. Instead, the Niani of historic fame is actually in the country of Guinea to Mali's southeast. The Mali Empire or Manding Empire or Manden Kurufa was a medieval West African state of the Mandinka from 1235 to 1468. ... The Sahara is the worlds second largest desert (second to Antarctica), over 9,000,000 km² (3,500,000 mi²), located in northern Africa and is 2. ...