Takrur appears in the excerpt as a western Sudanese kingdom whose strength may have increased after the Almoravid victory over Ghana. During the twelfth century, the authority of its king may have extended up the Senegal River to Barisa, an entrepôt associated with the gold trade of Bambuk. Earlier, Barisa had belonged clearly to Ghana’s sphere of influence, but by the twelfth century its commercial connections had shifted toward Takrur.

The movement of salt illustrates Takrur’s position within regional commerce. In the period described by al-Bakri, Ghana controlled the overland routes to Barisa and the supply of salt. In the twelfth century, however, Barisa received salt from Awlil by way of Takrur and the Senegal River. This suggests that Takrur’s importance rested not only on political expansion but also on its role in redirecting commodities between Saharan sources and western Sudanese markets.

By 1240, Ibn Saʿid described the ruler and aristocracy of Takrur as associated with white traders from the Maghrib. They imitated these traders in dress and food, revealing the social influence of long-distance commerce and Muslim connections at the court. Ibn Saʿid also distinguished two population sections: sedentary communities identified as ancestors of the present Tukolor and nomadic communities identified as ancestors of the present Fulani.