One was the Tarikh al-Fattiish, the chronicle of the seeker after knowledge, written by Mahmud Kati in the early fifteenth century.

The other was the Tarikh al-Sudan, the chronicle of the Western Sudan, written by Abd al-Rahman as-Sadi about the beginning of the seventeenth century.
The society of West Africa was stratified in several different ways.

It was divided in terms of differing occupations: farmers, merchants, priests, scholars, laborers, and a wide variety of craftsmen.

The social ranking assigned to these occupation divisions varied according to the importance of each occupation.
Society was also divided in terms of clans, families, and villages.

At the same time, there was a hierarchical division based on the varying degrees of political power each group exercised within its society.