The Gambia President Adama Barrow changed the name back to "Republic of The Gambia". Arab traders provided the first written accounts of the Gambia area in the ninth and tenth centuries. During the tenth century, Muslim merchants and scholars established communities in several West African commercial centres. Both groups established trans-Saharan trade routes, leading to a large export trade of local people as slaves, also gold and ivory, as well as imports of manufactured goods. By the 11th or 12th century, the rulers of kingdoms such as Takrur, a monarchy centred on the Senegal River just to the north, ancient Ghana and
The Gambia at the 2016 Summer Olympics Faye Njie represented The Gambia in men's judo. He gained qualification into the men's lightweight category (73 kg) by earning a continental quota place from the African region at the Rio Games during the 2016 African Judo Championships, signifying the country's first Olympic appearance in the sport. Before his event Njie said that he was proud to represent his country and commented his opponent was "good" but not undefeatable. He was narrowly defeated by his opponent Kazakhstan's Didar Khamza in a five-minute closely contested match on technical point. Pap Jonga was the youngest athlete to represent The Gambia at the