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
Districts of the Gambia Districts of the Gambia The Gambia is subdivided into 43 districts. They are listed below, by Local Government Area (previously Regions, known as Divisions until 2007), each with its population at the 15 April 2013 Census (provisional returns). The former Banjul Region is now divided into two Local Government Areas (LGAs) - Banjul City (which is now subdivided into 3 districts) and Kanifing (consisting of a single district). The former Central River Division is now divided into two LGAs - Kuntaur LGA in the west and Janjanbureh LGA in the east. Each of the other former Divisions has now become