It is unclear from this text how long prior to the arrival of the Almoravids the town had been part of the Ghana Empire.; Al-Idrisi writing in Sicily in 1154 suggests that by the middle of the 12th century the town of Aoudaghost was in decline: "This is a small town in the desert, with little water. ... Its population is not numerous and there is no large trade. The inhabitants own camels from which they derive their livelihoods." By the beginning of the 13th century the oasis town of Oualata situated to the east had replaced Aoudaghost as the southern terminus of the major trans-Saharan caravan route.
