People of the upper Niger region of Mali who speak a Niger-Congo family.
Numbering 3.4 million, the Bambara use the distinctive N'ko alphabet, which reads from right to left, and they are noted for their wood and metal sculptures. In the 17th–18th centuries the Bambara developed two separate empires, one based in Ségou (and including {{link=Timbuktu">Timbuktu ) and the other in Kaarta.