African historian, playwright, and short-story writer.

After his secondary education in Dakar, Senegal, Niane graduated in history in 1959 from the University of Bordeaux in France. He taught in Conakry and at the Institut Polytechnique before joining the Basic Institute of Black Africa in Dakar.

Niane's first scholarly work, Recherches sur l'empire du Mali (1959; “Studies of the Empire of Mali”), was followed by Histoire de l'Afrique occidentale (1961; “History of Western Africa”), coauthored with Jean Suret-Canale. His novel Soundjata ou l'épopée mandingue (1960; Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali) is a highly successful re-creation of the life and times of the illustrious 13th-century founder of the Mali empire, recounted in the voice of a tribal storyteller. His other works include a collection of short stories, Mery (1975), and two historical plays, Sikasso and Chaka.