What was the sahara desert last time?

Question

before it became a desert? did it have a lot of plant life?

Answer 1

forest ,yes

Answer 2

Sahara was not so millenniums back (BC 12,500 to BC 3500 known as the African Pluvial Period), it was as fertile as other parts of Africa, but as years passed Sahara became arid due to many reasons no theory stands beyond dispute. The most popular theory is the El Nino-Southern Oscillation Cycle that led to sudden drying of the place there by pushing its inhabitants to the Mediterranean and beyond.