Songhai Empire
|
The Songhai Empire, c. 1500 |
From the early
15th to the late
16th century, the
Songhai Empire was one of the largest
African empires in history. This empire bore the same name as its leading ethnic group, the
Songhai. It was centered on the city of
Gao, where a small Songhai state had existed since the 9th century; and this was its base of power was on the bend of the
Niger River in present-day
Niger and
Burkina Faso.
At its greatest extent (c. 1498), the Songhai lands reached far down the Niger river into modern day
Nigeria itself, all the way to the Northeast of modern day
Mali, and even to a small part of the
Atlantic coast in the West.
Prior to the Songhai Empire, the region had been dominated by the
Mali Empire, centered on
Timbuktu. Mali grew famous due to their immense riches obtained through trade with the Arab world, and the legendary
hajj of
Mansa Musa. However by the early
15th century, the Mali Empire was in decline. Disputes over succession weakened the crown and many subject peoples broke away. The Songhai were one of them, and made the prominent city of Gao their new capital.
The first great king of Songhai was
Sonni Ali. Ali was a
Muslim like the Mali kings before him, but he also kept the traditional
animist beliefs as well. He was also an efficient warrior who in the
1460s conquered many of the Songhai's neighbouring states, including what remained of the Mali Empire. With his control of critical trade routes and cities such as Timbuktu, Sonni Ali brought great wealth to the Songhai Empire, which at its height would surpass the wealth of the Mali.
Sonni Ali was followed by an emperor named
Askia Mohammad from the
Mandé people, who would preside over Songhai's golden age. Whereas Ali brought conquests, Mohammad brought political reform and revitalization. He set up a complex bureaucracy with separate departments for agriculture, the army, and the treasury, to each of which he appointed supervising officials. A devout Muslim, Mohammad not only completed a
pilgrimage to Mecca like Mansa Musa before him, but opened religious schools, constructed
mosques, and opened up his court to scholars and poets from throughout the Muslim world.
Songhai would continue to prosper until late into the
16th century, particularly under the long and peaceful rule of
Askia Daoud (r.
1549-
1582). Following Daoud's death, however, a civil war over succession weakened the Empire, leading
Morocco Sultan Ahmad I al-Mansur Saadi to dispatch an invasion force under the
Judar Pasha.
Judar Pasha was a
Spaniard by birth, but had been captured as a baby and educated at the Moroccan court. After a cross-
Saharan march, Judar's forces razed the salt mines at
Taghaza and moved on Gao; when
Askia Ishaq II (r.
1588-
1591) met Judar at the 1591
Battle of Tondibi, the Songhai forces were routed by the Moroccan's
gunpowder weapons despite vastly superior Songhai numbers. Judar sacked Gao, Timbuktu, and Djenné, destroying the Songhai as a regional power. However, governing such a vast empire across such long distances proved too much for the Moroccans, and they soon relinquished control of the region, letting it splinter into dozens of smaller kingdoms.
Safe economic trade existed throughout the Empire, due to the 200,000 person army stationed in the provinces. A primary economic source was the goldfields of the
Niger River. The Songhai empire would trade with these nearby but independent goldfields; salt was so precious in the region that the people of West Africa would sometimes be prepared to trade gold for equal quantities in salt. Eighty percent of the people lived on small, family-owned farms no more than 10 acres large. The trans-Saharan trade consisted primarily of gold, salt, and slaves. The
Julla (merchants) would form partnerships, and the state would protect these merchants, and the port cities on Niger.They also made crafts for trade, and for religious purposes.
Upper classes in society converted to
Islam while lower classes continued to follow traditional religions. Sermons emphasize obedience to King.
Timbuktu was the educational capital.
(There were 31 rulers before Songhai's Imperial Period. The following are the rulers of the Songhai Kingdom with its capital at Gao in Mali.)
*
Alayaman: 750s
*
Zakoi: ????-????
*
Takoi a.k.a.
Takay : ????- ????
*
Akoi a.k.a.
Mata-Kay: ????-????
*
Ku: ????-????
*
Ali-Fay: ????-????
*
Biyu-Kumoy: ????-????
*
Biyu: ????-????
*
Za-Kuroy: ????-????
*
Yama-Karaway: ????-????
*
Yama: ????-????
*
Yama-Danka-Kiba'u: ????-????
*
Kukuray: ????-????
*
Kinkin: ????-????
*
Kusoy Muslim Dam: 1000s
*
Han-Kuz-Wanku-Dam: ????-????
*
Biyu-Ki-Kima: ????-????
*
Nintasanay: ????-????
*
Biyu-Kayna-Kinba: ????-????
*
Kayna-Shanyunbu: ????-????
*
Tib: ????-????
*
Yama-Dad: ????-????
*
Fadazu: ????-????
*
'Ali-Kuru: ????-????
*
Bir-Fuluku: ????-????
*
Yasiboy: ????-????
*
Duru: ????-????
*
Zenku-Baru: ????-????
*
Bisi-Baru: ????-????
*
Bada: ????-????
*
Bisi Baro Ber: 1150s
*UNKNOWN NUMBERS AND NAMES OF KINGS: 1150s-1275
*Malian Conquest: 1275(There were 18 rulers during Songhai's Vassalage Period. These kings were called Sunni or Sonni, which means "Replacements". The Sunni kings continued to reign at Gao until right after their independence from the Mali Empire.)
*
Sunni Ali Kolon: circa 1275
*
Sunni Salman Nari: ????-????
*
Sunni Ibrahim Kabyao: ????-????
*
Sunni Uthman Gifo Kanafa: circa 1320
*
Sunni Bar-Kayna-Ankabi: ????-????
*
Sunni Musa: ????-????
*
Sunni Bakr Zanku: ????-????
*
Sunni Bakr Dala-Buyunbu: ????-????
*
Sunni Mar-Kiray: ????-????
*
Sunni Muhammad Da'u: ????-????
*
Sunni Muhammad Kukiya: circa 1275
*
Sunni Muhammad Fari: ????-????
*
Sunni Karbifu: ????-????
*
Sunni Mar-Fay-Kuli-Jimu: ????-????
*
Sunni Mar-Arkana: ????-????
*
Sunni Mar Arandan: ????-????
*
Sunni Sulayman Dama Dandi: 1410s-1440s
*
Sunni Silman Dandi: 1440s-1464(There were 2 rulers during Songhai's Imperial Period that came from the Sunni or Sonni dynasty. The last was usurped by Muhammad Toure the Great which began the Askiya or Askia dynasty.)
*
Sunni Ali: 1464-1492
*
Sunni Abu-Bakry Baro: 1492-1493(There were 9 rulers during Songhai's Imperial Period that came from the Askya or Askia Dynasty. The founder of the dynasty was called an "Askiya" or Usurper by Sunni Ali's daughter. Askiya became the title of all rulers after Toure)The following rulers are reigned independently in Mali until their expulsion by the Morrocans in 1591.)
*
Askia Mohammed Ture the Great:
1493-1528
*
Askia Musa:
1528-1531
*
Askia Mohammad Benkan:
1531-1537
*
Askia Isma'il: 1537-1539
*
Askia Ishaq I:
1539-1549
*
Askia Daoud a.k.a.
Askia Dawud:
1549-1582
*
Askia Al-Hajj:
1582-1586
*
Askia Mohommed Bana: 1586-1588
*
Askia Ishaq II:
1588-1591
*Moroccan Conquest:
1591(There were 30 rulers after Songhai's Imperial Period. The capital was moved from Gao in Mali to Lulami in Niger. The following are the rulers of the 2nd Songhai kingdom also called Dendi.)
*
Askia Nuh I: 1591-1598
*
Askia al-Mustafa: 1598-????
*
Askia Muhammad Surku Ilji: ????- ????
*
Askia Harun Dancette: ????-????
*
Askia al-Amin: ????-????
*
Askia Dawud I: ????-????
*
Askia Muhammad: ????-????
*
Askia Dawud II: ????-????
*
Askia Muhammad Bari: ????-????
*
Askia Mar Shindin: ????-????
*
Askia Nuh II: ????-????
*
Askia al-Barak: ????-????
*
Askia al-Hajj: ????-????
*
Askia Ismail: ????-????
*
Askia Dawud III: ????-????
*
Askia Hanga: 1700s-1761
*
Askia Samsu Beri: 1761-1779
*
Askia Hargani: 1779-1793
*
Askia Fodi Mayrumfa: 1793
*
Askia Samsu Keyna: 1793-1798
*
Askia Fodi Mayrumfa: 1798-1805 (2nd time)
*
Askia Tomo: 1805-1823
*
Askia Bassaru Missi Ize: 1823-1842
*
Askia Bumi a.k.a.
Askia Kodama Komi: 1842-1845
*
Askia Koyze Baba: 1845-1864
*
Askia Koyze Baba Baki: 1864-1865
*
Askia Wankoy: 1865-1868
*
Askia Bigo Farma: 1868-1882
*
Askia Dauda: 1882-1887
*
Askia Malla: 1887-1901
*French conquest: 1901
*
Jews of the Bilad el-Sudan (West Africa)*
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