Songhai Empire

The Songhai Empire was a state located in the western part of the Sahel during the 15th and 16th
centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest African empires in history. The state is known by its
historiographical name, derived from its largest ethnic group and ruling elite, the Songhai people.
Sonni Ali established Gao as the empire's capital, although a Songhai state had existed in and
around Gao since the 11th century. Other important cities in the kingdom were Timbuktu and
Djenné, where urban-centred trade flourished; they were conquered in 1468 and 1475, respectively.
Initially, the Songhai Empire was ruled by the Sonni dynasty (c. 1464–1493), but it was later replaced
by the Askia dynasty (1493–1591).

During the second half of the 13th century, Gao and the surrounding region had grown into an
important trading centre and attracted the interest of the expanding Mali Empire. Mali conquered
Gao near the end of the 13th century. Gao remained under Malian command until the late 14th
century. As the Mali Empire started disintegrating, the Songhai reasserted control of Gao. Songhai
rulers subsequently took advantage of the weakened Mali Empire to expand Songhai rule.

Under the rule of Sonni Ali, the Songhai surpassed the Malian Empire in area, wealth, and power,
absorbing vast regions of the Mali Empire. His son and successor, Sonni Bāru, was overthrown by
Muhammad Ture, one of his father's generals. Ture, more commonly known as Askia the Great,
instituted political and economic reforms throughout the empire.

A series of plots and coups by Askia's successors forced the empire into a period of decline and
instability. Askia's relatives attempted to govern the kingdom, but political chaos and several civil
wars within the empire ensured the empire's continued decline, particularly during the rule of Askia
Ishaq I. The empire experienced a period of stability and a string of military successes during the
reign of Askia Daoud.

Askia Ishaq II, the last ruler of the Songhai Empire, ascended to power in a long dynastic struggle
following the death of Daoud. In 1590, Al-Mansur took advantage of the recent civil conflict in the
empire and sent an army under the command of Judar Pasha to conquer the Songhai and gain
control of the trans-Saharan trade routes. The Songhai Empire collapsed after the defeat at the
Battle of Tondibi in 1591.
 Zaghai (Songhai) Empire

c. 1430s–1591

Extent of the Songhai Empire,

circa 1500.

Name

The Songhai Empire has been variously translated Territory of the Songhai Empire
in texts as Zagha, Zaghai, Zaghaya, Sughai,
Capital Gao[1]
Zaghay, Zaggan, Izghan, Zaghawa, Zuwagha,
Common languages Songhai
Zawagha, Zauge, Azuagha, Azwagha, Sungee, Tuareg
Sanghee, Songhai, Songhay, Sughai, Zanghi, Arabic
Mande
Zingani, Zanj, Zahn, Zaan, Zarai, Dyagha, and Fulani
possibly Znaga.[3] Hausa
Mooré

History Religion Sunni Islam

Traditional African
religions

Early inhabitants Demonym(s) Ayneha

Emperor
In ancient times somewhere surmised between
the 9th and 3rd centuries BCE, several different • 1464–1492 Sunni Ali
groups of people collectively formed the Songhai
• 1492–1493 Sonni Bāru
identity, centered around the developing hub of
• 1493–1528 Askia the Great
ancient Kukiya. Among the first people to settle in
the region of Gao were the Sorko people, who • 1529–1531 Askia Musa
established small settlements on the banks of • 1531–1537 Askia Benkan
Niger. The Sorko fashioned boats and canoes
• 1537–1539 Askia Isma'il
from the wood of the cailcedrat tree, fished and
• 1539–1549 Askia Ishaq I
hunted from their ships, and provided water-borne
transport for goods and people. Another group of • 1549–1582 Askia Daoud

people that moved into the area to live off of • 1588–1592 Askia Ishaq II
Niger's resources were the Gao people. The Gao Historical era Early Modern Era
were hunters and specialized in hunting river
animals such as crocodiles and hippopotamus. • Songhai state c. 7th century
The other group known to have inhabited the area emerges at Gao

were the Do people, farmers who raised crops in • Independence from c. 1430s
Mali Empire
the fertile lands bordering the river. Before the
10th century, these early settlers were subjugated • Sonni dynasty 1468
begins
by more powerful, horse-riding Songhai speakers,
who established control over the area. All these • Askiya dynasty 1493
begins
groups gradually began to speak the same
• Saadian invasion of 1599
language, and they and their country eventually the Songhai
became known as the Songhai.[4]: 49 Empire

• The Nobles moved 1599

south to present-
day Niger and
Gao and Mali
formed various
smaller kingdoms
The earliest dynasty of kings is obscure, and
• French depose last 1901
most information about it comes from an ancient Askia of the Dendi
cemetery near a village called Saney, close to
Area
Gao. Inscriptions on a few of the tombstones in
the cemetery indicate that this dynasty ruled in 1550[2] 800,000 km2
(310,000 sq mi)
the late 11th and early 12th centuries and that its
Currency Cowry shells · gold
rulers were given the title of Malik (Arabic for coins
"King"). Other tombstones mention a second
dynasty whose rulers bore the title zuwa. Only Preceded by Succeeded by

myth and legend describe the origins of the zuwa. Mali Saadi dynasty
Empire Pashalik of
The Tarikh al-Sudan (History of Sudan), written in Gao Timbuktu
Arabic around 1655, provides an early history of Empire Dendi Kingdom
the Songhai as handed down through oral
tradition. It reports that the founder of the Za
dynasty was called Za Alayaman (also spelt Dialliaman), who originally came from Yemen and
settled in the town of Kukiya.[4]: 60 [5] What happened to the Zuwa rulers is yet to be recorded.[6]

The Sanhaja tribes were among the early people of the Niger Bend region. These tribes rode out of
the Sahara Desert and established trading settlements near the Niger. As time passed, North
African traders crossed the Sahara and joined the Tuaregs in their settlements. Both groups
conducted business with the people living near the river. As trade in the region increased, the
Songhai chiefs took control of the profitable trade around what would later become Gao. Trade
goods included gold, salt, slaves, kola nuts, leather, dates, and ivory.
By the 10th century, the Songhai chiefs had established Gao as a small kingdom, taking control of
the people living along the trade routes. Around 1300, Gao had become prosperous enough to
attract the Mali Empire's attention. Mali conquered the city, profited from Gao's trade, and collected
taxes from its kings until about the 1430s. Conflict in the Malian homeland made it impossible to
maintain control of Gao.[4]: 50–51 Ibn Battuta visited Gao in 1353 when the town was still a part of the
Mali Empire. He arrived by boat from Timbuktu on his return journey from visiting the capital of the
empire, writing:

Then I travelled to the town of Kawkaw, which is a great town on the Nīl
[Niger], one of the finest, biggest, and most fertile cities of the Sūdān.
There is much rice there, milk, chickens, fish, and the cucumber, which
has no like. Its people conduct their buying and selling with cowries, like
the people of Mālī.[7]

Independence

Following the death of Mansa Sulayman in 1360, disputes over who should succeed him weakened
the Mali Empire. The reign of Mari Djata II left the empire in poor financial condition, but the
kingdom itself passed intact to Musa II. Mari Djata, Musa's kankoro-sigui, put down a Tuareg
rebellion in Takedda and attempted to quell the Songhai rebellion in Gao. While he succeeded in
Takedda, he did not re-subjugate Gao.[8] Another round of dynastic instability in the 1380s and 90s
likely allowed the Songhai to formalize their independence under Sunni Muhammad Dao.[9] In the
1460s, Sonni Sulayman Dama attacked Méma, the Mali province west of Timbuktu.[4]

Sonni Ali

After the death of Sulayman Dama, Sonni Ali reigned from 1464 to 1492. Unlike the previous
Songhai kings, Ali sought to honour the traditional religion of his people, taught to him by his mother
of the Dendi people. This earned him the reputation of a tyrant by Islamic Scholars.[10] In the late
1460s, he conquered many of the Songhai Empire's neighbouring states, including what remained of
the Mali Empire.

During his campaigns for expansion, Ali conquered several territories, repelling attacks from the
Mossi to the south and conquering the Dogon people to the north. He annexed Timbuktu in 1468
after the leaders of the town asked him to help overthrow the Tuaregs, who had taken the city
following the decline of Mali.[11] When he attempted to conquer the trading town of Djenné, the
townspeople resisted his efforts. After a seven-year siege, he was able to starve them into
surrender, incorporating the town into his empire in 1473.

The invasion of Sonni Ali and his forces negatively impacted Timbuktu. Many Muslim accounts
described him as a tyrant, including the Tarikh al-fattash, which Mahmud Kati wrote. According to
The Cambridge History of Africa, the Islamic historian Al-Sa'di expresses this sentiment in describing
his incursion on Timbuktu:

Sunni Ali entered Timbuktu, committed gross iniquity, burned and destroyed the
town, and brutally tortured many people there. When Akilu heard of the coming of
Sonni Ali, he brought a thousand camels to carry the fuqaha of Sankore and went
with them to Walata..... The Godless tyrant slaughtered those who remained in
Timbuktu and humiliated them.[12]

The Timbuktu Manuscripts, with Arabic

writings about mathematics and
astronomy

Sonni Ali created a policy against the scholars of Timbuktu, especially those of the Sankore region
who were associated with the Tuareg. With his control of critical trade routes and cities such as
Timbuktu, Sonni Ali increased the wealth of the Songhai Empire, which at its height would surpass
the wealth of Mali.[13]
Askia the Great

The Tomb of Askia in Gao

Sonni Ali was succeeded by Askia the Great. He organized the territories his predecessor conquered
and extended his power to the south and the east. Under his rule, the Songhai military possessed a
full-time corps of warriors. Askia is said to have cynical attitudes towards kingdoms lacking
professional fighting forces.[14] Al-Sa'di, the chronicler who wrote the Tarikh al-Sudan, compared
Askiya's army to that of his predecessor:

"he distinguished between the civilian and the army unlike Sunni Ali
[1464–92] when everyone was a soldier."

He opened religious schools, constructed mosques, and opened his court to scholars and poets
from throughout the Muslim world. His children went to an Islamic school, and he enforced Islamic
practices but did not force religion on his people. Askia completed one of the Five Pillars of Islam by
taking a hajj to Mecca, bringing a large amount of gold. He donated some of it to charity and spent
the rest on gifts for the people of Mecca to display his empire's wealth. Historians from Cairo said
his pilgrimage consisted of "an escort of 500 cavalry and 1000 infantry, and with him he carried
300,000 pieces of gold".[15]

Islam was so important to him that, upon his return, he established more learning centres
throughout his empire and recruited Muslim scholars from Egypt and Morocco to teach at the
Sankore Mosque in Timbuktu.

He was interested in astronomy, which led to increased astronomers and observatories in the
capital.[16]

Askia initiated multiple military campaigns, including declaring Jihad against the neighbouring
Mossi. He did not force them to convert to Islam after subduing them. His army consisted of war
canoes, a cavalry, protective armour, iron-tipped weapons, and an organized militia.
He centralized the administration of the empire and established a bureaucracy responsible for tax
collection and the administration of justice. He demanded the building of canals to enhance
agriculture, eventually increasing trade. He introduced a system of weights and measures and
appointed an inspector for each of Songhai's major trading centres.

During his reign, Islam became more entrenched, trans-Saharan trade flourished, and the salt mines
of Taghaza were brought within the empire's boundaries.

Decline and Saadian Invasion

In 1528, Askia's children revolted against him, declaring his son Askia Musa king. Following Musa's
overthrow in 1531, the Songhai Empire went into decline. Following the death of Emperor Askia
Daoud in 1583, a war of succession weakened the Songhai Empire and split it into two feuding
factions.[17]

During this period, Moroccan armies annihilated a Portuguese invasion at the Battle of Alcácer
Quibir, but were left on the verge of economic depletion and bankruptcy, as they needed to pay for
the defences used to hold off the siege. This led Sultan Ahmad I al-Mansur of the Saadi dynasty in
1591 to dispatch an invasion force south under the eunuch Judar Pasha.[18] The Moroccan invasion
of Songhai was mainly to seize and revive the trans-Saharan trade in salt, gold and slaves for their
developing sugar industry.[19]: 300 During Askia's reign, the Songhai military consisted of full-time
soldiers, but the king never modernized his army. On the other hand, the invading Moroccan army
included thousands of arquebusiers and eight English cannons.

Judar Pasha was a Spaniard by birth but had been captured as an infant and educated at the Saadi
court. After a march across the Sahara desert, Judar's forces captured, plundered, and razed the
salt mines at Taghaza and moved on to Gao. When Emperor Askia Ishaq II (r. 1588–1591) met
Judar at the 1591 Battle of Tondibi, Songhai forces, despite vastly superior numbers, were routed by
a cattle stampede triggered by the Saadi's gunpowder weapons.[18] Judar proceeded to sack Gao,
Timbuktu and Djenné, destroying the Songhai as a regional power. Governing so vast an empire
proved too much for the Saadi dynasty. They soon relinquished control of the region, letting it
splinter into dozens of smaller kingdoms.[19]: 308
 West Africa after the Moroccan invasion

After the empire's defeat, the nobles moved south to an area known today as Songhai in current
Niger, where the Sonni dynasty had already settled. They formed smaller kingdoms such as
Wanzarbe, Ayerou, Gothèye, Dargol, Téra, Sikié, Kokorou, Gorouol, Karma, Namaro and further south,
the Dendi which rose to prominence shortly after.

Organization

The original Songhai Empire only included the area from the region of Timbuktu to the east of Gao.
Provinces were created after a military expansion under Sonni Ali and Askiya, whose territory was
divided into three military zones:

The kurma, where the Balama, the minister of defence of the empire and general-in-chief of the
armies in charge of military surveillance of the western provinces, including Mali, was based. The
western garrisons were stationed there, and the Balama resided with part of the naval fleet in the
port of Kabara. The other important personality was the Kurma Fari, who acted as governor and
lived in Timbuktu, the provincial capital.
The capital city of Gao, where the emperor resided with the central garrisons and part of the fleet
commanded by the Hikoy, the admiral of the empire stationed at the port of Gao with more than a
thousand ships at its height. It was wheremost large-scale military campaigns started. The
emperor was assisted in his military province in the south by the Tondi farma, governor of the
province of Hombori, and in the north by the Surgukoy, the Amenokal of Tademekat and chief of
the Berbers, in charge of the Saharan provinces and possessing a Camel cavalry army.
The Dendifari led the eastern province of Dendi. This provincial governor has stationed a garrison
in charge of the surveillance of the eastern provinces, including the Hausa kingdoms. The fleet
was stationed at the port of Ayorou.

The Songhai Empire at its zenith extended over the current territories of Mali, Niger, Nigeria,
Mauritania, Senegal, most other Guinean Coast countries and Algeria. Its influence stretched as far
as Cameroon over a vast contiguous ethnolinguistic, cultural, and political space of Mandé peoples,
Gur, Dogon, Berbers, Arab, Fula, Wolof, Hausa, Soninke people, Akan people, and Yoruba people.
An elite of Songhai horsemen led this population from nomadic Nilo-Saharan riders of the Neolithic
coming from East Africa to mix with the Sorko fishing population and local Niger-Congo
agriculturalists of the Niger River.[20]

Culture

At its peak, Timbuktu became a thriving cultural and commercial centre. Arab, Italian, and Jewish
merchants all gathered for trade. A revival of Islamic scholarship took place at the university in
Timbuktu.[21]

Economy

Trade routes of the Western Sahara c. 1000–1500.

Goldfields are indicated by light brown shading:
Bambuk, Bure, Lobi, and Akan Goldfields.

Overland trade in the Sahel and river trade along the Niger were the primary sources of Songhai
wealth. Trade along the West African coast was only possible in the late 1400s.[15] Several dikes
were constructed during the reign of Sonni Ali, which enhanced the irrigation and agricultural yield
of the empire.[22][23]

Overland trade was influenced by four factors: camels, Berber tribe members, Islam, and the
structure of the empire. Gold was readily available in West Africa, but salt was not, so the gold-salt
trade was the backbone of overland trade routes in the Sahel. Ivory, ostrich feathers, and slaves
were sent north in exchange for salt, horses, camels, cloth, and art. While many trade routes were
used, the Songhai heavily used the way through the Fezzan via Bilma, Agades, and Gao.[15]

The Niger River was essential to trade for the empire.[15] Goods were offloaded from camels onto
either donkeys or boats at Timbuktu.[15] From there, they were moved along a 500-mile corridor
upstream to Djenné or downstream to Gao.[15]

The Julla (merchants) would form partnerships, and the state would protect the merchants and port
cities along Niger. Askia Muhammad I implemented a universal system of weights and measures
throughout the empire.[24][25][26]

The Songhai economy was based on a clan system. The clan a person belonged to ultimately
decided one's occupation. The most common occupations were metalworkers, fishermen, and
carpenters. The lower castes mainly consisted of immigrants, who, at times, were provided special
privileges and held high positions in society. At the top were noblemen and descendants of the
original Songhai people, followed by freemen and traders. At the bottom were prisoners of war and
enslaved people who mainly worked in agriculture. The Songhai used slaves more consistently than
their predecessors, the Ghana and Mali empires. James Olson described the Songhai labour system
as resembling trade unions, with the kingdom possessing craft guilds that consisted of various
mechanics and artisans.[27]

Criminal justice

Criminal justice in Songhai was based mainly, if not entirely, on Islamic principles, especially during
the rule of Askia Muhammad. The local qadis were, in addition to this, responsible for maintaining
order by following Sharia law under Islamic domination, according to the Qur'an. An additional qadi
was noted as a necessity to settle minor disputes between immigrant merchants. Kings usually did
not judge a defendant; however, under exceptional circumstances, such as acts of treason, they felt
obligated to do so and thus exerted their authority. Results of a trial were announced by the "town
crier", and punishment for most trivial crimes usually consisted of confiscation of merchandise or
even imprisonment since various prisons existed throughout the Empire.[28]

Qadis worked locally in important trading towns like Timbuktu and Djenné. The king appointed the
Qadi and dealt with common-law misdemeanours according to Sharia law. The Qadi also had the
power to grant a pardon or offer refuge. The Assara-munitions, or "enforcers", worked like a police
commissioner whose sole duty was to execute sentencing. Jurists were mainly composed of
representatives of the academic community; professors were often noted as taking administrative
positions within the Empire, and many aspired to be qadis.[29]
Government

The upper classes in society converted to Islam, while the lower classes often continued to follow
traditional religions. Sermons emphasized obedience to the king. Timbuktu was the educational
capital. Sonni Ali established a system of government under the royal court, later to be expanded by
Askia Muhammad, which appointed governors and mayors to preside over local tributary states
around the Niger Valley. These local chiefs were still granted authority over their respective domains
if they did not undermine Songhai policy.[30] Departmental positions existed in the central
government. The hi koy was the fleet commander who performed roles likened to a home affairs
minister. Fari Mondzo was the minister of agriculture who administered the state's agricultural
estates. The Kalisa farm has been described by historians such as Ki-Zerbo to be the finance
minister who supervised the empire's treasury. Korey Farma was also the "minister in charge of
White foreigners."[31]

The tax was imposed on peripheral chiefdoms and provinces to ensure Songhai's dominance; in
return, these provinces were given almost complete autonomy. Songhai rulers only intervened in the
affairs of these neighbouring states when a situation became volatile, usually an isolated incident.
Each town was represented by government officials, holding positions and responsibilities similar to
today's central bureaucrats.

Under Askia Muhammad, the Empire saw increased centralization. He encouraged learning in
Timbuktu by rewarding its professors with larger pensions as an incentive. He also established an
order of precedence and protocol and was noted as a nobleman who gave back generously to
people experiencing poverty. Under his policies, Muhammad brought much stability to Songhai, and
great attestations of this registered organization are still preserved in the works of Maghreb writers
such as Leo Africanus, among others.

Religion

The Sonni dynasty practised Islam while maintaining many aspects of the original Songhai
traditions, unlike their successors, the Askiya dynasty.[15] Askia Mohammed I oversaw a complete
Islamic revival and made a pilgrimage to Mecca.[15]

Military

The Songhai armed forces included a navy led by a hikoy (admiral), a cavalry of mounted archers, an
infantry, and a camel cavalry. They trained herds of long-horned bulls in the imperial stables to
charge at the enemy in battle. Vultures were also used to harass opposing camps.

The emperor was the strategist and commander-in-chief of the military, and the balama acted as
minister of defence and army general. The janky was the army corps general, and the wonky were
lieutenants in charge of a garrison. The head of the mounted archers was called the tongue farma.
The hike was second in the chain of command of the empire and served as its interior minister. He
was assisted by two vice-admirals at the ports of Kabara and Ayourou and commanded over a
thousand captains, ensuring the rapid movement of troops along the Niger River.

The infantry was led by a general called the nyay hurry (war elephant), and the camel cavalry, called
gu, was led by the guy, or cavalry chief. The cavalry mainly consisted of Berbers recruited from the
northern provinces.

The Songhai included three military provinces, and an army was stationed in each. It was divided
into several garrisons, the kurmina, led by the balama, the central province by the emperor himself
and the dendi by the dendi fari. The army of the closest military province was mobilized with that of
the emperor. Those remaining on the spot ensured order in the three provinces; the emperor was
obliged to be in front of the armed during a war of conquest. The Jinakoy ruled secondary provinces
and their lieutenants in the regions of the provinces.

According to Potholm, the Songhai army was dominated by heavy cavalry of "mounted knights
outfitted in chain mail and helmets", similar to medieval European armies.[32] The infantry included a
force made up primarily of freemen and captives. Swords, arrows and copper or leather shields
made up the arsenal of the Songhai infantry. At the Battle of Tondibi, the Songhai army consisted of
30,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry.[33]

Navy

The Songhai navy dates to the reign of Sonni Ali, who formed a naval force on the Niger River.
[34][35][36]
The Hi-koi was the commander of the fleet.[37][38] The state had a large network of ports
headed by fishermen such as the Goima-Koi in Gao and the Kabara-Farma in Kabara. They were
tasked with various duties which included monitoring the state's fleet and the collection of entrance,
as well as exit fees.[39] Songhai acquired boats such as the Kanta vessels from the Sorko people
who served as tributaries to Songhai.[40] According to a report published by Nordic Africa Institute,
the Songhai Kanta "could carry up to 30 tons of goods, i.e. the load capacity of 1,000 men, 200
camels, 300 cattle or a flotilla of 20 regular canoes (Mauny, 1961). Some of these boats had an even
greater load capacity of 50 to 80 tons (Tvmowski, 1967).”[a]
List of rulers

Names and dates taken from John Stewart's African States and Rulers (2005).[41]
Songhai Dias (Kings)

Name Reign Start Reign End

Alayaman c. 837 c. 849

Za Koi c. 849 861

Takoi 861 873

Akoi 873 885

Ku 885 897

Ali Fai 897 909

Biyai Komai 909 921

Biyai Bei 921 933

Karai 933 945

Yama Karaonia 945 957

Yama Dombo 957 969

Yama Danka Kibao 969 981

Kukorai 981 993

Kenken 993 1005

Za Kosoi 1005 1025

Kosai Dariya 1025 1044

Hen Kon Wanko Dam 1044 1063

Biyai Koi Kimi 1063 1082

Nintasani 1082 1101

Biyai Kaina Kimba 1101 1120

Kaina Shinyunbo 1120 1139

Tib 1139 1158

Yama Dao 1158 1177

Fadazu 1177 1196

Ali Koro 1196 1215

Bir Foloko 1215 1235

Yosiboi 1235 1255

Duro 1255 1275

Zenko Baro 1275 1295

Bisi Baro 1295 1325

Bada 1325 1332

Songhai Sunnis (Sheikhs)

Name Reign Start Reign End

Ali Konon 1332 1340

Salman Nari 1340 1347

Ibrahim Kabay 1347 1354

Uthman Kanafa 1354 1362

Bar Kaina Ankabi 1362 1370

Musa 1370 1378

Bukar Zonko 1378 1386

Bukar Dalla Boyonbo 1386 1394

Mar Kirai 1394 1402

Muhammad Dao 1402 1410

Muhammad Konkiya 1410 1418

Muhammad Fari 1418 1426

Karbifo 1426 1434

Mar Fai Kolli-Djimbo 1434 1442

Mar Arkena 1442 1449

Mar Arandan 1449 1456

Suleiman Daman 1456 1464

Songhai Emperors

Name Reign Start Reign End

6 November
Sonni Ali 1464
1492

6 November
Sonni Baru 1493
1492

Askia Muhammad I (First Reign) 3 March 1493 26 August 1528

Askia Musa 26 August 1528 12 April 1531

Askia Mohammad Benkan 12 April 1531 22 April 1537

Askia Ismail 22 April 1537 2 March 1539

Askia Ishaq I 1539 25 March 1549

Askia Daoud 25 March 1549 August 1582

15 December
Askia Muhammad II (al-Hajj) August 1582
1586

15 December
Muhammad Bani 9 April 1588
1586

Askia Ishaq II 9 April 1588 14 April 1591

Songhai Emperors (ruled in exile from Dendi)

Name Reign Start Reign End

Muhammad Gao 14 April 1591 1591

Nuh 1591 1599

Harun 1599 1612

Al-Amin 1612 1618

Dawud II 1618 1635

Ismail 1635 1640

Samsou-Béri 1761 1779

Hargani 1779 1793

Samsou Keïna 1793 1798

Fodi Maÿroumfa 1798 1805

Tomo 1805 1823

Bassarou Missi Izé 1823 1842

Boumi (Askia Kodama Komi) 1842 1845

See also

Za dynasty

Sonni dynasty

Askiya dynasty

Saadi dynasty

Mali Empire

Dendi Kingdom

Songhai languages

Songhai country

Songhaiborai

Notes

a. See footnote 4 on page 57[39]

References

Citations

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2. Taagepera 1979, pp. 497.

3. Meyerowitz, Eva (1972). "The Origins of the "Sudanic" Civilization" (https://www.jstor.org/stabl

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ls/EmpiresOfMedievalWestAfrica) . Chelsea House Pub. ISBN 1604131640.

5. Hunwick 2003, p. 35.

6. Hunwick 2003, p. 36.

7. Levtzion & Hopkins 2000, p. 300.

 8. Stride, George T.; Ifeka, Caroline (1 January 1971). Peoples and Empires of West Africa; West
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9. Person, Yves (1981). "Nyaani Mansa Mamudu et la fin de l 'empire du Mali". Le sol, la parole et
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Further reading

Isichei, Elizabeth. A History of African Societies to 1870. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1997. Print.

Shillington, Kevin. History of Africa . 2nd . NY: Macmillan, 2005. Print.

Cissoko, S. M., Timbouctou et l'empire songhay, Paris 1975.

Lange, D., Ancient Kingdoms of West Africa, Dettelbach 2004 (the book has a chapter titled "The
Mande factor in Gao history", pp. 409–544).
 Gomez, Michael A., African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa.
Princeton University Press, 2018.

External links

The Story of Africa: Songhay (https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/

4chapter4.shtml) — BBC World Service

Askiyah's Questions and al-Maghili's Answers (https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667142/) An

essay about the rule of the Songhai Empire from the 15th century. (in English and Arabic)