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Songhay Empire
The Songhai Empire (also transliterated as Songhay) was a state that dominated the western Sahel/Sudan in the 15th and 16th century. At its peak, it was one of the largest states in African history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its leading ethnic group and ruling elite, the Songhai. Sonni Ali established Gao as the capital of the empire although a Songhai state had existed in and around Gao since the 11th century. Other important cities in the empire were Timbuktu and Djenné, conquered in 1468 and 1475 respectively, where urban-centered trade flourished and to the south is the north Akan state of Bonoman. Initially, the empire was ruled by the Sonni dynasty (–1493), but it was later replaced by the Askia dynasty (1493–1901). During the second half of the 13th century, Gao and the surrounding region had grown into an important trading center and attracted the interest of the expanding Mali Empire. Mali conquered Gao towards the end of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) exercises political control over the peripheries. Within an empire, there is non-equivalence between different populations who have different sets of rights and are governed differently. Narrowly defined, an empire is a sovereign state whose head of state is an emperor; but not all states with aggregate territory under the rule of supreme authorities are called empires or ruled by an emperor; nor have all self-described empires been accepted as such by contemporaries and historians (the Central African Empire, and some Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in early England being examples). There have been "ancient and modern, centralized and decentralized, ultra-brutal and relatively benign" Empires. An important distinction has been between land empires mad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shell Money
Shell money is a medium of trade, exchange similar to coin money and other forms of commodity money, and was once commonly used in many parts of the world. Shell money usually consisted of whole or partial sea shells, often worked into beads or otherwise shaped. The use of shells in trade began as direct commodity exchange, the shells having use-value as Jewellery, body ornamentation. The distinction between beads as commodities and beads as money has been the subject of debate among Economic anthropology, economic anthropologists. Shell money has appeared in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australia. The most familiar form may be the wampum created by the Indigenous peoples in the United States, Indigenous peoples of the East Coast of the United States, East Coast of North America, ground beads cut from the purple part of marine bivalve shells. The shell most widely used worldwide as currency was the shell of ''Cypraea moneta'', the money cowry. This species is most abundant in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Songhai People
The Songhai people (also Ayneha, Songhay or Sonrai)'' are an ethnolinguistic group in West Africa who speak the various Songhai languages. Their history and ''lingua franca'' is linked to the Songhai Empire which dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th century. Predominantly a Muslim community, the Songhai are found primarily throughout Niger and Mali in the Sahel and Sahara. The name Songhai was historically neither an ethnic nor linguistic designation, but a name for the ruling caste of the Songhai Empire which are the Songhai proper of ''sunni'' and ''Askya'' dynasty found predominantly in present-day Niger. These people call themselves ''Ayneha''. Although some Speakers in Mali have also adopted the name ''Songhay'' as an ethnic designation, other Songhay-speaking groups identify themselves by other ethnic terms such as Zarma (or Djerma, the largest subgroup) or Isawaghen. The dialect of Koyraboro Senni spoken in Gao is unintelligible to speakers of the Zarma dial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Empires
African empires is an umbrella term used in African studies to refer to a number of pre-colonial African kingdoms in Africa with multinational structures incorporating various populations and polities into a single entity, usually through conquest. Listed below are known African empires and their respective capital cities. Historical development Sahelian kingdoms The Sahelian kingdoms were a series of medieval empires centred on the Sahel, the area of grasslands south of the Sahara. * The first major state to rise in this region was the Ghana Empire (Wagadu). The name Ghana, often used by historians, was the regnal title given to the ruler of the Wagadu empire. Centered in what is today Senegal and Mauritania, it was the first to benefit from the introduction of gold mining. Ghana dominated the region between about 750 and 1078. Smaller states in the region at this time included Takrur to the west, the Malinke kingdom of Mali to the south, and the Songhai Empire ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sahel
The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid climate, it stretches across the south-central latitudes of Northern Africa between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea. The Sahel part of Africa includes – from west to east – parts of northern Senegal, southern Mauritania, central Mali, northern Burkina Faso, the extreme south of Algeria, Niger, the extreme north of Nigeria, Cameroon and Central African Republic, central Chad, central and southern Sudan, the extreme north of South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Historically, the western part of the Sahel was sometimes known as the Sudan region (''bilād as-sūdān'' "lands of the Sudan"). This belt was located between the Sahara and the coastal areas of West Africa. There are frequent shortages of food and water due to the dry h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Askia Ishaq II
Askia Ishaq II was ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1588 to 1591. Ishaq came to power in a long dynastic struggle following the death of the long-ruling Askia Daoud. Sensing the Empire's weakness, Moroccan Sultan Ahmad I al-Mansur Saadi dispatched a 4,000-man force under the Islamicized Spaniard Judar Pasha across the Sahara desert in October 1590. Though Ishaq assembled more than 40,000 soldiers to meet the Moroccans, his army fled the enemy's gunpowder weapons at the decisive Battle of Tondibi in March 1591; Judar soon seized and looted the Songhai capital of Gao as well as the trading centers of Timbuktu and Djenné, ensuring the Empire's destruction. See also * Saadian invasion of the Songhai Empire The Saadian invasion of the Songhai Empire began with an expedition sent in 1590 by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur of the Saadian dynasty, which ruled over present-day Morocco at the time. The Saadian army, led by Judar Pasha, arrived in the Niger valle ... References *Davidson, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Askia Daoud
Askia Daoud (also Askia Dāwūd, Askiya Dawud) was the ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1549 to 1582. Daoud came to power unopposed following the death of his brother Askia Ishaq I in 1549. The Empire continued to expand under Daoud's peaceful rule, and saw little internal strife, until the invasion and interference of the Moroccan forces,"Songhai empire." ''Britannica Academic'', Encyclopædia Britannica, 5 Aug. 2019. academic-eb-com.queens.ezproxy.cuny.edu/levels/collegiate/article/Songhai-empire/68696. Accessed 30 Nov. 2019. which led to the empire's downfall in 1591. Early life and influences Once located in West Africa, the flourishing Songhai Empire was stretched across the regions of Gao, Senegal, Gambia, NIgeria, Timbuktu and Djenne. Under his father Askia Muhmmad's rule, the Songhai Empire experienced a thriving economy with Askia Muhmmad's idea of developing an Islamized society, through development of trade with neighboring regions and prioritizing education and li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Askia Ishaq I
Askia Ishaq I was the ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1539 to 1549, elected Askia following the death of Askia Isma'il. He was the fifth ruler of the Askiya dynasty which had the town of Gao as its capital. Ascension to the throne When Askia Isma'il died, the leading men in the empire peacefully agreed that Ishaq, a son of Muhammad the Great would be the next ruler. Reign Askia Ishaq was the most ruthless Songhai ruler ever, inspiring the most fear and anxiety among the Songhai people. Despite being a devout Muslim, he sent agents to Timbuktu on a regular basis to demand enormous sums of money from the merchants, which is against Islamic law. This ended up damaging the economy of the empire and made him unpopular, thus gaining him many enemies. Askiya Ishaq I was completely ruthless as a ruler and executed any official whom he considered as a threat. The ''Tarikh al-Sudan'' gives this description: "If he imagined anyone was making the least move against the throne, he would, wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Askia Isma'il
Askia Ismail was the sixth ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1537 – 1539, and fourth from the Askia dynasty. Ismail came to power through a conspiracy generated by Askia Mohammad I, his father and founder of the Askia dynasty, with the aim of freeing Mohammad from captivity. Directed to one of Mohammad’s Eunuchs, he was able to obtain gold. With this Ismail was then able to recruit men, allies and Suma Kutubaki, a friend of the ruling Askia Mohammad Benkan. The conspiracy came to fruition when Benkan was encamped at a village called Mansur. Benkan’s captains turned against him, he was deposed by the Dendi-fari, with the Dendi-fari capturing and chaining up most of Benkan’s inner circle. Raised to power by the Dendi-fari, Askia Ismail was then able to release his father Askia Muhammad from Kangaba Island, bringing him home to Gao. Ismail campaigned against the one called Bakabula in Gurma. Ismail gave charge of the cavalry to the Kurmina-fari. Ismail instructed the Kurmina-fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Askia Mohammad Benkan
Askia Mohammad Benkan, also Askiya Muhammad Bonkana, was the third ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1531 to 1537. Mohammad Benkan assumed power after Askiya Musa (son of Askia Mohammad I) was assassinated. Musa was assassinated in the village of Mansura on Wed 12 April 1531, and on that same day, Mohammad Benkan became Askia: ''Shocked by Musa's ruthless actions to eliminate rivals, his brothers conspired together and killed him. It was during this chaos that Benkan, the Kurmina-fari (also Kan-fari, both meaning military captain of Kurmina with the Kurmina-fari being the highest-ranking captain in the empire) and son of Umar Komadiakha (brother of Askia Mohammad), seized control of the throne despite opposition from Alu (one of the sons of Askia Mohammad) and took the position of Askia.'' To secure his position Benkan then banished Askia Mohammad, his paternal uncle to the island of Kangaba, in the River Niger to the west of Gao. Musa who had previously dethroned Askia Mohammad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Askia Musa
Askia Musa or Askiya Musa (ruled 1529–1531) was the second Askia ruler of the Songhai Empire. Towards the end of his reign, Askia Mohammad had become increasingly dependent on Ali Fulan, the Hugu-koray-koi (Master of the Palace interior). On one occasion, Ali advised that his young son Balla be appointed to the vacant position of Benga-farma (governor of Benga). When the older sons of Askia heard about this, they were angered as the post of Benga was very prestigious. Musa (his son) in particular was angry at his father and with Ali Fulan, he claimed that Askia did nothing but what Ali told him. The closeness arose because Askia had become blind, however none of the sons were aware of it because Ali Fulan stuck so close to his side as aid (at this time blindness would have disqualified a ruler as he would have been expected to lead his army into battle, as well as being a bad omen). Musa resolved to depose his aging father Askia Mohammad I Askia Muhammad I (b. 1443 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Askia Mohammad I
Askia Muhammad I (b. 1443 – d. 1538), born Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Turi or Muhammad Ture, was the first ruler of the Askia dynasty of the Songhai Empire, reigning from 1493 to 1528. He is also known as Askia the Great, and his name in modern Songhai is Mamar Kassey. Askia Muhammad strengthened his empire and made it the largest empire in West Africa's history. At its peak under his reign, the Songhai Empire encompassed the Hausa states as far as Kano (in present-day Northern Nigeria) and much of the territory that had belonged to the Songhai empire in the east. His policies resulted in a rapid expansion of trade with Europe and Asia, the creation of many schools, and the establishment of Islam as an integral part of the empire. Muhammad was a prominent general under the Songhai ruler Sunni Ali. When Sunni Ali was succeeded by his son, Sunni Baru, in 1492, Muhammad challenged the succession on the grounds that the new ruler was not a faithful Muslim. He defeated Baru and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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