Askia Ishaq I was the ruler of the

Songhai 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 ...

from 1539 to 1549, elected Askia following the death of

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 free ...

. He was the fifth ruler of the

Askiya dynasty The Askiya dynasty, also known as the Askia dynasty, ruled the Songhai Empire at the height of that state's power. It was founded in 1493 by Askia Mohammad I, a general of the Songhai Empire who usurped the Sonni dynasty. The Askiya ruled from Gao ...

which had the town of

Gao Gao , or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley. For much of its history Gao was an impor ...

as its capital.

Ascension to the throne

When

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 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 ...

. Despite being a devout Muslim, he sent agents to

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...

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 The ''Tarikh al-Sudan'' ( ''Tārīkh as-Sūdān''; also ''Tarikh es-Sudan'', "History of the Sudan") is a West African chronicle written in Arabic in around 1655 by the chronicler of Timbuktu, al-Sa'di. It provides the single most important primary ...

'' gives this description: "If he imagined anyone was making the least move against the throne, he would, without exception, have him killed or banished. This was his consistent practice." Askia Ishaq briefly occupied the

Mali Empire The Mali Empire ( Manding: ''Mandé''Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: ''UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century'', p. 57. University of California Press, 1997. or Manden; ar, مالي, Māl ...

capital in 1545/6. After a request from the Moroccan sultan Muhammad Al-Arak, to cede the

salt mine Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite formations. History Before the advent of the modern internal combustio ...

s of

Taghaza , nickname = , settlement_type = , total_type = , motto = , translit_lang1 = , translit_lang1_ , translit_lang1_info2 = , ...

, Ishaq I sent a group of 2000 mounted men to raid a market town in the Dara valley of southern Morocco with instructions to avoid killing anyone. This was intended as a show of strength. Askiya Ishaq I died in the town of KukiyaThe town of Kukiya is believed to have been near the modern village of Bentiya on the eastern bank of the Niger, north of the Fafa rapids, 134 km south east of Gao. Bentiya is located at and was buried there. He was succeeded by his brother

Askiya Dawud 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 rul ...

Notes

References

*. *. Also available fro
Aluka
but requires subscription. 1549 deaths People of the Songhai Empire 16th-century monarchs in Africa Year of birth unknown {{Africa-royal-stub