The Battle of Kirina, also known as the Battle of Krina or Siege of Karina (
c. 1235), was a confrontation between
Sosso king
Sumanguru Kanté and
Mandinka prince
Sundiata Keita. Sundiata Keita's forces roundly defeated those of Sumanguru Kanté, guaranteeing the pre-eminence of Keita's new
Mali Empire over
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
.
Prelude
By the late twelfth century, the formerly dominant
Ghana Empire
The Ghana Empire, also known as Wagadou ( ar, غانا) or Awkar, was a West African empire based in the modern-day southeast of Mauritania and western Mali that existed from c. 300 until 1100. The Empire was founded by the Soninke people, an ...
had collapsed, following internal strife and political intervention of the
Almoravids in the eleventh century. A number of smaller neighboring states rushed to fill the power void, including the
Sosso people of the Kaniaga kingdom, and the
Mandinka people of the Upper
Niger
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, languages_type = National languages[Koumbi Saleh
Koumbi Saleh, sometimes Kumbi Saleh is the site of a ruined medieval town in south east Mauritania that may have been the capital of the Ghana Empire.
From the ninth century, Arab authors mention the Ghana Empire in connection with the trans-S ...](_blank)
, former capital of the Ghana Empire, and expanded outward, conquering the Mandinka among others.
During the Battle
The exiled Mandinka prince Sundiata Keita organized a coalition of smaller kingdoms to oppose the growing power of the Sosso. The opposing armies met in the
Koulikoro Region
Koulikoro Region ( Bambara: ߞߎߟߌߞߏߙߏ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Kulikoro Dineja) is a region in western Mali. It is the second administrative area of Mali and covers an area of 90,120 km2. Its capital is the city of Koulikoro.
Geography
The ...
of what is now
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...
in about 1235. Sundiata Keita's forces were victorious, and marched on to raze Sosso. The date is often cited as the beginning of the Mali Empire, which would control most of West Africa for the next two centuries.
Aftermath
The story of the battle is retold in the
Epic of Sundiata
''Sunjata'' [] (also referred to as ''Sundiata'' or ''Son-Jara'') is an epic poem of the Malinke people that tells the story of the hero Sundiata Keita (died 1255), the founder of the Mali Empire. The epic is an instance of oral tradition, goin ...
, widely considered Mali's
national epic. In it, Sumanguru Kanté is an evil sorcerer-king who oppresses the Mandinka people; however, when Sundiata discovers that his sacred animal is the
rooster
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
, he is able to wound Sumanguru Kanté with an arrow tipped by a cock's spur. The Sosso king then flees the field, disappearing into the Koulikoro mountains. A version of this story was recounted by
Maximilien Quenum
Maximilien Quenum-Possy-Berry, Légion d'honneur (born December 5, 1911 in Cotonou, Dahomey, now Benin; died October 21, 1988 in Paris) was a politician who served as a Senator of the Fourth Republic, representing Dahomey in the French Senate from ...
in his ''Légendes africaines''.
See also
*
Mali Empire
*
Military history of the Mali Empire
The military history of the Mali Empire is that of the armed forces of the Mali Empire, which dominated Western Africa from the mid 13th to the late 15th century. The military culture of the empire's driving force, Mandinka people, influenced m ...
*
Sundjata Keita
Sundiata Keita (Mandinka, Malinke: ; 1217 – c. 1255) (also known as Manding Diara, Lion of Mali, Sogolon Djata, son of Sogolon, Nare Maghan and Sogo Sogo Simbon Salaba) was a prince and founder of the Mali Empire. He is also the great-uncle ...
Notes
References
*Davidson, Basil. ''Africa in History''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.
External links
Summary of the Epic of Sundiata
Kirina
13th century in Mali
Mali Empire
Kirina
Kirina
Military history of Mali
1235
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