The Empire of Great Fulo, also known as the Denanke Kingdom or Denianke Kingdom, was a
Pulaar
Pulaar (in Adlam: , in Ajami: ) is a Fula language spoken primarily as a first language by the Fula and Toucouleur peoples in the Senegal River valley area traditionally known as Futa Tooro and further south and east. Pulaar speakers, known ...
kingdom of
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 井仆井內丐中五 (Senegaali); Arabic: 塈堻媞塈 ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''R矇ewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 井仆不丐仆不五 ...
, which dominated the
Futa Tooro
Futa Toro (Wolof and ff, Fuuta Tooro ''今兮丐 亢云亢''; ar, 堛塈 堛堭), often simply the Futa, is a semidesert region around the middle run of the Senegal River. This region is along the border of Senegal and M ...
region. Its population dominated its neighbors through use of cavalry and fought wars against the
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 井仆不丐仆不五 丐中五, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, 堿堭堜 塈, Jumh贖riyyt Ml蘋 is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
and
Songhai empires.
Tenguella (14901512)
The state began as a violent migration of Fula nomads from
Futa Djallon
Fouta Djallon ( ff, 今兮丐 丐中亢, Fuuta Jaloo; ar, 堛塈 堿塈) is a highland region in the center of Guinea, roughly corresponding with Middle Guinea, in West Africa.
Etymology
The Fulani people call the r ...
into the Gambia led by
Tenguella
Tenguella (also known as Temel獺) was the founder of the Empire of Great Fulo. He was responsible, along with his son, for the Fula migration to the Gambia. He was named Great Fulo or Great king of the Fulos in Portuguese documents of the time. ...
, their first king or mansa, in 1490. His attack was directed against the remaining Atlantic provinces of the
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire ( Manding: ''Mand矇''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, 塈, Ml ...
. Though without a fixed headquarters, Tenguella's following grew so large that he was referred to as the "Great king of the Fulos" or the "Great Fulo" in Portuguese documents of the same period. From the Gambia he led his forces northeast against the growing
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 ...
where he was defeated and killed in 1512. Afterwards, power was passed to his son, Koli Tenguella.
Koli Tenguella (15121537)
Koli Tenguella Koli Tenguella (or Koli Tenguella B璽/Bah or Koli Tengella Jaaje Baa alias Koli Pullo) (15121537) was a Fulani warrior. In the sixteenth century, after nine attempts, he conquered Futa Toro, a kingdom located in the northeast of the current Sene ...
redirected the fledgling state's military away from Songhai towards the
Jolof Empire Jolof (french: Djolof or ') may refer to either of
* Jolof Empire, a West African successor state to the Mali Empire in modern Senegal from the 14th to 16th centuries
* Kingdom of Jolof, a rump survival of the earlier empire from the 16th to the 19t ...
with great success. The growth of the empire of Great Fulo would hasten the breakup of the Jolof state into several warring kingdoms. This was followed by attacks on Mali's
Bambuk
Bambouk (sometimes Bambuk or Bambuhu) is a traditional name for the territory in eastern Senegal and western Mali, encompassing the Bambouk Mountains on its eastern edge, the valley of the Faleme River and the hilly country to the east of the riv ...
goldfields, which resulted in another serious defeat for the Fula. Koli died in 1537. By then, a fixed capital had been settled in Anyam-Godo in what is today Senegal's Futa Toro region.
Denanke successors
The mangas that followed Koli Tengella were all descended from him and given the name Denyanke or Deny Kobe. The Denianke dynasty (or Denyanke dynasty) continued to be a major power in the region ruling as animist monarchs over an increasingly Islamic populace from the 16th century into the late 18th century.
Their dynasty was overthrown through conflict with the increasingly Muslim subjects of the realm, leading to the
Imamate of Futa Toro
The Imamate of Futa Toro () (1776-1861) was a West African theocratic monarchy of the Fula-speaking people (''Fule'' and Toucouleurs) in the middle valley of the Senegal River. The region is known as Futa Toro.
Origins
Futa Toro is a strip ...
led by
Abd-el-Kadr Toorodi in 1776, ushering in a near continuous era of Muslim Fula rule over the region.
The Sila Tigi or Manga of the Denianke dynasty were:
* Dengella Koli I (15131535)
* Dengella Koli II (15351538)
* 15 rulers unknown by name (15381765)
* Sule-Budu (17651776)
See also
*
Imamate of Futa Toro
The Imamate of Futa Toro () (1776-1861) was a West African theocratic monarchy of the Fula-speaking people (''Fule'' and Toucouleurs) in the middle valley of the Senegal River. The region is known as Futa Toro.
Origins
Futa Toro is a strip ...
*
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 ...
*
Jolof Empire Jolof (french: Djolof or ') may refer to either of
* Jolof Empire, a West African successor state to the Mali Empire in modern Senegal from the 14th to 16th centuries
* Kingdom of Jolof, a rump survival of the earlier empire from the 16th to the 19t ...
*
History of Senegal
The history of Senegal is commonly divided into a number of periods, encompassing the prehistoric era, the precolonial period, colonialism, and the contemporary era.
Paleolithic
The earliest evidence of human life is found in the valley of the ...
Sources
*
*
*
*
References
External links
*http://www.san.beck.org/1-13-Africa1500-1800.html
*https://web.archive.org/web/20060321172333/http://www.jamtan.com/jamtan/fulani.cfm?chap=4&linksPage=329
*http://www.jamtan.com/jamtan/fulani.cfm?chap=2&linksPage=214
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Fulo, Empire Of
Kingdoms of Senegal
Countries in precolonial Africa
Sahelian kingdoms
Former empires