Judar Pasha ( ar, جؤذر باشا) was a Spanish-Moroccan military leader under the Saadian sultan

Ahmad al-Mansur Ahmad al-Mansur ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد المنصور, Ahmad Abu al-Abbas al-Mansur, also al-Mansur al-Dahabbi (the Golden), ar, أحمد المنصور الذهبي; and Ahmed al-Mansour; 1549 in Fes – 25 August 1603, Fes) was the ...

in the late 16th century. He led the Saadian army in the

conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...

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 ...

. Born as Diego de Guevara in

Cuevas del Almanzora Cuevas del Almanzora is a municipality of Almería province, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Villages * Alhanchete * Aljarilla * Barrio Bravo * Burjulú * Cala Panizo * El Calguerín (also known as Cuevas de Vera) * El Ca ...

(

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...

), Judar had been captured by Muslim slave-raiders as a young boy. His captors castrated him. As a young boy, he joined the service of Moroccan

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

Ahmad al-Mansur, who had many other

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

officers. Judar was often described by reference to his blue eyes.

Battles

In 1590, Ahmad al-Mansur made Judar a

pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...

and appointed him the head of an invasion force against the Songhai Empire 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. Mali ...

. In October of that year, Judar set out from

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

with a force of 1,500 light cavalry and 2,500

arquebus An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. Although the term ''arquebus'', derived from the Dutch word ''Haakbus ...

iers and light infantry. Some of these men were Spaniards from Andalusia and some were "Renegats" (probably Christians from Southern Europe). He also carried eight

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

cannons A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder dur ...

in his supply train, and assembled eighty Christian bodyguards for his personal detail. After an arduous crossing of the

Sahara desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

, Judar razed the desert

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 = , ...

and advanced on the Songhai capital 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 ...

. Meanwhile, Songhai ruler

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 dispatc ...

assembled a force of more than 40,000 men and moved north against the Moroccans; the two armies met at Tondibi in March 1591. Despite their far inferior numbers, the Moroccan gunpowder weapons easily carried the day, resulting in a rout of the Songhai troops. Ishaq offered slaves and gold if Judar would retreat; Judar refused the offer. Judar sacked Gao and then moved on to the trading centers of

Djenné Djenné ( Bambara: ߘߖߋߣߣߋ tr. Djenne; also known as Djénné, Jenné and Jenne) is a Songhai people town and an urban commune in the Inland Niger Delta region of central Mali. The town is the administrative centre of the Djenné Cercle, on ...

and

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 ...

. He reached Timbuktu in April 1591, carrying a letter from the Sultan al-Mansur demanding their cooperation.

Aftermath

According to

Martin Meredith Martin Meredith is a historian, journalist, and biographer. He has written several books on Africa and its modern history. Meredith first worked as a foreign correspondent in Africa for ''The Observer'' and ''Sunday Times'', then as a research ...

: "To quell resistance in Timbuktu, the Moroccans sent leading scholars to Marrakesh in chains. The wealth of Timbuktu, Gao, and Jenne was also stripped. Huge quantities of gold dust were shipped across the desert. When Judar Pasha returned to Morocco in 1599, his caravan included thirty camel-loads of gold valued by an English merchant at £600,000." Judar was demoted to governor because he advocated for making Timbuktu the new capital, rather than Gao, as Sultan al-Mansur wished. Despite Judar's gains, sporadic battles continued with the Songhai army, leading to his replacement several years after his victory.

Death

Judar was executed in December 1606 on the orders of Mulay Abdallah, son of Mullay al-Shaykh, in the course of struggles over the Moroccan throne. This was mainly set up by the Battle of Tondibi.

Notes

References

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External links