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Kong is a town in northern
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
. It is a
sub-prefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefecture ...
of and the seat of
Kong Department Kong Department is a department of Tchologo Region in Savanes District, Ivory Coast. In 2021, its population was 118,304 and its seat is the settlement of Kong. The sub-prefectures of the department are Bilimono, Kong, Nafana, and Sikolo. Th ...
in
Tchologo Region Tchologo Region is one of the 31 regions of Ivory Coast. Since its establishment in 2011, it has been one of three regions in Savanes District. The seat of the region is Ferkessédougou and the region's population in the 2021 census was 603,084. ...
, Savanes District. Kong is also a commune. It was the capital of the Kong Empire (1710–1895).


Natural history

Kong is in the sub-Saharan
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 c ...
tropical Savanna belt
biogeography Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities often vary in a regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, ...
region, of grasslands with trees, such as the baobab (''Adansonia digitata''), shea (''Vitellaria paradoxa'') and other species. Comoé National Park is to the east.


History

Kong emerged as a trading centre when
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 ...
merchants began trading in the territory of the surrounding Senufo people. The sub-prefecture of Kong, in the area of Kong to Dabakala, is said to be the "origin" area, where Mandé ethnic group traders known as the Dioula–Juula migrated from the Niger basin to settle in the 12th century.About African History: Timeline - Ivory Coast history
accessed 4.01.2011 The Juula traders brought with them their trading skills and connections, and transformed Kong into an African international market for the exchange of northern desert goods, such as salt and cloth, and southern forest exports such as cola nuts, gold, and slaves. As Kong grew prosperous from trade its early rulers from the Taraweré clan combined Juula and Senufo traditions, and extended their authority over the surrounding region.


Kong Empire

In 1710,
Seku Ouattara Seku may refer to: * Seku (given name), a masculine given name * Seku (surname), a Malian surname {{disambig ...
(Wattara), a Dioula warrior, invaded the area and conquered the city of Kong with his cavalry. He established himself as ruler and, under his authority, the city rose from a small city-state to the capital of the great Kong Empire. It held sway over much of the region for over 150 years.


19th century

In 1881,
Samory Touré Samory Toure ( – June 2, 1900), also known as Samori Toure, Samory Touré, or Almamy Samore Lafiya Toure, was a Muslim cleric, a military strategist, and the founder and leader of the Wassoulou Empire, an Islamic empire that was in present-day ...
expanded his Wassoulou Empire in conquering the Kong Empire, and destroyed much of the city of Kong. In 1898 the Kong region and city then came under French colonial control, within the
French West Africa French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burki ...
colony created in 1893. File:Pg313 Une Mosquée de Kong.jpg, A mosque in Kong, 1892. File:Pg319 Costumes et types de Kong.jpg, People and costume of Kong, 1892. File:Pg308 Croquis à vue de la ville de Kong.jpg, Map of Kong, 1892.


Features

Despite the Kong Empire's fall from power, their 17th century landmark Kong Friday Mosque survived. In the 20th century, Kong was largely rebuilt in a traditional earthen Sahelian architecture style. It features a Qur'anic school and distinctive baked mud mosque buildings. The Grand Mosque of Kong and another, smaller mosque within the city are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List because of their traditional architectural style. The far north-eastern portion of the sub-prefecture is within the borders of Comoé National Park. In 2014, the population of the sub-prefecture of Kong was 29,190.


Villages

The 18 villages of the sub-prefecture of Kong and their population in 2014 are:Citypopulation.de
Population of the localities in the sub-prefecture of Kong


References


Bibliography

* Baumann, Gerd (2004) Grammars of Identity/Alterity: A Structural Approach * Appiah, Kwame (2003) Africana: The Concise Desk Reference * Forrest, Joshua (2004) Subnationalism in Africa: Ethnicity, Alliances, and Politics {{Authority control Sub-prefectures of Tchologo Communes of Tchologo