The Pashalik of Timbuktu was a West African political entity that existed between the 16th and the 19th century. It was formed after the

Battle of Tondibi The Battle of Tondibi was the decisive confrontation in the 16th-century invasion of the Songhai Empire by the army of the Saadi dynasty in Morocco. Though vastly outnumbered, the Moroccan forces under Judar Pasha defeated the Songhai Askia Ish ...

, when a

military expedition Expeditionary warfare is a military invasion of a foreign territory, especially away from established bases. Expeditionary forces were in part the antecedent of the modern concept of rapid deployment forces. Traditionally, expeditionary forces w ...

sent by

Saadian The Saadi Sultanate (also rendered in English as Sa'di, Sa'did, Sa'dian, or Saadian; ar, السعديون, translit=as-saʿdiyyūn) was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of West Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was l ...

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 ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

defeated 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 ...

and established control over a territory centered on

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 ...

. Following the decline of the Saadian Sultanate in the early 16th century, Morocco retained only nominal control of the Pashalik.

History

By the end of the 16th century, Moroccan sultans were strengthened after the completion of the reunification of Morocco and the victory over the Portuguese at the

Battle of the Three Kings A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...

, but their financial needs lead them to extend their realm southward to Saharan gold mines and Songhay territories. In 1577, a Moroccan expedition occupied

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

. In 1582, a first expedition to

was defeated. In 1591, a Moroccan force which left Marrakesh with between three and four thousand soldiers, together with several hundred auxiliaries defeated the Songhai army at Tondibi and conquered

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The Pashalik of Timbuktu was then established and

became its capital. Starting from 1618, the Pasha, who was then appointed by the Sultan of Morocco, became elected by the

Armas The Arma people are an ethnic group of the middle Niger River valley, descended from Moroccan invaders of the 16th century . The name, applied by other groups, derives from the word ''ar-rumah'' ( ar, الرماة) "fusiliers". N. Levtzion, "No ...

. However, while governing the Pashalik as an independent republic, the

continued to recognize Moroccan sultans as their leaders. During the civil war that followed the death of

in Morocco, the Pashalik supported the legitimate Sultan,

Zidan al-Nasir Zidan Abu Maali ( ar, زيدان أبو معالي) (? – September 1627; or Muley Zidan) was the embattled Saadi Sultan of Morocco from 1603 to 1627. He was the son and heir of Ahmad al-Mansur by his wife Lalla Aisha bint Abu Bakkar, a lady o ...

, and in 1670 they recognized the Alaouite sultans and pledged allegiance. By the middle of the eighteenth century, the pashalik was in total eclipse. In about 1770, the

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...

took possession of

, and in 1787 they entered

and made the Pashalik their tributary.J.D. Fage (1975), p.170

References and Bibliography

References

Bibliography

* * ** N. Levtzion, ''Chp. III - North-West Africa: from the Maghrib to the fringes of the forest'', pp. 142–222 *** ''The pashalik of Timbuktu'', pp. 152–158 *** ''Timbuktu, Jenne and Massina under the Arma'', pp. 158–164 *** ''The Arma, Songhay and Tuareg'', pp. 165–171 *** ''The Bambara states'', pp. 171–182 * ** ''Chp. III - Karidenna, ancêtre historique et figure emblématique (1647–1713)'', pp. 149–212 ** ''Chp. IV - Les Iwellemmedan au XVIIIe siècle: émergence d'une entité politique'', pp. 213–290 * M. Abitbol, ''Tombouctou et les Arma: de la conquête marocaine du Soudan nigérien en 1591 a l'hégémonie de l'Empire peul du Macina en 1833'', Ed. Maisonneuve et Larose, 1979. () ** B. Rosenberg,
Michel Abitbol, Tombouctou et les Arma. De la conquête marocaine du Soudan nigérien en 1591 à l'hégémonie de l'Empire Peulh du Macina en 1833
' (compte rendu), in: Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations 37(4), 1982, pp. 833–836 * ** M. Abitbol, ''Chp. XI - The end of the Songhay empire'', pp. 300–326 * Political history of Mali States and territories disestablished in 1833 History of Africa States and territories established in 1591 Former monarchies of Africa Former countries in Africa Sahelian kingdoms

Pashalik of Timbuktu The Pashalik of Timbuktu was a West African political entity that existed between the 16th and the 19th century. It was formed after the Battle of Tondibi, when a military expedition sent by Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur of Morocco defeated t ...

Former republics {{Portal bar, Morocco