Sunni Ali, also known as Si Ali, Sunni Ali Ber (Ber meaning "the Great"), was born in Ali Kolon. He

reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Buddhism, N ...

ed from about 1464 to 1492. Sunni Ali was the first king 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 ...

, located in Africa and the 15th ruler of the Sunni dynasty. Under Sunni Ali's command, many cities were captured and then fortified, such as

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 ...

(captured in 1468) and Djenné (captured in 1475). Sunni conducted a repressive policy against the scholars of

, especially those of the

Sankore Sankoré Madrasa (also called the University of Sankoré, or Sankore Masjid) is one of three ancient centers of learning located in Timbuktu, Mali. It is believed to be established by Mansa Musa, who was the ruler of the Mali Empire, though the S ...

region who were associated with 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 ...

whom Ali expelled to gain control of the town. Sunni Ali organized a fleet to the

Niger river The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

. During his reign, Songhai surpassed the height of the

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 ...

, engulfing areas under the Mali Empire (and the

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, ...

before it). His death, on November 6, 1492, is a matter of conjecture. According to the ''

Tarikh al-Sudan The ''Tarikh al-Sudan'' ( ''Tārīkh as-Sūdān''; also ''Tarikh es-Sudan'', "History of the Sudan") is a West African chronicle written in Arabic in around 1655 by the chronicler of Timbuktu, al-Sa'di. It provides the single most important primary ...

'', Ali drowned while crossing the Niger River. Oral tradition believes he was killed by his sister's son, Askia Muhammad Ture. He was succeeded by his son,

Sunni Baru Sonni Bāru, also known as Sonni Abū Bakr Dao was the 16th and last king of the Sonni dynasty to rule over the Songhai Empire located in west Africa. His rule was very short, from November 6, 1492, to April 12, 1493. The dates of his birth and de ...

, who was challenged by Askia because Baru was not seen as a faithful Muslim. Askia succeeded to the throne. According to the ''Tarikh al-Sudan'' it is believed that this action caused Sonni Ali's daughters to shout out "A si kiya!" a more modern phrasing would be “A si tiya” or (he shall not be it), at the news of this take over. Sunni Ali ruled over both urban Muslims and rural non-Muslims at a time when the traditional co-existence of different beliefs was being challenged. His adherence to African

animism Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—Animal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...

while also professing Islam leads some writers to describe him as ''outwardly'' or '' nominally'' Muslim.

References

External links

''Kingdoms of the Medieval Sudan'' - Xavier University

Ancient African Legends

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Sunni Year of birth missing 1492 deaths People of the Songhai Empire 15th-century Muslims History of Mali Deaths by horse-riding accident 15th-century monarchs in Africa