Tiramakhan Traore (variations : ''Tiramakhan Traoré'' or Tirimakhan Trawally) was a 13th-century general in the
Mali Empire who served under
Sundiata Keita. Traore expanded the power of Mali westward and set up the
Kabu Empire.
[ Oliver, Roland, "The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3", p 456, Cambridge University Press (1977),]
(Retrieved : 21 August 2012) In his conquest of the region, he is reported to have defeated the
Bainuk people, Bainuk king Kikikor and annexed his state. The
Guelowar
Guelowar, also spelled Gelwar, Guelwar, Guelware, Gueleware or Gueloware, was a maternal dynasty in the pre-colonial Serer kingdoms of Sine and Saloum (in the Senegambia, but mainly in the western area of present-day Senegal). They were from th ...
royal family, including the royal family of Kaabu prior to their defeat at the
Battle of Kansala
The Battle of Kansala or ''Final Battle'' (Mandinka: ''Turban Keloo'') or ''Siege of Kansala'' was a military engagement between forces of the Kaabu Empire and the Imamate of Futa Jallon. The battle ended Mandinka hegemony over Africa’s Atlant ...
, claimed descent from Tiramakhan Traore.
Conquest of Senegambia
Oral histories hold that around 1235CE Traore led a group of 75,000 people, including 40,000 free men and woman as well as 35,000 slaves and numerous artisans, west from the traditional Manding lands.
Sundiata also sent his son
Mansa Wali with Traore to learn from him and as a sign of trust. The column moved slowly, taking a year to reach
Wuli in what is now the eastern end of
The Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
, growing crops along the way. They established the village of Kabakama, now a neighborhood of
Basse Santa Su. A few years later, Traore marched on Mampating and defeated Kikikor, the king of the Bainuk. He founded many new
Mandinka towns, and ultimately died in Mampating and was buried in Basse. A tree survived into the 19th century that supposedly marked Tiramakhan Traore's tomb.
[Niane, 26.]
References
Further reading
*Ki-Zerbo, Joseph,
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century, (editors : Joseph Ki-Zerbo,
Djibril Tamsir Niane
Djibril Tamsir Niane (9 January 1932 – 8 March 2021) was a Guinean historian, playwright, and short story writer.
Biography
Born in Conakry, Guinea, his secondary education was in Senegal and his degree from the University of Bordeaux. He wa ...
),
University of California Press
The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facult ...
, 1998, pp 55 – 56,
{{Epic of Sundiata
Malian military personnel
History of Mali
History of Senegal
Year of death unknown
History of Guinea-Bissau
History of the Gambia
Year of birth unknown