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Diafunu
Diarra, also referred to as Kingui, Diafunu, or Kaniaga, was a Soninke state in what is now northwestern Mali, centered around the town of Diarra. Founded in the 11th century, it was occasionally independent but frequently under the domination of a series of Sahelian empires until its final destruction by the Toucouleur Empire in the 19th century. Names The kingdom has many different names, which are used in different contexts. ''Diarra'' (also spelled ''Jaara'' or ''Zara'') is the name of the capital, and so applied to the state as a whole. ''Kingui'' is the Pulaar term for the region. ''Kaniaga'' is a Soninke term for land between the upper Senegal river and the Niger bend, derived from a Malinke term which means 'north'; it is sometimes applied to Diarra, and sometimes to the Sosso Empire, as both were located to the north of the Manding region. ''Diafunu'' (also spelled ''Zafunu'') is a region around the upper Kolinbiné River. The name means "people of Dia", and was the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire (Manding languages, 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 Duguba''; ) was an empire in West Africa from 1226 to 1610. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita () and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa (Musa Keita). At its peak, Mali was the largest empire in West Africa, widely influencing the culture of the region through the spread of Manding languages, its language, laws, and customs. The empire began as a small Mandinka people, Mandinka kingdom at the upper reaches of the Niger River, centered around the Manding region. It began to develop during the 11th and 12th centuries as the Ghana Empire, or Wagadu, declined and trade epicentres shifted southward. The Pre-imperial Mali, history of the Mali Empire before the 13th century is unclear, as there are conflict ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Askia Mohammad I
Askia Muhammad Ture I (1443–1538), born Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Turi or Muhammad Ture, was the first ruler of the Askia dynasty of the Songhai Empire, reigning from 1493 to 1528. He is also known as Askia the Great, and his name in modern Songhai is Mamar Kassey. Askia Muhammad strengthened his empire and made it the largest empire in West Africa's history. At its peak under his reign, the Songhai Empire encompassed the Hausa states as far as Kano (in present-day Northern Nigeria) and much of the territory that had belonged to the Songhai empire in the east. His policies resulted in a rapid expansion of trade with Europe and Asia, the creation of many schools, and the establishment of Islam as an integral part of the empire. Muhammad was a prominent general under the Songhai ruler Sunni Ali. When Sunni Ali was succeeded by his son, Sunni Baru, in 1492, Muhammad challenged the succession on the grounds that the new ruler was not a faithful Muslim. He defeated Baru and asc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghana Empire
The Ghana Empire (), also known as simply Ghana, Ghanata, or Wagadu, was an ancient western-Sahelian empire based in the modern-day southeast of Mauritania and western Mali. It is uncertain among historians when Ghana's ruling dynasty began. The first identifiable mention of the imperial dynasty in written records was made by Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī in 830. Further information about the empire was provided by the accounts of Cordoban scholar al-Bakri when he wrote about the region in the 11th century. After centuries of prosperity, the empire began its decline in the second millennium, and would finally become a vassal state of the rising Mali Empire at some point in the 13th century. Despite its collapse, the empire's influence can be felt in the establishment of numerous urban centers throughout its former territory. In 1957, the British colony of the Gold Coast, under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah named itself Ghana upon independence. Etymology The word ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aoudaghost
Aoudaghost also transliterated as Awadaghust, Awdughast, Awdaghusht, Awdaghost, and Awdhaghurst () is a former Berber town in Hodh El Gharbi, Mauritania. It was an important oasis town at the southern end of a trans-Saharan caravan route that is mentioned in a number of early Arabic manuscripts. The archaeological ruins at Tegdaoust in southern Mauritania are thought to be the remains of the medieval town. History The earliest mention of Aoudaghost is by al-Yaqubi in his ''Kitab al-Buldan'' completed in 889-890 in which he described the town as being controlled by a tribe of the Sanhaja and situated 50 stages south of Sijilmasa across the Sahara Desert. "It is the residence of their king who has no religion or law. He raids the land of the Sudan who have many kingdoms." In 962, the city conquered Awgham with an army of 100,000 camel cavalry. Over 20 kings of the Sudan paid Awdaghost tribute. From Ibn Hawqal writing in around 977 we learn that the distance from Aoudaghost to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bambara People
The Bambara ( or ''Banmana'') are a Mandé peoples, Mandé ethnic group native to much of West Africa, primarily southern Mali, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Senegal. They have been associated with the historic Bambara Empire. Today, they make up the largest Mande peoples, Mandé ethnic group in Mali, with 80% of the population speaking the Bambara language, regardless of ethnicity. Ethnonym According to the ''Encyclopedia of Africa'', "Bambara" means "believer" or "infidel"; the group acquired the name because it resisted Islam after the religion was introduced in 1854 by Toucouleur people, Toucouleur conqueror Omar Saidou Tall. History The Bamana originated as a royal section of the Mandinka people. Both Manding and Bambara are part of the Mandé ethno-linguistic group, whose divergence is dated to at least about 7,000 years ago, and branches of which are associated with sites near Tichitt (now subsumed by the Sahara in southern Mauritania), where urban centers be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Umar Komajago
Umar Komajago, also spelled Konjaago, Komadiaga and many other variants, was the Kanfari, or ruler of the western provinces, of the Songhai Empire under his brother Askia Mohammad I from 1494 until his death in 1520. Deputized by his brother to subdue the rebellious city of Dia soon after seizing power, Umar's victory was so complete that he was given the title 'Kumadiagha', meaning 'the conqueror of Diagha ia. Askia Mohammad also created the position of ''Kurmina-fari'' (often shortened to ''Kanfari'') for him. Two years later Umar re-built the town of Tindirma to serve as his capital. During the Askia's pilgrimage to Mecca, Umar ruled the empire loyally and competently in his absence. In 1512 Umar defeated and killed the Fula leader Tenguella after a 2-month march through the desert, bringing the Kingdom of Diarra Diarra, also referred to as Kingui, Diafunu, or Kaniaga, was a Soninke state in what is now northwestern Mali, centered around the town of Diarra. Founded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenguella
Tenguella (also known as Temelá or Tenguella Ba) was a Fula people, Fula ''silatigi'' or chief who founded a short-lived state called Futa Kingui in the upper Senegal river valley, a precursor of the Empire of Great Fulo. He was referred to as the Great Fulo or Great king of the Fulos in Portuguese documents of the time. Background and Early Life The Fula are a West African nomadic people. They had been moving south within the Mali Empire since the thirteenth century. They had generally submitted to the laws of the settled farmers in the region and so had avoided large confrontations. By the end of the 15th Century, they had a strong presence in Futa Tooro, Inner Niger Delta, Macina, Fouta Djallon and Bundu, Senegal, Bondu. Tenguella was originally from the western part of Futa Tooro outside the immediate Senegal River valley, an area that was part of the Jolof Empire at the time. He was ''silatigi'' of the Yaalalbe clan, both a political and religious leader. Reign Futa King ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fula People
The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, and regions near the Red Sea coast in Sudan. The approximate number of Fula people is unknown, due to clashing definitions regarding Fula ethnicity. Various estimates put the figure between 25 and 40 million people worldwide. A significant proportion of the Fula – a third, or an estimated 7 to 10 million – are pastoralism, pastoralists, and their ethnic group has the largest nomadic pastoral community in the world., Quote: The Fulani form the largest pastoral nomadic group in the world. The Bororo'en are noted for the size of their cattle herds. In addition to fully nomadic groups, however, there are also semisedentary Fulani – Fulbe Laddi – who also farm, although they argue that they do so out of necessity, not choice. The major ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire was a state located in the western part of the Sahel during the 15th and 16th centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest African empires in history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its largest ethnic group and ruling elite, the Songhai people. Sonni Ali established Gao as the empire's capital, although a Songhai state had existed in and around Gao since the 11th century. Other important cities in the kingdom were Timbuktu and Djenné, where urban-centred trade flourished; they were conquered in 1468 and 1475, respectively. Initially, the Songhai Empire was ruled by the Sonni dynasty (–1493), but it was later replaced by the Askia dynasty (1493–1591). During the second half of the 13th century, Gao and the surrounding region had grown into an important trading center and attracted the interest of the expanding Mali Empire. Mali conquered Gao near the end of the 13th century. Gao remained under Malian command until the la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandé, Mali
Mandé is a commune in the Cercle of Kati in the Koulikoro Region of south-western Mali The commune lies to the southwest of Bamako, the Malian capital, along the left bank of 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 Mali, Nige .... It covers for an area of 730 km2 and includes the small town of Ouezzindougou, the administrative centre, and 24 villages.. In the 2009 census the commune had a population of 59,352. References External links *. Communes of Koulikoro Region {{Koulikoro-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bamako
Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamako is the nation's administrative center. The city proper is a Cercles of Mali, cercle in its own right. Bamako's Inland port, river port is located in nearby Koulikoro, along with a major regional trade and conference center. Bamako is the seventh-largest West Africa, West African urban center after Lagos, Abidjan, Kano (city), Kano, Ibadan, Dakar, and Accra. Locally manufactured goods include textiles, processed meat, and metal goods as well as mining. Commercial fishing occurs on the Niger River. In recent years, Bamako has seen significant urban development, with the construction of modern buildings, shopping malls, and infrastructure projects aimed at improving the quality of life for its residents. The city is home to many notable ins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yaqut Al-Hamawi
Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) () was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th–13th centuries). He is known for his , an influential work on geography containing valuable information pertaining to biography, history and literature as well as geography. Life ''Yāqūt'' (''ruby'' or '' hyacinth'') was the '' kunya'' of Ibn Abdullāh ("son of Abdullāh"). He was born in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, called in Arabic al-Rūm, whence his '' nisba'' "al-Rūmi". Captured in war and enslaved, Yāqūt became " mawali" to ‘Askar ibn Abī Naṣr al-Ḥamawī, a trader of Baghdad, Iraq, the seat of the Abbasid Caliphate, from whom he received the '' laqab'' "al-Hamawī". As ‘Askar's apprentice, he learned about accounting and commerce, becoming his envoy on trade missions and travelling twice or three times to Kish in the Persian Gulf. In 1194, ‘Askar stopped his salar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
