The Batè Empire (

N’ko NKo (ߒߞߏ), also spelled N'Ko, is an alphabetic script devised by Solomana Kante, Solomana Kanté in 1949, as a modern writing system for the Manding languages of West Africa. The term ''NKo'', which means ''I say'' in all Manding languages, i ...

: ߓߊߕߍ߫ ''Bátɛ'') was a pre-colonial state centred on

Kankan Kankan ( Mandingo: Kánkàn; N’ko: ߞߊ߲ߞߊ߲߫) is the largest city in Guinea in land area, and the third largest in population, with a population of 198,013 people as of 2020. The city is located in eastern Guinea about east of the ...

in what is today

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

. Founded by

Mandinka Mandinka, Mandika, Mandinkha, Mandinko, or Mandingo may refer to: Media * Mandingo (novel), ''Mandingo'' (novel), a bestselling novel published in 1957 * Mandingo (film), ''Mandingo'' (film), a 1975 film based on the eponymous 1957 novel * ''Man ...

and

Soninke people The Soninke (Sarakolleh) people are a West African Mande languages, Mande-speaking ethnic group found in Mali, southern Mauritania, eastern Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea (especially Fouta Djallon). They speak the Soninke language, also called ...

as an Islamic merchant state in the 16th century, it survived until the late 19th century when it was conquered first by

Samori Ture Samori Ture ( – June 2, 1900), also known as Samori Toure, Samory Touré, or Almamy Samore Lafiya Toure, was a Mandinka people, Malinke and a Soninke people, Soninke Muslim cleric, military strategist, and founder of the Wassoulou Empire, an Is ...

and then incorporated into

French Guinea French Guinea () was a French colonial possession in West Africa. Its borders, while changed over time, were in 1958 those of the current independent nation of Guinea. French Guinea was established by France in 1891, within the same borders as ...

History

Founding

Batè (meaning 'by the river') was founded on the left bank of the

Milo River The Milo River is a river in Guinea in West Africa. It rises in the Simandou Mountains near Beyla, flows about to the south of Siguiri and flows north at which point it becomes one of the main tributaries of the River Niger. The pre-colonial B ...

in Upper Guinea by members of the Soninké clans Fofana, Kakoro, Kaba and Cissé, who were immigrating from Jafunun and Kaarta. They settled initially in Bakonkokodo and Diankana (f. 1620), in which they received other people and gradually expanded to other areas until it was developed and became a state. The Kaba clan was initially hosted by the Kakoro's in Diankana, founding their first village nearby named ''Kojan'' but abandoning it in 1660. Two years later Fodemoudou Kaba tried again, establishing the village of ''Kabalaba''. In 1680 his sons each founded their own villages ( Bate nafadji, Soumankoi, Bankalan and Karifamoudouya). The last, founded by Daouda Kaba, was Fadou, which would later become

, the capital of Batè. The Fofana of Bakonkokodo also hosted the Béreté's of Kofilanen, Cissé's of Bakonko–cisséla, Diane's of Soila, and Kaba's of Tasliman. They also gosted the other cities in neighbouring tribal states: Djolibakodo, Fodekareah, Tiniedo, Dalaba and Kagan. The inhabitants of Bate were known for their piety. Rather than a monarchy, they formed a

theocratic Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's daily a ...

form of government and cultural form, keeping a small standing

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

to protect the town from the

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

traders. They valued teaching the children the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

, among other

cultural Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

activities. They often built little

fortresses A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

in some parts of the town.

18th Century

In the first half of the eighteenth century, Batè leaders aligned with their Fula coreligionists in the

Imamate of Futa Jallon The Imamate of Futa Jallon or Jalon (; or ' , ), sometimes referred to as the Emirate of Timbo, was a West African Islamic state based in the Fouta Djallon highlands of modern Guinea. The state was founded in 1725 by a Fulani jihad and became ...

, a rising military power to their west. In 1763 the warlord Bourama Diakite from

Wassoulou Wassoulou, sometimes spelled Wassulu, Wassalou, or Ouassalou, is a cultural area and historical region surrounding the point where the borders of Mali, Ivory Coast, and Guinea meet. Home to about 160,000 people, it is bordered by the Niger Riv ...

drove the inhabitants of the Bate region into Fouta Jalon, where they took refuge in Timbo and Fougoumba for seven years. Upon their return in 1770 they rebuilt and fortified the capital and renamed it Kankan, meaning 'protected city'. Another later invasion from Wassoulou, led by the kings ''Diédi'' and ''Djiba'' (or ''DJI''), attempted to conquer Kankan but it was defeated by Alpha-Mamoudou Kaba..

Samori Ture and the French

In the 1870s Bate agreed to join Samori Ture's

Wassoulou Empire The Samorian state, also referred to as the Wassoulou empire, Ouassalou empire, Mandinka empire or Samory's empire, was a short-lived West African state that existed from roughly 1878 until 1898, although dates vary from source to source. It span ...

. When Bate refused to help him subjugate another Muslim state, however, he attacked and captured Kankan. After having driven out the ruling Kaba dynasty, Samori installed a puppet ruler. The French defeated him and captured Kankan in 1891, at which point the dynasty was restored as puppets of the French.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bate Empire Former empires in Africa History of Guinea