Dah or Daa is a small town and commune in Cercle of San,

Ségou Region Ségou Region (Bambara language, Bambara: ߛߋߓߎ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Segu Dineja) is an administrative region in Mali, situated in the centre of the country with an area of , around 5% of Mali. The region is bordered by Sikasso Region on the sout ...

, Mali. In 1998 the commune had a population of 10,446.

History

Dah was the seat of a kingdom, a subdivision of the historical province of Bendugu. According to local legend, it was founded by a devout member of the Traore family who, after making the

hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

, left the

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

emperor's pagan court. Cadet branches of the local Traore dynasty were installed in Woron and Siella/Shyela on the north bank of the

Bani River The Bani River is the principal tributary of the Niger River in Mali. The river is formed from the confluence of the Baoulé and Bagoé rivers some east of Bamako and it merges with the Niger near Mopti. Its length is about . Geography The ...

, as well as in Tara, N'Goa and Masadugu to the south. San was also a part of the kingdom. In 1572

Askia Daoud Askia Daoud (also Askia Dāwūd, Askiya Dawud) was the ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1549 to 1582. His rule saw the empire rise to a peak of peace and prosperity following a series of succession disputes and short reigns."Songhai empire." ''B ...

, leader of the

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 lar ...

, sent the Kurmina-fari to ransack Daa, perhaps in response of an internal succession dispute and reversion to overtly pagan religious practices. The royal family were captured, but later freed after the intervention of their close relative, the king of N'goa. After the collapse of the Songhai, Daa joined in Djenne's rebellion against the

Pashalik of Timbuktu The Pashalik of Timbuktu, also known as the Pashalik of Sudan, 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 ...

in 1632.

References

Sources

* Communes of Ségou Region {{Ségou-geo-stub