Takrūr

Takrur, Tekrur or Tekrour ( 500 – c. 1456) was a state based in the Senegal River in modern day Senegal which was at its height in the 11th and 12th centuries, roughly parallel to the Ghana Empire. It lasted in some form into the 18th century.

History

Origin

There are a number of conflicting theories about the deep past of the Senegal river valley, where the Kingdom of Takrur would take root. The formation of the state may have taken place as an influx of Fulani from the east settled in the Senegal valley. John Donnelly Fage suggests that Takrur was formed through the interaction of Berbers from the Sahara and "Negro agricultural peoples" who were "essentially Serer". The outsiders may, however, have been Soninke rather than Berber, and the native population may have already spoken Fula. Regardless, the region has been an ethnic melting pot from the earliest traceable periods up to the present, although Fula have come to dominate in more recent centuries.

The founding dynasty was called Dya'ogo. Traditional historians disagree on their origin and ethnic background (assuming a relationship can be drawn at all with ethnic labels as understood today). They were blacksmith-kings, and supposedly introduced iron-working and ore extraction to the region.

Manna Dynasty

A Soninke clan under Mamadu Sumaare, originally from Wagadu, conquered Takrur in the 9th or 10th century, establishing the Manna dynasty and gradually melding into the local culture. They may have been Nyakhates from Diarra, Soumares from Guidimakha, or Jaabis.

Takrur was first mentioned in Arab sources in the 10th century. In 1035 king War Jabi introduced Sharia law, becoming the first ruler to officially adopt Islamic orthodoxy in the Sahel.Colvin, Lucie Gallistel, ''Historical dictionary of Senegal'', Scare Crow Press Inc. (1981), p. 18, During his reign he launched a Holy War against the King of Silla, subjugating them and converting the people to Islam. He died in 1041 and was succeeded by his son, Lebi ibn War Jabi, who would go on to start an alliance with the newly established Almoravid Dynasty to counter the power of the Ghana Empire. The first action between this alliance came in 1054 with a combined attack on the berber city of Awdaghust, for recognizing the authority of the ruler of Ghana. Having fought alongside Yahya ibn Umar al-Lamtuni at the battle of Tabfarilla, Lebi also provided military help, and financial aid to the Almoravids, helping conquer up to Morocco and Al-Andalus. 4,000 cavalrymen from Takrur were critical to the Almoravid victory at the 1086 Battle of Sagrajas in Al-Andalus which was crucial to halting the Reconquista. This alliance was maintained for most of the next 200 years.

During this period Takrur held a dominant position in regional trade, controlling a series of trading posts and cities linking the salt mines of Awlil on the coast north of the mouth of the Senegal to the interior. In the 12th century, Silla, allied with Takrur, went to war against Wagadu. Its decline meant that Takrur was able to exert more control over the trade routes moving gold from Bambouk to desert-side markets.

Serer Exodus

When Islam and Sharia was introduced to the Kingdom by War Jabi, it led to the persecution of the local Serers.Chavane, Bruno A., "Villages de l’ancien Tekrour", Vol. 2, Hommes et sociétés. Archéologies africaines, KARTHALA Editions (1985), p. 38, The lamanic class, whose role also included the safeguarding of their traditional Serer spirituality, are believed to have been at the forefront of resisting Islamization, partly to preserve their religion, but also their power and wealth as landowners. It was common for early Arab writers such as Al Bakri to refer to "non-believers" of Islam in their works as ''lamlam, lemlem,'' or ''damdam'' which may be a corruption of the Serer title '' lamaan.'' The persecution of the Serers in the 11th century led to their first generally accepted exodus from Tekrur, moving southwards.

During the 13th century, a civil war broke out. The descendants of the Serers who chose to remain decided to migrate southwest, first to the Ferlo, and then to Siin and Saloum rather than be converted to Islam. Ibrahima Thiaw advanced the claim that this was the process by which a distinct 'Serer' identity first emerged, separate from the rest of the Takruri population.
Professor Issa Laye Thiaw, Professor Cheikh Anta Diop, the 18th century French archaeologist Paul Pierret, and Professor Molefi Kete Asante ''et al''... amongst other historians posits that the name 'Serer' is sacred and pre-Islamic, leading Asante et al. to conclude that, "they are an ancient people whose history reaches deep into the past..." and that would be consistent with their "strong connection to their ancient religious past".

Professor Trimingham notes that, in the region, Takrur became the first to adopt Islam, but in so doing, completely lost its Serer identity.

Vassalage and Decline

The 13th century was a period of political crisis in Takrur. The last Manna king, Cengaan Sumaare, is remembered as a bloodthirsty tyrant who was overthrown by his own people. The western parts of the kingdom became independent. Around 1286, the Mali Empire conquered Takrur and put it under a military dictatorship ruled by ''farba'' (governors), remembered locally as the Tonjon dynasty. Mali's power in the region diminished in the 14th century, however, and the Fula Lam Termess and Lam Taaga dynasties were able to take power. The region may also have been controlled by the Kingdom of Diarra.

Takrur was conquered by the Jolof emperor Tyukuli N'Diklam in the 15th century, who split the region between multiple ''farba''. By 1506, however, the '' Burbas authority was weakening, and the ''farba'' fell to fighting amongst themselves. Koli Tengella, a Fula warlord native to Takrur but coming from Futa Jallon, conquered the area in 1521 and set up the Denanke dynasty. This would last until 1776 when the Fouta Revolution, led by Muslim clerics, took over the kingdom and the house of Denanke was brought down.

Timeline

Dates are approximate and often disputed by different sources or authors.

Economy

Takrur was a trading centre, where gold from the Bambuk region, salt from the Awlil, and Sahel grain were exchanged for wool, copper, beads, and jewelry. The kingdom's cotton cloth was among its most renowned exports.

Territory

At the height of its power, Takrur controlled the north bank of the Senegal as far as the Tagant plateau and Aleg. The Gorgol river valley was the heartland of the kingdom, and was the site of the Dya'ogo capital Tumbere Jiinge. They also controlled, or at least had significant influence over, the area downstream that would become Waalo.

Takrur as a toponym

Takruri was a term, like Bilad el-Sudan, that was used to refer to all people of West African ancestry, and is still in use as such in the Middle East, with some corruption, as in ''Takruni'', pl. ''Takarna'' تكروني in Saudi Arabia, and in Ethiopia and Eritrea, in the form Tukrir. The district of ''Bulaq Al-Dakrur'' بولاق الدكرور in Cairo is named after an ascetic from West Africa. In the Middle East Toucouleurs are still referred to as ''Tukrir'' to this day.

Takrur was the term used by the region's inhabitants up until the 15th century. During the 16th and 17th centuries, however, it was gradually replaced by Futa Toro.

See also

*Serer people
*Fula people
*Toucouleur people
*Serer ancient history
*States headed by Serer Lamanes
*Timeline of Serer history

Notes

Sources

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*al-Naqar, Umar (1969). "Takrur the History of a Name. Cambridge University Press. pp. 367
*Levtsiyon, Neḥemyah; Levtsiyon, Neḥemyah (1973). Ancient Ghana and Mali. Studies in African history (1. publ ed.). London: Methuen. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-416-75830-6.
*McDougall, EA (1985). The View from Awdaghust: War, Trade and Social Change in the Southwestern Sahara, from the Eighth to the Fifteenth Century. Cambridge University Press. p. 8.
*Hrbek, Ivan; Unesco, eds. (1992). Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century. General history of Africa (Vol. 3 ed.). London : Berkeley, Calif., U.S.A. : Paris: J. Currey ; University of California Press ; UNESCO. p. 356. ISBN 978-0-85255-093-9.
* Mwakikagile, Godfrey, "Ethnic Diversity and Integration in The Gambia: The Land, The People and The Culture," (2010), pp. 11, 224, 231,
*Mwakikagile, Godfrey, ''The Gambia and Its People: Ethnic Identities and Cultural Integration in Africa.'' (2010), p. 138,
*Chavane, Bruno A., "Villages de l’ancien Tekrour", Vol. 2, Hommes et sociétés. Archéologies africaines, KARTHALA Editions (1985), p. 38,
* Klein, Martin A., "Islam and Imperialism in Senegal Sine-Saloum, 1847-1914", Edinburgh University Press (1968), pp 7 & 63,
* Gravrand, Henry, "La Civilisation sereer, Cossan – les origines", vol. 1, Nouvelles Editions africaines (1983), pp 115–18,
*Gravrand, Henry, "La civilisation Sereer, Pangool", Nouvelles Editions africaines du Sénégal (1990), p. 13,
* Thiaw, Issa Laye, ''La Religiosité des Sereer, avant et pendant leur Islamisation.'' Éthiopiques, No: 54, Revue Semestrielle de Culture Négro-Africaine. Nouvelle Série, Volume 7, 2e Semestre (1991).
*Pierret, Paul, "Dictionnaire d'archéologie égyptienne", Imprimerie nationale 1875, p. 198-199
*Pierret, Paul, "Dictionnaire d'archéologie égyptienne", Imprimerie nationale 1875, p. 198-199 n Diop, Cheikh Anta, ''Precolonial Black Africa.'', (translated by Harold Salemson), Chicago Review Press (1988), p. 65
* Asante, Molefi Kete; Mazama, Ama; ''Encyclopedia of African Religion'', SAGE Publications (2008)

(retrieved 2 March 2025)
*Trimingham, John Spencer, ''A history of Islam in West Africa'', pp. 174, 176 & 234, Oxford University Press, USA (1970)

Further reading

*J. F. Ade Ajayi, Michael Crowder (eds.). ''History of West Africa''. Columbia University (1972)
* J. Hunwick
"Takrur"
''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', Leiden 2000, X, 142–3.
*Mary Antin, Nehemia Levtzion. ''Medieval West Africa Before 1400: Ghana, Takrur, Gao (Songhay) and Mali''. Translated by Nehemia Levtzion. J. F. Hopkins: Contributor. Markus Wiener Publishing, New Jersey (1998).
*J. D. Fage (ed.). ''The Cambridge History of Africa'', vol. II, Cambridge University Press (1978), 675–7.
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* H. T. Norris. "The Wind of Change in the Western Sahara". ''The Geographical Journal'', Vol. 130, No. 1 (Mar., 1964), pp. 1–14
*D.W. Phillipson. ''African Archaeology'', Cambridge University Press (Revised Edition 2005).
*Leyti, Oumar Ndiaye. ''Le Djoloff et ses Bourba.'' Nouvelles Editions Africaines, 1981.
*Ogot, Bethwell A. ''General history of Africa: Africa from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century.'' University of California Press, 1999, , p 146.
*Oliver, Roland. ''The Cambridge history of Africa: From c. 1600 to c. 1790.'' Cambridge University Press, 1982. , p484

External links

{{Authority control

13th-century disestablishments in Africa
Kingdoms of Senegal
Countries in medieval Africa
Political history of Mauritania
Medieval Islamic world
States and territories established in the 9th century
Serer history
Serer precolonial kingdoms
Successor states to the Ghana Empire
Persecution of Serers