The Empire of Songhai

Songhai, a state in Mali, rose to power after Mansu Musa’s death. Songhai stop paying taxes to Mali and in 1435 A.D. Songhai declared independence from Mali. Sunni Ali became king and achieved a reputation as a powerful and callous leader. He captured Timbuktu, killed many people who lived in the city and drove the Berbers from the area. Berbers were originally nomads, from North Africa and their ancestors had migrated from the Middle East. He continued to capture neighboring lands and soon Shongai covered an area larger than the empire of Mali. It became the largest and most powerful empire in West Africa.

When Sunni Ali died in 1492, his son, a non-Muslim, became the ruler. However, the people wanted a ruler who shared their beliefs. Askia Muhammad was the leader they chose. In 1493, Askia overthrew Sunni Ali’s son and became the ruler of Songhai. He encouraged many non-Muslims to convert to Islam and brought Muslim scholars to his empire. Over a period of time Askia’s heirs ruled the empire. They created a small but powerful Islamic group at the top of the ruling society. This group distanced itself from people who were non-Muslims and as a result, certain states broke away from the empire because they resented the Muslim kings. This created disunity and political problems within Songhai.

The downfall of Songhai started as the riches of the gold and salt mines brought invaders into the empire. In 1585 A.D., Morocco’s ruler captured Songahi’s salt mines in Taghaza and in 1590 A.D. 4,000 Moroccan soldiers under the command of Judar Pasha, conquer Songhai. The people of Songhai were no match for Pasha’s men who had guns. Finally Gao and Timbuktu were captured and later the Songhai empire crumbled.

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Additional learning resource: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/4chapter4.shtml

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR THE CURRENT PAGE

Textbooks:

World History - Medieval and Early Modern Times. Evanston: McDougal Littell, 2006. (150 – 199)

Across the Centuries. Boston: Houghton Miifflin Company, 1997. (108 – 153)

Dasilva, Benjamin, and Milton Finkelstine. The Afro-American in United States History. New York: Globe Book Company, 1969. (4 -135)

Internet Websites:

"Civilizations in Africa." Songhai. 23 Feb. 2006 <http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CIVAFRCA/CIVAFRCA.HTM>.

Brooks, Mayumi. Songhai. 23 Feb. 2006 <http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/oldworld/africa/songhai.html>.

"Collapse - Why do Civilization Fall?." Mali & Songhai. 15 Mar. 2006 <http://www.learner.org/exhibits/collapse/mali.html>.