ocr a level history african kingdoms: the askian dynasty

when did sonni ali die?

nov 1492

who took over after sonni ali?

his son, sonni baru

how long was sonni baru's tenure?

5 months

at which battle was sonni baru defeated?

the battle of angao april 1493

who was the person who took over songhai after the deposition of sonni baru?

mohammed ture later known as askia mohammed

background on mohammed ture:

-'ture' means 'elephant'
-one of sonni ali's generals, tondi-farma (governor) of the 'rock' province (bandiagra province)
-from the soninke tribe which was a tributary to songhai
-the small window of time between sonni ali's death and ture's ascension implies he had been planning this for a long time

why was ture stationed in a remote area?

-perhaps to limit his impact on the governance of songhai (perhaps sonni ali identified him as a threat)
OR
-arguably more trusted not to start a rebellion and secede from songhai

why didn't ture overthrow sonni ali directly?

-ali had military and political expertise: would be a difficult figure to overthrow
-had support of the people as people recognised his legitimacy

why did ture choose to overthrow sonni baru?

he was new to the position and still learning and new succession is always a volatile time for a country as the people would require time to acclimatise to the new ruler

military achievements of askia mohammed aka mohammed ture:

expanded empire:
-attacked into agades, central niger in 1501 & 1515
-annexed katsina and kano (northern nigeria) 1514
-campaigns led against borgu, central nigeria (1505-6)
-air and tindirma in the sahara (1500-01)
-kebbi in the east (1517-18)

military developments:

askia mohammed al hajj i (1582-86) moved away from conscription model of sonni ali and created a more professionalised army
-army still relied on backbone of cavalry as well as wooden navy and iron weapons

role of ulema under askia mohammed:

-ulema were mohammed's main aid to power. under his rule, their treatment improved.
-consulted ulema regularly for advice over appts
-performed a legitimating role
-ensured a culture of literacy among the upper-class and elite, which enabled more efficient record-keeping and governance
-established legal basis for war with neighbours through jihad against the pagan Mossi and 'bilad al sai'ba' (ungoverned land)
-jihad justified taking non-muslims as slaves

islam and askia mohammed:

-went to hajj in 1496 accompanied by 1500 people and 30000 dinars of treasure
-abbasaid caliph or cairo recognised him as the ruler of the 'lands of takrur'
-islamic law became more central to the way songhai was run. establishment of 'qadis' (islamic judges) to enforce shari'ah law

role of timbuktu during the askian dynasty

-was part of a network of international islamic learning, therefore becoming a key node in the transmission of knowledge, people and trade
-markets were frequented by traders and scholars from morocco e.g. kateb moussa, imam of timbuktu mosque

who was timbuktu ruled by?

-timbuktu-koi, a governor appointed directly by the askia
-an official who acted as a tax collector
-a military commander based in nearby kabara

increased orthodoxy and discrimination:

-askian dynasty established islamic orthodoxy and clamped down on any deviations from islam
-discrimination: 'white' = closer to islam and 'black' = more traditional and animist

politics and the court:

the court (officials close to the askia) were expanded during his reign with more courtiers, musical entourages with instruments and singers
-expanded by his son askia dawud who built an imperial library

administration of songhai:

more titles and positions available under the askias.

kanfari

viceroy of the western growing provinces, entirely new position. first of these officials was umar kondiakka, askia's brother, who ran empire for 2 years during askia's hajj

the sounna

was strengthened and gained more power. askia was still primary authority but sounnas served as important mediators for big decisions

the chancellor

was in charge of diplomatic correspondence and applying imperial laws

roles of the different farma during the askian regime:

-fari-mondiyo: collecting harvests from the empire and redistribute to the poor
-kalissi farma- treasurer of the askia
korei-farma in charge of relations with arab traders

the twin pillars of the songhay economy were...

trade and agriculture

more on trade:

-songhai julla (merchants) would group together into conglomerates to move goods across the empire. trans saharan trade conducted by berber camel caravans

more on agriculture:

-during reign of askia dawud, was reported that each village had one fanfa (captain) which ruled around 100 slaves cultivating soil.
-harvests were approved by miskoulallah (administrator)
-complex system of apportionment based on kinship and poverty

economic reforms of the askians:

-standardisation of weights for merchants + traders across empire
-qadis being mediators over business-related disputes and making sure all transactions adhered to shari'ah law
-efficient and standard tax system
-introducing standard gold currency and the use of cowrie shells

taxes

collected through:
-tithes (10%) of livestock and harvests
-business taxes paid on merch imported through the border towns of the north
-taxes on salt imports at taghaza
-taxes on imports and exports on niger river
-taxes paid in all markets of empire where there were tax collectors

songhai and international trade:

part of international trading network.
-gao was on a major north-south axis, where songhai supplied tripoli in libya and cairo in egypt
-timbuktu known as 'the land of gold' to arab scholars
-gold traded north to djenné, then to timbuktu, then morocco and algeria

some products that were traded were:

cloth,, tailored clothes, iron products, scholars, gold, slaves

slaves:

-were very important to the songhai economy.
-askia mohammed asked al-maghili for advice on slave-related disputes, showing its centrality by the time he ascended
-vital for the agriculture of the empire.
-were drawn from non-muslic ethnic groups or captives.
-cities and military encampments relied on slaves for their sustenance