Songhay kingdom ☪️🏜️

Amazigh

Indigenous people of North Africa (to the north of the Songhai empire, connected via trans-Saharan trade). Their homeland stretches across modern countries like Morocco, tunisia, Libya, algeria

Farma

regional governor or high official appointed by the emperor to rule a province or important city. Most common under askia Mohamed

Hajj

Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. Askia Mohamed is the ruler who most significantly went on a hajj. Met important leaders, established diplomatic relations with North Africa and was recognised as a legitimate leader by sharif of Mecca

Mossi

Kingdom and people located south of Songhai kingdom, Were rivals of the Songhai empire and frequently raided them.

Askia Mohamed launched a holy war against them in 1497, defesting them but failing to fully conquer or islamise them

Tuareg

Nomadic raiding group from sahara. Sonni Ali took Timbuktu from them and in return they raided caravan trading routes. Askia Mohamed allied himself with them so they helped guide caravans

kingdom of Mali dates

Emerged 1235

Declined 1610

Why did the Mali empire fall

Internal- Succesion disputes and increasingly rebellious provinces (Gao, Timbuktu)

External- Rise of Songhai empire and Atlantic slave trades leading to shift in trade routes

Raided by Mossi and Tuareg, conquered by Songhai

Gao princes fiasco

Manas Musah’s sons were incompetent governers and allowed the Gao princes to escape their control. They implemented some of the effective administrative and military tactics found in Mali into their province, and formed the central state and basis for what would become the Songhai empire

Factors that contributed to the rise of Songhai empire

Geography

Military

Strong leadership

Important learning cities

Why is songhays geography necessary for its rise

Natural protection via deserts to the north 🏜

Niger River facilitated trading boats and made land fertile 💧

Near trans-Saharan trade routes

Why was the military effective

• At first led by Sonni Ali who was a master tactician

• Elite cavalry (10,000 made up of mostly lightly armoured nobles)

• 30,000 infantry who used spears, arrows, leather/copper shields

• Ki-koi naval unit

People’s that made up the early songhai empire

Fulani - large west African African ethnic group. First sahelians to convert to Islam

Sorko - skilled riverside dwelling fishermen

Gow - hunters that specialised in killing river animals

Hi-Koi - ‘Master of the water’ general of the naval fleet

Sonni Ali

Founder of the Songhai empire, known as the ‘magician king’ or ‘empire builder’

• Conquered Timbuktu, djene and gao as well as 400 towns/ villages⚔✅

• Animist, later tried to juggle this with Islam to keep conquered peoples in check

• Adopted conquered regions culture

capture of Timbuktu

1469

Hub of commerce and knowledge

Religious leaders asked Ali to claim the city from raiders who had been installed

The large force that arrived made the enemies instantly surrender

Faliures and successes in Timbuktu

Seen as an ‘oppressor’, killed many Islamic leaders and sacked the city. 🙏❌

By punishing the amazigh Muslims he showed his allegiance to the majority: the animist Songhai people🙏✅

Sometimes seen as weaker administratively, the wealthiest merchants and scholars left the city💵📜❌

Gained access to trans-Saharan trading routes, another area to tax, goods

Capture of djene

1473

The siege took seven years, meaning Ali used a lot of resources💵❌

Took Djene via starving them, showing his tactical proficiency, impressive feat considering the cities defences⚔✅

Marries the Queen Mother of Djene, assimilating them more-so than Timbuktu 📜✅

Gained access to trans-Saharan trading routes, another area to tax, goods, Djene was argusbly richer than Timbuktu💵✅

Sonni Ali political achievements

Other Sonni Ali economic and political achievements

• Set up irrigation canals that benefited agriculture 🌾

• Established a crude, less strucutured administration

• Established taxation over his conquered areas but it was less measured

• Died while having a clear successor, though this successor was not popular

Askia Mohamed securing the throne

Takes over in 1493

Was a high ranking general in Sonni Ali’s army

Declared a jihad in Sonni Ali’s son, who wasn’t supported by muslim elites and scholars, while he was

Takes the title askia, marking a new dynasty coming into power

How was Askia Mohamed spiritually/ culturally? 🙏

• Restored the prominence of universities within Timbuktu

• 2500 students studied as these universities, taught by North African scholars

• Went on a Hajj to Mecca

• 180 schools built in Timbuktu

How was Askia Mohamed militarily ⚔

• created professional full time armies to guard different provinces

• successes raiding borgu + Hausa

• Captured Taghaza and Takheda (salt and copper mines)

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How was Askia Mohamed diplomatically 🤝

Hajj to Mecca 🕋:

• His hajj to Mecca resulted in him being deemed a legitimate Muslim ruler

• Built connections in North Africa

• Improved the reputation of Songhay as powerful and cultured

• Restored relations with Tuareg

How was Askia Mohamed politically (at home)📜

• Appointed Qadi (Muslim judges) to oversee kingdom in accordance with a form of Sharia law

• Restructured the government to rely less on local chiefs and incorporated checks and balances system

• created ministries for major areas: finance, justice, foreign relations

How was Askia Mohamed economically? 💵

• placed important taxes on the salt trade

• More standardised taxation, taxed along Niger River as well

• Standardised currency and weights for trade

• Improved agriculture

• restored relations with TUAREG which means caravans stopped being raided

Askia Mohammed’s faliures

Having 471 children meant a lot of heirs ‘rival brothers’ vying for the throne, period of instability after his death

His sons pressured him to retire at 70

Lots of bloodshedf

Askia Bonkama

• Was nephew of Askia Mohamed but insulted his sons comparing them to chicken eggs whereas he was a ostrich egg

• Adorned his palace heavily

• Ismael, one of Askias sons overthrew Bonkama and freed his father from island exile

• Ismael ruled but shortly died a natural death

Askia Ishaq

• was a devoted Muslim but often sent agents to Timbuktu to ask for large sums of money which was haram. Also damaged the empires economy

• Gained and killed many enemies

• reigned for 10 years before dying a natural death

Askia Dawud

Restored stability and was overall very successful. Appointed his sons to high office instead of his brothers, to stop them from rivalling his power. All future askia were his descendant

Askia Dawud militarily

• Reorganised Songhay army✅

• Won victories over Tuareg raiders and southern neighbours✅

• Pushed off invaders who tried to capture Niger Delta resources ✅

• Temporarily lost salt mines to Moroccans ❌

How was Dawud in other areas

• Supported learning and religion, expanded public libraries📚✅

• Trans Saharan trade rose to new level💵✅

• Patronages to the arts🖌✅

• After his death, instability arose among his sons, did not manage to create a stable line, but neither did any ruler so far 📜❌

Ulama

• Muslim scholars, leaders, advisors to the king

• Wanted the government to use Sharia law, if the government strayed too far from this vision and were morally corrupt the Muslim populace believed they should revolt

• Askia more intolerant of animist beliefs and more aligned with Islam

• Mossi resisted Islam

The drum fiasco 🥁

One of Askia Mohamed sons was appointed as a drum lord (high ranking officers) which enraged his brothers, causing harsh words to be exchanged between the factions

The son (Balla) marched his drum right to the Askia’s palace, which was restricted, and after this became enemies with the other brothers

This is evidence of disobedience, strife and unrest after Askia Mohammed’s death.

Askia Musa

Askia al-Hajj

Askia Bani

The askia that caused the most internal comflict👹

Immediately killed two of his brothers after taking the throne, was seen as a tyrant, and was very unpopular

His officer, Alu, started a dispute with a Muslim noble, Sadiq, which pitted the Muslims against animists and western provinces against Gao

At the same time Moroccan forces had taken the salt mines of Taghaza🧂

Askia Ishaq

Succeeded from Bani and met Sadiq’s force in battle, defeating them

He excecuted a lot of the opposition, and there was a lot of death on both sides even among high ranking officers

Had to retaliate against Mossi who were raiding the edge of Songhay, and contend with Morocco for the salt mines.

Somghay civil dispute enabled for Portuguese invasion

Reasons for Somghay kingdoms decline

• Succesion crisis

• Issue of salt

• The Moroccan invasion

• Religious tension

• Waning economy

Why was the economy waning

The salt mines were being attacked by Morocco

Development of Portuguese trading ports on the west African coast

Climate change and drought

Moroccan invasion

1591

Moroccan army led by Judar Pasha and armed with English cannons marched across Sahara desert, losing around 2000 troops to starvation

Morocco was therefore massively outnumbered, but technologically and tactically superior, using cannons to scare the cows

Ishaq knew about the invasion but didn’t think Somghay was the target

There was a follow up invasion and battle (battle of Gurma) which completely destroyed Songhay