3rd Quarter History Notes.pdf

Grade 10 History- 4th Quarter Notes Covering: African Empires- Ghana Empire, Mali Empire and Songhay Empire Instructor: Mr. Justin Verrat Morris, II. This lesson is developed and designed by Isaac A. David Sr. Memorial School to provide a roadmap for its s...

Grade 10 History- 4th Quarter Notes Covering: African Empires- Ghana Empire, Mali Empire and Songhay Empire Instructor: Mr. Justin Verrat Morris, II. This lesson is developed and designed by Isaac A. David Sr. Memorial School to provide a roadmap for its students. All rights reserved. This document may not be used or reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from Isaac A. David Sr. Memorial School. 1  Table of Contents Aims and Objectives 3 Quick Summary Of Last Quarter’s Lessons 4 Key Terms 5 The Empire Of Ghana 7 (i) Soninke and Berber Traders 7 (ii) Growth Of Ghana 8 (iii)The Achievements Of Ghana 9 (iv) Government Of The Ghanaian Empire 11 (v)Revenue and Wealth Of Ghana 12 (vi) The Fall Of Ghana Empire: Origin Of Almoravids 14 (vii) The Successor States Of Ghana 15 The Empire Of Mali 16 (i)Kangaba 16 (ii)Growth Of Mali 17 (iii) The Rulers Of Mali 18 (iv) The Achievements Of Mali 19 (v) The Government Of Mali 21 (vi) Rivals and Successors Of Mali 21 2 The Empire Of Songhay 22 (i) Gao and Songhay 22 (ii)The Growth Of Songhay: Sunni Ali 25 (iii)New Methods of Government: Askia The Great 26 (iv) The Rulers Of Songhay 30 Aims and Objectives Welcome to the 3rd quarter, students! The aim and objective component of this lesson is meant to inform you about what you are expected to do, and know before the end of this quarter. It also helps you fully understand the essence of each topic and sub-topics that you will encounter. Let’s get the ball rolling! Aim: The aim for the various topics this quarter is for each student to understand the trace of governance, fully describe how modern-day societies were built as a result of different empires and know these empires roles in the development of Africa. Lesson Objectives By the end of this quarter, every student will be able to do the following: Describe the impacts of African Empires on modern-day societies. Explain the origin of empires and the norms on which they were built. Create simple models to describe how African Empires operated. Describe the complex methods of new governments. 3  Quick Summary Of Last Quarter’s Lessons Facts about the trans-Saharan trade: 1 It began a very long time ago. The earliest 'markers' on trans-desert ('cross'-desert) caravan trails were put there by Berbers who lived more than 2,500 years before now. But this long-distance trade became much bigger and more important for many peoples after the rise of powerful Muslim states in North Africa: after, that is, about AD 650. The trade reached its height around AD 1500. It lost much of its importance after the rise of a big coastal trade with Europeans round the shores of West Africa: after, that is, about AD 1650. 2 For the Western and Central Sudan, there were three important groups of trails across the desert between West and North Africa. One group was in the far west, linking Morocco with West African markets along the Senegal River and the upper reaches of the Niger River. A second group was in the center, linking Algeria with West African markets on the middle reaches of the Niger: markets such as Jenne and Timbuktu. A third group of trails was further east, linking Tunisia and the Fezzan with the markets of Kanem-Bornu. Further east again there were other trails linking Libya and Egypt with the states of the Eastern Sudan, including Darfur. Another important route, running west-east, linked the markets of Kanem- Bornu with Darfur, and onward to the Nile. 3 West African exports along these routes were gold, ivory, and other products, as well as domestic servants who were treated as slaves. The most important West African imports were salt and copper, but these imports also included many luxury goods for privileged and wealthy people: horses, fine cloths, silk garments, steel weapons, as well as books for Muslim scholars. NB: All assessments will be posted in the google classroom. 4 Key Terms Below are the key terms to help you clearly understand the learning objectives for the period. Term Definition Examples Explain make (an idea or Joy found it necessary to situation) clear to explain her blackened eye· someone by describing it in more detail or revealing Aaron makes athletes explain relevant facts: why they made a mistake · I explained about Maureen calling round Describe give a detailed account in he described his experiences in words of a letter to his parents Identify recognize or distinguish a system that ensures that the (especially something pupil's real needs are identified considered worthy of attention) Location a particular place or the property is set in a position convenient location Ghana Empire A West Afican Empire based in modern-day southeast of Mauritania and western Mali. Berber a member of the indigenous people of North Africa.Also called Amazigh 5 Songhay Empire An empire that dominated Western Sudan/Sahel in the 15th and 16th century. Islam the religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah Almoravid a member of a federation of Muslim Berber peoples that established an empire in Morocco, Algeria, and Spain in the 11th century, but were in turn driven out by the Almohads Discuss talk about (something) I discussed the matter with my with a person or people. wife Factor a circumstance, fact, or his skill was a factor in ensuring influence that contributes that so much was achieved to a result Mali Empire An empire in West Africa founded by Sundiata Keita and known for its prolific trade networks. 6  The Ghana Empire Soninke and Berbers Traders: Our three main sources of knowledge about the ancient Sudan archaeology, oral history, and the books written by Africans or Arabs- tell us a good deal about the famous empire of Ghana. We can be sure of some of the things they tell us; other things must be left in doubt. What we can be sure of is that early West Africans who lived to the north of the upper waters of the Niger River formed themselves into a strong trading state. This state spread its power over many neighbouring peoples: in other words, the state became an empire. It commanded a large region of trade, security and strong government. It lasted for several hundred years. It was deeply respected by travellers who came within its borders, and by others, living far beyond Ghana's borders, who heard of it or read about it. We can be fairly sure, too, that the peoples who formed this state and empire were Soninke who spoke one of the languages of the Mande group; languages that are spoken today by many of the peoples of the westerly regions of the Western Sudan. These founders of Ghana had good trading relations with the Berber chiefs and traders who lived to the north of them, in oasis towns in the Sahara; and it was through them that they conducted their trade across the desert. 7 (Ancient Ghana- during the frontiers approximate) Growth Of Ghana: The Soninke certainly built their state before AD 773, the date of the first North African reference to it. But exactly how long before we do not know. It is possible that they were traders in this region in very distant times. A tradition recorded in the Tarikh as-Sudan, an important history book that was written in Timbuktu about AD 1650, says that there were twenty-two kings of Ghana before the beginning of the Muslim Era (AD 622) and twenty-two kings after that. If this were true, it could place the origins of the Ghana kingdom in about AD 300. By 800, in any case, Ghana had become a powerful trading state. Called Wagadu by its rulers, the name of Ghana came into general use because of one of the king's titles, ghana or war chief.' Each succeeding king was known by his own name, and also by the title of ghana. Another of his titles was kaya maghan. This means 'lord of the gold', because the king controlled the export of that precious metal. Nothing is known about the political methods or history of Ghana under its early kings. What probably happened was that heads of large families or descent-lines² among the Soninke, encouraged by the needs and opportunities of the trade in gold and other goods with Berber (There are two reasons why the modern state of Ghana, though situated far away from Ancient Ghana, has the same name. One reason is that the old traditions speak of a movement of some of the people of Ancient Ghana southward into the region of Asante. Another reason 8 is that the modern leaders of Ghana wished to celebrate the independence of their country formerly called the Gold Coast - by linking their new freedom to the glorious traditions of the past. This term will be used often in these pages. A descent-line or lineage means just what it says: a line of family descent, through fathers or through mothers, which links one generation to another, and goes on for several or for many generations. This means that all the successive members of a descent-line look back to the same 'founding ancestors'. Nearly always, they revered these ancestors as persons of great authority and power in the world of the spirits). merchants of the Sahara, saw an advantage in having a single ruler. So they elected a king from among themselves. This king's duty was to organise the trade and keep good relations with the Saharan traders, as well as acting as senior religious leader and as representative on earth of the 'founding ancestors' of the Soninke people. In this way the king gathered power. He controlled the trade within Soninke territory. He made gifts and gave rewards to all who served him. Next came an expansion of Soninke power over neighbouring peoples who were also busy with trade: the wider the territory the Soninke could control, the more prosperous they would be. By 800, the king of Ghana was able to make lesser kings or chiefs obey his laws and pay him taxes. And so the king's wealth increased. With more wealth, he also had more power. He could command the services of many descent- lines. He could raise big armies. He could employ large numbers of messengers and other servants. He could pay for the needs of a growing empire. Some account of how this was done for the later kings of Ghana is given in books written by North African and Spanish Arab authors during the eleventh and twelfth centuries AD. One of these books offers a brilliantly clear picture of the court of the emperor of Ghana in about AD 1065, and of the way in which that emperor, whose name was Tunka Manin, organised his power and wealth. This book was the work of a Spanish Arab called Al-Bakri.' He finished it in 1067. The Achievement Of Ghana: From this account of Al-Bakri's we can know a little more about what had happened during earlier times. It appears that many of the North African and Berber traders of the Sahara accepted Islam after the Arab conquest of the eighth century. They abandoned their old religions and became Muslims. They were made welcome at the capital of the emperor of Ghana. He was not a Muslim; he believed in Ghana's own religion, but he allowed the Muslims to build a town of their own. The 'town of the Muslim traders' was ten kilometres away from the emperor's own town with its surrounding settlements. While the latter were built in the traditional materials of West Africa - hardened clay, thatch, and wooden beams the most successful Muslim traders preferred to build their houses in stone, according to their own customs in North Africa. It is not known exactly where the capital was when Al-Bakri wrote his book. In the course of Ghana's long history, the king's capital was undoubtedly moved from one place to another. But we can add a good deal to Al-Bakri's picture by studying the remains of Ghana's last capital, which lay at Kumbi Saleh about 320 kilometres north of 9 modern Bamako. Here too there was a town where the king of Ghana lived, and another nearby town where the Muslim traders had their houses and stables. At the height of its prosperity, before AD 1240, this city of Kumbi was evidently the biggest West African city of its day, and had as many as 15,000 inhabitants or even more. So long as they obeyed the laws of Ghana and paid their taxes, the traders from the north were sure of safety and hospitality. This was a partnership in long-distance trade that went on for a very long time. Its safety depended on the strength of the emperor and his government. Al-Bakri has left us a description of all that. King Tunka Manin, he wrote, "is the master of a large empire and of a formidable power'. So powerful was this king, that he could put out '200,000 warriors in the field, more than 40,000 of them being armed with bow and arrow'. But the real strength of the Ghana armies, as we know from other North African sources, came from their power in iron-pointed spears. Their weapons, like their government, were stronger than those of their neighbouring peoples; and it was this strength which helped to build their empire. Working from eyewitness accounts which he had received from Muslim travellers, Al-Bakri described the pomp and majesty of King Tunka Manin: When the king gives an audience to his people, to listen to their complaints and to set them to rights, he sits in a pavilion around which stand ten pages holding shields and gold-mounted swords. On his right hand are the sons of the princes of his empire, splendidly clad and with gold plaited in their hair. The governor of the city is seated on the ground in front of the king, and all around him are his counselors in the same position. The gate of the chamber is guarded by dogs of an excellent breed. These dogs never leave their place of duty. They wear collars of gold and silver, ornamented with metals. The beginning of a royal meeting is announced by the beating of a kind of drum they call deba. This drum is made of a long piece of hollowed wood. The people gather when they hear its sound... The memory of these old glories were long remembered among the peoples of the Western Sudan. Five hundred years later, for example, a writer of Timbuktu called Mahmud Kati entertained his readers with the stories of those ancient days. In his valuable history book, the Tarikh al-Fattash, he tells how a certain king of Ghana of the seventh century, called Kanissa'ai, possessed one thousand horses, and how each of these horses 'slept only on a carpet, with a silken rope for halter', and had three personal attendants, and was looked after as though it were itself a king. These old stories, magnified and embroidered with the passing of the years, also tell how the kings of Ghana used to give great banquets to their subjects, feeding ten thousand people at a time, and dispensing gifts and justice to all who came. Such stories give an idea of the greatness of Ghana's reputation in the years of its power. 10 (Group of houses excavated at Kumbi Saleh) Government Of The Ghana Empire: If we look carefully behind the travellers' information collected and written down by Al-Bakri and other Arab writers, and behind the stories that were afterwards told in countless homes for many years, we can trace several developments in ways of life. These were of great import- ance to West Africa. They must be clearly understood. With the growth of Ghana, and of other states like Ghana, the peoples of West Africa were inventing new methods of living together, of governing themselves, of raising money to pay for government, and of producing wealth. These ways needed a single strong authority or government which could rule over many lesser authorities or govern- ments. This central authority or government could only, in the thought and customs of the times, be a king.' In states like Ancient Ghana, the power of government increased still further. Important kings became kings over lesser kings. They became what are called emperors. At the heart of the explanation of why this happened there was the growth, as we have seen, of international trade. Occupying the lands to the north of the upper waters of the Niger, the old Ghana rulers and their people enjoyed a position of great power and value. Their towns and trading settlements became the go-betweens or middlemen between the Berber and Arab traders of the north and the gold and ivory producers of the south. 11 It was this middleman position which made Ghana strong and prosperous. It was this that gave its rulers gold and glory. It was this that paid for its armies, and made its civilisation shine with a light whose dazzling brilliance we can still glimpse in the writings of Al-Bakri. Little by little, the people of Ghana and their rulers felt the need for a strong government not only over themselves, but also over their neighbours, so that they could ensure peace and order throughout a wide region of the Western Sudan. For only in this way could they make the best use of their middleman position. And at the same time as they felt this need, they also had the chance of realising it. They were skilled workers in iron. They were able to use iron weapons against neighbours who generally did not have any. As time passed, the ruling men of Ghana, the Soninke people of the Mande group, further extended their political power. They strengthened their middleman position by bringing lesser states like Takrur (in modern Senegal) under their control. They pushed their borders southeastward in the direction of the land of the gold producers, and they also pushed their influence northward into the Sahara. They took control of south-Saharan cities like Audoghast, a famous market which, as we noted before, has long since disappeared. In this way the emperors of Ghana wielded power and commanded wealth. They were among the greatest men of their time. Their system of government expanded with their success in trade. As it expanded, it became more complicated. A king and his counsellors could rule over a small country. They could not rule over a large one unless they could also rule through lesser kings and counsellors. Even with the swift horses of the Western Sudan, a king's orders would have gone too slowly through the land, and would not have been obeyed. So the king of Ghana.needed governors whom he could place in charge of distant provinces. In this way there grew up a number of lesser governments, under lesser kings or governors. These gave loyalty and paid taxes to a single central government. Compared with what we have today, all this was a simple and crude sort of government. Ordinary folk ran many dangers. They were often bullied or plundered. But the growth and conduct of trade over a wide region meant peace and security over this region; and many people of Ghana benefited from this. The formation of Ghana and its growth into a large empire therefore marked an important stage in social development. It was a big political and economic achievement. Revenue and Wealth Of Ghana: Before leaving this subject we must look a little more closely at how the emperors ruled, maintained their public services, and met the expenses of keeping law and order. For they established ways of government which appeared again and again, afterwards, in the Sudan. Where did King Tunka Manin and the emperors who ruled before him find the wealth to pay many soldiers, and to feed and arm them? Where did they get the means to make rich gifts to strangers from 12 other lands? Questions like these take us back to the economic system of the Ghana empire. And it is Al-Bakri, once again, who gives the answers. He explains how the rulers of Ghana used their control of the long- distance trade. The ruler of Ghana, Al-Bakri tells us, had two main sources of revenue,' of wealth with which to pay for government. These were taxes of two kinds. The first of these was what we should today call an import and export tax. This tax consisted of sums of money (or more probably their equal in goods) which traders had to pay for the right to bring goods into Ghana, or to take other goods out of the empire. "The king of Ghana', wrote Al-Bakri, 'places a tax of one dinar of gold on each donkey-load of salt that comes into his country'. But he also 'places a tax of two dinars of gold on each load of salt that goes out'. Similar taxes, higher or lower in value as the case might be, were applied to loads of copper and other goods.' The second kind of tax was what we should call a production tax. It was applied to gold, the most valuable of all the products of the country. 'All pieces of gold that are found in the empire,' says Al-Bakri on this point, belong to the emperor'. But this regulation was more than a means of collecting royal wealth. It was also a way of keeping up the price of gold. For if the emperor had not insisted on taking possession of all pieces of gold, Al-Bakri explains, then 'gold would become so abundant as practically to lose its value'] Ancient Ghana, in short, adopted the monopoly system that is employed to this day for another precious commodity, diamonds Most of the diamonds of the world are mined by a handful of big companies. These companies work hand-in-hand with each other. They have agreed among themselves not to put all the diamonds they mine on the market. If they did, they would drive down the price, for diamonds would then cease to be scarce; and what is not scarce is not expensive. Instead, the diamond companies sell their diamonds in small quantities, according to the demand for them, so their price stays high. The old emperors of Ghana did much the same with their pieces or nuggets of gold. They were able to do this because of Ghana's strong trading position. West African gold was important to Europe as well as to North Africa and the Near East. In earlier times the Europeans had obtained the gold they needed, whether for money, ornaments, or the display of personal wealth, from mines in Europe or in western Asia. These mines were becoming worked out at about the time of the rise of Ghana. Where else could Europeans and North Africans obtain gold? Only, as history shows, from West Africa. And so it came about that the gold used in North Africa and Europe was largely supplied, century after century, by the producers of West Africa. Even kings in distant England had to buy West African gold before they could order their craftsmen to make coins in this precious metal. It was on this steady demand for gold that the states and empires of the Western Sudan founded their prosperity. 13 Ghana began the trade in gold. As time went by, other peoples began to copy Ghana's success. When Ghana disappeared in the thirteenth century its place was eventually taken by another great empire built on the same foundations and by much the same methods. This new empire was called Mali, it carried the progress made under Ghana to a new level of development. The Fall Of The Ghana Empire: Almoravids’ Invasion (Where the Almoravids evaded by expansion.) But a long period of confusion came between the fall of Ghana and the triumph of Mali. After about 1050, Ghana began to be invaded by Berber warriors from the north-west, from the Mauretanian Sahara. These Berbers were driven by troubles of their own, mainly poverty, into striving for a share in the wealth of more prosperous neighbours. Soon after AD 1000 they began to look for a new means of livelihood. The solution they found, as so often in history, took a religious form. There arose among them a devout and very strict Muslim leader called Abdullah ibn Yasin. He established a centre of religious teaching, called a hermitage. He and those who followed him became known as the people of the hermitage, Al-Murabethin, or the Almoravids. Gradu- ally, ibn Yasin brought the Berber communities of the far 14 western lands under his influence. At the same time his missionaries set about the task of converting the rulers of those states in far western Africa whom they could reach, especially in Takrur (or Futa Toro), and in this they had some success. In 1056, moving northwards into Morocco, the Al- moravids captured the great city of Sijilmasa, the main northern trading centre for West African gold. From there they went further to the north, conquering the rest of Morocco. Then they crossed the Straits of Gibraltar, and took over Al-Andalus, or Muslim Spain. A southern section of the Almoravid movement meanwhile moved against Ghana. Its leader, Abu Bakr, put himself at the head of a Berber confederation, made an alliance with the people of Takrur, whom we shall discuss in a moment, and waged a long war against Ghana. In 1054 he took the city of Audoghast. In 1076, after many battles, the Almoravids seized the capital of the empire. But these invaders, like others after them, could not hold the West African lands they had taken. There was much resistance. There were many revolts. Abu Bakr was killed while attempting to suppress one of these in 1087. By this time, however, the Ghana empire had fallen apart. Its last kings had authority over only a few of its former provinces, and we know almost nothing about them. Great changes were on the way The Successor States Of Ghana. In this time of confusion, set in motion by the Almoravid Berbers but soon bringing other peoples into action, the Ghana empire broke up, and some smaller states tried to build small empires of their own. One was the state of Takrur. Another was Diara. A third was Kaniaga. In some of these, a new name now enters on the scene, that of the Peul (or Pullo in the singular) whom in English we call Fulani (or Fulah in the singular). These Fulani were to make several big contributions to West African history. The biggest of these will be described later on. Meanwhile we should note that the Fulani were and are a West African people of a somewhat different physical stock from most of their neighbours, but who spoke (and speak) a language related to the languages of Senegal. They seem to have originated in the lands that lie near the upper waters of the Niger and Senegal Rivers, and to have shared these lands with peoples like the Soninke who played a leading part in the formation of Ghana. They appear to have begun as cattle-keeping farmers, which is what many of them remain to this day. When Ghana suffered the blows of Abu Bakr and his armies, the Fulani of Takrur (in the northern part of modern Senegal) became independent. They in turn set out upon the road of conquest. After about AD 1200 they took control of the kingdom of Diara, once a province of Ghana. Their most successful leader, whose name was Sumanguru, seized Kumbi Saleh, then the capital of Ghana, in about 1203. 15 Meanwhile other Fulani and allied peoples became powerful in another old Ghana province, the kingdom of Kaniaga. But this new attempt at building an empire out of the ruins of Ghana met with no better fortune than the Berber efforts led by Abu Bakr. Two developments brought Sumanguru's enterprise to defeat. The first was that the Muslim traders of Kumbi Saleh, Ghana's last capital, rejected Sumanguru's overlordship. For reasons that were no doubt partly religious and partly commercial, they left Kumbi Saleh and travelled northward, to form a new trading centre at Walata,' far beyond the reach of Sumanguru's soldiers. Secondly, in about 1240 or maybe a few years earlier, Sumanguru was challenged by the Mandinka people of the little state of Kangaba, near the headwaters of the River Niger. The two armies fought each other at a famous battle. Sumanguru was defeated and killed. His chiefs and generals retreated to Takrur, where they and their successors continued to rule for many years. Sumanguru's defeat opened a new chapter in history. For the little state of Kangaba was the heart and core of the future empire of Mali. It was to be the Mandinka people who would now bring peace and order to wide regions of the Western Sudan. Rise and Fall Of The Ghana Empire The Mali Empire Kangaba: The old traditions of the Western Sudan suggest that Kangaba, the little state that was to grow into the mighty empire of Mali, was founded some time before AD 1000. What is certain is that the Mandinka people of Kangaba were also middlemen in the gold trade during the later period of Ancient Ghana. They were important among those who carried to the north the gold of Wangara, the gold-bearing country that is now the northern part of the Republic of Guinea, to the market centres of Ghana. Probably it was through these gold-traders of Kangaba that the rulers of Ghana and their agents were able to secure their main supplies of gold. In later times the traders of Mali, the Dyula or Wangara as they are still called, were to become famous for their skill and enterprise. There is reason to think that they were similarly active in the days of Ancient Ghana as well. It is likely that while Kangaba was a subject country of the Ghana empire, perhaps sending yearly gifts to its ruler in exchange for friendly protection against enemies and rivals, the traders of Kangaba positions of privilege within the empire. 16 There was a two-sided interest here. The government of Ghana needed gold, and it was largely from Wangara that Ghana's gold must come. But the traders who dealt in the gold of Wangara also needed a market, and it was only in Ghana that they could find this market.¹ When the empire of Ghana was split into pieces by attacks from without and revolts from within, this peaceful system of two-way interest was destroyed. All was then in the melting-pot for rivalries for power. Eventually, as we have seen, Sumanguru prevailed. Once Sumanguru had mastered Kumbi and the main caravan routes, it was with him and his agents that the Mandinka of Kangaba had to conduct their business. Yet Sumanguru, as we have also noted, was never able to set up a firm and lasting system of law and order over the lands he had conquered. Others challenged his power. The caravan routes ceased to be safe and peaceful. And no doubt the people of Kangaba, whose livelihood was thus threatened and who were increasingly oppressed by Sumanguru, were troubled by all this. In about 1240, at any rate, they decided to enter the struggle themselves. They made a bid for their own independence, and they won. The Growth Of Mali: 17 (The expansion of the Mali Empire geographically.) The legends tell the story in more colourful and personal terms. They speak of Sumanguru's harsh taxation, of his bad government, of his seizure of Mandinka women. These abuses caused the Mandinka to revolt. Fearing reprisals by Sumanguru, who had a frightening reputa- tion for dangerous witchcraft, the ruler of Kangaba fled. But the situation was saved for him by a brother whom he had exiled. This brother was Sundiata Keita. Returning from exile with an army, Sundiata gathered friends and allies, increased his forces, gave the fresh heart and courage, and marched boldly against the dreade Sumanguru. 'As Sundiata advanced with his army to meet Sumanguru', say the old legends, he learned that Sumanguru was also coming against him with an army prepared for battle. They met in a place called Kirina (not far from the modern Kulikoro]. When Sundiata turned his eyes on the army of Sumanguru, he believed they were a cloud and he said: "What is this cloud on the eastern side?' They told him it was the army of Sumanguru. As for Sumanguru, when he saw the army of Sundiata, he exclaimed: 'What is that mountain of stone?" For he thought it was a mountain. And they told him: 'It is the army of Sundiata, which lies to the west of us.' Then the two columns came together and fought a terrible battle. In the thick of the fight, Sundiata uttered a great shout in the face of the warriors of Sumanguru, and at once these ran to get behind Sumanguru. The latter, in his turn, uttered a great shout in the face of the warriors of Sundiata, all of whom fled to get behind Sundiata. Usually, when Sumanguru shouted, eight heads would rise above his own head. But Sumanguru's witchcraft, the legends say, proved less powerful than the witchcraft of Sundiata. Sumanguru was struck with an arrow bearing the spur of a white cock, fatal to his power, and 'Sumanguru vanished and was seen no more...' After this victory, Sundiata became the master of a new empire, governing through powerful and able men who were the heads of leading Mandinka descent-lines, each with a province under his control. The capital of Kangaba at this time was at a place called Niani, a city that has long since disappeared but was located near the River Niger, not far from the frontier of Modern Guinea and modern Mali. And from about this time the name 'Mali', which meant 'where the king resides, absorbed the name Kangaba, and the empire of Mali was born. The Rulers Of Mali: 18 Sundiata Keita was the founder of Mali, but he was not the first of Mali's kings. This was Barmandana, who is said to have rules in about 1050. He became a Muslim and made a pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims are supposed to make at least once in their lives. He was followed by other kings. Sundiata, sometimes called Mari Diata, ascended to the throne of the Mali Empire 1245. He ruled for approximately 25 years, doing great deeds. Next in line was his son, Uli, who took the title mansa(translates to lord in Mandinka language), and followed the conquering footsteps of his famous father. He ruled from about 1260 to 1277. And like other Mali kings, he made the pilgrimage. After the leadership of Uli, his two brothers Wati and Khalifa rule the empire, historians are yet to figure out the period of time of their reigns. It was noted that they were weak kings who rule badly. Khalifa's subjects revolted against him and killed him; power was then passed to Abu Bakr who ruled until 1298. In 1298, the throne of the Mali Empire was seized by a 'freed slave of the court.' This was Sakuru, who proved himself as one of Mali's strongest rulers. He help power till 1308. After him, came Mansa Qu, and Mansa Muhammed. In 1312, another great ruler came to power, Mansa Kakan Musa. He rule the Mail empire till 1337, and was followed by Mansa Magha, who ruled for about four years, and was followed by Mansa Suleman, who ruled with much success till about 1360. Then came another Mari-Diata who ruled for thirteen years and was followed by other kings of less importance. During the period of 1400, the empire of Mali was drawing to a close. The Achievement Of Mali: Mali repeated the achievements of Ancient Ghana, but on a larger scale. Its rulers regained control of the the gold-producing land of Wangara and Bambuk. They evaded most of Diara to the north-west. They pushed their power down the Niger River to the shores of Lake Deba. Mali formed one of the world's greatest empires of those times. The long period of success occurred under three different reigns. The first reign was when Sundiata Keita created the empire. The second reign was the extension of the empire under the leadership of Mansa Sankuru. And the third reign was the leadership of Mansa Kankan Musa. When Mensa Kankan Musa came to power, Mali had firm control of the trade routes to the southern lands of gold and the northern lands of salt. Now, Emperor Musa brought the lands of the Middle Niger under Mali's rule. He enclosed the cities of Timbuktu and Gao within his empire. He imposed his rule on southern trading towns like Walata. He then pushed his armies northward, as far as the most important salt-producing placed called Taghaza, on the northern side of the great desert. He sent them beyond Gao to the borders of Hausaland, and then westward into Takrur. Eventually, it came about the Musa had enclosed a large part of the Western Sudan within a single system of law and order. He did this successfully that, Ibn Batuta, traveling through Mali about twelve years after Musa's death found 'complete and general safety in the land'. This was a big political success, and made Mansa Musa one of the greatest emperors in history. 19 The Wangara traders benefited greatly from Musa's reign, their trading companies began to expand to various parts of West Africa. These traders were men of skill and energy, but they also drew strength from being Muslims. Belonging to Islam gave them unity, they stuck together even though members of their companies came from different clans or territories. Islam was as important in West Sudan as it was now throughout West Africa. Like the Mali kings before him, Mansa was Muslim but most of his subjects were not Muslims. Therefore, he supported the religion of the Mandinka people and Islam. Different religious customs and ceremonies were allowed in his court. Mansa Musa's pilgrims to Mecca became famous. He began it in 1324. His great journey through the Egyptian capital, Cairo, was long remembered with admiration and surprise throughout Egypt and Arabia. Musa took with him so much gold, and gave away lots of golden gifts. Mali was now a world power, and recognized as such. Under Mansa Musa, Mali' ambassadors were established in the Kingdom Of Morocco, Egypt, and other places. Mali's capital was visited by North African and Egyptian scholars. On returning from the pilgrimage, Musa brought back with him a number of learned men(known as scribes) from Egypt. These men settled in Mali and Timbuktu. One of them, called As-Saheli designed new mosques at Gao and Timbuktu. He further built a palace for the emperor. The fashion of building houses with bricks now began popular in the territory of West Sudan. Niani, the capital of all the empires, has long since disappeared. Yet, during the late sixteenth century, the Moroccan traveler Leo Africanus could still describe it as the place of 'six thousand hearths' and its inhabitants were the most civilized and respected of all the people of Western Sudan. The spread of 20 Islam and its civilization also called for reinventive methods of leadership, therefore Mansa Musa opened and court for Muslims alongside other courts for non-Muslims subjects. The Government Of Mali: Like Ghana, Mali was ruled by kings who were the heads of important descent-lines or families. The kings ruled different parts of the empire called provinces through governors. These governors were also the head of local descent-lines. These governors were privileged people because of their birth. The king had some important officials who did not come from important families, some came from families who 'belonged' to the king because they had lost their civic rights, usually through being captured in wars. Later on, such officials or kings men began to get more power. Mali had a more complicated government system than Ghana due to the rapid increase in population. Rivals and Successors: But the very success of this far-reaching empire was also a reason for its decline. The spread of metal-working and of trade, the growth of the ideas of kingship and of strong central government, the pressures of wealth and trading rivalry- all these and similar influences stirred many peoples in West Africa. Some of these peoples saw that there were new advantages in being free to run their own affairs. The ruler and people of the city of Gao, for example, had to pay taxes to the emperor of Mali. Now they have become determined to get rid of these taxes. They believed they could do better on their own. Others thought as they did. The truth was that Mali had outgrown its political and military strength. Only supremely skilful at the centre could hold this wide empire together. Mansa Musa commanded that skill. His succes- sors, generally, did not. For a while, all remained well with the empire, under the rule of Mansa Suleyman (about 1340-60). Then the good days were over. Mansa Mari Diata II, who followed Suleyman, was described by Ibn Khaldun as 'a bad ruler who oppressed the people, depleted the treasury, and nearly pulled down the structure of the government'. He was followed by several other rulers who did little better than he had done. Mali remained a powerful empire until about 1400. Then it ran into a host of troubles. Gao rebelled. The Tuareg nomads of the southern Sahara, always hoping to win control of the market cities of the Western Sudan, seized Walata and even Timbuktu. The peoples of Takrur and its neighbouring lands, notably the Wolof, threw off their subjection to Mali. Others in the south-western region of the empire, especially the in what is now the modern Republic of Upper Volta, began to harass the emperor's governors and garrisons. Yet the grand old system, now more than two hundred years old if we reckon its life from the time of Sundiata Keita, still enjoyed widespread respect. Many peoples had grown accustomed to thinking of the Mali mansa, the Mali koy, as their rightful overlord. The habit of thinking this was slow to die. And 21 so it came about that the fame and reputation of this once wide system of imperial rule lived on for a long while after it had become weak and defenseless. Even in the time of the powerful Songhay emperor, Askia Muhammad (1493-1528), the traditional frontier of Songhay and Mali was still recognised as running through the region of Sibiridugu-astride of the upper Niger, that is, in the neighborhood of the river-city of Segu. And Niani, the capital of the old empire, was still a large and prosperous city. Commercially, too, the traders of Mali, the famous Dyula companies, were the most enterprising and successful merchants of all the western and central regions of West Africa. They traveled far and wide, across the plains and through the forests, trading even on the distant coast of central Guinea. But the political power was mostly gone. As early as 1400 the Songhay ruler of Gao is said to have pillaged Niani itself. In 1431 the Tuareg rushed into Timbuktu. By the end of the century Mali had no power to the east of Segu. Even within his homeland, the Mali emperor could seldom do more than stand aside and let things happen. Yet he certainly tried. In 1534 he sent an ambassador to the coast for help from the Portuguese, with whom he and his predecessors had enjoyed good diplomatic and trading relations. But the king of Portugal was unable to help, and did nothing except send messengers and gifts to his ally Mansa Muhammad II. The time was still far ahead when Europeans would be strong enough to have any direct influence on the affairs of West Africa. Rise and Fall Of The Mali Empire The Empire Of Songhay Gao and the Songhay: Songhay are a people of the Middle Niger region. They too built a big empire in the past. 22 Not many years ago an important archaeological discovery occurred at the village of Sané, near the ancient city of Gao on the middle reaches of the Niger River. There came to light some old tombstones of Spanish marble, with Arabic characters beautifully carved on them. When they had been cleaned and read, the inscriptions showed that these were the tombstones of kings who had ruled over Gao many centuries ago. was made 'Here lies the tomb of the king who defended God's religion, and who rests in God, Abu Abdallah Muhammad,' explains one of these inscrip- tions, adding that this king had died in the Muslim year 494, or AD 1100. This was a valuable discovery. It provided the oldest examples of writing so far known in West Africa. It also provided the only certain knowledge so far available about the foundations of the state of Gao, later to become the heart of the famous empire of the Songhay people. These tombstones reveal three interesting points. They show that: Gao, by the eleventh century, was strong enough to have become a state ruled over by prosperous kings. These kings had become Muslims;3 they had extensive trading links with North Africa, even had their tombstones brought from Muslim Spain. The evidence of the early history of Gao, as it has come down to us through the books of seventeenth-century writers in Timbuktu, does not always agree with the evidence of the tombstones: the actual names of the kings on the tombstones are not the same as the names recorded from oral traditions. Otherwise the traditions greatly help to expand the three certain points that are proved by the tombstones. They confirm that Gao became a southern centre for trans-Saharan trade before AD 1000, and, secondly, that Gao had long since become a state on its own. The traditions also show that the Songhay people established them- selves at Gao at the beginning of the seventh century, pushing out the Sorko people who already lived there. But Gao was not yet their capital: this was at Kukya, further to the east, where their dias or kings ruled. These Songhay were enterprising traders and welcomed Lemtuna (Berber) travelling merchants from the Adrar oases to the north of them. Through these Saharan merchants the caravan trade with the Songhay market-centres prospered and grew. 23 At the beginning of the eleventh century- and this is where the tombstones once again confirm the traditions- the ruling Songhay king, whose title and name were Dia Kossoi, was converted to Islam. According to tradition, this happened in 1010. Soon after this, the capital of Songhay was transferred from Kukya to Gao, and Gao entered upon its period of growth. Just why Dia Kossoi accepted Islam, and with how much sincerity, there is no means of knowing. But probably he saw in his conversion a useful way of gaining more influence with the Berber traders, who were all Muslims, upon whose caravan skills he and his people greatly relied for their trade. Like no other Muslim in the Western Sudan, then and later, Dia Kossoi and his successors tried not to let their acceptance of Islam become offensive to their own people, who generally continued to believe in their local religions. Dia Kossoi even maintained court customs that were not Muslims; he tried to represent himself as a Muslim leader and, at the same time, a leader of Songhay religion. Many Dias ruled after Kossoi. Goa began to expand its power beyond the lands immediately around the city. One reason for this is that the value ans size of the trans-Saharan trade were growing all the time. This growth had increased the power and importance of Gao, whose position was very favorable for the trade. 24 Three centuries after Dia Kossoi's reign, Goa was so valuable that Emperor Mansa Musa, sent out his generals and armies to bring it within the Mali Empire. But his lordship of Goa lasted for about fifty(50) years. In about 1335, the Dia line of kings came to an end and gave way to a new line, whose title was Sunni or Shi. And Suliman-Mar won back Goa from Mali's rule. After the takeover, they embarked on another expansion. This expansion was a work of Sunni Ali. Ali succeeded the previous emperor and took over Songhay in the time of confusion, he then worked to build a peaceful trade system. The Growth Of Songhay: Sunni Ali The Songhay people of today number about 600,000, most of whom are farmers and fisherman along the banks of the Niger between the areas of Timbuktu and North-western Nigeria. The played their part in the political establishment of Niger and Mali, but they have not had a separate state of their own. Yet, during the sixteen century, they were the largest in West Africa. The Songhay conquered people both north and south of the Niger; and their achievements hold a leading place in history. These achievements, were to some extent, due to their position along the great river, which gave them good communication and chances of trade. Sunni Ali was the first leader after the dia line of kings of Gao. Anyone who travels in the Songhay region today will find the name of Sunni Ali, better known as Ali Ber, or simply as the Shi. Although he did nearly five centuries ago, his honor and respect still lives till this day. He was thought about as the greatest wizard, with expert knowledge about magic. Above all, he was known as a leader with irresistible foresight, power and courage. He became king of Gao and 25 the Songhay lands in 1464, the same time that the Empire of Mali was nearing an end due to its weakness and confusion. The Tuareg were raiding from the north, and Mossi from the south. Other people were claiming their independent along the banks of the Niger. The trade of great cities, Gao amongst them, were threatened by insecurities at times. Sunni Ali was one of those great military captain whose energy and ambition kept him always in the saddle, always fighting, always at the head of one army or another. Knowing that no other means of uniting Western Sudan except by war, he made war often and with a ruthless skill. In his long reign for 34 years, he was never once defeated. He began fighting off Mossi, who were attacking Timbuktu, the second city of the Songhay lands. He pursued the far into the west then turned swiftly on the Dogon, and the Fulani who were also raiders in the hills of Badiagara. By 1486, four years after becoming an emperor, he had cleared the country of immediate danger and at once attacked the Tuareg, who had held Timbuktu since 1433. Being that he was unbeatable, he drove the Tuareg out of Timbuktu. Their chief fled to distant Walata, while Sunni Ali set about punishing the leaders of the city who had done little to defend themselves against these normand raiders. Religious disputes were at work in this; the leading men of Timbuktu had been strictly Muslims for a long time. And they generally followed the beliefs of their trading partners from North Africa, and Saharan oases. The qadi, or chief religious leader, tended to regard himself as teh independent ruler of a Muslim city, within a largely non-Muslim empire of Songhay. Here, the coming of Islam to Western Sudan gave rise to conflicts. Faced with Tuarge occupation of their city, the leading men of Timbuktu did not seem to have fought very hard against it. Both they and the Tuareg after all were Muslims interested in the trans-Saharan trade. They may not want to be occupied by the Tuareg, but they may have tried to use this occupation as means to reassert their independence over the Songhay overlord. Suni Ali punished them for their disloyalty. With the recapture of Timbuktu, Ali had only begun his bold career, he then extended siege to Jenne- the vital market center for the trade in gold, kola nuts, and other goods from the southern forest lands. Jenne had never been taken by an invader, but Ali captured it after a siege of seven years. By 1476, he had the whole lake region of the Middle Niger, and the west of Timbuktu under his control. New Methods Of Governance: Askia The Great 26 Sunni Ali died in November 1492 while returning from an expedition against the Gurma, and his son, Sunni Baru, was named ruler of Songhay two months later. Sunni Baru reigned for only fourteen months. He was defeated in battle and deposed by a powerful rebel. This rebel was Muhammad Turay, who became Askia the Great. Here, once again, religious disputes were mingled with personal ambitions. In Songhay at this time the market cities were of growing wealth and importance. The leaders of these towns were mostly Muslims, and, because of this, Islam was now making great progress among the townspeople of the empire of Songhay, as indeed in other parts of the Western Sudan as well. While largely loyal to the traditional beliefs of the countryside, Sunni Ali had found it wise to make a good many concessions to Islam, although, as we have just seen in the case of Timbuktu, he did not hesitate to oppress Muslim leaders who failed in their political loyalty to him. Sunni Ali, in other words, set out to protect both the interests of the Muslim people of the towns and the interests of the non-Muslim people of the countryside. Always a skilful politician, he succeeded in holding the balance between these often opposing sets of interests. 27 Unlike his father, Sunni Baru refused to declare himself a Muslim and at once made it clear that he was going to side entirely with the non-Muslim people of the countryside. Between the townsfolk and the country-folk - the traders and the farmers of Songhay-he chose the latter. But the people of the towns were too powerful to be treated in this way. They feared that they would lose power and influence, and that their trade would suffer. They found a rebellious leader in Muhammad Turay. The consequences were far-reaching. With Askia Muhammad, the empire of Songhay entered on a new stage in its impressive political life. Becoming emperor at the age of fifty, he reigned from 1493 until 1528, and carried the political and commercial power of the empire of Songhay to its greatest point of expansion. He must be remembered for three main reasons. In the first place, Askia Muhammad made a sharp break with the religious and family traditions of the Sunni line of rulers. He based his power firmly on the towns, and, in line this, ruled as a Muslim. Although many traditional customs and practices were still observed at his court, his laws and methods were increasingly in accord with Muslim ideas. In this, clearly, he understood well the trend of power in Songhay. This is shown, among other things, by the fact that he could be absent on a pilgrimage to Mecca for two years (1494-97) without causing himself any trouble at home. During this pilgrimage the Sharif of Mecca, spiritual leader of the Muslims, named Askia Muhammad as his deputy or Kalif for the Western Sudan. Returning from Mecca, Muhammad set himself to remodel the laws and customs of his empire along more strictly Muslim lines. Secondly, a point we shall come back to in Chapter 13, Muhammad took over the administrative changes made by Sunni Ali, and developed them still further. He built up a machinery of central government that was stronger and more detailed in its work than any known in the Western Sudan. He opened the way for men of talent, in the royal service, who were not necessarily members of leading descent-lines. Thirdly, he used his talents as a political and military leader to continue with the imperial plans of Sunni Ali, and to carry them to a point where he successfully united the whole central region of the Western Sudan and even pushed his power, as Kankan Musa of Mali had done two centuries earlier, far northward among the oasis markets of the Sahara. No people of the Western Sudan were free from the pressure of Songhay power. Their disciplined cavalry were everywhere. Like Sunni Ali, Askia Muhammad fought the Mossi of Yatenga and their raiding neighbours. In 1505 he even tackled Borgu (in what is north-western Nigeria today), though not with much success. In 1512 he mounted a big expedition against Diara. Successful there, he sent his troops still further westward, and attacked the Denianke king of Futa Toro in distant Senegal. Then he turned his attention eastward again. His generals invaded the Hausa states, carrying all before them and meeting with serious resistance only at Kano. His distant frontiers now extended, at least in theory, as far as the borders of Bornu. Yet the addition of Katsina, and other Hausa states to the countries which paid tax and loyalty to Songhay, was worth little unless Songhay could also gain 28 possession of the principal caravan-markets to the north. There, too, lay the Tuareg, ancient enemies of Songhay and of the cities of the Niger. So Muham- mad sent out his generals once more. He ordered them to march north-eastward into the hot and thirsty lands of the oases of Air, far north of Hausaland in the southern Sahara. Faced with the armies of Songhay, perhaps the best-organised troops that the Sudan had developed so far, the Tuareg could do nothing but turn about and retreat into their native desert. Muhammad ordered his generals to found a colony in Aïr. Many Songhay were settled in and around the ancient market of Agadès, where their descendants may be found to this day. In 1528, by now over eighty, Muhammad became blind. He was deposed by his eldest son, Musa, and died ten years later. Development Of Trade: Timbuktu and Jenne: As with other large states of this period, the strength and wealth of the Songhay government were based largely on the big trading cities. These became centres of a many-sided civilisation in which the laws and learning of Islam, as will be seen in Chapter 14, played a notable part. This is the place to consider briefly the history of two of the most important of these cities, Timbuktu and Jenne. 29 Timbuktu today is a small and dusty town of no distinction. No doubt it was small and dusty when it was founded about eight hundred years ago. But then its importance was very great. For Timbuktu became one of the wealthiest markets of West Africa, famous far and wide for its trade and for the learning of its scholars. Rising to importance a good deal later than its western sister-cities-Kumbi and Takrur, Audoghas and others - Timbuktu long outlived and outshone them. By the fourteenth century, when Mansa Musa brought As-Saheli back from ordered him to build mosques and palaces Timbuktu was well established as a trading city of great importance. Yet Timbuktu never became the centre of an important state, much less of an empire. In this it differed from Gao. One main reason for this difference probably lay in its geographical position. Well placed for the caravan trade, it was badly situated to defend itself from the Tuareg raiders of the Sahara. These Tuareg were repeatedly hammering at the gates of Timbuktu, and often enough they burst them open with sad results for the inhabitants. Life here was never quite safe enough to make it a good place for the center of a big state. Even in Mansa Musa's time, when peace and order spread widely across the Western Sudan The city of Timbuktu in the nineteenth century. It had not changed much since the fourteenth century. Timbuktu never became a central point of government within the empire. The political record underlines this special geographical weakness of Timbuktu. From 1325 until 1433 it was part of the Mali empire. Then the Tuareg had it for a few years. In 1458 it was enclosed within the growing Songhay empire, where it remained until Moroccans invaded Songhay in 1591. These Moroccans, whose invasion we shall consider in its proper place, ruled over Timbuktu until about 1780, although for most of this time they were no more than a weak ruling class within the city, half-merged with the local population and often cut off from their original homeland. Then the Tuareg again had command of the city for a time, being followed in their overlordship by Fulani rulers in 1826, who in turn were followed by Tucolor chiefs (1862-63), again by the Tuareg (1863-93), and finally by the French colonial invaders (1893- 1960). Today, Timbuktu is part of the modern Republic of Mali. But this political record would be misleading if it suggested that Timbuktu did not also enjoy long periods of peace and peaceful trade. On the contrary, the arts of peace and scholarship, of writing and theology, and the development of law, all flourished here, and flourished greatly. Jenne was another of the great historical cities of the western Sudan. It seems to have been founded, like Timbuktu, soon after the eleventh century, although there was probably a trading settlement here in still earlier times. But the history of Jenne is not the same as that of Timbuktu. There is an important difference between them. Both were big trading centres. Timbuktu, like Gao and ancient Kumbi and Takrur, were middleman cities between the traders of the Western Sudan and those of the Sahara and North Africa. But Jenne, by contrast, was a middleman city between the traders of the Western Sudan (especially of Timbuktu) and 30 the traders of the forest lands to the south. It was through Jenne, at least after about 1400, that the gold and other goods of the forest lands passed increasingly to the caravan- traders who were waiting for these goods in Timbuktu and other trading centres. And it was through Jenne that the goods of North Africa increasingly reached southward into the forest lands. This special importance of Jenne was associated with the spread and activities of the Mandinka traders of Mali, the Dyula or Wangara trading companies, who pushed down into the forest lands and settled there as buying-and-selling agents, just as the Berber traders of the Sahara, further north, had settled in towns like Kumbi and Timbuktu and Gao. These Dyula traders, each group or company united under its Dyula-Mansa' by common language, Islam, and experience, were a vital link between the gold-producing forest lands and the whole wide trading network of the Western Sudan and North Africa. They dealt in many things besides gold, of course; notably in kola nuts. All their trade passed back and forth through markets such as Jenne. The long- established existence of this north-south trade within West Africa is one important reason why it is quite wrong to think of the forest lands as being cut off, in ancient times, from the grassland plains to the north of them. For the goods were carried by men, and were bought and sold by men; and all these men met and talked, discussed and exchanged ideas, and influenced one another through many centuries. Unlike Timbuktu and Gao, Jenne retained its independence until taken by Sunni Ali in the 1470s, though without trying to become a large state or empire. One reason for its safety from conquest lay in its powerful defensive position. For much of every year, Jenne was encircled by the flood waters of the Niger River, as indeed it still is today. Its inhabitants also built high protecting walls round their city, somewhat like those that may still be seen at Kano, and proved able to defend them. They were helped by the fact that their southern neighbors were also independent. Invasion Of Songhay: 31 After Askia Dawud, harsh times lay ahead. Troubles broke out at home. The old enemies along the southern fringe of the empire - the Mossi and their neighbours I were far from crushed. The Hausa states revolted against Songhay overlordship during the reign of Muhammad II. But in 1582, the year that Muhammad II succeeded Dawud, a new note was struck, full of menace for the future of Songhay. The sultan of Morocco sent a force of two hundred soldiers to seize the vital salt-deposits of Taghaza far in the north of Songhay but a part of its empire. These soldiers were armed with a weapon not seen before on the battle-fields of the Western Sudan. This was the arquebus, an early form of musket. Firearms had now appeared for the first time on any scale. They were to have a profound and sometimes very destructive effect on the fortunes of West Africa. This brief skirmish in a remote part of the Sahara was to open a war between Morocco and Songhay which proved disastrous for the men of Gao. Why did it happen? Let us pause for a moment to consider this question. Briefly, there were two reasons, one military and the other commer- cial. In 1578, invaded by the Portuguese, the Moroccans had won a great victory at the battle of Al-Ksar al-Kabir. Historians have called this one of the decisive battles of the world. For many years it ended any idea of European conquest in North Africa. But it also encouraged the Moroc- cans to turn southward. The Portuguese had invaded Morocco with an army of 25,000 men. At Al-Ksar al-Kabir they met with total defeat. It is said that only a few hundred Portuguese escaped to tell the tale of that day. The reigning sultan of Morocco died in the hour of victory and was succeeded by his younger brother, Mulay Ahmad, then aged twenty-nine. Mulay Ahmad was at once named Mansur, the Victorious. Skilfully, he made Morocco into a strong state again, and ended wars and rivalries both by the power of 32 his armies and by generous gifts. But his purse was becoming empty. Soon he began to look round for new ways of filling it. Not surprisingly, he looked to the south, to the Western Sudan, as the Almoravids had done in earlier times. Under Askia Dawud, the riches of Songhay had acquired a great reputation throughout North Africa. Even the kings and merchants of distant Europe had begun to hear tempting tales of the wonders of the Western Sudan. Sultan Mulay the Victorious began by nibbling at Songhay power. He raided Taghaza. But it brought him no good. He could seize the salt-deposits, but he could not keep an army in that thirsty place. He thought again. He decided to launch an army right across the Sahara and attack the men of Songhay in their own homeland. By this means, he believed, he could plunder the wealth of Songhay and vastly enrich himself with West African gold. This army set out in December 1590. It was led by a soldier named Judar, by origin a Spanish Christian who had accepted Islam, and was composed of 4,600 picked men. Half of these were infantry armed with arquebuses, the most up-to-date weapon in the world of that time. Half of these arquebus-carriers were Spanish Muslims and the others were Portuguese or Spanish prisoners who had agreed to serve in the Moroccan armies, and accept Islam, rather than suffer death or long imprisonment. The invading army included a force of 500 horsemen armed with the arquebuses, and 1,500 light cavalry equipped with long spears such as can be used from a horse. The army even carried half a dozen small cannon with them across the desert. This force of mercenaries and ex-prisoners crossed the Sahara, taking many weeks from Marrakesh to the Niger, and fell upon the lands of Songhay with the fury of men who knew there could be no retreat. Gathering his troops, Askia Ishaq II tried to resist, but the armies of Songhay now met soldiers at Tondibi on 12 March 1591, who were even better armed and disciplined. They retired before the firearms of Judar's men. Weakened by trouble and revolts at home, the Songhay ruler lost battle after battle, often with heavy casualties. The Moroccans pushed into Timbuktu and then into Gao, hoping to find large stores of wealth ready to be collected up. In this they were at first not altogether disappointed. Much valuable loot was taken back to Marrakesh, where fine palaces were afterwards built on the profits of this piratical war. 33 Rise and Fall Of The Songhay Empire Although routed in battle and driven from their trading cities, the Songhay did not give in. The towns were lost, but the country folk fell back on guerilla tactics. Unable to meet the Moroccans in pitched battle, they built up little raiding parties, attacked Moroccan posts and garri sons, harassed the Moroccans in every way they could, fighting to recover their land. They were never more than partially successful. Having lost the towns, Songhay proved unable to recover. Its central government was weakened from within and without. Songhay's own subjects seized their chance to revolt on behalf of their own freedom. Many succeeded. And with this collapse the power of Islam dwindled or was lost for many years ahead. Another in the history of the Western Sudan began, in which the non-Muslim peoples of the countryside were once again to assert their power. 34 35