Please select one of the five chapters in the history of Mali

    This, however is not the where the story ends.  Rather, the story of the Songhay empire begins with Mansa Musa, ruler of the empire of Mali from 1307 to 1333.  Mansa Musa, ruler of the powerful empire of Mali, was its most aggressive and expansionist ruler.  During a religious pilgrimage in 1325, Musa's forces conquered the Songhay and added their own small kingdom to the empire.  Eager to inspect his new territory, Musa visited Gao upon his return.  As a guarantor of Songhay allegiance, Musa took princes Ali Kolon and Sulayman Nar back to Niani with him.  While they were technically prisoners, they had freedom of movement within Niani and became respected members of the society.
    They never forgot their homeland, however, and planned for the day they could make their escape.  When Mansa Musa died in 1333, they saw their chance.  Escaping back to Gao, they soon declared their independence from the empire of Mali.
    Increasing attacks by the Mossi in the north tapped the Malian army, and they were unable to recapture Gao.  In time, more chiefdoms would follow the Songhay lead, many joining this budding new empire.  As the Malian influence waned, the Songhay influence increased.  By the early 1400s, Gao was, without question, the center of trade in west Africa.  

    The Songhay emperor credited with the greatest expansion was Sunni (chief) Ali Ber, who took control of the empire in 1464.  He was not a devout Muslim, which caused some problems among religious leaders, but he was strong leader and a cunning general.  With a highly mobile standing army, Ali Ber defeated his traditional rivals in the region, including the Fulani, the Dogon, and the Mossi.  After consolidating the smaller chiefdoms, Ali Ber set his sights on the last remaining remnants of the empire of Mali: the cities of Timbuktu and Jenne.
    Although weakened by years of Mossi raids, Timbuktu was still a formidable--and important--Muslim enclave under the leadership of a Berber chief named Akil ag-Malway.  Leadership may not be the best word...domination was more like it.  Akil demanded tribute to "guarantee" the safety of Timbuktu.  Muslim leaders reluctantly paid, but Akil continued to raid the city.  Desperate Muslim leaders sent for Sunni Ali Ber, providing him with valuable military information about Timbuktu.  When Ali Ber advanced on Timbuktu, he took it without a fight.  Rather than protect it, however, his army sacked and looted the city.  Ali Ber also ordered the deaths of the Muslim leaders who had betrayed their city (he felt they would betray him as well), and forced others into exile.
    Although Timbuktu was the first to fall, Jenne was Ali Ber's primary target.  His armies arrived in 1466.  Unable to capture the heavily fortified city, they set up a blockade and dug in.  After a 7 year siege, the king of Jenne surrendered.  Impressed by their valiant stand, Ali Ber spared Jenne from destruction.  Instead he took a wife from the ruling clan, uniting Songhay and Jenne.  Sonhay's greatest leader died in 1492, leaving his son, Sunni Baru in charge.

    Sunni Baru was Muslim in name only, and all but abandoned traditional Islamic practices.  Religious leaders, however, were eager to see a devout Muslim on the throne.  Fear of Sunni Ali Ber silenced them previously, but, with him gone, they began plotting their takeover.  A popular Askia (or general) named Muhammed Toure was chosen to lead the rebellion.  He was both devoted to Islam and respected among the power elite.  With support from religious leaders, he led a coup and unseated Baru sometime between 1493-1494.
    Toure solidified his hold on the empire during a religious pilgrimage (or hajj) to Mecca in 1495.  He studied in Egypt for two years and was appointed caliph--or spiritual leader--of all Songhay.  Toure returned to Gao firmly in control as the political and religious head of state.
    A foot soldier in Sunni Ali Ber's army, Toure shared in his former leader's expansionist tendencies.  Declaring jihads (or holy wars), he defeated the remaining independent nations in the region, including: the Mossi, the Tuareg, and the Hausa.  By 1510, Toure's empire was larger than that of Ghana or Mali.

    The Songhay were the new controllers of the gold and salt trade.  The empire was run by 5 governors who reported directly to the king.  Toure also established a cabinet of sorts, with ministers in charge of the armed forces, tax collection, river navigation, fishing rights, foreign affairs and the interior.  Toure also re-established Timbuktu and Jenne as important Muslim cultural centers, but only required limited adherence to Islamic law.  This decision was a shrewd political choice: forcing Islam onto all his subjects may well have led to civil war.
    At its pinnacle, Songhay rivaled only Mali as a global trade and cultural mecca.  Foreigners like Mahmud al-Kati and Leo Africanus traveled to Timbuktu and Jenne chronicling their adventures.  Africanus' work was the among the first to introduce the western Sahara to Europe and the marveled at tales of this mighty kingdom.
    Early in 1500s, two important developments would ultimately doom the Songhay empire to ruin.  First, European explorers were making their way down the west coast of Africa.  This opened new trade routes which circumvented the long and treacherous Saharan crossing.  Cities like Timbuktu and Jenne, which benefited from their locations along the routes, would have to find new ways to buy and sell their goods.  The second development was the slave trade.  Europeans in the new world (America) were discovering that Native Americans would rather die than be enslaved.  Those who didn't escape would commit suicide, creating a severe labor shortage overseas.  This was compounded by increased French and British agriculture in Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and the other coastal regions.  These growing plantations needed slaves to work in the fields.
    While Islam does not allow the enslavement of fellow Muslims, the Songhay were happy to sell criminals and captives to the slave traders.  When they ran out, the traders turned to raids to get their inventory.  The Portuguese were among the first Europeans to conduct a slave raid, but all the European powers were involved.  The most common situation was to pay either the Berbers or the Songhay to enslave their rivals.  The increased slave raids would put a strain on the Songhay population and cause a rift within the community.
    In 1528, ailing from the effects of age, Toure was deposed by his son, Musa.  Musa was assassinated in 1531, and a succession of Toure's sons ruled Songhay.  The empire was at the brink of ruin when an Askia known as Daoud took control in 1549.  He re-established order and ruled a relatively stable empire until 1582.  
    In 1582 the empire was a shadow of its former self.  Although Daoud consolidated the empire during his reign, a small push would be sufficient to topple the king.  What they got was a rather large push.  The Sultan of Morocco, reeling from the decline in trans-Saharan trade, sent his army to the important salt mines at Taghaza.  Hearing of the advance, the Songhay abandoned the city and salt production stopped.  Lacking the manpower to work the mines, the Moroccans were forced to abandon it altogether.  The mines never reopened.
    Songhay never recovered from the loss of the mines.  In 1590, the Moroccans sent an army led by Judar to defeat the Songhay.  Marching with firearms, Judar decimated Songhay forces and attacked and looted many of the key Songhay cities.  The vassal chiefdoms under Songhay influence renounced their allegiance to the throne and the empire fell.  No other empire filled the void, however.  By the early 1600s, the trans-Saharan trade routes were gone; without trade, no single group could gain control over the vast region.  Over the next few hundred years, the Songhay people would be ousted by the Berbers, the Tuaregs, and several other smaller chiefdoms.     

Please select one of the five chapters in the history of Mali