While knights rode around medieval Europe, the three great empires of West Africa prospered through unimaginable wealth. Ghana, Mali and Songhai controlled more gold and conducted more global trade than any European power at this time in history.
Three Early West African Empires
(Note: These historic empires are not the countries bearing the same names today. Also note: "CE" stands for "Common Era" and, like "AD," measures the years as counted by Christian scholars from the birth of Jesus.)
Ghana (Wagadu) – 300 CE -1235 CE
Traditionally known as Wagadu, the empire of Ghana was the first of the great Western African Empires. Situated further north than the modern-day Republic of Ghana, this was the smallest but longest surviving of these three historic domains. Located between two major rivers, the Niger and the Senegal, and bordered by the Sahara to the east, Ghana became the center of trade between the Arabs and Berbers in the northern regions and other African societies to the south. Bringing down salt from northern Africa, the Arabs and Berbers traded in Ghana for gold and ivory.
Empire of Ghana (Wagadu)
Ghana’s wealth grew through a double taxation system placed on their most valuable commodity, gold. People were taxed when bringing gold in and again when taking it out of the empire. Ghana also profited from the exportation of gold. Gold dust was the main currency of the time. Salt, however, is essential for human survival and rare the further south ones travels. As the desire and need for further trade grew, the nomadic Berbers created the western trans-Saharan caravan road. Thanks to this intricate highway system, Mediterranean traders could travel south to African strongholds like Ghana to exchange their salt for ivory and gold.
This 1985 Azalai salt caravan continues the tradition of trans-Saharan trade.
Leaders in Ghana, the Soninke, managed to keep their main source of gold, the Bambuk mines, a secret from the foreign traders. The Soninke kept the core of pure metal for themselves, accumulating great wealth, and left the unworked native gold to be marketed by the common people. Historians believe this international trade route mobilized hundreds of thousands of Africans, with the gold of Ghana reaching far away European and Asian countries.
The decay of this empires developed due to political turmoil from within and invaders who penetrated Ghana’s boarders and sacked their great cities. Scholars tell us there were invasions from the North by groups like the Almoravids, as well as by the short lived Sosso Kingdom. Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali empire, also took advantage of the weakness of Ghana. Changing trading routes played a major role in its decline as well, as did civil wars due to religious differences. Many people in Ghana rejected Islam, preferring their traditional belief systems.
For further readings on the political systems and major leaders of Ghana see Historian Phillip Curtin’s work titled African History, the Cambridge History of Africa, and the UNESCO series on the General History of Africa (GHA).
Mali – 1230 CE – 1460 CE
Out of the ashes of Ghana came the next great civilization of its time –– and the richest kingdom ever to exist in world history — the Mali Empire. The roots of Mali start within ancient Ghana and the Malinke inhabitants of Kangaba, who served as middlemen trading gold to foreigners. Sundiata Keita rose up from his small kingdom of Kangaba, won the people’s support, conquered the last stronghold of Ancient Ghana, and began the reign of the Mali Empire. His successors expanded the empire to envelope the trading towns of Timbuktu and Gao and northern regions such as Taghaza, containing the highly valuable salt deposits. Mali swallowed up the wealth of Ghana and expanded on their practices with great success.
In 1312 CE, Musa the First or Mansa (meaning King or Emperor) Musa took the throne of Mali. He had an army of over 100,000 including a cavalry of more than 10,000 men. This army was a formidable fighting force, which enabled Mansa Musa to double the size of his kingdom. He is remembered most notably as the richest man who ever lived.
Mansa Musa, the richest man in history.
Ruling the gold center of the world, Mansa Musa’s wealth is incomprehensible. Being a devout Muslim, Mansa Musa traveled across the continent and brought back scholars and architects. These experts would establish universities and mosques. His 4,000 mile pilgrimage to Mecca gave him the chance to show his generosity to the common people. Mansa Musa’s gifts of gold to common people throughout his hajj destabilized the entire Egyptian economy. His great generosity literally put him on the map. In 1375 Mansa Musa was portrayed on the Catalan Atlas, one of the most important world maps of Medieval Europe. He was depicted with a golden scepter and crown, seated upon a golden throne.
The Catalan Atlas was one of the most important world maps of its day. Mansa Musa of Mali, as one of the world's most important leaders, was pictured on it offering some of his gold.
However, Mansa Musa contributed far more to the world than gold. In an early form of globalization, Mansa Musa sent ambassadors across the continent of Africa. In Mali he cultivated "a place of splendor, wealth, and sophistication," attracting European and Middle Eastern travelers alike. Mansa Musa also modernized the great city of Timbuktu, building public schools, universities, and mosques. These include the legendary Djinguereber, the oldest mosque in Timbuktu, built in 1327, which still stands today. It holds one of the world’s oldest universities still in existence.
Unfortunately, emperors who followed would lose control of several smaller states within Mali, causing disunity, revolt, and the erosion of central power. As Mali rose from the fall of Ghana, so Songhai would assert its independent power over the region, emerging as the next great Western African Empire.
Songhai (Also Spelled Songhay) – 1460 CE – 1600 CE
While Mali quickly fell apart due to rampant disunity, a new king reigned. Sonni Ali ruled Songhai from 1464 to 1492. The Songhai kingdom was a small contemporary state of Ghana but later rose to defeat its Malian conquerers. The Songhai controlled the trade on the Niger river at the time of the Mali Empire. Through endless campaigns for expansion, Songhai became the largest of the three great empires of Western Africa –– and larger than all of continental Europe. The Songhai kingdom under Ali had the only naval fleet in West Africa. Ali was a military tyrant, also referred to as Sunni the Merciless, intolerant of any resistance to his rule. He is known for having starved the citizens of renowned trading town of Djenné into submission. These brutal tactics explain how the empire grew so large in such a short amount of time, also suggesting why the empire would last just as briefly. Sonni Ali is also known, however, for his wise economic decisions, reviving the ancient trade routes of empires past. Under his reign, vast commercial cities like Djenné, Gao, and Timbuktu became great centers of learning and scholarship.
King Sonni Ali (as portrayed by the African Heritage Foundation)
Another proficient ruler of the Songhai Empire was Askia the Great. Known for encouraging international trade between Songhai and both Europe and Asia, Askia was also known for his religious tolerance. Like the rulers before him of both Songhai and Mali, Askia the Great was a devout Muslim. He opened religious schools and mosques across the empire. Oral histories relate that he did not force Islam on his people or punish those who chose to believe otherwise. Simultaneously orchestrating a strategy of expansion and consolidation, Askia the Great did not form his domain along traditional Islamic lines. He instead instituted a system of bureaucratic government unparalleled at this time in Western Africa. The Songhai Empire possessed some of Africa’s earliest organized taxation systems and trade regulations, continuing the ancestral trade routes of gold, ivory, and salt. Among Askia’s well-known economic and military accomplishments is his less well-known interest in and influence on the development of the field of astronomy.
By the 17th century satellite kingdoms along the borders began to rebel, and civil wars developed across the empire. The central power of the emperor also fell into constant strife as decedents fought over the right to rule. With the empire splintering apart from within, the neighboring region of Morocco decided to take advantage and launched an invasion. Despite having a tenth of the manpower, the Moroccan muskets far outperformed the traditional spears and arrows of the Songhai military. Moroccan leader Ahmad al-Mansur al-Dhahabi, known as ‘the Golden Conqueror,’ seized the Songhai treasure. He eventually absorbed all of the empire into a Moroccan province, dissolving the last of the Great Western African Empires.
In Conclusion
Like many historic empires, Ghana, Mali, and Songhai, did not survive into modern times. However, they were fundamental in shaping the world we live in today. Many European, Middle Eastern, and Asian strongholds would not have prospered without the trade from these African Empires. These African societies not only influenced the global economy, they also shaped the world's art, culture, and religion through international trade. These empires provided protection and resources to many great African and Muslim scholars, thereby supporting the development of science, philosophy, and other forms of knowledge across the globe.
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Mali: Historical Empire, Africa.” EncyclopediaBritannica. Last modified January 23, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/place/Mali-historical-empire-Africa.
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Songhai: Historical Empire, Africa.”EncyclopediaBritannica. Last modified April 2, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/place/Songhai-empire.
Whistler, Hamza. “Kingdoms of the Grasslands" – West African Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai Chapter 8 (2 of 4) - Ppt Video Online Download.” SlidePlayer. 2015.
The Songhai Empire (also known as the Gao Empire, Songhay Empire
Songhai empire, great trading state of West Africa (flourished 15th–16th century), centred on the middle reaches of the Niger River in what is now central Mali and eventually extending west to the Atlantic coast and east into Niger and Nigeria.
Though the Songhai people are said to have established themselves in the city of Gao about 800 CE, they did not regard it as their capital until the beginning of the 11th century during the reign of the dia (king) Kossoi, a Songhai convert to Islam. Gao so prospered and expanded during the next 300 years that from 1325 to 1375 the rulers of Mali added it to their empire. About 1335 the dia line of rulers gave way to the sunni, or shi, one of whom, Sulaiman-Mar, is said to have won back Gao’s independence.
The century or so of vicissitudes that followed was ended by the accession about 1464 of Sonni ʿAlī, also known as ʿAlī Ber (died 1492). By repulsing a Mossi attack on Timbuktu, the second most important city of Songhai, and by defeating the Dogon and Fulani in the hills of Bandiagara, he had by 1468 rid the empire of any immediate danger. He later evicted the Tuareg from Timbuktu, which they had occupied since 1433, and, after a siege of seven years, took Jenne (Djenné) in 1473 and by 1476 had dominated the lakes region of the middle Niger to the west of Timbuktu. He repulsed a Mossi attack on Walata to the northwest in 1480 and subsequently discouraged raiding by all the inhabitants of the Niger valley’s southern periphery. The civil policy of Sonni ʿAlī was to conciliate the interests of his pagan pastoralist subjects with those of the Muslim city dwellers, on whose wealth and scholarship the Songhai empire depended.
His son Sonni Baru (reigned 1493), who sided completely with the pastoralists, was deposed by the rebel Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr Ture, also known as Muḥammad I Askia (reigned 1493–1528), who welded the central region of the western Sudan into a single empire. He too fought the Mossi of Yatenga, tackled Borgu, in what is now northwestern Nigeria (1505)—albeit with little success—and mounted successful campaigns against the Diara (1512), against the kingdom of Fouta-Toro in Senegal, and to the east against the Hausa states. In order to win control of the principal caravan markets to the north, he ordered his armies to found a colony in and around Agadez in Aïr. He was deposed by his eldest son, Musa, in 1528.
Throughout the dynastic squabbles of successive reigns (Askia Musa, 1528–31; Bengan Korei, also known as Askia Muḥammad II, 1531–37; Askia Ismail, 1537–39; Askia Issihak I, 1539–49), the Muslims in the towns continued to act as middlemen in the profitable gold trade with the states of Akan in central Guinea. The peace and prosperity of Askia Dāwūd’s reign (1549–82) was followed by a raid initiated by SultanAḥmad al-Manṣūr of Morocco on the salt deposits of Taghaza. The situation, which continued to worsen under Muḥammad Bāni (1586–88), culminated disastrously for Songhai under Issihak II (1588–91) when Moroccan forces, using firearms, advanced into the Songhai empire to rout his forces, first at Tondibi and then at Timbuktu and Gao. Retaliatory guerrilla action of the pastoral Songhai failed to restore the empire, the economic and administrative centres of which remained in Moroccan hands.
Mansa Mūsā, whose empire was one of the largest in the world at that time, is reported to have observed that it would take a year to travel from one end of his empire to the other. While this was probably an exaggeration, it is known that during his pilgrimage to Mecca one of his generals, Sagmandia (Sagaman-dir), extended the empire by capturing the Songhai capital of Gao. The Songhai kingdom measured several hundreds of miles across, so that the conquest meant the acquisition of a vast territory. The 14th-century traveller Ibn Baṭṭūṭah noted that it took about four months to travel from the northern borders of the Mali empire to Niani in the south.
Great Mosque, built by Emperor Mūsā I of Mali in 1327, Timbuktu, Mali.
The emperor was so overjoyed by the new acquisition that he decided to delay his return to Niani and to visit Gao instead, there to receive the personal submission of the Songhai king and take the king’s two sons as hostages. At both Gao and Timbuktu, a Songhai city almost rivalling Gao in importance, Mansa Mūsā commissioned Abū Isḥāq al-Sāḥilī, a Granada poet and architect who had travelled with him from Mecca, to build mosques. The Gao mosque was built of burnt bricks, which had not, until then, been used as a material for building in West Africa.
The period of peace and prosperity following Askia Muhammad’s death did not last forever. Political chaos and multiple civil wars rocked the Empire, creating a target for opportunistic enemies to exploit their weakened neighbor.
In 1591, the Moroccans, under Sultan Ahmad I al-Mansur Saadi, invaded Songhai with the intention of conquest. Although the Songhai army consisted of professional soldiers and heavily outnumbered the invading force, the Moroccan army had arquebuses and several cannons, which they used to devastating effect. The Battle of Tondibi was an ignominious defeat for the Songhai Empire, and the Moroccan army proceeded to capture Timbuktu, Jenné, and Gao, causing the complete collapse of the empire.
The Songhai people still exist today and still wear traditional clothing, via Joe Penney / Reuters / The Baltimore Sun
The occupation was not easy for the Moroccans. Constant unrest and rebellion made governing the former Songhai Empire a nightmare, and the Moroccans eventually withdrew several decades later. Nevertheless, the Songhai Empire could not be revived, and it fractured into dozens of smaller kingdoms, some of which tried to carry on the Songhai traditions. These states would eventually fall to the French during the age of colonization, marking a final end to what remained of Songhai.
Camels and camel trains were, and still are, vital to trade across the Sahara Desert, via AP Photo/Brennan Linsley/Quartz
The Empire of Songhai was a powerful state in Africa that was hugely successful through various means, but notably through trade and diplomacy. It rose in power and collapsed spectacularly, much the same as empires have done all over the world. What is important about the Songhai Empire is that it challenges Western beliefs about the history of Africa and the capabilities of the African people.
The Mali Empire (1240-1645) of West Africa was founded by Sundiata Keita (r. 1230-1255) following his victory over the kingdom of Sosso (c. 1180-1235). Sundiata's centralised government, diplomacy and well-trained army permitted a massive military expansion which would pave the way for a flourishing of the Mali Empire, making it the largest yet seen in Africa.
The reign of Mansa Musa I (1312-1337) saw the empire reach new heights in terms of territory controlled, cultural florescence, and the staggering wealth brought through Mali's control of regional trade routes. Acting as a middle-trader between North Africa via the Sahara desert and the Niger River to the south, Mali exploited the traffic in gold, salt, copper, ivory, and slaves that crisscrossed West Africa. Muslim merchants were attracted to all this commercial activity, and they converted Mali rulers who in turn spread Islam via such noted centres of learning as Timbuktu. In contrast to cities like Niani (the capital), Djenne, and Gao, most of the rural Mali population remained farmers who clung to their traditional animist beliefs. The Mali Empire collapsed in the 1460s following civil wars, the opening up of trade routes elsewhere, and the rise of the neighbouring Songhai Empire, but it did continue to control a small part of the western empire into the 17th century.
West Africa & the Sudan Region
The Sudan region of West Africa where the Mali Empire would develop had been inhabited since the Neolithic period as evidenced by Iron Age tumuli, megaliths, and remains of abandoned villages. The Niger River regularly flooded parts of this dry grassland and savannah, which provided fertile land for agriculture beginning at least 3,500 years ago, an endeavour greatly helped by the region's adequate annual rainfall. Cereals such as red-skinned African rice and millet were grown with success, as were pulses, tuber and root crops, oil and fibre plants, and fruits. Fishing and cattle herding were other important sources of food, while local deposits of copper were exploited and used for trade. Similarly, gold was probably locally mined or panned and then traded, but concrete evidence from this period is lacking.
WHEN THE SOSSO KING SUMANGURU IMPOSED TRADE RESTRICTIONS ON THE MALI REGION, THE NATIVE MALINKE TRIBE ROSE IN REBELLION.
The Ghana Empire (6th to 13th century) was the first major political power in West Africa to create an empire based on military might and the wealth gained from regional trade. Not geographically connected to modern-day Ghana but located to the northwest, the empire was in serious decline by the end of the 12th century. Beset by civil wars, rebellions of subjugated chiefdoms, and poor harvests, the empire began to disintegrate with a large part of its territory taken over by the kingdom of Sosso (aka Susu). When the Sosso king Sumanguru (aka Sumaoro Kante, r. from c. 1200), imposed trade restrictions on the Mali region, the native Malinke (Mandingo) tribe rose in rebellion.
Sundiata Keita & Government
Sundiata Keita (aka Sunjaata or Sundjata, r. 1230-1255) was a Malinke prince, whose name means 'lion prince', and he waged war against the kingdom of Sosso from the 1230s. Sundiata formed a powerful alliance of other disgruntled chiefs tired of Sumanguru's harsh rule and defeated the Sosso in a decisive battle at Krina (aka Kirina) in 1235. In 1240 Sundiata captured the old Ghana capital. Forming a centralised government of tribal leaders and a number of influential Arab merchants, this assembly (gbara) declared Sundiata the supreme monarch and gave him such honorary titles as MariDiata (Lord Lion). The name Sundiata gave to his empire, Africa's largest up to that point, was Mali, meaning 'the place where the king lives'. It was also decreed that all future kings would be selected from the Keita clan, although the title was not necessarily given to the eldest son of a ruler, which sometimes led to fierce disputes among candidates.
The Mansa, or king, would be assisted by an assembly of elders and local chiefs throughout the Mali Empire's history, with audiences held in the royal palace or under a large tree. The king was also the supreme source of justice, but he did make use of legal advisors. In addition, the king was helped by a number of key ministers such as the chief of the army and master of the granaries (later treasury), as well as other officials like the master of ceremonies and leader of the royal orchestra. Nevertheless, the Mansa acted as a supreme monarch and monopolised key trade goods, for example, only he was permitted to possess gold nuggets, traders had to make do with gold dust. The king had certain mystical qualities attributed to him, and all slaves were exclusively loyal to him. No person had the right to be in the king's presence when he ate, for example, and all visitors before him had to be barefoot and bow down and pour dust over their heads. Such was this cult of leadership and the extreme centralisation of government in a single figure that the fortunes of the empire rose and fell depending on the talents or lack of them possessed by a particular king.
MALI HAD A TRIPLE INCOME: TAXES ON TRADE, GOODS WERE BOUGHT & SOLD ON AT MUCH HIGHER PRICES, & IT HAD ITS OWN NATURAL RESOURCES.
These problems of governance were yet to come, though, and Sundiata would continue to expand his territory to include the old kingdoms of Ghana, Walata, Tadmekka, and Songhai. Niani, now no longer in existence but probably located on a plain near the all-year-round navigable Sankarani River, was selected as the empire's capital. It was protected by mountains and was close to the two key sources of trade goods: forests and waterways.
Tribute was acquired from conquered chiefdoms, although many local chiefs were permitted to continue to rule their own people but with a Mali-appointed governor to assist them, often backed by a garrison. Additional guarantees of loyalty included taking royal hostages and keeping them at the capital. This federation prospered, developing over the next century into one of Africa's richest ever empires whose wealth would astound both Europe and Arabia. Further, and perhaps more important for the ordinary people of Mali, foreign visitors noted the high degree of justice they saw, the safety with which one could travel from place to place, and the abundance of food in all villages.
Trade & Timbuktu
Like its political predecessors, the Mali Empire prospered thanks to trade and its prime location, situated between the rain forests of southern West Africa and the powerful Muslim caliphates of North Africa. The Niger River provided ready access to Africa's interior and Atlantic coast, while the Berber-controlled camel caravans that crossed the Sahara desert ensured valuable commodities came from the north. The Mali rulers had a triple income: they taxed the passage of trade goods, bought goods and sold them on at much higher prices, and had access to their own valuable natural resources. Significantly, the Mali Empire controlled the rich gold-bearing regions of Galam, Bambuk, and Bure. One of the main trade exchanges was gold dust for salt from the Sahara. Gold was in particular demand from European powers like Castille in Spain and Venice and Genoa in Italy, where coinage was now being minted in the precious metal.
Timbuktu, founded c. 1100 by the nomadic Tuaregs, was a semi-independent trade port which had the double advantage of being on the Niger River bend and the starting point for the trans-Saharan caravans. The city would be monopolised and then taken over by the Mali kings who made it into one of the most important and most cosmopolitan trade centres in Africa. Through Timbuktu there passed such lucrative goods as ivory, textiles, horses (important for military use), glassware, weapons, sugar, kola nuts (a mild stimulant), cereals (e.g. sorghum and millet), spices, stone beads, craft products, and slaves. Goods were bartered for or paid using an agreed upon commodity such as copper or gold ingots, set quantities of salt or ivory, or even cowry shells (which came from Persia).
Mansa Musa I
After a string of seemingly lacklustre rulers, the Mali Empire enjoyed its second golden era during the reign of Mansa Musa I in the first half of the 13th century. With an army numbering around 100,000 men, including an armoured cavalry corps of 10,000 horses, and with the talented general Saran Mandian, Mansa Musa was able to maintain and extend Mali's empire, doubling its territory. He controlled lands up to the Gambia and lower Senegal in the west; in the north, tribes were subdued along the whole length of the Western Sahara border region; in the east, control spread up to Gao on the Niger River and, to the south, the Bure region and the forests of what became known as the Gold Coast came under Mali oversight. The Mali Empire thus came to include many different religious, ethnic, and linguistic groups.
To govern these diverse peoples, Mansa Musa divided his empire into provinces with each one ruled by a governor (farba) appointed personally by him and responsible for local taxes, justice, and settling tribal disputes. The administration was further improved with greater records kept and sent to the centralised government offices at Niani. With more tribute from more conquered chiefs, more trade routes under Mali control, and even more natural resources to exploit, Mansa Musa and the Mali elite became immensely rich. When the Mali king visited Cairo in 1324, he spent or simply gave away so much gold that the price of bullion crashed by 20%. Such riches set off a never-ending round of rumours that Mali was a kingdom paved with gold. In Spain c. 1375, a mapmaker was inspired to create Europe's first detailed map of West Africa, part of the Catalan Atlas. The map has Mansa Musa wearing an impressive gold crown and triumphantly brandishing a huge lump of gold in his hand. European explorers would spend the next five centuries trying to locate the source of this gold and the fabled trading city of Timbuktu.
Islam spread through parts of West Africa via the Arab merchants who traded there. Noted Muslim travellers and chroniclers like Ibn Battuta (1304 - c. 1369) and Ibn Khaldin (1332-1406) recorded that even Mali's first ruler Sundiata converted to Islam. However, the Malinke oral tradition, which was kept up over the generations by specialised bards (griots), presents a different story. Although recognising Islam was present in Mali long before Sundiata's reign, the oral tradition maintains that the first ruler of the Mali Empire did not reject the indigenous animist religion. We do know that Sundiata's son, Mansa Uli (aka Mansa Wali or Yerelenku), went on a pilgrimage to Mecca in the 1260s or 1270s, and this would be a continuing trend amongst many of Mali's rulers.
Islam in West Africa really took off, though, from the reign of Mansa Musa I. He famously went to Mecca and, impressed with what he saw on his travels, Mansa Musa brought back home Muslim architects, scholars, and books. Mosques were built such as Timbuktu's 'Great mosque' (aka Djinguereber or Jingereber), and Koranic schools and universities were established which quickly gained an international reputation. Studies were actually much wider than religion and included history, geography, astronomy, and medicine. Great libraries were built up with tens of thousands of books and manuscripts, many of which survive today.
As more people were converted, so more Muslim clerics were attracted from abroad and the religion was spread further across West Africa. Many native converts studied in such places as Fez, Morocco, and became great scholars, missionaries, and even saints, and so Islam came to be seen no longer as a foreign religion but a black African one. Despite the spread of Islam, it is also true that ancient indigenous animist beliefs continued to be practised, especially in rural communities, as noted by travellers like Ibn Battuta who visited Mali c. 1352. In addition, Islamic studies were conducted in Arabic not native languages, and this further impeded its popularity outside the educated clerical class of towns and cities. Even the Islam that did take hold in Mali was a particular variation of that practised in the Arab world, perhaps because Mali rulers could not afford to completely dismiss the indigenous religious practices and beliefs that the majority of their people clung on to.
The buildings of the Mali Empire, some of which like the Sankore mosque in Timbuktu still stand, are one of the most recognisable features of the region and have become international symbols of Africa's rich pre-colonial history. Mali architects had a distinct disadvantage because of the rarity of stone in the region, and for this reason, buildings were typically constructed using beaten earth (banco) reinforced with wood which often sticks out in beams from the exterior surfaces. Despite the limited materials, the mosques, in particular, are still imposing multi-storied structures with towers, huge wooden doors, and tiered minarets. Other large buildings included warehouses (fondacs) which were used to store goods before they were transported elsewhere and which had up to 40 apartments for merchants to live in. Other examples of the Mali baked-mud buildings which impress today, although many are early 20th-century reconstructions, include the huge mosques at Mopti and Djenne.
On a smaller scale, excavations at Niani have revealed the remains of houses and their stone foundations, confirming later sources that the richer members of society built stone houses. Arab chroniclers describe another type of domestic building, which was constructed using beaten earth bricks and with ceilings made of wooden beams and reeds, the whole formed into a conical roof. Flooring was made using earth mixed with sand.
We have already noted that the Malinke had a rich tradition of recounting legends and community histories orally by specialised story-tellers know as griots. These stories, passed down from generation to generation (and continuing today), were often accompanied by music. During the Mali Empire, there were even songs reserved for certain people who alone had the right to have them sung in their honour, this was especially so for renowned warriors and hunters. Music was also an important part of religious festivals when masked dancers performed.
Pottery and sculpture were produced, as they had been at noted centres like Djenne since the 9th century. Sculptures are generally up to 50 cm tall and made of solid pottery but sometimes with a reinforcing iron rod interior. Wood and brass were other popular materials for sculpture and, to a lesser degree, stone. Decoration is typically incised, painted, or achieved by adding three-dimensional pieces. Subjects include human figures, especially bearded warriors riding a horse but also many kneeling or crouching figures with upturned faces. Figures are often realistic portrayals of ordinary people, sometimes showing symptoms of tropical diseases. Although it is rare for artworks of this period to come with a certain provenance obtained from professionally excavated sites, the sculptures are so numerous that it seems likely many were used as everyday decorative objects as well as for ritual or burial purposes.
Decline
The Mali Empire was in decline by the 15th century. The ill-defined rules for royal succession often led to civil wars as brothers and uncles fought each other for the throne. Then, as trade routes opened up elsewhere, several rival kingdoms developed to the west, notably the Songhai. European ships, especially those belonging to the Portuguese, were now regularly sailing down the west coast of Africa and so the Saharan caravans faced stiff competition as the most efficient means to transport goods from West Africa to the Mediterranean. There were attacks on Mali by the Tuareg in 1433 and by the Mossi people, who at that time controlled the lands south of the Niger River. Around 1468, King Sunni Ali of the Songhai Empire (r. 1464-1492) conquered the rump of the Mali Empire which was now reduced to controlling a small western pocket of its once great territory. What remained of the Mali Empire would be absorbed into the Moroccan Empire in the mid-17th century.
Principal Kingdoms and Peoples of Western Africa 11th-16th century
Songhai Empire: The Rise & Fall of Africa’s Biggest Empire
The Songhai Empire was one of Africa's most powerful and wealthy states, influencing and shaping the West African world during the medieval era.
In the 15th and 16th centuries in West Africa, the dominant power was the Songhai Empire. Covering an area of around 310,000 square miles (800,000 kilometers2), the Songhai Empire, at its height, was about twice the size of California.
Centered around the Niger River, the Songhai Empire eclipsed the Mali Empire, which had been the regional power before. Songhai rose to great wealth and power and, for almost two centuries, controlled West Africa politically and economically.
Like many empires before and after, Songhai fell prey to hubris. Greed and the political machinations of human beings were the reasons for its downfall.
This is the story of one of Africa’s greatest empires.
Prelude to an Empire
The location of Gao (which would evolve to become the Songhai Empire) and the Ghana Empire around 1000 CE in West Africa overlaid onto modern borders, image created by the author with mapchart.net and Paint
Receiving its name from the Songhai people who lived in a small area on the eastern banks of the Niger River, the Songhai Kingdom was born. Before the 10th century, the Songhai had already amalgamated several other peoples into their nation, with each group of people bringing their own special skills that would help the Songhai achieve new heights of success.
The Sorko people would bring with them knowledge of boatbuilding, while the Gao people specialized in hunting river animals such as hippopotami and crocodiles. The Do people were expert farmers and grew crops along the banks of the river. All these people were subjugated under Songhai rule when the Songhai people arrived on their horses. Through the centuries, all these people would coalesce into a single ethnolinguistic group.
All this happened around the time when the Ghana Empire was at its height to the west. Much trade with this Empire and the Songhai was done through the Songhai town of Gao, which became the center of the small Songhai Kingdom, and was named as the capital under the reign of Dia Kossoi. Eventually, Gao would grow to become a powerful trade hub, bringing extraordinary wealth to the Songhai people. Trade goods included dates, gold, ivory, kola nuts, leather, salt, and enslaved people.
Map of the Mali Empire, showing the subjugated Kingdom of Gao, via World Atlas
The earliest history is descended from myth and legend. With an early tradition of history being passed down orally, it is difficult to determine what is true and what isn’t. A text from 1655 states that the first rulers were the Za dynasty, and the first Za ruler, Za Alayaman, came from Yemen and made his home in the town of Kukiya.
Knowledge of the second dynasty is just as enigmatic. Ancient tombstones in a cemetery near the village of Saney tell of these rulers having the title of Zuwa, but beyond that, not much is known of their rule.
Around 1300, the prosperity of Gao attracted the unwanted attention of the neighboring Mali Empire, which eclipsed the Ghana Empire and conquered Gao and the Songhai people, adding Gao to their expanding empire. Gao remained a part of the Mali Empire until around 1430. Before that, however, internal strife within the Mali Empire made it difficult to maintain control of all its provinces. Gao found itself being able to assert more independence as the decades passed.
Around 1360, an age of strife began in the Mali Empire. Mansa (ruler) Sulayman died, leaving a dispute over who should inherit the empire. The following Mansa, Mansa/Mari Jata II, drove the Empire into financial ruin. Mansa Musa II succeeded him and was left with an Empire crumbling into rebellion. He succeeded in quelling a Tuareg rebellion but was unable to stop the Kingdom of Gao from breaking away and re-asserting its independence in 1375.
The Rise of Songhai
Askia the Great as imagined in Civilization 5, published and developed by Firaxis/Aspyr/2K; via Civilization Wiki
Not only did Gao gain independence, but it began to assert itself militarily. Thus began the Sonni dynasty. Under Sonni Sulayman Dama, Gao began to seek conquest over Malian territory. Thus began the transition from the Kingdom of Gao into the Songhai Empire. In the 1460s and the 1470s, the Songhai Empire expanded rapidly, conquering neighboring territories and swallowing up what was left of the crumbling Mali Empire. This was done under the rule of Sonni Ali, who succeeded Sonni Sulayman Dama.
After defending against the Mossi Kingdoms to the south and conquering the Dogon people to the north, Sonni Ali annexed Timbuktu into the Songhai Empire by taking it from the Tuaregs, who had taken it from Mali. He then besieged the city of Jenné and, after a seven-year siege, managed to starve the city into submission, annexing it in 1473. Sonni Ali is believed to have ruled as a brutal tyrant, especially over the people of Timbuktu, until his death in 1492. He was succeeded by his son, Sonni Baru, whose reign was cut short shortly thereafter, and the throne was seized by Askia Muhammad I, who became known as Askia the Great.
Rulers of Songhai, via Coolaboo
Under the rule of Askia Muhammad, the military was reformed into a full-time professional army, and he effectively reorganized the structure of the empire. He was a devout Muslim who focused on opening mosques throughout the empire and recruiting Muslim scholars. Despite his religious zeal, he did not force religion on his subjects. He waged a Jihad against the Mossi Kingdoms to the south, but when he defeated them, he did not force them to convert to Islam. During his rule, he also completed the Hajj – the pilgrimage to Mecca.
The Songhai Empire at its height at the beginning of the 16th century under the rule of Askia the Great, via Wikimedia Commons
Askia Muhammad was a military leader but was also a scholar. He was interested in astronomy, built observatories in his Empire, and hired astronomers. Under his rule, schools were built throughout the empire, and Sankore University in Timbuktu was expanded. He fostered trade and relations with the rest of the Muslim world, and many skilled workers emigrated from Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, and Muslim Spain to work in Songhai. These nations also exchanged ambassadors with Songhai, which empowered Askia Muhammad’s diplomatic weight.
Trade also flourished during this time. Canals were built, and trade networks expanded. The salt mines of Taghaza were brought under the control of the Songhai Empire, which significantly increased economic output. Agricultural methods were improved, and a system of weights and measures was introduced to facilitate trade.
The Grand Mosque in Djenné, via The Travel Blog
The Niger River was essential for this trade, and much of the river was under the direct control of the Songhai Empire. Trade was done via camel trains in the north and across the Sahara. The industry was centered around a clan system, and one’s occupation was determined by which clan they were born into. Thus, each clan had a monopoly on its own industry and could influence the affairs in much the same way as guilds or unions.
At the bottom end of the social ladder were many thousands of enslaved people. Compared to other West African empires, Songhai relied heavily on their labor. Many of them were prisoners taken in battle, and most enslaved people worked in the agricultural industry, tilling the fields.
Above them were freemen, merchants, and traders. Depending on their expertise, immigrants could fall into any of these categories, and some even became enslaved.
The caste at the top were the noblemen and the descendants of the original Songhai people. Generally, the upper classes were expected to be Muslims, while the lower classes were often permitted to engage in their traditional religions.
Askia Muhammad I died in 1528, and the Songhai Empire continued to prosper under a succession of emperors over the next few decades.
