African Kingdoms

Mali Empire / Manding / Manden Kurufa (Mandingo State) (Africa)
AD 1235 - 1645

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The Mandingo ethnic group in today's Sierra Leone in Africa form a branch of the West African Mandinka people. The Mandingo first settled in the Sierra Leone area after migrating from what is now Guinea to its immediate north around 1250-1350. They came as farmers, traders, and Islamic clerics during the vigorous early century of the Mali empire.

That medieval Islamic West African empire was itself founded by a Mandingo group, one which had already created a small but successful clan state by the name of Kangaba. The eleventh century Kangaba state was located in what is now the south-western corner of modern Mali, while the empire's founder was Sundiata Keita, otherwise known as Mari Jata I.

At its height it stretched from the West African coast at Mauritania, bordering on the territory of the Murabits and Amazigh nomads, and to Timbuktu and Gao on the River Niger, both later part of the neighbouring Songhai empire. Various small Mossi city states sat between that and the later Akan-created Asante kingdom at Mali's south-eastern corner.

Founded out of the collapse of the previously-dominant Old Ghana empire, this empire became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially that of Mansa Musa I. He was also named in later French sources as the 'emperor of Mandingo', although this name refers to a people rather than a territory. His empire, and that of his equally powerful predecessors and successors, had many profound cultural influences on West Africa, allowing the spread of its language, laws, and customs along the Niger.

The empire was also known as Manden Kurufa, or Manding, the latter simply being a shortening of the Mandingo group name of those people who headed the empire. Unfortunately there exists very little documentation regarding the empire, other than a few Arabic sources. Instead much is remembered through oral history.

Mali emperors (or mansa) were almost all of the Keita dynasty, tracing their lineage back to Bilal, Muhammad's faithful muezzin (the caller to prayers). Oral chroniclers preserved a list of each Keita ruler stretching from Lawalo (supposedly one of Bilal's seven sons who settled in Mali) to Maghan Kon Fatta (the father of Sundiata Keita, the empire's founder), although the details may be fairly dubious in places.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from the John De Cleene Archive, from History of West Africa, J F Ade Ajayi & Michael Crowder (Longman, 1985), from Encyclopaedia Britannica (Eleventh Edition, Cambridge (England), 1910), from African States and Rulers, John Stewart (McFarland, 2005), from Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali, Djibril Tamsir Niane, (Longmans, 1965), from The New Atlas of African History, G S P Freeman-Grenville (Rex Collins, London, 1991), from Times Atlas of World History (Maplewood, 1979), from The Telltale Scribes of Timbuktu, Peter Gwin (National Geographic), from the Tarikh al-Fattash and Tarikh al-Sudan (seventeenth century Timbuktu chronicles which end in 1599 and 1656 respectively), from Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sadi's Tarikh al-Sudan down to 1613 and other contemporary documents, John O Hunwick (2003), and from External Links: Encyclopaedia Britannica, and BBC Country Profiles, and Mali (Flags of the World), and Mali (Rulers.org), and Nyaani Mansa Mamudu and the End of the Malian Empire, Yves Person (Publications of the French Society of the History of Overseasers, 1981, and available via Persée (in French)).)

1235 - 1255

Half-bro of Danagaram Tumo of Kangaba. Founded empire.

1235

Mari Jata I founds the Mali empire by taking the Kangaba clan state of his relatively hostile half-brother, Danagaram Tumo, and turning it into a major regional power. He is relatively unknown however, and his largely traditional story comes with a host of name variations, including Sondjata, Sundjata, and Sundiata, with perhaps the last of those being the most popular.

One group of Mandinka, the Kangaba, founded the great empire of Mali with a dynasty which continued virtually uninterrupted for thirteen centuries, well after the empire fell

1237

Old Ghana has become so weakened that, following a short period of domination by the Sosso people, possibly during the reign of Diara Kante, it effectively falls to Mali in 1237 (sometimes given as 1240 and probably less of a fall and more of an absorption). Akan people are now migrating freely into former Old Ghana territory, if they had not already been doing so since about 700.

1255 - 1270

Son. Possibly extended the empire eastwards.

c.1260 - 1275

Under Uli, Mali occupies the better established and far more ancient Songhai empire. Around 1275 it seems that a Mali official flees to Gao where he establishes his own Sunni dynasty over Songhai. Mali's kings from Uli onwards continuously attack Gao to ensure that the new dynasty continues to pay tribute.

Akan people - photographed here around the beginning of the twentieth century - migrated into regions of modern Ghana from around the eleventh century AD, but probably in smaller family groups rather than as a single mass movement of people

1270 - 1274

Brother (adopted).

1274

Brother. Apparently insane. Killed by his people.

1274 - 1285

Grandson of Sundiata.

1285

Following the death of Sundiata Keita there has been a power struggle between his sons over who will become emperor. The former slave general, Sakura, takes control in 1285 (perhaps through a palace coup) to become a successful restorer of the empire.

Those imperial borders are expanded under Sakura, especially along the River Gambia and, potentially, the borders of Songhai are tested under its new leader, Sunni Ali Kolon, albeit with no firm outcome. The emperor is killed during an attack on his caravan by bandits.

The Mandinka and other peoples of the Manden region of south-western Mali gather every seven years to celebrate when a new thatch roof is installed in top of the kamablon (or 'House of Speech') in the village of Kangaba which was built in 1653

1285 - 1300

Born a slave. Later freed. Former general for Sundiata. Killed.

1300 - 1305

Son of Uli.

1305 - 1310

Son.

1310 - 1312

Grandson of Sundiata.

1312 - 1337

Great-nephew of Sundiata Keita.

1324 - 1325

Mansa Musa makes the pilgrimage to Mecca with a spectacular caravan. His riches are vast, allowing him to lavish gold and other generosities along the journey and in Mecca.

Upon his return in 1325, while passing through the desert, he learns that one of his generals, Sangamandia, has conquered the Songhai capital of Gao, vastly expanding Mali territory so that it reaches from Gao to the Atlantic. Mansa Musa visited Gao on the way, receiving the submission of the Songhai king. By 1330 the town of Timbuktu forms the empire's capital.

Mecca and the Great Mosque are shown here, also illustrating the long queues of pilgrims entering it in a scene which is repeated every year, even in the modern age

1337 - 1341

Son. A short reign of four years.

1341 - 1360

Uncle. The last ruler of the golden age.

1360

Son. Reigned for 9 months only.

1360 - 1374

Son of Magha. Seized power during a brief civil war.

1374 - 1387

Son. Dominated by the vizier, Mari Djata.

1375

Having turned away from his father's more tyrannical practices, Musa II finds himself being sidelined by a powerful vizier named Mari Djata. During this period the eastern Songhai provinces which are centred around Gao began to pull away from the empire.

A war against the Berbers for control of Gao devastates the city but, when Mari Djata's troops lay siege to a location which is recorded as Takedda or Tadmekka, they are able to enforce a suitable peace agreement.

Excavations which were undertaken within and near the modern city of Gao in Mali, at the sites of Gao Ancien and Gao Saney during the 1990s and early 2000s, uncovered the remains of two large brick-built ancient structures and several residential structures

1387 - 1388

Brother. Fled or assassinated. Founded Hamana Keita branch.

1388 - 1390

Married to the mother of Musa II. Killed by Mahmud.

1390 - 1404/15

'Descendant of Qu'. Fate unknown.

1404 - c.1440

The end of Mahmud's reign is highly uncertain. It has sometimes been placed at 1404, but this is when the well-known Tunisian historian dies, Ibn Khaldun, having recorded the emperor's seizing of the throne to fully restore the southern Keita branch of the ruling family.

Mahmud's survival at this time cannot be certain as it is not known whether Ibn Khaldun even updates his work in his own later years. The chronicles of Timbuktu do not predate the seventeenth century and therefore they record events at least a century and-a-half later.

1430 - 1433

The states of the Mossi group to the south-east are now forming in the Niger bend. Their raids towards the fertile valley of the great river which hitherto have been uncertain and isolated begin to become frequent and systematic, starting with an attack on Benqa, near Lake Debo.

The Mossi people have a long and complex history which dates back to the eleventh century when they established several powerful kingdoms in the region, the most notable of which was the Mossi state, founded by the warrior princess, Yennenga

The beginnings of Mossi pressure coincides roughly with additional pressure from the north. The Tuareg in 1433 seize Walata and Timbuktu, thereby cutting off Mali from Saharan trade other than via the state of Diara (in the Nioro region).

fl c.1440

Relationship unknown. At war with the Fula.

fl c.1460

Son or brother.

1468

The empire is in decline, and former subjects break away. The Songhai empire occupies Timbuktu, an important trading post on the trans-Saharan trading route and more recently the Mali empire's capital. Songhai also gains dominance in the gold trade, further weakening Mali.

fl c.1480

Son. Ruling a reduced Mali state.

1483

Mossi group attacks have continued until now, when a great defeat is inflicted upon them by Sunni Ali Ber of the Songhai. With the Songhai already long since ceding control the upper river, the state of Diara is now best placed to control trans-Saharan trade.

Mali retains great core strength, but its domain is now limited to the upper Niger while Songhai attacks and takes Wagadu, the heart of former Old Ghana.

The ruins of Koumbi Saleh have been excavated in modern times but, although the city was clearly at its height during the period in which Old Ghana reached its greatest extent, it cannot categorically be confirmed as the site of the empire's capital

1499 - 1502

Under the leadership of a vigorous new dynasty, the Songhai in 1499-1500 occupy Bagana, another Old Ghana location. Not without some difficulty, they expel Mali's governor of Zalen in 1501-1502. Mali therefore loses its last remaining niche in the Sahara, although it perhaps still holds suzerainty over Fuuta-Tooro.

1508 - 1509

The Songhai have now extended within reach of upper Senegal and Mali's Bambugu gold mines, but this region is too peripheral for them to further push their offensive, although they undoubtedly raid the Soninke country of Galam in 1508 or 1509 (Gadiygu, in Bakel country).

The common threat of the Fulani and the Mossi, as well as the eastwards orientation of Songhai imperialism serves to defuse the conflict between Songhai and Mail. Cut off from the Saharan ports, Mali no longer hinders Songhai from dominating the vital Saharan trade routes.

The Tomb of Askia - built at the end of the fifteenth century AD - is in Gao, Mali, and is believed to be the burial place of Askia Mohammad I, one of the Songhai empire's greatest rulers

From 1498, Songhai's Askiya Mohammed has largely concentrated his forces against the Mossi and, from 1513 he does the same against the Hausa countries (Katsina, Kebi, and Aïr). The struggle against the Denyanké Fulani must do the rest so that, in 1507 or 1508, peace is concluded between Songhai and Mali.

The latter retains the middle Niger region which includes, from north to south, the Sibiridugu, the Kala between the Niger and Bani, and the Bendugu on the right bank of the Bani.

fl c.1510s

One or more unknown mansas?

fl c.1540

Grandson of Mahmud II. Ruling a reduced Mali state.

1542 - 1558

The new Songhai ruler, Askia Ishaq I, resumes the offensive against Mali in 1542 by attacking Ta'aba in Bendugu. This is followed up with a surprise raid in 1545-1546 on the Mali capital of Mansa, which is sacked but not occupied.

The great Askia Daoud continues this pressure and is able to impose peace following another victory in 1558, under which terms he also claims in marriage a daughter of Mali's mansa. By now Mali's border has been pushed as far back as Sansanding (the domain of Kala Cha'a, resident in Kokri), although Mali appears to be showing signs of recovery.

The Battle of Tondibi in 1591 was a disaster for the already-weakened Songhai empire as its troops and defences were totally unprepared to face gunpowder weapons which included small canon

1571 - 1591

Both in 1571-1572 and 1590-1591 the Songhai raid Bendugu and Kala, which appear to have returned to Mali's orbit and now harbour Askia political adversaries. While Mali's external relations are now very poor and the empire is barely entering the historical record, evidence suggests that it survives still, and may even be experiencing a resurgence in power.

fl c.1560s

One or more unknown mansas?

fl c.1590

Ruling a greatly reduced Mali state.

1591 - 1599

A Moroccan invasion hastens the decline of the Songhai empire. Its forces are routed at the Battle of Tondibi by Saadi gunpowder weapons despite vastly superior Songhai numbers. Gao, Timbuktu, and Jenne (Djenné), are sacked and the Songhai are destroyed as a regional power.

The Djemaa el-Fna market place in Marrakech would have been as familiar to the Saadi sultans who seized the city in 1541 as it is to tourists today - although the square actually was used for executions, shortly after the city was founded in AD 1070

Saadi Moroccans take control of the also-weakened Mali remnants in 1599 when Mahmud's attempt to retake Jenne fails in the face of Moroccan firepower and the betrayal of some of his subjects.

The bulk of the Songhai themselves retreat to the Dendi region of what is now Niger where they are able to reform a smaller kingdom. One member of the Songhai ruling dynasty, Sulayman, remains in the ancient town of Timbuktu as its Saadi puppet ruler, managing to spawn a vassal dynasty of his own there.

The Mali remnants break up into a series of tribes after Mahmud retreats to a fortress on the Sorokuru mountain to the north of Narena. He divides responsibility for governing the remaining Mali territory between Kita and Bamako and Siguiri. Each are given to his three sons, who subsequently create their own tribal states.

With the collapse of the Songhai empire following the Moroccan invasion of 1591, the Dendi remnant of the empire attempted to free the city of Jenne (here showing the city's mosque) from Saadi rule, but with the result that Jenne became independent of both sides

fl c.1610s

Son. In Kita. Self-proclaimed mansa in the imperial fashion.

1630 - 1645

Shortly after the refounded Songhai empire has fallen to the Moroccans, the remnants of Mandinka resistance also collapse in favour of the Bamana of Jenne (Jenne formerly being a city within the Songhai empire which had been sacked in 1591). This paves the way for the formation of the Segou empire.

The core Mail territory in the nineteenth century becomes part of the brief Tukulor empire which is created under Omar al-Hajj, before it is subsumed into the European colonial holding of French Sudan.