Gao Empire

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Songhai Empire in its presumed extent in the early 16th century

The empire of Gao or Kawkaw , also Gaoreich , arose in pre-Islamic times on the Niger Arch. According to the earliest Arab geographers, it was more powerful than Ghana in the west and Kanem in the east. Contrary to expert opinion the medieval Gaoreich was already dominated by the Songhai and should therefore also as an early Songhai Empire are called.

Early power development

Arab geographers have been reporting on the great Kawkaw empire since the 9th century , which they locate east of the Ghana empire . Al-Yaqubi describes Kawkaw in 873 AD as the largest and most powerful empire in West Africa. According to al-Muhallabi, the king had a treasure that consisted mainly of salt, and according to al-Bakri , a king ruled there who was named or titled Qanda .

Trade and Early Islamization

The most important reason for the emergence of the empire of Gao was the favorable geographic location of the city on the eastern Niger arc far north of the agricultural area of ​​the Sahel . Fabrics, horses, weapons, glass and pearls were imported from North Africa, and salt was also imported from the Sahara . Slaves and gold were exported . The levying of tariffs, especially on the valuable salt of the Sahara, was in favor of the king. Al-Muhallabi mentions around 985 AD that the ruler of Gao was already a Muslim at that time. The lively trade relations with Tahert in the Maghreb may have led to the early introduction of heterodox Ibadi Islam.

Origin of the Za dynasty

Traditional story: Movement of the Za from Kukiya to Gao

According to al-Sa'di in his chronicle Tarikh al-Sudan from 1655, the Za dynasty was founded by a refugee from Yemen in Kukiya about 150 km down the Niger from Gao. Za-Kosoi, the 15th ruler of this dynasty, converted to Islam in 1009/10 AD. This reading of the story continues to be represented in many accounts of Songhay's history. According to the Tarikh-el-Fettach , the refugee from Yemen settled directly in Gao and not in Kukiya. In accordance with the reports of Arab geographers, one can therefore conclude that a state was founded on the eastern arch of the Niger.

Foundation of the Zaghe dynasty around 1087

In the second half of the 11th century, a new dynasty came to power in Gao. She left the marble steles of Gao-Saney , on which the highly vaunted names of the Prophet and the first two caliphs with dates of death from the beginning of the 12th century are recorded: Muhammad ibn Abd Allah (st. 1100), Umar ibn al-Khattab (st . 1110), Uthman ibn al-Quhafa (st. 1120). This makes it clear that the kings of the Zaghe saw their mission in the spread of Islam in sub-Saharan Africa and, in this respect, placed themselves on a par with the founders of the Arab-Islamic world empire. The inscriptions on the stelae also provide the local name Yama ibn Kima for the third king, which can be found in the list of Za kings in the Chronicles of Timbuktu in 18th position. He is therefore identical to the third successor to the first Muslim king of the Za. The synchronism shows that the Za, as Jean Sauvaget had already suspected, are actually to be equated with the Zaghe kings of the steles. Accordingly, the Islamization of the dynasty did not take place around 1009/10, as the Ta'rikh al-Sudan states, but around 1087. The Zaghe kings must have been connected to the Almoravids , who were commissioned to manufacture the marble stelae in Spanish Almería and the subsequent creation of the steles is most likely. In addition, the discovery of the steles in the merchant town of Gao-Saney and not in the royal city of Gao itself indicates that the new rulers had a foreign origin.

The Za / Zaghe kings of Gao-Saney and the Almoravids

The Zaghe obviously viewed themselves as black African followers of the world historical task of the first Arab rulers of Islam. Their origin, stated by Tarikh al-Sudan , from Kukiya southwest of Gao, which is not confirmed by Tarikh al-Fattash , is incompatible with their close ties to the Almoravids . Rather, a combination of the introduced under pressure from the Almoravids 1,076 Sunni - Islam in Ghana is expected. It can be assumed that the king of Ghana Yama ibn Kima had to withdraw to Gao after the death of the Almoravid leader Abu Bakr ibn Umar in front of religious zealots. Here he continued to enjoy the protection of the Massufa of Tadmekka , a subgroup of the Almoravids who probably organized the manufacture and delivery of the marble stelae by Gao-Saney from Almería , Spain .

Identity of the Za / Zaghe rulers and the history of Songhai

The identification of the Zaghe with the Za thus has important consequences for the history of the Gao Empire:

  • The Za were not Songhay rulers from Kukiya (previous doctrine).
  • The Za cannot be seen as newly appointed black African petty kings who functioned as obedient vassals of the Almoravids.
  • As highly respected former kings of Ghana, the Za / Zaghe played an important role in the spread of Sunni Islam south of the Sahara, also in the eyes of the Almoravids.

There is nothing to indicate that the Songhai, who come from Kukiya, came to power relatively late . Rather, it can be assumed that the Songhay were resident in Gao in the most ancient times. The early Qanda kings in particular seem to have emerged from them. The Yemen tradition, the Songhai name and the former royal Dongo / Shango cult also provide evidence of early immigration from the ancient Near East.

Mali rule over the Niger Arch (1300–1430)

Far to the south of Ghana and Gao, in the first half of the 13th century under Sunjata on the upper Niger, the Mali Empire was founded and Islamized . To consolidate their rule, the Za / Zaghe called on the Keita kings of Mali for help. They were under pressure from the Sonni, who sought power in the name of Islam. Due to the alliance of convenience between the Za and the Keita, the Sonni had to retreat to Kukiya Niger-downward before the overwhelming power of the allies . The alliance was founded on the one hand on the common Ghanaian heritage and on the other hand on the unifying Mande identity of the Za and the Keita. Nevertheless, the Za only played a subordinate role in the enlarged Mali Empire.

In the late 14th century, Mali's internal stability was shaken by dynastic turmoil. Without the backing of the Keita, the Za could not withstand the pressure of the Sonni. With the support of the Songhai cavalry warriors, the Sonni drove the Za out of Gao and established their own rule. This is how the Songhai empire came into being on the ruins of the northeastern Mali empire.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lange, "Afrika south of the Sahara", 110.
  2. ↑ Levtzion / Hopkins, Corpus , 21 (al-Ya'qubi), 174 (al-Muhallabi), 86-87 (al-Bakri).
  3. ^ Levtzion / Hopkins, Corpus , 174
  4. ^ Rouch, Contribution , 169-173; Levtzion, in: Fage (ed.), Cambridge History of Africa , Vol. II, 1978, 677-8; Hunwick, Timbuktu , XXXIII-XXXV.
  5. ↑ al-Kaati, T. al-Fattash , 329-330.
  6. ↑ Levtzion / Hopkins, Corpus , 21 (al-Ya'qubi), 86-87 (al-Bakri), 174 (al-Muhallabi).
  7. ↑ Lange, Kingdoms , 503.
  8. ↑ Al-Zuhri (writ. 1154) in Levtzion / Hopkins, Corpus , 98.
  9. ↑ Long, Kingdoms , 498-509.
  10. ↑ Moraes Farias ( Inscriptions , 3-8) overlooks this synchronism (D. Lange, "Review of P. Moraes Farias, Medieval Inscriptions (2003)" (PDF; 252 kB), Afrika und Übersee , 87 (2004), 302- 5).
  11. ^ Rouch, Contribution , 169-173; Levtzion, in: Fage (ed.), Cambridge History of Africa , Vol. II, 1978, 677-8; Hunwick, Timbuktu , XXXIII-XXXV.
  12. ↑ Hunwick, "Gao," 413-430; Lange, "Gao-Sané", 264-9.
  13. ↑ Lange, Kingdoms , 563.

See also

literature

Representations:

  • John O. Hunwick: Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire , Leiden 2003.
  • Dierk Lange: Ancient Kingdoms of West Africa , Dettelbach 2004 (here pp. 495–544).
  • -: Africa south of the Sahara - From the sacred states to the great empires (PDF; 4.1 MB) , in: J. Fried and E.-D. Hehl (ed.): WBG Weltgeschichte , Vol. III, Darmstadt 2010, 103–116.
  • Nehemia Levtzion: Gao and the Songhay , in: JD Fage (ed.): Cambridge History of Africa , Vol. II, Cambridge 1978, 677-9;
  • Jean Rouch: Contribution à l'histoire songhay , Dakar 1953.

Written sources:

  • al-Sa'di: Tarikh al-Sudan , ed. and transl. by O. Houdas, Paris 1898, 1900 (English translation: JO Hunwick: Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire , 2003)
  • Mahmud Ka'ti / Ibn al-Mukhtar: Tarikh al-Fattash , ed. And transl. by O. Houdas and M. Delafosse, Paris 1913.
  • Nehemia Levtzion and JFP Hopkins (eds. And translator) (1981): Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History , Cambridge 1981.
  • Jean Sauvaget: Les épitaphes royales de Gao , Bulletin de l'IFAN , Series B, 12, 1950, 418-440.
  • Paolo Moraes Farias: Arabic Medieval Inscriptions from the Republic of Mali , Oxford 2003. Review " Medieval Inscriptions " (2003) (PDF; 252 kB), Afrika und Übersee , 87 (2004), 302-5.

Archeology:

  • Timothy Insoll: Islam, Archeology and History: Gao Region (Mali) ca AD 900-1250 , Oxford 1996.

Ethnography:

  • Jean Rouch: Religion et magie songhay , Paris 1960.
  • Olivier de Sardan: Concepts et conceptions songhay-zarma , Paris 1982.