Songhaire empire

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Songhai Empire in its presumed extent
The Songhai Empire in Africa

The Songhaire Empire originated in pre-Islamic times on the eastern Niger arch. Since the Arab geographers it to the capital Gao as Kawkaw designated, one often assumes that the Songhai later of Kukiya downstream Coming Gao Empire conquered. However, this view has proven erroneous in view of the founding narrative of Tarikh-el-Fettach, which focuses on Gao . Accordingly, it can be assumed that the Gao empire existing in the same area was already a Songhaire empire.

From the early 15th to the late 16th centuries, the Songha Empire was one of the largest African empires in history. The great power of the empire, based on the location of Niger , which was advanced far to the north, and the associated favorable trans-Saharan connections, emanated from the city of Gao. In the early 16th century, the Songhaire empire expanded from there in the east to the residential cities of Kano and Katsina and in the west to the Atlantic Ocean. The name of the empire comes from its dominant ethnic group, the Songhai.

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-Yaʿqūbī 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-Bakrī , there was a king who was named or titled Qanda .

Trade and Early Islamization

To 840 mentions Khwarazmian polymath al-Khwarizmi first time Gao . The most important reason for the emergence of the empire of Gao was the favorable geographical location of the city on the eastern Niger arc far to the north of the agricultural areas 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 the Chronicle of Ta'rikh al-Sudan , the Za dynasty was founded by a refugee from Yemen in Kukiya about 150 km downstream from Gao Niger. 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 Songhai's history. According to the Chronicle of 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 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 Songhai rulers from Kukiya (previous doctrine).
  • The Za cannot be viewed as newly installed black African petty kings who acted 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 Songhai 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 an early immigration from the ancient Near East.

Mali rule over the Niger Arch

Mali and the vassal dynasty of the Za (1300–1430)

Before the Songhai held their supremacy, the area was ruled by the Mali Empire , the center of which was in Niani on the upper reaches of the Niger. Mali then reached its greatest extent as it controlled the West African gold trade. His king Mansa Musa made the pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 and also crossed the west of the later Songhai Empire. The Za dynasty ruled in Gao , the capital of the sub- kingdom . She had requested the support of the Keita dynasty of Mali in order to defend herself against her inner adversary, the Sonni, founded dynastically by Si. In view of this turn to the Keita, the Sonni withdrew to Kukiya 150 km downstream from Gao. In the early 15th century, the Mali Empire was in decline. Internal disputes weakened the crown and many allied peoples turned away. The Songhai were one of those peoples. Her two dynastic groups, the Za and the Sonni, however, belonged to the Mande themselves .

Songhai uprising under the leadership of the Sonni (1400–1465)

In view of the weakness of the Keita, the Sonni organized resistance against the Za and Mali rule in Kukiya at the beginning of the 15th century. Their most important allies were the Songhai, who had been marginalized by the Za / Zaghe seizure of power on the Niger arch and pushed to the east. In this turbulent phase of upheaval, the Sonni moved with their Songhai cavalry warriors to Gao, there drove the Za out of their position of power and finally reached Timbuktu. For their part, the Za had to withdraw completely from Gao. They survived in the more fertile areas downstream of the Niger in the form of the Zarma equestrian aristocracy .

The actual Songha empire under the Sonni dynasty

Re-establishment of the Songha Empire by Sonni Ali (1465–1492)

After Sulayman Dama had already penetrated as far as Mema in the west around 1460 and caused great damage there, Sonni Ali became the actual founder of the Songhai Empire by conquering the Niger Inland Delta. He also fended off Mossi incursions . In the west he incorporated the trading town Djenné into the empire and in the east the kingdom of Kebbi . A heyday began that lasted about a hundred years. Djenené and Timbuktu swung open. Gao and Kano became the largest cities in Sudan . Though the Timbuktu chroniclers branded Sonni Ali as half-pagan, he was firmly rooted in Islam. However, he refrained from proclaiming Islam as a binding imperial religion in order to accommodate his only superficially Islamized Songhai allies. After the end of his reign, the Songha troops were so exhausted that they only half-heartedly supported his son and successor, Sonni Baru (1492–93).

Askia Muhammad and the founding of the Askia dynasty (1493–1591)

Askia Mohammad was Soninke and the chief general of the Songhai Army under Sonni Ali. After the death of the conqueror, he successfully rebelled against his son and successor Sonni Baru and defeated him in 1493 in the Battle of Ankogho near Gao. This change of power was not an ethnic revolution with significant social consequences, because only four years later the new ruler undertook the long and privation-rich pilgrimage (1496–1498) to Mecca . During the period of his absence, he was replaced by his brother, the Kurmina-Fari Umar Komdiagha. With his pilgrimage, Askia Mohammad not only sent a clear signal in favor of Islam, but also political stability. In contrast to the Sonni, he relied on the Za and the Zarma. However, his allies soon became so burdensome that he sent them to the Battle of Borgu in 1505 as cannon fodder . Since then he has followed suit with the Sonni, basing his power on the support of the Songhai. His reign was marked by campaigns against the Mossi , to Ghana , Tekrur and Jarra as well as against Agadez and Hausa cities. Askia Mohammad was deposed in 1529 and died in 1538. His legacy lived on in the Askia dynasty he founded .

The Songhaire Empire under the Askia Dynasty (1493–1591)

All nine successors of Askia Mohammad (1493-1528) descended from the founder of the dynasty with one exception. These family ties, however, were not conducive to the unity of the state. On the contrary, half of all Askias were forcibly dethroned, and fratricidal wars were common. Only two reigns shone through their stability, duration and prosperity: that of Askia Mohammad and that of his son Askiya Dawud (1549–1582). In addition, the palace officials - such as the Hi-Koy, the Hugu-Koray-Koy and the Fari-Mondyo - guaranteed the continuity and efficiency of the administration. The provincial governors, such as the Dendi-Fari, the Dirma-Koy and the Kurmina-Farma, also contributed to the preservation of the extensive empire due to their frequent presence in the capital. However, without an assertive political leadership that could have initiated military reforms, the state was poorly armed against external threats in the long term.

Outwardly, the Songhai Empire waged war against the Denanke Empire .

The Moroccan Invasion and the Fall of the Songha Empire (1591)

Ever since a Moroccan expeditionary force advanced as far as Waddan (1,100 km west of Timbuktu) in 1584, Gao knew of the danger posed by Morocco. An important point of contention between the two countries was the salt pans of Teghaza , which the Saadians of Morocco had brought under their rule in 1556. The Askias, however, were too busy with themselves to take serious measures to reclaim the salt flats far to the north. Even more important in the eyes of the Saadians was the gold of Sudan, from which they promised to fill their treasury.

Therefore, Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603) organized an expeditionary force of 5000 soldiers and placed it in 1590 under the command of the Spanish renegade Judar Pascha . Most of the soldiers in the corps were Europeans armed with firearms , former prisoners of war who had entered the Moroccan service. The small but powerful army encountered the Songhai army of 50,000 men 50 km north of Gao near Tondibi . Despite the weary march through the desert, Judar Pasha managed to defeat the Songhai army after a brief resistance and to put them to flight. The Songhai, loyal to the king, withdrew behind the Niger and offered the Moroccans bitter resistance from Dendi for decades. But in vain, against the firepower of the Moroccans, local weapons could not be used.

Judar Pasha made Timbuktu his official residence and established a shadow king of the Askia here. Following his military success and the large amount of looted gold that caravans brought to Marrakech , Ahmad al-Mansur received the honorary title of al-dhahabi , the "golden one". The direct rule of Morocco over the Niger arch only lasted until 1612. In the end, the distance and the difficulties of crossing the desert proved to be insurmountable obstacles to lasting rule. Although the occupiers mentioned the name of the Moroccan sultan in Friday prayers in recognition of his formal sovereignty until 1660, they were de facto on their own and soon had to cope without the support of their home country. Their military superiority guaranteed them survival as foreign occupiers, but their isolation from the population thwarted all efforts to build a stable and extensive rule. Ultimately, the rule of the Moroccan pasha was limited to the cities of Timbuktu and Djenné and their immediate surroundings.

Afterlife of the Songha Empire

The rest of the Songhairie empire in Dendi also fell apart completely in the period that followed. Descendants of the Askia are known as Maamar Haama , but now only function as village chiefs in West Niger and North Benin. The descendants of the Sonni can be found in the Sohantiye magician chiefs. The descendants of the former occupiers also survive to this day. They form the group of the Arma and are mainly found in the Gao area. In addition to vague oral traditions, the memory of the great Songhaic empire is kept alive mainly by the two Songhaichroniks, the Tarikh al-Sudan by al-Saadi from 1655 and the Tarikh al-Fattash by Mahmud al-Kaati / Ibn al-Mukhtar from 1665. The first scientifically reliable information since the days of Leo Africanus (early 16th century) was provided by the German African explorer Heinrich Barth , who visited Timbuktu in the winter of 1853–54 and had the opportunity to evaluate the chronicles.

Ruler of the Songha Empire

bibliography

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  • Sékéné M. Cissoko: Tombouctou et l'empire songhay. Dakar 1975.
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  • - Formation of states south of the Sahara. (PDF; 2.8 MB). In: H. Hogen (ed.): World and cultural history. Volume 9, Mannheim 2006, pp. 114-138 (here pp. 126-133).
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  • Nehemia Levtzion, JFP Hopkins (Ed.): Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History. Cambridge 1981.
  • Paolo Moraes Farias: Arabic Medieval Inscriptions from the Republic of Mali. Oxford 2003. Rez. Medieval Inscriptions. (2003) (PDF; 252 kB). In: Africa and overseas. 87, 2004, pp. 302-305.
  • Jean Rouch: Contribution à l'histoire songhay. Dakar 1953.
  • - Religion et magic songhay. Paris 1960.
  • Olivier de Sardan, Jean Pierre: Concepts et conceptions songhay-zarma. Paris 1982. (Review "Review of P. Moraes Farias, Medieval Inscriptions (2003)" (PDF; 252 kB). In: Afrika und Übersee. 87, 2004, pp. 302-305).
  • al-Saadi: T. al-Sudan. ed. and over. by O. Houdas, Paris 1898, 1900. (English translation. JO Hunwick: Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire. 2003)
  • Jean Sauvaget: Les épitaphes royales de Gao. In: Bulletin de l'IFAN. Series B, 12, 1950, pp. 418-440.
  • Rudolf Fischer: Gold, Salt and Slaves. The history of the great Sudan empires of Gana, Mali and Son Ghau. Edition Erdmann, Stuttgart 1986, ISBN 3-522-65010-7 .

Web links

Commons : Songhaireich  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Levtzion / Hopkins, Corpus , 21 (al-Ya'qubi), 174 (al-Muhallabi), 86-87 (al-Bakri).
  2. a b c d Rudolf Fischer, p. 256 (summary) (see lit.)
  3. ^ Levtzion / Hopkins, Corpus , 174
  4. ^ Rouch: Contribution. 169-173; Levtzion, in: Fage (Ed.): Cambridge History of Africa , Volume 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. Lange: 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, p. 302 -305).
  11. ^ Rouch: Contribution. 169-173; Levtzion, in: Fage (Ed.): Cambridge History of Africa , Volume II, 1978, pp. 677-678; Hunwick, Timbuktu , XXXIII-XXXV.
  12. Hunwick: Gao. Pp. 413-430; Lange: Gao-Sané. Pp. 264-269.
  13. Lange: Kingdoms. P. 563.