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78-620: Al-Sadi's seventeenth century chronicle, the Tarikh al-Sudan , provides a history of the Songhay as handed down by oral tradition and Timbuktu Manuscripts , including the Za dynasty. The history handed down by al-Sadi portrays a single, stable dynasty that smoothly transitions from Za Yasiboi (Yasibay) to his son Sonni Ali . Paolo de Moraes Farias, however, has used epigraphic evidence from funerary stelae from Bentiya, Gao-Saney , and Tadmekka to show that reality

156-540: A city on what is now the border between Guinea and Mali, was the capital for most of the empire's history, and this notion has taken hold in the popular imagination. Djibril Tamsir Niane , a Guinean historian, has been a forceful advocate of this position in recent decades. The identification of Niani as imperial capital is rooted in an (possibly erroneous) interpretation of the Arab traveler al Umari's work, as well as some oral histories. Extensive archaeological digs have shown that

234-485: A famous pilgrimage to Mecca from 1324 to 1326, where his generous gifts and his expenditure of gold caused significant inflation in Egypt. Maghan I succeeded him as mansa in 1337, but was deposed by his uncle Suleyman in 1341. It was during Suleyman's 19-year reign that Ibn Battuta visited Mali. Suleyman's death marked the end of Mali's Golden Age and the beginning of a slow decline. The Tarikh al-Sudan records that Mali

312-468: A geographer-administrator in Mamluk Egypt . His information about the empire came from visiting Malians taking the hajj , or pilgrim's voyage to Mecca . He had first-hand information from several sources, and from a second-hand source he learned of the visit of Mansa Musa . The traveller Ibn Battuta , who visited Mali in 1352 left the first account of a West African kingdom made directly by an eyewitness;

390-500: A lack of archaeological evidence of significant trade activity, clearly described by Arab visitors, particularly during the 14th century, Mali's golden age. In fact, there is a conspicuous absence of archaeological samples of any kind from Niani dated to the late 13th through early 15th centuries, suggesting that Niani may have been uninhabited during the heyday of the Mali Empire. Various sources cite several other cities as capitals of

468-464: A lack of definitive archaeological evidence, and the diversity of oral traditions all contribute to this uncertainty. A particular challenge lies in interpreting early Arabic manuscripts, in which, without vowel markings and diacritics, foreign names can be read in numerous different ways (e.g. Biti, Buti, Yiti, Tati). Ibn Battuta and Leo Africanus both call the capital "Mali." Early European writers such as Maurice Delafosse believed that Niani ,

546-661: A series of short reigns, often ending in palace coups. While maintaining a firm grip in the south and west, and even expanding in some areas, imperial control of their northernmost provinces was slipping, as attested by the Mossi raids on Macina. In 1433–1434, the Empire lost control of Timbuktu to the Tuareg, led by Akil Ag-Amalwal. Three years later, Oualata also fell into their hands. The rising Songhai Empire conquered Mema , one of Mali's oldest possessions, in 1465. It then seized Timbuktu from

624-605: A small Mandinka kingdom at the upper reaches of the Niger River , centered around the Manding region . It began to develop during the 11th and 12th centuries as the Ghana Empire , or Wagadu, declined and trade epicentres shifted southward. The history of the Mali Empire before the 13th century is unclear, as there are conflicting and imprecise accounts by both Arab chroniclers and oral traditionalists . The first ruler for which there

702-512: A successful hajj , kept up correspondence with Morocco and Egypt. Upon Sulayman's death in 1360, the empire was ruled by a string of short-live, cruel, or incompetent rulers. The kankoro-sigui held increasing influence as a power behind the throne. During this period the Jolof Empire was founded, and soon dominated all of northern Senegambia . In the 1370s a war between Mali imperial forces and Berber Tuareg forces from Takedda devastated

780-407: A very large group of people; the mansa kept a personal guard of some 500 men, and he gave out so many alms and bought so many things that the value of gold in Egypt and Arabia depreciated for twelve years. When he passed through Cairo , historian al-Maqrizi noted "the members of his entourage proceeded to buy Turkish and Ethiopian slave girls, singing girls and garments, so that the rate of

858-463: Is Mali ( Arabic : مالي , romanized :  Mālī ). Mali is the Fula form of the word. In the Manding languages , the modern descendants of the language spoken at the core of the Mali Empire, Manden or Manding is the name of the region corresponding to the heartland of the Mali Empire. Medieval sources are divided over whether Mali is the name of a town or a region. Ibn Battuta who visited

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936-567: Is accurate written information is Sundiata Keita, a warrior-prince of the Keita dynasty who was called upon to free the local people from the rule of the king of the Sosso Empire , Soumaoro Kanté . The conquest of Sosso in c.  1235 marked the emergence of Mali as a major power, with the Kouroukan Fouga as its constitution. Following the death of Sundiata Keita, in c.  1255 ,

1014-501: Is fertile and populated; many markets are held every day of the week. It is said there are 7077 villages [heavily disputed] situated very close to each other. The following will give an idea how close they are. If the Sultan, for example, wishes to summon an inhabitant of a village near Lake Debo, the messenger sent goes to one of the gates of the ram-parts and from there shouts the message he is to transmit. From village to village, people repeat

1092-479: Is unclear, but there was evidently a power struggle of some kind involving the gbara or great council and donson ton or hunter guilds. Some oral traditions agree with Ibn Khaldun in indicating that a son of Sunjata, named Yerelinkon in oral tradition and Wali in Arabic, took power as Sunjata's successor. Two more of Sundiata's sons would reign, as well as a grandson, before a former slave Sakura , seized power. He

1170-521: The Tarikh al-fattash . Za Alyaman is almost certainly a mythical figure, but his legend may contain folk memories of the arrival of the Berbers. These names with their diacritics are as given in the translation by John Hunwick . The surviving Arabic manuscripts differ both in the spelling and the vocalization of the names. Tarikh al-Sudan The Tarikh al-Sudan ( Arabic : تاريخ السودان Tārīkh as-Sūdān ; also Tarikh es-Sudan , "History of

1248-519: The Jews of Bilad el-Sudan and they settled in the town and island of Kukiya, Niger River . The town is believed to have been near the modern village of Bentiya on the eastern bank of the Niger River , north of the Fafa rapids, 134 km south east of Gao. Tombstones with Arabic inscriptions dating from the 14th and 15th centuries have been found in the area. Kukiya is also mentioned in the other important chronicle,

1326-615: The Songhai Empire chipped away at Mali's borders. In 1542, the Songhai invaded the capital but were unsuccessful in conquering the empire. During the 17th century, the Mali Empire faced incursions from the Bamana Empire , who ultimately sacked and burned the capital in 1670. The Mali Empire rapidly disintegrated, being replaced by independent chiefdoms. The Keitas retreated to the town of Kangaba , where they became provincial chiefs. Much of

1404-584: The Tuareg , and to biographies of the scholars and holymen of both Timbuktu and Djenné. The main part of the chronicle covers the history of the Songhay from the middle of the 15th century till the Moroccan invasion in 1591, and then the history of Timbuktu under Moroccan rule up to 1655. Al-Sadi rarely acknowledges his sources. For the earlier period much of his information is presumably based on oral tradition. From around 1610

1482-621: The Wolof Empire allowed Mali to reassert authority over some of its former subjects on the north bank of the Gambia, such as Wuli , by 1576. The swan song of the Mali Empire came in 1599, under the reign of Mansa Mahmud IV . The Songhai Empire had fallen to the Saadi Sultanate of Morocco eight years earlier, and Mahmud sought to take advantage of their defeat by trying to capture Jenne . Mahmud sought support from several other rulers, including

1560-474: The "seat of government" in general rather than being the name of a specific city. Such impermanent capitals are a historically widespread phenomenon, having occurred in other parts of Africa such as Ethiopia , as well as outside Africa, such as in the Holy Roman Empire . The Mansas of Mali used several symbols to demonstrate their power and influence. A red banner struck with a golden disc, referred to as

1638-506: The 'Mali djondjon' or the 'Sun Banner' of Sundiata, appears in oral histories of his coronation. Written sources have Mansa Musa using a similar banner, 'with yellow symbols ( shi’ār ) on a red background', during his visit to Cairo, as well as a parasol. Ibn Battuta records the Mansa using golden and silver lances as imperial regalia. Other royal items included a ruler's cap, slippers, arrows, and bow. The material of which they were made indicated

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1716-582: The Abubakrids, the lineage of Mansa Musa. Al-Umari, who wrote down a description of Mali based on information given to him by Abu Sa’id 'Otman ed Dukkali (who had lived 35 years in the capital), reported the realm as being square and an eight-month journey from its coast at Tura (at the mouth of the Senegal River) to Muli. Umari also describes the empire as being south of Marrakesh and almost entirely inhabited except for few places. Mali's domain also extended into

1794-408: The Mali Empire, and the identification of the listed provinces is controversial. Several of the names are spelled in a variety of ways in different manuscripts. Al-ʿUmari's list, which is quoted with slight differences by al-Qalqashandi, is as follows: Al-ʿUmari also indicates that four Amazigh tribes were subjects of Mali: Gomez instead suggests that these tribes would have inhabited territory in

1872-532: The Mali Empire, some in competition with the Niani hypothesis and others addressing different time periods. A city called Dieriba or Dioliba is sometimes mentioned as the capital or main urban center of the province of Mande in the years before Sundiata, that was later abandoned. Many oral histories point to a town called Dakajalan as the original home of the Keita clan and Sundiata's childhood home and base of operations during

1950-399: The Mansa's ultimate authority and paid tribute. At the local level (village, town and city), kun-tiguis (heads of family) elected a dougou-tigui (village-master) from a bloodline descended from that locality's founder. The county level administrators called kafo-tigui were appointed by the governor of the province. Only at the state or province level was there any real interference from

2028-577: The Songhai Empire, sacked the capital of Mali and purportedly used the royal palace as a latrine. However, the Songhai did not maintain their hold on the Malian capital. Mali's fortunes seem to have improved in the second half of the 16th century. Around 1550, Mali attacked Bighu in an effort to regain access to its gold. Songhai authority over Bendugu and Kala declined by 1571, and Mali may have been able to reassert some authority over them. The breakup of

2106-467: The Songhai conquered the northern regions of the empire which formed the primary contact between Mali and the Arab world. For the later period of the Mali Empire, the major written primary sources are Portuguese accounts of the coastal provinces of Mali and neighboring societies. Mali , Mandé , Manden , and Manding are all various pronunciations of the same word across different languages and dialects. The version recorded by medieval Arab geographers

2184-594: The Sosso army at the Battle of Kirina in approximately 1235. Maghan Sundiata was declared mansa over all the 12 kingdoms in an alliance that became the Mali Empire. During his reign, Sundiata's generals continued to expand the empire's frontiers, reaching from Kaabu in the west, Takrur , Oualata and Audaghost in the north, and the Soninke Wangara goldfields in the south. The transfer of power following Sunjata's death

2262-727: The Sudan ") is a West African chronicle written in Arabic in around 1655 by the chronicler of Timbuktu, al-Sa'di. It provides the single most important primary source for the history of the Songhay Empire . It and the Tarikh al-fattash , another 17th century chronicle giving a history of Songhay, are together known as the Timbuktu Chronicles . The author, Abderrahmane al-Sa'di, was born on 28 May 1594, and died at an unknown date sometime after 1655-56,

2340-451: The Tuareg in 1468 under Sunni Ali Ber . In 1477, the Mossi emperor Nasséré made yet another raid into Macina, this time conquering it and the old province of BaGhana (Wagadou). In an attempt to stem the tide, Mansa Mahmud Keita II opened diplomatic relations with Portugal , receiving the envoys Pêro d'Évora and Gonçalo Enes in 1487. In 1493 he sent another envoy proposing an alliance against

2418-449: The apparent cognate status of Mali and Mandé . The first Mande people entered the Manding region during the period of the Ghana Empire . The Manden city-state of Ka-ba (present-day Kangaba ) served as the capital and name of the province. From at least the beginning of the 11th century, Mandinka kings ruled Manden from Ka-ba in the name of the Ghanas. The ruler was elected from among

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2496-471: The area for defence or putting down rebellions. This system tended to promote assimilation into the empire. The mansa's second in command was a general, thought to have been chief of the armed forces. The santigui was the chief of the treasury and managed the royal granaries and valuable goods such as gold and gems. The griot played a very important role in the royal court. He was the tutor of princes and master of ceremonies, and served as an advisor to

2574-466: The area was an important trade and manufacturing center in the 15th century, but no firm evidence of royal residence has come to light. Niani's reputation as an imperial capital may derive from its importance in the late imperial period, when the Songhai Empire to the northeast pushed Mali back to the Manding heartland. Several 21st century historians have firmly rejected Niani as a capital candidate based on

2652-493: The capital city from 1352 to 1353, called it Mali. The 1375 Catalan Atlas portrayed a "city of Melly" ( Catalan : ciutat de Melly ) in West Africa. Leo Africanus said that the capital city was called Melli. However, Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari gives Mali as the name of the capital province and Ibn Khaldun refers to Mali as a people, with each giving different names for the capital city itself. Whether Mali originated as

2730-432: The central authority. Provinces picked their own governors via their own custom (election, inheritance, etc.) and, regardless of their title in the province, were recognised as dyamani-tigui (province-master) by the mansa . Dyamani-tiguis had to be approved by the mansa and were subject to his oversight. If the mansa didn't believe the dyamani-tigui was capable or trustworthy, a farba might be installed to oversee

2808-439: The city of Gao . The area around it became independent of Malian control around this time. Still, by the time of Mansa Musa Keita II's death in 1387, Mali was financially solvent and in control of all of its previous conquests except Gao and Dyolof. Forty years after the reign of Mansa Musa Keita I, the Mali Empire still controlled some 1,100,000 square kilometres (420,000 sq mi) of land. The late 14th century again saw

2886-473: The copy had been made. Houdas published the Arabic text in 1898 and a translation into French in 1900. A century later John Hunwick published a partial translation into English. Manuscripts A, B and C were used by Houdas. A further four were listed by Hunwick. The text of the manuscripts are all very similar. The differences are mainly in the spelling of places and personal names. The Berber author of Ta'rikh al-Sudan , Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di, recorded

2964-587: The date – year, month and day – of Ahmed Baba's death is mentioned by the author ...". Dubois realized that the manuscript was by Abd al-Sadi. After the French occupation of Mali in the 1890s, two copies of the manuscript were acquired by the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. These were studied by the Arabic scholar Octave Houdas. The undated Manuscript A had been sent by Louis Archinard , Manuscript B

3042-603: The desert. He describes it as being north of Mali but under its domination implying some sort of vassalage for the Antasar, Yantar'ras, Medussa and Lemtuna Berber tribes, with garrisons kept at Oualata , Timbuktu , Koumbi , and Gao , and responsibility of governing the Sahara given to the military commander ( sura farin ). The empire's total area included nearly all the land between the Sahara Desert and coastal forests. It spanned

3120-505: The end of the Mali Empire. As founded by Mari Djata, it was composed of the "three freely allied states" of Mali, Mema and Wagadou plus the Twelve Doors of Mali . The Twelve Doors of Mali were a coalition of conquered or allied territories, mostly within Manden, with sworn allegiance to Sundiata and his descendants. Upon stabbing their spears into the ground before Sundiata's throne, each of

3198-584: The gold dinar fell by six dirhams ." In addition to his famous hajj, Musa built mosques and palaces in Timbuktu and Gao , and took control of the valuable salt mine of Taghazza . Mansa Musa's son Maghan I ruled for only a few years before being succeeded (or overthrown) by his uncle Sulayman . Sulayman's reign continued Mali's golden age, as attested by the writer Ibn Battuta who arrived in Mali in July 1352, and he made

Za dynasty - Misplaced Pages Continue

3276-586: The governor of Kala, Bukar. Bukar professed his support, but believing Mahmud's situation to be hopeless, secretly went over to the Moroccans. The Malian and Moroccan armies fought at Jenne on 26 April , the last day of Ramadan, and the Moroccans were victorious thanks to their firearms and Bukar's support, but Mahmud was able to escape. Around 1610, Mahmud Keita IV died. Oral tradition states that he had three sons who fought over Manden's remains. No single Keita ever ruled Manden after Mahmud Keita IV's death, resulting in

3354-563: The heads of the major clans, and at this time had little real power. Wagadou's control over Manden ended in the 12th century. The Kangaba province, free of Soninké influence, splintered into twelve kingdoms with their own faama . In approximately 1140 the Sosso kingdom of Kaniaga , another former vassal of Wagadou, began conquering the lands of its old rulers. In 1203, the Sosso king and sorcerer Soumaoro Kanté came to power and reportedly terrorised much of Manden. Sundiata Keita , born during

3432-476: The highest interest in an historical and geographical point of view. These annals, according to the universal statement of the learned people of Negroland, were written by a distinguished person of the name of A'hmed Baba, although in the work itself that individual is only spoken of in the third person; and it would seem that additions had been made to the book by another hand; but on this point I can not speak with certainty, as I had not sufficient time to read over

3510-608: The information would have been gained first hand. In 1853 the German scholar and explorer Heinrich Barth visited Timbuktu on behalf of the British government. During his stay in Gwandu (now in northwest Nigeria) he consulted a copy of the Tarikh al-Sudan in his investigation of the history of the Songhay empire. However he was under the misapprehension that the author was the Timbuktu scholar Ahmed Baba . In his book Barth wrote: But I myself

3588-439: The king. The mansa often liked to play the role "father of his people", dispensing justice himself in solemn sessions, and he listened personally to a subject's grievances against a farin . The post of farin was very prestigious, and his descendants could inherit it with the mansa' s approval. The mansa could also replace a farin swiftly. Most of the empire consisted of autonomous kingdoms of communities who recognized

3666-416: The kings of Mali were referred to by the title mansa . In c.  1285 Sakoura , a former royal court slave, became emperor and was one of Mali's most powerful rulers, greatly expanding the empire's territory. He made a pilgrimage to Mecca during the reign of Mamluk Sultan An-Nasir Muhammad (r. 1298–1308), but died on his voyage home. Mansa Musa took the throne in c.  1312 . He made

3744-635: The last date to be mentioned in his chronicle. He spent most of his life working for the Moroccan Arma bureaucracy, initially in the administration of Djenné and the massina region of the Inland Niger Delta . In 1646 he became chief secretary to the Arma administration of Timbuktu . The early sections of the chronicle are devoted to brief histories of earlier Songhay dynasties, of the Mali Empire and of

3822-560: The late 10th century, although it may have been Ibadism and that Sunni Islam arrived only with the Almoravids. It seems clear that there was some sort of dynastic upheaval at that point, although how this affected the Za is unclear. The chronicle reports that the progenitor of the dynasty, Za al Yaman, the Yemenite (also called Alayaman or Dialliaman), originally came from the Yemen and settled in

3900-404: The latter may have begun as a suburb of the former. According to Jules Vidal and Levtzion, citing oral histories from Kangaba and Keyla, another onetime capital was Manikoro or Mali-Kura, founded after the destruction of Niani. Parallel to this debate, many scholars have argued that the Mali Empire may not have had a permanent "capital" in the sense that the word is used today, and historically

3978-537: The latter portion of the work with the necessary attention and care. Forty years later the French journalist Félix Dubois in his Timbuctoo the Mysterious pointed out that the Tarikh could not have been written by Ahmed Baba as it mentions Ahmed Baba's death. "How could a man so well informed in Arabian subjects be so completely deceived? ... If he had read the entire book with more attention, he would have seen that

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4056-475: The maltreatment of prisoners and slaves, installing documents between clans which clearly stated who could say what about whom. Also, Sundiata divided the lands amongst the people assuring everyone had a place in the empire and fixed exchange rates for common products. The final incarnation of the Gbara, according to the surviving traditions of northern Guinea , held 32 positions occupied by 28 clans. It functioned as

4134-455: The modern-day countries of Senegal, southern Mauritania , Mali, northern Burkina Faso , western Niger , the Gambia , Guinea-Bissau , Guinea, the Ivory Coast and northern Ghana. By 1350, the empire covered approximately 478,819 square miles (1,240,140 km ). Al-ʿUmari reported that Mali had fourteen provinces. His list does not necessarily accurately reflect the actual organization of

4212-442: The monarch were governed by strict protocol. Conquered areas were ruled directly by the state through a farin (also called farin-ba or farba ), essentially a military governor, chosen by the Mansa. Duties of the farin included managing the garrison, collecting taxes and customs duties, and controlling the local administration of justice. He could also take power away from the native administration if required and raise an army in

4290-486: The name of a town or region, the name was subsequently applied to the entire empire ruled from Mali. Another hypothesis suggests that the name Mali is derived from Mandé mali " hippopotamus ", an animal that had special significance to the Keitas, and that Mandé means "little manatee". A legend claims that Sunjata transformed into a hippopotamus. However, these hypotheses have been rejected by locals and are inconsistent with

4368-657: The oral tradition surrounding the origin of the Mali . He states, "Mali is the name of an extensive territory lying in the far west (of the Sudan) to the direction of the Ocean. It was Kaya-Magha who founded the first kingdom in that region. Their subjects, however, were Wa'kore ( Soninke ). When their kingdom came to an end, the people of Mali succeeded to hegemony." Mali Empire The Mali Empire ( Manding : Mandé or Manden Duguba ; Arabic : مالي , romanized :  Mālī )

4446-421: The others are usually second-hand. The third great account is that of Ibn Khaldun , who wrote in the early 15th century. While the accounts are of limited length, they provide a fairly good picture of the empire at its height. After Ibn Khaldun's death in 1406, there are no further Arab primary sources except for Leo Africanus , who wrote more than a century later. Arab interest in the Mali Empire declined after

4524-414: The pre-Almoravid Qanda dynasty. The Zaghe were localized Berbers who formed a competing royal clan, but eventually adopted the title as well and some appear in the kinglists of the Tarikh al-Sudan . Ultimately, according to this interpretation, these Zaghe were the ancestors of the rival Sonni dynasty . The Zaghe may have been subordinate kings to the Za. Historians agree that the kingdom was islamized by

4602-410: The province or administer it outright. Conquered territories that had proven quiescent could receive this level of autonomy rather than remain under direct rule, but territories that were crucial to trade or subject to revolt could and did lose this privilege as well and have a farin installed to rule over them. Mali was densely populated with the Tarikh al-Sudan stating: "The territory of Jenne

4680-413: The rank of the holder: gold was the highest, and reserved for the Mansa, followed in descending order by silver, brass, iron, and wood. The rulers of Kaabu held a silver lance, for example, while the king of Guinala , one of their subordinates, held a bow and arrows of iron. The majority of the population were farmers, with this being the base of the economy, and food was abundant. Whilst cattle-rearing

4758-431: The recorded information about the Mali Empire comes from 14th century Tunisian historian Ibn Khaldun , 14th century Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta and 16th century Andalusian traveller Leo Africanus . The other major source of information comes from Mandinka oral tradition , as recorded by storytellers known as griots . Imperial Mali is also known through the account of Shihab al-'Umari , written in about 1340 by

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4836-545: The rise of Kaniaga, was the son of Niani's faama , Nare Fa (also known as Maghan Kon Fatta, meaning the handsome prince). Upon his father's death, he was forced into exile along with his mother and two sisters. After many years in exile, Sundiata led the combined armies of Mema , Wagadou and the Mandinka city-states in a revolt against the Kaniaga Kingdom around 1234. The combined forces of northern and southern Manden defeated

4914-399: The ruler's cabinet, with different dignitaries given different portfolios (war, justice, economy, foreign relations, religion, etc.), and all major social groups of Mande society were represented. The Mali Empire covered a larger area for a longer period of time than any other West African state before or since. What made this possible was the decentralised nature of administration throughout

4992-571: The state. According to Burkinabé writer Joseph Ki-Zerbo , the farther a person travelled from the capital, the more decentralised the mansa 's power became. Nevertheless, the mansa managed to keep tax money and nominal control over the area without agitating his subjects into revolt. The Malian state balanced centralization and decentralization by dividing the empire into a series of provinces and vassal states that had been either conquered or annexed, respectively. These were administered in different ways. The Mali Empire reached its largest area under

5070-585: The threat of Tenguella , but this came to nothing. Songhai forces under the command of Askia Muhammad I defeated the Mali general Fati Quali Keita in 1502 and seized the province of Diafunu. In 1514, the Denianke dynasty was established in Tekrour and it was not long before the new kingdom of Great Fulo was warring against Mali's remaining provinces. In 1544 or 1545, a Songhai force led by kanfari Dawud , who later succeeded his brother Askia Ishaq as ruler of

5148-519: The town of Kukiya. Local traditions describe al-Yaman as a Berber Christian of Yahudim descent. The Chronicles state that Za al-Yaman came from Yemeni Jews who converted to Christianity and were transported by the Christian Kingdom of Axum in the sixth century from Zafar, Yemen , or the Himyarite Kingdom , due to persecution by Himyarite Jewish converts. Za al-Yaman and his brother were among

5226-452: The twelve kings relinquished their kingdom to the Keita dynasty. In return for their submission, they became "farbas", a combination of the Mandinka words "farin" and "ba" (great farin). Farin was a general term for northern commander at the time. These farbas would rule their old kingdoms in the name of the mansa with most of the authority they held prior to joining the empire. The Mansa held ultimate, unquestioned authority. Audiences with

5304-477: The vicinity of Mema, Ghana, and Diafunu. The identity of the capital city of the Mali Empire is a matter of dispute among historians. Scholars have located the capital in Niani, or somewhere on the Niger, or proposed that it changed several times, that there was no true capital, or even that it lay as far afield as the upper Gambia River in modern-day Senegal . Seemingly contradictory reports written by Arab visitors,

5382-619: The war against the Soso. It may have been located close to modern Kangaba . Mande bards in the region speak of the Dakajalan site, containing Sundiata's grave, as sacrosanct. Kangaba became the last refuge of the Keita royal family after the collapse of the Mali Empire, and so has for centuries been associated with Sundiata in the cultural imagination of Mande peoples. If Dakajalan was, in fact, situated near Kangaba, this may also have contributed to their conflation, beginning with Delafosse's speculation that

5460-552: The words and the message arrives almost immediately at its destination and the man in question goes to the meeting place" The Gbara or Great Assembly would serve as the Mandinka deliberative body and council of state until the collapse of the empire in 1645. Its first meeting, at the famous Kouroukan Fouga (Division of the World), had 29 clan delegates presided over by a belen-tigui (master of ceremony). The Kouroukan Fouga put in place social and economic reforms including prohibitions on

5538-505: Was a copy made for Félix Dubois while in Djenné in 1895 and was very similar to Manuscript A. A third copy of the Tarikh al-Sudan , Manuscript C, was sent to Houdas by the linguist René Basset who was head of the École Supérieure des Lettres in Algiers . Manuscript C was generally superior to the other two and included vowels for many of the proper names and the date of 1792 for when

5616-650: Was able to stabilize the political situation in Mali. Under his leadership, Mali conquered new territories and trade with North Africa increased. After Sakura's death, power returned to the line of Sunjata, with Qu taking the throne. He was succeeded by his son Muhammad , who launched two voyages to explore the Atlantic Ocean . After the loss of the first expedition, Muhammad led the second expedition himself. He left his cousin Kanku Musa in charge during his absence. Eventually, due to Muhammad's failure to return, Musa

5694-469: Was an empire in West Africa from c. 1226 to 1670. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita ( c.  1214  – c.  1255 ) and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa (Musa Keita). At its peak, Mali was the largest empire in West Africa, widely influencing the culture of the region through the spread of its language , laws, and customs. The empire began as

5772-508: Was far more complex. The funerary stelae record the named and dates of kings, some of whom claim descent from an ancestor named Zaghe. John Hunwick sees this Zaghe dynasty as a group of Sanhaja Berbers who took power in Gao-Saney during the height of the Almoravid movement, but were soon absorbed by the Za. Dierk Lange, in contrast, argues that 'Za' or 'Zuwa' was a title used by the rulers of

5850-529: Was recognized as mansa in approximately 1312. The reign of Kankan Musa, better known as Mansa Musa , is considered the golden age of Mali. A devout and well-educated Muslim, he took an interest in the scholarly city of Timbuktu , which he peaceably annexed in 1324, and transformed Sankore from an informal madrasah into an Islamic university. Mansa Musa Keita's crowning achievement was his famous 1324 pilgrimage to Mecca . Accounts of how many people and how much gold he spent vary. All of them agree that he took

5928-549: Was so successful as to have an opportunity of perusing a complete history of the kingdom of Songhay, from the very dawn of historical records down to the year 1640 of our era; although, unfortunately, circumstances prevented my bringing back a complete copy of this manuscript, which forms a respectable quarto volume, and I was only able, during the few days that I had this manuscript in my hands during my stay in Gandó, to make short extracts of those passages from its contents which I thought of

6006-605: Was still a sizeable state in the 15th century. At that time, the Venetian explorer Alvise Cadamosto and Portuguese traders confirmed that the peoples who settled within Gambia River were still subject to the mansa of Mali. Upon Leo Africanus 's visit at the beginning of the 16th century, his descriptions of the territorial domains of Mali showed that it was still a kingdom of considerable size. However, from 1507 onwards neighboring states such as Diarra , Great Fulo , Yatenga , and

6084-486: Was used in the Mediterranean world. Rather, authority would rest with the mansa and his court, wherever he went. Therefore, Arabic visitors may have assigned the "capital" label merely to whatever major city the mansa was based out of at the time of their visit. It has been suggested that the name given in the Arabic sources for the capital of Mali is derived the Manding word "bambi", meaning " dais ", and as such refers to

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