The Gao Empire was a powerful kingdom that ruled the Niger bend from approximately the 7th century CE until their fall to the Mali Empire in the late 14th century. Ruled by the Za dynasty from the capital of Gao, the empire was an important predecessor of the Songhai Empire.
Apart from some Arabic epitaphs on tombstones discovered in 1939 at the cemetery of Gao-Saney (6km to the east of the city)[2] there are no surviving indigenous written records that date from before the middle of the 17th century.[3] Our knowledge of the early history of the town relies on the writings of Arab geographers living in Morocco, Egypt and Andalusia, most of whom never visited the region. These authors referred to the town as Kawkaw or Kuku. The earliest mention of Gao is by al-Khwārizmī who wrote in the first half of the 9th century.[4]
The two 17th century Songhai chronicles, the Tarikh al-Sudan and the Tarikh al-Fattash, provide information on the town at the time of the Songhai Empire but they contain only vague indications on the time before.[5] The chronicles do not, in general, acknowledge their sources.[6] Their accounts for the earlier periods are almost certainly based on oral tradition, and they sometimes provide conflicting information. Using the epitaphs as a primary source, modern scholars increasingly question whether the chronicles, as biased political documents, are useful at all for describing the period of the Gao Empire.[7]
Twentieth-century historians saw Gao as relatively unimportant compared with the roughly contemporary Ghana Empire, but the 2018 study African Dominion argued that that Gao was West Africa's first city-state, providing a key model for the Ghana Empire and subsequently the Mali and Songhay empires, and that the Middle Niger region that it dominated was economically and politically interconnected with the Sahel, the Savannah, and the Middle East in ways that made it an important part of the world system.[8]
History
Founding and Early History
Gao-Saney was founded in the 7th century at the southern terminus of a trans-Saharan trade route powered by chariots.[9][10] The route was dominated by IbadiBerber merchants, who settled there.[11] The area was also an important center for the local fishing communities.[12]
Gao grew between the eighth and tenth centuries, becoming a regional power supassing even Wagadu.[13][14]Al-Yaʿqūbī wrote in his Tarikh in around 872:
There is the kingdom of the Kawkaw, which is the greatest of the realms of the Sūdān, the most important and most powerful. All the kingdoms obey its king. Al-Kawkaw is the name of the town. Besides this there are a number of kingdoms of which the rulers pay allegiance to him and acknowledge his sovereignty, although they are kings in their own lands.[15]
The kings of the area belonged to a dynasty called the Qanda, and used the title 'Za'.[16] They were likely originally based downstream in Kukiya[17] before moving to Gao by the early 10th century.[18] Their power was based in cavalry and camelry.[13]
Ibn al-Faqih (writing c. 903) mentions a caravan route from Egypt to ancient Ghana via Kawkaw.[19] but Ibn Hawqal (writing c. 988) states that the old route from Egypt to the Sudan was abandoned in the reign of the Egyptian ruler Ibn Tulun (ruled 868-884) as some of the caravans were attacked by bandits while others were overwhelmed by the wind-blown sand.[20] The more direct route was replaced by one that went to Sijilmasa before heading south across the Sahara.
Arrival of Islam
In the ninth century, al-Yaʿqūbī does not mention Islam in Gao, implying that the religion was not prominent there. Al-Muhallabī, who died in 990, wrote in a lost work quoted in the biographical dictionary compiled by Yaqut that
Their king pretends before his subject to be a Muslim and most of them pretend to be Muslims too. He has a town on the Nile [Niger], on the eastern bank, which is called Sarnāh, where there are markets and trading houses and to which there is continuous traffic from all parts. He has another town to the west of the Nile [Niger] where he and his men and those who have his confidence live. There is a mosque there where he prays but the communal prayer ground is between the two towns.[21]
In Gomez's opinion, this suggests "a ruler who was only nominally Muslim (or may have embraced ‘Ibāḍism)".[22] The Ta’rīkh as-sūdān's ruler-list has the ruler Kusuy-Muslim converting to Islam in 1009–10, and a 1068 report by al-Bakrī that Gao's kings were Muslim but most of their subjects at that time were not. Al-Sadi in his Tarikh al-Sudan gives a slightly later date for the introduction of Islam. He lists 32 rulers of the Zuwa dynasty and states that in 1009-1010 A.D. the 15th ruler, Zuwa Kusoy, was the first to convert to Islam.[23]
The Almoravids and a Dynastic Shift
The 11th century was an important inflection point in the history of the Gao Empire. By the middle decades of the century, the Almoravids had become a significant power in West Africa, spreading their intepretation of Sunni Islam. Al-Zuhrī then has Gao converting to Islam (perhaps meaning a shift from ‘Ibāḍism to Sunni orthodoxy) in 1083.[24] This period also roughly coincides with the appearance of funeral epitaphs in Gao-Saney. These chronicle three Muslim rulers belonging to the Zaghe dynasty who died successively in 1100, 1110 and 1120.[25]
This dynasty's role in the history of Gao is a topic of debate among scholars. Dierk Lange has argued that, although these Zaghe monarchs appear in the Za dynasty kinglists of the Tarikh, they were in fact a new royal clan either descended from resident Berbers influenced by the Almoravids or the royal family of Wagadu, taking refuge from their own conflict with the Almoravids.[26][27] John Hunwick has argued that the Zaghe were Sanhaja immigrants, and that their short-lived dynasty was soon absorbed by the Za.[28] The Zaghe married women from the previous royal line, and the queens of the time held significant political power and may have even been the head of matrilineal kin groups.[29][30]
Decline and Aftermath
Towards the end of the 13th century Gao lost its independence and became part of the expanding Mali Empire.[31] What happened to the Zuwa rulers is not recorded.[32] Archaeological evidence, however, shows that they likely took refuge downstream, as the architectural and epigraphic styles common in independent Gao up until the late 1200s continued to be used in Kukiya until the time of Sonni Ali (1464–1492).[25] He greatly expanded the territory under Songhay control and established the Songhay Empire.
Economy
Gao was one of the earliest sites of significant trans-Saharan trade in the 8th century, much earlier than scholars used to believe.[33] The most important trade items were gold, copper, slaves, and salt.[12] Gao was also a major manufacturing center. Craftspeople fashioned carnelian into beads, which are dated as early as the third century, and which were greatly valued in the Sudan and West African rainforest.[14] Relative to its peers in Kanem and Wagadu, Gao was not a major center of the slave trade, although slavery was widely practiced domestically.[34]
Capital
The archaeological evidence suggests that there were two settlements on the eastern bank of the Niger:[35] Old Gao situated within the modern town, to the east of the Tomb of Askia, and the archaeological site of Gao-Saney (Sané in French) situated around 4 kilometres to the east. The bed of the Wadi Gangaber passes to the south of the Gao-Saney occupation mound (tell) but to the north of Gao Ancien. The imported pottery and glass recovered from Gao-Saney suggest that the site was occupied between the 8th and 12th centuries.[36] It is likely that Gao-Saney corresponds to Sarnāh of al-Muhallabi.[37]Al-Bakri writing in 1068 also records the existence of two towns,[38] but al-Idrisi writing in around 1154 does not.[39] Both al-Muhallabi (see quote above) and al-Bakri[40] situate Gao on the west (or right bank) of the Niger. The 17th century Tarikh al-Fattash also states that in the 10th century Gao was situated on the Gourma side (i.e. the west bank) of the river.[41] A large sand dune, La Dune Rose, lies on the west bank opposite Gao, but at Koima, on the edge of the dune at a site 4km north of Gao, surface deposits indicate a pre 9th century settlement. This could be the west bank Gao mentioned by 10th and 11th century authors, as the site has not been excavated.[42] The chroniclers may also have been mistaken, and Wadi Gangaber could be the river they said divided the two towns.[43] Archaeological digs have determined that Gao Ancien was the political center, containing the oldest royal palace discovered in the region.[44]
Language
The people of the Gao Empire spoke Songay, a language belonging of the Saharo-Sahelian branch of the Nile-Saharan Family. The language was originally brought into the region along the great Bend of the Niger as early as the sixth millennium BCE.[14]
Bibliography
Cissé, M.; etal. (2013). "Excavations at Gao Saney: New Evidence for Settlement Growth, Trade, and Interaction on the Niger Bend in the First Millennium CE". Journal of African Archaeology. 11 (1): 9–37. doi:10.3213/2191-5784-10233.
Gomez, Michael (2018). African dominion: a new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN9780691177427.
Hunwick, John (1980). "Gao and the Almoravids: a hypothesis". In Swartz, B.; Dumett, R. (eds.). West African Culture Dynamics. The Hague. pp.413–430. ISBN90-279-7920-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Hunwick, John (1994), "Gao and the Almoravids revisited: ethnicity, political change and the limits of interpretation", Journal of African History, 35 (2): 251–273, doi:10.1017/s0021853700026426, JSTOR183219, S2CID153794361 .
—— (2003). Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sadi's Tarikh al-Sudan down to 1613 and other contemporary documents. Leiden: Brill. ISBN90-04-12822-0.
Levtzion, Nehemia; Hopkins, John F.P., eds. (2000). Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West Africa. New York, NY: Marcus Weiner Press. ISBN1-55876-241-8.
Sauvaget, Jean (1950). "Les épitaphes royales de Gao". Bulletin de l'IFAN. series B. 12: 418–440.
1 2 3 Ehret, Christopher (2016). The Civilizations of Africa. United States of America: University of Virginia Press. pp.301, 302, 305, 308. ISBN978-0-8139-2880-7.
↑ Kukiya is a town mentioned in the Tarikh al-sudan and the Tarikh al-fattash (as Koûkiya in the French translation). It is believed to have been near the modern village of Bentiya on the east side of the Niger 134 km south east of Gao.
Moraes Farias, Paolo de (2003). Arabic Medieval Inscriptions from the Republic of Mali. Oxford.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) (for the three kings see pp.3, 7-8, 15).
Moraes Farias, Paulo F. de (1990), "The oldest extant writing of West Africa: medieval epigraphs from Essuk, Saney, and Egef-n-Tawaqqast (Mali)", Journal des Africanistes, 60 (2): 65–113, doi:10.3406/jafr.1990.2452 . Link is to a scan on the Persée database that omits some photographs of the epigraphs.
Mansa Musa was the ninth Mansa of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. Musa's reign is often regarded as the zenith of Mali's power and prestige.
The Mali Empire was an empire in West Africa from c. 1226 to 1670. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa. 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 Songhai Empire was a state located in the western part of the Sahel during the 15th and 16th centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest African empires in history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its largest ethnic group and ruling elite, the Songhai people. Sonni Ali established Gao as the empire's capital, although a Songhai state had existed in and around Gao since the 11th century. Other important cities in the kingdom were Timbuktu and Djenné, where urban-centred trade flourished; they were conquered in 1468 and 1475, respectively. Initially, the Songhai Empire was ruled by the Sonni dynasty, but it was later replaced by the Askia dynasty (1493–1901).
The Songhai people are an ethnolinguistic group in West Africa who speak the various Songhai languages. Their history and lingua franca is linked to the Songhai Empire which dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th century. Predominantly adherents of Islam, the Songhai are primarily located in Niger and Mali within the Western Sudanic region. Historically, the term "Songhai" did not denote an ethnic or linguistic identity but referred to the ruling caste of the Songhay Empire known as the Songhaiborai. However, the correct term used to refer to this group of people collectively by the natives is "Ayneha". Although some Speakers in Mali have also adopted the name Songhay as an ethnic designation, other Songhay-speaking groups identify themselves by other ethnic terms such as Zarma or Isawaghen. The dialect of Koyraboro Senni spoken in Gao is unintelligible to speakers of the Zarma dialect of Niger, according to at least one report. The Songhay languages are commonly taken to be Nilo-Saharan but this classification remains controversial: Dimmendaal (2008) believes that for now it is best considered an independent language family.
Askia Muhammad I (1443–1538), born Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Turi or Muhammad Ture, was the first ruler of the Askia dynasty of the Songhai Empire, reigning from 1493 to 1528. He is also known as Askia the Great, and his name in modern Songhai is Mamar Kassey. Askia Muhammad strengthened his empire and made it the largest empire in West Africa's history. At its peak under his reign, the Songhai Empire encompassed the Hausa states as far as Kano and much of the territory that had belonged to the Songhai empire in the east. His policies resulted in a rapid expansion of trade with Europe and Asia, the creation of many schools, and the establishment of Islam as an integral part of the empire.
Sunni Ali, also known as Si Ali, Sunni Ali Ber, reigned from about 1464 to 1492 as the first king of the Songhai Empire and the 15th ruler of the Sunni dynasty. He transformed the relatively small Songhai state into an empire by conquering Timbuktu, Massina, the Inner Niger Delta, and Djenne.
Taghaza is an abandoned salt-mining centre located in a salt pan in the desert region of northern Mali. It was an important source of rock salt for West Africa up to the end of the 16th century when it was abandoned and replaced by the salt-pan at Taoudenni which lies 150 km (93 mi) to the southeast. Salt from the Taghaza mines formed an important part of the long distance trans-Saharan trade. The salt pan is located 857 km (533 mi) south of Sijilmasa, 787 km (489 mi) north-northwest of Timbuktu and 731 km (454 mi) north-northeast of Oualata.
Gao, or Gawgaw/Kawkaw, is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, 320 km (200 mi) east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley.
Koumbi Saleh, or Kumbi Saleh, is the site of a ruined ancient and medieval city in south east Mauritania that may have been the capital of the Ghana Empire. It is also a commune with a population of 11,064.
Judar Pasha was a Spanish-Moroccan military leader under the Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur in the late 16th century. He led the Saadian army in the conquest of the Songhai Empire.
Askia Mohammad Benkan, also Askiya Muhammad Bonkana, was the third ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1531 to 1537.
The Zā dynasty were rulers of the Gao Empire based in the towns of Kukiya and Gao on the Niger River in what is today modern Mali. The Songhai people are descended from this kingdom and the Zarma people of Niger derive their name, which means "the descendants of Za", from this dynasty.
The Sonni dynasty, Sunni dynasty or Si dynasty was a dynasty of rulers of the Songhai Empire of medieval West Africa. The origins of the dynasty are shrouded in legend and debated by historians. The last ruler, Sonni Baru, ruled until 1493 when the throne was usurped by the Askiya Muhammad I, the founder of the Askiya dynasty.
The Askiya dynasty, also known as the Askia dynasty, ruled the Songhai Empire at the height of that state's power. It was founded in 1493 by Askia Mohammad I, a general of the Songhai Empire who usurped the Sonni dynasty. The Askiya ruled from Gao over the vast Songhai Empire until its defeat by a Moroccan invasion force in 1591. After the defeat, the dynasty moved south back to its homeland and created several smaller kingdoms in what is today Songhai in south-western Niger and further south in the Dendi.
The Ghana Empire, also known as simply Ghana, Ghanata, or Wagadou, was a West African classical to post-classical era western-Sahelian empire based in the modern-day southeast of Mauritania and western Mali.
The Tarikh al-fattash is a West African chronicle written in Arabic in the second half of the 17th century. It provides an account of the Songhay Empire from the reign of Sonni Ali up to 1599 with a few references to events in the following century. The chronicle also mentions the earlier Mali Empire. It and the Tarikh al-Sudan, another 17th century chronicle giving a history of Songhay, are together known as the Timbuktu Chronicles.
Gao-Saney, also spelled Gao-Sane, is an archaeological site near Gao in Mali. It was almost certainly the town known in historical accounts as Sarneh.
Starting out as a seasonal settlement, Timbuktu was in the kingdom of Mali when it became a permanent settlement early in the 12th century. After a shift in trading routes, the town flourished from the trade in salt, gold, ivory and slaves from several towns and states such as Begho of Bonoman, Sijilmassa, and other Saharan cities. It became part of the Mali Empire early in the 14th century. By this time it had become a major centre of learning in the area. In the first half of the 15th century the Tuareg tribes took control of the city for a short period until the expanding Songhai Empire absorbed the city in 1468. The Moroccan army defeated the Songhai in 1591, and made Timbuktu, rather than Gao, their capital.
Askia Daoud was the ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1549 to 1582. His rule saw the empire rise to a peak of peace and prosperity following a series of succession disputes and short reigns.
The Sohance are a social caste among the Songhai nobility. They are believed to be the direct descendants of the Sonni Dynasty and its last ruler, Sonni Ali Ber, the founder of the Songhai Empire, who reigned from 1464 to 1492.
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