Mahmud III

Last updated
Mahmud
Mansa of Mali
Dynasty Keita
Religion Islam

Mansa Mahmud III, also known as Mamadou II, was mansa ("king of kings") of the Mali Empire during the 16th century, with the only firm date being that he was on the throne in 1534. He was the grandson of one of his predecessors, Mahmud II, but nothing is known of the Mansas who may have ruled in between them. [1]

Contents

Context

Songhai forces under the command of Askia Muhammad I defeated the Malian general Fati Quali in 1502 and seized the province of Diafunu. [2] In 1514, the Denianke dynasty is established in Tekrur. It isn't long before the new kingdom of Great Fulo is warring against Mali's remaining provinces. To add insult to injury, the Songhai Empire seizes the copper mines of Takedda.[ citation needed ]

Reign

In 1534, Mahmud III received a Portuguese envoy to the Mali court by the name of Peros Fernandes, just as his grandfather had done. The emperor asked for military support against the rising power of the Denianke dynasty of Futa Toro, who were attacking the critical gold-producing region of Bambouk. [3] [4]

Mansa Mahmud III's reign also saw the province of Kaabu become independent in 1537. [5]

Mahmud III may have still been the ruling Mansa in 1545 when the Songhai sacked and briefly occupied the imperial capital. [6] [7]

See also

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References

  1. Person 1981, p. 643.
  2. Turchin, Peter and Jonathan M. Adams and Thomas D. Hall: "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires and Modern States", page 222. Journal of World-Systems Research, Vol. XII, No. II, 2006
  3. "L'histoire de l'Afrique: Peuls et Toucouleurs". Imago Mundi. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  4. Person 1981, p. 623.
  5. "Spatio-Temporal Boundaries of African Civilizations Reconsidered", by David Wilkinson, Presented to the 22nd Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations,June 3-6, 1993. https://web.archive.org/web/20060711213658/http://www.etext.org/Politics/World.Systems/papers/wilkinson_david/spatio-temporal_boundaries_african_civilizations
  6. Wilks,Ivor (1997). "Wangara, Akan, and Portuguese in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries". In Bakewell, Peter (ed.). Mines of Silver and Gold in the Americas. Aldershot: Variorum, Ashgate Publishing Limited. p. 28.
  7. Person 1981, p. 644.

Sources