Sonni Ali

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Sunni Ali
King of Songhai
Reign1464 – November 6, 1492
Successor Sunni Baru
Sunni dynasty
Reign1464 – 1492
PredecessorSunni Suleiman
Successor Sunni Baru
Died1492
FatherSonni Muhammad Da'o [1]
Religion Islam

Sunni Ali, also known as Si Ali, Sunni Ali Ber (Ber meaning "the Great"), [2] reigned from about 1464 to 1492 as the 15th ruler of the Sunni dynasty of the Songhai Empire. He transformed the relatively small state into an empire by conquering Timbuktu, Massina, the Inner Niger Delta, and Djenne.

Contents

Early life

Sunni Ali was born the son of Sonni Muhammad Da'o, who appears in the kinglists of the Tarikh al-Sudan and Tarikh al-Fattash as the 10th Sonni ruler. His mother was from Fara, an area that was still heavily pagan, and Ali was raised in this milieu. As a Sonni, he also received an Islamic education, but practiced a syncretic, unorthodox faith. [1]

Reign

Upon Sunni Ali's accession, the Songhay already controlled the Niger river basin from Dendi to Mema. His first major conquest was the ancient city of Timbuktu. Controlled by the Tuaregs since the Malian retreat a few decades earlier, in 1469 the Timbuktu-koi 'Umar asked for Songhai protection. He conducted a repressive policy against the scholars of Timbuktu who he saw as associated with the Tuareg. [3]

Sunni Ali organized a powerful fleet on the Niger river, and in 1473 used it to lay siege to Djenne, which surrendered only after being reduced to starvation. In order to bring his fleet to bear in an attempt to conquer Walata, he tried to dig a canal hundreds of kilometers to the town from Ras el Ma. In 1483 he had to abandon this project, however, to defeat an invasion by the Mossi people. [4] [5] He also conquered the lands of the Sanhaja called Nunu. He conquered the lands of Kunta and was determined to seize the lands of Borgu but was unable to. [6]

Domestic policies

In addition to external enemies, Sunni Ali fought campaigns against the Fulani of Massina and other nomadic peoples raiding within his borders. [7] His main capital was Gao, but he was also based at Kukiya, Kabara, and Tindirma at different times depending on where he was campaigning. [8] Sunni Ali ruled over both urban Muslims and rural non-Muslims at a time when the traditional co-existence of different beliefs was being challenged. His adherence to African animism while also professing Islam leads some writers to describe him as outwardly or nominally Muslim. [9] Funeal stelae from Kukiya, however, cast some doubt on the chroniclers criticism of Sunni Ali, as they were writing on behalf of the Askias who had overthrown the Sunni dynasty. [10]

Death and succession

His death, on November 6, 1492, is a matter of conjecture. According to the Tarikh al-Sudan , Ali drowned while crossing the Niger River. [9] Oral tradition believes he was killed by his sister's son, Askia Muhammad Ture. [11] Sonni Ali's son, Sunni Baru, was immediately proclaimed king of Songhay by the army commanders, [1] but he was challenged by Askia because Baru was not seen as a faithful Muslim. [12] Askia eventually defeated Sunni Baru and took power.

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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 (1493–1591).

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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. 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.

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Askia Muhammad Ture 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.

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The Caliphate of Hamdullahi, commonly known as the Massina empire, was an early nineteenth-century Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa centered in the Inner Niger Delta of what is now the Mopti and Ségou Regions of Mali. It was founded by Seku Amadu in 1818 during the Fulani jihads after defeating the Bambara Empire and its allies at the Battle of Noukouma. By 1853, the empire had fallen into decline and was ultimately destroyed by Omar Saidou Tall of Toucouleur.

Askia Ishaq II, also known as Askia Isḥāq Zughrānī, was the ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1588 to 1591. He commanded the Songhai force at the Battle of Tondibi, where he was defeated by Saadian forces from Morocco who subsequently destroyed the empire.

Askia Mohammad Benkan, also Askiya Muhammad Bonkana Kirya, was the third ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1531 to 1537.

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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 lies in its predecessor Za Dynasty. 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.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Levtzion 1977, p. 424.
  2. ↑ Walker, Robin (1999). The West African empire of Songhai in 10 easy lessons : introduction to black history. Siaf Millar. Birmingham: Concept Learning Ltd. ISBN   1-903181-00-3. OCLC   47678165.
  3. ↑ Levtzion 1977, p. 421.
  4. ↑ Levtzion 1977, p. 425.
  5. ↑ Kane, Oumar (2021). "La Formation du Royaume Jaalalo du Kingi par Tenghella". In Fall, Mamadou; Fall, Rokhaya; Mane, Mamadou (eds.). Bipolarisation du Senegal du XVIe - XVIIe siecle (in French). Dakar: HGS Editions. p. 54.
  6. ↑ http://siiasi.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Chapter-12-The-Biography-of-the-Tyrant-Sonni-Ali-Baar.pdf
  7. ↑ Levtzion 1977, p. 426.
  8. ↑ Hunwick, John O. (2003). "Songhay: an Interpretive Essay". Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sadi's Tarikh al-Sudan down to 1613 and other contemporary documents. Leiden: Brill. p. xxxviii. ISBN   978-9004128224.
  9. 1 2 Saʻdī, ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʻAbd Allāh (1999). Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire : Al-Saʻdi's Taʼrīkh al-Sūdān down to 1613, and other contemporary documents. John O. Hunwick. Leiden: Brill. ISBN   90-04-11207-3. OCLC   40602667.
  10. ↑ Conrad, David (2005). "Review of Arabic Medieval Inscriptions from the Republic of Mali: Epigraphy, Chronicles, and Songhay-Tuareg History, by P. F. de Moraes Farias". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 38 (1): 105–112. JSTOR   40036465 . Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  11. ↑ Lipschutz, Mark R. (1986). Dictionary of African historical biography. R. Kent Rasmussen (2nd ed., expanded and updated ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN   0-520-05179-3. OCLC   14069361.
  12. ↑ Ohaegbulam, Festus Ugboaja (1990). Towards an Understanding of the African Experience from Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. University Press of America. ISBN   978-0-8191-7941-8.

Sources

Preceded by King of Songhai
1464–1492		Succeeded by
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