What allowed Songhai to take power after Mansas death

Songhay

ORIGINS
The wealth and power of Songhay can be traced dorsum to the Sorko fishermen who were skilled canoeists, living along the Niger, south east of Gao. Past the 9th century they were role of a state known equally Songhay. They began to develop trading relations with Muslim traders in Gao, which then became a part of Songhay.

During the 14th century Songhay fell inside the orbit of the Empire of Mali, but the rulers of Republic of mali never managed to collect taxes from the people of Gao.

Rising
In the fifteenth century Songhay rose to pre-eminence under Sonni Ali the Smashing, while Mali fell into a decline. His military forces consisted of a cavalry of expert horsemen, and fleets of canoes. He was a neat military leader, with a keen understanding of tactics on land and h2o. He had the added reward of being regarded as a leader with magical powers.

Songhay oral history portrays him as a conquering hero. Sonni Ali the Great expanded the territory of Songhay considerably, so that it stretched across the Niger valley, westward to Senegal and eastward to Agades (modern Niger). He remained attached to the traditional rites of his mother's birthplace, Sokoto. He captured Timbuktu from the Tuareg and disrupted the tradition of scholarship. His lack of respect for Islam gets him a bad press from Arab chroniclers who portray him every bit ruthless and oppressive.

ZENITH
After Sonni Ali's expiry ane of his generals, Mohammed Ture, seized ability in 1493. He was a devout Muslim of Soninke origin, who established the Askiya dynasty. Standing the expansion of Songhay that Sonni Ali had started, he brought Songhay to the height of its power.

In contrast to his predecessor, all his deportment were informed past his commitment to Islam. His raids against the Mossi took on a religious dimension. These jihads (Holy Wars) were a success on the military front end; but although defeated, the Mossi even so refused to convert to Islam.

HIGH PROFILE
Mohammed Ture Askiya promoted Songhay in the Muslim globe. He went to Mecca. He visited the Caliph of Arab republic of egypt, who in turn fabricated him Caliph of the whole of Sudan. Sudan was a loose term for a big area in sub-Saharan Africa ordinarily embracing Mali, Chad, northward west Nigeria, and Niger. In government matters, he took the advice of three distinguished jurists, or qadis. Generally the government of the Askiya dynasty was more centralised than that of the Mansas of Mali.

TRADITION AND Merchandise
Some aspects of traditional religion were preserved, including the sacred pulsate, the sacred fire, and the one-time types of costume and hairstyle. Equally in Mali, there was a privileged caste of craftsmen, and slave labour played an important role in agriculture. Trade improved under Mohammed Ture Askiya, with gold, kola basics and slaves being the main export. Textiles, horses, salt and luxury goods were the main imports. In 1510 and 1513, The Spanish Moroccan writer and traveller Leo Africanus visited Gao, the capital letter of Songhay. He was amazed at the wealth of the ruling class:

"The houses there are very poor, except for those of the king and his courtiers. The merchants are exceedingly rich and big numbers of Negroes continually come here to buy cloth brought from Barbarie (Morocco) and Europe…

Hither in that location is a certain place where slaves are sold, especially on those days when the merchants are assembled. And a young slave of 15 years of age is sold for six ducats, and children are also sold. The male monarch of this region has a sure private palace where he maintains a great number of concubines and slaves."

Leo Africanus's visit to Timbuktu causes him to remark on the intellectual and professional classes. "Here in that location are many doctors, judges, priests and other learned men, that are well maintained at the king's cost. Various manuscripts and written books are brought here out of Barbarie and sold for more than coin than whatsoever other merchandise.

The money of Timbuktu is of gold without whatsoever postage stamp or superscription, but in matters of small value, they apply certain shells brought here from Persia, four hundred of which are worth a ducat and six pieces of their own gilt coin, each of which weighs two-thirds of an ounce."

Autumn OF SONGHAY
In the belatedly 16th century Songhay slid into civil war. Echoing the fates of Republic of ghana, Mali and Kanem. The wealth and ability of Songhay was besides undermined past ecology change, causing droughts and diseases. But Songhay might have survived all this. The decisive gene in its downfall was the determination of the Moroccans to control the sub-Saharan aureate trade.

In 1591 the Moroccan regular army invaded. The Songhay were caught unawares and were defeated by the superior fire power of the Moroccan regular army. Morocco won the war but lost the peace. The Sultans of Morocco somewhen lost involvement. The Moroccan garrison stayed but took to freelance looting and pillaging. The one-time empire separate, with the Bambara kingdom of Segu emerging as an important new force.

"In the early days of the Songhay empire there were no griots (praise singers). When the rulers returned from war, their own wives used to sing their praises. They used to massage the bodies of their husbands, saying 'My husband, you're actually brave and tired. Y'all must residue, I'm your married woman....' One day the wives had the idea of accompanying their praises with a music instrument. One married woman had the idea of making a small instrument. So she went to go a calabash and a goat'due south skin. She covered the calabash with the peel and she started to play the instrument. Little by little she learned how to play. From then on she told her husband she would sing his praises with this musical instrument." Click here to listen to a song, dating dorsum to the early days of the Empire of Songhay

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Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/4chapter4.shtml

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