History · Lesson 10

The western Sudanese empires

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: background to Section A 5 (external influences) and Part II A (West Africa)

WAEC: West Africa – the empires of the western Sudan (Ghana, Mali, Songhai) as background to the trans-Saharan trade and the spread of Islam

NECO: West Africa – the empires of the western Sudan (Ghana, Mali, Songhai) as background to the trans-Saharan trade and the spread of Islam

What you will learn

Explain the common factors in the rise of the western Sudanese empires.
Describe the origins, government and economy of ancient Ghana and explain its decline.
Explain the rise of Mali under Sundiata.
Assess the reign of Mansa Musa and the government of Mali.
Explain the decline of Mali.
Describe the rise of Songhai under Sunni Ali and its government under Askia Muhammad.
Explain the fall of Songhai.
Compare the three empires and link them to Nigerian history.

Key points

Rise: gold, salt trade, rivers, cavalry, rulers, Islam.
Ghana: Soninke; Koumbi Saleh; matrilineal; gold nuggets to king; al-Bakri 1068.
Ghana’s fall: Almoravid pressure (1076 disputed), drought, revolts, Sosso c.1203.
Mali: Sundiata, Kirina c.1235; Niani; Mansa.
Mansa Musa: hajj 1324–25; al-Sahili; Timbuktu; Catalan Atlas 1375.
Mali’s decline: succession disputes, Tuareg 1433, Mossi, Songhai.
Songhai: Gao; Sunni Ali 1464–92; Timbuktu 1468; Djenne 1473.
Askia Muhammad 1493–1528: hajj 1496–97, Caliph, ministers, standing army.
Askia Dawud 1549–1582/83.
Morocco: Taghaza 1585; Tondibi 13 March 1591 (Judar Pasha v Ishaq II).
Timbuktu learning: Sankore, Ahmad Baba, manuscripts.
Links to Nigeria: Wangara, al-Maghili, Kebbi, trade shifting east.

Start here: The western Sudan and the rise of empires

The western Sudan is the savanna and Sahel belt between the Sahara and the forest, from the Atlantic to the Niger bend. Three great empires rose here in succession: Ghana, Mali and Songhai. They are the background to the trans-Saharan trade and the spread of Islam (hi3), and WAEC Paper 1 asks about them often.

Common factors in their rise

Gold: control of, or access to, the goldfields of Bambuk (between the Senegal and Faleme rivers), Bure (upper Niger) and later the Akan forest.
The trans-Saharan trade: taxes on gold, salt and other goods.
Fertile land along the Niger and Senegal rivers, supporting farming and dense populations.
The horse and iron: cavalry and iron weapons gave military advantage.
Able rulers and effective administration.
Islam: literate officials, law and diplomatic links (especially in Mali and Songhai).
Rivers: the Niger was a highway for trade and armies.

Sources

Historians rely on Arab writers (al-Bakri, al-Idrisi, al-Umari, Ibn Battuta, Ibn Khaldun), the Timbuktu chronicles (Tarikh al-Sudan and Tarikh al-Fattash, seventeenth century), oral traditions such as the Sundiata epic preserved by griots (jeli), and archaeology at sites such as Koumbi Saleh, Djenne-Djeno and Gao. Each has limits, so dates for the early empires are approximate.

A note on names

The modern Republic of Ghana (the former Gold Coast) took its name from the ancient empire at independence in 1957, but it lies hundreds of kilometres to the south-east and was never part of it. Likewise, modern Mali took the name of the medieval empire.

Worked example 10.1 (WAEC Paper 1)

Ancient Ghana was located in present-day (A) Ghana and Togo (B) south-eastern Mauritania and western Mali (C) northern Nigeria (D) Senegal and Gambia only. Answer: B.

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Practice questions

1. The capital of ancient Ghana was

Kumbi Saleh
Niani
Gao
Timbuktu

Show answer

A: Kumbi Saleh
Twin towns: Muslim and royal.

2. Ancient Ghana was founded by the

Mandinka
Songhai
Fulani
Soninke

Show answer

D: Soninke
Rulers titled Ghana/Kaya Maghan.

3. The founder of the Mali empire was

Sunni Ali
Askia Muhammad
Sundiata Keita
Mansa Musa

Show answer

C: Sundiata Keita
The ‘Lion King’ of Mali.

4. Sundiata defeated Sumanguru of Sosso at the Battle of

Adwa
Kirina (c. 1235)
Tondibi
Kano

Show answer

B: Kirina (c. 1235)
Traditional date about 1235.

5. The capital of Mali was

Niani
Gao
Kumbi Saleh
Sokoto

Show answer

A: Niani
On the upper Niger.

Key words

Western Sudan: Savanna and Sahel belt of West Africa west of Lake Chad.
Wagadu: Soninke name for ancient Ghana.
Soninke: People who founded ancient Ghana.
Matrilineal: Tracing descent and succession through the mother’s line.
Vassal state: A state that keeps its ruler but pays tribute to an overlord.
Mansa: Title of the ruler of Mali.
Griot (jeli): Hereditary oral historian and praise singer of the Mande.
Farba: Provincial governor in Mali.
Askia: Title of the Songhai rulers from 1493.
Caliph: Successor or deputy; a title of Muslim political-religious leadership.
Standing army: A permanent professional army.
Arma: Descendants of the Moroccan garrison in the Niger bend.

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