Songhai (Songhay)
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Ask Mrs. Wilson for a packet with more information on Songhai.
Location: The Songhai originated in the Dendi region of northwestern Nigeria and ended up in Western Sudan, Africa, centered on the Big Bend of the Niger River. There are two capitals in Songhai. The first capital is Kukiya, which is located north of the Falls of Labezanga (the present frontier between the republics of Mali and Niger). The second capital, Gao, developed north of Kakiya at the terminus of the Saharan tracks. The Songhai reached their zenith in the 15th and 16th centuries. History: Under the name of Kawkaw (which could cover the name of both the ancient capital Kukiya and of the later one Gao), the kingdom of Songhai was mentioned together with Ghana by al-Khwarizmi in the first half of ninth century. Kawkaw was composed of two towns. On the eastern bank of the river (toward to the desert) was the town called Sarnah (now called Sane). There were markets and trading houses. There was another town on the west bank, �where [ the king ] and, his man and those who have his confidence live� (quoted in Yaqut, Mujam, IV, 329). Sunni Ali, who incorporated the eastern part of Mali Empire (Neighbor Empire) into his empire, most aggressively advanced Songhai expansion. Muhammad, of the Askia dynasty, who further extended Songhai�s influence and made Timbuktu again a thriving cultural center, followed him. After his day, however, dynastic rivalry perilously weakened the empire, while revolts and raids from neighboring states further tested its endurance. After an assault in 1591 by Moroccan forces equipped with firearms, Songhai never recovered. Religion: Having come into contact with Muslims from the north, the Songhai accepted Islam, at least nominally, shortly after 1000. Food: Fishing was very important to their nutrition, and also the trading. The people of Songhai had worshipped a monstrous fish, and were subject to its stringent laws, until a stranger, who came from the Yemen, killed it. According to one version of the mythology, a blacksmith and a drummer aided him. He became King of the Songhai and was the founder of the earliest known dynasty, that of the Dya. The myth of the dragon-killer that became King is known from various parts of West Africa.
Sometimes history seems to repeat itself. The rise and fall of two medieval kingdoms of West Africa is an example of this. Mali and Songhai, as well as the smaller kingdom of Ghana before them, were once great trading kingdoms famous for their gold. Yet despite their greatness, they each declined for similar reasons. The rise and fall of Mali and Songhai The empire of Mali, which dated from the early thirteenth century to the late fifteenth century, rose out of what was once the empire of Ghana. Mali had been a state inside of the Ghanaian empire. After Ghana fell because of invading forces and internal disputes, Mali rose to greatness under the leadership of a legendary king named Sundiata, the "Lion King." Later, another great leader named Mansa Musa extended the empire. After his death, however, his sons could not hold the empire together. The smaller states it had conquered broke off, and the empire crumbled. As Mali's power waned, Songhai asserted its independence and rose to power in the area. Songhai had been an important trade center within Mali's empire, just as Mali had once been ruled by Ghana. Great Songhai kings such as Sunni Ali Ber and Askia Mohammed Toure extended the Songhai kingdom farther than Ghana or Mali had before it and brought an organized system of government to the area. It was the largest and most powerful kingdom in medieval West Africa. The riches of the gold and salt mines drew invaders, though, and in the late sixteenth century a Moroccan army attacked the capital. The Songhai empire, already weakened by internal political struggles, went into decline.
