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Sunni Ali Ber (Ali Kolon) |
Empires Songhai Empire
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Sunni Ali Ber
Reign: (b. 1464 - d. 1492)
 When
Sunni Ali (also spelt Sonni) , whose real
name was Ali
Kolon, came to the
throne of
Songhai the
Mali Empire was
already in the process of breaking up
into small princely states. This created
the ideal conditions for Gao to expand
its territory by conquest. At the same
time Mali's northern areas such as
Timbuktu and Walata had come under the
oppressive rule of the Tuareg. The
people of those areas were eager for
someone to release them from the
clutches of the Tuareg and so encouraged
Ali to assist them.
Using the invitation as a pretext the
king marched on Timbuktu in 1468 and easily ousted
the Tuareg thus bringing the city under
his control. He then proceeded westwards
and invaded the town of Jenne (now
Djenné) which was not so easy to conquer
because of its sophisticated network of
waterways. Tradition has it that the
siege of the town and its port lasted
for seven years and as many months but
it was eventually conquered in 1473. At
this point in history all three of the
great trading cities on the Niger i.e.
Gao, Jenne and Timbuktu were
incorporated into the Empire of Songhai.
In 1483 he turned his attention to the
Mossi of Yatenga whom he defeated. He
then moved on past the Niger and
conquered the Hausa state of Kebbi. He
went on to attack the Fulani of Massina
whom he loathed due to their obstinate
resistance to authority. These new
territories added greatly to the wealth
of the Songhai Empire.
Government &
Administration:
Sunni Ali
realised that the kingdom required an
effective system of government and so he
divided his newly conquered territories
into provinces. He promoted the most
successful war chiefs to the position of
governors of strategically important
areas.
Sunni Ali was still
organising his newly acquired
territories into an effective empire
when on his was home from an expedition
against the Fulani he drowned in strange
circumstances in 1492. By the time of
his death Songhai was the most powerful
state in West and Central Sudan.
Songhai -
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