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The Empires of the Western Sudan: Songhai Empire
Map of the Songhai empire

The shaded portion indicates the greatest extent of the Songhai empire, ca. sixteenth century.
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It was from one of Mali's former conquests, the kingdom of Gao, that the last major empire of the western Sudan emerged. Although the city of Gao had been occupied by a Songhai dynasty prior to being conquered by Mansa Musa's forces in 1325, it was not until much later that the Songhai empire emerged. It began to rise in 1464 when Sonni cAli Ber came to power. Sonni cAli conquered much of the weakening Mali empire's territory as well as Timbuktu, famous for its Islamic universities and the pivotal trading city of Jenne. Following Sonni cAli's death, Muslim factions rebelled against his successor and installed Askia Muhammad (formerly Muhammad Ture) as the first ruler of the Askia dynasty (1492–1592). Under the Askias, the Songhai empire reached its zenith, Timbuktu and Jenne flourished as centers of Islamic learning, and Islam was actively promoted.


Islamic World, Religious Art, Islam, Africa, Western and Central Sudan, Trade and Travel (500-1000 A.D.), Rulers, Abridged Lists

Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Ways of Recording African History, Trans-Saharan Gold Trade, Ife: Pre-Pavement and Pavement Era, Inland Niger Delta, Trade and the Spread of Islam in Africa, Empires of the Western Sudan, Empires of the Western Sudan: Ghana Empire, Empires of the Western Sudan: Mali Empire,

Western and Central Sudan, 1000-1400 A.D., Western and Central Sudan, 1400-1600 A.D., Western and Central Sudan, 1600-1800 A.D.,

Africa, 1000-1400 A.D., Africa, 1400-1600 A.D.