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The Songhai Empire was a state located in the western part of the Sahel during the 15th and 16th centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest African empires in history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its largest ethnic group and ruling elite, the Songhai people.
The Songhai people (autonym: Ayneha) are an ethnolinguistic group in West Africa who speak the various Songhai languages. Their history and lingua franca is linked to the Songhai Empire which dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th century. Predominantly adherents of Islam, the Songhai are primarily located in Niger and Mali.
There were many kingdoms and empires in all regions of the continent of Africa throughout history. A kingdom is a state with a king or queen as its head. [1] An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant centre and subordinate peripheries".
According to oral history, the Songhai nobles came to be known as "Songhai" during the reign of Sonni Ali Ber. The name was coined from his name to form a tribal name for the ruling caste. The main factions of the Songhai are the "Si Hamey" and the "Mamar Hamey".
The title Askia [b] (Arabic: اسكيا) is of unknown origin, [10] but had been in use since the early 13th century, if not earlier. [11] It may derive from an arabic word for 'general.' [12]: 253 The Tarikh al-Sudan provides a folk etymology for the title, claiming that Askia Muhammad invented the title himself based on the lament of Sonni Ali's daughters when they had learned he had seized ...
Daoud continued to expand the empire, but less aggressively than some of his predecessors. [6] He reorganized the army and led at least 20 military campaigns, most of them successful, projecting Songhai power throughout the region and bringing massive quantities of booty and slaves back to Gao. [9]
The Songhai Empire, c. 1500. Sahelian Jews historically known as Jews of the Bilad al-Sudan (Judeo-Arabic: אַהַל יַהוּדּ בִּלַדּ אַל סוּדָּן, romanized: ʾahal yahūd bilad al-sūdān) describes West African Jewish communities connected to known Jewish communities who migrated to West Africa as merchants for trading opportunities.
The Songhai (also Songhay, Songhaytarey (, [soŋhajtaraj])) is an area in the northwestern corner of Niger's Tillabéri Region populated mainly by the Songhaiborai. [1] It is considered the heartland of the Songhai people and the sanctuary of their ancient pantheon and priestly class and the place in which the original lineage of the Sonni dynasty retreated after the coup d'etat of 1493 ...