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71-611: The word Futa is a general name the Fulbe gave to any area they lived in, while Toro was the actual identity of the region for its inhabitants, likely derived from the ancient kingdom of Takrur . The people of the area mostly speak Pulaar , a dialect of the Fula language that spans West Africa from Senegal to Cameroon . They identified themselves by the language giving rise to the name Haalpulaar'en meaning those who speak Pulaar. The Haalpulaar'en are also known as Toucouleurs (var. Tukolor ),

142-564: A wet period in the Sahel created areas for human habitation and exploitation which had not been habitable for the best part of a millennium, resulting in Wagadu rising out of the Tichitt culture . The introduction of the camel to the western Sahara in the 3rd century AD and pressure from the nomadic Saharan Sanhaja served as major catalysts for the transformative social changes that resulted in

213-599: A complex culture that was present by 1600 BC and had architectural and material cultural elements similar to those found at Koumbi Saleh in the 1920s. The earliest proto-polity ancestral to Ghana likely arose from a large collection of ancient proto- Mande agro-pastoralist chiefdoms that were spread over the western-most portion of the Niger River basin for over a millennium roughly spanning 1300 BCE – 300 BCE. Munsun theorized that, around 700 BCE Libyco-Berbers raiders destroyed this burgeoning state. Their opening of

284-836: A corruption of the Serer title lamaan . The Soninke Sumaare clan under Mamadu Sumaare, originally from Wagadu or the Kingdom of Diarra , conquered Takrur in 826, establishing the Manna dynasty. Takrur was first mentioned in Arab sources in the 10th century. The king Rabis may be the Rai bin Rai cited as an ally of the Almoravids and king of the Sudan who troops fought in al-Andalus . In 1035 king War Jabi introduced Sharia law , becoming

355-438: A deputy unto him." Koumbi Saleh was abandoned sometime in the 15th century. Most of the information about the economy of Ghana comes from al-Bakri . He noted that merchants had to pay a tax of one gold dinar on imports of salt, and two on exports of salt. Other products had fixed dues; al-Bakri mentioned both copper and "other goods." Imports probably included products such as textiles, ornaments and other materials. Many of

426-613: A monopoly on gold heading north and salt heading south, despite not controlling the gold fields themselves. It is possible that Wagadu's dominance on trade allowed for the gradual consolidation of many smaller polities into a confederated state , whose composites stood in varying relations to the core, from fully administered to nominal tribute-paying parity. Based on large tumuli scattered across West Africa dating to this period, it has been proposed that relative to Wagadu there were many more simultaneous and preceding kingdoms which have unfortunately been lost to time. Information about

497-565: A name also derived from of Takrur . The Futa Toro stretches for about 400 kilometers, but only a narrow band of up to 20 kilometers on either side of the Senegal River is well watered and fertile. The interior, away from the river, is porous, dry and infertile. Historically, each of the Futa Toro geographical provinces were fertile pockets of the waalo flood plains, and this resource was controlled by kin groups. The long stretch meant

568-400: A number of balls of the same metals. Ghana appears to have had a central core region and was surrounded by vassal states . One of the earliest sources to describe Ghana, al-Ya'qubi, writing in 889/90 (276 AH) says that "under his authority are a number of kings" which included Sama and 'Am (?) and so extended at least to the Niger River valley. These "kings" were presumably the rulers of

639-493: A rich and stable economy based on trading gold, iron, salt and slaves. In its last centuries, Ghana increasingly lost control of the gold trade to the Mali Empire and relied on slave raiding and trading as a principal economic activity. Testimony about ancient Ghana depended on how well disposed the king was to foreign travelers, from whom the majority of information on the empire comes. Islamic writers often commented on

710-436: A serpent deity (named Bida), and then marry his daughters, who became the ancestors of the clans that were dominant in the region at the time. Some traditions state he made a deal with Bida to sacrifice one maiden a year in exchange for rainfall, and other versions add a constant supply of gold. Upon Dinga's death, his two sons Khine and Dyabe contested the kingship , and Dyabe was victorious, founding Wagadu. In some versions,

781-486: A trade route north, however, eventually changed the economic calculus from raiding to trade, and the native Soninke reasserted themselves around 300 BCE. This trade and the development of ironworking technology were crucial in the formation of the state. Work in Dhar Tichitt, Dhar Nema and Dhar Walata has shown that, as the desert advanced, the local groups moved southward into the still well-watered areas of what

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852-525: A vassal. They were followed by the Mali Empire , which did the same. Tekrur was conquered by the Jolof emperor Tyukuli N'Diklam in the 15th century, who split the region between multiple farba (governors). By 1506, however, the Burba ' s authority was weakening, and the farba fell to fighting amongst themselves. Koli Tengella , a Fula warlord native to Takrur but coming from Futa Jallon , conquered

923-520: Is now northern Mali. Historian Dierk Lange has argued that the core of Wagadou was not Koumbi Saleh but in fact lay near Lake Faguibine , on the Niger Bend. This area was historically more fertile than the Tichitt zone, and Lange draws on oral traditions to support his argument, contending that dynastic struggles in the 11th century pushed the capital west. Towards the end of the 3rd century AD,

994-581: The British colony of the Gold Coast , under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah named itself Ghana upon independence. The word Ghana means warrior or war chief , and was the title given to the rulers of the kingdom. Kaya Maghan (king of gold) was another title for these kings. The Soninke name for the polity was Ouagadou . This meant the "place of the Wague", the term current in the 19th century for

1065-472: The Tarikh al-fattash , gave the name of the empire's capital as "Koumbi". According to the description of the town left by Al-Bakri in 1067/1068, the capital actually consisted of two cities 10 kilometres (6 mi) apart but "between these two towns are continuous habitations", so that they might be said to have merged into one. The most common identification for this capital is the site of Koumbi Saleh on

1136-700: The Bambuk region, salt from the Awlil , and Sahel grain were exchanged for wool, copper, beads, and jewelry. The domestication of the cotton tree and the manufacture of cotton cloth were first reported in Takrur, and the kingdom's cloth was among its most renowned exports. At the height of its power, Takrur controlled the north bank of the Senegal as far as the Tagant plateau and Aleg . The Gorgol river valley

1207-810: The Battle of Sagrajas , 1086, in Al-Andalus which was crucial to halting the Reconquista . The last Manna king, Cengaan Sumaare, is remembered as a bloodthirsty tyrant. Despite Takrur's history of alliance with the Almoravids, he was overthrown by Abu Bakr ibn Umar , who founded the Berber Laam Taga dynasty in 1082. They only lasted 40 years, however, before the Fula Laam Termess defeated them in 1122. Under this new dynasty,

1278-695: The Berbers and linked them to North African and Middle Eastern origins. Delafosse produced a convoluted theory of an invasion by "Judeo-Syrians", which he linked to the Fulbe (who actually co-founded Takrur ). This idea of a foreign origin for Wagadu is generally disregarded by modern scholars. Levtzion and Spaulding, for example, argue that al-Idrisi's testimony should be looked at skeptically due to serious miscalculations in geography and historical chronology . The archaeologist and historian Raymond Mauny argues that al-Kati's and al-Saadi's theories were based on

1349-643: The Jolof Empire . Koli Tenguella founded the state of Denanke in the early 16th century, breaking this cycle. The rise of the Almamyate of Futa Toro in 1776, which ended Denanke rule, inspired a series of Islamic reform movements and jihads around the region, led by groups of educated Fula Muslims known as the Torodbe . In the 1780s Abdul Kader became almaami (religious leader or imam) of Futa Toro but his forces were unable to establish their control over

1420-664: The Moors , Hassaniya Arabs and Berbers in Mauritania maintain that the earliest occupants of areas such as the Adrar and Tagant were Black. These regions, part of the core of Wagadu, remained largely Soninke until at least the 16th century. The earliest discussions of Ghana's origins are found in the Sudanese chronicles of Mahmud Kati (the Tarikh al-Fattash ) and Abd al-Rahman as-Sadi (the Tarikh al-Sudan ). Addressing

1491-504: The Niger river and west to the Senegal . This gradually strengthened Ghana's vassals while weakening the core. Awdaghost, at the time a seat of the king, fell to the Almoravids in 1054. Ghana Bassi died in 1063, and was succeeded by his nephew Tunka Manin . This may have created a succession dispute with Bassi's son Qanamar, providing an opportunity for the Almoravids to intervene in

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1562-494: The Senegal river valley, first established by Takrur in the 10th century, that exported salt from Awlil throughout the region. It also controlled the gold mines of Bambuk . During this period Ghana was fully Islamized, and the judicial system had shifted to something more closely resembling Sharia . This resurgence did not last, however. By 1203, the Sosso rose against their masters and conquered Ghana. Oral historians link

1633-493: The Wangara diaspora throughout the region. In 1083, supported by the Almoravids, Ghana attacked Tadmekka and may have reached Gao , helping to spread Sunni orthodoxy there as well. Al-Idrisi, whose account was written in 1154, has the country fully Muslim by that date. He describes an empire as powerful as it had been in the days of al-Bakri, 75 years earlier. In fact, he describes its capital as "the greatest of all towns of

1704-505: The 17th centuries, Futa Toro included the plains up to the Tagant and Assaba plateaus . The valley of the Gorgol river on the north bank, with the royal capital of Takrur, was the heartland. Beginning in the 17th century, however, Futa Toro shrank as the Sahara dried and Berber and Hassani attacks intensified. Takrur Takrur , Tekrur or Tekrour ( c. 500 – c. 1456)

1775-408: The 1920s, French archaeologists excavated the site of Koumbi Saleh , although there have always been controversies about the location of Ghana's capital and whether Koumbi Saleh is the same town as the one described by al-Bakri. The site was excavated in 1949–50 by Paul Thomassey and Raymond Mauny and by another French team in 1975–81. The remains of Koumbi Saleh are impressive, even if the remains of

1846-581: The Berbers. The Tarikh al-Sudan further states that "In origin they were white, though we do not know to whom they trace their origin. Their subjects, however, were Wa'kore [Soninke]." Chronicles by al-Idrisi in the 11th century and Ibn Said in the 13th noted that rulers of Ghana traced their descent from the clan of Muhammad , either through his protector Abi Talib or through his son-in-law Ali . French colonial officials, notably Maurice Delafosse , erroneously concluded that Ghana had been founded by

1917-475: The Diarisso dynasty. His son, Soumaoro Kante , succeeded him and forced the people to pay him tribute. The Sosso also managed to annex the neighboring Mandinka state of Kangaba to the south, where the important goldfields of Bure were located. In his brief overview of Sudanese history, Ibn Khaldun related that "the people of Mali outnumbered the peoples of the Sudan in their neighborhood and dominated

1988-652: The Muslims –when Islam and Sharia was introduced to the Kingdom by the Manna. The Serer lamanic class , whose role also included the safeguarding of Serer spirituality, are believed to have been at the forefront of resisting Islamization, partly to preserve their religion, but also their power and wealth as landowners. It was common for early Arab writers such as Al Bakri to refer to "non-believers" of Islam in their works as lamlam, lemlem, or damdam which scholars like Ibrahima Thiaw and Abdoulaye Bara Diop believe to be

2059-518: The Niger and Senegal Rivers and believed that they formed a single river often called the "Nile of the Blacks". Whether al-Idrisi was referring to a new and later capital located elsewhere, or whether there was confusion or corruption in his text is unclear. However, he does state that the royal palace he knew was built in 510 AH (1116–1117 AD), suggesting that it was a newer town, rebuilt closer to

2130-420: The Sudan with respect to area, the most populous, and with the most extensive trade." This capital may not be the same city as the one described by al-Bakri, however. In this period the ruling dynasty, now thoroughly Islamized, re-established control over many of the former vassals who had become independent, including Kaniaga , Diarra , Diafunu and others. Ghana was the master of an extensive trade system in

2201-438: The accounts of Cordoban scholar al-Bakri when he wrote about the region in the 11th century. After centuries of prosperity, the empire began its decline in the second millennium , and would finally become a vassal state of the rising Mali Empire at some point in the 13th century. Despite its collapse, the empire's influence can be felt in the establishment of numerous urban centers throughout its former territory. In 1957,

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2272-554: The area in 1521 and set up the Denanke dynasty. This would last until 1776 when the Fouta Revolution, led by Muslim clerics , took over the kingdom and the house of Denanke was brought down. Dates and sequencing from Oumar Kane. Much of it is sourced from oral histories, and details may be disputed by other sources or authors. Located in present-day Senegal and Mauritania , it was a trading centre, where gold from

2343-498: The coming of Islam to the final end of Ghana. When the Muslims Cisse dynasty came to power they killed Bida, the sacred snake and protector of the kingdom. A seven-year drought ensued, destroying the kingdom and forcing much of the population to flee in search of more hospitable territory. According to much later traditions, from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Diara Kante took control of Koumbi Saleh and established

2414-492: The country's history as related to him by 'Uthman, a faqih of Ghana who took a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1394, according to which the power of Ghana waned as that of the "veiled people" grew through the Almoravid movement. Whether the Almoravids conquered Ghana or not, the country certainly did convert to Islam around 1076. This conversion and its accompanying rejection of the earlier, more accommodating Islam may have pushed

2485-464: The east settled in the Senegal valley. John Donnelly Fage suggests that Takrur was formed through the interaction of Berbers from the Sahara and "Negro agricultural peoples" who were "essentially Serer ". The Serer language and religion (A ƭat Roog) were prevalent and made up an important part of the Kingdom's culture. The outsiders may, however, have been Soninke rather than Berber, and

2556-470: The empire at its height is sparse. According to Kati's Tarikh al-Fettash , in a section probably composed around 1580 but citing the chief judge Ida al-Massini who lived somewhat earlier, twenty kings ruled Ghana before the advent of Islam. Al-Sadi purports that approximately 18 through 34 ancient Kaya (kings) ruled before the Hijra and 24 more kaya (kings) ruled afterward. Written sources are vague as to

2627-568: The empire's formation. By the time of the Muslim conquest of North Africa in the 7th century, the camel had changed the ancient, irregular trade routes into a network running between North Africa and the Niger River . Soninke tradition portrays early Ghana as very warlike, with horse-mounted warriors key to increasing its territory and population, although details of their expansion are extremely scarce. Wagadu made its profits from maintaining

2698-506: The empire's maximum extent, though according to al-Bakri , Ghana had forced Awdaghost in the desert to accept its rule sometime between 970 and 1054. Oral traditions indicate that, at its height, the empire controlled Takrur , Jafunu, Jaara , Bakhunu, Neema, Soso, Guidimakha , Gijume, Gajaaga , as well as the Awker, Adrar, and Hodh to the north. It also had some degree of influence over Kaniaga , Kaarta , and Khasso . Diabe, supposedly

2769-624: The empire, promoting pro-Islam candidates for the throne. A tradition in historiography maintains that Ghana was conquered by the Almoravid dynasty in 1076–77, but this interpretation has been sharply questioned by modern scholars. Conrad and Fisher (1982) argued that the notion of any Almoravid military conquest at its core is merely perpetuated folklore, derived from a misinterpretation or naive reliance on Arabic sources. Dierke Lange agrees but argues that this does not preclude Almoravid political agitation, claiming that Ghana's demise owed much to

2840-574: The ethnic makeaup of Futa Toro became definitively Fula. During the 13th century, a civil war broke out between the Muslim Fula and the Serer, who followed their traditional religion . Rather than convert, they migrated southwest first to the Ferlo Desert and then to Siin and Saloum . The fall of Ghana precipitated an era of political change in the region. The Susu carved out the sizeable, though short-lived, empire that made Takrur

2911-496: The fall of Wagadu happens when a nobleman tries to save a maiden, despite her objection, and kills the snake, unleashing its curse and annulling the prior deal. This tale appears to have been a fragment of what once was a much longer narrative, now lost, however the legend of Wagadu continues to have a deep-rooted significance in Soninke culture and history. The tradition of Gassire's lute mentions Wagadu's fall. The traditions of

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2982-472: The first ruler to officially adopt Islamic orthodoxy in the Sahel . In 1056 his son Laba fought alongside Yahya ibn Umar al-Lamtuni at the battle of Tabfarilla . During this period Takrur held a dominant position in regional trade, controlling a series of trading posts and cities linking the salt mines of Awlil on the coast north of the mouth of the Senegal to the interior. Takrur is credited as winning

3053-623: The form Tukrir . The district of Bulaq Al-Dakrur بولاق الدكرور in Cairo is named after an ascetic from West Africa. In the Middle East Toucouleurs are still referred to as Tukrir to this day. Takrur was the term used by the region's inhabitants up until the 15th century. During the 16th and 17th centuries, however, it was gradually replaced by Futa Toro . Ghana Empire The Ghana Empire ( Arabic : غانا ), also known as simply Ghana , Ghanata , or Wagadu ,

3124-426: The hand-crafted leather goods found in present-day Morocco also had their origins in the empire. al-Bakri also mentioned that Muslims played a central role in commerce and held court appointments. Ibn Hawqal quotes the use of a cheque worth 42,000 dinars. The main centre of trade was Koumbi Saleh . The king claimed as his own all nuggets of gold, and allowed other people to have only 'gold dust'. In addition to

3195-401: The influence exerted by the king in local regions, tribute was received from various tributary states and chiefdoms on the empire's periphery. The introduction of the camel played a key role in Soninke success as well, allowing products and goods to be transported much more efficiently across the Sahara. These contributing factors all helped the empire remain powerful for some time, providing

3266-490: The king stand ten pages holding shields and swords decorated with gold, and on his right are the sons of the kings of his country wearing splendid garments and their hair plaited with gold. The governor of the city sits on the ground before the king and around him are ministers seated likewise. At the door of the pavilion are dogs of excellent pedigree that hardly ever leave the place where the king is, guarding him. Around their necks they wear collars of gold and silver studded with

3337-466: The latter. Furthermore, the archaeology of ancient Ghana does not show the signs of rapid change and destruction that would be associated with any Almoravid-era military conquests. Sheryl L. Burkhalter (1992) suggested that there were reasons to believe that there was conflict between the Almoravids and the empire of Ghana. Ibn Khaldun, a 14th-century North African historian who read and cited both al-Bakri and al-Idrisi, reported an ambiguous account of

3408-421: The local nobility or may have meant 'the land of great herds'. According to oral traditions , although they vary much amongst themselves, the legendary progenitory of the Soninke was a man named Dinga, who came "from the east" (possibly Aswan , Egypt ), after which he migrated to a variety of locations in western Sudan, in each place leaving children by different wives. In order to take power he had to kill

3479-543: The majority of these Muslims were merchants, this part of the city was probably its primary business district. It is likely that these inhabitants were largely black Muslims known as the Wangara and are today known as Jakhanke or Mandinka . The separate and autonomous towns outside of the main governmental center is a well-known practice used by the Jakhanke tribe of the Mandinka people throughout history. Beginning in

3550-540: The mid 20th century as more archeological data became available, scholars began to favor a purely local origin for Ghana. These works bring together archaeology, descriptive geographical sources written between 830 and 1400 AD, the Tarikhs from the 16th and 17th centuries, and the oral traditions. In 1969 Patrick Munson excavated at Dhar Tichitt (a site associated with the ancestors of the Soninke), which clearly reflected

3621-551: The native population may have already spoken Fula. Regardless, the region was an ethnic melting pot, although the Fula would eventually subsume much of the Serer, Wolof, Soninke, Malinke, and Berber elements. The founding dynasty was called Dya'ogo. Traditional historians disagree on their origin and ethnic background (assuming a relationship can be drawn at all with ethnic labels as understood today). They were blacksmith-kings, and supposedly introduced iron-working and ore extraction to

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3692-656: The presence (after Ghana's demise) of nomadic Berbers originally from Libya, and the assumption that they were the ruling caste in an earlier age. Earlier accounts such Ya'qubi (872 CE), al-Masudi (c. 944 CE), Ibn Hawqal (977 CE), al-Biruni (c. 1036 CE), and al-Bakri (1068 CE) all describe the population and rulers of Ghana as " negroes ". Delafosse's works, meanwhile, have been harshly criticised by scholars such as Charles Monteil , Robert Cornevin and others for being "unacceptable" and "too creative to be useful to historians", particularly in relation to his interpretation of West African genealogies, Beginning in

3763-622: The region shows that in his day, or 1067/1068, Ghana was surrounded by independent kingdoms, and Sila, one of them located on the Senegal River , was "almost a match for the king of Ghana." Sama is the only such entity mentioned as a province, as it was in al-Ya'qubi's day. In al-Bakri's time, the rulers of Ghana had begun to incorporate more Muslims into government, including the treasurer, his interpreter, and "the majority of his officials." A 17th-century chronicle written in Timbuktu ,

3834-508: The region was divided among many families, and the transmission of property rights from one generation to the next led to many family disputes, political crises and conflicts. The Fula first arrived in what is now Futa Toro during the reign of the Wagadu Empire , fleeing the increasingly arid Adrar and Hodh regions. Nomadic pastoralists, they mixed with the earlier proto- Serer and Wolof fishing and farming populations. Futa Toro

3905-532: The region. They were succeeded by the Serer Tonjon dynasty. Although Kane placed the "Tonjon" (whom he assigned to the Serer) after the Manna dynasty, most historians including Bruno Chavane, Charles Becker, Victor Martin, Henry Gravrand , Willie F. Page, John D. Fage , Thomas Streissguth, Godfrey Mwakikagile , etc., placed "the Serer exodus" from Takrur in the 11th century following their persecution by

3976-468: The rim of the Sahara desert. According to al-Bakri, the major part of the city was called El-Ghaba and was the residence of the king. It was protected by a stone wall and functioned as the royal and spiritual capital of the Empire. It contained a sacred grove of trees in which priests lived. It also contained the king's palace, the grandest structure in the city, surrounded by other "domed buildings". There

4047-415: The royal town, with its large palace and burial mounds, have not been located. In recent years, the identification of Koumbi Saleh with the 'city of Ghana' described in the sources has been increasingly disputed by scholars. al-Idrisi , a twelfth-century writer, described Ghana's royal city as lying on a riverbank, a river he called the "Nile." This followed the geographic custom of his day, which confused

4118-483: The rulers' origin, the Tarikh al-Fattash offers three different theories: that they were Soninke ; or Wangara (a Soninke/Mande group), which the author considered improbable; or that they were Sanhaja Berbers , which the author considered most likely. The author concludes that "the nearest to the truth is that they were not black." This interpretation derived from his opinion that the rulers' genealogies linked them to

4189-454: The social-political stability of the empire based on the seemingly just actions and grandeur of the king. Al-Bakri , a Moorish nobleman living in Spain questioned merchants who visited the empire in the 11th century and wrote of the king: He sits in audience or to hear grievances against officials in a domed pavilion around which stand ten horses covered with gold-embroidered materials. Behind

4260-709: The son of Dinga, is sometimes given credit for driving the Mandinka out of the Gajaaga. Two other Soninke groups to the south, the Gaja and the Karo, were dominated by the Wagu. Given the scattered nature of the Arabic sources and the ambiguity of the existing archaeological record, it is difficult to determine when and how Ghana declined. With the gradual drying of the Sahel, the all-important epicenters of trade began to most south to

4331-409: The surrounding states. The Almamyate of Futa Toro later became the prime recruiting ground for the jihads of Toucouleur conqueror al-Hajj Umar Tall and anti-colonial rebel al-Hajj Mahmadu Lamine . Despite resistance, the Futa Toro was firmly in the hands of French Colonial forces moving from modern Senegal by 1900. Upon independence, the region's heart, the southern bank of the Senegal River,

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4402-469: The territorial units often called kafu in Mandinka . The Arabic sources are vague as to how the country was governed. Al-Bakri, far and away the most detailed one, mentions that the king had officials ( mazalim ) who surrounded his throne when he gave justice, and these included the sons of the "kings of his country" which we must assume are the same kings that al-Ya'qubi mentioned in his account of nearly 200 years earlier. Al-Bakri's detailed geography of

4473-517: The time a vassal of the Sosso , rebelled with Kangaba and became part of a loose federation of Mande-speaking states. After Soumaoro's defeat at the Battle of Kirina in 1235 (a date again assigned arbitrarily by Delafosse), the new rulers of Koumbi Saleh became permanent allies of the Mali Empire . As Mali became more powerful, the Ghana's role as an ally declined to that of a submissive state, although he

4544-490: The whole region." He went on to relate that they "vanquished the Susu and acquired all their possessions, both their ancient kingdom and that of Ghana." According to a modern tradition, this resurgence of Mali was led by Sundiata Keita , the founder of Mali and ruler of its core area of Kangaba . Delafosse assigned an arbitrary but widely accepted date of 1230 to the event. This tradition states that Ghana Soumaba Cisse, at

4615-399: Was a West African classical to post-classical era western-Sahelian empire based in the modern-day southeast of Mauritania and western Mali . It is uncertain among historians when Ghana's ruling dynasty began. The first identifiable mention of the imperial dynasty in written records was made by Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī in 830. Further information about the empire was provided by

4686-487: Was a state based in the Senegal River valley in modern day Mauritania and Northern Senegal , Northwestern Africa, which was at its height in the 10th and 11th centuries, roughly parallel to the Ghana Empire . It lasted in some form into the 18th century. There are a number of conflicting theories about the origin of the Kingdom of Takrur. The formation of the state may have taken place as an influx of Fulani from

4757-442: Was also one mosque for visiting Muslim officials. (El-Ghaba, coincidentally or not, means "The Forest" in Arabic.) The name of the other section of the city is not recorded. In the vicinity were wells with fresh water, used to grow vegetables. It was inhabited almost entirely by Muslims, who had with twelve mosques , one of which was designated for Friday prayers, and had a full group of scholars, scribes and Islamic jurists. Because

4828-524: Was one of the first regions in West Africa to become Islamized , by the 11th century. Known as Takrur at the time, it became wealthy on the trans-Saharan trade, particularly after the Almoravid capture of Aoudaghost stifled competing commercial centers. A target for conquerors, however, Futa Toro was conquered or vassalized sequentially by the Wagadu, the Sosso Empire , the Mali Empire , and

4899-404: Was retained by Senegal; in modern parlance, 'Futa Toro' generally means the left bank. The north bank is called Chemama and is a part of Mauritania . Historically the western part was called Toro, and the central portion includes Bosea, Yirlabe Hebbyabe, Law and Hailabe provinces. The eastern Futa includes Ngenar and Damga provinces. During the height of Fula power in the region from the 11th to

4970-405: Was still accorded prestige as the leader of an ancient and storied state. According to a detailed account of al-'Umari, written around 1340 but based on testimony given to him by the "truthful and trustworthy" shaykh Abu Uthman Sa'id al-Dukkali, Ghana still retained its functions as a sort of kingdom within the empire, its ruler being the only one allowed to bear the title malik and "who is like

5041-753: Was the heartland of the kingdom, and was the site of the Dya'ogo capital Tumbere Jiinge. They also controlled, or at least had significant influence over, the area downstream that would become Waalo . Takruri was a term, like Bilad-ul-Sudan, that was used to refer to all people of West African ancestry, and is still in use as such in the Middle East , with some corruption, as in Takruni , pl. Takarna تكروني in Saudi Arabia , and in Ethiopia and Eritrea, in

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