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83-455: Alternative spellings: Songai, Songay, Songhay, Songhay, Songhoi, Songhoy, Songhrai, Songhray, Songoi, Sonhrai, Sonhray, Sonrai, Sonray, Sonrhai, Sonrhay. The correct pronunciation of "Songhai" in the Songhai languages is ”Soŋai” , with the "ng" representing a velar nasal sound (the "ng" sound is produced by raising the back of the tongue to the soft part of the roof of the mouth, creating

166-541: A cave covered with sand in 1939 several finely carved marble stelae produced in Almeria in Southern Spain. Their inscriptions bear witness of three kings of a Muslim dynasty bearing as loan names the names of Muhammad and his two successors. From the dates of their deaths it appears that these kings of Gao ruled at the end of the eleventh and the beginning of the twelfth centuries CE. According to recent research,

249-465: A cave covered with sand, several finely carved marble stelae produced in Almeria in Southern Spain. Their inscriptions attest to three kings of a Muslim dynasty bearing as loan names the names of Muhammad and his two successors. From the dates of their deaths it appears that these kings of Gao ruled at the end of the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth centuries CE, and represent a transition in leadership. Historian Dierk Lange has argued that

332-487: A combination of white, black, and red paint. There were also small simple-rim bowls decorated with impressed comb in linear or geometric patterns. The presence of very similar pottery assemblages near places like Timbuktu , Gourma Rharous , and Bentia indicate river-based cultural interaction along the Middle Niger. Gao-Saney became well known among African historians when French administrators in 1939 discovered, in

415-511: A document, prohibiting the yearly exchange of slaves from Timbuktu. By the mid-eighteenth century, the pashalik was in decline. Around 1770, the Tuareg seized Gao, and in 1787, they entered Timbuktu, establishing the Pashalik as their tributary. The Zabarma Emirate was an Islamic state that existed from the 1860s to 1897 in what is now parts of Northern Ghana and Burkina Faso . Founded by

498-609: A few kilometers from Gao Saney. The kings of this period were of a lineage known as Qanda. Arabic sources from the 9th to 11th centuries frequently describe Gao as consisting of two towns. al-Idrisi , writing in around 1154, does not mention a second town, and archaeological excavations in Gao-Saney indicate the site may have beena abandoned by this time. Gao Saney had a mixed millet, caprine, and cattle based subsitence economy. Goats and sheep were very populous, significantly outnumbering cattle, while camels appear only sometimes in

581-508: A high lead composition glass. The dating of these different composites indicates that the source of the glass used to make the beads changed sometime during the end of the tenth century. Earlier glasses were probably produced in Iraq and Baghdad, and later glasses were produced in Egypt. Gao Saney participated in regional and long-distance trade, indicated by extensive glass compositions sourced in

664-586: A large region. According to Anne Haour , a professor of African Studies, some scholars consider the historic caste-like social stratification in Zarma-Songhay people to be a pre- Islam feature while some consider it derived from the Arab influence. The different strata of the Songhai-Zarma people have included the kings and warriors, the scribes, the artisans, the weavers, the hunters, the fishermen,

747-520: A lost work quoted in the biographical dictionary compiled by Yaqut : Their king pretends before his subject to be a Muslim and most of them pretend to be Muslims too. He has a town on the Nile [Niger], on the eastern bank, which is called Sarnāh, where there are markets and trading houses and to which there is continuous traffic from all parts. He has another town to the west of the Nile [Niger] where he and his men and those who have his confidence live. There

830-630: A medium of primary education. Some Songhay languages have little to no mutual intelligibility between each other. For example, Koyraboro Senni , spoken in Gao, is unintelligible to speakers of Zarma in Niger , according to Ethnologue . However, Songhoyboro Ciine , Zarma, and Dendi have high mutual intelligibility within Niger. For linguists , a major point of interest in the Songhay languages has been

913-546: A missionary and linguist, hesitated between assigning it to Gur or considering it an isolate, and Maurice Delafosse grouped it with Mande . At present, Songhay is normally considered to be Nilo-Saharan , following Joseph Greenberg 's 1963 reclassification of African languages ; Greenberg's argument is based on about 70 claimed cognates , including pronouns . This proposal has been developed further by, in particular, Lionel Bender , who saw it as an independent subfamily of Nilo-Saharan. Roger Blench notes that Songhay shares

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996-497: A plural suffix -an (?), a hypothetical plural suffix -r (cf. Teso -r ) which he takes to appear in the pronouns yer and wor , intransitive/passive -a (cf. Teso -o ). The most striking of the Mande similarities listed by Creissels are the third person pronouns a sg. (pan-Mande a ), i pl. (pan-Mande i or e ), the demonstratives wo "this" (cf. Manding o , wo ) and no "there" (cf. Soninke no , other Mande na ),

1079-714: A pseudo-caste. Louis Dumont , the 20th-century author famous for his classic Homo Hierarchicus , recognized the social stratification among Zarma-Songhai people as well as other ethnic groups in West Africa, but suggested that sociologists should invent a new term for West African social stratification system. Other scholars consider this a bias and isolationist because the West African system shares all elements in Dumont's system, including economic, endogamous, ritual, religious, deemed polluting, segregative and spread over

1162-619: A resonant nasal sound). The term "Sonrai" is a result of French influence, stemming from their difficulty in pronouncing the original word accurately. However, Songhai people collectively identify themselves as "Ayneha," meaning "I speak," and the Songhai ( Songhaiborai ) are a subgroup within the Ayneha. This distinct self-reference contrasts with the prevalent classification often encountered in Western literature. It may have been influenced by

1245-523: A slightly later date for the introduction of Islam. He lists 32 rulers of the Zuwa dynasty and states that in 1009–1010 A.D. the 15th ruler, Zuwa Kusoy, was the first to convert to Islam. Towards the end of the 13th century, Gao lost its independence and became part of the expanding Mali Empire . What happened to the Zuwa rulers is not recorded. Ibn Battuta visited Gao in 1353 when the town formed part of

1328-644: Is a mosque there where he prays but the communal prayer ground is between the two towns. The archaeological evidence suggests that there were two settlements on the eastern bank of the Niger: Gao Ancien situated within the modern town, to the east of the Tomb of Askia, and the archaeological site of Gao-Saney (Sané in French) situated around 4 km to the east. The bed of the Wadi Gangaber passes to

1411-479: Is an archaeological site near Gao in Mali . It was almost certainly the town known in historical accounts as Sarneh . Gao-Saney is a large settlement mound seven km distant from the royal town of Gao, and is thought to be the site of the ancient trading center. The site has produced extensive archaeological evidence from its first millennium occupation, with proposed chronology between 700 and 1100 CE. In modern day,

1494-499: Is the greatest of the realms of the Sūdān, the most important and most powerful. All the kingdoms obey its king. Al-Kawkaw is the name of the town. Besides this there are a number of kingdoms of which the rulers pay allegiance to him and acknowledge his sovereignty, although they are kings in their own lands. In the 10th century, Gao was already Muslim and was described as consisting of two separate towns. Al-Muhallabi, who died in 990, wrote in

1577-696: The Arabic script exist in Timbuktu. However, Songhay is currently written in the Latin script . Percentage of Songhay speakers by population Researchers classify the Songhay languages into two main branches; Southern and Northern. Southern Songhay is centered on the Niger River. Zarma ( Djerma ), the most widely spoken Songhay language with two or three million speakers, is a major language of southwestern Niger (downriver from and south of Mali) including in

1660-705: The Saharan oases. Notably, cereals dominate Songhai cultivation, with millet as the leading crop, followed by rice along the Niger River , wheat , and sorghum . Additionally, wild cereals such as panicum leatum or wild fonio are harvested seasonally. The Songhai cultivate diverse crops, including tobacco , onions, spices , tubers , and moringa . Among the Northern Songhai population in Tindouf , Tabalbala , and Ingal , date palms and Mangoes are

1743-637: The Saharan languages , thus leading one to suspect them of being loanwords . Certain Songhay– Mande similarities have long been observed (at least since Westermann), and Mukarovsky (1966), Denis Creissels (1981) and Nicolaï (1977, 1984) investigated the possibility of a Mande relationship; Creissels made some 50 comparisons, including many body parts and morphological suffixes (such as the causative in -endi ), while Nicolaï claimed some 450 similar words as well as some conspicuous typological traits. However, Nicolaï eventually concluded that this approach

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1826-597: The Zaghe kings commemorated by the stelae are identical with the kings of the Za dynasty whose names were recorded by the chroniclers of Timbuktu in the Ta'rikh al-Sudan and in the Ta'rikh al-Fattash . Their Islamic loan name is in one case complemented by their African name. It is on the basis of their common ancestral name Za ghe corresponding to Za and the third royal name Yama b. Kama provided in addition to 'Umar b. al-Khattab that

1909-621: The Zarma subgroup who derive their name "Zarma (Za Hama) " from this dynasty, which means "the descendants of Za". Al-Sadi's seventeenth century chronicle, the Tarikh al-Sudan , provides an early history of the Songhay as handed down by oral tradition. The chronicle reports that the legendary founder of the dynasty, Za Alayaman (also called Dialliaman), originally came from the Yemen and settled in

1992-608: The Zarma people , a subgroup of the Songhai, the Zabarma Emirate, despite its Zarma origins, was diverse, with the Zarma constituting a minority. It was primarily composed of Hausa , Fulani , Mossi , and notably the Gurunsi people , who played a crucial role as allies and soldiers. The word "Gurunsi" is derived from the Zarma language, "Guru-si," meaning "iron does not penetrate." During the Zarma conquest of Gurunsi lands in

2075-495: The 15th ruler, Za Kusoy, converted to Islam in the year 1009–1010 A.D. At some stage the kingdom or at least its political focus moved north to Gao . The kingdom of Gao capitalized on the growing trans-Saharan trade and grew into a small regional power before being conquered by the Mali Empire in the early 13th century. Gao-Saney became well known among African historians because French administrators discovered here in

2158-531: The Askias, the Songhai empire reached its zenith. Following Askia Muhammad, the empire began to collapse. It was enormous and could not be kept under control. The Kingdom of Morocco saw Songhay's still flourishing salt and gold trade and decided that it would be a good asset, proceeding to conquer much of the region after the Battle of Tondibi . In 1528, Askia faced a rebellion led by his own children, resulting in

2241-474: The Gao region is too dry to sustain year-round habitation without digging deep wells, leading to speculation about different climate conditions, perhaps with increased rainfall, at the time of Gao's first millennium occupation. Gao-Saney excavations demonstrate involvement of the site in glass and copper trade networks during the eighth to tenth centuries on a scale only exceeded by Igbo-Ukwu among known sub-Saharan sites. Archaeological digs show that Gao-Saney

2324-588: The Mali Empire. He arrived by boat from Timbuktu on his return journey from visiting the capital of the Empire: Then I travelled to the town of Kawkaw, which is a great town on the Nīl [Niger], one of the finest, biggest, and most fertile cities of the Sūdān. There is much rice there, and milk, and chickens, and fish, and the cucumber, which has no like. Its people conduct their buying and selling with cowries, like

2407-469: The Middle East, and non-local items such as carnelian, flint, and granite grinding stones. Understanding how trade networks developed over time will require further research. However, at the moment, data indicates that the region surrounding Gao was involved in trade networks that moved imported glass and copper from distant sources, beginning by 400 CE. Excavations at Gao Saney show its involvement in

2490-620: The Pashalik supported the legitimate Sultan, Zidan al-Nasir , and by 1670, they pledged allegiance to the Alaouite sultans . and in 1670 they recognized the Alaouites and pledged allegiance. However, this allegiance was short-lived. By the early eighteenth century, the Pashalik revoked Moroccan suzerainty. Local traditions attribute this event to Gurdu , a learned scholar believed to have supernatural powers. According to tradition, Gurdu halted slavery by sending his youngest student to sign

2573-487: The Songhai military remained traditional, composed of full-time soldiers, without modernization. In stark contrast, the invading Moroccan force boasted thousands of arquebusiers and eight English cannons. The pivotal Battle of Tondibi on March 13, 1591, saw the Moroccans decisively defeating the Songhai army. Subsequently, they captured Gao and Timbuktu, marking the ultimate demise of the once-mighty Songhai Empire. After

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2656-433: The Songhai people is barely distinguishable from the Zarma people . Some scholars consider the Zarma people to be a part of and the largest ethnic sub-group of the Songhai. Some study the group together as Zarma-Songhai people. However, both groups see themselves as two different peoples. The Songhai people have traditionally been a socially stratified society, like many West African ethnic groups, with castes . According to

2739-495: The Songhai were able to reassert their control of the area around Gao after the weakening of the Mali Empire, founding the Songhai Empire which came to encompass much of the former Malian territories, including Timbuktu , famous for its Islamic universities, and the pivotal trading city of Djenné , and extending their rule over a territory that surpassed the former Mali and Ghana empires. Among Songhai's most noted scholars

2822-495: The Songhai word's popularity, given that the Songhai Empire was named after the ruling caste, the Songhaiborai , which is a subgroup within the broader ethnic Ayneha community. The Za dynasty or Zuwa dynasty were rulers of a medieval kingdom based in the towns of Kukiya and Gao on the Niger River in what is today modern Mali . The Songhai people at large all descended from this kingdom. The most notable of them being

2905-689: The Tagouana and Djimini , defeating the former and signing the truce with the latter, A second Zerma attack brought all the southern senufo to arms, and the Zerma retreated to the frontier with the Baule (1895), where they founded Dares-Salam, their military and religious capital renamed Marabadiassa (Maraba Diassa 'the citadel of the Zerma) by the Mandingo, from there they spread military expeditions and Islam in

2988-646: The Tem, they kidnap children on the roads at the level of Fazao mountains, or further south, and place up to two or three of them on the same horse before fleeing. The Zerma Warriors, who numbered 500 Horsemen equipped with rifle and cannon, built an great army by integrating the slaves they captured. Under the command of the Zerma Warlords, Mayakki Mongoro and Mayakki Maali, the Semassi in Togo had seized in 1875 to 1898,

3071-965: The Zarma and the Gurunsi communities in Ghana. Despite their minority status, the Zarma effectively enlisted followers of diverse origins, cultivating lasting loyalty. The Emirs of the Zabarima Emirate included Hanno or Alfa Hanno dan Tadano, Gazari or Alfa Gazare dan Mahama, and Babatu or Mahama dan Issa (commonly known as Babatu in colonial literature). In a series of battles, the French, alongside local allies, defeated Babatu and his Zarma army at Gandiogo on March 14, 1897, and again at Doucie on June 23, 1897. Survivors fled south, prompting British military action in October 1897, concluding in June 1898 with

3154-509: The author of the Tarikh al-Sudan uses the word Sunni or Sonni for the name of the dynasty while the Tarikh al-fattash uses the forms chi and si'i . The word may have a Malinke origin meaning "a subordinate or confidant of the ruler". Under the rule of Sunni Sulayman, the Songhai captured the Mema region to the west of Lake Débo . Formerly one of the peoples subjected by the Mali Empire ,

3237-654: The capital city, Niamey . Koyraboro Senni , with 400,000 speakers, is the language of the town of Gao, the seat of the old Songhai Empire. Koyra Chiini is spoken to its west. The much smaller Northern Songhay is a group of heavily Berber -influenced dialects spoken in the Sahara . Since the Berber influence extends beyond the lexicon into the inflectional morphology, the Northern Songhay languages are sometimes viewed as mixed languages . Diedrich Hermann Westermann ,

3320-488: The causative or the agentless passive. Verbs can even take two instances of the morpheme, one for each meaning. Thus ŋa-ndi-ndi figuratively translates to "[the rice] was made to be eaten [by someone: causee] [by someone: causer]". Below are some Proto-Songhay reconstructions: Some Proto-Eastern Songhay reconstructions are: Comparison of numerals in individual languages: Publisher and publication abbreviations: Gao-Saney Gao-Saney , also spelled Gao-Sane ,

3403-404: The cities of Timbuktu , Djenné , Niamey , Gao , Tillaberi , Dosso , Parakou , Kandi , Natitingou , Djougou , Malanville , Gorom-Gorom , In-Gall and Tabelbala . They have been widely used as a lingua franca in that region ever since the era of the Songhai Empire . In Mali , the government has officially adopted the dialect of Gao (east of Timbuktu ) as the dialect to be used as

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3486-595: The defeat of Babatu's former private army. As the British presence expanded in Gambaga and areas east of the Black Volta , authorities of the Zabarma Emirate in the Gurunsi region fled eastward toward Dagbon . The Zerma warriors and traders from the Niger valleys, East of Niamey, under the leadership of Mori Ture, Zerma warlord and leader of militant Islam (Jihad) in current Northern part of Ivory Coast , attacked

3569-450: The defining singulative–plurative morphology typical of Nilo-Saharan languages. As of 2011, he believes that Songhay is closest to the neighboring Saharan languages and is not divergent. However, a Nilo-Saharan classification is controversial. Greenberg's argument was subjected to serious criticism by Lacroix, who deemed only about 30 of Greenberg's claimed cognates acceptable, and moreover argued that these held mainly between Zarma and

3652-422: The difficulty of determining their genetic affiliation ; they are commonly taken to be Nilo-Saharan , as defined by Joseph Greenberg in 1963, but this classification remains controversial. Linguist Gerrit Dimmendaal (2008) believes that for now it is best considered an independent language family. Roger Blench argues that the Songhay and Saharan languages form a Songhay-Saharan branch with each other within

3735-606: The dynastic history of the Gao Empire can now to be established on a solid documentary basis. Apart from some Arabic epitaphs on tombstones discovered in 1939 at the cemetery of Gao-Saney (6 km to the east of the city) there are no surviving indigenous written records that date from before the middle of the 17th century. Our knowledge of the early history of the town relies on the writings of external Arabic geographers living in Morocco, Egypt and Andalusia, who never visited

3818-519: The earliest recorded contact with Gao, corresponding to the same time that dry-stone architecture, wheat, and glass appear in the area. According to McIntosh, "throughout this period, the spread of Islam, literacy, a common language, and Sharia law contributed to increased efficiency, trust, financing, and security within more expansive trade networks." The earliest material culture at Gao-Saney, including its pottery, suggest Songhai - Berber presence rather than Arabic. Historical evidence indicates that

3901-480: The early rulers lived. As there is evidence that Gao remained under Mali control until the early fifteenth century, it is probably that the early Sunni rulers controlled a region to the south, with the town of Kukiya possibly serving as their capital. As the economic strength of Mali Empire relied on controlling routes across the Sahara, it would not have been necessary to control the area to the south of Gao. Al-Sadi,

3984-545: The easternmost province, governed by the prestigious Dendi-fari ("governor of the eastern front"). Some members of the Askia dynasty and their followers fled here after being defeated by the invading Saadi dynasty of Morocco at the Battle of Tondibi and at another battle seven months later. There, they resisted Moroccan Invaders and maintained the tradition of the Songhai with the same Askia rulers and their newly established capital at Lulami . The first ruler, Askia Ishaq II

4067-574: The empire's defeat, the nobles moved south to an area known today as Songhai in present Niger , where the Sonni dynasty had already settled. They formed smaller kingdoms such as Wanzarbe , Ayerou , Gothèye , Dargol , Téra , Sikié , Kokorou , Gorouol , Karma , Namaro , etc.. and further south, the Dendi which rose to prominence shortly afterwards. Under the Songhai Empire, Dendi had been

4150-406: The faunal assemblage, and were likely consumed and used for transport. 809 copper-based artifacts have been found, with almost half of them shaped as copper crescents. Given their consistent shape, it has been hypothesized that the copper crescents were used as currency, however, most of the copper artifacts found have been fragments, making it difficult to test this hypothesis. Glass processing

4233-459: The fifth ruler was in power at time when Mansa Musa made his pilgrimage suggests that Ali Kulun reigned around the end of the 14th century. Both chronicles associate Ali Kulun (or Ali Golom) with the Mali court. The Tarikh al-Sudan relates that his father was Za Yasoboy, and as a son of a subordinate ruler of the Mali Empire, he had to serve the sultan of Mali. The chronicles do not specify where

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4316-450: The identity between the Zaghe and the Za could be established. It appears from this table that Yama b. Kima (or 'Umar b. al-Khattab), the third king of the stelae of Gao-Saney, is identical with the 18th ruler of the list of Za kings. His name is given in the Ta'rikh al-Fattash (1665) as Yama -Kitsi and in the Ta'rikh al-Sudan (1655) as Biyu-Ki- Kima . On account of this identification

4399-404: The key West African ethnic groups associated with caravan trade . Agriculture serves as the primary livelihood for the Songhai populations, adapted to the arid and semi-arid conditions in which they reside. The Sahel region experiences a three-month rainy season contrasted by a more extended dry period of eight to nine months. Irrigation is extensively used along the Niger river and in

4482-406: The king of Gao converted to Islam during the 10th century. Archaeologically, the cemetery stelae are the main evidence for Islam at Gao. An excavation of 5700 rim and body sherds showed Gao Saney's ceramic assemblage to be largely homogeneous throughout all the deposits. Most of the vessels were organic-tempered jars with long funnel-like rims decorated with broad channels, typically painted with

4565-736: The lands of the Senufo Tagouana and Djimini , with the Baoulé country as a protectorate. The power of the Zerma army based on the use of rapid cavalry, rifle and cannon made it the most powerful ally of the Wassoulu Empire and the most powerful state of the late 19th century in the lands of the modern Ivory Coast . Zarma riders and mercenaries, the Semassi' , are known for having operated on Togolese territory on behalf of slave traders between 1883 and 1887. After having been co-opted by

4648-568: The late 19th century, the Zarma leader, Baba Ato Zato (known as Babatu in the Hausa corruption of his name), enlisted a battalion of indigenous men who, after ingesting traditional medicines, were believed to be impervious to iron. In 1887, Zabarma Emirate forces raided Wa , the capital of the Kingdom of Wala , prompting a significant population displacement. This event marked the beginning of enduring playful ethnic banter and slavery jokes between

4731-608: The leather workers and hairdressers (Wanzam), and the domestic slaves (Horso, Bannye). Each caste reveres its own guardian spirit. Some scholars such as John Shoup list these strata in three categories: free (chiefs, farmers and herders), servile (artists, musicians and griots ), and the slave class. The servile group were socially required to be endogamous, while the slaves could be emancipated over four generations. The highest social level, states Shoup, claim to have descended from King Sonni 'Ali Ber and their modern era hereditary occupation has been Sohance (sorcerer). Considered as being

4814-406: The medieval and colonial era descriptions, their vocation is hereditary, and each stratified group has been endogamous . The social stratification has been unusual in two ways; it embedded slavery, wherein the lowest strata of the population inherited slavery, and the Zima , or priests and Islamic clerics, had to be initiated but did not automatically inherit that profession, making the cleric strata

4897-518: The most widely cultivated fruits, followed by oranges , watermelons , melons , and gourds . Songhai languages Northwest Songhay: Eastern Songhay: The Songhay , Songhai or Ayneha languages ( [sõʁaj] , [soŋaj] or [soŋoj] ) are a group of closely related languages / dialects centred on the middle stretches of the Niger River in the West African countries of Mali , Niger , Benin , Burkina Faso and Nigeria . In particular, they are spoken in

4980-562: The negative na (found in a couple of Manding dialects) and negative perfect mana (cf. Manding má , máŋ ), the subjunctive ma (cf. Manding máa ), the copula ti (cf. Bisa ti , Manding de/le ), the verbal connective ka (cf. Manding kà ), the suffixes -ri (resultative – cf. Mandinka -ri , Bambara -li process nouns), -ncè (ethnonymic, cf. Soninke -nke , Mandinka -nka ), -anta (ordinal, cf. Soninke -ndi , Mandinka -njaŋ ...), -anta (resultative participle, cf. Soninke -nte ), -endi (causative, cf. Soninke, Mandinka -ndi ), and

5063-437: The people of Mālī. After staying a month in the town, Ibn Battuta left with a caravan for Takedda and from there headed north back across the Sahara to an oasis in Tuat with a large caravan that included 600 slave girls. Sometime in the 14th century, Ali Kulun, the first ruler of the Sunni dynasty , rebelled against Mali hegemony, and was defeated.; It was not until the first half of the 15th century that Sunni Sulayman Dama

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5146-471: The political system and governments during and after the French colonial rule . Within the stratified social system, the Islamic system of polygynous marriages is a norm, with preferred partners being cross cousins . This endogamy within Songhai-Zarma people is similar to other ethnic groups in West Africa. The Songhai people cultivate cereals , raise small herds of cattle, and fish in the Niger Bend area where they live. They have traditionally been one of

5229-418: The postposition ra "in" (cf. Manding lá , Soso ra ...) The Songhay languages are considered to be an independent family by Dimmendaal (2011), although he classifies Saharan as part of Nilo-Saharan. Songhay is mostly a tonal , SOV group of languages, an exception being the divergent Koyra Chiini of Timbuktu, which is non-tonal and uses SVO order. Songhay has a morpheme -ndi which marks either

5312-466: The proclamation of his son Musa as king. However, Musa's reign was short-lived as he was overthrown in 1531, leading to a period of decline for the Songhai Empire. Amidst the internal strife and numerous civil wars plaguing the empire, Morocco surprisingly launched an invasion of the Songhai Empire . The primary motive behind this invasion was the desire to control and rejuvenate trans-Saharan trade , particularly in salt and gold. Despite Askia's rule,

5395-420: The question of Songhay's origins still open, while arguing against Bender's proposed etymologies. Greenberg's morphological similarities with Nilo-Saharan include the personal pronouns ai (cf. Zaghawa ai ), 'I', ni (cf. Kanuri nyi ), 'you (sg.)', yer (e.g. Kanuri -ye ), 'we', wor (cf. Kanuri -wi ), 'you (pl.)'; relative and adjective formants -ma (e.g. Kanuri -ma ) and -ko (cf. Maba -ko ),

5478-399: The region, they allied with the Baoulé to organize the slave trade and the arms trade (rifle, cannon). Having made the Baoulé country a protectorate and the Wassoulou Empire their allies, the Zerma rallied to Samori Toure and attacked the Senufo again . The Zerma Empire in Senufo country was an imamate which covered the region of the Vallée du Bandama District , Mankono region, all on

5561-453: The region. These authors referred to the town as Kawkaw or Kuku. The two key 17th century chronicles, the Tarikh al-Sudan and the Tarikh al-Fattash , provide information on the town at the time of the Songhai Empire but they contain only vague indications on the time before. The chronicles do not, in general, acknowledge their sources. Their accounts for the earlier periods are almost certainly based on oral tradition and for events before

5644-473: The regions of Savanes and Kara occupied by the Moba and Kabye , they made the Tem Tchaoudjo Kingdom located in the Centrale Region ( Sokodé ) a protectorate and pushed their conquests as far as Atakpamé . in Benin , Djougou was their protectorate and they incessantly raided the Tammari people of Atakora . From 1890 to 1900 they had to bow to the projects and ambitions of the French and German colonial empires. The language, society and culture of

5727-412: The reign of Mansa Sakura . Both of these accounts may be true, as Mali's control of Gao may have been weak, requiring powerful mansas to reassert their authority periodically. Both chronicles provide details on Ali Kulun (or Ali Golom) the founder of the Sunni dynasty. He revolted against the hegemony of the Mali Empire . A date is not given in the chronicles but the comment in the Tarikh al-fattash that

5810-415: The second half of the 15th century they are likely to be less reliable. For these earlier periods the two chronicles sometimes provide conflicting information. The earliest mention of Gao is by al-Khwārizmī who wrote in the first half of the 9th century. In the 9th century Gao was already an important regional power. Al-Yaqubi wrote in his Tarikh in around 872: There is the kingdom of the Kawkaw, which

5893-461: The south of the Gao-Saney occupation mound ( tell ) but to the north of Gao Ancien. The imported pottery and glass recovered from Gao-Saney suggest that the site was occupied between the 8th and 12th centuries. It is possible that Gao-Saney corresponds to Sarnāh of al-Muhallabi. Al-Bakri writing in 1068 also records the existence of two towns, but al-Idrisi writing in around 1154 does not. Both al-Muhallabi (see quote above) and al-Bakri situate Gao on

5976-666: The subsequent capture of Gao , Timbuktu , and Djenné , the Pashalik of Timbuktu was established, designating Timbuktu as its capital. Commencing in 1618, the Pasha, initially appointed by the Sultan of Morocco, transitioned to being elected by the Arma . Despite governing the Pashalik as an independent republic, the Armas continued to acknowledge Moroccan sultans as their leaders. During the civil war following Ahmad al-Mansur 's death in Morocco,

6059-464: The town of Kukiya. The town is believed to have been near the modern village of Bentiya on the eastern bank of the Niger River , north of the Fafa rapids, 134 km south east of Gao. Tombstones with Arabic inscriptions dating from the 14th and 15th centuries have been found in the area. Kukiya is also mentioned in the other important chronicle, the Tarikh al-fattash . The Tarikh al-Sudan relates that

6142-448: The trade networks in the eighth through tenth centuries on a scale only exceeded by Igbo Ukwu among known sub-Saharan sites. Additionally, salt was noted as a large part of the king's treasure at Gao. Supposedly, Gao controlled an underground salt mine, however, salt is archaeologically invisible. The number of imports exploded with the penetration of Islam into West Africa. During the late eight century CE, Ibadi merchants established

6225-723: The true Songhai, the Sohance , also known as Si Hamey , are found primarily in The Songhai in the Tillabery Region of Niger , whereas, at the top social level in Gao , the old seat of the Songhai Empire and much of Mali , one finds the Arma who are the descendants of the Moroccan invaders married to Songhai women. The traditionally free strata of the Songhai people have owned property and herds, and these have dominated

6308-589: The west (or right bank) of the Niger. The 17th century Tarikh al-Fattash also states that in the 10th century Gao was situated on the Gourma side (i.e. the west bank) of the river. A large sand dune, La Dune Rose , lies on the west bank opposite Gao, but at Koima, on the edge of the dune at a site 4 km north of Gao, surface deposits indicate a pre 9th century settlement. This could be the west bank Gao mentioned by 10th and 11th century authors. The site has not been excavated. Al-Sadi in his Tarikh al-Sudan gives

6391-632: The wider Nilo-Saharan linguistic phylum. Historically, the name Songhay was neither an ethnic nor a linguistic designation for all, but a name for the ruling caste of the Songhai Empire which are the Songhai proper . The term used by the natives to address the languages and people collectively is Ayneha . Aside from the Songhai proper, some speakers in Mali have also adopted the name Songhay as an ethnic designation, while other Songhay-speaking groups identify themselves with other ethnic terms, such as Zarma (Djerma) or Isawaghen (Sawaq). A few precolonial poems and letters composed in Songhay and written in

6474-458: Was Ahmed Baba — a highly distinguished historian frequently quoted in the Tarikh al-Sudan and other works. The people consisted of mostly fishermen and traders. Following Sonni Ali's death, Muslim factions rebelled against his successor and installed Sonni Ali nephew, Askia Muhammad (formerly Muhammad Toure) who was to be the first and most important ruler of the Askia dynasty (1492–1592). Under

6557-640: Was able to throw off the Mali yoke. His successor, Sunni Ali Ber (1464–1492), greatly expanded the territory under Songhay control and established the Songhay Empire . Towards the end of the 13th century, Gao lost its independence and became part of the expanding Mali Empire . According to the Tarikh al-Sudan , the cities of Gao and Timbuktu submitted to Musa's rule as he traveled through on his return to Mali. According to one account given by Ibn Khaldun, Musa's general Saghmanja conquered Gao. The other account claims that Gao had been conquered during

6640-588: Was among the earliest activities that took place. Thousands of glass beads have been found in and around Gao, dating from the eighth to the fourteenth century CE. Their shapes include cylinder, oblate, sphere, tube, ellipsoid, bicone, and disc, and colors range from red to blue to yellow. Analyzing the composition of the beads can indicate their origins; several compositional groupings have been recognized, included plant-ash soda-lime-silica glass, mineral soda-lime-silica glass, high-lime high-alumina glass, mineral soda-high alumina glass, plant ash soda-high alumina glass and

6723-486: Was deposed by his brother Muhammad Gao , who was in turn murdered on the order of the Moroccan pasha . The Moroccans then appointed Sulayman as puppet king ruling the Niger between Djenné and Gao . South of Tillaberi , the Songhai resistance against Morocco continued under Askia Nuh , a son of Askia Dawud . He established his capital at Lulami . Following the Moroccan army's triumph at Battle of Tondibi and

6806-425: Was not adequate, and in 1990 proposed a distinctly novel hypothesis: that Songhay is a Berber -based creole language , restructured under Mande influence. In support of this he proposed 412 similarities, ranging all the way from basic vocabulary ( tasa " liver ") to obvious borrowings ( anzad " violin ", alkaadi " qadi ".) Others, such as Gerrit Dimmendaal, were not convinced, and Nicolaï (2003) appears to consider

6889-467: Was occupied by roughly 700CE, and was a center of manufacturing, iron smelting, and trade with areas as far away as Mesopotamia . It was the southern terminus of a trade route powered by chariots that linked it to the Mediterranean. At some point no later than the early 10th century the Songhay king moved to the site of Gao Ancien, just north of the modern city on the bank of the Niger river and

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