Empires: Songhai Empire

What were taxes gathered in in the Songhai Empire?

Goods

What was one benefit that conquered regions would receive under King Sunni Ali under of the Songhai Empire?

He built many dykes which improved irrigation and agricultural yield of many areas

In 1468 CE, how did King Sunni Ali change the traditional Songhai tactic?

He changed it from small and sporadic raids on its enemies to a more sustained campaign of permanent territorial expansion.

Which Songhai king was able to conquer the rump of the old Mali empire?

King Sunni Ali

Timbuktu, with a population of around 100,000 in the mid-15th century CE, continued to thrive as a trade 'port' and as a centre of learning into the 16th and 17th centuries CE when the city boasted what?

Many mosques and 150-180 Quranic schools.

Which rivalry of the Songhai empire divided the empire in half?

Mohammad IV Bano and his brothers

Which Moroccan leader sent a small force of 4,000 men armed with muskets to attack the Songhai empire in 1590 - 1591 CE?

Moroccan leader Ahmad al-Mansur al-Dhahabi, known rather grandly as 'the Golden Conqueror'

The fourth major city in the region, Kano, was obliged to do what to the Songhai king?

Pay a hefty tribute

Who did King Mohammad I of the Songhai Empire appoint as heads of justice in Timbuktu, Djenne, and other towns?

Qadis- Islamic magistrates or judges

Although the Songhai kingdom was conquered by the Mali Empire, the Songhai people would prove troublesome and powerful because they controlled what?

River transport on the Niger.

Who was one official who nobody could escape from in the Songhai empire?

The tax collector

When was the Songhai empire absorbed into the Moroccan Empire?

1591 CE

When did the Songhai empire begin to shrink around the edges, especially the west?

16th century CE

Of the nine rulers in the Songhai Empire's history, how many were either deposed in rebellions or died violent deaths, usually at the hands of their brothers and uncles?

6 out of 9

Which century does the kingdom of Songhai date back to?

9th century

Who dealt with the official paperwork in the Songhai empire?

A chancellor secretary

Which Lisbon merchant had, in 1471 CE, sailed around the Atlantic coast of Africa and established a trading presence near the gold fields (in modern Ghana)?

Fenão Gomes,

What were taxes collected for in the Songhai Empire?

For the crown to pay the -army -court -and to provide provision for the poor

Where was the capital of the Songhai empire?

Gao

Which empire was the Songhai empire contemporary with between the 6th and 13th century?

Ghana Empire

Why were the two most important animist spirits in West Africa Harake Diko of the Niger River and Dongo and thunderstorms?

Given the importance of the river to trade and rain to the dry savannah of West Africa

The Songhai king Sunni Ali played on his image as what to strike fear into his enemies?

A magician of the indigenous animist religion

Why did the Songhai empire begin to shrink around the edges in the 16th century?

Due to a string of ineffectual leaders and civil wars for the right of succession which had weakened the empire ever since the death of King Mohammad I in 1528 CE

Why was King Mohammad I of the Songhai empire considered to be the second greatest leader after Sunni Ali?

He oversaw the greatest territorial expansion of the Sonhai Empire

How did King Sunni Ali feel about Islam?

He was vehemently anti-Muslim and was an animist magician

What does the presence of rural markets in the Songhai Empire indicate?

Indicates there was usually a food surplus

How did King Sunni Ali of the Songhai empire show complete ruthlessness?

Infamously executing many of the particularly resistant Fulbe tribe

Where did the Songhai empire originate from?

It originated as a smaller kingdom along the eastern side of the bend of the Niger River in 1000 CE

Who was the Sonhai empire's second greatest ruler after Sunni Ali?

King Mohammad I

When did the Islamic reform movement sweep across the West African region?

The 18th century

What was the Moroccan leader Ahmad Al Mansur Al Dhahabi known as?

The Golden Conqueror

What epithet did King Sunni Ali earm?

Sunni the Merciless

Where were the lucrative salt mines that Gao, the capital city of the Songhai Empire took control of?

Tagahaza

What are traditional animist beliefs?

That spirits possessed certain objects especially impressive natural phenomena, trees, caves, and prominent natural features

When did King Mohammad I rule the Songhai empire?

1494 - 1528 CE

When did King Mohammad I of the Songhai empire die?

1528 CE

When did King Mohammad I of the Songhai empire attack Gobir, Katsina, and Zaria?

1554 CE

By which year was Djenne conquered by the Songhai Empire?

1473 CE

Which three major cities of Hausaland, located between the Niger River and Lake Chad, were attacked by the Songhai Empire under King Mohammad I?

-Gobir -Katsina -Zaria

Who were the two most important spirits in the animist religion in West Africa?

-Harake Diko- linked to the Niger River -Dongo, linked thunderstorms

What did the Timbuktu chronicler, the Tarikh al-Sudan (c. 1656 CE) note about King Sunni Ali?

-He reigned for 28 years -waged 32 wars of which he won every one -always the conqueror, never the conquered.

Trade centers in the Songhai empire became sophisticated urban centers and consisted of what?

-Housing built in stone -many having a large public square for regular markets -at least one mosque

The Songhai Empire completely dominated almost the whole stretch of the Niger River, West Africa's trade superhighway so that the Songhai peoples were now a small minority group in a state that encompassed which four diverse groups?

-Mande -Fulbe -Mossi -Tuareg

Who were the urban elite under King Mohammad of the Songhai Empire's rule?

-Not just made up of wealthy merchants -there also sprang up a class of religious scholars whose texts not only examined the ins and outs of their religion but also produced works on many other subjects from science to history

As a result of what technological mismatch did the Songhai empire lose to the Moroccan empire?

-The Moroccan army was only 4,000 men but they had muskets -The Songhai army had some 30,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry but their weapons were mere spears and arrows

What was the final deathblow to the Songhai empire?

-The Moroccan leader Ahmad al-Mansur al-Dhahabi , known rather grandly as 'the Golden Conqueror', sent a small force of perhaps 4,000 men armed with muskets to attack the empire in the 1590- 1591 CE

What are two great trade centers of the Songhai empire?

-Timbuktu -Djenne

Where was the Songhai Empire located?

-West Africa -Covered modern Southern Mauritania and Mali

What did King Sunni Ali of the Songhai empire do with conquered territories?

-divided up into provinces and appointed a governor for each -Tribute was extracted from local chiefs -hostages taken and marriages of political alliance -built dykes which improved irrigation and agricultural yield

The Songhai managed to monopolize the Saharan caravan trade which brought rock salt and which 10 luxury goods?

-fine cloth -glassware -sugar -horses -gold -ivory -spices -kola nuts -hides -slaves

Name 5 things that ministers in the Songhai empire were responsible for?

-forests -wages -purchases -property -foreigners

Around the core trading centers in the Songhai Empire were a floating suburban population living in what types of houses?

-mud and reed houses -or tents

At the local level, there were many officials in the Songhai Empire with which specific duties?

-policing or checking the use of official weights at trading centers -as well as heads of local craft guilds and tribal groups

What was the territory of the capital city Gao of the Songhai Empire in 1554 CE?

-the empire stretched almost from the Senegal River in the west to what is today central Mali in the east. -In addition, the territory included the lucrative salt mines at Tagahaza in the north

Which groups of people or individuals were included in the imperial council of the Songhai Empire?

-the most senior officials which included the finance minister -the admiral of the Songhai fleet who also supervised the regional governors -the head of the army -the minister of agriculture

How many people were in the capital city of Gao of the Songhai empire in 1554 CE?

100,000 people

When did the Songhai Empire reign?

1460 - 1591 CE

When did King Sunni Ali rule the Songhai empire?

1464 - 1492 CE

By which year did the Songhai have control of the important trade port of Timbuktu?

1469 CE

In which year were the Mossi territories south of the Niger River bend attacked?

1471 CE

Who was King Mohammad I of the Songhai empire?

A former Songhai army commander who had wrested the throne from Sunni Ali's son, Sonni Baro

Where was the Mali Empire located?

Along the savannah belt between the Sahara desert to the north and the forests of southern West Africa (often referred to as the Sudan region

What was the title that King Mohammad I of the Sonhai Empire used?

Askiya (meaning 'ruler' or perhaps 'usurper ruler').

What was the battle tactic of King Sunni Ali of the Songhai Empire?

Attacking the enemy with overwhelming force and with the utmost speed

Why did king Sunni Ali of the Songhai empire not have access to the gold fields of the southern coast of West Africa that both the Ghana and Mali rulers had grown rich on?

Because a Portuguese fleet, sponsored by the Lisbon merchant Fenão Gomes, had, in 1471 CE, sailed around the Atlantic coast of Africa and established a trading presence near these gold fields (in modern Ghana).

What honorary title did King Mohammad I of the Songhai Empire receive when he made pilgrimage to Mecca?

Caliph of the Sudan

How did King Sunni Ali of the Songhai empire show leniency?

Conquered warriors were invited to join his own army

Who was King Sunni Ali's son?

Sonni Baro

Which empire did the Songhai Empire replace as the most important state in West Africa?

The Mali Empire

Which empire absorbed the Songhai empire?

The Moroccan Empire

Who did King Mohammad I of the Songhai Empire appoint as his government advisor?

The North African, Mohammad al-Maghili

Which empire was the last of the great empires that had dominated West Africa since the 6th century CE?

The Songhai Empire

Who was the Songhai empire named after?

The Songhay- a group of Nilo-Saharan-speaking peoples.

The Songhai kings made regular raids on Mali urban centers from which century and ultimately won their independence?

The early 15th

What was one of the reasons for King Mohammad's decision to expand the Songhai Empire interests to the southeast?

The loss of control of a slice of West Africa's gold trade to the Portuguese

In what way was the Songhai government more centralized than the earlier Ghana and Mali empires?

The ruler was an absolute monarch but despite having around 700 eunuchs at his court in Gao

How did people of the animist religion try to keep the spirits as well as those of their dead ancestors in a good mood?

They made offerings of food and drink and did masked dances

What were the roles of the tierkei sorcerers in animist beliefs?

They tried to minimize the interference of evil spirits in village affairs

How did King Sunni Ali conquer the rump of the old Mali empire?

With an army equipped with armored cavalry and the only naval fleet in North Africa which he deployed on the Niger River