Rise Of Songhay

Question 1

Military Success and use of Cavalry - rise of Songhay

Answer 1

• Sonni Ali also captured Timbuktu from the Tuareg in 1468. This was a powerful city, with strong connections in the Trans Saharan trade routes.
• Sonni Ali with the support of the Songhay army, took control of the river port at Kabara ( an important location between land & river routes)
• Conquered Djenne in 1472 in a siege said to have lasted, 7 years, 7 months, and 7 days - in which he utilized a naval force of over 400 boats - this city gave him control of the gold and kola routes leading southwards towards the Volta basin.
• Eastern Songhay had the best conditions for breeding horses - Sonni Ali utilized this & they had elite cavalry
• Soldiers fought with metal breastplates, knives, sabres, lances and bows&arrows
• Had incredibly strong naval fleet who they navigated along the Niger River to conquer new territories
• According to oral tradition the army of Songhay were said to have been never beaten.
• Sonni Ali’s Cabalry struggled in the forest - dense vegetation, they were at mercy of the Malian archers.

Question 2

Collapse of the Mali Empire - rise of songhay

Answer 2

• After 1320s Malis power began to wane & Songhays grew, due to ill defined rules for royal succession which often led to civil wars - then as trade routes opened up elsewhere, Mali struggled to compete
• Raids from Tuareg nomads, who seized control of Timbuktu in 1433-4
• Faced attacks from the Mossi and Songhay people
• A predecessor of Sonni Ali brought back prisoners from attacks in Mali - demonstrating weakness of Mali
• Outsourcing military power: meant the majority of infantry were enslaved people, whilst others were from tributary states or provinces within the Empire
• Outsourcing in this way meant that, ‘tyranny - violation of people’s rights’. This led to increased resentment, making it easier for the Sonnis to prise loyal dependents away from small to support their rise to power.

Question 3

Leadership of Sonni Ali - rise of Songhay

Answer 3

• As much as Sonni Ali achieved much as the leader of Songhay, his predecessors had laid a firm foundation on which he could build
• Sonni Ali rose to power in 1464 and continued Westward expansion. Led military campaigns against the Mossi, the Tuareg to the Nkrth and conquered the city of Djenne in 1472. Aswell as capturing Timbuktu from the Tuareg in 1468
• Sonni Ali is remembered in the oral tradition of Songhay as a magician of unparalleled power. He was a great military commander with a well thought out stratgedy of conquest based on the Niger waterway
• Under Sonni Ali’s rule during the 1440: the trade which passed through the Trans Saharan trade routes reached its peak.

Question 4

Legal, administrative, cultural and intellectual strengths - rise of Songhay

Answer 4

• Sonni Ali developed administrative frameworks
• In GAO there was an imperial administration and a royal military council
• Sonni Ali largely took over the old Malian system of administration/methods of government
• Askia Mohammad changed it so there was more Mande leadership - they tended to be more loyal to Islam
• Askia Mohammad was an orthodox and pious Muslim ( in comparison to Sonni Ali) so was able to get back the support of the literary classes, and scholars returned to Timbuktu & Djenne
• Askia Mohammad restored relations with Tuareg and Sanhaja, and through them Songhay established virtual control over the salt mines of Taghaza
• Muslim clerics, in favor under Askia Mohammad, supplied the ideological support and the legal framework necessary for the efficient government of a large territory
• Songhay also depended on huge numbers of royal salves & privileged craftsmen - complex system enabled a well structured economy

Question 5

Geographical Factors - rise of Songhay

Answer 5

• Location of Songhay enabled it to access the crucial Trans Sharan trade routes (TST), with cities such as Timbuktu and Djenne being imperative in this.
• The Niger River enabled both trade and military expansion through naval force
• Growth in power of Gao, due to role in trans Saharan trade, traders would exchange Sahran salts for wax, honey, iron goods and cloth which were made further south along the Niger.
• Eastern Songhay had the best conditions for breeding horses, anywhere to the south of the Sahara - hence why Songhay had such elite cavalry
• Niger waterway played a significant role in the strategy of Sonni Ali and his military expeditions