Tomb of Askia

Askia the Great (c. 1442-1538, also Muhammad Ture) was a Soninke king of the Songhai Empire in the late 15th century. Askia Muhammad strengthened his country and made it the largest country in West Africa's history. At its peak under Muhammad, the Songhai Empire encompassed the Hausa states as far as Kano (in present-day Nigeria) and much of the territory that had belonged to the Mali Empire in the west. His policies resulted in a rapid expansion of trade with Europe and Asia, the creation of many schools, and made Islam an integral part of the empire. Image File history File links Tomb of the Askias, created by Utilisateur:Taguelmoust on fr. ... Image File history File links Tomb of the Askias, created by Utilisateur:Taguelmoust on fr. ... Events The community of Rauma, Finland was granted its town rights. ... Events Treaty of Nagyvarad. ... Also called Sarakole, Seraculeh, or Serahuli, the Soninke are a Mandé people who descend from the Bafour, and are closely related to the Imraguen of Mauritania. ... The Songhai Empire, c. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ...  Western Africa (UN subregion)  Maghreb[1] West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. ... The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. ... Kano is the administrative center of the Kano State and the third largest city in Nigeria, in terms of geographical size, after Ibadan and Lagos. ... The Mali Empire or Manding Empire or Manden Kurufa was a medieval West African state of the Mandinka from 1235 to 1468. ... This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ...

He is reputed to be buried in the Tomb of Askia in Gao, a World Heritage Site. Rumor has it that he gained the name Askia (which means forecful one) after Sunni Ali Ber daughter heard the news of one of his wars.^[1] Tomb of Askia The Tomb of Askia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Gao, Mali. ... Gao is a city in Mali on the River Niger with a population of about 38,000 people. ... A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State... Sonni Ali (1464-1492) was the first great king of the Songhai Empire, and the 15th ruler of the Sonni dynasty. ...

History

The successor of Sunni Ali Ber, Askia Muhammad was much more astute and farsighted than his predecessor had ever been. He defeated Sunni Baru in two brief battles, thus winning his kingship, and became a great, skilled ruler.^{[citation needed]} He orchestrated a program of expansion and consolidation which extended the empire from Taghaza in the North to the borders of Yatenga in the South; and from Air in the Northeast to Futa Tooro in Senegambia. Instead of organizing the empire along Islamic lines, he tempered and improved on the traditional model by instituting a system of bureaucratic government unparalleled in the Western Sudan. In addition, Askia established standardized trade measures and regulations, and initiated the policing of trade routes. He also encouraged learning and literacy, ensuring that Mali's universities produced the most distinguished scholars, many of whom published significant books. To secure the illegitimacy of his usurpation of the Sonni dynasty, Askia Muhammad allied himself with the scholars of Timbuktu, ushering in a golden age in the city for Moslem scholarship. The eminent scholar Ahmed Baba, for example, produced books on Islamic law which are still in use today. Mahmoud Kati published Tarik al-Fattah and Abdul-Rahman as-Sadi published Tarik ul-Sudan (Chronicle(history) of the Sudan(an ancient reference to Africa, not political Sudan), two history books which are indispensable to present-day scholars reconstructing African history in the Middle Ages. For all his efforts, Mali experienced a cultural revival it had never witnessed before, and the whole land flourished as a center of all things valuable in learning and trade.

Askia Muhammad went blind in his old age, and was deposed (removed from the throne) in 1528 by his son Askia Musa at the age of more than eighty years. He died several years later. Also the major king. Askia Musa, was a Soninke king of the Songhai Empire in the late 15th century. ...

Lineage of Kingship

Sonni Ali (1464-1492) was the first great king of the Songhai Empire, and the 15th ruler of the Sonni dynasty. ... The Songhai Empire, c. ... Not to be confused with 1492: Conquest of Paradise. ... Events Treaty of Nagyvarad. ... Askia Musa, was a Soninke king of the Songhai Empire in the late 15th century. ...

Resources

• The American Journey - ISBN 0-02-823218-6
• From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans, first edition. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1947. Last update with Alfred Moss, 8th ed. McGraw-Hill Education, 2001, ISBN 0-07-112058-0

External links

• Biographical information on historical African figures

References