For the empire, see Songhai Empire. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...

The Songhai are an ethnic group living in western Africa, akin to the Mandé and Tuareg. The Songhai language group, however, has been connected with the Nilo-Saharan language family. They and the Mandé were the dominant ethnic groups in the Songhai Empire that dominated western Sahel in the 15th and 16th century. The Songhai are found primarily throughout Mali, in the area of Africa known as Western Sudan (not to be confused with the country). Muslims from the North accepted Islam. Askia Mohamad was a very great person who influenced this country a lot.Indeed, under the reign of Askia Muhammad I, also known as Askia the Great, it was celebrated as one of the world's most significant seats of learning. Among it most formidable scholars, professors and lecturers were Ahmed Baba--a highly distinguished historian frequently quoted in the Tarikh-es-Sudan and other works. It was from one of Mali's former conquests, the kingdom of Gao, that the last major empire of the western Sudan emerged. Although the city of Gao had been occupied by a Songhai dynasty prior to being conquered by Mansa Musa's forces in 1325, it was not until much later that the Songhai empire emerged. It began to rise in 1464 when Sonni cAli Ber came to power. Sonni cAli conquered much of the weakening Mali empire's territory as well as Timbuktu, famous for its Islamic universities and the pivotal trading city of Jenne. Following Sonni cAli's death, Muslim factions rebelled against his successor and installed Askia Muhammad (formerly Muhammad Ture) as the first ruler of the Askia dynasty (1492–1592). Under the Askias, the Songhai empire reached its zenith, Timbuktu and Jenne flourished as centers of Islamic learning, and Islam was actively promoted. it was in medieval africa. A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... Mandé is an ethnic group of West Africa. ... For other uses, see Tuareg (disambiguation). ... The Songhay languages are a group of closely related languages/dialects centered on the Niger river, widely used as a lingua franca, particularly thanks to the medieval Songhay Empire. ... Map showing the distribution of the Nilo-Saharan languages. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... The location of Sahel in Africa The Sahel (from Arabic ساحل, sahil, shore, border or coast of the Sahara desert) is the boundary zone in Africa between the Sahara to the north and the more fertile region to the south, known as the Sudan (not to be confused with the country... (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. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... The Sudan, from the Arabic bilâd as-sûdân land of the Blacks, is a geographic region in West and Eastern Africa. ...