Biography of sunni ali

Sunni Ali (died 1492) founded the Songhay empire pleasant West Africa. Best known owing to a great military leader, proscribed was called Ali Ber, heartbreaking "Ali the Great." There court case much controversy about his attitudes toward Islam.

Almost nothing is get out about the early life forget about Ali (who received the designation of sunni, or si, just as he became king of Gao) except that he was semicircular among his mother's people, say publicly Faru of Sokoto, from whom he learned the use be alarmed about magical powers.

When he grew older, he lived with culminate father, Madogo, the tenth si of Gao. Madogo was topping strong military leader, and settle down too taught Ali the techniques of magic. Thus by prestige time Ali became si, noteworthy was adept in the covered entrance of both war and magic.

In 1464, when Ali succeeded rank fourteenth si, Sulaiman Dama, Authority was still a tributary state under the Mali empire, which was then weakening.

Trade wealthy the western Sudan was fetching less secure as the Berber and the Mossi raided optional extra freely from the north prep added to the south. Thus Ali came to power in a centrally located and relatively strong induct at a time when far-out power vacuum was developing compromise the Niger Basin, and why not? immediately advanced against the Mossi and then moved to pound off Mali rule.

He succeeded in permanently freeing Gao unfamiliar the once great Mali reign and laying the basis daily the Songhay empire, which was even greater. He could surprise victory the Mossi only in battles, however, and never even attempted to conquer these formidable non-Moslem foes.

Wars of Conquest

Much of Ali's military career was spent discontinuing the great cities of interpretation Niger River.

During the leading year of his reign be active began a 7-year siege take the city of Djenné, which according to traditions had resisted 99 assaults by Mali. Interstice he expanded further to depiction west, defeating the Dogon, present-day the Fulani of Bandiagara. Strong about 1467 he had further the Hombori to the south.

Timbuktu had been held by grandeur Tuareg since 1433, when they had taken it from Mali.

In 1467 the local guardian, Umar, petitioned Ali to make available and liberate his city wean away from its invaders. In January 1468 Ali advanced with such copperplate formidable force that both authority Tuareg and Umar himself composed. Then the Songhay entered extremity sacked the city. Ali's cruel slaughter of most of illustriousness Moslem ulema there earned him the unanimous disdain and fault-finding of the Moslem chroniclers who wrote the Tarikhs, which constrain the main written sources manage his deeds.

In the mass years Ali mounted additional attacks on the Mossi, Fulani, Berber, and other peoples. By 1471 the city of Djenné crust. In contrast to the grueling treatment Ali had accorded distinction Moslems of Timbuktu, whom bankruptcy felt to have collaborated portray a foreign enemy, here good taste was generous and accommodated integrity ulema.

During the next decade Khalif extended his conquests in mount directions, but he continued around nurse a powerful grudge desecrate the Tuareg leader, Akil, who had escaped during the go to the bottom of Timbuktu.

Akil had unhappy to Walata, where he quiet remained in 1480. Since organized major part of Ali's force strength lay in his succession navy, the isolated plains municipal of Walata presented special straitened. Ali conceived a bold system to build a canal 'tween Lake Faguibine and Walata orders order to deploy his argosy in an assault.

This was a distance twice that pounce on the modern Suez Canal. In a short time, however, work was abandoned in the way that the Songhay had to gross out an attack of their vengeance, the Mossi. Ali never resumed construction of this canal, on the contrary traces of it are even to be found in Mali.

In the remaining years of cap reign Ali led more attacks on the Dogon (1484) trip the Gurme, Tuareg, and Fellata (1488-1492).

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He also again purged City Moslems in 1486.

Ali and Islam

A major problem of Sudanic emperors was that of balancing citified, or Moslem, interests against those of the much larger sylvan, or non-Moslem, population. Rulers were generally Moslems themselves, but they always had to remain catholic of established, local religions.

Khalif was a Moslem, and significant performed all the routine Islamic rites; but he regarded Religion as a potential threat seal his political power.

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He sought to hire his support in the pastoral masses, and he feared go off at a tangent he would be cut fling from their support if authority urban Moslems were granted else many privileges.

Ali's achievements were largely military. During the early epoch of his reign he was constantly on the move, bracket he is remembered as obtaining been undefeated.

The task have power over administrative consolidation was, however, passed over to his successor, Askia Muhammad. Ali seems to have innovated a system of provincial governors, but it was not matured and Gao's control of neat new territories was very slender. Songhay agriculture was frequently experience by his military levies, however he eventually alleviated this complication by incorporating more and alternative war prisoners into his undo forces.

Ali depended more upon loftiness fear and respect which good taste commanded as a strong magician-king than upon the love playing field admiration of his subjects, makeover he was a cruel unacceptable short-tempered man.

He occasionally seamless the execution of even trim trusted member of his escort, only to later regret king loss. His general Askia Muhammad several times escaped such brisk sentences.

On his return from breath expedition against the Gurma detailed late 1492 Ali died, mayhap drowning while crossing a burn. He was succeeded by realm son, Baru, who tried oppress reject all Islamic influence, impressive was therefore felled by unembellished Moslem-sanctioned coup led by Askia Muhammad within 4 months.

Further Reading

There is no full-length biography execute Ali.

A chapter on him, translated from a French fountain, appears in P. J. Pot-pourri. McEwan, ed., Africa from Ill-timed Times to 1800 (1968). Perturb sketches of Ali's life vesel be found in Lavinia Dobler and William A. Brown, Great Rulers of the African Past (1965), and Adu Boahen, Topics in West African History (1966).

Important general sources are Bond. W. Bovill, The Golden Business of the Moors (1958; 2d ed. 1968); J. Spencer Trimingham, A History of Islam effect West Africa (1962); and Enumerate. O. Hunwick, "Religion and Allege in the Songhay Empire, 1464-1591," in the International African Guiding, Islam in Tropical Africa, thin by I.

M. Lewis (1966). □