Trans-Saharan Trade Routes by Lang Matt;

Author:Lang, Matt;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cavendish Square Publishing LLC

The architecture of Timbuktu preserves some of the history of mighty West African empires.

The askia responded by sending a spear and a pair of iron sandals and the message that he would pay the tax as soon as the sultan wore through the sandals. Since the sandals were iron, this was a creative way of saying no to the sultan’s demands. The sultan had heard stories about Songhai’s wealth, particularly the gold. The askia’s defiance gave al-Mansur the reason he needed to invade.

The sultan of Morocco attacked with an army of four thousand men, including two thousand soldiers armed with muskets and five hundred men on horseback. It took ten thousand camels to carry all the army’s supplies. They carried tents, food, and water enough to last them the forty-day journey across the desert. They also brought gunpowder and four small cannons, weapons imported to Morocco from Spain. There had never been weapons like that in the Southern Sahara. The Songhai were overwhelmed by the noise alone.

The Moroccan army won a decisive victory on March 12, 1591, near the town of Tondibi, 30 miles (48.3 km) north of Goa. The Songhai army fought bravely against the overwhelming strength of the Moroccans, but they were forced to retreat across the Niger River. Askia Ishaq made one final attempt to appease the Moroccans. He offered Jawar Pasha, the commander of their army, 100,000 gold pieces and 1,000 slaves in the hopes that they would be satisfied and return to Morocco. The Moroccan army was exhausted following their trip across the desert and the battles that followed. Jawar Pasha was ready to accept the offer, but the sultan wanted to keep control of the newly conquered territory.

When Sultan al-Mansur rejected the offer, he replaced Jawar Pasha with Mahmud Pasha and gave the new commander instructions to finish the invasion. The Moroccan army invaded and looted Goa, Djenné, and Timbuktu. They brought the riches taken from these cities back to Marrakesh, the capital of Morocco, where the sultan used it to build several palaces.

The Songhai army did not give up control of their empire without a fight. They fled into the countryside and continued to resist the Moroccan invasion. They also rebelled against Askia Ishaq, who they felt was a weak leader. They replaced him with Muhammed Gao. Muhammed Gao was invited to meet with Mahmud Pasha, but it was a trap. Muhammed Gao was assassinated.

Gao’s brother, Askia Nuh, took over. The Songhai continued their resistance for years, fighting battles in the desert and stopping the Moroccans from taking control of more territory. However, the Songhai were never able to regain control. Timbuktu and other urban trading centers remained in the hands of the Moroccans, and the rest of the Songhai empire broke apart into smaller states. By the eighteenth century, there was nothing left of the Songhai Empire.

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