Songhai Empire

1
Songhai Empire

• Songhai had two extrodinary leaders both of them
  were muslims. There names were sunni Ali and
  Askia Muhammad. Sunni Ali rule began in 1464 and
  lasted almost 30 years. Sunni Ali built a vast
  empire by military conquest. Sunni ali built a
  proffesional army that had a riverboat fleet of
  war canoes and a mobile fighting force
  on horseback. He expanded songhai into an empire
  through his skill as a military commander and his
  aggressive leadership. Sunni made his first major
  triumph when he captured the city of Timbuktu,
  which had been an important part of Mali's
  empire.
•          After Sonni death in 1492 his son became
  ruler but was soon over thrown because of a major
  revolt from a muslim named Askia Muhammad. During
  his 37-year rule, askia Muhammad proved to be an
  excellent administrator. He set up an efficient
  tax system and chose able officials. Sunni ali,
  appointed officials to serve as ministers of the
  treasury, army, navy, and agriculture.

2
Songhai Religion

• Songhia followed a religion of islamic. Islam
  began to spread in songhai some time in the 11th
  century when the ruling of Za or Dia dynasty
  first accepted it. It was a prosperous reign
  because of its booming trade with Goa. Muhammad 
  was a fervent Muslim he replaced native Songhay
  administrators with Arab Muslims in order to
  Islamicize Songhay society.
•         While the urban centers of Songhai were
  dominated by Islam and Islamic culture, the
  non-urban areas were not Islamic. The large
  majority of the Songhay people around 97
  followed traditional African religions.

3
Songhai Economy

• The songhai empire traded with independent gold
  fields.They also traded with the nigerians and
  merchants. The trade consisted of gold, salt and
  slaves. This was also called the Trans-Sahara
  Trade. The empire was known for its production of
  protical crafts and religious artificats.
•       In songhai Empire the upper classes in
  society converted to Islam while lower classes
  often continued to follow traditional religions.
  Askia Muhammad set up an efficient tax system and
  chose able officials.
•  

4
Songhai Culture Contribution

• Songai Contributions
• -Mohammed (the second ruler of Songhai) developed
  a system of "Discipline government".
• -This government seperated goverment officials
  into many sub groups.
• -Today we imitate this system, with departments
  of finance, agriculture, and law.... which were
  also the divisions that were made by Mohammed
•  -Perhaps the most important contribution to
  society from the Songhai empire is the existance
  of the great Sankore University. At the time,
  Sankore primarily the worlds foremost university,
  hosting illustrious alumni including the Greek
  philosipher aristotle (who studied law), and the
  great West African philosopher, astronamer,
  teacher, and Arabic Grammarian Ahmad Baba
•  

5
End of Songhai Empire

•          Despite its wealth and learning, the
  Songhai Empire lacked modern weapons. The chinese
  had invented gunpowder in the ninth century. In
  1591, a Moroccan fighting force of several
  thousand men equipped with gunpowder and cannons
  crossed the Sahara and invaded Songhai.
•        The moroccan troops quickly defeated the
  Songhai warriors, who were armed only with swords
  and spears. The collapse if the Songhai empire
  ended a 1,000-year period in which powerful
  kingdoms and empires ruled the central region of
  West Africa.

6
Songhai Empire (1275-1591AD)

•       Songhai empire centered on the middle Niger
  River in what is now central mali. It also
  extended to Atlantic Coast and into Niger. Songhi
  empire was also one of the largest empires in
  west Africa, stretching all the way to Cameroon.
•      The Songhai Empire had focused on the Niger
  River so they use the Niger River in their
  everyday life. They use the river for water and
  also used the soil around the river to grow rich
  and worthy crops. So farming was a big thing for
  them. Songhai empire is now located in the
  western Sudan in Africa. Songhai was one of the
  largest African Empires in history.