3.2 The Songhai Empire

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Describe the characteristics that defined imperial Songhai
• Discuss the ways in which internal conflict led to the decline of the Songhai Empire

The Sudanic kingdom of Songhai was the largest fifteenth-century African state in West Africa. At its height, it stretched from Senegal-Gambia on the Atlantic coast in the west all the way to Kano in the Hausaland region of present-day Nigeria in the southeast, and to the salt-mining trade center of Taghaza in the north. Founded by Sunni Ali in the late fifteenth century, Songhai reached its imperial height under the founder of the Askia dynasty, Muhammad Ture, a general and provisional governor who overthrew Sunni Ali’s legitimate successor.