Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire

“Timbuktu is a town inhabited by people of various races, but the greater part is made up of Whites, such as Arabs; they are subject to the king of Gao. This town is the entrepot for all goods in transit from the kingdom of Morocco to the kingdom of Gao. The king Mulay Ahmad has a fortress in the province of Lektaoua where everything was exchanged against gold dust that came from these kingdoms. From Timbuktu a Moorish qa id, a renegade, and an Andalusian were sent to Marrakesh with news of what happened during the expedition.”

“They arrived on 1 June of the present year 1591. Great celebrations were held to mark this happy success. But the king, although proud to be the first king of Morocco to have carried his victorious arms as far as Guinea, felt much resentment at Jawdar’s having withdrawn from Gao without having first constructed a fortress, as he had orders to do; or rather that, having withdraw, he had done so without having previously taken some good hostages from the black king as surety for his carrying out his promises. But in fact, it is within his power to do so or not to do so.”

“It is said that two months journey from Gao, in the interior lands, there is another kingdom of the Blacks that is called Bornu, whose king is very powerful. The Turks, having marched by way of Egypt to conquer this kingdom suffered so much from thirst while crossing the sandy deserts, that when attacked by the king of Bornu in this exigency, they could not defend themselves because of their thirst, and were beaten. Some who survived received such good treatment from the king that they remained in his service.”

“Through the industry of these individuals, and with the arms they took off the others, he has armed about five hundred musketeers, who, together with the numerous troops of his kingdom, make him very formidable in these regions of Guinea. It has been learned that this kingdom borders on some kingdoms of black Christians, who have been recently converted by the Portuguese during the discoveries they have made in Guinea. The judgment made about this expedition by natives of the kingdom of Morocco who have experience of these regions is as follows.”

“There are various opinions about this expedition. Some think it is very advantageous for the king of Morocco, because besides the glory he gets from carrying his victorious arms into Guinea–something none of his predecessors dared do because of the difficulty of the route, the length of the journey and lack of water they think he will get a lot of gold from this conquest, by means of which he will enhance his greatness.”

Source: Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Saʻdī’s Taʼrīkh Al-Sūdān Down to 1613 By ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh al- Saʿdī…

Dana Reynolds Marniche: “African History Time For The Children”

The following commentaries were made by Dana Reynolds Marniche. The references provide very specific details about African History that most “African Americans” are not informed on. In a post published this morning Professor Marniche stated the following and provided the following sources:

“Sorry for the interruption but my ancestors have said its African history time again. Please review these sources and teach to your children so that they understand and can relate to what they learn about Africa in school. I talked about this at the powerpoint Saturday in Baltimore at the Moorish Retreat, though I’m not sure everyone was able to follow. (Qouting Dana Reynolds Marniche)

– “According to Arab sources of the sixth/twelfth century (Kitab al-Istibsar and al-Zuhri), the blacks known as the Barbar or Barbara (Arabic plural: Barabir) formed the population of the Sudanese land of Zafunu, corresponding to present-day Diafunu. They counted among the Djanawa that is to say the blacks and also, according to al-Zuhri, lived in the center of the desert (probably the deserts and steppes of south-east Mauritania) and in areas in the vicinity of Ghana and Tadmekka (north of Gao),…The Barbara would thus appear to be a group of the Soninke.”(Lewicki, Africa from the Seventh to Eleventh Centuries UNESCO History of Africa 1988.  (Qouting Dana Reynols Marniche) 

“(The word Soninke (Aswanek) is supposed to be related to the Aswan region.”Besides being identified as the merchant class among the Malinke, the Wangara are associated with the Soninke as ancestors both of the Songhai monarchs and the Muria Kurya clerics.” From the book, Social History of Timbuktu ” (Qouting Dana Reynols Marniche) 

“…Oualata is believed to have been first settled by an agro-pastoral people akin to the Mandé Soninke who lived along the rocky promontories of the Tichitt-Oualata and Tagant cliffs of Mauritania. There, they built what are among the oldest stone settlements on the African continent.”Ksour New World Encyclopedia   .” (Qouting Dana Reynols Marniche) 

“Gabriel Camps identified the Bafour Soninke/Imraguen with the “Mauri Bavares” – “le même auteur cite les Barbares = Bavares), dans le Dahra” The Dara’a or Dahra are the Berbers like those of Ouarzazate that I posted previously.” (Qouting Dana Reynols Marniche) 

“Your children need to be aware of the close connection of the ancient Berbers or “Barbares” of ancient North Africa and that of the peoples of West Africa called Wan’Gara and Wa’Kore or Soninke/Songhai in texts. Related peoples in West Africa included the Isuwaghen, Zawagha/Zaghawa or Zaghai, Tekruri (mixed with Wodabe Fulani), Kwona, Abira, Jukon, Kanuri, Imraguen, Djerma, Marka, Serere, Sarakholle, Djallonke, Jahanke, Bafour, Bupir, Pabir, Barabir, Beriberi.”  (Qouting Dana Reynols Marniche) 

“They are the descendants of the great masons, merchants, metallurgists, miners, musicians, magicians, agro-pastoralists, horsemen, and most importantly scholars to whom was due the great civilizations of West Africa (Hausa lands, Kanem, Ghana, Songhai and before that in most of the Maghreb, from where they traditionally claim descent, i.e.,. Wargla, Touggourtia, Garamantia, Numidia, Mauretania Caesarea and Tingitana (Tangiers) and Carthage were also their original dwelling places according to their own traditions.” (Qouting Dana Reynols Marniche) 

“From there they settled 900,000 strong in the Iberian peninsula during the centuries of the Islamic era. And that was long after their movement from the East.” (Qouting Dana Reynols Marniche) 

“They are the real people of Genesis, including first “people of the book”. According to the ancient Greeks they were connected to ancient inhabitants of the Aegean and Mediterranean and those “Ethiopians” they named “the favorites of the Gods.” These the men “of whom myths are made”. There is good reason to believe they brought their masonic knowledge to ancient America and the Far East as well, in a remote period.)” (Qouting Dana Reynols Marniche) 

“Now these are not the only ancestors of the African American people, but certainly the largest part of them. And Wakanda can not compare. Believe it! BTW – however, I do believe that the hundreds of people of all ethnicities involved in the making of that movie came into incarnation for the express purpose and destiny of producing it – from the cosmetologists, costume designers to the directors, and actors. Because times are a-changing and now is the time – this is the place for the Ethi- ophites, the fiery serpents of wisdom to rise again -within all of humanity. The history of Africans will bring back remembrance strongly of humanity’s divine origins.” (Qouting Dana Reynols Marniche) 

Source: Dana Reynolds Marniche

1468 Songhai invaded Timbuktu and conquered Berbers

The Songhai Empire was the largest empire and became the last of the three major empires in West Africa. The empire existed from circa 1375 to 1591. It was one of the largest Muslim-populated empires in history.

The rise of Songhai was due to the decline of the Mali Empire after the death of its last and strongest king, Mansa Musa, in 1337.

The decline was traced to the period when Emperor Mansa Musa embarked on an extravagant pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. The king also failed to stop the invasion of Berber conquerors, who ruled Timbuktu for some time.

Subsequently, Sunni Ali in 1468 became the leader of Songhai, invaded Timbuktu, and conquered the Berbers.

He began a campaign of conquest and established the capital of the empire at Gao on the Niger River.

The Tomb of Askia the Great and evidently the most important of all emperors of the West African ancient empires was built in Songhai. The mosque in Gao is one of the most notable in West Africa.

The empire gained more recognition and importance through the control of the trade routes and the trade in slaves. Songhai eventually took control of Timbuktu and Jenne (Kabir Abdlkareem)

Citing African Kingdoms: An Encyclopedia of Empires and Civilizations

Discovering the Songhay Empire By Laura La Bella

 

“Askiya Ishaq II offered the Moroccans a tribute of one hundred thousand pieces of gold and one thousand slaves, hoping this would pacify them and encourage them to leave the Songhay Empire alone. Sultan Mulay al Mansur wanted his army to occupy the newly conquered land below the desert. He angrily rejected Askiya Ishaq’s offer and replaced Judar Pasha with another general, also named Mansur who was instructed to complete the conquest of Songhay.”

“The Moroccans occupied Timbuktu, Gao, and Jenne. The Songhay Empie had fallen to the Moroccans. The Songhay people, though vanquished and stripped of their empire, remained silent. They went on to found the Dendi Kingdom, which held sway in what would become modern-day Niger, from 1591 to 1901. After many futile decades spent trying to reestablish Songhay supremacy in West Africa, the Dendi Kingdom, weakened by a long of unstable leaders, coups, and wars, succumbed to occupation by French colonial forces. “

 

Citing Discovering the Songhay Empire By Laura La Bella