Page 61 - Empires of Medieval West Africa

E m p i r E s o f m E d i E v a l w E s t a f r i c a

dynasty ruled in the late 11th and early 12th centuries and that its kings
had the title malik.
Other tombstones mention a second dynasty whose rulers had the
title zuwa, but only myths and legends describe zuwa origins. The Arab
chroniclers describe a mythical figure named Zuwa Alayman who is
variously described as an Arab from Yemen, a giant from the bush who
could run as fast as giraffes and ostriches, or the killer of a monster
fish-god with a ring in its nose.

The kingdoM of gao
Among the early people of the Niger Bend region were the camel-riding
Sanhaja of the Sahara Desert. They were known locally as Tuareg. They
rode out of the great desert to establish trading camps near the Niger
River. As time went on, North African traders crossed the Sahara Des-
ert and joined the Tuareg in their Niger Bend settlements. They all did
business with the people living near the river.
As the trade increased, the Songhay chiefs took control of the
profitable commerce. They settled on the left bank of the Niger at a
place that came to be known as Gao (which Arab geographers called
Gawgaw).
Between 750 and 950, while the Ghana Empire was prospering as
“the land of gold” far to the west, the trading center at Gao became an
increasingly important southern end point for trade across the Sahara
Desert. The trade goods included gold, salt, slaves, kola nuts, leather,
dates, and ivory. By the 10th century, the Songhay chiefs had taken
control of the peoples who lived along the trade routes. Gao was now a
small kingdom.
By around 1300, Gao had become so prosperous that it attracted
the attention of the Mali Empire’s rulers and was conquered by them.
Mali profited from Gao’s trade and collected taxes from its kings until
about the 1430s. But then troubles in the Mali homelands made it
impossible for them to maintain control of the distant territories of the
Niger Bend.
As Mali was becoming weaker, powerful new leadership was rising
in Gao. It was about this time that the Zuwa dynasty was replaced by a
new line of rulers who had the title of sii (short for sonyi).
In the 1430s, the Mali Empire withdrew from Timbuktu and Gao.
The sii were then able to take complete control of their own kingdom.

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