Isabella Heredia

9/17/15

Songhai, also spelt as Songhai, is another West African trading site. Gao, Songhai's old capital is still a small trading site. It is located on the Niger River, where Songhai expanded it's empire in every single direction. It stretched to the Atlantic Ocean to Northwest Nigeria and Central Niger.

Sultan Sunni Ali was the current ruler, he also ruled from Gao. He managed an army with armor, camels, and horses. A Navy was also included but it was used to patrol around the Niger River. He strengthened his empire by adding a central government with a unified system of laws and order. He eventually seized Timbuktu, along with Djenne which were part of the Kingdom of Mali. Sunni Ali became responsible for turning Songhai into a restless state which was tied to the Eastern Niger, into the biggest empire there ever was in the Western Sundan. However, Sunni Ali wasn't a very successful warrior. He was very aware that the vast empire couldn't be held together by military conquests.

However, it needed an effective administrative structure too. The organization of the Songhai government was developed into a great degree under Sunni Ali, who differed from previous Sudanic patterns of the empire. There were officials who had to inspect trade, agriculture and justice. King Askia Muhammad eventually took Sunni Ali's place and expanded the kingdom, and made everything more advanced. After that he then strongly centralized the government. He made a new system of laws, made the military larger, encouraged scholarships and learning. He brought peace and balance to his kingdom.

The city of Timbuktu became a huge center of trade. It became the site of a powerful Islamic school. The school was specializing in history and laws, and among other things. He did invite Muslim scholars, doctors and judges there, which became a good cultural center. Songhai was the biggest and the last of the three major pre-colonial empires to emerge in West of Africa. Gao, however was the home of the famous Goa Mosque, including the tomb of Askia, who is the most important of the Songhai emperors. Timbuktu and Djenne were also, the major cultural commercial centers of the empire. Songhai was the biggest of the Western and Central Sundan. Sunni Ali was one of the debatable figures in the African Middle Ages. They cooked up crocodiles, catfish and rice for a meal. Their houses are mainly made of hay or wood and sometimes clay.