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Askia Muhammad I
Askia Muhammad Ture I (1443–1538), born Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Turi or Muhammad Ture, was the first ruler of the Askia dynasty of the Songhai Empire, reigning from 1493 to 1528. He is also known as Askia the Great, and his name in modern Songhai is Mamar Kassey. Askia Muhammad strengthened his empire and made it the largest empire in West Africa's history. At its peak under his reign, the Songhai Empire encompassed the Hausa states as far as Kano (in present-day Northern Nigeria) and much of the territory that had belonged to the Songhai empire in the east. His policies resulted in a rapid expansion of trade with Europe and Asia, the creation of many schools, and the establishment of Islam as an integral part of the empire.
Muhammad was a prominent general under the Songhai ruler Sunni Ali. When Sunni Ali was succeeded by his son, Sunni Baru, in 1492, Muhammad challenged the succession on the grounds that the new ruler was not a faithful Muslim. He defeated Baru and ascended to the throne in 1493.
Ture subsequently orchestrated a program of expansion and consolidation which extended the empire from Taghaza in the North to the borders of Yatenga in the South; and from Air in the Northeast to Futa Djallon in Guinea. Instead of organizing the empire along Islamic lines, he tempered and improved on the traditional model by instituting a system of bureaucratic government unparalleled in Western Africa. In addition, Askia established standardized trade measures and regulations, initiated the policing of trade routes and also established an organized tax system. He was overthrown by his son, Askia Musa, in 1528.
The Tarikh al-Sudan gives Askia Muhammad's name as Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Turi or al-Sillanki. The Tarikh al-Fattash gives his name as Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. Al-Turi and al-Sillanki have been interpreted as the Soninke clan names Ture and Sila by many historians. However, Stephan Bühnen has argued that they should be interpreted as nisbas referring to ancestry from Futa Toro or Silla in the Senegal valley, and favors the possibility that his ancestors originally came from Futa Toro.
After going on the hajj in 1497–1498, he also became known as Askia al-Hajj Muhammad. In modern Songhai, he is known as Mamar Kassey. Mamar is a form of the name Muhammad, and Kassey is a matronymic.
The theory that Askia Muhammad's family originated in Futa Toro is controversial and has been generally rejected by the Songhai people themselves, especially by Muhammad's modern descendants who see in it a challenge to their ethnicity. His exact surname has not been definitively determined and no Toucouleur or Soninke oral source claim him as one of their own. The Tarikh al-Fattash uses the title 'maiga' for him, which is only used for the patrilineal kin of the Sunni dynasty.[citation needed]
The term 'sonhinkey,' which suggests a Soninke ethnic origin for Askia, is also the name of a clan of Songhai magicians responsible for the pre-Islamic cult and forming a younger branch of the royal Sunni clan without rights to the throne. Songhai oral traditions claim the father of Askia Mohammed originated from this clan. Omar Komajago, Askia's brother, is never described as a Touré or a Sylla.
The term at-Turi, which designates the geographical origin of a person, could be the name of Askia's father's village. There is a Songhai village call Tureh in Niger in the Tillabéri Region in the Tera Department.
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Askia Muhammad I
Askia Muhammad Ture I (1443–1538), born Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Turi or Muhammad Ture, was the first ruler of the Askia dynasty of the Songhai Empire, reigning from 1493 to 1528. He is also known as Askia the Great, and his name in modern Songhai is Mamar Kassey. Askia Muhammad strengthened his empire and made it the largest empire in West Africa's history. At its peak under his reign, the Songhai Empire encompassed the Hausa states as far as Kano (in present-day Northern Nigeria) and much of the territory that had belonged to the Songhai empire in the east. His policies resulted in a rapid expansion of trade with Europe and Asia, the creation of many schools, and the establishment of Islam as an integral part of the empire.
Muhammad was a prominent general under the Songhai ruler Sunni Ali. When Sunni Ali was succeeded by his son, Sunni Baru, in 1492, Muhammad challenged the succession on the grounds that the new ruler was not a faithful Muslim. He defeated Baru and ascended to the throne in 1493.
Ture subsequently orchestrated a program of expansion and consolidation which extended the empire from Taghaza in the North to the borders of Yatenga in the South; and from Air in the Northeast to Futa Djallon in Guinea. Instead of organizing the empire along Islamic lines, he tempered and improved on the traditional model by instituting a system of bureaucratic government unparalleled in Western Africa. In addition, Askia established standardized trade measures and regulations, initiated the policing of trade routes and also established an organized tax system. He was overthrown by his son, Askia Musa, in 1528.
The Tarikh al-Sudan gives Askia Muhammad's name as Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Turi or al-Sillanki. The Tarikh al-Fattash gives his name as Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. Al-Turi and al-Sillanki have been interpreted as the Soninke clan names Ture and Sila by many historians. However, Stephan Bühnen has argued that they should be interpreted as nisbas referring to ancestry from Futa Toro or Silla in the Senegal valley, and favors the possibility that his ancestors originally came from Futa Toro.
After going on the hajj in 1497–1498, he also became known as Askia al-Hajj Muhammad. In modern Songhai, he is known as Mamar Kassey. Mamar is a form of the name Muhammad, and Kassey is a matronymic.
The theory that Askia Muhammad's family originated in Futa Toro is controversial and has been generally rejected by the Songhai people themselves, especially by Muhammad's modern descendants who see in it a challenge to their ethnicity. His exact surname has not been definitively determined and no Toucouleur or Soninke oral source claim him as one of their own. The Tarikh al-Fattash uses the title 'maiga' for him, which is only used for the patrilineal kin of the Sunni dynasty.[citation needed]
The term 'sonhinkey,' which suggests a Soninke ethnic origin for Askia, is also the name of a clan of Songhai magicians responsible for the pre-Islamic cult and forming a younger branch of the royal Sunni clan without rights to the throne. Songhai oral traditions claim the father of Askia Mohammed originated from this clan. Omar Komajago, Askia's brother, is never described as a Touré or a Sylla.
The term at-Turi, which designates the geographical origin of a person, could be the name of Askia's father's village. There is a Songhai village call Tureh in Niger in the Tillabéri Region in the Tera Department.