Tenguella (also known as Temelá) was the founder of the

Empire of Great Fulo The Empire of Great Fulo, also known as the Denanke Kingdom or Denianke Kingdom, was a Pulaar kingdom of Senegal, which dominated the Futa Tooro region. Its population dominated its neighbors through use of cavalry and fought wars against the Mal ...

. He was responsible, along with his son, for the

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Al-Fula ...

migration to the Gambia. He was named Great Fulo or Great king of the Fulos in Portuguese documents of the time.

Background

The Fula are a West African nomadic people. They had been moving south within the Mali Empire since the thirteenth century. They had generally submitted to the laws of the settled farmers in the region and so had avoided large confrontations. By the end of the 15th Century, they had a strong presence in

Futa Tooro Futa Toro ( Wolof and ff, Fuuta Tooro ''𞤆𞤵𞥄𞤼𞤢 𞤚𞤮𞥄𞤪𞤮''; ar, فوتا تورو), often simply the Futa, is a semidesert region around the middle run of the Senegal River. This region is along the border of Senegal and ...

, Macina,

Fouta Djallon Fouta Djallon ( ff, 𞤊𞤵𞥅𞤼𞤢 𞤔𞤢𞤤𞤮𞥅, Fuuta Jaloo; ar, فوتا جالون) is a highland region in the center of Guinea, roughly corresponding with Middle Guinea, in West Africa. Etymology The Fulani people call the ...

and

Bondu Bundu (also Bondu, Bondou and Boundou) was a state in one of the West African countries which later became a French protectorate dependent on the colony of Senegal. It lay between the Falémé River and the upper course of the Gambia River, that ...

Reign

Tenguella became chief of the Fula in 1464. Conflict with the Mali Empire started around 1480. The fighting escalated and Tenguella built up an army which included a strong and effective cavalry force. In response, in 1490 Mansa Mahmud II requested an alliance and firearms from Portugal to fight the Fula, but these were not forthcoming. It was at this time that Tenguella became known as the Great Fulo. He consolidated his power by constructing a major fortress in Fouta Djallon. Leaving his son in charge of it, he led his forces to fight the

Songhai Empire The Songhai Empire (also transliterated as Songhay) was a state that dominated the western Sahel/Sudan in the 15th and 16th century. At its peak, it was one of the largest states in African history. The state is known by its historiographical ...

who had been trying to control the gold mines of

Bambouk Bambouk (sometimes Bambuk or Bambuhu) is a traditional name for the territory in eastern Senegal and western Mali, encompassing the Bambouk Mountains on its eastern edge, the valley of the Faleme River and the hilly country to the east of the riv ...

, source of much of the wealth of Mali. The Fula and the Songhai clashed at Diarra in 1512. Tenguella was defeated and killed by Amar Kondjago, a brother of the

Askia Mohammad I Askia Muhammad I (b. 1443 – d. 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 ...

Succession

At his death, Tenguella was succeeded by his son

Koli Tenguella Koli Tenguella (or Koli Tenguella Bâ/Bah or Koli Tengella Jaaje Baa alias Koli Pullo) (1512–1537) was a Fulani warrior. In the sixteenth century, after nine attempts, he conquered Futa Toro, a kingdom located in the northeast of the current Sene ...

who founded the Denianke Dynasty.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tenguella Fula people 15th-century monarchs in Africa Year of birth unknown 1512 deaths