Takrur
Takrur, Tekrur or Tekrour ( 500 – c. 1456) was a state based in the Senegal River in modern day Senegal which was at its height in the 11th and 12th centuries, roughly parallel to the Ghana Empire. It lasted in some form into the 18th century. History Origin There are a number of conflicting theories about the deep past of the Senegal river valley, where the Kingdom of Takrur would take root. The formation of the state may have taken place as an influx of Fulani from the east settled in the Senegal valley. John Donnelly Fage suggests that Takrur was formed through the interaction of Berbers from the Sahara and "Negro agricultural peoples" who were "essentially Serer". The outsiders may, however, have been Soninke rather than Berber, and the native population may have already spoken Fula. Regardless, the region has been an ethnic melting pot from the earliest traceable periods up to the present, although Fula have come to dominate in more recent centuries. The found ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Lebi Ibn War Jabi
Lebi ibn War Jabi, or Labbi, was the second Muslim ruler of Takrur, and son of War Jabi. He is known for his alliance with the Almoravid Dynasty. Background Lebi ibn War Jabi was the son of War Jabi and member of the Manna Dynasty of Takrur. He inherited the throne following his father's death in 1041. Reign Following in the steps of his father he continued to promote Islam. He would go on to start an alliance with the newly established Almoravid dynasty, then under Yahya ibn Umar al-Lamtuni, due to religious reasons, and to counter the power of the Ghana Empire. In 1054 he with the Almoravids attacked the berber city of Awdaghust for recognizing the authority of the ruler of Ghana. This action was beneficial as the goldmines in the Bambuk region became contested by Takrur. This gold would attract more merchants and go to helping the Almoravids expansion of the Maghreb, along with military support. He fought alongside Yahya ibn Umar al-Lamtuni in 1056 at the Battle of Tabf ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Jolof Empire
The Jolof Empire (), also known as Great Jolof or the Wolof Empire, was a Wolof state in modern-day Senegal, that ruled portions of Mauritania and Gambia from the mid-14th centuryFage, J. D.; Oliver, Roland; "The Cambridge History of Africa." Volume 3. Cambridge University Press, 1975, p. 486, (or possibly earlier) until 1549. Following the battle of Danki, its vassal states were fully or ''de facto'' independent; in this period it is known as the Jolof Kingdom. Origins The region that became Jolof was initially inhabited by the Soce and then Serer peoples, who were driven south by the Wolof by the 13th century. Wolof oral traditions relate that was named after a local chief Jolof Mbengue. The empire consisted mostly of Wolof, Serer and Fula from north of the Senegal River. Before the empire's rise, the region was ruled by Lamanes of the Mbengue, Diaw and Ngom families. They were related to early rulers of neighboring kingdoms such as Baol. Jolof was a vassal of the Mal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Wagadu
The Ghana Empire (), also known as simply Ghana, Ghanata, or Wagadu, was an ancient western-Sahelian empire based in the modern-day southeast of Mauritania and western Mali. It is uncertain among historians when Ghana's ruling dynasty began. The first identifiable mention of the imperial dynasty in written records was made by Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī in 830. Further information about the empire was provided by the accounts of Cordoban scholar al-Bakri when he wrote about the region in the 11th century. After centuries of prosperity, the empire began its decline in the second millennium, and would finally become a vassal state of the rising Mali Empire at some point in the 13th century. Despite its collapse, the empire's influence can be felt in the establishment of numerous urban centers throughout its former territory. In 1957, the British colony of the Gold Coast, under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah named itself Ghana upon independence. Etymology The word ''G ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
War Jabi
War Jabi ('' Serer'': Waar Jaabi or War Jaabi or ''War-Dyabe''; ) was the first Muslim king of Takrur in the 1030s, the first to proclaim Islam as a state religion in the Sudan. Background War Jabi was a member of the Manna dynasty that had ruled Takrur since the early 800s. He is the first West African ruler to make Islam the state religion. He is the son and successor of a man named Rabis. Islam had been brought to Takrur by Soninke merchants and spread widely. Reign War Jabi converted to Islam and forced his subjects to convert to Islam, introducing sharia law in the Kingdom in 1035.Colvin, Lucie Gallistel, ''Historical dictionary of Senegal'', Scare Crow Press Inc. (1981), p. 18, This greatly benefited the state economically and created greater political ties with the Muslim states of North Africa that would be important in the later conflicts with the animist state of Ghana. He successfully waged West Africa's first Holy War against the King of Sila. He died in 433 Hij ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire (Manding languages, Manding: ''Mandé''Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: ''UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century'', p. 57. University of California Press, 1997. or ''Manden Duguba''; ) was an empire in West Africa from 1226 to 1610. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita () and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa (Musa Keita). At its peak, Mali was the largest empire in West Africa, widely influencing the culture of the region through the spread of Manding languages, its language, laws, and customs. The empire began as a small Mandinka people, Mandinka kingdom at the upper reaches of the Niger River, centered around the Manding region. It began to develop during the 11th and 12th centuries as the Ghana Empire, or Wagadu, declined and trade epicentres shifted southward. The Pre-imperial Mali, history of the Mali Empire before the 13th century is unclear, as there are conflict ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Fula People
The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, and regions near the Red Sea coast in Sudan. The approximate number of Fula people is unknown, due to clashing definitions regarding Fula ethnicity. Various estimates put the figure between 25 and 40 million people worldwide. A significant proportion of the Fula – a third, or an estimated 7 to 10 million – are pastoralism, pastoralists, and their ethnic group has the largest nomadic pastoral community in the world., Quote: The Fulani form the largest pastoral nomadic group in the world. The Bororo'en are noted for the size of their cattle herds. In addition to fully nomadic groups, however, there are also semisedentary Fulani – Fulbe Laddi – who also farm, although they argue that they do so out of necessity, not choice. The major ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Yahya Ibn Umar Al-Lamtuni
Abu Zakariyya Yahya ibn Umar ibn Talagagin ibn Turgut ibn Wartasin, commonly suffixed al-Lamtuni al-Sanhaji, (d. near Azuggi, 1056; Arabic : يحيى إبن عمر) was a chieftain of the Lamtuna, a tribe in the Sanhaja confederation. Yahya ibn Umar was the second emir of the Almoravids in the mid-11th century, a movement his predecessor, Yahya Ibn Ibrahim, constructed in collaboration with the religious leader Abdallah ibn Yasin. Yahya led the Almoravid armies in their first campaigns, including captures of Sijilmassa and Awdaghost in 1054/55, but was himself killed in battle against a dissident Berber faction in the Adrar. Yahya was succeeded as Almoravid emir by his brother, Abu Bakr ibn Umar. Background In the 11th century, the Sanhaja were divided into several tribes - the Lamtuna, the Massufa, the Banu Warith and the Gudala (or Judala). After their conversion to Islam during the 9th century, the Sanhaja desert tribes were united and, with the zeal of neophyte con ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ghana Empire
The Ghana Empire (), also known as simply Ghana, Ghanata, or Wagadu, was an ancient western-Sahelian empire based in the modern-day southeast of Mauritania and western Mali. It is uncertain among historians when Ghana's ruling dynasty began. The first identifiable mention of the imperial dynasty in written records was made by Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī in 830. Further information about the empire was provided by the accounts of Cordoban scholar al-Bakri when he wrote about the region in the 11th century. After centuries of prosperity, the empire began its decline in the second millennium, and would finally become a vassal state of the rising Mali Empire at some point in the 13th century. Despite its collapse, the empire's influence can be felt in the establishment of numerous urban centers throughout its former territory. In 1957, the British colony of the Gold Coast, under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah named itself Ghana upon independence. Etymology The word ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Battle Of Sagrajas
The Battle of Sagrajas (23 October 1086), also called Zalaca or Zallaqah (), was a conflict fought in 1086 between the Almoravid dynasty, Almoravid army, led by their king, Yusuf ibn Tashfin, and the forces of King Alfonso VI of León and Castile, Alfonso VI of Castile. The Almoravids were called into battle by the taifas, Muslim principalities in Al-Andalus that often fought amongst themselves but united against the expanding Christian kingdoms to the north. In addition to the Almoravid forces, the Taifas, bolstered the Muslim side, tilting the battle in their favor. The battlefield became known as az-Zallaqah (meaning "slippery ground") due to the immense bloodshed that made the terrain treacherous, giving rise to its name in Arabic. History Status of al-Andalus After the death of Al-Muzaffar ibn Al-Mansur ibn Abi Amir in 399 AH, his brother Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo assumed the position of hajib (chancellor) of the Umayyad state of Córdoba, Umayyad state in Al-Andalus ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Almoravid Dynasty
The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almohads in 1147. The Almoravids emerged from a coalition of the Lamtuna, Gudala, and Massufa, nomadic Berber tribes living in what is now Mauritania and the Western Sahara, traversing the territory between the Draa, the Niger, and the Senegal rivers. During their expansion into the Maghreb, they founded the city of Marrakesh as a capital, . Shortly after this, the empire was divided into two branches: a northern one centered in the Maghreb, led by Yusuf ibn Tashfin and his descendants, and a southern one based in the Sahara, led by Abu Bakr ibn Umar and his descendants. The Almoravids expanded their control to al-Andalus (the Muslim territories in Iberia) and were crucial in temporarily halting the advance of the Christian kingdoms in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Battle Of Tabfarilla
The Battle of Tabfarilla was a military conflict between the Lamtuna and the Godala. Both of them Muslim Berber Sanhaja tribes of the Sahara Desert and one time allies, the Lamtuna formed the core of the Almoravids after the Godala broke away. The Almoravid Emir Yahya ibn Umar al-Lamtuni was sent against the Godala. The battle took place in the Sahara between 21 March and 19 April of 448 AH/1056 AD at a spot called ''Tabfarilla'' near Azougui in present-day central Mauritania. The battle continued until night. The Almoravids, although reinforced by the Takrurs, were defeated and Yahya ibn Umar was killed in the battlefield. Retrieved 25 February 2020. The geographer [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ksar El Barka
Ksar el Barka (, ) is a ruined town in Mauritania. In 2013 it had a population of 7,037. Geography Ksar el Barka is located approximately 50km north of Moudjeria in the Tammourt en Naaj, a basin that collects runoff from the Tagant Plateau into Lake Gabou. The area has been an important center for pastoralism and agriculture for thousands of years. History The Tagant Plateau was for centuries inhabited by Fula pastoralists and Soninke farmers. The Fula Jaawbe clan built their capital, Laaci-Wendu on the shores of Lake Gabou, a strategic location from which they could control the passes through the Assaba mountains. This town would later become Ksar el Barka. The Jaawbe were frequently raided by the Moors of Oualata. In the early 1100s they repulsed an invasion by the Lamtuna dynasty ruling Takrur, then invaded themselves and ruled Futa Toro from Laaci-Wendu as the ''Laam Termess'' dynasty. They would eventually be defeated by the Jolof Empire in 1456. In 1690 the Kounta, wh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |