Askia Ishaq II, also known as Askia Isḥāq Zughrānī, was the ruler of the

Songhai Empire The Songhai Empire was a state located in the western part of the Sahel during the 15th and 16th centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest African empires in history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its lar ...

from 1588 to 1591. He commanded the Songhai force at the

Battle of Tondibi The Battle of Tondibi was the decisive confrontation in the 16th-century invasion of the Songhai Empire by the army of the Saadi dynasty in Morocco. The Moroccan forces under Judar Pasha defeated the Songhai under Askia Ishaq II, guaranteeing t ...

, where he was defeated by Saadian forces from

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

who subsequently destroyed the empire.

Early life and rise to power

Ishaq was the son of

Askia Daoud Askia Daoud (also Askia Dāwūd, Askiya Dawud) was the ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1549 to 1582. His rule saw the empire rise to a peak of peace and prosperity following a series of succession disputes and short reigns."Songhai empire." ''B ...

and a Zughrani concubine from the middle Niger region. He was the first son born to Daoud after his rise to power in 1549. Ishaq came to power upon the death of his brother Askia Muhammad Bani, while another brother, the ''Balma'a'' (military governor of Kabara), was bearing down on

Gao Gao (or Gawgaw/Kawkaw) is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley. For much of its history Gao was an imp ...

with a rebellious army. After discovering the body of the deceased Askia, eunuch courtiers conspired to have Benga-''farma'' Maḥmūd b. Ismail take the crown, but another royal slave tipped off Ishaq, the oldest of the sons of

present that day. He and his supporters surrounded the conspirators, and he was proclaimed Askia on April 10th. Before engaging the rebel army, Ishaq lured away two nephews who had supported the ''Balma'a''. When the battle came, around April 20th 1588, Ishaq's

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit th ...

cavalry proved decisive. The rebels were defeated, with the ''Balma'a'' fleeing first to

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; ; Koyra Chiini: ; ) is an ancient city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a population of 32,460 in the 2018 census. ...

and then Tindirma, where he was captured and killed.

Reign

While Ishaq was victorious, the army had lost significant manpower and leadership as the new Askia purged dozens of rebellious leaders from the western provinces. During his three year reign, Ishaq continued to campaign, marching twice into the Gurma region south of the

Niger river The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

. His brutal purge of rebel leaders notwithstanding, he was reputed to be kind, honest, generous, and popular with the people of Gao. Ishaq did not get the opportunity to restabilize the empire. A royal slave imprisoned at the remote but very valuable Taghaza salt mine escaped to

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

, where he told the

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Ahmad I al-Mansur Saadi about the fractured and weakened Songhai. Al-Mansur dispatched a letter in December 1589 demanding the revenue from Taghaza; Ishaq responded with bluster, but it failed to dissuade the Moroccans from sending a powerful force of

musketeer A musketeer ( ) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare, particularly in Europe, as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a precursor to the rifl ...

s to invade the Songhai empire.

War with Morocco

The 4,000-man force under the

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

icized

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking Ethnicity, ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern Nation state, nation-state of Spain. Genetics, Genetically and Ethnolinguisti ...

Judar Pasha Judar Pasha () was a Spanish-Moroccan military leader under the Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur in the late 16th century. He led the Saadian army in the conquest of the Songhai Empire. Born as Diego de Guevara in Cuevas del Almanzora, Castil ...

crossed the

Sahara desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

, arriving on the Niger on February 28th 1591. Though Ishaq assembled more than 40,000 soldiers to meet the Moroccans, his army fled the enemy's

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

weapons at the decisive

in March 1591. Ishaq had the capital of

evacuated, which Judar soon seized and looted, along with the trading centers of

and

Djenné Djenné (; also known as Djénné, Jenné, and Jenne) is a Songhai people, Songhai town and Communes of Mali, urban commune in the Inland Niger Delta region of central Mali. The town is the administrative centre of the Djenné Cercle, one of the ...

. The Askia sued for peace, but in response al-Mansur sent reinforcements and replaced Judar with Pasha Maḥmūd, a more aggressive commander. Pasha Maḥmūd defeated the Songhai again at the battle of Zanzan on October 14, forcing Ishaq to flee to Dendi, where he was soon deposed and sent into exile in Gurma. He attempted to find refuge in the town of Bilanga, one the towns he had campaigned against during his reign, and was killed in April 1592 by a vengeful mob.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Askia Ishaq 02 Songhai emperors 16th-century monarchs in Africa Zarma-Songhai people 1592 deaths

Early life and rise to power

Reign

War with Morocco

See also

References