Askia Muhammad Bani 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 1586 to 1588. A 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 ...

, he was elevated by his brothers after they had deposed Askia Al-Hajj, his predecessor. Soon after taking power, he had two of his brothers who had rebelled against Al-Hajj and been imprisoned executed. This prompted alarm among his surviving brothers, who began to plot against him. The spark for the revolt arose due to the depredations of the ''Kabara-farma'' ‘Alū, a royal

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

slave who managed the administration of Kabara, the port of

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. ...

. He had illegally taxed the merchants and seized property from prominent clerics. When he imprisoned and whipped a slave of the ''Balma’a'' (military commander of Kabara) Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq b. Dāwūd, the prince personally confronted the royal official, stabbed him to death, and tossed his body into the street. ''Balma’a'' Muḥammad, having defied the Askia, launched a rebellion. He was joined by ''

Kanfari The Kurmina-fari or Kanfari was the title of a major administrative and military position in the Songhai Empire. The position was broadly in charge of the western half of the empire, and was based in Tindirma. The position was created by Askia M ...

'' Salih, but they soon quarreled over the wealth taken from the ''Kabara-farma'' and Salih was killed. Still, ''Balma’a'' Muḥammad marched on the capital,

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 nearly the entire western half of the empire arrayed behind him. Muhammad Bani assembled an army of 30,000 and awaited their arrival, but the overweight Askia died of heatstroke, or perhaps an epileptic fit, on April 9th 1588, before the battle was joined. After discovering the body, eunuch courtiers conspired to have Benga-''farma'' Maḥmūd b.

Ismail In the biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael (; ; ; ) is the first son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife Sarah. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs. Within Islam, Ish ...

named as Askia. But another eunuch tipped off Ishaq, the oldest of the sons of Askia Daoud present, surrounded the conspirators and was himself proclaimed Askia on April 10th.

References

Songhai emperors 16th-century monarchs in Africa Year of birth unknown Zarma-Songhai people {{Africa-royal-stub