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The Empire of Great Fulo (; ), also known as the Denanke Kingdom or Denianke Kingdom, was a
Pulaar Pulaar (in Latin script, Latin: , in Ajami script, Ajami: ), often referred to as Pulaar du Nord, is dialect of the Fula language spoken primarily as a first language by the Fula people, Fula and Toucouleur peoples in the Senegal River valley ar ...
kingdom of
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
, which dominated the
Futa Toro Futa Toro (Wolof language, Wolof and , , ; ), often simply the Futa, is a semidesert region around the middle run of the Senegal River. This region, along the border of Senegal and Mauritania, is historically significant as the center of several F ...
region from the early 16th century to 1776.
Tenguella Tenguella (also known as Temelá or Tenguella Ba) was a Fula people, Fula ''silatigi'' or chief who founded a short-lived state called Futa Kingui in the upper Senegal river valley, a precursor of the Empire of Great Fulo. He was referred to as ...
, a Fula chief in Futa Toro, led an emigration in the 1450s to establish the Futa Kingi state. His actions disrupted trade, which threatened
Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
's communication lines, and led to conflict with Songhai. In 1512, Amar Konjago of the Songhai defeated Tenguella, ending his state. Tenguella's son, Koli, led further migrations, and redirected military efforts against the
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." Vo ...
, hastening its collapse. After Koli's reign, the Denianke dynasty ruled a large empire but later on succession struggles, foreign intervention, and instability followed. In 1776,
Sulayman Bal Shaykh Thierno Sulayman Bal (, c. 1720 - 1775) was an 18th-century African leader, warrior, and Islamic scholar, from the Futa Toro region in what is today Senegal. Suleyman Bal was born around 1720 in Bode. Inspired by the Jihads of Alfa Ibrahima ...
led a revolution, overthrowing the dynasty and establishing the
Imamate of Futa Toro The Imamate of Futa Toro (; ; ) was a West African theocratic monarchy of the Fula-speaking people ('' Fulɓe'' and Toucouleurs) in the middle valley of the Senegal River, in the region known as Futa Toro. Following the trend of jihads in the ...
.


Etymology

The ''Deniaankobe'' were the clan of
Koli Tenguella Koli Tenguella (also referred to as Koli Tenguella Bâ/Bah, Koli Tengella Jaaje Baa and Koli Pullo) (r. 1512–1537) was a Fulani warrior and leader who was pivotal in establishing the Empire of Great Fulo. Family Koli was the son of Tenguella ...
. There are a variety of theories for the origin of the name either citing illustrious ancestors named Denia or Deeny or, more likely, ''Dena'', the place where Koli's forces had settled in
Futa Jallon Fouta Djallon (, , ; ) is a highland region in the center of Guinea, roughly corresponding with Middle Guinea, in West Africa. Etymology The Fulani people call the region Fuuta-Jaloo ( ) in the Pular language. 'Futa' is a Fula word for any re ...
before conquering Futa Toro. ''Great Fulo'' is the term given to the kingdom and its leader by the Portuguese.


History


Tenguella (1464–1512)

Tenguella was a Fula ''
silatigi Silatigi (variant spellings include Satigi, Silati and Solatigi) was a title used in the Mali Empire which survived in several societies in the region, notably the Denianke Kingdom of Futa Toro. Etymology In Mande, the term "silatigi" derives ...
'', a religious leader and political chief, in
Futa Toro Futa Toro (Wolof language, Wolof and , , ; ), often simply the Futa, is a semidesert region around the middle run of the Senegal River. This region, along the border of Senegal and Mauritania, is historically significant as the center of several F ...
. Pushed by an expansionist Jolof Empire, in the 1450s he led an emigration eastwards, establishing a state known as Futa Kingi in the lands of the
Kingdom of Diarra Diarra, also referred to as Kingui, Diafunu, or Kaniaga, was a Soninke state in what is now northwestern Mali, centered around the town of Diarra. Founded in the 11th century, it was occasionally independent but frequently under the domination o ...
. From this base, Tenguella militarily intervened in a number of neighboring areas and disrupted trade. His son
Koli Koli may refer to: People * Koli people, Indian caste group * Koli Christians, a Christian subgroup * Muslim Kolis, Muslim community * Koli (surname), Indian surname * Koli Sewabu (born 1975), Fijian rugby union footballer Places * Koli, Fin ...
went to
Futa Jallon Fouta Djallon (, , ; ) is a highland region in the center of Guinea, roughly corresponding with Middle Guinea, in West Africa. Etymology The Fulani people call the region Fuuta-Jaloo ( ) in the Pular language. 'Futa' is a Fula word for any re ...
to organize the Fula there against
Mande Mande may refer to: * Mandé peoples of western Africa * Mande languages, their Niger-Congo languages * Manding languages, Manding, a term covering a subgroup of Mande peoples, and sometimes used for one of them, Mandinka people, Mandinka * Garo p ...
domination. By 1490 Tenguella's actions in the upper
Gambia river The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra, French language, French: ''Fleuve Gambie'', Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Rio Gâmbia'') is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward ...
basin were threatening the communication lines between the
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 ...
and their western provinces of
Kaabu Kaabu (1537–1867), also written Gabu, Ngabou, and N'Gabu, was a federation of Mandinka kingdoms in the Senegambia region centered within modern northeastern Guinea-Bissau, large parts of today's Gambia, and extending into Koussanar, Kou ...
as well as the Bambuk gold fields. In 1511, after years of mounting tensions, Tenguella invaded the
Kingdom of Diarra Diarra, also referred to as Kingui, Diafunu, or Kaniaga, was a Soninke state in what is now northwestern Mali, centered around the town of Diarra. Founded in the 11th century, it was occasionally independent but frequently under the domination o ...
, the rulers of which called for help from the Songhai. Amar Konjago, a brother of
Askia Mohammad 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 So ...
, in 1512 defeated and killed Tenguella in battle and destroyed his young state.


Koli Tenguella (1512–1537)

Koli Tenguella Koli Tenguella (also referred to as Koli Tenguella Bâ/Bah, Koli Tengella Jaaje Baa and Koli Pullo) (r. 1512–1537) was a Fulani warrior and leader who was pivotal in establishing the Empire of Great Fulo. Family Koli was the son of Tenguella ...
led another armed migration north from his base in Futa Jallon, attacking many small states on his path. After re-establishing his family's rule in Futa Toro, he redirected the fledgling state's military away from Songhai towards the
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." Vo ...
with great success. The growth of the Denianke empire would hasten the breakup of the Jolof state into several warring kingdoms. He established a fixed capital in Tumbere-Jiinde in what is today Senegal's Futa Toro region and reconquered Kingi. Koli died in 1537 during a war against the kingdom of Bussa.


Apex

Koli was succeeded by his brother Labba Tenguella, beginning the Denianke dynasty (or Denyanke). After the 1549 collapse of the Jolof Empire at the
Battle of Danki The Battle of Danki was a conflict fought in 1549 between the Jolof Empire and Cayor, a rebellious vassal. The decisive Aajor victory and the death of the reigning ''Buurba'' of the empire signaled the end of Jolof hegemony over Cayor, Baol, Sa ...
, the Denianke took advantage. By the end of the 16th century, they were receiving regular tribute from the Kingdom of Jolof,
Waalo Waalo () was a kingdom on the lower Senegal River in West Africa, in what is now Senegal and Mauritania. It included parts of the valley proper and areas north and south, extending to the Atlantic Ocean. To the north were Moorish emirates; to the ...
, Gajaaga, Diarra, Diakhaba,
Saloum The Kingdom of Saloum ( Serer: ''Saluum'' or ''Saalum'') was a Serer kingdom in present-day Senegal and parts of Gambia. The precolonial capital was the city of Kahone. Re-established in 2017, Saloum is now a non-sovereign traditional monarch ...
, Goundiourou, Namandirou and the
Lamtuna The Lamtuna () are a nomadic Berber tribe belonging to the Iẓnagen / Sanhaja (Zenaga) confederation, who traditionally inhabited areas from Sous to Adrar Plateau. During the Almoravid period, many Lamtunas emigrated northwards. Currently, the L ...
, and possibly
Khasso Khasso or Xaaso is a region and former West African kingdom of the 17th to 19th centuries, occupying territory in what is today the Kayes Region of Mali. From the 17th to 19th centuries, its capital was at Medina until its fall. Khasso straddles ...
as well. The Futa Djallon, the gold-producing
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 r ...
region, and the Wagadu and Taga regions east of the
Senegal river The Senegal River ( or "Senegal" - compound of the  Serer term "Seen" or "Sene" or "Sen" (from  Roog Seen, Supreme Deity in Serer religion) and "O Gal" (meaning "body of water")); , , , ) is a river in West Africa; much of its length mark ...
also fell under Denianke hegemony. In the early 17th century, the Fula added
Cayor The Cayor Kingdom (; ) was from 1549 to 1876 the largest and most powerful kingdom that split off from the Jolof Empire in what is now Senegal. The Cayor Kingdom was located in northern and central Senegal, southeast of Waalo, west of the kingdom ...
to their roster of tributaries. The apex of Denianke power came under ''Satigi'' Samba Lamu, when they controlled both the mouth of the Senegal and many of the trans-Saharan trade routes. However the power of the ruler was never absolute, and the ''satigis rule over the massive empire amassed in the last decades of the 16th century was increasingly tenuous and nominal by the middle of the 17th century.


Religious conflict and end

The Denianke ruled animist monarchs over an increasingly Islamic populace. The
Torodbe The Torodbe; singular Torodo (also called Turudiyya, Banu Toro, Takrur, Toronkawa) were Muslim Toucouleur people, Toucouleur clerics and theocratic monarchs who preached and reigned in Futa Toro, a region located in the north of present-day Senega ...
became increasingly influential, opposing Denianke leadership and calling for jihads against neighboring animist
Mandinka Mandinka, Mandika, Mandinkha, Mandinko, or Mandingo may refer to: Media * Mandingo (novel), ''Mandingo'' (novel), a bestselling novel published in 1957 * Mandingo (film), ''Mandingo'' (film), a 1975 film based on the eponymous 1957 novel * ''Man ...
states. The reign of Silatigi Siree Sawa Laamu (r.1669-1702) saw the outbreak of the Char Bouba war, an Islamist uprising against traditionalist monarchies in the Senegal river valley that sparked a civil war among the Deniankes. Futa Toro had no clear rules on the succession of the ''satigi'', leading to regular power struggles and civil wars. Beginning in the early 18th century, the Trarza Moors, supported by the sultan of
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 ...
Moulay Ismail Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif (, – 22 March 1727) was a Sultan of Morocco from 1672 to 1727, as the second ruler of the 'Alawi dynasty. He was the seventh son of Moulay Sharif and was governor of the province of Fez and the north of Morocco from ...
, attempted to exert control over the north bank of the Senegal and the lucrative trade in
gum arabic Gum arabic (gum acacia, gum sudani, Senegal gum and by other names) () is a tree gum exuded by two species of '' Acacia sensu lato:'' '' Senegalia senegal,'' and '' Vachellia seyal.'' However, the term "gum arabic" does not indicate a partic ...
. The French in Saint-Louis attempted the same, and instability and foreign intervention became endemic in Futa Toro and much of the Senegal river valley. The well-known '' ceddo'' war chief Samba Gelaajo Jeegi took power with the backing of both major powers in 1725, but was unable to break free of their influence and was driven out in 1731. ''Satigis'' succeeded each other with bewildering speed for the next few decades with the Moors holding the real power. The dynasty was overthrown in a revolution led by
Sulayman Bal Shaykh Thierno Sulayman Bal (, c. 1720 - 1775) was an 18th-century African leader, warrior, and Islamic scholar, from the Futa Toro region in what is today Senegal. Suleyman Bal was born around 1720 in Bode. Inspired by the Jihads of Alfa Ibrahima ...
in 1776. He stepped down once the holy war was won and was replaced by Abdul Qadir ibn Hammadi, first almamy of the
Imamate of Futa Toro The Imamate of Futa Toro (; ; ) was a West African theocratic monarchy of the Fula-speaking people ('' Fulɓe'' and Toucouleurs) in the middle valley of the Senegal River, in the region known as Futa Toro. Following the trend of jihads in the ...
.


Government

The ''silatigi'' was generally the oldest male of Tenguella's line, but inheritance had to be approved by the ''batu Fuuta'', an assembly of nobles, which also functioned as a constutitional council, ensuring the smooth transition of power to the most competent candidates. Another ''batu'' was a sort of cabinet composed of members of the royal household, who each held specific dossiers such as tax collection and management of the royal estate. The heir presumptive or ''kamalenku'', for example, administered the right bank of the Senegal, including the
Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...
who lived there. Royal control was loose and administration was decentralized, with revenues shared between the ''satigi'' and the provincial governors The king with his large herds of horses was highly mobile. Thus the capital, to the extent that there was one, moved frequently.


Economy

Futa Tooro benefited from extensive trade networks, with horses and donkeys moving south from the pasturelands of the
Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...
;
kola nut The kola nut ( Yoruba: ''obi'', Dagbani: ''guli'', Hausa: goro, Igbo: ''ọjị'', Sängö: ''gôro,'' Swahili: ''mukezu'') is the seed of certain species of plant of the genus ''Cola'', placed formerly in the cocoa family Sterculiaceae and ...
s, iron, and slaves moving north from
Kaabu Kaabu (1537–1867), also written Gabu, Ngabou, and N'Gabu, was a federation of Mandinka kingdoms in the Senegambia region centered within modern northeastern Guinea-Bissau, large parts of today's Gambia, and extending into Koussanar, Kou ...
; gold from Bambuk and the Soninke kingdom of Gajaaga as well as cloth moving west; and salt, and European products coming east from the coast. The kingdom's main exports were gold and hides. Palm products and beeswax were also important early trade goods. In the 17th century French, English, and Dutch traders entered the market looking to purchase gold and ivory as well as slaves.


List of Rulers

* Koli Tengella (1512-37) * Labba Tengella (1537-65) * Samba Tengella (Samba Laamu) (1565-67) * Gelaajo Bambi (1567 - 71) * Gelaajo Tabaara (1571 - 81) * Yéro Koli (Yéro Jam) (1581-91) * Gata Yéro Koli (1591-1602) * Sawa Laamu (1603-40) * Bubakar Sawa Laamu (1640 - 69) * Siré Saawa Laamu (1669 - 1702) * Sabboyi Sawa Laamu (1702 - 07) * Sawa Dondé (1707 - 09) * Bubakar Sïré (1709-10; 1718 - 23) * Gelaajo Jegi (1710 - 18) * Bubu Musa (1721;1723-24; 1730-33) * Samba Siré (1724 - 25) * Samba Gelaajo Jeegi (1724-30; 1731-32; 1740-42) * Konko Bubu Musa (1732-40; 1742-45) * Sule Njaay (1745-47; 1749-51; 1753-75) * Bubu Gayssiri (1747 - 49) * Jaaye Hola (1751 -53) * Sule Bubu Gayssiri (177S - c. 1778)


See also

*
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 ...
*
Imamate of Futa Toro The Imamate of Futa Toro (; ; ) was a West African theocratic monarchy of the Fula-speaking people ('' Fulɓe'' and Toucouleurs) in the middle valley of the Senegal River, in the region known as Futa Toro. Following the trend of jihads in the ...
*
Imamate of Futa Jallon The Imamate of Futa Jallon or Jalon (; or ' , ), sometimes referred to as the Emirate of Timbo, was a West African Islamic state based in the Fouta Djallon highlands of modern Guinea. The state was founded in 1725 by a Fulani jihad and became ...
*
Military history of the Mali Empire The military history of the Mali Empire is that of the armed forces of the Mali Empire, which dominated Western Africa from the mid 13th to the late 15th century. The military culture of the empire's driving force, Mandinka people, influenced m ...
*
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." Vo ...
*
History of Senegal The history of Senegal is commonly divided into a number of periods, encompassing the prehistoric era, the precolonial period, colonialism, and the contemporary era. Paleolithic The earliest evidence of human life is found in the valley of the ...


References


Sources

* * * * * * *


External links

*http://www.san.beck.org/1-13-Africa1500-1800.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20060321172333/http://www.jamtan.com/jamtan/fulani.cfm?chap=4&linksPage=329 *http://www.jamtan.com/jamtan/fulani.cfm?chap=2&linksPage=214 {{DEFAULTSORT:Great Fulo, Empire Of Kingdoms of Senegal Countries in precolonial Africa Sahelian kingdoms Former empires Former empires in Africa Former countries in Africa States and territories established in 1490 States and territories disestablished in 1776 Former monarchies of Africa