Ghana Bassi was a leader of the

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. T ...

during the time of conquest by the

Almoravids 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 Almo ...

. The Almoravids had grown in power while seeking

Sahara 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 ...

trade routes.

Abu Bakr ibn Umar Abu Bakr ibn Umar ibn Ibrahim ibn Turgut, sometimes suffixed al-Sanhaji or al-Lamtuni (died 1087; ) was a chieftain of the Lamtuna Berber Tribe and Amir of the Almoravids from 1056 until his death. He is credited to have founded the Moroccan c ...

, while putting down the restive Almoravids in Senegal and the desert areas, sent his troops to conquer the

Soninke people The Soninke (Sarakolleh) people are a West African Mande languages, Mande-speaking ethnic group found in Mali, southern Mauritania, eastern Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea (especially Fouta Djallon). They speak the Soninke language, also called ...

, who were ruled by the Ghana empire. Bassi who had good relations with the Muslims, but had refused to convert to Islam and angered the Almoravids, as they wanted to convert other people to their faith. The

Berbers Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...

started invading the empire after 1050. The Almoravids allied with

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 ...

, which had converted to Islam with their missionary activities and in 1054 captured Audaghost. After it became clear to Abu Bakr that

Yusuf ibn Tashfin Yusuf ibn Tashfin, also Tashafin, Teshufin, (; reigned c. 1061 – 1106) was a Sanhaja leader of the Almoravid Empire. He cofounded the city of Marrakesh and led the Muslim forces in the Battle of Sagrajas. Yusuf ibn Tashfin came to al-And ...

had become the supreme leader of the Almoravids, he decided to instead conquer Ghana. Bassi was succeeded in 1062 by Tunka Menin who had refused to convert like Bassi. The empire was destroyed by Almoravids in 1076 but recovered in 1087. Islam which had become dominant religion of the upper class was now being imposed on all its subjects.Balancing Written History with Oral Traditions: The Legacy of the Songhoy People
by Hassimi Oumarou Maiga, page 25

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassi, Ghana Almoravid Empire Place of birth unknown Year of birth unknown Place of death unknown Year of death unknown Ghana emperors