The Kurmina-fari or Kanfari was the title of a major administrative and military position in 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 ...

. The position was broadly in charge of the western half of the empire, and was based in

Tindirma Tindirma is a village and commune of the Cercle of Diré in the Tombouctou Region of Mali. As of 1998 the commune had a population of 3,419. History Established in 1496, Tindirma was once a Jewish community founded by Iberian Sephardi Jews ...

. The position was created by

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 1494 soon after he took power from

Sonni Ali Sonni Ali, also known as Si Ali, Sonni Ali Ber (Ber meaning "the Great"), reigned from about 1464 to 1492 as the 15th ruler of the Sunni dynasty of the Songhai Empire. He transformed the relatively small state into an empire by conquering Timbuk ...

. His brother

Umar Komadiago Umar Komajago, also spelled Konjaago, Komadiaga and many other variants, was the Kanfari, or ruler of the western provinces, of the Songhai Empire under his brother Askia Mohammad I from 1494 until his death in 1520. Deputized by his brother to ...

was the first ''Kurmina-fari'', and several of his sons would hold the position after him. The ''Kurmina-fari'' was often the eldest son or brother of the ruling Askia.

List of Kurmina-fari

This list comes from the

Tarikh al-Sudan The ''Tarikh al-Sudan'' ( ''Tārīkh as-Sūdān''; also ''Tarikh es-Sudan'', "History of the Sudan") is a West African chronicle written in Arabic in around 1655 by the chronicler of Timbuktu, al-Sa'di. It provides the single most important primary ...

. Dates and english spellings are derived mostly from Michael A. Gomez's book African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa. *

b. Abu Bakr, 1494–1520 * Yahya b. Abu Bakr, 1520–1529 * Uthman Yawbobo, 1529–1530 * Mohammed Bonkana Kirya, 1530–1531 * Uthman Tinfarin, 1531–1537 * Hammad Aryao b. Mohammad Kirai, 1537–1539 * ‘Alī Kusira, 1539–1543 * Dāwūd, 1543–1549 * Kashiya b. ‘Uthmān Tinfarin, 1549-15?? * Ya’qūb b.

, 15??-1578 * Muḥammad Bonkana b. Dāwūd, 1578–1582 * Al-Hādī b. Dāwūd, 1582–1584 * Ṣāliḥ b. Dāwūd, 1584-March 1588 * Mahmud 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 ...

, 1588-1592

References

Titles of national or ethnic leadership Songhai Empire {{Mali-stub