Nioro du Sahel (often referred to as simply Nioro) is a town and urban commune in the

Kayes Region Kayes Region ( Bambara: ߞߊߦߌ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Kayi Dineja, ) is one of ten first level national subdivisions in Mali called Regions. It is the first administrative area of Mali and covers an area of . Its capital is the town of Kayes. The ...

of western

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 ...

, 241 km from the city of Kayes. It is located 275 miles (by road) north-west of the Malian capital

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

. As of 1998, the commune had a population of 60,112, although current estimates are nearer to 69,100 people. Founded in circa 1240 by a Diawando slave named Beydari Tamboura, Nioro attained its greatest height in the eighteenth century as the then-capital of the Bambara kingdom of Kaarta. The town became an important trading center between Upper

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 ...

and the

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. In the early 1850s, the Toucouleur conqueror El Hadj

Umar Tall Hadji Oumarûl Foutiyou Tall (ʿUmar ibn Saʿīd al-Fūtī Ṭaʿl, , – 1864 CE), born in Futa Tooro, present-day Senegal, was a Senegalese Tijani sufi Toucouleur Islamic scholar and military commander who founded the short-lived Touc ...

invaded Kaarta, forcing the kingdom's conversion to

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 ...

; he built a great mosque in Nioro in 1854. Umar Tall's son

Ahmadu Tall Ahmad al-Madani al-Kabir at-Tijani, commonly known as Ahmadou Sekou Tall or Ahmadu Sekou (June 21, 1836 – December 15, 1897) was the '' Laamdo Dioulbé'' (ruler) of the Toucouleur Empire from 1864 to 1893 and '' Faama'' of Ségou from 1864 to 1 ...

took refuge in Nioro after the fall of his capital Segou to the French in 1890. His army, led by the Wolof king-in-exile Alboury Ndiaye, failed to defend the city against the advancing colonial army in January 1891. The town has an

airstrip An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

at Nioro Airport.

Climate

References

Communes of Kayes Region {{Kayes-geo-stub