Disputes over succession had weakened the Mali…

Disputes over succession had weakened the Mali Empire in the decades following the death of Musa II, mansa of the state from 1374 to 1387, and in the 1430s Songhai, previously a Mali dependency, had gained independence under the Sonni Dynasty.

Around thirty years later, Sonni Sulayman Dama attacked Mema, the Mali province west of Timbuktu, paving the way for his successor, Sonni Ali, to turn his country into one of the greatest empires Saharan Africa has ever seen.

Sonni Ali has reigned from 1464, after the death of Sulayman Dama.

Like Songhai kings before him, Ali is a Muslim.

In the late 1460s, he conquers many of the Songhai's neighboring states, including what remains of the Mali Empire.

Sonni Ali is considered the empire's most formidable military strategist and conqueror.

Under his rule Songhai will reach a size of over 1,400,000 square kilometers.

During his campaigns for expansion, Ali has conquered many lands, repelling attacks from the Mossi to the south and overcoming …