Rise of Songhai Power

Name: Rise of Songhai Power
Start: 1371
End: 1380

Type Event Region West Africa Time 1371–1380

In the 1370s the Songhai of the lower Niger River gradually threw off Mali's tributary bonds around Gao and built an independent political entity.

Timeline

1371–1375Gao · MaliAs the Mali Empire's central authority declined, Gao's rulers stopped paying tribute and refused Malian-appointed governors. Local elites accumulated wealth through Niger River transport and Saharan camel caravan trade, gradually building a military-political system independent of Mali.
1376–1380Gao · MaliSonghai rulers strengthened control of Niger River shipping, linking commercial hubs such as Timbuktu and Djenné and opening markets to East and North African merchants. Gao's walls were expanded and mosques built; the city's population and commercial activity grew markedly, and Songhai became an emerging power in West Africa.

The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3: c.1050-c.1600 — Roland Oliver (1977)
Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sa'di's Ta'rikh al-Sudan — John Hunwick (2003)