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Gao (city)
Gao, in the Niger River's great bend, rose around the 9th century and served as capital of the Sonni dynasty and later the Songhai Empire, flourishin…
Timeline
- 849–1099Gao · MaliThe Sonni people founded Gao on the Niger's great bend, controlling the junction of river transport and desert caravan routes, and it became a regional political center.
- 1099–1399Gao · MaliGao long served as a major southeastern stronghold of the Mali Empire, where Islamic learning and trans-Saharan trade continued to flourish.
- 1464–1591Gao · MaliThe Songhai Empire made Gao its capital; the city became the administrative, military, and scholarly center of one of West Africa's largest empires, with Timbuktu and Djenné forming the imperial core alongside it.
- 1591–1599Gao · MaliMoroccan Sa'di armies defeated Songhai at the Battle of Timbuktu; Gao was sacked, the empire disintegrated, and the city's political status fell sharply.
Sources
- Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande Peoples — David C. Conrad (2004)
- The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 3: c.1050–c.1600 — J. F. Ade Ajayi et al. (1977)