Sonni Ali

Timeline

1. 1464–1470Gao · GaoIn 1464 he inherited the Songhai throne, based himself at Gao to reorganize cavalry and river fleets, and gradually annexed neighboring tribes and city-states, laying the military and administrative foundations for imperial expansion.
2. 1471–1480Middle Niger (Timbuktu–Djenné corridor) · Middle NigerIn 1468 he captured Timbuktu, the former capital of Mali, and in 1473 conquered Djenné, controlling the trans-Saharan trade routes and Niger River navigation and extending imperial power into the heart of the Sahel trade network.
3. 1481–1492Gao · GaoHe continued to press the Hausa states and southern regions, consolidating control over the cities of the middle Niger; he died in 1492, succeeded by his son Sonni Baru, and the empire entered the transition period of the Askia dynasty.