Songhai Empire

Government- Grade: B (Courtney)

The Songhai Empire was a very large empire. It expanded in all directions until it stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to what is present day Nigeriaand western Niger. In 1465 the Songhai Empire conquered Mema, then three years later seized Timbuktu, the largest city in this region. Eventually the empire took control of provinces, cities and the Trans-Saharan trade routes of Mali.

Not only was the Songhaiempire large but it was in existence for a long period of time. The capital Gao was founded around 800 A.D and established as a capital in the 11th century. Then the empire grew under a succession of several rulers until the civil war in 1591 at which time Moroccodecided to invade. That is an overall period of 791 years compared to the U.S. that has only existed for 235 years. Moroccans withdrew in 1661. The surviving elites tried to continue the traditions of the empire until they were conquered by the French in 1901. The total existence of the Songhaipeople and their traditions was 1,101 years.

It appeared they had strong leaders. Sunni Ali was considered the first leader. He led the expansion to conquer Mema and a few years later Timbuktu. Muhammed Toure known as Askia the Great centralized the bureaucracy appointing all provincial governors and mayors establishing Sharia law in the Empire. He also built numerous schools in Songhai. Things didn’t stop there for Askia the Great; he strengthened political and cultural ties with the Muslim world. He was a Muslim but he did not force that religion upon anyone in the Empire. In fact he was tolerant of all religions. From 1528 to 1591 Songhai had a succession of emperors. During this time they enjoyed peace and prosperity until a civil war broke out in 1591. Their last leader was killed in battle and the people of the Songhai Empire fell into confusion.

I would give the Songhaigovernment a B because of their size and long existence. They had strong leaders that expanded the Empire. The government was centralized for 35 years during Toure’s rule, but with single leaders in control for so many years at a time, it doesn’t appear that people had much say in their government. There was a Moroccan takeover during a civil war which caused them to get marked down.

Religion- Grade: B+ (Ellie)In the Songhai Empire, different groups of people had different religions. The rulers and powerful, rich people were generally Islamic. The rest of the population, however, was polytheistic, and they had their own beliefs. They believed in witchdoctors, magic, and spirits.

The rulers of the empire never actually came out and made their people convert to Islam, considering most of the working population didn’t believe in it. This didn’t bring unity to the empire as a whole, but it kept the people under the government’s control.

The people had their own ways of dealing with difficulties and understanding the world. The Islamic population of the empire turned to Allah and the Quran, but the polytheistic people had different ways of seeing things. In their minds, spirits controlled how everything happened. In times of stress, they asked the spirits for help. Divorce was common amongst the people, so that was not perceived as a crisis. Famine and drought, however, were cause for distress. Drought and famine were generally met with prayer and consulting fortune tellers and the sorkotarey, or praise-singers to the spirits. Political unrest was met the same way, consulting those connected with the spirits and begging for guidance.

I gave the Songhai Empire a “B+” because although the people were not united under one religion, they still managed to coexist and cope with problems. Their leaders were smart in allowing religious freedoms.

Economy- Grade: A- (Ellie)

The Songhai started out as a group of fishermen who managed to rise up against the Mali and create their own empire. After establishing their empire, they became known for their goods. There was no set currency, so they traded goods. They traded gold, fish, slaves, kola nuts, and salt. Trading so many masses of slaves caused the powerful members of society to grow wealthy and become set apart from the rest of the population. There was a large divide between the rich and the poor, though the rich traded enough to keep the overall economy of the empire flourishing.

There was a rather advanced level of trade in the region. The Songhai controlled much of the trans-Saharan trade and were constantly trading with people in the North and along the Niger River.

All of the trade seemed to improve the life of the people. Books, textiles, horses and luxuries were what the Songhai mainly sought when trading. These items made everyday life easier throughout the empire because the people were able to find means of education through the books and the textiles were used for clothing. The horses and other luxuries were for the wealthy class because they were more powerful and had the time and money to obtain them.

I gave them an “A-” because they managed to keep a flourishing economy and a tight grip on trade along the Niger River and through the Sahara Desert despite the great divide between rich and poor. The people benefited from the trade, and it helped the Songhai Empire grow.

Technology- Grade: B (Travis)

The Songhai dynasty was founded on the Niger River and they were very busy and hardworking people. Most of them were fishermen and there technology reflects this. They created many different types of technology’s to make this easier, for example they created harpoons and hooks out of bones which made it easier to hook and stab fish. Also, they had a good idea to put weights on the bottom of their nets to get there nets down deep to catch the fish easier. This advancement that they achieved is now is a highly used technique used by people all over the world. Other than fishing they had other great achievements such as they took an idea from the Mali dynasty which was to have many boats and canoes in the Niger River to have total control of the area around them. This was a technological advancement because they took an idea from someone else and changed it to fit their own lifestyle. Another technological advancement they achieved was using stone and wood to create many different useful tools. These tools were anywhere from axes to bows and arrows. These tools made things such as hunting and gathering easier and also made there warfare a little bit stronger.

These advancements did in fact improve the quality of life. The way it did this was by making usually difficult things such as catching fish easier for the normal people. And some of their advancements made having total control of their area easier by using many ships and boats in the Niger River. This advancement was another empires idea but the Songhai took that idea and changed and made It better and to fit their own lifestyle. Without these advancements many people would have not been able to eat because they couldn’t catch fish, and the other empires or people could have come and taken over there land because without boats and canoes they wouldn’t have been able to control their land as much as they did.

I decided to give the technology of the Songhai Empire an overall grade of a B. The reason for this was they had a few different types of technological advancements but they didn’t have enough to get an A. They had most of their advancements in the fishing and hunting area and they really didn’t have enough warfare tools such as higher class axes and swords to fight other intruding empires. If they would have had advancements in those areas I would have given them a better grade.

Arts & Architecture- Grade: C- (Alexis)

During the Songhai Empire, there was a division of hte rich and the poor, and this was shown throughout their art and architecture. People who were wealthy and/or royal would own large extravagant homes. These more detailed buildings were copied ideas the Songhai borrowed from the Islam. Mosques were an example of these extravagant buildings.

The people of the Songhai Empire who were poor lived in fenced compounds. The homes were mostly made of mud bricks and had thatched roofs. As time went on, they advanced to cement bricks and tin roofs. These homes were mostly circular shaped.

The Songhai women would normally wear bright colored tribal clothing. The men wore western-style clothing (jeans, t-shirts, etc.). They also created blankets and mats by weaving.

I gave them a C- because the Songhai did not show very much advancement in their arts and architecture. They used many building structures from the Islamic people instead of their own original ideas.

Society- Grade: D+ (Ryan/Rhino)

The Songhai empyreal society was effectively black and white with very distinguished caste divisions. At the peak of this Songhai empires power and influence of things such as the sub-Saharan gold trade route during the 15thcentury. The government at this time would be considered a monarchy led by Sonni Ali and later his general Mohammed Ture. Both men believed in the empires expansion and conquest. There country foundation is based on an arbitrary government. When a Spanish Moroccan writer and traveler Leo Africanus visited Gao, the capital of Songhay. He was amazed at the wealth of the ruling class. This man an unbiased observer, well known and learned conclusively stated that Songhai is made up of an unjust ruling class. To further support this claim one may simply view this African empires export patterns. They mainly include gold, kola nuts and slaves, which is an indication of an unhealthy society. The Songhai government allowed for little to know potential for a citizen born into an impoverished family environment. The living conditions were poor with the exception of the king himself and dignified subjects such as courtiers, along with a group of exceptionally wealthy merchants. The price of human life was low in this region of Africa human being bought and sold as possessions. In which the king of Songhai had abundant in his extravagant palace. This high class life was stimulated by their natural wealth of gold the slave labor for its agriculture.

The reason I gave the Songhai empires society a low mark was because of it clearly limiting social movement and a caste organized to benefit the leading class. An involuntary system unsustainable for many generations and or century’s to come. To my knowledge the economy was fueled by citizens who were considered inferior and slaves. Not unlike the Roman Empire who’s population at one point consisted of 1/3 slaves. Image out of every two people you know one of them owned another human being. The roman downfall was that more swift and final because of it societal condition. The Songhai Empire constructed there walls on sand unstable and inevitably wash away. Eventually it did in the late 16th century it did just that because of first invasion by the Moroccans and then civil war led to there downfall.

Overall Grade: B-

We gave them a "B-" overall because of all of the "GREATS" aspects of their empire. They had strong leaders that expanded the empire and their government was centralized for 35 years, despite the lack of representation for the people. The people had different religions, so they were not particularly united. However, they still managed to cope with their problems, and religious freedom was allowed. They managed to keep a tight grip on trade along the Niger River and through the Sahara Desert, despite the great divide between rich and poor. The people benefited from the trade, helping the Songhai Empire grow. They had most of their advancements in the fishing and hunting area and lacked advanced warfare tools such as higher class axes and swords to fight other intruding empires. Advancements in their arts and architecture were practically non-existant. They used many building structures from the Islamic people instead of their own original ideas. Social movement was limited due to their caste system, which was organized to benefit the leading class. The empire as a whole had several problems, but they weren't major enough to keep the empire from growing and prospering throughout its reign.Sources:

http://www.afropedea.org/songhay-empire http://africa.mrdonn.org/songhay.html http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Japan-to-Mali/Songhay.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/4chapter4.shtml
http://www.mitchellteachers.org/WorldHistory/EmpiresSubSaharanAfrica/PDFs/empireswestafrica/HowSonghaiEmpireGrewtoGreatnessInformation.pdf
http://prezi.com/noulkuajessu/schonghai-empire/

Songhai Empire: Religion & Economy

There will be more once I meet with my group, but this is what I have so far.

Religion- Grade: B+ (Ellie)

                In the Songhai Empire, different groups of people had different religions. The rulers and powerful, rich people were generally Islamic. The rest of the population, however, was polytheistic, and they had their own beliefs. They believed in witchdoctors, magic, and spirits.

                The rulers of the empire never actually came out and made their people convert to Islam, considering most of the working population didn’t believe in it. This didn’t bring unity to the empire as a whole, but it kept the people under the government’s control.

                The people had their own ways of dealing with difficulties and understanding the world. The Islamic population of the empire turned to Allah and the Quran, but the polytheistic people had different ways of seeing things. In their minds, spirits controlled how everything happened. In times of stress, they asked the spirits for help. Divorce was common amongst the people, so that was not perceived as a crisis. Famine and drought, however, were cause for distress. Drought and famine were generally met with prayer and consulting fortune tellers and the sorkotarey, or praise-singers to the spirits. Political unrest was met the same way, consulting those connected with the spirits and begging for guidance.

                I gave the Songhai Empire a “B+” because although the people were not united under one religion, they still managed to coexist and cope with problems. Their leaders were smart in allowing religious freedoms.

Economy- Grade: A- (Ellie)

                The Songhai started out as a group of fishermen who managed to rise up against the Mali and create their own empire. After establishing their empire, they became known for their goods. There was no set currency, so they traded goods. They traded gold, fish, slaves, kola nuts, and salt. Trading so many masses of slaves caused the powerful members of society to grow wealthy and become set apart from the rest of the population. There was a large divide between the rich and the poor, though the rich traded enough to keep the overall economy of the empire flourishing.

                There was a rather advanced level of trade in the region. The Songhai controlled much of the trans-Saharan trade and were constantly trading with people in the North and along the Niger River.

                All of the trade seemed to improve the life of the people. Books, textiles, horses and luxuries were what the Songhai mainly sought when trading. These items made everyday life easier throughout the empire because the people were able to find means of education through the books and the textiles were used for clothing. The horses and other luxuries were for the wealthy class because they were more powerful and had the time and money to obtain them.

                I gave them an “A-” because they managed to keep a flourishing economy and a tight grip on trade along the Niger River and through the Sahara Desert despite the great divide between rich and poor. The people benefited from the trade, and it helped the Songhai Empire grow.

Songhai

MORE TO COME. . .