Latest / The Songhai Empire: Africa's Powerful Forgotten Kingdom — Fexingo History / Sonni Ali's Cavalry: The Horse Warriors Who Built Songhai
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- Lucas: What made the Songhai Empire so formidable wasn't just its size or its wealth — it was the speed of its cavalry. And the man who turned that cavalry into an unstoppable force was Sonni Ali Baru. Luna: We've talked about Sonni Ali before, but mostly as the founder of the dynasty. What made his cavalry so effective? Lucas: Well, the backbone of the Songhai army were two elite groups: the farari and the koyam. The farari were the heavy cavalry — they wore chain mail and carried lances, and they were the shock troops. The koyam were lighter, faster horsemen who could ride for days without rest. Luna: And they were also administrators, right? The koyam had a dual role. Lucas: Exactly. The koyam were not just soldiers; they were also provincial governors and tax collectors. So when Sonni Ali went to war, he could mobilise an army that was already embedded in the local power structure. That made his campaigns incredibly efficient. Lucas: Take the conquest of Timbuktu in 1468. The city was then under the control of the Tuareg, who had dominated it after the Mali Empire's decline. Sonni Ali didn't just march in — he used his cavalry to cut off supply routes along the Niger, starving the city into submission. Luna: And Djenne a few years later — that was a siege, wasn't it? Lucas: Yes, Djenne fell in 1475 after a brutal blockade. The city was surrounded by water during the flood season, so Sonni Ali's cavalry couldn't charge. Instead, he used his fleet of boats — the Sorko hippo hunters — to patrol the river while his horsemen rode down anyone who tried to escape overland. Lucas: His most impressive campaign, though, was against the Mossi kingdoms to the south. The Mossi were fierce infantry warriors, and they had raided Songhai territory for decades. In 1473, Sonni Ali led a cavalry raid deep into Mossi country, burning villages and capturing thousands of slaves. Luna: Wait, wasn't there a battle where the Mossi king was killed? Lucas: There is a tradition that Sonni Ali's cavalry caught the Mossi king, Naba Kourita, in the open savanna. The Mossi infantry formed a shield wall, but the farari charged through them with lances. The king was killed, and his head was sent back to Gao as a trophy. Lucas: Now, the horses themselves were a key factor. The Songhai pony is a small, hardy breed — it could go for up to three days without water, and it thrived on the sparse grass of the Sahel. That gave Sonni Ali's cavalry a logistical advantage over any enemy who relied on larger, more fragile horses. Luna: So it was a combination of tactics, organisation, and the right animal for the terrain. Lucas: Exactly. And Sonni Ali was ruthless in maintaining discipline. The Tarikh al-Sudan records that he executed whole units for cowardice. He also used a black standard — a flag that signalled no quarter. When that flag was raised, his cavalry would slaughter everyone in their path. Luna: It's interesting — we've talked a lot about Askia Muhammad's reforms, but he inherited an army that was already extremely effective. Lucas: Absolutely. And for anyone coming with us through these conversations about West Africa, it's worth remembering that we're able to do this because we don't run ads on the show. It's a choice we've made — to keep the history flowing without interruptions. If that matters to you, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just a way to keep it going. Luna: Yeah, it really lets us go deep on these topics without cutting away. So, back to the cavalry — how did Askia Muhammad change things when he took over? Lucas: Askia Muhammad kept the farari and koyam, but he institutionalised them. He created a standing army with regular pay, rather than relying on levies. He also introduced a more sophisticated chain of command — with a fari-mondio, or commander-in-chief, who answered directly to the emperor. Lucas: But the core remained cavalry. Under Askia Muhammad, Songhai expanded west to the Atlantic and east to the Hausa city-states. At its peak, the empire could field perhaps 30,000 horsemen — an enormous force for the Sahel. Luna: So what happened when the Saadians arrived with guns? Lucas: That's the tragedy of Tondibi in 1591. The Songhai army under Askia Ishaq II had maybe 30,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry. The Saadians had only about 4,000 men, but they had harquebuses and cannons. The Songhai cavalry charged — they always charged — but the gunfire broke their formation. Lucas: The Tarikh al-Sudan describes how the horses panicked at the sound of the guns. Many threw their riders. The farari tried to regroup, but the Saadian infantry held their ground. Within a few hours, the Songhai cavalry was decimated. Luna: It's a stark lesson in how technology can overturn tradition. Lucas: It is. But the Songhai cavalry wasn't entirely finished. After Tondibi, the remnants fled south to Dendi, where they fought a guerrilla war for another decade. Without horses, though, they couldn't match the mobility of the Saadian columns. Lucas: So when we think of Songhai's fall, we should remember that it wasn't just about one battle — it was about the obsolescence of a cavalry tradition that had dominated the Sahel for over a century. Luna: And that tradition was built by Sonni Ali, who we tend to overshadow by Askia Muhammad. Lucas: Exactly. Sonni Ali's cavalry was the engine that built the empire. Without it, there would have been no Songhai to later flourish under Askia Muhammad.