Latest / The Songhai Empire: Africa's Powerful Forgotten Kingdom — Fexingo History / Women of Songhai: Power, Trade, and Scholarship Beyond the Throne
Transcript
- Lucas: You know, when we talk about Songhai, we usually talk about the emperors, the generals, the scholars. But there's a whole layer of history that's almost invisible in the sources unless you know where to look. Luna: Women? Lucas: Exactly. And it's not just about being behind the throne. In Songhai, women held real economic power, legal agency, and in some cases direct political influence. The problem is that most of our written sources were produced by men, and they don't always focus on women's lives. Luna: So what do we actually know? Lucas: Quite a bit, actually, if you piece together travel accounts, legal documents, oral traditions, and the chronicles from Timbuktu. For instance, the Tarikh al-Sudan, written in the 17th century by Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di, mentions women in passing — but those mentions are revealing. Women owned property, engaged in trade, and sometimes even funded the construction of mosques. Luna: Wait, women funded mosques? That's not something you hear about very often. Lucas: Right? There's a famous example from Timbuktu: a woman named Koukour Moussa — though that might be a French transliteration — who was a wealthy merchant. She financed the building of a mosque in the 14th century, before Songhai even took over. That kind of patronage wasn't unusual. Women in the Sahel had a long tradition of controlling their own wealth, partly because of the matrilineal customs that predated Islam. Luna: So Islam didn't erase those older traditions? Lucas: It modified them, certainly, but it didn't erase them. In practice, Songhai women under Islamic law could inherit property, initiate divorce, and run businesses. The legal framework of the Maliki school, which was followed in the empire, actually gave women more rights than some later interpretations. And the oral traditions from the Songhai heartland, around Gao and Kukiya, often tell of powerful queen mothers. Luna: Queen mothers? Like in the Mossi states? Lucas: Exactly. The Mossi, who were Songhai's toughest enemies, had a system where the queen mother, called the naba, was often the real power behind the throne. She could choose the king, advise him, and even depose him. In Songhai itself, we have hints that similar roles existed. For example, Askia Muhammad's own mother is said to have been a key influence on his rise. Luna: I'd love to know more about her. Do we have her name? Lucas: Unfortunately, no. The chronicles rarely name women unless they're exceptional. But we do have the name of one of Askia Muhammad's daughters, Aisha, who was known for her learning. She studied at Sankore and became a scholar in her own right. There's also a mention of a woman named Fatima who was a prominent merchant in the salt trade at Taghaza. Luna: So women were active in the salt trade? That's dangerous work in the desert. Lucas: Yes, but the trade itself was run from the cities. Women in Gao and Timbuktu would finance caravans, own shares in the salt blocks, and sell the salt in the markets. Ibn Battuta, when he visited the region in the 1350s, noted that women in Mali — and later Songhai — were not veiled and mixed freely with men in public. That shocked him, coming from a North African context. Luna: He wrote about that? What did he say? Lucas: He said something like, 'The women here have no modesty before men and do not veil themselves.' And he also noted that they had 'friends' — male companions who were not their husbands. That was part of the pre-Islamic customs that persisted. Women had a lot of social freedom, even if they were excluded from formal political power. Luna: But some did hold formal power, right? I've heard of a female ruler in the Hausa states. Lucas: You're thinking of Queen Amina of Zazzau, which is part of the Hausa states that traded with Songhai. She lived in the 16th century and led armies. But within Songhai proper, we don't have evidence of a female emperor. However, there is a tantalizing mention in the Tarikh al-Sudan of a woman who ruled as regent for her son in the 15th century, before the Askia dynasty. Her name is not given, but she's described as 'the queen of Gao'. Luna: A queen of Gao. I wish we knew her story. Lucas: So do I. But we can piece together the everyday lives of women from other sources. For example, the legal documents from Timbuktu — thousands of contracts, marriage deeds, and court records — show that women frequently appeared in court to assert their property rights. One document from the 16th century records a woman suing her husband for selling her land without permission. And she won. Luna: That's remarkable for the time period. In Europe, women couldn't do that. Lucas: Exactly. And it's not an isolated case. Women in Songhai could own slaves, trade in gold and salt, and even become religious scholars. There's a story of a female scholar in Timbuktu who taught at Sankore — not as a professor, but she hosted study circles in her home. Her name is lost, but the chronicler notes that 'many men came to learn from her'. Luna: So women were part of the intellectual life of Timbuktu. That changes the picture I had. Lucas: It should. And it's not just Timbuktu. In the rural areas, women were the backbone of agriculture and the local markets. They controlled the processing of food and the production of cotton cloth. In the Niger River delta, women fished alongside men. The division of labor was less rigid than in many other societies. Luna: What about the queen mothers of the Mossi? You mentioned them earlier. How did they compare? Lucas: The Mossi queen mothers, like the ones in Yatenga and Ouagadougou, had institutionalized power. They were often the sisters or mothers of the king, and they had their own courts, their own lands, and their own armies. They could veto the king's decisions. In fact, when the Mossi fought Songhai, the queen mothers were sometimes the ones who decided whether to go to war. Luna: That must have made them a target for Songhai emperors. Lucas: Yes, and there are accounts of Songhai campaigns specifically aiming to capture or kill a queen mother because she was seen as the real leader. But the Mossi were never fully conquered, so those traditions persisted. Even after the Saadian invasion, when Songhai collapsed, the Mossi kingdoms continued, with queen mothers still wielding influence. Luna: So the fall of Songhai didn't erase women's power everywhere. Lucas: No, but it did change things in the former Songhai heartland. The Arma, the mixed-race descendants of the Saadian invaders, imposed a more patriarchal system. Women lost some of their economic independence. But even then, in the 18th and 19th centuries, European travelers reported seeing women in Timbuktu who owned houses and ran businesses. Luna: So the story of women in Songhai is not just a footnote — it's central to understanding the empire. Lucas: Absolutely. Without the labor, the trade networks, and the social cohesion that women provided, Songhai wouldn't have been as stable or as wealthy. And the fact that women could hold property and go to court gives us a more nuanced picture of the empire's legal system. Luna: I wonder how many other stories are waiting to be uncovered. Lucas: That's the exciting part. The manuscripts of Timbuktu are still being cataloged and digitized. There are thousands of legal documents, letters, and contracts that have barely been studied. As more are translated, we're likely to find more evidence of women's roles — their names, their voices, their decisions. Luna: So this is a developing field. Lucas: Very much so. And every new discovery reminds us that history is not just about the men who sit on thrones. It's about everyone who built the society around them.