Latest / The Songhai Empire: Africa's Powerful Forgotten Kingdom — Fexingo History
The Songhai Siege of Walata: When the Sahara Fought Back
While most histories focus on Timbuktu and Gao, the Songhai Empire’s northern frontier was defined by a brutal, often overlooked conflict with the Oualata merchant republic. In 1486, Sonni Ali launched a devastating siege against this Tuareg-allied trading hub, a campaign that shattered local power but ignited decades of resistance. This episode explores the tactical realities of sieging desert cities, the role of camel cavalry in the Sahel, and how the destruction of Oualata reshaped trans-Saharan trade routes for centuries. We examine the primary accounts from the Tarikh al-Sudan, the…
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