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Songhai's Coup: How Askia Muhammad Seized Power
In 1493, a general named Muhammad Toure staged a coup against Sonni Baru, the son of the legendary Sonni Ali, and founded the Askia dynasty that would rule Songhai for a century. But how did a military commander with no royal blood—and a controversial reputation for piety—convince the empire's Muslim scholars and pagan warriors to back him? This episode follows Muhammad Toure's rebellion from the battlefields of Anfao to the mosques of Timbuktu, where he sought a fatwa to legitimize his rule. We explore the role of the ulema, the uneasy alliance between Islam and traditional Songhai…
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