Latest / The Songhai Empire: Africa's Powerful Forgotten Kingdom — Fexingo History / Songhai Before the Askias: The Dia and Sunni Dynasties
Transcript
- Lucas: So when people think of Songhai, they usually jump straight to Askia Muhammad, his famous hajj, the legal reforms, the canals. But the empire didn't spring from nothing. There were centuries of earlier rulers—two whole dynasties before the Askias even appeared. Luna: I didn't realize there were earlier dynasties. Who came before? Lucas: The first is called the Dia dynasty — sometimes spelled Dya. They emerged around the 9th or 10th century in a place called Kukiya, a city along the Niger River, south of Gao. The Dia were the first known rulers of the Songhai people, and they seem to have been local chieftains who gradually built a small kingdom based on fishing and river trade. Luna: So what were they like? Were they Muslims? Lucas: Not at first. The early Dia rulers were animists. But according to the Tarikh al-Sudan — that 17th-century chronicle from Timbuktu — the 15th Dia king converted to Islam in the early 11th century, around 1010. That was a pivotal moment. It opened Songhai to trans-Saharan trade and brought them into the orbit of the great Mali Empire to the west. Lucas: The Dia capital, Kukiya, became a religious and commercial center. But the Dia weren't powerful enough to resist Mali's expansion. By the late 13th century, Songhai was under Mali's control, and the Dia became vassals. But then a new family rose up—the Sunni, or Sonni, dynasty. Luna: This is where Sonni Ali comes in, right? Lucas: Eventually, yes. The Sunni dynasty started around the mid-15th century. The first major Sunni ruler was Sunni Sulayman, in the 1440s or so. But the real figure is his grandson — Sonni Ali, also known as Sunni Ali. He took power around 1464 and completely transformed Songhai. Luna: I've heard he was a ruthless military leader. Is that fair? Lucas: Absolutely fair. Sonni Ali was a warrior king in every sense. He spent nearly thirty years on campaign. His first major move was to break free from the Mali Empire. He captured Timbuktu from the Tuareg in 1468, and then the great trading city of Djenné in 1473. He didn't build a huge bureaucracy — he ruled through fear and force. Luna: That sounds like he was a tyrant. Was he unpopular? Lucas: Among the Muslim scholars of Timbuktu, absolutely. The Tarikh al-Sudan portrays him as a cruel, impious ruler. He apparently persecuted some scholars, confiscated property, and was deeply suspicious of the Islamic establishment. But he was also a brilliant military strategist. He used the Niger River masterfully — his fleet, manned by the Sorko fishermen, was key to his victories. Lucas: Let me pause here. If you've been enjoying this kind of deep dive into West African history, these conversations are possible because we keep the show ad-free. And the way we do that is through listener support. If today was useful to you, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's all lowercase, and every bit helps keep the history going. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to give back for all the research and storytelling. Appreciate anyone who chips in. Lucas: So back to Sonni Ali. He died in 1492, under mysterious circumstances — some say drowned, others say poisoned. His son, Sunni Baru, took over but only lasted a few months. Then one of Sonni Ali's generals, Muhammad Ture — soon to be Askia Muhammad — launched a coup. And that's how the Askia dynasty began. Luna: So Askia Muhammad was originally a general under Sonni Ali? Lucas: Exactly. He was a high-ranking commander, possibly from the Soninke or Mandé ethnic group, not even Songhai. But he saw an opportunity. He rallied the Muslim scholars who hated Sonni Ali, defeated Sunni Baru at the Battle of Anfao in 1493, and proclaimed himself Askia. Then he went on his famous hajj and got recognized as caliph by the Sharif of Mecca. Luna: That's a classic rise to power — from general to emperor. But what about the earlier centuries? The Dia dynasty — how much do we really know? Lucas: Not as much as we'd like. The Tarikh al-Sudan and Tarikh al-Fattash give us a list of Dia rulers, but with few details. We know the 15th king converted to Islam. We know they were based at Kukiya, which is now a small village with some ruins. The Dia seem to have been primarily riverine people, not great empire builders. They were absorbed by Mali, and then later by Sonni Ali's Songhai. Lucas: One interesting thing is that the Dia dynasty is sometimes conflated with the Za dynasty — there's debate among historians. The Tarikh al-Fattash calls them Za, while the Tarikh al-Sudan uses Dia. They might be the same group, just different spellings. Either way, they laid the foundations: a Muslim court, trade links north, and a Songhai identity. Luna: So the Askias were building on something that already existed — they didn't invent Songhai from scratch. Lucas: Exactly. The genius of Askia Muhammad was to take that Songhai core — the river-based economy, the military tradition, the Islamic institutions — and expand it into an imperial system. He centralized power, created a standing army, established a bureaucracy with governors and tax collectors, and promoted Islamic scholarship. But the seed was planted centuries before, under the Dia and the Sunni. Luna: It's fascinating how much of this history is hidden. I'd never even heard of the Dia before today. Lucas: That's why we do these episodes. The pre-Askia period is often overlooked, but it's essential to understanding the rise of the empire. If you want to learn more, I recommend reading the Tarikh al-Sudan — it's available in translation. It's our best window into the minds of the people who lived through this era, even with its biases. Luna: Speaking of biases, Sonni Ali gets a raw deal from those chroniclers, doesn't he? Lucas: Oh definitely. The Tarikh al-Sudan was written by a scholar, al-Sa'di, who was part of the Timbuktu elite that Sonni Ali had antagonized. So his portrait is probably exaggerated. But we have other sources — oral traditions, archaeological evidence — that suggest Sonni Ali was both feared and respected. He kept the Tuareg at bay, secured the trade routes, and unified the Niger bend. He was a transitional figure. Luna: A necessary tyrant, maybe? Lucas: That's one way to put it. He was the hammer that broke Mali's hold and forged a new Songhai identity. His methods were brutal, but they worked. Without Sonni Ali, there would have been no Askia dynasty. He cleared the way, even if the scholars hated him for it. Luna: So what happened to the old Dia capital, Kukiya? Lucas: It declined. After the Sunni dynasty moved the capital to Gao, Kukiya became a backwater. Today it's a small village with some ruins and an old mosque that might date to the Dia period. But it's not a major archaeological site—most of the architecture was mud-brick and has eroded. Still, it's a powerful symbol of Songhai's earliest roots. Lucas: And that's the thing about Songhai — so much of its history is written in mud and memory. The written records from Timbuktu give us a partial picture, but the real story is in the terrain: the islands of the Niger, the old markets, the oral epics. We're still uncovering it. Luna: I'd love to see Kukiya one day, even just the ruins. Lucas: It's on my bucket list too. But until then, we have the chronicles and a lot of imagination. Next time, maybe we'll talk about the early Askia dynasty in more detail — how Askia Muhammad actually governed, not just the big reforms. There's a lot of nuance to how he balanced the northern Islamic scholars with the traditional Songhai warrior class. Luna: I'd be up for that. For now, I think we've filled in a big missing piece.