Latest / The Songhai Empire: Africa's Powerful Forgotten Kingdom — Fexingo History
Songhai's Cattle Tax That Fed the Empire
How did the Songhai Empire sustain its vast territory without a centralized currency system? In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the jangali — a cattle tax that became the backbone of Songhai's economy under Askia Muhammad and his successors. Drawing on the Tarikh al-Sudan and al-Sa'di's accounts, they trace how this levy on Fulani pastoralists fueled grain storage, military campaigns, and public works along the Niger River. Learn how the fari-mondio (provincial governors) and the Tyeddo (cattle-herding caste) negotiated a delicate balance between nomadic and sedentary…
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