The Songhai Empire's Forgotten Slave Revolts

The Songhai Empire: Africa's Powerful Forgotten Kingdom — Fexingo History · Sep 25, 2026 · 8m · transcript

While the Askia dynasty is often remembered for its scholars and trade, Songhai society was deeply stratified by slavery, a reality that sparked one of Africa’s most significant pre-colonial uprisings. This episode explores the Great Revolt of 1591, where enslaved populations in Gao and Timbuktu rose up against the crumbling empire following the Moroccan invasion. We examine the roles of the Sorko river communities and the urban underclass who saw the chaos as an opportunity to break centuries of bondage. Through the lens of local oral histories and the fragmented accounts in the Tarikh…