Askia Muhammad Gao
| Askia Muhammad Gao | |
|---|---|
| Askia Songhaju | |
| Reign | 1591 |
| Successor | Askia Ishaq II |
| Died | 1591 |
| Dynasty | Askia dynasty |
| Father | Askia Daud |
Askia Muhammad Gao was the last ruler of the Songhai Empire, son of Askia Daud. He assumed power in the last months of 1591 after the defeat of Askia Ishaq II by Moroccan forces. Yet in the same year, about forty days after taking power, he was lured into a trap and killed by the Moroccans.
Biography[edit]
Before assuming power[edit]
Muhammad Gao was one of the many sons of Askia Daud, who ruled in Songhai from 1549 to 1582. While during Daud's life the empire was stable and orderly, after his death, numerous descendants began to vie for power.[1] Muhammad Gao took part in the Kurmina-fari Al-Hajj conspiracy against Askia Al-Hajj, but he changed sides along with his other brothers and turned against the rebel.[2] During the reign of Askia Ishaq II, the Moroccan invasion occurred, finding Muhammad Gao in the position of balamy.[3] As a holder of this title, he was one of the highest commanders of the Songhai army and the governor of the Dyina province.[4] Traditionally, the balamy garrison was stationed at the port of Karaba near Timbuktu.[5] Askia Ishaq II lost the first major battle against the forces of Moroccan Pasha Judar at Tondibi.[6] The Sultan of Morocco rejected Askia's peace proposal and sent another expedition led by Pasha Mahmud ben Zergun. The decisive battle he waged against Ishaq II took place on the Niger River, near the town of Bamba, where the Songhai army was again defeated.[7] Muhammad Gao participated in the fighting against the pasha's troops. During the retreat after the lost battle, he was shot with a musket, resulting in an illness.[8]
Assumption of Askia's title[edit]
Defeated Ishaq II gathered a unit of 1,200 elite horsemen and ordered his hi-koi (chief naval commander), Laha, to strike at the stationed pasha in the town of Kukia. Muhammad Gao was supposed to join this unit, leading a 100 cavalrymen. The soldiers proclaimed Muhammad as the new Askia, while Ishaq II fled to the Gurma province, where he was killed.[3] Another version of the story suggests that the battle itself took place in Gurma, and immediately afterward Askia Ishaq fled, ultimately meeting his death at the hands of the Tuaregs.[9] In this case, Muhammad Gao's assumption of power would have a different context. One of the new Askia's first actions was to free two of his brothers imprisoned by Askia Muhammad Bani – fari-mundio Tafa and benga-farma Nuh.[10]
Moroccan trickery[edit]
Some of Muhammad Gao's brothers, led by Suleiman, began to defect to the side of the invaders. To prevent the fragmentation of the state, the new Askia initiated peace negotiations through his secretary Bukar Lanbar with the pasha Mahmud. Due to hunger among Mahmud's ranks, he asked Muhammad for food assistance, which he agreed to provide. The pasha declared that a condition for peace was the personal oath of allegiance to the Moroccans by Askia and his dignitaries. Despite numerous doubts and warnings, especially from hi-koi Laha, Muhammad Gao agreed to these terms, encouraged by the assurances given by his secretary. Mahmud ben Zergun held a reception for the arriving guests, during which he ordered the imprisonment of all Songhai people except Bukar, raising suspicions that he was complicit. Askia and his 18 dignitaries were transported to Gao and then executed on the pasha's orders.[3][11] Michel suggests that the initiator of bringing Askia was Qaid Mami. He suggested to Muhammad that, as a gesture of goodwill in peace negotiations, he should provide food to the starving residents of Timbuktu. When Askia arrived with supplies, he and his entourage were murdered on Mahmud's orders, who sought to avenge losses suffered by the Moroccans during the crossing of the Sahara.[9] The reign of Askia is estimated to have lasted for forty days.[12]
Successors[edit]
After the death of Askia Muhammad Gao, Songhai officially split into two warring factions. In place of the slain Muhammad, the army chose Nuh, who had been freed by Muhammad, as the new Askia. He managed to evacuate many Songhai people from the areas controlled by Morocco. With them, he went to Dendi, giving rise to a new, diminished kingdom.[3] Mahmud ben Zergun decided to appoint a new Askia to calm the Songhai people. The chosen one was another son of Askia Daud, Suleiman, who was the first to acknowledge the authority of the Moroccans.[13]
Family tree[edit]
Askia Muhammad Gao was the son of Askia Daud and the grandson of the founder of the Askia dynasty, Muhammad I. Due to the large number of sons of Askia Muhammad I and Askia Daud, the family tree is limited to the reigning members of the Songhai dynasty (highlighted in green). Among Muhammad Gao's other brothers, rulers of the Dendi kingdom can be mentioned, such as Askia Nuh, Askia Al-Mustafa, Askia Muhammad Sorko, Askia Harun, and Askia Al-Amin, as well as Askia Pashaliku Arm Suleiman.[14]
| Abi Bakr[15] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Askia Muhammad I | Amar Kamdiago | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Askia Musa | Askia Isma'il | Askia Ishaq I | Askia Daud | Askia Muhammad Benkan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Askia Al-Hajj | Askia Mohammed Bani | Askia Ishaq II | Askia Muhammad Gao | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References[edit]
- ^ Tymowski (1979, pp. 127–132)
- ^ al-Sadi & Hunwick (2003, pp. 164–165)
- ^ a b c d Tymowski (1979, p. 182)
- ^ Tymowski (1979, p. 406)
- ^ Tymowski (1979, p. 142)
- ^ DeGraft-Johnson, J. C. (1954). African Glory: The Story of Vanished Negro Civilizations. London. pp. 113–116.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Tymowski (1979, pp. 181–182)
- ^ al-Sadi & Hunwick (2003, p. 196)
- ^ a b Michel (1995)
- ^ al-Sadi & Hunwick (2003, p. 200)
- ^ al-Sadi & Hunwick (2003, pp. 201–202)
- ^ al-Sadi & Hunwick (2003, p. 203)
- ^ Tymowski (1979, p. 183)
- ^ Tymowski (1979)
- ^ al-Sadi & Hunwick (2003, p. 102)
Bibliography[edit]
- Tymowski, Michał (1979). Historia Mali. Historia Powszechna (in Polish). Wrocław: Ossolineum. ISBN 83-04-00212-4.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) - Michel, Jonathan (1995). "The Invasion of Morocco in 1591 and the Saadian Dynasty". Retrieved 2014-07-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) - al-Sadi, Abd; Hunwick, John (2003). Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sa'Di's Ta'Rikh Al-Sudan Down to 1613 and Other Contemporary Documents. Brill Academic. ISBN 978-9004128224.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)