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'{{Infobox royalty | name = Askia Muhammad | title = ruler of the [[Songhai Empire]] | image = | full name = Muhammad ture sylla | reign = April 1493 – 1528 | birth_date = 1443 | death_date = 1538 | death_place = [[Gao]], [[Songhai Empire]] | date of burial = | place of burial = [[Tomb of Askia]], [[Gao]], [[Mali]] | predecessor = [[Sonni Baru|Sunni Baru]] | successor = [[Askia Musa|Askia Monzo Mūsā]] | spouse = | issue = Ismail and Haibe | royal house = | dynasty = [[Askia Dynasty]] | father = Arlum Sylla | mother = Kassey | religion = [[Sunni Islam]] }} [[File:SONGHAI empire map.PNG|thumb|right|Extent of the [[Songhai Empire]],<br/>circa 1500.]] '''Askia Muhammad I''' (1443 – 1538), born '''Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Turi'''{{efn|Or, it is said, al-Sillanki}}, was the first ruler of the [[Askia Dynasty]] of the [[Songhai Empire]], reigning from 1493 to 1528. He is also known as '''Askia the Great''', and his name in modern [[Songhay languages|Songhai]] is '''Mamar Kassey'''. Askia Muhammad strengthened his empire and made it the largest empire in [[West Africa]]'s history. At its peak under his reign, the Songhai Empire encompassed the [[Hausa people|Hausa]] states as far as [[Kano (city)|Kano]] (in present-day Northern [[Nigeria]]) and much of the territory that had belonged to the Songhai empire in the east. His policies resulted in a rapid expansion of trade with [[Europe]] and [[Asia]], the creation of many schools, and the establishment of [[Islam]] as an integral part of the empire. After [[Sunni Ali| Sunni Ali Ber]] died, [[Sunni Baru]], his son and intended successor, was challenged by Muhammad because he was not seen as a faithful Muslim.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=GX1fNzyNO5AC&pg=PA78&dq=%22Sunni+Baru%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=aBLHUoyYF5GM7AbS14G4Cw&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Sunni%20Baru%22&f=false Towards an Understanding of the African Experience from Historical] By Festus Ugboaja Ohaegbulam</ref> This gave one of Sunni Ali Ber's generals, Muhammad Ture, a reason to challenge his succession.<ref name="globaled">[http://www.globaled.org/nyworld/materials/african3.html Biographical information on historical African figures] from globaled.org</ref> General Ture defeated Baru and ascended to the throne in 1493.<ref name="globaled"/> General Ture, later known as Askia Muhammad I or Askia the Great, subsequently orchestrated a program of expansion and consolidation which extended the empire from Taghaza in the North to the borders of Yatenga in the South; and from Air in the Northeast to Futa Djallon in Guinea. Instead of organizing the empire along Islamic lines, he tempered and improved on the traditional model by instituting a system of bureaucratic government unparalleled in [[Western Africa]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=G Kollie|first=Aaron|date=December 21, 2020|title=Gmail|url=https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin?service=mail&passive=true&rm=false&continue=https://mail.google.com/mail/&ss=1&scc=1&ltmpl=default&ltmplcache=2&emr=1&osid=1#|access-date=2020-12-21|website=aaronkollie2018@gmail.com}}</ref> In addition, Askia established standardized trade measures and regulations, initiated the policing of trade routes and also established an organized tax system. He was overthrown by his son, [[Askia Musa]], in 1528.<ref>[http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/396293/Muhammad-I-Askia#md-media-strip-tab-lists-content ''Muḥammad I Askia Songhai ruler''] from britannica.com</ref> ==Name and title== The ''Tarikh al-Sudan'' gives Askia Muhammad's name as Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Turi or al-Sillanki.{{sfn|Hunwick|1999|p=102}} The ''Tarikh al-Fattash'' gives his name as Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr.{{sfn|Bühnen|2005|p=85}} Al-Turi and al-Sillanki have been interpreted as the Soninke clan names Ture and Sila by most historians. However, Stephan Bühnen has argued that they should be interpreted as ''[[Nisba (onomastics)|nisba]]''s referring to ancestry from Futa Toro or Silla in the [[Senegal River|Senegal]] valley, and favors the possibility that his ancestors originally came from Futa Toro.{{sfn|Bühnen|2005}} The title Askia{{efn|Or Askiya}} ({{lang-ar|اسكيا}}) is of unknown origin,{{sfn|Hunwick|1999|p=335}} and had been in use since the early 13th century, if not earlier.{{sfn|de Moraes Farias|2008|p=102}} The original pronunciation of the title is not known; in modern Songhai it is pronounced ''siciya''.{{sfn|Hunwick|1999|p=335}} Moroccan sources spelled the title Sukyā or Sikyā, Leo Africanus spelled it Izchia, and a contemporary Portuguese source spelled it Azquya. The ''Tarikh al-Sudan'' provides a folk etymology for the title, claiming that Askia Muhammad invented the title based on the lament of Sonni Ali's daughters when they had learned he had seized power: "''a si kiya''", meaning "it is not his"{{sfn|Gomez|2018|p=226}} or "he shall not be it".{{sfn|Hunwick|1999|p=103}} After going on the ''[[hajj]]'' in 1497–1498, he also became known as Askia al-Hajj Muhammad.{{sfn|Bühnen|2005|p=83}} In oral tradition, he is remembered by the name of Mamar Kassey.{{sfn|Johnson|Hale|Belcher|1997|p=126}} Mamar is a form of the name Muhammad, and Kassey is a [[matronymic]]. ==Early life== Askia Muhammad was probably born in [[Gao]]. His father, Baru Lum,{{efn|Baru is a Songhai form of the name Abu Bakr.{{sfn|Hunwick|1999|p=102}} Lum is a clan name, probably of Fula origin.{{sfn|Bühnen|2005|p=89}}}} was of [[Toucouleur people|Toucouleur]] or [[Soninke people|Soninke]] ancestry, with ancestors hailing from the [[Senegal River]] valley.{{efn|The ''Tarikh al-Fattash'' says that Askia Muhammad was a descendent of the Torodo. Torodo is Fula for "people of Toro" and refers to the Toucouleur. The clan name Lum is more likely to be of Toucouleur than Soninke origin. The names al-Turi and al-Sillanki have been interpreted as the Soninke clan names Ture and Sila, but they may be references to his father or father's ancestors coming from either [[Futa Toro]] or Silla in the Senegal valley. Futa Toro was predominantly Toucouleur and Silla was predominantly Soninke.{{sfn|Bühnen|2005}}}} His mother was named Kasay,{{sfn|Hunwick|1999|p=181}} Kassey or Kassaye,{{sfn|Johnson|Hale|Belcher|1997|p=126}} and is said in oral tradition to have been the sister of Sonni Ali.{{sfn|Johnson|Hale|Belcher|1997|p=126–127}} ==Legacy== Askia encouraged learning and literacy, ensuring that Songhai's universities produced the most distinguished scholars, many of whom published significant books and one of which was his nephew and friend Mahmud Kati. To secure the legitimacy of his usurpation of the Sonni dynasty, Askia Muhammad allied himself with the scholars of [[Timbuktu]], ushering in a golden age in the city for [[scientific]] and [[Muslim]] [[scholarship]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Vogel |first=Joseph O. |title=Encyclopedia of Precolonial Africa: Archaeology, History, Languages, Cultures, and Environments |page=493 |year=1997 |isbn=0-7619-8902-1 }}</ref> The eminent scholar [[Ahmad Baba al Massufi|Ahmed Baba]], for example, produced books on [[Sharia|Islamic law]] which are still in use today. Muhammad Kati published ''[[Tarikh al-fattash]]'' and Abdul-Rahman as-Sadi published ''[[Tarikh al-Sudan]]'' (''Chronicle of The Black Land''), two history books which are indispensable to present-day scholars reconstructing African history in the [[Middle Ages]]. The king's supposed tomb, the [[Tomb of Askia]], is now a [[List of World Heritage Sites in Africa|UNESCO World Heritage Site]]. ==In popular culture== Askia leads the [[Songhai Empire]] in the turn-based strategy video game ''Sid Meier's [[Civilization V]]''. == See also == * [[Legends of Africa]] ==Footnotes== {{notelist}} ==References== {{reflist}} ===Primary sources=== {{refbegin|indent=yes}} *{{citation | author = al-Sadi | title = Taʾrīkh al-Sūdān }}, translated in {{harvnb|Hunwick|1999}} {{refend}} ===Other sources=== {{refbegin|indent=yes}} *{{Cite journal| volume = 1| pages = 83–90| last = Bühnen| first = Stephan| title = Askiya Muḥammad I and his qabīla: name and provenance| journal = Sudanic Africa| date = 2005| jstor = 25653427}} *{{Cite book| publisher = Princeton University Press| isbn = 978-0-691-17742-7| last = Gomez| first = Michael A.| title = African dominion: a new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa| location = Princeton| date = 2018}} *{{Cite book| publisher = Brill| isbn = 978-90-04-11207-0| last1 = Hunwick| first1 = John O.| title = Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Saʻdi's Taʼrīkh al-Sūdān down to 1613, and other contemporary documents| location = Leiden ; Boston| series = Islamic history and civilization : studies and texts| date = 1999}} *{{cite book | editor-first1 = John William | editor-last1 = Johnson | editor-first2 = Thomas A. | editor-last2 = Hale | editor-first3 = Stephen | editor-last3 = Belcher | title = Oral epics from Africa: vibrant voices from a vast continent | year = 1997 | publisher = Indiana University Press | isbn = 0-253-21110-7 }} *{{Cite book| publisher = HSRC Press| isbn = 978-0-7969-2204-5| editor-first1 = Shamil | editor-last1 = Jeppie | editor-first2 = Souleymane Bachir | editor-last2 = Diagne | last = de Moraes Farias| first = Paulo F.| title = The meanings of Timbuktu| chapter = Intellectual innovation and reinvention of the Sahel: the seventeenth-century Timbuktu chronicles| location = Cape Town| date = 2008}} *{{cite book|author1=Josef W. Meri|author2=Jere L. Bacharach|title=Medieval Islamic Civilization: L-Z, index|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LaV-IGZ8VKIC&pg=PA764|year=2006|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-96692-4|page=764}} *{{Citation |last=Stoller |first=Paul |year=1992|title=The Cinematic Griot: The Ethnography of Jean Rouch |publisher= |publication-place= |page=105|isbn=9780226775487 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evrPTDsBoOYC&q=the+cinematic+griot |access-date=2021-06-04}} {{refend}} ==External links== *[http://webusers.xula.edu/jrotondo/Kingdoms/Songhay/SunniAli01.html ''Kingdoms of the Medieval Sudan'' - Xavier University] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20181201140357/http://www.africanlegends.info/ Ancient African Legends] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Askia Muhammad I}} [[Category:1440s births]] [[Category:1538 deaths]] [[Category:16th-century monarchs in Africa]] [[Category:15th-century monarchs in Africa]] [[Category:Songhai Empire]] [[Category:History of Mali]] [[Category:History of Niger]] [[Category:16th-century Muslims]] [[Category:Year of birth uncertain]] [[Category:History of Azawad]]'