Songhai rulers subsequently took advantage of the weakened Mali Empire to expand Songhai rule. It was the largest empire in the history of Africa at it's prime. The Ghana Empire, which ruled from 500 – 1240 CE, was known as “The Land of Gold” in its time. Imperial Songhai. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. One of them was the many gold fields and mines circling around their kingdom. Songhai, also spelled Songhay or Sonrhai, ethnolinguistic group having more than three million members who inhabit the area of the great bend in the Niger River in Mali, extending from Lake Debo through Niger to the mouth of the Sokoto River in Nigeria. Start studying Songhai Empire. The Songhai Empire had many innovations that were revolutionary for the location and the time period. The foot soldiers were armed with spears, arrows and leather or copper shields. The empire had three major gold fields in its territory. The Songhai Empire was located in Western Africa. 1352: Ibn Battuta, Berber scholar, travels across Africa and writes an account of all he sees 1462: Sonni Ali becomes ruler of the Songhai people and goes on to build the Songhai Empire: 1490: The Mali empire is overshadowed by the Songhai Empire 16th century  The Songhai kingdom was located in the western part of upper Africa, with the famous Sahara desert just a little bit north of their kingdom. Gao, Songhai’s capital, which remains to this day a … Its area included all of southeastern Senegal, the northern tip of the Ivory Coast, Northeastern Burkina Faso, most of Southern Mali, the southeastern tip of Mauritania, most of western Niger, and the northwestern tip of Nigeria. Sunni Ali, known also as Ali Ber, was a leader whose military prowess made a strong contribution to the Songhai Empire. The Songhai Empire was located in the North Western part of the African continent. And a handful of the natural resources that were surrounding them had really influenced their empire. The Songhai Empire’s Military Prowess . The Empire of Mali reaches its height of power, covering much of Northern West Africa. They also developed canoes up to 100 feet long and 13 feet wide, included cavalry in their military, and used protective armor and iron tipped weapons. It also includes kingdoms, wealth and prosperity. Military music as produced by a group of trumpeters. A royal mausoleum for the ruler of Songhai, Askia Muhammed (1493-1528) built in Gao in the once powerful capital of the Songhai Empire. In the second half of the 14th century, disputes over succession weakened the Mali Empire and in the 1430s, Songhai, previously a Mali dependency, gained independence under the Sonni Dynasty. The Songhai Empire was the largest and last of the three major pre-colonial empires to emerge in West Africa.. From its capital at Gao on the Niger River, Songhai expanded in all directions until it stretched from the Atlantic Ocean (modern Senegal and Gambia) to what is now Northwest Nigeria and central Niger. Picture source: baobab.harvard.edu. In addition, Sunni Ali … By defeating enemies who made incursions into the empire, the Tuaregs in the north and the Mossi in the south, Sunni Ali was able to secure the borders of the Songhai Empire. Some nomadic Songhai groups live in Mali, Niger, and southeastern Algeria.The Songhai are composed of many related … They standardized the weights, measures and currency to alleviate trade differences. The West African empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhai illustrate that Black History is more than just subjugation. At the height of the empire, it's territory included the following present day countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and The Gambia.