Askia Muhammad I

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.

[2] Ture 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.

He drew his support from the ulama of Timbuktu, harshly persecuted under Ali, and Mansa Kura, the Muslim chief of Bara.

Sonni Baru drew his from the traditional religious leaders of the Songhay and the Dendi fara, commander of an eastern province.

Although he made many charitable donations during his pilgrimage, including setting up a place for West Africa pilgrims to stay in Medina, he returned to Gao having accumulated 50,000 ducats in debt.

[26] In 1512, his brother Omar Komajago led an army that destroyed Futa Kingi, killed Tenguella, and brought the Kingdom of Diarra under the empire's sway.

Askia Muhammad had earlier conquered Katsina, Zaria and Gobir, devastating the cities with slave-taking and heavy taxation.

The expedition against Agadez caused dissession when the Emir of Kebbi felt he had been cheated of his share of the spoils and rebelled, ending Songhai hegemony in Hausaland.

He also divided the empire into provinces with centrally appointed governors and created a series of ministries (including finance, justice, interior, protocol, agriculture, waters and forests, and matters pertaining to “tribes of the white race” e.g. Tuaregs and Berbers), with all important positions filled by relatives.

When a younger one, Bala, was appointed to a presitigious governorship, Musa threatened to have the king's powerful advisor 'Ali Folon killed and drove him to exile in Tindirma in 1526.

In western Niger where the great princes migrated with all the strong lineage they founded powerful Emirates such as Dargol, Tera, Gothèye, Karma, Namaro, Sikié, Kokorou, larba Birno, Gounday next to the sunni emirs of Gorouol, Anzourou, they are constantly at war with each other and against the Tuareg ouelleminden and oudalan and the Fulani of Dori, those who mi gre further south reigns in Gaya, Bana, Tanda, Yelou, Bengou, loulami, karimama, Banikoara up to Djougou where they are in the majority and have formed the dendi where they are mixed and reign over the Bariba, Yoruba, Gur, Mandé, Yom, their arrival at the Dendi (province) triggers the assimilation of non-Songhai populations to the Songhai culture and language and an Islamization of the bargou, they are in Niger integrated with the Za and Sunni with the ethnic name Zarma, the most notable are the Emir Oumarou karma who fought against French colonization, Gabelinga Hama Kassa the military leader of goundey allied with wangugnya issa korombeyze moodi the mother of the war of zarmatarey during the wars against the caliphate of sokoto, they joined Babatu in Gurunsi and Dagbon to conquer the Upper Volta and the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast.

The Mamar haamey considering themselves uncles of the Djermas never enter into conflict with them and join forces with them to beat the sokoto, the Toucouleur, the Fulani of Dori and boboye and the Tuaregs.

The descendants of the Askia are also to be found mainly among the Songhai subgroup of the Djermas descending from the previous Za Dynasty of the Sunni Dynasty and Askia Dynasty and who ruled over the Gao Empire, the marriages between the members descending from the three powerful songhai dynasty was frequent and the princesses of blood and noble milk were only exchanged between these three dynasty, thus khaman Duksa, Zarmakoy sambo (Mali Bero) and Tagour Gana of the 17th and 18th century descendants of the za all took wives from the descendants of the askia living with them in the dendi, the askia reigning in the dendi on the right bank of the river and the royal Za lineage of the waazi, sega, fahmey, kogori, kandi, Manay, Zem on the left bank, they bear the royal title of Djermakoy which does not It is to bear that to the descendant of the za, he reigns in the zarmaganda (Tondikiwindi, Ouallam, Simiri ) over the kalley and in the zarmatarey (Dosso, kiota, yeni, Fakara, kouré, Kollo, libore, N'Dounga, kirtachi, babousaye, Tondikandia, bogole, Hamdallaye, Garankedey, Fabidji ) over the Gooley.

The Djerma, the mamar hamey and the si hamey all qualify as zaberbenda (the descendants of za the great, za el ayaman) and must support each other in the event of an enemy attack, when the mamar haama are attacked on the right bank, the Tubal War drum are struck to warn the left bank where the Djerma princes are beating theirs to gather their armies and cross the river to support their brother in the west and vice versa.

Askia Mohamed I is the maternal ancestor of the Hausa Sultans of the Bagauda Dynasty through his daughter Awah married to Muhammad Rumfa Sultan of Kano during the conquest of the Hausa Kingdoms by the Songhai Empire, they are replaced by the Fulani Sullubawa clan Dabo Dynasty during the conquest of kano by the Sokoto caliphate, having many daughters the askia contracted diplomatic marriages with the kings subject to his power to ensure their loyalty, kano is certainly not the only Hausa state where this kind relationships were established.

[33] The Arma who come from the marriage between the Spanish soldiers of Morocco and the Songhai women are also in matrilineal line descending from the Askiya for the most part.

The successions on the imperial Songhai throne are generally preceded by a battle between the princes, the strongest generally takes power, it is this instability which favored the Moroccan invasion and the defeat of Tondibi due to a weak contribution of troops resulting from the cold between the emperor Ishaq II and the balama of the kurmina.

[35] 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.