The Askiya ruled from Gao over the vast Songhai Empire until its defeat by a Moroccan invasion force in 1591.
He was immediately challenged for the leadership by Muhammad (son of Abi Bakr) who had been one of Sonni Ali's military commanders.
[2] The Tarikh al-Sudan gives a 'folk etymology' and explains that the word derives from a Songhay expression meaning "He shall not be it" used by the sisters of Sunni Ali.
[9] The Moroccan military leader, Pasha Mahmud, set a trap for Askia Muhammad Gao and gave orders for him to be killed.
[10] Sulayman, another brother, then agreed to cooperate with the Moroccan army and was appointed as a puppet Askia in Timbuktu.
[12] The later sections of the Tarikh al-Sudan are available in a translation into French made by Octave Houdas [fr] which was published in 1898-1900.
[15] After the conquest of areas of West Africa at the end of the 19th century, the French government commissioned Jean Tilho [fr] to undertake a survey of the people in the occupied territories.
In the Denki region the rulers of the small towns of Karimama, Madékali and Gaya claimed descent from the Askiya dynasty of Gao.
The names and dates of reigns listed below are those given in the translation of the Tarikh al-Sudan from Arabic into English by John Hunwick.
The report of the Tilho commission includes a list of rulers of Gao and then of Gaya in the region of Dendi.