Kala Kingdom The Battle of Jenné was a military engagement between forces of the Mali Empire and the Moroccan Pashalik of Timbuktu and their allies.

Thanks to the Moroccans' use of gunpowder weapons such as the arquebus and cannon, Songhai power was pushed back eastward across the Niger where they formed the smaller but still robust Dendi Kingdom.

[6] Previously, the pashalik had taken Jenné without a fight and preserved its king, Muhammad Kinba bin Isma’il on the throne under a Moroccan resident,[6] Governor Sayyid Mansur.

[1] The Moroccan reinforcements arrived via river boats,[7] making good use of the city's position on the Niger to ferry troops quickly to the battle.

They arrived on April 26 to find Mansa Mahmud IV and his army encamped over the entire dune of Sanuna,[1] which reached down into the creek where the boats were to enter the city.

[1] After making counsel with his advisors he is quoted as saying: Our encounter with them shall be after the noon worship on Friday.”[1]True to his word the governor along with the king of Jenne went out and engaged the Mali army again.

[4] The Moroccans’ allies, says the Ta’rikh al-Sudan, Having met him in a safe place, saluted him as sultan and bore their heads to do him honour, as was their custom.

[4] The Fulbe are not mentioned as lending military aid to Jenné's defenders, but their absence from the battlefield may have had a great effect on the final outcome.

Had Mahmud IV been able to draw on the support of his traditional division commanders (the Sanqara-Zuma and Farim-Soura), he would have also had access to the reluctant the governor or Kala-sha of Kala province.

In fact when Mansa Mahmud IV went to Kala to fetch what he still believed to be a loyal ally, he found that the Kala-sha had left for Jenné to fight alongside the Moroccans.

On the other hand, the gunpowder weapons of the pashalik soldiers were not decisive against the Mali Empire, despite the latter's reliance on traditional infantry and cavalry forces.

The use of guns saved the pashalik reinforcements from annihilation (along with the timely intervention of the king of Jenné), but they didn't set the mansa's forces to flight either.