On March 16, 1862, the town fell to the Toucouleur conqueror El Hadj Umar Tall after three major battles that claimed over 70,000 lives.

Umar Tall destroyed the city, marking the effective end of the Massina Empire.

The ruins of the abandoned town are located 21 km southeast of Mopti, at a site lying to the east of the Bani River and to the west of the Bandiagara plateau.

[1] The town was encircled by sun-dried mudbrick walls and covered an area of 244 hectares (604 acres).

The town walls and some of the street layout are clearly visible on satellite images provided by Google.