Caveats (and sources) to the validity of each claim are discussed in the "Notes" column.
A marble palace, stelae, houses and cemeteries dating from this period were discovered by archaeologists.
[12][13][14] The current Gao built on a site near Gao-Saney was the capital of the largest contiguous land Empire of Songhai (1464-1591,[15] destroyed during the invasion of Songhai by the Saadians it is today the regional capital of the Gao regions in Mali.
Derived its name from the words "suro" (shark) and "boyo" (crocodile), two creatures which are in a local myth.
[166] Originally named Kutaraja, which means "City of the King".