After taking control of a small warband, he managed to extend his influence over all of the Toron region either by force or diplomacy, building alliances with the powerful Konate family of Gbodou and the leaders of Bissandougou.

[2] This first expansionist phase, lasting from 1866 to 1873, saw Samory's army and influence grow dramatically as members of his mother's Camara clan and numerous other volunteers were attracted by his success.

[3] In 1875 the Bate Empire, a theocratic state ruled by the Kaba dynasty of Kankan, sent commissioners to Touré asking for an alliance against his pagan neighbors, particularly the Condé clan based in Gbérédou.

[5][6] The army captured the Bure gold mining district on the border of Mali and Guinea to become more financially stable and continue trade, and by 1878 Toure had declared himself Faama (Emperor) of the Wassoulou empire, with Bissandugu as its capital.

The sofas traditional frontal charges became a slaughter when faced with the latest French weaponry, but Samory quickly pivoted by adopting effective guerilla tactics and hit-and-run cavalry attacks.

[9] This victory won Toure a reputation as the African leader who could stand up to the invading toubab, massively boosting his prestige and recruitment, as well as providing a blueprint for future engagements.

[12] The British rejected the offer in order to avoid conflict with France, but allowed increased trade in the form of selling more rifles to the Wassoulou army.

Roads became quagmires during the rainy season, and dysentery struck the army, devastating the men and killing Kebe Brema among other important leaders.

[23] Archinard's replacement, Colonel Humbert arrived in Kankan in January 1892 and led a small, well-supplied force of picked men on another attack on Bissandougou.

Samory convened another council at Frankonedou on May 9, 1892 where they decided to move east and rebase the empire in Kabadougou, devastating each area before evacuating it to delay French pursuit.

[24][25] During the first months of 1893 the French, although unable to corner Toure's armies in Guinea, did manage to capture Faranah and block resupply routes to Liberia and Sierra Leone, Wassoulou's primary source of modern weaponry.

[3] Toure accorded the city of Kong numerous privileges, but the local Dyula merchants' commerce with the coast, dominated by the French, had slowed since their absorption into the Wassoulou empire.

[30] Knowing this setback would prompt an aggressive British response, the French again sent Braulot, at the head of an armed column, to try to acquire Bouna by negotiation.

Hoping to live off the land while marching, a combination of the unfamiliar mountainous territory of western Ivory Coast, hostile locals, and colonial attacks turned the campaign into a disaster.

[33] Using information from sofa deserters, the French captain Henri Gouraud surprised Toure's forces at Guelemou on September 29, 1898, and captured the Almamy without a fight.

The Wassoulou Empire at its height was divided into 62 cantons and 10 provinces, with a population of 300,000 people representing many different ethnicities (Malinke, Senufo, Fula, Mossi, etc.).

[36] Samory Toure maintained a diplomatic mission in Freetown to ensure the protection of caravans and the continued flow of trade, especially in arms, between the British colony and the Wassoulou Empire.

[15] While the best-armed troops resisted the French using repeater rifles (either purchased, captured, or manufactured locally), those armed with the bolt-action chassepot conquered new territory to the east to use as a strategic reserve, and men with flintlocks served as the home guard or internal security.

The state engaged in large-scale commerce to coastal trading cities selling ivory, wax, hides, rubber, and gold, all carried by slaves who were also sold.

[39] By the 1880s economic stability was very reliant on the influx of plunder and the internal slave trade fueled by war captives or refugees selling themselves into slavery.

[3] Samori built a well-organised and centrally controlled arms industry in his empire focused on providing cutting-edge military technology to the soldiers.

[42] While this was a groundbreaking and potentially revolutionary solution to one of Wassoulou's key challenges, namely access to modern weaponry without having to draw down the human or capital reserves of the empire,[43] the domestic arms industry did not fully resolve the problem.

[22] Wassoulou also did not have access to or technology to build blast furnaces, and without this the casting of artillery was impossible, and making quality gun barrels was also very difficult.

Mosques were built in many conquered areas, a judicial system based on Islam principles was put in place, and animist practices were suppressed.

[47] In strongly animist areas, the population found this Islamization to be a threat to their cultural traditions and after 1885 revolts became more common; these had to be put down on top of fighting a war against the French.

Overall, Samory Toure's heavy-handed methods of proselytization largely failed, and these animist communities converted to Islam only after the fall of the Wassoulou Empire.