As a young man his village, Niola, gave Ngolo to the state as disongo annual tribute and became a ton djon or slave warrior in the service of Bitòn Coulibaly.
[1]: 413 Following the 1755 death of empire founder Bitòn Coulibaly, his descendants (the Bitonsi) proved unable to maintain control, and the kingdom fell into chaos.
Ngolo Diarra, by now a leader of the ton djon, seized the throne in 1766 and soon restored order.
He defeated the Macina Empire and re-established firm control over Djenne and Timbuktu.
His descendants, the Ngolosi, continued to rule the Empire until its fall to Toucouleur conqueror El Hadj Umar Tall in 1861.