Historically, the term "Songhai" did not denote an ethnic or linguistic identity but referred to the ruling caste of the Songhay Empire known as the Songhaiborai.

The chronicle reports that the legendary founder of the dynasty, Za Alayaman (also called Dialliaman), originally came from the Yemen and settled in the town of Kukiya.

[16] The town is believed to have been near the modern village of Bentiya on the eastern bank of the Niger River, north of the Fafa rapids, 134 km south east of Gao.

[19] The Tarikh al-Sudan relates that the 15th ruler, Za Kusoy, converted to Islam in the year 1009–1010 A.D. At some stage the kingdom or at least its political focus moved north to Gao.

The kingdom of Gao capitalized on the growing trans-Saharan trade and grew into a small regional power before being conquered by the Mali Empire in the early 13th century.

Gao-Saney became well known among African historians because French administrators discovered here in a cave covered with sand in 1939 several finely carved marble stelae produced in Almeria in Southern Spain.

[22] Apart from some Arabic epitaphs on tombstones discovered in 1939 at the cemetery of Gao-Saney (6 km to the east of the city)[23] there are no surviving indigenous written records that date from before the middle of the 17th century.

[24] Our knowledge of the early history of the town relies on the writings of external Arabic geographers living in Morocco, Egypt and Andalusia, who never visited the region.

He has a town on the Nile [Niger], on the eastern bank, which is called Sarnāh, where there are markets and trading houses and to which there is continuous traffic from all parts.

A date is not given in the chronicles but the comment in the Tarikh al-fattash that the fifth ruler was in power at time when Mansa Musa made his pilgrimage[47] suggests that Ali Kulun reigned around the end of the 14th century.

The Kingdom of Morocco saw Songhay's still flourishing salt and gold trade and decided that it would be a good asset, proceeding to conquer much of the region after the Battle of Tondibi.

After the empire's defeat, the nobles moved south to an area known today as Songhai in present Niger, where the Sonni dynasty had already settled.

They formed smaller kingdoms such as Wanzarbe, Ayerou, Gothèye, Dargol, Téra, Sikié, Kokorou, Gorouol, Karma, Namaro, etc.. and further south, the Dendi which rose to prominence shortly afterwards.

According to tradition, Gurdu halted slavery by sending his youngest student to sign a document, prohibiting the yearly exchange of slaves from Timbuktu.

It was primarily composed of Hausa, Fulani, Mossi, and notably the Gurunsi people, who played a crucial role as allies and soldiers.

[66] This event marked the beginning of enduring playful ethnic banter and slavery jokes between the Zarma and the Gurunsi communities in Ghana.

In a series of battles, the French, alongside local allies, defeated Babatu and his Zarma army at Gandiogo on March 14, 1897, and again at Doucie on June 23, 1897.

Survivors fled south, prompting British military action in October 1897, concluding in June 1898 with the defeat of Babatu's former private army.

As the British presence expanded in Gambaga and areas east of the Black Volta, authorities of the Zabarma Emirate in the Gurunsi region fled eastward toward Dagbon.

Having made the Baoulé country a protectorate and the Wassoulou Empire their allies, the Zerma rallied to Samori Toure and attacked the Senufo again .

[69] The Zerma Warriors, who numbered 500 Horsemen equipped with rifle and cannon, built an great army by integrating the slaves they captured.

[77] The different strata of the Songhai-Zarma people have included the kings and warriors, the scribes, the artisans, the weavers, the hunters, the fishermen, the leather workers and hairdressers (Wanzam), and the domestic slaves (Horso, Bannye).

[74][77] Some scholars such as John Shoup list these strata in three categories: free (chiefs, farmers and herders), servile (artists, musicians and griots), and the slave class.

The highest social level, states Shoup, claim to have descended from King Sonni 'Ali Ber and their modern era hereditary occupation has been Sohance (sorcerer).

[81] The traditionally free strata of the Songhai people have owned property and herds, and these have dominated the political system and governments during and after the French colonial rule.

[84] The Songhai people cultivate cereals, raise small herds of cattle, and fish in the Niger Bend area where they live.

Notably, cereals dominate Songhai cultivation, with millet as the leading crop, followed by rice along the Niger River, wheat, and sorghum.

Among the Northern Songhai population in Tindouf, Tabalbala, and Ingal, date palms and Mangoes are the most widely cultivated fruits, followed by oranges, watermelons, melons, and gourds.

Settlements and villages primarily raise cattle, goats (especially the Sahelian breed), sheep, poultry (especially guinea fowl), and donkeys.

Nomadic Idaksahak and Igdalen pastoralists are involved in large livestock breeding, traversing valleys such as Azawagh, Azgueret, Irhazer, and Tilemsi; the Gourma riverbanks; and the foothills of the Aïr Mountains and Adrar.