16th century – 17th century
Morocco, Sahara, and western Sudan
The Moroccan sultanate under Ahmad al-Mansur expanded southward during the late sixteenth century, seeking control of Saharan trade, salt revenues, and political allegiance across the Sudan. Its campaigns occupied Tuat and Gurara, seized Taghaza, and culminated in the 1591 conquest of Songhay after the battle of Tondibi. Al-Mansur also advanced a religious claim to caliphal authority and sought nominal allegiance from Bornu and other Sudanese polities.
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The Story
During the 1580s Morocco gained greater freedom to intervene beyond its southern frontier. Spain was weakened by the revolt in the Netherlands, the Ottomans were occupied by war with Persia, and the pashas of Algiers pursued a less aggressive policy. Ahmad al-Mansur used this opening to project Moroccan power into the Saharan oases and toward the commercial routes linking Morocco with the western Sudan.
The sultan’s policy combined military expansion with control of trade. In 1583 Moroccan forces occupied Tuat and Gurara, where fighting with nomadic groups continued for several years. In 1586 a Moroccan force seized Taghaza, the salt mine whose occupants had fled after receiving warning. The Tuareg then redirected the salt trade toward Taodeni, while al-Mansur attempted to recover the revenue that Taghaza had previously generated.
Al-Mansur framed his claims in political and religious terms. He asserted that the revenue of Taghaza belonged to the treasury of the caliph and proposed a toll on caravans to finance jihad and military protection. He also sought allegiance from the scholars of Timbuktu and obtained a bay'a from the ruler of Bornu, claiming sovereignty across the northern belt of the Sudan. This program culminated in the Moroccan expedition against Songhay in 1590–1591.
The army assigned to the Sudanese expedition included renegade and Andalusian musketeers, mounted musketeers, lance-bearing recruits, auxiliaries, artisans, and doctors. Ten thousand camels carried water, food, ammunition, and other supplies from Dar'a. The expedition left Marrakesh in October 1590 and reached the Niger at Karabara at the end of February 1591, after about half the troops had perished while crossing the desert.
At Tondibi, fewer than two thousand musketeers defeated a much larger Songhay army described as numbering more than one hundred thousand bowmen. The victory brought great celebration in Morocco, where al-Mansur claimed to have united the Muslim West under his caliphal sovereignty. Yet contemporary criticism warned that the conquest would require costly reinforcements, weaken the Moroccan regime by removing elite troops, and reduce the revenues expected from the Sudan.
16th century – 17th century
Morocco, Sahara, and western Sudan
The Moroccan sultanate under Ahmad al-Mansur expanded southward during the late sixteenth century, seeking control of Saharan trade, salt revenues, and political allegiance across the Sudan. Its campaigns occupied Tuat and Gurara, seized Taghaza, and culminated in the 1591 conquest of Songhay after the battle of Tondibi. Al-Mansur also advanced a religious claim to caliphal authority and sought nominal allegiance from Bornu and other Sudanese polities.
Continue exploring
The Story
During the 1580s Morocco gained greater freedom to intervene beyond its southern frontier. Spain was weakened by the revolt in the Netherlands, the Ottomans were occupied by war with Persia, and the pashas of Algiers pursued a less aggressive policy. Ahmad al-Mansur used this opening to project Moroccan power into the Saharan oases and toward the commercial routes linking Morocco with the western Sudan.
The sultan’s policy combined military expansion with control of trade. In 1583 Moroccan forces occupied Tuat and Gurara, where fighting with nomadic groups continued for several years. In 1586 a Moroccan force seized Taghaza, the salt mine whose occupants had fled after receiving warning. The Tuareg then redirected the salt trade toward Taodeni, while al-Mansur attempted to recover the revenue that Taghaza had previously generated.
Al-Mansur framed his claims in political and religious terms. He asserted that the revenue of Taghaza belonged to the treasury of the caliph and proposed a toll on caravans to finance jihad and military protection. He also sought allegiance from the scholars of Timbuktu and obtained a bay'a from the ruler of Bornu, claiming sovereignty across the northern belt of the Sudan. This program culminated in the Moroccan expedition against Songhay in 1590–1591.
The army assigned to the Sudanese expedition included renegade and Andalusian musketeers, mounted musketeers, lance-bearing recruits, auxiliaries, artisans, and doctors. Ten thousand camels carried water, food, ammunition, and other supplies from Dar'a. The expedition left Marrakesh in October 1590 and reached the Niger at Karabara at the end of February 1591, after about half the troops had perished while crossing the desert.
At Tondibi, fewer than two thousand musketeers defeated a much larger Songhay army described as numbering more than one hundred thousand bowmen. The victory brought great celebration in Morocco, where al-Mansur claimed to have united the Muslim West under his caliphal sovereignty. Yet contemporary criticism warned that the conquest would require costly reinforcements, weaken the Moroccan regime by removing elite troops, and reduce the revenues expected from the Sudan.
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