XVIIIᵉ siècle – XIXᵉ siècle
Segu region, West Africa
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The Bambara kingdom of Segu was an openly non-Muslim political formation that emerged in the seventeenth-century vacuum created by the destruction of Songhay’s imperial Muslim power and the decline of its urban network. It expressed a rural rejection of Islam that had developed despite the Muslim rulers of Mali and Songhay. Segu is presented as an “animistic” kingdom that publicly affirmed African values after a period of political and religious upheaval.
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The Bambara kingdom of Segu emerged during the seventeenth century amid the political and social disarray that followed the disappearance of the Songhay state and the disorders of Moroccan occupation. Its rise reflected the destruction of what the passage calls the imperial Muslim power, together with the decline of the urban fabric that had supported Songhay’s political and religious order.
Segu also embodied an open rejection of Islam in rural environments. This rejection had begun as early as the thirteenth century, despite the authority of the mansas of Mali and the askiyas of Songhay. The kingdom therefore represented not an isolated religious reaction, but the political consolidation of social forces that had resisted Islamic influence for generations.
The passage characterizes Segu as an “animistic” kingdom ostensibly committed to African values. Its emergence illustrates how the retreat of Muslim authority could enable political systems grounded in ancestral traditions to become visible and organized. In this sense, Segu marked a new configuration of power after the breakdown of Songhay’s imperial framework.
XVIIIᵉ siècle – XIXᵉ siècle
Segu region, West Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Bambara kingdom of Segu was an openly non-Muslim political formation that emerged in the seventeenth-century vacuum created by the destruction of Songhay’s imperial Muslim power and the decline of its urban network. It expressed a rural rejection of Islam that had developed despite the Muslim rulers of Mali and Songhay. Segu is presented as an “animistic” kingdom that publicly affirmed African values after a period of political and religious upheaval.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
The Bambara kingdom of Segu emerged during the seventeenth century amid the political and social disarray that followed the disappearance of the Songhay state and the disorders of Moroccan occupation. Its rise reflected the destruction of what the passage calls the imperial Muslim power, together with the decline of the urban fabric that had supported Songhay’s political and religious order.
Segu also embodied an open rejection of Islam in rural environments. This rejection had begun as early as the thirteenth century, despite the authority of the mansas of Mali and the askiyas of Songhay. The kingdom therefore represented not an isolated religious reaction, but the political consolidation of social forces that had resisted Islamic influence for generations.
The passage characterizes Segu as an “animistic” kingdom ostensibly committed to African values. Its emergence illustrates how the retreat of Muslim authority could enable political systems grounded in ancestral traditions to become visible and organized. In this sense, Segu marked a new configuration of power after the breakdown of Songhay’s imperial framework.