Songhai Empire · 1464-1591

Songhai: the great empire of the Niger

From its capital Gao, Songhai grew into one of the largest empires in African history. Students meet Sunni Ali and Askia Muhammad and find out how an army that crossed the Sahara with guns brought the empire down in 1591.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1500 to AD 1600
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

From its capital Gao, Songhai grew into one of the largest empires in African history. Students meet Sunni Ali and Askia Muhammad and find out how an army that crossed the Sahara with guns brought the empire down in 1591.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate Gao, Timbuktu and Djenné and explain why the Niger was the backbone of Songhai.
  • Compare the rule of Sunni Ali and Askia Muhammad.
  • Explain the causes and results of the Moroccan invasion and the battle of Tondibi in 1591.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1500

Songhai at its height

Open the map in 1500 and find the label Songhai along the Niger. Which older empire lies to its west?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1500

A river empire

Turn on Cities and find Timbuktu. Then follow the Niger east to Gao and south-west to Djenné. Why would a river be the backbone of this empire?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1600

Across the desert

Move to 1600 and look north across the Sahara to Morocco. In 1590-1591 an army marched from Marrakesh to the Niger. Trace a possible route and name the dangers on the way.

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Sunni Ali used a fleet of war canoes on the Niger. Why was a river navy useful for an empire in the Sahel?
  2. Askia Muhammad went on hajj and came back with a title from the caliph in Cairo. Why would a ruler want a religious title?
  3. Songhai was huge, yet an army of about 4,000 men defeated it in 1591. Was it only the guns, or were there other reasons?
  4. The chronicles of Timbuktu describe Sunni Ali as cruel and Askia Muhammad as pious. Why might Muslim scholars write that way?
  5. After 1591 no single state ruled the whole Niger bend again. What happens to trade and learning when a big empire breaks up?
4

Game round

10 min

Play one round of Rule History as Suleiman the Magnificent, a ruler of the same century. Then compare with Askia Muhammad: both ran huge Muslim empires with governors, taxes and judges. Which problems did they share?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.