Askia Ishaq II
Ishaq II | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Askia of theSonghai Empire | |||||
Reign | 1588-1591 | ||||
Coronation | April 10th 1588 | ||||
Predecessor | Askia Muhammad Bani | ||||
Successor | Askia Muhammad Gao | ||||
Born | c. 1550 Gao | ||||
Died | March/April 1592 Bilanga[1] | ||||
Issue | Albarka | ||||
| |||||
Dynasty | Askiya dynasty | ||||
Father | Askia Daoud | ||||
Mother | Fāṭima Buṣ |
Askia Ishaq II,also known asAskia Isḥāq Zughrānī,was the ruler of theSonghai Empirefrom 1588 to 1591. He commanded the Songhai force at theBattle of Tondibi,where he was defeated by Saadian forces fromMoroccowho subsequently destroyed the empire.
Early Life and Rise to Power
[edit]Ishaq was the son ofAskia Daoudand aZughraniconcubine from the middle Niger region.[2]: 301 He was the first son born to Daoud after his rise to power in 1549.[3]
Ishaq came to power upon the death of his brotherAskia Muhammad Bani,while another brother, theBalma'a(military governor ofKabara), was bearing down onGaowith a rebellious army. After discovering the body of the deceased Askia, eunuch courtiers conspired to have Benga-farmaMaḥmūd b.Ismailtake the crown, but another royal slave tipped off Ishaq, the oldest of the sons ofAskia Daoudpresent that day. He and his supporters surrounded the conspirators, and he was proclaimed Askia on April 10th.[2]: 361
Before engaging the rebel army, Ishaq lured away two nephews who had supported theBalma'a.When the battle came, around April 20th 1588, Ishaq'sTuaregcavalry proved decisive. The rebels were defeated, with theBalma'afleeing first toTimbuktuand thenTindirma,where he was captured and killed.[2]: 362
Reign
[edit]While Ishaq was victorious, the army had lost significant manpower and leadership as the new Askia purged dozens of rebellious leaders from the western provinces.[4]During his three year reign, Ishaq continued to campaign, marching twice into the Gurma region south of theNiger river.His brutal purge of rebel leaders notwithstanding, he was reputed to be kind, honest, generous, and popular with the people of Gao.[2]: 363
Ishaq did not get the opportunity to restabilize the empire. A royal slave imprisoned at the remote but very valuableTaghazasalt mine escaped toMarrakesh,where he told theSultanAhmad I al-Mansur Saadiabout the fractured and weakened Songhai. Al-Mansur dispatched a letter in December 1589 demanding the revenue from Taghaza; Ishaq responded with bluster, but it failed to dissuade the Moroccans from sending a powerful force ofmusketeerstoinvade the Songhai empire.[2]: 364
War with Morocco
[edit]The 4,000-man force under theIslamicizedSpaniardJudar Pashacrossed theSahara desert,arriving on the Niger on February 28th 1591. Though Ishaq assembled more than 40,000 soldiers to meet the Moroccans, his army fled the enemy'sgunpowderweapons at the decisiveBattle of Tondibiin March 1591. Ishaq had the capital ofGaoevacuated, which Judar soon seized and looted, along with the trading centers ofTimbuktuandDjenné.The Askia sued for peace, but in response al-Mansur sent reinforcements and replaced Judar with Pasha Maḥmūd, a more aggressive commander.[2]: 365
Pasha Maḥmūd defeated the Songhai again at the battle of Zanzan on October 14th, forcing Ishaq to flee toDendi,where he was soon deposed and sent into exile in Gurma. He attempted to find refuge in the town ofBilanga,one the towns he had campaigned against during his reign, and was killed in April 1592 by a vengeful mob.[2]: 365 [1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abKati, Mahmud; Wise, Christopher.Ta'rikh al Fattash: The Timbuktu Chronicles 1493-1599.p. 165.Retrieved9 May2024.
- ^abcdefgGomez, Michael (2018).African dominion: a new history of empire in early and medieval West Africa.Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.ISBN9780691177427.
- ^Hunwick, John O.(2003),Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sadi's Tarikh al-Sudan down to 1613 and other contemporary documents,Leiden: Brill, p. 176,ISBN978-90-04-12822-4
- ^Levtzion, Nehemiah(1977). "5 - The western Maghrib and Sudan". In Oliver, Ronald (ed.).The Cambridge History of Africa Volume 3: From c.1050 to c.1600.Cambridge University Press. p. 441.ISBN9781139054577.Retrieved12 March2024.