Middle Ages
Songhai Empire
- Period
- AD 1463 – AD 1608
- Duration
- approx. 145 years
- Greatest extent
- around AD 1564
- Area (max.)
- approx. 668,000 km²
Profile
Strength
River fleet on the Niger and cavalry; Timbuktu was a centre of trade and scholarship.
Famous figures
- Sonni Ali
- Askia Muhammad I
- Askia Daoud
Wars & battles won
- Capture of Timbuktu (1468)
- Capture of Djenné (1473)
Wars & battles lost
- Battle of Tondibi against Morocco (1591)
Languages
- Songhay
- Arabic
Period and duration
Songhai Empire — according to the map data from AD 1463 to AD 1608, roughly 145 years. The dates refer to the time the empire is drawn as its own territory on the world map; historians sometimes date its founding and end differently.
Greatest extent
Songhai Empire — greatest extent around AD 1564: the mapped borders then cover about 668,000 km², roughly 0.4% of Earth's land area. The area is calculated from the border lines of the map and is therefore an approximation.
Predecessors and successors
States that ruled the same territory directly before and after:
Before (AD 1462)
After
No successors in the map data.
Neighbours around AD 1564
The largest states in the region at the same time:
Learn more
- Open the world map in AD 1564 — tap the empire for a detailed description
- Songhai Empire on Wikipedia
- All 371 empires at a glance
Borders and dates: Cliopatria / Seshat Global History Databank (CC BY 4.0). Coastlines: Natural Earth. Text: Centaurian.