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For the empire, see Songhai Empire. (SOng-hay) The Songhai are an ethnic group living in western Africa, akin to the Mandé and Tuareg. The Songhai language group, however, has been connected with the Nilo-Saharan language family. They and the Mandé were the dominant ethnic groups in the Songhai Empire that dominated western Sahel in the 15th and 16th century. The Songhai are found primarily throughout Mali, in the area of Africa known as Western Sudan (not to be confused with the country). Muslims from the North accepted Islam. Askia Mohamad was a very great person who influenced this country. Indeed, under the reign of Askia Muhammad I, also known as Askia the Great, it is celebrated as one of the world's most significant seats of learning. Among it most formidable scholars, professors and lecturers were Ahmed Baba--a highly distinguished historian frequently quoted in the Tarikh-es-Sudan and other works. The people were fisherman and traders.

It was from one of Mali's former conquests, the kingdom of Gao, that the last major empire of the western Sudan emerged. Although the city of Gao had been occupied by a Songhai dynasty prior to being conquered by Mansa Musa's forces in 1325, it was not until much later that the Songhai empire emerged. It began to rise in 1464 when Sonni Ali Ber came to power. Sunni Ali conquered much of the weakening Mali empire's territory as well as Timbuktu, famous for its Islamic universities and the pivotal trading city of Jenne. Following Sonni Ali's death, Muslim factions rebelled against his successor and installed Askia Muhammad (formerly Muhammad Ture) to be the greatest and as the first ruler of the Askia dynasty (1492–1592). Under the Askias, the Songhai empire reached its zenith, Timbuktu and Jenne flourished as centers of Islamic learning, and Islam was actively promoted.

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