Askia_Ishaq_I
Askia Ishaq I
Emperor of the Songhai Empire
Askia Ishaq I was the ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1539 to 1549, elected Askia following the death of Askia Isma'il. He was the fifth ruler of the Askiya dynasty.
| Askiya Ishaq I | |
|---|---|
| Emperor of the Songhai Empire | |
| Reign | 1539 – 1549 |
| Predecessor | Askia Isma'il (ruled 1537–1539) |
| Successor | Askiya Dawud (ruled 1549–1582 or 1583) |
| Died | 1549 (died a natural death) Kukiya |
| Issue | Abd al-Malik |
| Dynasty | Askiya dynasty |
| Father | Ashiya al-hajj Muhammad |
When Askia Isma'il died, the leading men in the empire peacefully agreed that Ishaq, a son of Muhammad the Great would be the next ruler.[1]
Askia Ishaq was a ruthless and paranoid ruler, inspiring fear and anxiety among the Songhai people. Despite being a devout Muslim, he sent agents to Timbuktu on a regular basis to demand enormous sums of money from the merchants, which is against Islamic law.[1] This damaged the economy of the empire and made him unpopular, thus gaining him many enemies.[1] Askiya Ishaq I was completely ruthless as a ruler and executed any official whom he considered as a threat. The Tarikh al-Sudan gives this description: "If he imagined anyone was making the least move against the throne, he would, without exception, have him killed or banished. This was his consistent practice."[2]
Askia Ishaq briefly occupied the Mali Empire capital in 1545 and 1546.[3]
After a request from the Moroccan sultan Muhammad Al-Arak, to cede the salt mines of Taghaza, Ishaq I sent a group of 2000 mounted men to raid a market town in the Dara valley of southern Morocco with instructions to avoid killing anyone. This was intended as a show of strength.[4]
Askiya Ishaq I died in the town of Kukiya[5] and was buried there.[6] He was succeeded by his brother Askiya Dawud.[1]
- David C. Conrad (2010). Empires of Medieval West Africa: Ghana, Mali, and Songhay. New York: Chelsea House. ISBN 9781604131642. Archived from the original (Hardcover) on 2018-07-11.
- Hunwick 2003, p. 137.
- Hunwick 2003, p. 142.
- The town of Kukiya is believed to have been near the modern village of Bentiya on the eastern bank of the Niger, north of the Fafa rapids, 134 km south east of Gao. Bentiya is located at 15.349°N 0.760°E / 15.349; 0.760
- Hunwick, John O. (2003), Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sadi's Tarikh al-Sudan down to 1613 and other contemporary documents, Leiden: Brill, ISBN 978-90-04-12822-4.
- Kâti, Mahmoûd Kâti ben el-Hâdj el-Motaouakkel (1913), Tarikh el-fettach ou Chronique du chercheur, pour servir à l'histoire des villes, des armées et des principaux personnages du Tekrour (in French), Houdas, O., Delafosse, M. (ed. and trans.), Paris: Ernest Leroux. Also available from Aluka but requires subscription.
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