Kingdom_of_Diarra
Kingdom of Diarra
State in the Sahel region of West Africa
Diarra, also referred to as Kingui or Kaniaga was a Soninke state in what is now northwestern Mali, centered around the town of Diarra.
Diarra | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1076–1860 | |||||||||
| Capital | Diarra, Mali | ||||||||
| Common languages | Soninke language | ||||||||
| Religion | Traditional African Religion | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 1076 | ||||||||
• Conquered by Elhadj Omar Saido Tall | 1860 | ||||||||
| Currency | Cowries | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Local histories recount that the Soninke came to the area of Diarra in the 7th century AD from Dia.[1]
The early kings of Diarra took the title 'Mana Maga.' When Koumbi Saleh, capital of the Ghana Empire was sacked by the Almoravid Empire in 1076, the Mana Maga broke away and established an independent state under the Niakhate dynasty. The kingdom became wealthy through trans-Saharan trade, controlling much of the southern parts of the former Wagadu (Ghana) Empire, and conquering Takrur.[2]
Diarra was a vassal of the Mali Empire beginning in the 12th or early 13th centuries.[2] The Niakhate dynasty, however, gained a reputation for cruelty and tyranny. In the early 15th century the last Mana Maga of the dynasty, Seriba Niakhaté, was driven out or fled Diarra for the area around Bamako, leaving power to Daman Guilé Diawara, a renowned hunter originally from Mande.[1][3] He drove out the Malian representative, and Diarra became one of the most powerful states in the Sahel.
Daman Guilé Diawara was succeeded as king by his son Kouria Mamadou, who took the title 'Faren,' meaning 'governor,' who was followed by his son Silamaghan in 1415. After Silamaghan's death the country was divided between his sons, who frequently fought amongst each other.[1]
The Fula warlord Tenguella invaded Diarra in 1511, at which point the kingdom called for help from the Songhai Empire. Amar Konjago, a brother of the Askia Mohammad I, led a powerful force on a 2-month march through the desert, then in 1512 defeated and killed Tenguella in battle. After this, Diarra likely swore fealty to the Songhai.[3]
In 1754, the Bambara kingdom of Kaarta conquered and vassalized the kingdom.[2][4]
The last monarch of Diarra, Biranté Karounga Diawara, was captured and executed by Omar Saidou Tall on May 31, 1860.[1]
- Cisse, Fodye (Oct 2007). "Traditions: Le Royaume de Diarra ou Kingui". Soninkara. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- Delafosse, Maurice (1941). Les noirs de l'Afrique. Paris: Payot. p. 51. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- 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. 431. ISBN 9781139054577. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- Gomez, Michael A. “The Problem with Malik Sy and the Foundation of Bundu (La Question de Malik Sy et La Fondation Du Bundu).” Cahiers d’Études Africaines, vol. 25, no. 100, 1985, pp. 537–53. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4392006. Accessed 18 June 2023.