Ancient Africa & African empires timeline

New Crisis, The, Jan/Feb 2000 by Agatucci, Cora

1235

The small state of Kangaba, led by Sundjata Keita (or Sundiata), defeated the nearby kingdom of Susu at the Battle of Kirina in 1235. The Susu had been led by king Sumanguru Kante. The clans of the heartland unified under the vigorous Sundjata, now king of the vast region that was to become the Mali Empire, beginning a period of expansion. The rulers of Mali nominally converted to Islam, though this did not preclude belief and practice of traditional Mande religions.

1260

Death of Sundjata Keita, Mali's "Lion Prince."

SUNDJATA KEITA, OLD MALI, & GRIOT TRADITION: The Mali Empire, centered on the upper reaches of the Senegal and Niger rivers, was the second and most extensive of the three great West African empires. The Mali Empire served as a model of statecraft for later kingdoms long after its decline in the 15th and 16th centuries. Under Sundjata and his immediate successors, Mali expanded rapidly west to the Atlantic Ocean, south deep into the forest, east beyond the Niger River, and north to the salt and copper mines of the Sahara. The city of Niani may have been the capital. At its height, Mali was a confederation of 3 independent, freely allied states (Mali, Mema, and Wagadou) and 12 garrisoned provinces. The king reserved the right to dispense justice and to monopolize trade, particularly in gold. Sundjata Keita is the cultural hero and ancestor of the Mande (or Mandinka) peoples, founder of the great Mali Empire, and inspiration of the great oral epic tradition of the griots or professional bards (like Djeliba in the film Keita: The Heritage of the Griot), keepers of tradition and history, once trusted and powerful advisors of kings and clans.

NYAMA & NYAMAKALAW: These oral artists are specialists of the spoken/sung word and the power-called nyama-"it releases." They may belong to special castes (nyamakalaw-"handlers of nyama") and/or inherit their calling through generations of the same family, for example, in Mande (or Mandinka) West African cultures. As explained in Magic and Art in West Africa, an online essay by anthropology students at Franklin and Marshall College (1997-1999): 'The Mande see nyama as a hot, wild energy that is the animating force of nature. Nyama is present in all the rocks, trees, people and animals that inhabit the Earth. It is similar to the Western notion of the soul but is more complete than that. It controls nature, the stars and the motions of the sea. Nyama is truly the sculptor of the universe. While nyama molds nature into its many forms, the nyamakalaw can shape nyama into art. The nyamakalaw spend their entire lives perfecting special secret skills that are passed down from generation to generation. The nyamakalaw are the only people in Mande that can use magic and are often skilled as sorcerers, blacksmiths, leather workers or bards.

ca. 1250

Zimbabwes (meaning "stone house" or "stone buildings"), some of which are massive, constructed in southeastern Africa by ancestors of the Shona peoples of modern Zimbabwe.