Askia Mohammad Benkan
| Muhammad Bonkana | |
|---|---|
| Askiya of the Songhai Empire | |
| Reign | April 12, 1531 – 1537 |
| Predecessor | Askiya Musa |
| Successor | Askia Isma'il |
| Died | c. 1559 |
| Dynasty | Askiya dynasty |
| Father | Umar Komadiakha, brother of Askiya al-hajj Muhammad |
| Mother | Mina Kirao (Concubine) |
circa 1500.
Askia Mohammad Benkan, also Askiya Muhammad Bonkana, was the third ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1531 to 1537.
He was appointed to the prestigious title of Kurmina-fari by his cousin Askia Musa during his short reign. When Askia Musa was assassinated by some of his brothers in the village of Mansura on Wed 12 April 1531, Mohammad Benkan proclaimed himself Askia in Gao. When Musa's brothers arrived to claim the throne, they were faced with a fait-accompli and could do nothing.[1]
To secure his position Benkan banished Askia Mohammad, his paternal uncle, to the island of Kangaba in the River Niger west of Gao. He appointed his brother Uthman ibn Amar as Kurmina-fari. The Tarikh al-Sudan contains this description of his court:
Askiya Muhammad Bonkana furbished the court splendidly, enlarging it, adorning it, and embellishing it with more courtiers than ever before. He supplied sumptuous garments, invented different types of musical instruments (versions of the trumpet-like fotorifo, and deep sounding gabtanda drum), and sponsored many male and female singers. He gave out abundant largesse and benefactions. During his reign divine favours were bestowed, doors were opened, and blessings poured forth.[2]
Benkan tried to reverse his uncle's policy of relying on the towns, preferring instead to gather support from the peasants. However, after a series of military failures, most notably suffering a terrible defeat at the hands of Muhammadu Kanta, the Sarkin of Kebbi, Muhammad Benkan was himself deposed in 1537, and was succeeded by Askiya Isma'il son of Askiya al-hajj Muhammad. He went into exile in Mali.[3] Muhammad Bonkana went blind before he died in around 1559.[4]
Notes[edit]
- ^ Levtzion 1977, p. 435-6.
- ^ Hunwick 2003, p. 126.
- ^ Levtzion 1977, p. 436.
- ^ Hunwick 2003, p. 148.
References[edit]
- 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.
- 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. ISBN 9781139054577. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
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