Songhai Empire

The Songhai Empire was the largest of the three West African empires in the Western Sudan. The empire bore the same name as its prominent ethnic group, Songhai. It thrived between the mid-15th and late 16th centuries largely due to the leadership of two great rulers, Sunni Ali and Muhammad Ture. In the late 16th century Sultan Al- Mansur of Morocco invaded and conquered the Songhai Empire through the use of superior firearms. Songhai refused to submit. Subsequently, the empire was divided into smaller principalities, which remained independent until 1898, when the French subjugated them.