Amadu II of Masina

Amadu II of Massina
Almami of the Massina Empire
In office 1845–1852
Preceded by	Seku Amadu
Succeeded by	Amadu III
Personal details
Born	Amadu Amadu Hammadi c. 1815
Died	February 1853
Occupation	Cleric
Religion	Muslim

Amadu II of Massina (Fula: Amadu Amadu Hammadi; c. 1815 – February 1853), also called Amadu Seku, was the second Almami, or ruler, of the theocratic Massina Empire or Diina of Hamdullahi in what is now Mali. He held this position from 1845 until his death in 1853. His rule was a short period of relative peace and prosperity between the violent reigns of his father and his son.

Masina is the Inner Niger Delta, a large area where the Niger River divides into separate channels that overflow and flood the land annually. Some time between 1810 and 1818 Seku Amadu Lobbo of the Bari family launched a jihad against the Fulbe chiefs in Masina, tributaries of the pagan Bambara of Segu, whom he accused of idolatry. The goals of the jihad soon expanded to that of conquest of the Bambara and others in the region. Seku Amadu established a large empire based on Hamdallahi, which he had founded as the capital. The empire stretched from just downstream of Segu almost all the way to Timbuktu.

Seku Amadu Lobbo received support from Tukolor and Fula people who were seeking independence from the Bambara, but met resistance when he imposed a rigorous Islamic theocracy based on the Maliki interpretation of Sharia law. The new theocratic state was ruled by a council of forty elders, who gave directions to provincial governors. Most of the governors were related to Seku Amadu.

Seku Amadu Lobbo died on 19 March 1845 and his eldest son, also Amadu, was elected as almami. Technically, the new almami did not have to be a member of the Bari family, but only someone who was learned and pious. There were several candidates, including Ba Lobbo, the son of Seku Amadu's oldest brother. Election of Ba Lobbo would have followed the Bari family tradition of succession through a collateral line rather than direct succession. Others such as Alfa Nuhum Tayru and al-Hadjdj Mody Seydu were better qualified, although not related to the former almami. However, the council chose the son as almami, while Ba Lobbo became the main leader of the state's army.

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