Battle of Jenne

Battle of Jenné
Date April 26, 1599 Location Djenné, Mali Result Decisive Moroccan Victory Collapse of Mali Empire
Belligerents
Mali Empire	Morocco Moroccan Pashalik of Timbuktu
Commanders and leaders
Mansa Mahmud IV	Governor Sayyid Mansur Qa’id al-Mustafa al-Fil Qa’id Ali bin Abd Allah al-Tilimsani Jenne-koi Muhammad Kinba bin Isma’il
Strength
Mandinka infantry and cavalry armed with lance and bow Bamana infantry and cavalry armed with lance and bow	Moroccan infantry armed with arquebus Mandinka infantry and cavalry armed with lance and bow
Casualties and losses
Unknown but substantial	Unknown

The Battle of Jenné was a military engagement between forces of the Mali Empire and the Moroccan Pashalik of Timbuktu. The battle marked the effective end of the great Mali Empire and set the stage for a plethora of smaller West African states to emerge.

Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, the Mali Empire had been in near-constant state of decline. All of its periphery vassal territories had become independent states with some even challenging Mali’s sovereignty, notable Songhai. In 1591, the Songhai Empire was defeated at the Battle of Tondibi by a Moroccan expeditionary force. Thanks to the Moroccan’s use of gunpowder weapons such as the arquebus and cannon, Songhai power was pushed back eastward across the Niger where they formed the smaller but still robust Dendi Kingdom. With Songhai out of the way, the ruler of Mali Mansa Mahmud IV set his sights on rebuilding his moribund empire. The first step in this grand plan would be to seize the valuable city-state of Jenné, which controlled trade along the inland Niger valley.

Mansa Mahmud IV set about rallying his remaining provinces along with groups that had formerly been vassals of the Mali Empire. He sent out an envoy to his last two provinces of Binduku (Bendugu), Kala and Sibiridugu. Only two minor chiefs responded with a promise of aid in the upcoming battle. These were the kings, called “koi” in the Tarik es-Soudan of Farka or Fadku (part of Kala) and Ama. Another minor leader who offered his assistance at the time was Hammad Amina, a Fulbe chief ruling in Masina. Still, the mansa was able to raise a substantial army and marched on Jenné with the hopes of resuscitating his dying empire.

The trading emporium of Jenné was subject to the Moroccan pashalik of Timbuktu, named for the city where the Moroccan expeditionary force governed from. Previously, the pashalik had taken Jenné without a fight and preserved its king, Muhammad Kinba bin Isma’il on the throne under a Moroccan resident, Governor Sayyid Mansur. There are no details on what kind of troops were present when the mansa first began marching toward it, but once the governor was alerted, he sent word to Timbuktu for reinforcements. In response, Pasha Ammar sent a force headed by Qa’id al-Mustafa al-Fil and Qa’id Ali bin Abd Allah al-Tilimsani, which included arquebusiers.

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Wikipedia