The Empire of Great Fulo was established in 1490 CE by the Fula leader Tengella as he rebelled against the Songhay Empire. Tengella was killed in battle by the Songhay and was succeeded by his son Koli Tengella. Koli Tengella along with his troops invaded the Fuuta Tooro region in northern Senegal and established the empire there. Through Koli Tengella all the other Fulo kings were descended, and thus from Koli Tengella’s legacy the Denianke or Denyanke Dynasty was formed. [1] The Empire of the Great Fulo was important in the trans-Sahara trade and also the slave trade with Europeans. [2] In 1776 CE, the Empire of the Great Fulo and the Danianke Dynasty ended and was taken over by the Imamate of Fuuta Tooro. [3]
[1]: (Ba Konare 2021, 32) Ba Konare, Dougoukolo Alpha Oumar. 2021. National Narratives of Mali: Fula Communities in Times of Crisis. Minneapolis: Lexington Books. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/F4IZCXAQ/collection
[2]: (Fage 2008, 508) Fage, J.D. 2008. ‘Upper and Lower Guinea.’ In The Cambridge History of Africa c. 1050 – c.1600. Edited by Roland Oliver. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/9V3CTHZ9/collection
[3]: (Klein 1972, 429) Klein, Martin A. 1972. ‘Social and Economic Factors in the Muslim Revolution in Senegambia.’ The Journal of Africa History. Vol. 13:3. Pp 419-441. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZJRN8UJ8/collection
| Year Range | Denyanke Kingdom (se_great_fulo_emp) was in: |
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“In addition, another African nation called the Empire of Great Fulo which was located just north west of Mali was also rising to prominence and by 1490 has established its first king who battled with both the empires of Mali and Songhai.” [1] “The first Muslim success was on the banks of the Senegal river. In 1776, the torodbe, the Muslim clerics of Futa Toro, deposed the denianke rulers and formed a theocratic state.” [2]
[1]: (Martin, 2016) Martin, J.P. 2016. African Empires: Volume 1. Bloomington, Indiana: Trafford Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/WCMXR3XI/collection
[2]: (Klein 1972, 429) Klein, Martin A. 1972. ‘Social and Economic Factors in the Muslim Revolution in Senegambia.’ The Journal of Africa History. Vol. 13:3. Pp 419-441. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZJRN8UJ8/collection
“The first Muslim success was on the banks of the Senegal river. In 1776, the torodbe, the Muslim clerics of Futa Toro, deposed the denianke rulers and formed a theocratic state.” [1]
[1]: (Klein 1972, 429) Klein, Martin A. 1972. ‘Social and Economic Factors in the Muslim Revolution in Senegambia.’ The Journal of Africa History. Vol. 13:3. Pp 419-441. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZJRN8UJ8/collection
“His father Tengela, of Ba Patronym (one of the four classical patronyms of Fula people) rebelled against central imperial Songhay rule in the late fifteenth century because of oppression against nomadic communities such as his.” [1]
[1]: (Ba Konare 2021, 32) Ba Konare, Dougoukolo Alpha Oumar. 2021. National Narratives of Mali: Fula Communities in Times of Crisis. Minneapolis: Lexington Books. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/F4IZCXAQ/collection
“Pulaar, also known as Fula, Fulani, or Fulfulde, which is spoken across West Africa from Senegal and Mauritania to Chad […] Several mutually intelligible varieties of Pulaar are spoken in Senegal which the dominant one being in the Fuuta Tooro dialect of northern Senegal, one of the most conservative Fula dialects […] These northern Atlantic languages share certain typological features such as extensive noun class systems, consisting of more than twenty classes in some dialects of Pulaar; a large set of verbal extensions; and morphologically conditioned consonant mutation. They are also unusual among Niger-Congo languages in that they are not tonal.” [1]
[1]: (McLaughlin 2008, 89) McLaughlin, Fiona. 2008. ‘Senegal: The Emergence of a National Lingua Franca’. In Languages and National Identity in Africa. Edited by Andrew Simpson. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/7VBFQ96V/collection
“Torodbe accounts of events in the Futa Toro have influenced us to regard their denianke predecessors as pagan.” [1] “The traditional elites and the traditionalist peasants were not necessarily pagan. La Maire commented in 1682 that the Siratik, the ruler of the Fouta Toro, did not drink wine and brandy and followed ‘the law of Mahomet more religiously than other blacks.’” [2]
[1]: (Klein 1972, 429, footnote 18) Klein, Martin A. 1972. ‘Social and Economic Factors in the Muslim Revolution in Senegambia.’ The Journal of Africa History. Vol. 13:3. Pp 419-441. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZJRN8UJ8/collection
[2]: (Klein 1972, 427) Klein, Martin A. 1972. ‘Social and Economic Factors in the Muslim Revolution in Senegambia.’ The Journal of Africa History. Vol. 13:3. Pp 419-441. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZJRN8UJ8/collection
“Torodbe accounts of events in the Futa Toro have influenced us to regard their denianke predecessors as pagan.” [1] “The traditional elites and the traditionalist peasants were not necessarily pagan. La Maire commented in 1682 that the Siratik, the ruler of the Fouta Toro, did not drink wine and brandy and followed ‘the law of Mahomet more religiously than other blacks.’” [2]
[1]: (Klein 1972, 429, footnote 18) Klein, Martin A. 1972. ‘Social and Economic Factors in the Muslim Revolution in Senegambia.’ The Journal of Africa History. Vol. 13:3. Pp 419-441. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZJRN8UJ8/collection
[2]: (Klein 1972, 427) Klein, Martin A. 1972. ‘Social and Economic Factors in the Muslim Revolution in Senegambia.’ The Journal of Africa History. Vol. 13:3. Pp 419-441. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZJRN8UJ8/collection
The following quote suggests that Islamic judges were likely present with the Empire of Great Fulo. “In Mauritania and Senegambia, there was a network of rural schools, at which the Koran and certain important works of technology and law were studied. The more learned marabouts studied at different schools. Some of these schools seem to have played an important revolutionary role. Thus, according to Futa Toro traditions, all the major leaders of the 1776 torodbe revolt studied at Pir Saniokhor in Cayor.” [1]
[1]: (Klein 1972, 428) Klein, Martin A. 1972. ‘Social and Economic Factors in the Muslim Revolution in Senegambia.’ The Journal of Africa History. Vol. 13:3. Pp 419-441. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZJRN8UJ8/collection
Sharia law. The following quote suggests that Sharia law was present in the Empire of Great Fulo. “In Mauritania and Senegambia, there was a network of rural schools, at which the Koran and certain important works of technology and law were studied. The more learned marabouts studied at different schools. Some of these schools seem to have played an important revolutionary role. Thus, according to Futa Toro traditions, all the major leaders of the 1776 torodbe revolt studied at Pir Saniokhor in Cayor.” [1]
[1]: (Klein 1972, 428) Klein, Martin A. 1972. ‘Social and Economic Factors in the Muslim Revolution in Senegambia.’ The Journal of Africa History. Vol. 13:3. Pp 419-441. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZJRN8UJ8/collection
The following quote suggests that Islamic courts were likely present in the Empire of Great Fulo. “In Mauritania and Senegambia, there was a network of rural schools, at which the Koran and certain important works of technology and law were studied. The more learned marabouts studied at different schools. Some of these schools seem to have played an important revolutionary role. Thus, according to Futa Toro traditions, all the major leaders of the 1776 torodbe revolt studied at Pir Saniokhor in Cayor.” [1]
[1]: (Klein 1972, 428) Klein, Martin A. 1972. ‘Social and Economic Factors in the Muslim Revolution in Senegambia.’ The Journal of Africa History. Vol. 13:3. Pp 419-441. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZJRN8UJ8/collection
The following quote suggests that markets were likely present as there was a complex caravan trade network across the trans-Sahara. “The main trade routes throughout this period of history were the trans-Saharan caravan routes of the interior through which gold, salt, and slaves passed.” [1]
[1]: (McLaughlin 2008, 83) McLaughlin, Fiona. 2008. ‘Senegal: The Emergence of a National Lingua Franca’. In Languages and National Identity in Africa. Edited by Andrew Simpson. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/7VBFQ96V/collection
“This double harvest made Futa Toro a food-exporting region and also drew migrant farmers from the surrounding areas […] Fulbe herders practices seasonal migration, staying near permeant sources of water in the dry season, then moving out with the rains and finally returning when water holes and pastures dried up.” [1]
[1]: (Clark, 2005) Clark, Andrew F. 2005. ‘Futa Toro’ In Encyclopedia of African History Volume 1: A-G. Edited by Kevin Shillington. London: Taylor and Francis. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/GDPPE8E5/collection
Drinking water supply systems. “This double harvest made Futa Toro a food-exporting region and also drew migrant farmers from the surrounding areas […] Fulbe herders practices seasonal migration, staying near permeant sources of water in the dry season, then moving out with the rains and finally returning when water holes and pastures dried up.” [1]
[1]: (Clark, 2005) Clark, Andrew F. 2005. ‘Futa Toro’ In Encyclopedia of African History Volume 1: A-G. Edited by Kevin Shillington. London: Taylor and Francis. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/GDPPE8E5/collection
“In Mauritania and Senegambia, there was a network of rural schools, at which the Koran and certain important works of technology and law were studied. The more learned marabouts studied at different schools. Some of these schools seem to have played an important revolutionary role. Thus, according to Futa Toro traditions, all the major leaders of the 1776 torodbe revolt studied at Pir Saniokhor in Cayor.” [1]
[1]: (Klein 1972, 428) Klein, Martin A. 1972. ‘Social and Economic Factors in the Muslim Revolution in Senegambia.’ The Journal of Africa History. Vol. 13:3. Pp 419-441. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZJRN8UJ8/collection
The following quote suggests that roads were likely present due to the presence of caravan routes. “The main trade routes throughout this period of history were the trans-Saharan caravan routes of the interior through which gold, salt, and slaves passed.” [1]
[1]: (McLaughlin 2008, 83) McLaughlin, Fiona. 2008. ‘Senegal: The Emergence of a National Lingua Franca’. In Languages and National Identity in Africa. Edited by Andrew Simpson. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/7VBFQ96V/collection
The following quote suggests that trading emporia was likely present. “The main trade routes throughout this period of history were the trans-Saharan caravan routes of the interior through which gold, salt, and slaves passed.” [1]
[1]: (McLaughlin 2008, 83) McLaughlin, Fiona. 2008. ‘Senegal: The Emergence of a National Lingua Franca’. In Languages and National Identity in Africa. Edited by Andrew Simpson. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/7VBFQ96V/collection
Trading emporia. The following quote suggests that trading emporia was likely present. “The main trade routes throughout this period of history were the trans-Saharan caravan routes of the interior through which gold, salt, and slaves passed.” [1]
[1]: (McLaughlin 2008, 83) McLaughlin, Fiona. 2008. ‘Senegal: The Emergence of a National Lingua Franca’. In Languages and National Identity in Africa. Edited by Andrew Simpson. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/7VBFQ96V/collection
Quran. “In Mauritania and Senegambia, there was a network of rural schools, at which the Koran and certain important works of technology and law were studied. The more learned marabouts studied at different schools. Some of these schools seem to have played an important revolutionary role. Thus, according to Futa Toro traditions, all the major leaders of the 1776 torodbe revolt studied at Pir Saniokhor in Cayor.” [1]
[1]: (Klein 1972, 428) Klein, Martin A. 1972. ‘Social and Economic Factors in the Muslim Revolution in Senegambia.’ The Journal of Africa History. Vol. 13:3. Pp 419-441. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZJRN8UJ8/collection
The following quote suggests that religious literature was likely present. “In Mauritania and Senegambia, there was a network of rural schools, at which the Koran and certain important works of technology and law were studied. The more learned marabouts studied at different schools. Some of these schools seem to have played an important revolutionary role. Thus, according to Futa Toro traditions, all the major leaders of the 1776 torodbe revolt studied at Pir Saniokhor in Cayor.” [1]
[1]: (Klein 1972, 428) Klein, Martin A. 1972. ‘Social and Economic Factors in the Muslim Revolution in Senegambia.’ The Journal of Africa History. Vol. 13:3. Pp 419-441. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZJRN8UJ8/collection
“The twelve months of the Islamic calendar, in order are as follows (1) Muharram; (2) Safar; (3) Rab’I al-Awwal; (4) Rab’i al-Akhir (or al-Thani); (5) Jumada ‘l-Ula; (6) Jumada ‘l-Akhira; (7) Rajab (8) Sha’ban; (9) Ramadan; (10) Shawwal; (11) Dhu’-Qa’da and (12) Dhu ‘l Hijja.” [1]
[1]: (Hanne 2006, 196) Hanne, Eric. 2006. ‘Dates and Calendars’ In Medieval Islamic Civilizations: A-K, Index. By Josef W. Meri. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Dates%20and%20Calendars/titleCreatorYear/items/8BDKDQRX/item-list
Cowry shells. “Cowry shells (mollusks of the species Cypriaea Moneta and annulus) originated in the Indian Ocean and were brought to West Africa in European ships, often after passing through auctions in Amsterdam or London. Jon Hogendorn and M. Johnson (1986) provide a thorough account of this history explaining the large volume of shells brough to West Africa and the cycles of inflation that followed. As they moved to the interior, the shells crossed several linguistic and cultural boundaries. In a vast zone the cowry coexisted not only with gold dust and imported silver coins but also with salt bars, brass in rods or in heavy horseshoe shapes referred to as manillas, locally produced iron and cloth currencies, beads, and other means of payment.” [1]
[1]: (Saul 2004, 73) Saul, Mahir. 2004. ‘Money in Colonial Transition: Cowries and Francs in West Africa’ American Anthropologist. Vol 106:1. Pp 71-84. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/FKJJ3H49/collection
“The anklet, bangle, or torque money of the West African equatorial coast, the manilla applied iron, brass, or copper to a common form of personal adornment that doubled as currency facilitating the slave trade. From prehistoric times, natives of Zaire north to Senegal collected portable wealth in heavy anklets, bracelets, and collars that served as highly visible savings accounts rather than everyday shopping cash.” [1]
[1]: (Snodgrass 2019, 198) Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. Coins and Currency: An Historical Encyclopedia. Second Edition. Jefferson: McFarland Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/F5SC74DA/library
The following quote suggests that weight systems likely existed in the Futa Toro region of the Empire of the Great Fulo. “During the Islamic era trade the weight system we hear most evidence of in West Africa is the mithqal, based on the standard operating widely throughout the majority of the Islamic world. We are provided with details of the value of the mithqal against the dirham in North Africa (c. 25 dirhams to the mithqal), and likewise of rates for the mithqal against copper in West Africa (100 mithqals of copper for 66 2/3 mithqals of gold).” [1]
[1]: (Nixon 2017, 174-175) Nixon, Sam. 2017. ‘Trans-Saharan Gold Trade in Pre-Modern Times’. In Trade in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond. Edited by V. Leitch. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/CJ6VZSEM/collection
Islamic calendar. “The twelve months of the Islamic calendar, in order are as follows (1) Muharram; (2) Safar; (3) Rab’I al-Awwal; (4) Rab’i al-Akhir (or al-Thani); (5) Jumada ‘l-Ula; (6) Jumada ‘l-Akhira; (7) Rajab (8) Sha’ban; (9) Ramadan; (10) Shawwal; (11) Dhu’-Qa’da and (12) Dhu ‘l Hijja.” [1]
[1]: (Hanne 2006, 196) Hanne, Eric. 2006. ‘Dates and Calendars’ In Medieval Islamic Civilizations: A-K, Index. By Josef W. Meri. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Dates%20and%20Calendars/titleCreatorYear/items/8BDKDQRX/item-list