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The 'Songhai' are an ethnic group from western Africa, akin to the Mandé. The Songhai language group, however, has been connected with the Nilo-Saharan language family, unlike their neighboring counterparts.^[1] They and the Mandé were the dominant ethnic groups in the Songhai Empire that dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th century. The Songhai are found primarily throughout Mali, in the area of Africa known as the Western Sudan (not to be confused with the country).
It was from one of Mali's former conquests, the kingdom of Gao, that the last major empire of the western Sudan emerged. Although the city of Gao had been occupied by a Songhai dynasty prior to being conquered by Mansa Musa's forces in 1325, it was not until much later that the Songhai empire emerged. The empire saw its pre-eminent rise under the military strategist and influential Songhai king, Sonni Ali Ber. It began its rise in 1464 when Sonni Ali conquered much of the weakening Mali empire's territory as well as Timbuktu, famous for its Islamic universities, and the pivotal trading city of Jenne. Among the country's most formidable scholars, professors and lecturers was Ahmed Baba - a highly distinguished historian frequently quoted in the Tarikh-es-Sudan and other works. The people consisted of mostly fishermen and traders. Following Sonni Ali's death, Muslim factions rebelled against his successor and installed Soninke general, Askia Muhammad (formerly Muhammad Ture) who was to be to be the first and most important ruler of the Askia dynasty (1492–1592). Under the Askias, the Songhai empire reached its zenith.^[2]

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1. Songhai languages - Britannica
2. BBC World Service - Songhay