Home Region:  West Africa (Africa)

Segou Kingdom

D G SC WF HS EQ 2020  ml_segou_k / MlSegou



Preceding:
[suspected unknown; suspected unknown] [suspected unknown]   Update here
Add one more here.

Succeeding:
1712 CE 1861 CE Bamana kingdom (ml_bamana_k)    [continuity]
Add one more here.

Almost nothing is known about the Segu (or Segou) Kingdom, the name we have chosen to use for the polity occupying the Niger Inland Delta from the mid-17th century CE to the foundation of the more well-known Bamana Kingdom in 1712. Neither oral traditions nor regional histories compiled in Timbuktu suggest the existence of a Bamana ’king’ prior to the 17th century. However, in around 1650, a hunter and warrior called Kaladian Kulibali (or Coulibaly) drew on the indigenous male age-grade associations known as tòn to become the ruler of the first Bamana state, [1] which briefly included Timbuktu. [2]
Population and Political Organization
The Bamana before the mid-17th century were probably a ’stateless society’ — specifically, they may have been divided into independent villages who only banded together in response to a threat. [3] After a brief period of integration under Kaladian Kulibali, centralized power weakened after his death and an oligarchy of regional rulership by his sons and their successors held sway for some time. [3] By the time Biton Kulibali rose against the status quo and founded his own Bamana Kingdom in 1712, it seems that the Bamana region was divided into small communities, each ruled by a gerontocracy. [4] However, details are hazy, and mostly derived from oral traditions, so the relationship between Kaladian’s successors’ loose oligarchy and the gerontocracies of the early eighteenth century is not very clear. We are not certain, for example, whether the former gave way to the latter, or whether the latter existed within the context of the former. No population estimates for the Segu Kingdom could be found in the literature.

[1]: (Bortolot 2003) Alexander Ives Bortolot. 2003. ’The Bamana Ségou State’. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bama_1/hd_bama_1.htm. Accessed 23 February 2017.

[2]: (MacDonald 2014, 129) Kevin C. MacDonald. 2014. ’"A chacun son Bambara", encore une fois: History, Archaeology and Bambara Origins’. In Ethnic Ambiguity and the African Past: Materiality, History, and the Shaping of Cultural Identities, edited by Francois G. Richard and Kevin C. MacDonald, 119-44. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.

[3]: (MacDonald 2014, 129) Kevin C. MacDonald. 2014. ’"A Chacoun son Bambara, encore une fois": History, Archaeology and Bambara Origins’ in "Ethnic Ambiguity and the African Past: Materiality, History, and the Shaping of Cultural Identities", edited by Francois G. Richard and Kevin C. MacDonald. Walnut Creek, California: Left Coast Press.

[4]: (Izard and Ki-Zerbo 1992, 332-33) Michel Izard and Joseph Ki-Zerbo. 1992. ’From the Niger to the Volta’, in General History of Africa, vol. 5: Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Centuries edited by Bethwell Allan Ogot, 327-67. London: Heinemann.

General Variables
Identity and Location
Utm Zone:
30 P  
30 Q  
Original Name:
Segou Kingdom  
Capital:
Segou  
Alternative Name:
Coulibaly Dynasty  
Temporal Bounds
Peak Years:
[1,650 CE ➜ 1,680 CE]  
Duration:
[1,650 CE ➜ 1,712 CE]  
Political and Cultural Relations
Succeeding Entity:
Bamana Empire  
Relationship to Preceding Entity:
suspected unknown  
Preceding Entity:
UNCLEAR:    [suspected unknown]  
Succeeding: Bamana kingdom (ml_bamana_k)    [continuity]  
Degree of Centralization:
unitary state  
loose  
Language
Linguistic Family:
Mande  
Language:
Bambara  
Religion
Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Polity Territory:
[200,000 to 300,000] km2  
Polity Population:
[1,500,000 to 2,500,000] people  
Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
4  
Religious Level:
1  
Military Level:
3  
Administrative Level:
2  
Professions
Professional Soldier:
inferred present  
Professional Priesthood:
absent  
Professional Military Officer:
inferred absent  
Bureaucracy Characteristics
Specialized Government Building:
absent  
Merit Promotion:
absent  
Full Time Bureaucrat:
absent  
Examination System:
absent  
Law
Professional Lawyer:
absent  
Judge:
absent  
Formal Legal Code:
inferred absent  
Court:
absent  
Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Market:
inferred absent  
Transport Infrastructure
Special-purpose Sites
Information / Writing System
Written Record:
inferred absent  
Script:
inferred absent  
Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Scientific Literature:
inferred absent  
Sacred Text:
inferred absent  
Religious Literature:
inferred absent  
Practical Literature:
inferred absent  
Philosophy:
inferred absent  
Lists Tables and Classification:
inferred absent  
History:
inferred present  
Fiction:
inferred absent  
Calendar:
inferred absent  
Information / Money
Token:
present  
Information / Postal System
Information / Measurement System
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
  Wooden Palisade:
inferred present  
  Stone Walls Non Mortared:
unknown  
  Stone Walls Mortared:
unknown  
  Settlements in a Defensive Position:
inferred present  
  Modern Fortification:
inferred absent  
  Moat:
unknown  
  Fortified Camp:
inferred present  
  Earth Rampart:
inferred present  
  Ditch:
inferred present  
  Complex Fortification:
present  
Military use of Metals
  Steel:
unknown  
  Iron:
unknown  
  Copper:
present  
  Bronze:
unknown  
Projectiles
  Tension Siege Engine:
inferred absent  
  Sling Siege Engine:
unknown  
  Sling:
inferred present  
  Self Bow:
present  
  Javelin:
present  
  Handheld Firearm:
inferred present  
  Gunpowder Siege Artillery:
absent  
  Crossbow:
unknown  
  Composite Bow:
unknown  
  Atlatl:
absent  
Handheld weapons
  War Club:
inferred present  
  Sword:
present  
  Spear:
present  
  Polearm:
inferred absent  
  Dagger:
present  
  Battle Axe:
inferred present  
Animals used in warfare
  Horse:
present  
  Elephant:
inferred absent  
  Donkey:
inferred present  
  Dog:
inferred absent  
  Camel:
inferred present  
Armor
  Wood Bark Etc:
present  
  Shield:
inferred present  
  Scaled Armor:
inferred absent  
  Plate Armor:
unknown  
  Limb Protection:
unknown  
  Leather Cloth:
inferred present  
  Laminar Armor:
inferred absent  
  Helmet:
unknown  
  Chainmail:
inferred present  
  Breastplate:
unknown  
Naval technology
  Specialized Military Vessel:
inferred absent  
  Small Vessels Canoes Etc:
inferred present  
  Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service:
unknown  
Religion Tolerance Nothing coded yet.
Human Sacrifice Nothing coded yet.
Crisis Consequences Nothing coded yet.
Power Transitions Nothing coded yet.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range Segou Kingdom (ml_segou_k) was in:
 (1640 CE 1711 CE)   Niger Inland Delta
Home NGA: Niger Inland Delta

General Variables
Identity and Location


"The Bambara established two major military kingdoms at Segou and Kaarta". [1]
"For Segou’s century-and-a-half existence, we have been able to identify - via oral tradition, colonial documentation, and archaeological remains - six capitals. Each marks a rupture in either ideology or dynasty." [2] e.g. Ton Mansa briefly in the 1760s/1770s.
Torone in oral traditions is the Bambara people’s "point of origin" in the Segu region. [3] .

[1]: (Keil 2012, 108) Sarah Keil. Bambara. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. Los Angeles.

[2]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012, 177) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

[3]: K.C. MacDonald, A Chacoun son Bambara, encore une fois: History, Archaeology and Bambara Origins, in F.G. Richard and K.C. MacDonald, Ethnic Ambiguity and the African Past: Materiality, History, and the Shaping of Cultural Identities (2014), pp. 119-144


Alternative Name:
Coulibaly Dynasty

Temporal Bounds
Peak Years:
[1,650 CE ➜ 1,680 CE]

Central power decreased after the death of Kaladian Coulibaly [1] .

[1]: K.C. MacDonald, A Chacoun son Bambara, encore une fois: History, Archaeology and Bambara Origins, in F.G. Richard and K.C. MacDonald, Ethnic Ambiguity and the African Past: Materiality, History, and the Shaping of Cultural Identities (2014), pp. 119-144


Duration:
[1,650 CE ➜ 1,712 CE]

According to oral traditions, Kaladian Coulibaly ruled over the region from about 1650 [1] . In 1712, his alleged great-grandson, Mamari Coulibaly, rose to power after the dynasty had dwindled into poverty, and initiated the second and better known phase of the Segu kingdom’s history, known on this database as the "Bamana Empire" [2] .

[1]: K.C. MacDonald, A Chacoun son Bambara, encore une fois: History, Archaeology and Bambara Origins, in F.G. Richard and K.C. MacDonald, Ethnic Ambiguity and the African Past: Materiality, History, and the Shaping of Cultural Identities (2014), pp. 119-144

[2]: M. Izard and J. Ki-Zerbo, From the Niger to the Volta, in B.A. Ogot (ed), General History of Africa, vol. 5: Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Centuries (1992), pp. 327-367


Political and Cultural Relations
Succeeding Entity:
Bamana Empire

[1]

[1]: M. Izard and J. Ki-Zerbo, From the Niger to the Volta, in B.A. Ogot (ed), General History of Africa, vol. 5: Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Centuries (1992), pp. 327-367


Relationship to Preceding Entity:
suspected unknown

Preceding Entity:
suspected unknown

Not Timbuktu as it remained autonomous as is not the core area of Segou.

Preceding Entity:
Segou Kingdom [ml_segou_k] ---> Bamana kingdom [ml_bamana_k]

[1]

[1]: M. Izard and J. Ki-Zerbo, From the Niger to the Volta, in B.A. Ogot (ed), General History of Africa, vol. 5: Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Centuries (1992), pp. 327-367


Degree of Centralization:
unitary state

1650-1680: unitary state; 1680-1712: loose [1]

[1]: K.C. MacDonald, A Chacoun son Bambara, encore une fois: History, Archaeology and Bambara Origins, in F.G. Richard and K.C. MacDonald, Ethnic Ambiguity and the African Past: Materiality, History, and the Shaping of Cultural Identities (2014), pp. 119-144

Degree of Centralization:
loose

1650-1680: unitary state; 1680-1712: loose [1]

[1]: K.C. MacDonald, A Chacoun son Bambara, encore une fois: History, Archaeology and Bambara Origins, in F.G. Richard and K.C. MacDonald, Ethnic Ambiguity and the African Past: Materiality, History, and the Shaping of Cultural Identities (2014), pp. 119-144


Language

Language:
Bambara

Inferred from the fact that the Coulibaly belonged to the Bambara ethnic group [1] .

[1]: K.C. MacDonald, A Chacoun son Bambara, encore une fois: History, Archaeology and Bambara Origins, in F.G. Richard and K.C. MacDonald, Ethnic Ambiguity and the African Past: Materiality, History, and the Shaping of Cultural Identities (2014), pp. 119-144


Religion

Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Polity Territory:
[200,000 to 300,000] km2

in squared kilometers
1750 CE
Sausage-shaped, covers Niger river from beyond Timbuktu (but stops before the bend to Gao) through the inland delta and beyond to the two tributaries in the uplands, but not getting very far into Guinea and Senegal (if at all - modern borders not marked on map). Directly bordered to the north by "Kaaria", to the south by "Kong" and to the west by "Fouta Toro". [1]

[1]: (Konemann 2010, 314) Konemann, Ludwig ed. 2010. Atlas Historica. Editions Place des Victoires. Paris.


Polity Population:
[1,500,000 to 2,500,000] people

People.
According to Google Mali’s population was 5 million in 1960. What was the population in 1700? An estimate of 2 million would be order of magnitude correct.


Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
4

levels.
1. Capital.
2. Towns.3. Villages.4. Hamlets.
"The Bambara relied heavily on the extended family for order and structure. Society was organized by patrilineal lineages, with families residing togetther in large compounds. Several lineages composed a village, which was then ruled by a chief. Marriages were an ’investment,’ intended to unite households, lineages, and villages for the common good." [1]
"In contrast to the ’eternal landscape.’ the state-generated landscape included three settlement types. The most important of these are the Fadugu, towns of the king or Fama, being either capitals or locations of secondary royal courts. ... Next, there are Dendugu - literally ’son’s villages - towns created by the king either to house his sons or to hold military garrisons commanded by the nobility. Finally, there are the Cikebugu: agricultural hamlets, normally founded by the state. The inhabitants of such hamlets were, notionally, resettled captives taken either in battle or in raids. Although termed slaves by outsiders, theirs was not a chattel status; rather they were more like serfs who were tied to a village and obliged to provide the Fama (ruler) with a disproportionate quantity of their produce." [2]

[1]: (Keil 2012, 108) Sarah Keil. Bambara. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. Los Angeles.

[2]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012, 177) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Religious Level:
1

levels.
Bambara means ’rejection of a master’ - they took the name in the 13th century from their rejection of Islam. The chief of the village was the religious authority. [1] No mention of religious buildings or institutions. Prayers were given within household and in ceremonies. [1]
Marka towns were semi-autonmous towns that "enjoyed some autonomy from direct state intervention." [2] Populated by Islamic Soninke and other Mande-speakers: "most Marka towns have assumed two roles as (1) ’eternal cities’ ancestral to all Mande civilization, and (2) as ’holy cities,’ which to differing degrees mix Islamic scholarship (large Koranic schools and ancient mosques) and traditional sorcery. Their supernatural status has served as protection from attack because most Marka towns never had defences or standing armies." [3]

[1]: (Keil 2012, 108) Sarah Keil. Bambara. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. Los Angeles.

[2]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012, 25) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

[3]: (MacDonald and Camara 2012, 174) Kevin C MacDonald. Seydou Camara. Segou, Slavery, and Sifinso. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Military Level:
3

levels.
1. King
2. Leader of royal guard3. Member of royal guard
"Several members of the ton djon, a royal guard created by Biton Coulibaly, ruled from 1755 until 1766." [1]

[1]: (Keil 2012, 108) Sarah Keil. Bambara. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. Los Angeles.


Administrative Level:
2

levels.
1. King
2. Village chiefs
2. Commercial towns
"The Bambara relied heavily on the extended family for order and structure. Society was organized by patrilineal lineages, with families residing together in large compounds. Several lineages composed a village, which was then ruled by a chief. Marriages were an ’investment,’ intended to unite households, lineages, and villages for the common good." [1]
"preexisting commercial towns (marka) ... were incorporated into the kingdom and ... enjoyed some autonomy from direct state intervention." [2]

[1]: (Keil 2012, 108) Sarah Keil. Bambara. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. Los Angeles.

[2]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012, 25) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Professions
Professional Soldier:
present

"Several members of the ton djon, a royal guard created by Biton Coulibaly, ruled from 1755 until 1766." [1]

[1]: (Keil 2012, 108) Sarah Keil. Bambara. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. Los Angeles.


Professional Priesthood:
absent

The chief of the village was the religious authority. [1]

[1]: (Keil 2012, 108) Sarah Keil. Bambara. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. Los Angeles.


Professional Military Officer:
absent

"there are Dendugu - literally ’son’s villages - towns created by the king either to house his sons or to hold military garrisons commanded by the nobility." [1]

[1]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012, 177) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Bureaucracy Characteristics
Specialized Government Building:
absent

No bureaucracy. The chief of the village "worked to maintain peace and was the authority in regard to all matters legal or moral, including land ownership, religion, and ceremonies." [1]

[1]: (Keil 2012, 108) Sarah Keil. Bambara. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. Los Angeles.


Merit Promotion:
absent

No bureaucracy. The chief of the village "worked to maintain peace and was the authority in regard to all matters legal or moral, including land ownership, religion, and ceremonies." [1]

[1]: (Keil 2012, 108) Sarah Keil. Bambara. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. Los Angeles.


Full Time Bureaucrat:
absent

The chief of the village "worked to maintain peace and was the authority in regard to all matters legal or moral, including land ownership, religion, and ceremonies." [1]

[1]: (Keil 2012, 108) Sarah Keil. Bambara. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. Los Angeles.


Examination System:
absent

No bureaucracy. The chief of the village "worked to maintain peace and was the authority in regard to all matters legal or moral, including land ownership, religion, and ceremonies." [1]

[1]: (Keil 2012, 108) Sarah Keil. Bambara. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. Los Angeles.


Law
Professional Lawyer:
absent

The chief of the village was the legal authority. [1]

[1]: (Keil 2012, 108) Sarah Keil. Bambara. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. Los Angeles.


The chief of the village was the legal authority. [1]

[1]: (Keil 2012, 108) Sarah Keil. Bambara. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. Los Angeles.


Formal Legal Code:
absent

The chief of the village was the legal authority. [1]

[1]: (Keil 2012, 108) Sarah Keil. Bambara. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. Los Angeles.


The chief of the village was the legal authority. [1]

[1]: (Keil 2012, 108) Sarah Keil. Bambara. Andrea L Stanton. ed. 2012. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia. Sage. Los Angeles.


Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Market:
absent

Not polity owned. "preexisting commercial towns (marka) ... were incorporated into the kingdom and ... enjoyed some autonomy from direct state intervention." [1]

[1]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012, 25) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Transport Infrastructure
Special-purpose Sites
Information / Writing System
Written Record:
absent

Scholars use oral tradition to help reconstruct life in the Segou kingdom. [1] The polity may not have used written documents but there were written documents in the semi-autonomous, Islamic ’marka’ towns, populated by Soninke and other Mande-speakers.

[1]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Script:
absent

Scholars use oral tradition to help reconstruct life in the Segou kingdom. [1] The polity may not have used written documents but there were written documents in the semi-autonomous, Islamic ’marka’ towns, populated by Soninke and other Mande-speakers.

[1]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Scientific Literature:
absent

Scholars use oral tradition to help reconstruct life in the Segou kingdom. [1] The polity may not have used written documents but there were written documents in the semi-autonomous, Islamic ’marka’ towns, populated by Soninke and other Mande-speakers.

[1]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Sacred Text:
absent

Scholars use oral tradition to help reconstruct life in the Segou kingdom. [1] The polity may not have used written documents but there were written documents in the semi-autonomous, Islamic ’marka’ towns, populated by Soninke and other Mande-speakers. The Bambara were not Muslims.

[1]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Religious Literature:
absent

Scholars use oral tradition to help reconstruct life in the Segou kingdom. [1] The polity may not have used written documents but there were written documents in the semi-autonomous, Islamic ’marka’ towns, populated by Soninke and other Mande-speakers. The Bambara were not Muslims.

[1]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Practical Literature:
absent

Scholars use oral tradition to help reconstruct life in the Segou kingdom. [1] The polity may not have used written documents but there were written documents in the semi-autonomous, Islamic ’marka’ towns, populated by Soninke and other Mande-speakers.

[1]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Philosophy:
absent

Scholars use oral tradition to help reconstruct life in the Segou kingdom. [1] The polity may not have used written documents but there were written documents in the semi-autonomous, Islamic ’marka’ towns, populated by Soninke and other Mande-speakers.

[1]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Lists Tables and Classification:
absent

Scholars use oral tradition to help reconstruct life in the Segou kingdom. [1] The polity may not have used written documents but there were written documents in the semi-autonomous, Islamic ’marka’ towns, populated by Soninke and other Mande-speakers.

[1]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


History:
present

Scholars use oral tradition to help reconstruct life in the Segou kingdom. [1] The polity may not have used written documents but there were written documents in the semi-autonomous, Islamic ’marka’ towns, populated by Soninke and other Mande-speakers. "A tradition recorded in the Tarikh as-Sudan, an important history book that was written in Timbuktu in about AD 1650..." [2]

[1]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

[2]: (Davidson 1998, 26) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.


Fiction:
absent

Scholars use oral tradition to help reconstruct life in the Segou kingdom. [1] The polity may not have used written documents but there were written documents in the semi-autonomous, Islamic ’marka’ towns, populated by Soninke and other Mande-speakers.

[1]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Calendar:
absent

Scholars use oral tradition to help reconstruct life in the Segou kingdom. [1] The polity may not have used written documents but there were written documents in the semi-autonomous, Islamic ’marka’ towns, populated by Soninke and other Mande-speakers.

[1]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Information / Money

Cowrie shells. [1]

[1]: (Hogendorn and Johnson 2003, 115) Jan Hogendorn. Marion Johnson. 2003. The Shell Money of the Slave Trade. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Information / Postal System
Information / Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
Wooden Palisade:
present

Reference for pre-colonial African warfare: in the 16th century the Kano people used stockades. There are other/later examples of palisades. [1] Reference for pre-colonial African warfare: "stockades (or palisades) were perhaps nearly as common, sometimes combined with walls, sometimes as the main defence." [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 100) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Stone Walls Non Mortared:
unknown

Closest relevant data: the capital of the Hausa kingdom of Kebbi, Surame, had "substantial" stone walls. [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 101) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Stone Walls Mortared:
unknown

Closest relevant data: the capital of the Hausa kingdom of Kebbi, Surame, had "substantial" stone walls. [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 101) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Settlements in a Defensive Position:
present

Reference for pre-colonial African warfare: some towns were strategically sited. [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 99) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Modern Fortification:
absent

Siege cannon not established in this period.


Closest relevant data: in the 19th century the Yoruba capital Ketu had double walls and a moat. [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 111) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Fortified Camp:
present

Reference for pre-colonial African warfare: "The formation of a fortified camp, distinct from the parent town or towns, was usually the first step taken by a West African army when it advanced into the field. ... the leaders were sheltered by tents or by walls of matting while the soldiers slept under such shelter as they could find... But on arrival at the point chosen by the commander as the base of operations, the practice was to throw up an earthern wall surrounded by a ditch (the excavation from which the wall had been built)." [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 100) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Earth Rampart:
present

Reference for pre-colonial African warfare: mud walls often surrounded towns. [1] Reference for pre-colonial African warfare: "The formation of a fortified camp, distinct from the parent town or towns, was usually the first step taken by a West African army when it advanced into the field. ... the leaders were sheltered by tents or by walls of matting while the soldiers slept under such shelter as they could find... But on arrival at the point chosen by the commander as the base of operations, the practice was to throw up an earthern wall surrounded by a ditch (the excavation from which the wall had been built)." [2]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 99) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.

[2]: (Smith 1989, 100) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Reference for pre-colonial African warfare: "The formation of a fortified camp, distinct from the parent town or towns, was usually the first step taken by a West African army when it advanced into the field. ... the leaders were sheltered by tents or by walls of matting while the soldiers slept under such shelter as they could find... But on arrival at the point chosen by the commander as the base of operations, the practice was to throw up an earthern wall surrounded by a ditch (the excavation from which the wall had been built)." [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 100) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Complex Fortification:
present

Closest relevant data: in the 19th century the Yoruba capital Ketu had double walls and a moat. [1] The "short-lived capital of Ton Mansa" probably occupied in the 1760s/1770s "features a central, double-walled concession of limited access, which is tempting to identify as a palace area. Another walled area in the northwest quadrant of the town has direct access to the exterior and controlled access to the interior. This is said to have been the place of the Sifinso." [2]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 111) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.

[2]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012, 183) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Military use of Metals



Would depend on whether they had access to sources of arsenic or tin.


Projectiles
Tension Siege Engine:
absent

Inferred from the absence of tension sieges in previous and future polities in Niger Inland Delta.



Reference for pre-colonial West African warfare: projectile weapons included the sling. [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 64) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Arrows. [1] Reference for pre-colonial West Africa: "conventional weapons (as opposed to firearms) continued to play an effective role in West African warfare until as late as the middle of the last century." (i.e. 19th century). [2] Reference for pre-colonial West Africa: self bows. [3] "The self or simple bow consists essentially of a bent stave of pliant wood and a bowstring of a sufficient elasticity. Most West African types may be characterized as shortbows, being from about two and a half to five feet in height ... however, Wilhelm Muller describes the war-bows which he saw in the Fetu country (near Elmina) in the mid-seventeenth century as being ... nearly six feet." [4] "Their effective range was some 50 to 75 yards, compared with some 250 yards for the longbow". [4]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 79) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.

[2]: (Smith 1989, 80) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.

[3]: (Smith 1989, 74) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.

[4]: (Smith 1989, 72) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Reference for pre-colonial West Africa: "conventional weapons (as opposed to firearms) continued to play an effective role in West African warfare until as late as the middle of the last century." (i.e. 19th century). [1] Reference for pre-colonial West Africa: throwing spears or javelin. [2]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 80) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.

[2]: (Smith 1989, 64) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Handheld Firearm:
present

On a very small scale in this period: "By the end of the eighteenth century, Mande blacksmiths were repairing imported firearms ... and in the nineteenth century Samory’s smiths were able to copy the main types of weapons ... Modern breech-loading rifles reached West African markets during the 1870s". [1] However: "After the Moroccans defeated Songhay, others, for example, the Bambara, began to adopt Moroccan fighting methods (Abitbol 1992, 312)." [1] A contemporary Spanish writer in 1591 CE reported the invasion force consisted of 2500 musketeers (500 of them mounted) and 1500 lancers "from among the local people". [2] It’s difficult not to conclude the ’Moroccan fighting methods’ must have included musketeers but the same source contradicts this suggesting handguns reached Western Africa only at a later time: "By the end of the eighteenth century, Mande blacksmiths were repairing imported firearms". [1] According to the Kano Chronicle muskets introduced in the early eighteenth century. [3] Firearms first introduced into West Africa "on a very small scale" in the 15th century. [4] By the end of the 17th century firearms "had been widely adopted on the Gold and Slave Coasts, were beginning to penetrate the forest states, and had reached Borno, Hausaland and elsewhere in the Sudan." [4]

[1]: (Koenig, Diarra and Sow 1998, 42) Dolores Koenig. Tieman Diarra. Moussa Sow. et al. 1998. Innovation and Individuality in African Development: Changing Production Strategies in Rural Mali. University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor.

[2]: (El Hamel 2013, 147) Chouki El Hamel. 2013. Black Morocco: A History of Slavery, Race, and Islam. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

[3]: (Smith 1989, 79) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.

[4]: (Smith 1989, 80) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Gunpowder Siege Artillery:
absent

Not in this period: "By the end of the eighteenth century, Mande blacksmiths were repairing imported firearms ... and in the nineteenth century Samory’s smiths were able to copy the main types of weapons ... Modern breech-loading rifles reached West African markets during the 1870s". [1]

[1]: (Koenig, Diarra and Sow 1998, 42) Dolores Koenig. Tieman Diarra. Moussa Sow. et al. 1998. Innovation and Individuality in African Development: Changing Production Strategies in Rural Mali. University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor.


Present but rarely used? Crossbow "was apparently in use among only a few of the forest peoples and seems to have been unknown in the savannah. No descriptions of this weapon have been found in the accounts of West African armament given by the early European and North African travellers, but a missionary report of a military review at Ijaye in 1861 refers to the carrying of ’great crossbows’ by some of the troops". [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 74) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Composite Bow:
unknown

Were any of the bows used composite bows or were they all self-bows? Reference for pre-colonial West Africa: "conventional weapons (as opposed to firearms) continued to play an effective role in West African warfare until as late as the middle of the last century." (i.e. 19th century). [1] "In warfare bows and other missiles were mainly infantry weapons, as in Europe and the Middle East, but some cavalry - for example, that of the Oyo and of the nineteenth-century Adamawa - seem to have used bows, presumably shorter and more compact than those used by the infantry. Barth mentions seeing (to his surprise) a Borno archer on horseback, and both Benin and Yoruba sculpture show mounted archers." [2]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 80) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.

[2]: (Smith 1989, 70) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


New World weapon.


Handheld weapons

Reference for pre-colonial West Africa: "conventional weapons (as opposed to firearms) continued to play an effective role in West African warfare until as late as the middle of the last century." (i.e. 19th century). [1] Reference for pre-colonial West African warfare: "Among shock weapons, those decisive instruments in war, were the sword, club, lance, dagger, and fighting bracelet." [2]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 80) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.

[2]: (Smith 1989, 64) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Swords. [1] Reference for pre-colonial West African warfare: "Among shock weapons, those decisive instruments in war, were the sword, club, lance, dagger, and fighting bracelet." [2]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 79) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.

[2]: (Smith 1989, 64) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Reference for pre-colonial West Africa: "conventional weapons (as opposed to firearms) continued to play an effective role in West African warfare until as late as the middle of the last century." (i.e. 19th century). [1] "the lance was an integral and in some cases the major part of the weaponry of West African cavalry." [2]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 80) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.

[2]: (Smith 1989, 68) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Inferred from the absence of polearms in previous and subsequent polities in Niger Inland Delta. Reference for pre-colonial West Africa: "conventional weapons (as opposed to firearms) continued to play an effective role in West African warfare until as late as the middle of the last century." (i.e. 19th century). [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 80) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Reference for pre-colonial West Africa: "conventional weapons (as opposed to firearms) continued to play an effective role in West African warfare until as late as the middle of the last century." (i.e. 19th century). [1] "Apart from swords, the warriors of West Africa carried a variety of similar but shorter weapons for stabbing, including European-style daggers." [2]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 80) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.

[2]: (Smith 1989, 68) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Battle Axe:
present

Reference for pre-colonial West Africa: "conventional weapons (as opposed to firearms) continued to play an effective role in West African warfare until as late as the middle of the last century." (i.e. 19th century). [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 80) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Animals used in warfare

Horses. [1] "After the Moroccans defeated Songhay, others, for example, the Bambara, began to adopt Moroccan fighting methods (Abitbol 1992, 312)." This included making greater use of cavalry. [2] "In warfare bows and other missiles were mainly infantry weapons, as in Europe and the Middle East, but some cavalry - for example, that of the Oyo and of the nineteenth-century Adamawa - seem to have used bows, presumably shorter and more compact than those used by the infantry. Barth mentions seeing (to his surprise) a Borno archer on horseback, and both Benin and Yoruba sculpture show mounted archers." [3]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 89) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.

[2]: (Koenig, Diarra and Sow 1998, 42) Dolores Koenig. Tieman Diarra. Moussa Sow. et al. 1998. Innovation and Individuality in African Development: Changing Production Strategies in Rural Mali. University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor.

[3]: (Smith 1989, 70) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Not mentioned in discussion of "Horses and other animals used in war" for pre-colonial West Africa. [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 89-91) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


"As well as horses, there was some use of camels by the armies of the West and Central Sudan. ... They supplanted, or more probably supplemented, the droves of oxen, ponies, mules, and donkeys previously used for transport in Borno ..." [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 91) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Not mentioned in discussion of "Horses and other animals used in war" for pre-colonial West Africa. [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 89-91) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Inferred from the presence of camels in previous and subsequent polities in Niger Inland Delta. "As well as horses, there was some use of camels by the armies of the West and Central Sudan. ... They supplanted, or more probably supplemented, the droves of oxen, ponies, mules, and donkeys previously used for transport in Borno ... Camels were also well-adapted to scouting and skirmishing in the desert and semi-desert parts of the region as well as to carrying baggage ..." [1] Mercenaries?: "the desert Taureg were sought-after allies in the wars of the Sudan." [1] Seems unlikely, unless used as mercenaries.

[1]: (Smith 1989, 91) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Armor
Wood Bark Etc:
present

Reference for pre-colonial West Africa: at least until the introduction of firearms cavalry and infantry used shields which could be made from "hide, wood, and basketwork" and sometimes also covered in copper plate (Gold Coast region). [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 79) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


"Armour was apparently little used in the Western Sudan, though the Mossi cavalry for protective purposes assumed as much clothing as possible and provided leather and copper shields for the vulnerable parts of their mounts." [1] Reference for pre-colonial West Africa: at least until the introduction of firearms cavalry and infantry used shields. [2]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 78) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.

[2]: (Smith 1989, 79) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Scaled Armor:
absent

"Armour was apparently little used in the Western Sudan". [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 78) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Plate Armor:
unknown

"Armour was apparently little used in the Western Sudan". [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 78) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Limb Protection:
unknown

"Armour was apparently little used in the Western Sudan". [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 78) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Leather Cloth:
present

"Armour was apparently little used in the Western Sudan, though the Mossi cavalry for protective purposes assumed as much clothing as possible and provided leather and copper shields for the vulnerable parts of their mounts." [1] "In the late sixteenth century the Wolof cavalry were described as wearing a form of armour made from twisted cotton cloth which was resistant to arrows and spear thrusts." [1] Padded clothing. [2]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 78) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.

[2]: (Smith 1989, 64) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Laminar Armor:
absent

"Armour was apparently little used in the Western Sudan". [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 78) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


"Armour was apparently little used in the Western Sudan". [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 78) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Chainmail:
present

"No reliable tradition of the manufacture or systematic repair of mail seems to be preserved in West Africa, and it can be assumed that the whole supply came from outside the region." [1] Imported by Kanem during the 13th CE (Dunama Dibalemi) and by Mali in the 14th CE (Mansa Musa). According to tradition quilted and mail armour was first introduced by Sarki Kanajeji (c.1390-1410)." [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 79) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Breastplate:
unknown

"Armour was apparently little used in the Western Sudan". [1]

[1]: (Smith 1989, 78) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Naval technology
Specialized Military Vessel:
absent

Landlocked state.


Small Vessels Canoes Etc:
present

Founder of the successor state, the Bambara Empire, Mamary Coulibaly used war canoes to fight and patrol the Niger River. [1] Reference for pre-colonial West African warfare: "Mobility was provided by the horse and other animals and by the canoe". [2] Reference for pre-colonial West Africa: The largest dug-out canoes could carry 100 men as well as their provisions. Others carried a few men, or a couple of dozen. [3]

[1]: (Blauer and Lauré 2008, 29) Ettagale Blauer. Jason Lauré. 2008. Cultures of the World Mali. Marshall Cavendish. New York.

[2]: (Smith 1989, 64) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.

[3]: (Smith 1989, 91) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison.


Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service:
unknown


Human Sacrifice Data
Human Sacrifice is the deliberate and ritualized killing of a person to please or placate supernatural entities (including gods, spirits, and ancestors) or gain other supernatural benefits.
- Nothing coded yet.
- Nothing coded yet.
Power Transitions
- Nothing coded yet.