The Jolof Empire was a Wolof Kingdom that originated as early as the thirteenth century by the leader Ndiadiane N’Diaye. Ndiadine N’Diaye was also the founder of the other Wolof Kingdoms of Waalo and Cayor. Around 1360 CE, the Jolof Empire grew in influence out of the decline of the Mali Empire. The Jolof Empire created a confederation of five kingdoms which included Waalo, Cayor, Baol, Sine and Saloum. All five kingdoms paid tribute and contributed to defensive matters. [1] In the fifteenth century, the Jolof Empire established important trade relations with the Portuguese. [2] However, competition between European traders and their trading interests caused the Jolof Empire to decline. [3] In 1549, the Empire broke down and split into five independent kingdoms, after the ruler of Cayor led a rebellion against the Jolof. [4]
[1]: (Fage 2008, 484-486) Fage, J.D. 2008. ‘Upper and Lower Guinea’ In The Cambridge History of Africa c. 1050 – c. 1600. Edited by Roland Oliver. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/search/Fage/titleCreatorYear/items/9V3CTHZ9/item-list
[2]: (Gijanto 2016, 30-32) Gijanto, Liza. 2016. The Life of Trade: Events and Happenings in the Niumi’s Atlantic Center. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/7XNBIF95/collection
[3]: (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. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/search/Fage/titleCreatorYear/items/9V3CTHZ9/item-list
[4]: (Aderinto 2017, 281) Aderinto, Saheed. 2017. African Kingdoms: An Encyclopedia of Empires and Civilizations. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/4E8Q8Z29/collection
| Jolof Kingdom |
| Succeeding: Kingdom of Saloum (se_saloum_k) [None] | |
| Succeeding: Kingdom of Baol (se_baol_k) [None] | |
| Succeeding: Kingdom of Sine (se_sine_k) [None] | |
| Preceding: Mali Empire (ml_mali_emp) [None] | |
| Succeeding: Kingdom of Jolof (se_jolof_k) [None] |
| confederated state |
| Year Range | Jolof Empire (se_jolof_emp) was in: |
|---|
The following quote does not give definitive dates but does indicated an approximate date range. “The Djolof Empire reached its peak during the fifteenth century, when it controlled much of modern Senegal’s heartland north of the Gambia River.” [1]
[1]: (Gellar, 2020) Gellar, Sheldon. 2020. Senegal: An African Nation Between Islam and the West. Second Edition. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZCQVA3UX/collection
While the Wolof kingdoms of Jolof, Waalo and Cayor had been established as early as the thirteenth century, it was not until 1360 CE when the Jolof Empire formed out of the decline of the Mali Empire. “According to tradition, the founder of the Wolof empire was Ndiadiane N’Diaye, a king (burba) for whose reign dates in the early thirteenth century are conventionally assigned […] Nevertheless the Wolof also experienced at a second remove, the powerful new influences being generated in the westernmost Sudan by Berber penetration, by the growth of Islam and of Mande trade, and by the emergence of the Tukolor and Fulani. The Wolof developed a class hierarchy, with a nobility which was at least nominally Islamic, and, together with Mande and Tukolor elements, began to exert a dominating influence on trade and government of their Serer neighbours. As the Imperial power of Mali declined from about 1360 onwards, it was possible for the dynasty established by Ndiadiane N’Diaye to gain control of the old kingdom of Takrur in the region just south of the middle Senegal now known as Futa Toro, and also to extend its imperial control over the congeries of Serer communities further to the south.” [1] “In 1549, the empire split into five coastal kingdoms-Waalo, Kayor, Baol, Sine and Saloum- from north to south. Wolf tradition dates the end of the empire to the Battle of Danki (1549), when the ruler of Kayor led a rebellion that dismantled the empire and created the successor Wolof Kingdoms.” [2]
[1]: (Fage 2008, 484-486) Fage, J.D. 2008. ‘Upper and Lower Guinea’ In The Cambridge History of Africa c. 1050 – c. 1600. Edited by Roland Oliver. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/search/Fage/titleCreatorYear/items/9V3CTHZ9/item-list
[2]: (Aderinto 2017, 281) Aderinto, Saheed. 2017. African Kingdoms: An Encyclopedia of Empires and Civilizations. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/4E8Q8Z29/collection
“The empire’s territories included the Wolof provinces of Jolof, Waalo, Kajoor, and Bawol and the Sereer provinces of Siin and Saalum, all of which later became independent kingdoms.” [1]
[1]: (Aderinto 2017, 281) Aderinto, Saheed. 2017. African Kingdoms: An Encyclopedia of Empires and Civilizations. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/4E8Q8Z29/collection
“All three capitals: Kahone, Diakhao, and Lambaye, were established in the mid-sixteenth century when the fertile coastal provinces of the Empire of Jolof- an inland empire established in the thirteenth century-gained independence.” [1]
[1]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection
“All three capitals: Kahone, Diakhao, and Lambaye, were established in the mid-sixteenth century when the fertile coastal provinces of the Empire of Jolof- an inland empire established in the thirteenth century-gained independence.” [1]
[1]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection
“All three capitals: Kahone, Diakhao, and Lambaye, were established in the mid-sixteenth century when the fertile coastal provinces of the Empire of Jolof- an inland empire established in the thirteenth century-gained independence.” [1]
[1]: (Bigon and Ross 2020, 42) Bigon, Liora and Ross, Eric. 2020. Grid Planning in the Urban Design Practices of Senegal. London: Springer. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MM67I638/collection
“La chronologie des moyennes des règnes nous donne 1349-1358 et se raapproche de celle d’Amadou (1322-1338) qui semble être la plus probable. Ce résultat nous amène à formular l’hypothèse selon laquelle la formation du Dyolof en tant qu’Empire daterait seulement de la fin du XIII- début XIV siècle, en relation avec le décline de l’empire du Mali dont l’hégémonie s’étendait plus ou moins jusqu’à l’océan Atlantique.” [1]
[1]: (Barry and Amin 1985, 318) Barry, Boubacar and Amin, Samir. 1985. Le Royaume du Waalo: le Sénégal avant le Conquête. Paris: Karthala. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/search/Amir/titleCreatorYear/items/7FSQKPU9/item-list
“The Jolof empire was a successor state to the Ghana and Takrur and dominated the Senegambian region for several centuries. Its territiories included the Wolof provinces of Jolof, Waalo, Kajoor, and Bawol, and the Sereer provinces of Siin and Saalum, all of which later became independent kingdoms. Wolof tradition date the end of the empire to the battle of Danki in 1549, when the ruler of Kajoor led a rebellion, that broke up the empire and created six successor kingdoms. The enrichment of the coastal provinces through Atlantic commerce hurt Jolof, which was located inland to the south of the Senegal River.” [1]
[1]: (Searing, 2004) Searing, James. 2004. ‘Wolof and Jolof Empires.’ In Encyclopedia of African History. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/WM3HCI97/collection
“The empire’s territories included the Wolof provinces of Jolof, Waalo, Kajoor, and Bawol and the Sereer provinces of Siin and Saalum, all of which later became independent kingdoms.” [1]
[1]: (Aderinto 2017, 281) Aderinto, Saheed. 2017. African Kingdoms: An Encyclopedia of Empires and Civilizations. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/4E8Q8Z29/collection
“The Wolof language belongs to the West Atlantic branch of the Niger Korodofanian language family. Little is known about the origins of the Wolof language, although most scholars date it back to the thirteenth century, with the birth of the Jolof Empire under Njaajaan Njaay.” [1]
[1]: (Tang 2007, 7) Tang, Patricia. 2007. Masters of the Sabar: Wolof Griot Percussionists of Senegal. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/KSDZ5EFT/collection
“Although exposed to Islamic influences through Muslim clerics, traders and court advisers, the Djolof Empire, unlike Tekrur resisted Islamization and most leaders and people remained firmly attached to their traditional religious practices. [1]
[1]: (Gellar, 2020) Gellar, Sheldon. 2020. Senegal: An African Nation Between Islam and the West. Second Edition. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZCQVA3UX/collection
The following quote suggests that markets were likely present. “The Senegambia’s link to the expansive interior trade incorporated several commercial complexes that were connected to the major empires in West Africa besides Mali to the north and Jolof to the east, allowing the flow of a variety of foreign commodities into the region. Part of this conglomerate of networks made use of the Gambia River to gain salt, rice, grasses, and dried fish that would be bartered for iron, cloth, kola, and in all likelihood luxury items (a notable portion of which were of European origin) that until that time could only be obtained from interior markets.” [1]
[1]: (Gijanto 2016, 31-32) Gijanto, Liza. 2016. The Life of Trade: Events and Happenings in the Niumi’s Atlantic Center. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/7XNBIF95/collection
Markets. The following quote suggests that markets were likely present. “The Senegambia’s link to the expansive interior trade incorporated several commercial complexes that were connected to the major empires in West Africa besides Mali to the north and Jolof to the east, allowing the flow of a variety of foreign commodities into the region. Part of this conglomerate of networks made use of the Gambia River to gain salt, rice, grasses, and dried fish that would be bartered for iron, cloth, kola, and in all likelihood luxury items (a notable portion of which were of European origin) that until that time could only be obtained from interior markets.” [1]
[1]: (Gijanto 2016, 31-32) Gijanto, Liza. 2016. The Life of Trade: Events and Happenings in the Niumi’s Atlantic Center. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/7XNBIF95/collection
The following quote suggests that roads used for trade were likely present. “The Senegambia’s link to the expansive interior trade incorporated several commercial complexes that were connected to the major empires in West Africa besides Mali to the north and Jolof to the east, allowing the flow of a variety of foreign commodities into the region. Part of this conglomerate of networks made use of the Gambia River to gain salt, rice, grasses, and dried fish that would be bartered for iron, cloth, kola, and in all likelihood luxury items (a notable portion of which were of European origin) that until that time could only be obtained from interior markets.” [1]
[1]: (Gijanto 2016, 31-32) Gijanto, Liza. 2016. The Life of Trade: Events and Happenings in the Niumi’s Atlantic Center. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/7XNBIF95/collection
The following quote suggests that trading ports on the Gambia River were likely present. “The Senegambia’s link to the expansive interior trade incorporated several commercial complexes that were connected to the major empires in West Africa besides Mali to the north and Jolof to the east, allowing the flow of a variety of foreign commodities into the region. Part of this conglomerate of networks made use of the Gambia River to gain salt, rice, grasses, and dried fish that would be bartered for iron, cloth, kola, and in all likelihood luxury items (a notable portion of which were of European origin) that until that time could only be obtained from interior markets.” [1]
[1]: (Gijanto 2016, 31-32) Gijanto, Liza. 2016. The Life of Trade: Events and Happenings in the Niumi’s Atlantic Center. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/7XNBIF95/collection
The following quote suggests that trading emporia were likely present. “The Senegambia’s link to the expansive interior trade incorporated several commercial complexes that were connected to the major empires in West Africa besides Mali to the north and Jolof to the east, allowing the flow of a variety of foreign commodities into the region. Part of this conglomerate of networks made use of the Gambia River to gain salt, rice, grasses, and dried fish that would be bartered for iron, cloth, kola, and in all likelihood luxury items (a notable portion of which were of European origin) that until that time could only be obtained from interior markets.” [1]
[1]: (Gijanto 2016, 31-32) Gijanto, Liza. 2016. The Life of Trade: Events and Happenings in the Niumi’s Atlantic Center. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/7XNBIF95/collection
Trading emporia. The following quote suggests that trading emporia were likely present. “The Senegambia’s link to the expansive interior trade incorporated several commercial complexes that were connected to the major empires in West Africa besides Mali to the north and Jolof to the east, allowing the flow of a variety of foreign commodities into the region. Part of this conglomerate of networks made use of the Gambia River to gain salt, rice, grasses, and dried fish that would be bartered for iron, cloth, kola, and in all likelihood luxury items (a notable portion of which were of European origin) that until that time could only be obtained from interior markets.” [1]
[1]: (Gijanto 2016, 31-32) Gijanto, Liza. 2016. The Life of Trade: Events and Happenings in the Niumi’s Atlantic Center. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/7XNBIF95/collection
Despite the debate on the influence of Islam within the Jolof Empire the following quotes do indicate that the Quran was present in the Jolof Empire. “The Wolof developed a class hierarchy, with a nobility which was at least nominally Islamic and, together with Mande and Tukolor elements, began to exert a dominating influence on trade and government of their Serer neighbours.” [1] “Although exposed to Islamic influences through Muslim clerics, traders and court advisers, the Djolof Empire, unlike Tekrur resisted Islamization and most leaders and people remained firmly attached to their traditional religious practices. [2]
[1]: (Fage 2008, 486) Fage, J.D. 2008. ‘Upper and Lower Guinea’ In The Cambridge History of Africa c. 1050 – c. 1600. Edited by Roland Oliver. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/search/Fage/titleCreatorYear/items/9V3CTHZ9/item-list
[2]: (Gellar, 2020) Gellar, Sheldon. 2020. Senegal: An African Nation Between Islam and the West. Second Edition. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZCQVA3UX/collection
Despite the debate on the influence of Islam within the Jolof Empire the following quotes do suggest that religious literature was likely present in the Jolof Empire. “The Wolof developed a class hierarchy, with a nobility which was at least nominally Islamic and, together with Mande and Tukolor elements, began to exert a dominating influence on trade and government of their Serer neighbours.” [1] “Although exposed to Islamic influences through Muslim clerics, traders and court advisers, the Djolof Empire, unlike Tekrur resisted Islamization and most leaders and people remained firmly attached to their traditional religious practices. [2]
[1]: (Fage 2008, 486) Fage, J.D. 2008. ‘Upper and Lower Guinea’ In The Cambridge History of Africa c. 1050 – c. 1600. Edited by Roland Oliver. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/search/Fage/titleCreatorYear/items/9V3CTHZ9/item-list
[2]: (Gellar, 2020) Gellar, Sheldon. 2020. Senegal: An African Nation Between Islam and the West. Second Edition. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZCQVA3UX/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. “It was not until the beginning of the fourteenth century that cowrie shells were definitely recorded as being used as money in West Africa.” [1] “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.” [2]
[1]: (Yang 2019, 165) Yang, Bin. 2019. Cowrie Shells and Cowrie Money: A Global History. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Yang/titleCreatorYear/items/I5DXF22V/item-list
[2]: (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] “The origin of manillas is not well documented. Historical accounts from Western Sudan mention rings as a medium of exchange as early as the eleventh century, and some archaeological discoveries from tropical West Africa, include a few copper rings dating between the ninth and thirteenth centuries.” [2]
[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
[2]: (Bisson 2000, 114) Bisson, Michael S. et al. 2000. Ancient African Metallurgy: The Sociocultural Context. Walnut Creek: Alta Mira Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/DKFA9J3I/collection
Within the trans-Saharan trade networks the mithqal was a pre-colonial measurement system that was used up until the nineteenth century. “The salt bar was to regional western African exchange what the gold mithqal was to international trade. But the mithqal was a considerably more stable measure across the markets of African and the Middle East, from Timbuktu to Kumasi, Marrakech, Tripoli and Cairo […] It was the only precolonial western African measure, besides the ratl used for ostrich feathers, corresponding to an actual weight as opposed to a quantity. Silver was also weighted in mithqals.” [1]
[1]: (Lydon 2009, 250) Lydon, Ghislaine. 2009. On Trans-Saharan Trails: Islamic Law, Trade Networks, and Cross-Cultural Exchange in Nineteenth-Century Western Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/BDKW7A68/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