Mansa Sakura facts for kids

Sakura (Arabic: ساكورة, romanized: Sākūra; French: Sakoura) was a powerful ruler, known as a mansa, of the Mali Empire. He lived in the late 1200s and early 1300s. We know about him mostly from the writings of a historian named Ibn Khaldun.

Sakura was not born into the royal Keita dynasty. He might have been a former servant or even enslaved. He took over the throne during a time when the empire was not stable. Under his rule, the Mali Empire grew much larger. Trade between Mali and other Muslim countries also increased a lot. Sakura was killed in the early 1300s while coming back from a special trip called the hajj. After his death, the Keita family became rulers again.

Who Was Sakura?

People often say Sakura was a former slave in the royal court. However, it's not fully clear if he was truly enslaved. The historian Ibn Khaldun called him mawlā. This word can mean "client" or someone who was once enslaved but then set free by the Keita family.

In old stories passed down through generations, he is called jonni, which means "little slave." It's also possible Sakura was part of a group called the tontajon taniworo. These were sixteen groups of free people who had the right to carry a special quiver (a case for arrows). Even though they were free, they were sometimes called "slaves" in a symbolic way.

Oral traditions also mention that Sakura had a daughter named Sogolon Nyuman.

How Sakura Became Ruler

In the late 1200s, the Mali Empire faced many political problems. There was a big power struggle between the Grand Council (called gbara) and the hunter guilds (called donson ton).

Some historians think Sakura might have been involved in an earlier change of power. This was when Mansa Khalifa was removed from power. Eventually, Sakura took the throne for himself. One historian, Maurice Delafosse, believed this happened around the year 1285.

Sakura's Reign and Growth of Mali

Sakura was very good at bringing stability to the Mali Empire. He started many military campaigns. These wars helped expand the borders of the Mali Empire a lot.

According to Ibn Khaldun, during Sakura's time, Mali's rule stretched all the way to the ocean in the west. In the east, it reached a land called Takrur. This was a place east of Gao and west of Kanem. Trade between the Mali Empire and other Muslim countries also grew very strong during his reign.

Ibn Khaldun also said that Sakura conquered the city of Gao. However, he later gave a different story, saying Gao was conquered by Mansa Musa. Another historical book, the Tarikh al-Sudan, agrees that Musa conquered Gao. It's possible that Sakura did conquer Gao, but then it was lost, and Musa had to take it back later. It could also be that Mali's control over Gao changed over time.

The Hajj and Sakura's Death

Ibn Khaldun wrote that Sakura made the hajj. This is a very important pilgrimage (religious journey) for Muslims to the city of Mecca. He was the first mansa to do this since Mansa Uli. Sakura might have wanted to make Mali stronger by connecting with other Muslim nations. He also wanted to show Mali's power during his hajj. Interestingly, old oral traditions do not mention Sakura making this trip.

Sakura likely died in the early 1300s. Ibn Khaldun said Sakura was killed while returning from the hajj. This happened in a town called Tajura, which was near Tripoli. However, oral tradition tells a different story. It says that Kon Mamadi (also known as Qu), who was a grandson of Sunjata, killed Sakura himself. Sakura's own daughter might have helped him. After Sakura's death, Qu became the new mansa.

Sakura's Legacy

Ibn Khaldun saw Sakura as a very strong ruler. He wrote more details about Sakura's reign than about the rulers who came before him. A historian from the 1900s, Djibril Tamsir Niane, believed that Sakura saved the Mali Empire from a big political crisis.

However, there are not many oral stories that talk about Sakura. The few that do mention him often focus on him being someone who took the throne without being the rightful heir. Niane thought that oral historians might have left him out on purpose. It's possible that the few stories about Sakura in oral tradition were added later, based on Ibn Khaldun's writings. Some of Sakura's memory might have become part of the hero Fakoli in oral tradition. Fakoli was a great general who supported Sunjata.

A historian named Michael A. Gomez has questioned some parts of Sakura's reign. He suggested that some achievements of Mansa Musa might have been mistakenly given to Sakura. This could have been a way to indirectly criticize Musa.

See also

In Spanish: Sakoura para niños