Toucouleur Empire

Toucouleur Empire
The Tidjaniya Caliphate (also known as the Tijaniyya Jihad state or the Segu Tukulor or the Toucouleur Empire) (1861–1890) was an Islamic state founded in the mid-nineteenth century by Elhadj Oumar Foutiyou Tall of the Toucouleur people of Senegal.
History
Background and Founding
Omar Tall returned from the Hajj in 1836 with the titles of El Hadj and caliph of the Tijaniyya brotherhood of the Sudan. After a long stay in Sokoto, he moved to the Fouta Djallon region (in present-day Guinea) in the 1840s. Here, he completed a major work on Tijaniyya scholarship; after this he started to focus on military struggle. Omar Tall planned to conquer new pagan territory for Islam.
Omar Tall's message appealed to a large cross-section of the Sahelian population in the mid 19th century, including Fula, Soninke, Moors, and others. Many lowerclass people had grievances against local religious or military elites. Slaves aspired to gain freedom fighting for Islam. Rootless individuals of mixed ethnic background found new social identity and opportunities. Communities under the power of Europeans looked to Tall to drive off the foreigners. Marabout families hoped to gain political power in addition to their religious influence.
His growing power and number of followers caused tension with the leaders of the Imamate. In 1851 he moved his community to found the city of Dinguiraye in what was then the Kingdom of Tamba. The king, Yambi, granted him the land in return for a yearly payment. Soon, however, Tall's continued stockpiling of weapons began to worry the Tamba leaders as well. After a series of emissaries to Tall were rebuffed, and one prominent griot even converted to Islam, Yambi pre-emptively attacked the community but was defeated in September 1852.
First Conquests and Conflict with the French
After conquering Tamba, Tall launched his jihad. His first moves were to the north, with the Jallonke general Modi Mamadu Jam leading the conquests of Makhana and Guidimakha. Tall built a tata (fortification) near the city of Kayes that is today a popular tourist destination. He conquered Bambouk, then seized Nioro du Sahel, the capital of Kaarta, in April 1855, which became his capital. In 1855 and 56, his newly conquered Bambara subjects rebelled against the imposition of Islam.
After restoring control, Omar Tall turned west towards Futa Toro, Gajaaga and Bundu. This brought him into conflict with the French who were attempting to establish their commercial supremacy along the Senegal river. Tall besieged the French colonial army at Medina Fort. The siege failed on July 18 1857 when Louis Faidherbe, French governor of Senegal, arrived with relief forces. In 1860 Omar Tall made a treaty with the French that recognized his, and his followers', sphere of influence in Futa Toro and assigned them the Bambara states of Kaarta and Segu.
Segou and Massina
With his western flank secure, Tall turned towards the Bamana Empire. He captured Nyamina without a fight on May 25th 1860, then won the battle of Witala in September where the cannon captured from the French were decisive. Amadu III of Masina lent aid to Bina 'Alī, the faama of Segou, on condition that he accept Islam.
In January 1861 the Hamdullahi army was mobilized under the leadership of Ba Lobbo with 8,000 cavalry, 5,000 infantry and 1,000 musketeers and was joined at Tio, on the right bank of the Niger opposite Sansanding, by what was left of the Bamana forces. In mid-February two fleets of canoes clashed in mid-stream. About 500 of Umar's troops attacked a village near Tio on their own initiative, were caught and destroyed. The next day Umar split his army into two wings, which crossed the river at night and crushed the allied forces.
After a decisive victory in the Battle of Segou on March 10, 1861, Tall made the city the capital of his Toucouleur Empire. Installing his son Ahmadu Tall as faama, Tall marched down the Niger to take revenge on the Massina Empire. This was controversial, as attacking a fellow Muslim power was forbidden. More than 70,000 died in the battles that followed. The most decisive was at Cayawel, where Amadu III was wounded. Djenné fell quickly followed by the final fall of Hamdullahi in May 1862.
Soon, a rebellion broke out in the Massina lands led by Ba Lobbo. In suppressing the revolt, In the Spring of 1863, Omar Tall reoccupied the city of Hamdullahi, and in June Balobo's combined force besieged Omar Tall's army there. They captured the city in February 1864. Omar Tall fled, but was killed soon after.
Ahmadu Tall and Decline
At his death, Omar Tall's nephew Tidiani Tall contested the succession with Ahmadu Tall, continuing the war in Massina and installing his capital at Bandiagara. At Segou, Ahmadu Tall continued to reign, with his rule consisting largely of suppressing rebellions in neighboring cities, quarrelling with his brothers, and fighting to centralize the empire against the resistance of the Fula aristocracy. To that end he cultivated a base of support among the Bambara natives of Segou.
The French continued to expand. They captured Nioro in 1891 and drove Ahmadu to Bandiagara. In 1893 the French took final control, ending the empire and sending Ahmadu into exile in Sokoto.
Government
At least by the reign of Ahmadu, the government of the Toucouleur Empire was highly structured, with governors of the various provinces seconded by cadis, military commanders and tax collectors, all appointed by the Khalifa. Ministers based in Segou managed various portfolios such as justice, the Niger river fleet, the public treasury, relations with Europeans and other foreign powers, commerce, etc. The army was professionalized and hierarchichal, with a core of sofas bodyguards, and commanded most of the state's budget.
One of the main aims of governance was to unify the population of the state under the banner of Islam. To that end, justice and islamization were handled by a corps of qadis and marabouts. The state was funded by direct religious and secular taxes, as well as customs duties on trade.
Legacy
A large swath of the Sahel territory that once encompassed the Toucouleur Empire is now today Muslim due to the campaigns of Omar Tall.
See also
Imamate of Futa Toro
List of Sunni Muslim dynasties
References
Sources
Further reading
Davidson, Basil. Africa in History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.
Klien, Martin. Slavery and Colonial Rule in French West Africa. Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Oloruntimeehin, B.O. The Segu Tukulor Empire. New York: Humanities Press, 1972.
Roberts, Richard L. Warriors, Merchants. and Slaves: The State and the Economy in the Middle Niger Valley, 1700-1914, Stanford University Press, 1987.
External links
African Kingdoms
A Map of the Toucouleur Empire.
The Toucouleur People
French West Africa
History of Senegal
States and territories established in 1848
States and territories disestablished in 1893
1836 establishments in Africa
1848 establishments in Africa
1893 disestablishments in Africa
Former empires