Pashalik of Timbuktu
The Pashalik of Timbuktu was a West African political entity that existed between the 16th and the 19th century. It was formed after the Battle of Tondibi, when a military expedition sent by Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur of Morocco defeated the Songhai Empire and established control over a territory centered on Timbuktu. Following the decline of the Saadian Sultanate in the early 16th century, Morocco retained only nominal control of the Pashalik. History. By the end of the 16th century, Moroccan sultans were strengthened after the completion of the reunification of Morocco and the victory over  the Portuguese at the Battle of the Three Kings, but their financial needs lead them to extend their realm southward to Saharan gold mines and Songhay territories. In 1577, a Moroccan expedition occupied Taghaza. In 1582, a first expedition to Timbuktu was defeated. In 1591, a Moroccan force which left Marrakesh with between three and four thousand soldiers, together with several hundred auxiliaries defeated the Songhai army at Tondibi and conquered Gao, Timbuktu and Djenné. The Pashalik of Timbuktu was then established and Timbuktu became its capital. Starting from 1618, the Pasha, who was then appointed by the Sultan of  Morocco, became elected by the Armas. However, while governing the Pashalik as an independent republic, the Armas continued to recognize Moroccan sultans as their leaders. During the civil war that followed the death of Ahmad al-Mansur in Morocco, the Pashalik supported the legitimate Sultan, Zidan al-Nasir, and in 1670 they recognized the Alaouite sultans and pledged allegiance. By the middle of the eighteenth century, the pashalik was in total eclipse. In about 1770, the Tuareg took possession of Gao, and in 1787 they entered Timbuktu and made the Pashalik their tributary.