Battle of Kirina

Coordinates: 12°18′23″N 8°09′06″W / 12.3063°N 8.1516°W / 12.3063; -8.1516
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Battle of Kirina
Datec. 1235[1]
Location
Kirina in the Koulikoro Region, Mali
12°18′23″N 8°09′06″W / 12.3063°N 8.1516°W / 12.3063; -8.1516
Result Sundiata Keita's victory; Fall of Sosso; Creation of Mali Empire
Belligerents
Sosso
Mandinka
Commanders and leaders
Sumanguru Kanté
Sundiata Keita

The Battle of Kirina, also known as the Battle of Krina or siege of Karina (c. 1235), was a confrontation between

Sumanguru Kanté and Mandinka prince Sundiata Keita. Sundiata Keita's forces roundly defeated those of Sumanguru Kanté, guaranteeing the pre-eminence of Keita's new Mali Empire over West Africa.[1]

Prelude

By the late twelfth century, the formerly dominant

Sosso people of the Kaniaga kingdom, and the Mandinka people of the Upper Niger. Under the leadership of Soumaro Kanté, the Sosso seized Koumbi Saleh
, former capital of the Ghana Empire, and expanded outward, conquering the Mandinka among others.

During the battle

The exiled Mandinka prince Sundiata Keita organized a coalition of smaller kingdoms to oppose the growing power of the Sosso. The opposing armies met in the Koulikoro Region of what is now Mali in about 1235. Sundiata Keita's forces were victorious, and marched on to raze Sosso. The date is often cited as the beginning of the Mali Empire, which would control most of West Africa for the next two centuries.

Aftermath

The story of the battle is retold in the

Maximilien Quenum in his Légendes africaines.[2]

See also

Notes

References

  • Davidson, Basil. Africa in History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.

External links