Battle of Kirina
Battle of Kirina | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
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
- Mali Empire
- Military history of the Mali Empire
- Sundjata Keita
Notes
- ^ ISBN 006270012X
- ISBN 978-0-521-21195-6.
References
- Davidson, Basil. Africa in History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.
External links
- Summary of the Epic of Sundiata
- Sundiata and Mansa Musa on the Web
- FallingRain.com: the modern village of Kirina.