About this user
Much testimony on ancient Ghana depended on how well disposed the king was to foreign travelers, from which the majority of information on the empire comes. Islamic writers often commented on the social-political stability of the empire based on the seemingly just actions and grandeur of the king. A Moorish nobleman who lived in Spain by the name of al-Bakri questioned merchants who visited the empire in the 11th century and wrote that the king:
[He] Gives an audience to his people, in order to listen to their complaints and set them righthe sits in a pavilion around which stand 10 horses with gold embodied trappings. Behind the king stand 10 pages holding shields and gold mounted swords; on his right are the sons or princes of his empire, splendidly clad and with gold plaited in their hair. Before him sits the high priest, and behind the high priest sit the other priestsThe door of the pavilion is guarded by dogs of an excellent breed who almost never leave the king's presence and who wear collars of gold and silver studded with bells of the same material.
MY BROTHERS & SISTERS DONT SETTLE FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH WE ARE NOT BLACK WE ARE AFRICAN.OUR HISTORY DOES NOT START IN AMERICA BUT IN OUR HOMELAND AFRICA. BLACK IS NOT AN ETHINIC ITS AN COLOR!! GOD BLESS
songhai Criminal justice
Criminal justice in Songhai was based mainly, if not entirely, on Islamic principles, especially during the rule of Muhammad Ture. Ture appointed various ministerial positions, notably the minister of foreign relations, who was responsible for the well-being of the Korei-Farma, or "white minorities". In addition to this was the local qadis, whose responsibility was to maintain order by enforcing Sharia law under Islamic doctrine, according to the Qur'an. An additional qadi was noted as a necessity in order to settle minor disputes between immigrant merchants. Kings usually did not judge a defendant; however, under special circumstances, such as acts of treason, they felt an obligation to do so and thus exert their authority. Results of a trial were announced by the "town crier" and punishment for most trivial crimes usually consisted of confiscation of merchandise or even imprisonment, since various prisons existed throughout the empire.[6]
Qadis worked at the local level and were positioned in important trading towns, such as Timbuktu and Djenne. The Assara-munidios, or "enforcers" worked along the lines of a police commissioner whose sole duty was to execute sentencing. Jurists were mainly composed of those representing the academic community; professors were often noted as taking administrative positions within the empire and many aspired to be qadis.
AFRICAN RULERS
Hannibal of Carthage.
Hatshepsut First female Egyptian Pharoah.
Usman Dan Fodio Sultan of the Sokoto Caliphate.
Thothmes III The most powerful Pharaoh.
Piankhy king of Ethiopa and conqueror of Egypt.
Yakub Al-Mansur Greatest of the Moorish leaders of Spain.
Sonni Ali Founder of the Empire of Timbuktoo
Clitus King of Bactria.
Abraha Al-Arsham Emperor of Yemen and Ethiopia. Started a thousand years' world war.
Massinissa king of Numidia.
King Jaja of Opobo.
Kafur the magnificent.
Zenobia warroir queen of the East.
Antar Poet and Soldier.
Malik Ambar Leader of India.
Malik Andeel Sultan of Bengal, India.
Ibn-Saud King of Saudi Arabia.
Ann Zingha Amazon Queen of matama, West Africa.
Prempeh King of the Ashanti.
Chaka Mighty Zulu Conqueror.
Cetawayo Zulu King.
Bambaata Galant SouthAfrican Chief.
Askia Dynasty
By deposing the reigning Sunni in battle, Muhammad Turay, or Askia the Great, of the Mandé people gained power in the late sixteenth century C.E. His rise to power was facilitated by religious strife within the Songhai Empire, as previous leaders had tried to appeal to many religious groups at once, and in doing so, failed to satisfy any of them. Drawing his largest power base from Muslim urban centers, Askia the Great broke with sunni tradition and a political system based on strict interpretations of Islamic law. His dictates were enforced by welltrained military and were carried into the far reaches of the Western Sudan under a program of expansion.
Along with the implementation of religious ideology, Muhammad Turay also brought political reform and revitalization. He set up a complex bureaucracy with separate departments for agriculture, the army, and the treasury, to each of which he appointed supervising officials
