Assodé was a town in the Aïr Mountains

Aïr Mountains

The Aïr Mountains is a triangular massif, located in northern Niger, within the Sahara desert...

 in what is now northern Niger

Niger

Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

. Founded around the eleventh century, it was long the most important Tuareg town, benefiting from trans-Saharan trade

Trans-Saharan trade

Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara to reach sub-Saharan Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the late 16th century.- Increasing desertification and economic incentive :...

, and declining with it from the eighteenth century. It was abandoned soon after being sacked by the Tuareg forces of Ag Mohammed Wau Teguidda Kaocen

Ag Mohammed Wau Teguidda Kaocen

Ag Mohammed Wau Teguidda Kaocen was a Tuareg noble and clan leader. Born in 1880 near Zinder , Kaocen became the Amenokal of the southern Ikazkazan Tuareg, a subset of the Kel Owey confederation...

in 1917, although many of its buildings are still reasonably well preserved. It remains a tourist destination.