Gao-Saney
Encyclopedia
Gao-Saney is the medieval town close to Gao
, the capital of the Gao Empire
, situated on the eastern Niger Bend in the present-day Republic of Mali
. Its ruins are four km distant from the royal town of Gao.
Gao-Saney became well-known among African historians because French administrators discovered here in a cave covered with sand in 1939 several finely carved marble stelae produced in Almeria
in Southern Spain. Their inscriptions bear witness of three kings of a Muslim dynasty bearing as loan names the names of the Prophet Muhammad and his two successors. From the dates of their deaths it appears that these kings of Gao ruled at the end of the eleventh and the beginning of the twelfth centuries CE.
According to recent research, the Zaghe kings commemorated by the stelae are identical with the kings of the Za dynasty whose names were recorded by the chroniclers of Timbuktu
in the Tarikh al-Sudan and in the Ta'rikh al-Fattash. Their Islamic loan name is in one case complemented by their African name. It is on the basis of their common ancestral name Zaghe corresponding to Za and the third royal name Yama b. Kama provided in addition to 'Umar b. al-Khattab that the identity between the Zaghe and the Za could be established.
It appears from this table that Yama b. Kima (or 'Umar b. al-Khattab), the third king of the stelae of Gao-Saney, is identical with the 18th ruler of the list of Za kings. His name is given in the Ta'rikh al-Fattash
(1665) as Yama-Kitsi and in the Ta'rikh al-Sudan (1655) as Biyu-Ki-Kima. On account of this identification the dynastic history of the Gao Empire
can now to be established on a solid documentary basis .
Gao
Gao is a town in eastern Mali on the River Niger lying ESE of Timbuktu. Situated on the left bank of the river at the junction with the Tilemsi valley, it is the capital of the Gao Region and had a population of 86,663 in 2009....
, the capital of the Gao Empire
Gao Empire
The Gao Empire precedes that of the Songhay Empire in the region of the Middle Niger. It owes its name to the town of Gao located at the eastern Niger bend...
, situated on the eastern Niger Bend in the present-day Republic of Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
. Its ruins are four km distant from the royal town of Gao.
Gao-Saney became well-known among African historians because French administrators discovered here in a cave covered with sand in 1939 several finely carved marble stelae produced in Almeria
Almería
Almería is a city in Andalusia, Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the province of the same name.-Toponym:Tradition says that the name Almería stems from the Arabic المرية Al-Mariyya: "The Mirror", comparing it to "The Mirror of the Sea"...
in Southern Spain. Their inscriptions bear witness of three kings of a Muslim dynasty bearing as loan names the names of the Prophet Muhammad and his two successors. From the dates of their deaths it appears that these kings of Gao ruled at the end of the eleventh and the beginning of the twelfth centuries CE.
According to recent research, the Zaghe kings commemorated by the stelae are identical with the kings of the Za dynasty whose names were recorded by the chroniclers of Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
in the Tarikh al-Sudan and in the Ta'rikh al-Fattash. Their Islamic loan name is in one case complemented by their African name. It is on the basis of their common ancestral name Zaghe corresponding to Za and the third royal name Yama b. Kama provided in addition to 'Umar b. al-Khattab that the identity between the Zaghe and the Za could be established.
| Kings of Gao-Saney (1100 to 1120 CE) | |||
| Stelae of Gao-Saney | Ta'rīkh al-fattāsh | Ta'rīkh al-sūdān | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings of the Zāghē | Date of death | Kings of the Zā | Kings of the Zā |
| Abū 'Abd Allāh Muhammad st. 1100 | st. 1100 | (16) Kotso-Dare | (16) Kusoy-Dare |
| Abū Bakr b. Quhāfa st. 1110 | st. 1110 | (17) Hizka-Zunku-Dam | (17) Hunabonua-Kodam |
| Umar b. al-Khattāb = | |||
| ----Yama b. Kima st. 1120 | st. 1120 | (18) Yama-Kitsi | (18) Biyu-Ki-Kima |
It appears from this table that Yama b. Kima (or 'Umar b. al-Khattab), the third king of the stelae of Gao-Saney, is identical with the 18th ruler of the list of Za kings. His name is given in the Ta'rikh al-Fattash
Tarikh al-fattash
The Tarikh al-fattash is a chronicle written in Arabic in the second half of the 17th century. It provides an account of the Songhay Empire from the reign of Sonni Ali up to 1599 with a few references to events in the following century. The chronicle also mentions the earlier Mali Empire. Octave...
(1665) as Yama-Kitsi and in the Ta'rikh al-Sudan (1655) as Biyu-Ki-Kima. On account of this identification the dynastic history of the Gao Empire
Gao Empire
The Gao Empire precedes that of the Songhay Empire in the region of the Middle Niger. It owes its name to the town of Gao located at the eastern Niger bend...
can now to be established on a solid documentary basis .
See also
- Gao EmpireGao EmpireThe Gao Empire precedes that of the Songhay Empire in the region of the Middle Niger. It owes its name to the town of Gao located at the eastern Niger bend...
- Songhay Empire