Mansong Diarra
| Mansong Diarra | |
|---|---|
| Faama | |
| Reign | 1790-1808 |
| Predecessor | Ngolo Diarra |
| Successor | Da Diarra |
| Died | 1808 |
| House | Ngolosi |
| Father | Ngolo Diarra |
| Religion | traditional African religion |
Mansong Diarra (c. 1790–1808), also rendered Monzon Jara,[1] was the faama of the Segou Empire.[2] Son of king Ngolo Diarra, he ascended to the throne of Ségou following his father's death in battle.[3]
Reign
[edit]Mansong's reign was the high point of Segou's power. He built over 300 new villages, welcomed immigrants of various ethnicities, and waged numerous successful campaigns.[4] He earned renown as a great warrior, with defeats against several other groups, including Kaarta, Massina, Dogon, and Mossi.[1]
Mungo Park
[edit]Mungo Park, passing through the Bambara capital of Ségou in 1797 recorded a testament to the Empire's prosperity under Mansong:
The view of this extensive city, the numerous canoes on the river, the crowded population, and the cultivated state of the surrounding countryside, formed altogether a prospect of civilization and magnificence that I little expected to find in the bosom of Africa.[5][6]
Mansong himself provided Park with a gift of 5000 cowries to help him on his travels.[7]
Personal life
[edit]Mansong was, according to oral histories, a calm, hardworking man, with an astute political mind capable of both great cruelty and mercy.[4] His son Da Mansong Diarra would succeed him after his death.[2][8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Ajayi, J.F.A. (1989). Africa in the Nineteenth Century Until the 1880s. General history of Africa. UNESCO. p. 683. ISBN 978-92-3-101712-4. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Mali". Histoire de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (in French). 26 March 2005. Archived from the original on 26 March 2005.
- ^ "Western and Central Sudan, 1600-1800 A.D." Archived from the original on 14 October 2003.
Encompasses present-day Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger, and eastern Chad
- ^ a b Sauvageot Serge. Le testament politique de Monzon. Texte bambara. In: 2000 ans d’histoire africaine. Le sol, la parole et l’écrit. Mélanges en hommage à Raymond Mauny. Tome I. Paris : Société française d'histoire d'outre-mer, 1981. pp. 289-295. (Bibliothèque d'histoire d'outre-mer. Études, 5-6-1) www.persee.fr/doc/sfhom_1768-7144_1981_mel_5_1_939
- ^ Park, Mungo (1799). Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa: Performed Under the Direction and Patronage of the African Association, in the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797. London: W. Bulmer and Company. p. 196.
- ^ Quoted in Davidson, Basil (1995). Africa in History. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 245. ISBN 0-684-82667-4.
- ^ Green, Toby (2020). A Fistful of Shells. UK: Penguin Books. p. 410.
- ^ Kesteloot, L. (1993). L'épopée Bambara de Ségou: Recueillie et traduite - Tome 1 (in French). Editions L'Harmattan. p. 6. ISBN 978-2-296-25690-3. Retrieved 2 December 2022.