A History of the Mandinka People

[trexeric]

Note: I'm not abandoning the Great Seljuk Empire... I'm just starting a new story, 'cause why not, you know?

This is a story about Mali in DoC. I'm not trying to win (I cringe while saying that, but I'm not), I'm merely trying to survive into modern times. This will be an AAR, not an IAAR. You will have no say in anything!

I will try to write it like a school history textbook - dull and boring. Also, biased. It will be a textbook written by the government of Mali in 2020 AD, blatantly supporting pretty much every bad decision I make. Also, it'll be ahistorical.

Oh, also, I'll try to put more pictures in this story than I normally do with stories. Just not the first chapter. It's really just the founding of a city.

With no further ado...

A History of the Mandinka People

Unit 1: The Mali Empire

Chapter 1: Before the Empire

Lesson 1: Timbuktu

Many years ago, the great city of Timbuktu was founded. It was a city of the Mandinka, an Islamic tribe. The Mandinka had previously become wealthy through the gold trade, and it showed in their city. The Arab merchant Farid al-Fadl said, "...the mud huts of Timbuktu are significantly nicer than the mud huts of any other place I've been...". The Maghsharan Tuareg were the rulers of the city, and they commissioned for the expansion of the market. As this work was being done, other citizens began to work outside the city, working in the stone quarry or on farms by the riverside. Life was hard back in the day, but they were well paid. No foreigner could walk into Timbuktu and expect to be able to buy something with a piece of copper and a smile. The Mandinka were notorious businessmen, and they often dealt only with other Mandinkas, mostly because other Mandinkas were the only ones that could afford the prices set by the merchants. While not necessarily good for the other tribes, the system worked well for the Mandinka.

 

[CaterpillarKing]

On behalf of Caterpillar King, I subbeth thee

 

[DKVM]

Awesome, someone's finally starting another AAR that's not Interactive! Now there won't be any arguments over this story.

 

[TheNoob]

Yay an AAR! Also, just from one pic and caption this already seems great.

 

[mrrandomplayer]

Hooray! Someone else is doing a regular AAR!

 

[Lelouch]

Le Sub post. I, the most epic of the epic, am deigning to grace this fic with my presence. Consider yourself a lucky man, it is amoung the greatest of honours. I am king of kings, and consider your work acceptebly intriguing.

 

[Alexius08]

First RFC story as the Malinese? Looks good.

 

[Manuss]

An AAR!

 

[trexeric]

Again, sorry for a lack of more pictures. But, really, all that happened was that my missionary spread Islam into Timbuktu.

Lesson 2: Islam in Timbuktu

Islam, being prevalent over the old tribal beliefs of the Mandinka, soon grabbed a foothold in Timbuktu. The Grand Mufti of Timbuktu around the time of 900 AD [NOTE: I really don't know when the Mandinka spawn, but whenever that is] was Malamin Kebayata. Malamin was a natural politician, and quickly earned his way into the Timbuktu Council. Also a man devoted to Allah, he not only founded the first mosque in Timbuktu, but also led it, and had it lead the government. Very soon Islam became the only legal religion in Timbuktu, and other tribes looked on in fear. They could tell it was only a matter of time before they would either be Islamicized... or eradicated. Malamin recognized that the Mandinka had some level of intimidation over the other tribes, not to mention a good deal more in wealth, and he exploited it. He sent out parties of Mandinka to invade and conquer the other tribes.

 

[Matthias I]

Subbed!

 

[CaterpillarKing]

Looking forward to Mali colonizing Brazil

 

[Dumanios]

Subbing.

 

[TheNoob]

 

[trexeric]

Lesson 3: Mansa Kebayata

Malamin Kebayata, already an influential figure, was declared mansa (king) by the Council of Timbuktu. Mansa Kebayata, now almost a legendary figure, was perhaps the foundation of the Mali Empire, and one of Mali's greatest monarchs. Kebayata was a fierce defender of the Muslim faith, and all who opposed it opposed him by extension. He found particular enmity in the Ghanaians, and their leader Akwasi Tano, who disliked all Muslims. The Ghanaians attacked a Mandinka force along the Niger River, and miserably failed. Akwasi Tano was killed, and many Ghanaians were captured and converted to Islam.

The Battle of the Niger subdued Akwasi Tano and his forces, and allowed for the seizing of the southern lands. What was once Ghanaian land was annexed by Mansa Kebayata, and the cities of Doloa and Oshogbo were established. Mansa Kebayata had expanded Mandinka influence farther than it had ever been before, and his successors would only build upon what he established.

 

[baseballpie]

Subbed

 

[trexeric]

Chapter 2: The First Mali Empire

Lesson 1: Mansa Kunta I

Jibrin Kunta I was Malamin Kebayata's nephew, and chief political adviser. When Kebayata died at age 83 of what is thought to be cancer, Jibrin was declared Mansa of the Mali Empire. Shortly into Kunta's reign, the Mandinka people first began fishing in the ocean and in the Niger. A deep interest in water was sparked in Kunta, and he commissioned for the design of the first Mandinka ships, the grandfather of the Mandinka navy.

But a navy was not Mansa Kunta's primary concern. The Great Quarry outside Timbuktu, the largest stone quarry in Africa at the time, was finished. The massive amounts of workers and slaves and craftsmen who helped the quarry come to be could now be scattered, and could work elsewhere. With the Great Quarry established, Timbuktu became even greater. Already a city that was growing exponentially, the Great Quarry allowed for greater use of stone in the city, and the making of walls in Doloa and Oshogbo sped quickly. Religiously, Kunta was more lenient than Kebayata was with practicing non-Islamic traditions, and pagans prospered in Doloa and Oshogbo. Kunta planned to convert them eventually, but he found no need to convert them quickly.

As Mansa Kunta's life came to a close, he found his dream realized. A shipwright among the Mandinka, Antu Bah, had designed a new type of ship that could be sailed. This ship, which would become known as a galley, was already in use in Europe and Asia, but it was completely new to Africa. Antu Bah would rise in favor with Mansa Kunta in his last days, and he was promoted to the office of Grand Mufi. When Mansa Kunta died, Ebrima Tamba, Kunta's son, became Mansa. Mansa Tamba was young, and Antu Bah was his chief adviser. More than anyone, Bah had influence over the young mansa.

 

[trexeric]

Lesson 2: The Era of Islamic Expansion

Mansa Tamba was young when he became king, but he had the advice of Antu Bah, and the Empire of the Mandinka continued to prosper. Tamba, a devout Muslim, grew tired of the free reign the pagans had over the south. Under the supervision of Bah, Tamba enslaved thousands upon thousands of non-Mandinka pagans to construct the Great Temple at Timbuktu. A third of the city perished in the process, mostly (if not entirely) slaves.

Tamba reigned for a long time, and in that time he put down another Ghanaian revolt. The Ghanaians were captured and publicly executed. Antu Bah died of old age, eventually, and Tamba reigned alone. In time, Tamba's life came to a close, and his son, Yoro Kutubo, became mansa. Mansa Kutubo, as devout a Muslim as his father, commissioned the creation of a calendar around the date of Jesus the Prophet's birth, to mirror what was being done in Europe. The Mandinka Calendar is still in use today.

It was the year 1190 that, to poor old Mansa Kutubo's dismay, a terrible monsoon hit Timbuktu. Kutubo died the following year, and his grandson, Jibrin Kunta II, took over. Mansa Kunta II was like his grandfather in manner and in appearance, and many thought him Yoro Kutubo's reincarnation. Kunta insisted he wasn't, but he continued the same policies and everything that Kutubo had in place.

In particular, Kunta wanted to convert the growing city of Oshogbo once and for all. In 1229, the Great Conversion forced many tribes-people in Oshogbo to convert to Islam. The Great Conversion sparked controversy, as the Grand Mufi, Isaka Fafa, had opposed forceful conversion. Fafa, at odds with Kunta, left northward for Moorish lands, and the office of Grand Mufi was left vacant. Kunta, ever looking to increase power, claimed the title himself. The first time since Malamin Kebayata, a Grand Mufi was also the Mansa. This outraged many non-Mandinka Muslims, and revolts, primarily by the Ghanaian chief Bour Afram, ensued. Kunta had made the Empire a theocracy, the first movement toward the end of the First Mali Empire and the beginning of the Second Mali Empire.

 

[Manuss]

I'm scared.
After lessons, there are interrogations.

 

[CaterpillarKing]

Wooo Islamic theocracies!

 

[TheNoob]

Man I'd love to have another one of those updates!