{{Infobox settlement <!-- Basic info ----------------> |name = Sama Markala |other_name = |native_name = <!-- for cities whose native name is not in English --> |nickname = |settlement_type =Village |motto = <!-- images and maps -----------> |image_skyline = |imagesize = |image_caption = |image_flag = |flag_size = |image_seal = |seal_size = |image_shield = |shield_size = |image_map = |mapsize = |map_caption = |pushpin_map =Mali<!-- the name of a location map as per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Location_map --> |pushpin_label_position =bottom |pushpin_mapsize =300 |pushpin_map_caption =Location in Mali <!-- Location ------------------> |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = {{flag|Mali}} |subdivision_type1 = Region |subdivision_name1 = Ségou Region |subdivision_type2 =Cercle |subdivision_name2 = Ségou Cercle |subdivision_type3 = Commune |subdivision_name3 = Sama Foulala |<!-- Politics -----------------> |government_footnotes = |government_type = |leader_title = |leader_name = |leader_title1 = <!-- for places with, say, both a mayor and a city manager --> |leader_name1 = |established_title = <!-- Settled --> |established_date = <!-- Area ---------------------> |area_magnitude = |unit_pref =<!--Enter: Imperial, if Imperial (metric) is desired--> |area_footnotes = |area_total_km2 = <!-- ALL fields dealing with a measurements are subject to automatic unit conversion--> |area_land_km2 = <!--See table @ Template:Infobox Settlement for details on automatic unit conversion--> <!-- Population -----------------------> |population_as_of = |population_footnotes = |population_note = |population_total = |population_density_km2 =auto |population_density_sq_mi = |population_metro = |population_density_metro_km2 = |population_density_metro_sq_mi = |population_blank1_title =Ethnicities |population_blank1 = Marka people |population_density_blank1_km2 = |population_density_blank1_sq_mi = <!-- General information ---------------> |timezone =GMT |utc_offset = +0 |timezone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |coordinates = {{coord|13.376326575643015| -6.49289016604911513|region:ML_type:city|display=inline,title}} |elevation_footnotes = <!--for references: use <ref> </ref> tags--> |elevation_m = |elevation_ft = <!-- Area/postal codes & others --------> |postal_code_type = <!-- enter ZIP code, Postcode, Post code, Postal code... --> |postal_code = |area_code = |blank_name = |blank_info = |blank1_name = |blank1_info = |website = |footnotes = }}
'''Sama Markala''' is a village in the Ségou Region of southern-central Mali on the left (north) bank of the River Niger.
==History== Sama is an ancient town founded by the Soninke Koummo and Sako clans,<ref>Person, Yves. "Les ancêtres de Samori." Cahiers d'études africaines (1963): 125-156.</ref> and ruled by the Sogore.<ref name = Bazin>{{cite journal |last1=Bazin |first1=Jean |title=Princes désarmés, corps dangereux. Les « rois-femmes » de la région de Segu. |journal=Cahiers d'Études Africaines |date=1988 |volume=28 |issue=111 |page=386 |doi=10.3406/cea.1988.1658 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/cea_0008-0055_1988_num_28_111_1658 |access-date=22 March 2025 |language=French}}</ref>
Sama, under the name '''Samaqanda''', appears in some of the earliest written sources on the history of West Africa, including al Yaqubi, ibn Hawkal and al Bakri. It was famous as the home of the best archers in the region, and a part of the Wagadu Empire.<ref name=Mauny>{{cite book |last1=Mauny |first1=Raymond |title=Tableau géographique de l'Ouest africain au Moyen Age |date=1961 |publisher=IFAN |location=Dakar |page=124}}</ref>
In 1477 the Mossi invaded the Songhai Empire and took Sama on their way to sacking Walata.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Izard |first1=Michel |title=Introduction à l'histoire des royaumes mossi |date=1970 |publisher=Collège de France |location=Paris |url=http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb35338501v |access-date=29 March 2026}}</ref>
In 1537 Sama was a town near the frontier between the Mali Empire and the Songhai Empire. The Songhai Askia Mohammed Benkan was sent to exile there in 1537.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pageard |first1=Robert |title=La marche orientale du Mali (Ségou-Djenné) en 1644, d'après le Tarikh es-Soudan |journal=Journal de la Société des Africanistes |date=1961 |volume=31 |pages=73–81 |doi=10.3406/jafr.1961.1930 |url=http://www.persee.fr/doc/jafr_0037-9166_1961_num_31_1_1930}}</ref>
==Culture== Sama was the site of the most powerful Komo shrine in the area,<ref name = Bazin/> and plays a prominent role in Mandinka mythology.<ref name=Mauny/>
==References== {{reflist}}
Category: Populated places in Ségou Region Category: Communities on the Niger River Category: Marka trade towns
{{Ségou-geo-stub}}