The '''Sonni dynasty''', '''Sunni dynasty''' or '''Si dynasty''' was a dynasty of rulers of the Songhai Empire of medieval West Africa. The origins of the dynasty lies in its predecessor Za Dynasty. The last ruler, Sonni Baru, ruled until 1493 when the throne was usurped by the Askiya Muhammad I, the founder of the Askiya dynasty.
==Sources== The seventeenth century chronicles, the ''Tarikh al-Sudan'' and the ''Tarikh al-fattash'' describe the history of the Songhay people and provide lists of their rulers. The ''Tarikh al-Sudan'' gives a list of the earlier rulers of the Za dynasty, whose founder Za Alayaman lived before the 10th century and the arrival of Islam. The two chronicles agree on the first and last rulers of the dynasty but differ on the number and order of the intervening rulers.
==Debate Over Origins== The chronicles describe how Ali Kulun (or Ali Golom), the founder of the Sunni dynasty, revolted against the hegemony of the Mali Empire. Both associate him with the Mali court.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kâti|1913|p=[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5439466q/f361.image.pagination 334]}}; {{Harvnb|Hunwick|2003|pp=xxxvi-xxxvii, 7}}</ref> The ''Tarikh al-Sudan'' relates that his father was Za Yasoboy, and as a son of a subordinate ruler of the Mali Empire he had to serve the ''Mansa''.{{sfn|Hunwick|2003|p=7}} Assuming that Ali Kulun really existed, Hunwick estimated his revolt to have occurred in the early 14th century.{{sfn|Hunwick|2003|p=xxxvii}} Others have disputed this, however. Paolo de Moraes-Farias, citing contemporary epigraphic evidence and the existence of a giant of the same name in Tuareg mythology, argues that this founder, and likely his successor as well, were invented by the chroniclers.<ref name = ConradReview>{{cite journal |last1=Conrad |first1=David |title=Review of Arabic Medieval Inscriptions from the Republic of Mali: Epigraphy, Chronicles, and Songhay-Tuareg History, by P. F. de Moraes Farias |journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies |date=2005 |volume=38 |issue=1 |page=108-9 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/40036465 |access-date=26 March 2024}}</ref>
Al-Sadi, the author of the ''Tarikh al-Sudan'' uses the word Sunni or Sonni for the name of the dynasty while the ''Tarikh al-fattash'' uses the forms ''chi'' and ''si'i''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kâti|1913|pp=[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5439466q/f107.image.pagination 80], 334}}</ref> The word may have a Malinke origin meaning "a subordinate or confidant of the ruler", referring to their status as vassals of the Mali Empire.{{sfn|Hunwick|2003|pp=333-334, Appendix 2}}<!--Need somebody with a knowledge of Arabic here -->
Dierk Lange disputes both the idea that the Sonni descended from the Za and that they were vassals of Mali, rather linking them with the Zaghe kings commemorated in the funeral stelae found at Gao-Saney. He theorizes that the Zaghe, followers of Sunni Islam, became known as such, and were the Za's rivals for the throne of Gao until finally defeating them in the early 15th century.<ref>{{citation |last=Lange |first=Dierk |year=1994 |title=From Mande to Songhay: Towards a political and ethnic history of medieval Gao |journal=Journal of African History |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=275–301 |jstor=183220 |doi=10.1017/s0021853700026438|s2cid=153657364| url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/183220|access-date=22 March 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
In a similar vein, Leo Africanus wrote that the Songhay ruler 'Soni Heli' was of 'Libyan lineage', but that his black captain 'Abubacr Izchia' rebelled against Ali's sons and put them to death, and rulership thereby 'returned to the blacks.'<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vicoacitillo.it/led/africas.pdf |title=Della descrizione dell’Africa e delle cose notabili che quivi sono per Giovani Lioni Africano |pages=320 |quote=''Egli è vero che il presente re di Tombutto, Abubacr Izchia, è del popol negro: il quale, essendo fatto capitano di Soni Heli, re di Tombutto e Gago, della stirpe di Libia, doppo la morte del detto si ribellò contra i figliuoli e quelli fece morire, e tornò il dominio nei negri''" '''English translation:''' "It is true that the present king of Tombutto, Abubacr Izchia, is of the black people: who, having been made captain of Soni Heli, king of Tombutto and Gago, of the lineage of Libya, after the death of the said rebelled against his sons and he put them to death, and dominion returned to the blacks}}</ref>
==Rise and Fall== The chronicles do not specify where the early rulers lived. As there is evidence that Gao remained under Mali control until the early fifteenth century, it is probable that the early Sunni rulers controlled a region to the south, with the town of Kukiya possibly serving as their capital.{{sfn|Hunwick|2003|p=xxxvii}} Early 15th century inscriptions from Kukiya indicate that the Sonni ruled over a thoroughly Islamic society at that time.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lange |first=Dierk |url=http://dierklange.com/pdf/fulltexts/middle_niger/Farias_Inscriptions__2004.pdf |title=Review of P. Moraes Farias, ''Medieval Inscriptions'' (2003) |journal=Afrika und Übersee |volume=87 |year=2004 |page=303 }}</ref>
Under the rule of Sunni Sulayman, the Songhai captured the Mema region to the west of Lake Débo.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kâti|1913|pp=[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5439466q/f107.image.pagination 80–81]}}</ref> His successor, Sunni Ali, greatly expanded the territory under Sunni control. The dynasty ended in April 1493 when Sunni Bakr Dao was defeated in battle against Askiya Muhammad I.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hunwick|2003|p=102}}; {{Harvnb|Kâti|1913|pp=[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5439466q/f128.image.pagination 101–102]}}</ref>
==Rulers according to the ''Tarikh al-Sudan''== The names with their diacritics listed below are those given in the translation of the ''Tarikh al-Sudan'' from Arabic into English by John Hunwick.{{sfn|Hunwick|2003|p=5}} The surviving Arabic manuscripts differ both in the spelling and the vocalization of the names. This may be partly due to the difficulty of representing Songhay (or proto-Songhay) sounds in Arabic and perhaps also due to different Songhay dialects. Not all the names are listed in all the surviving manuscripts.
#Sunni ʿAlī Kulun (early in the 14th century{{sfn|Hunwick|2003|p=xxxvii}} or fictional<ref name = ConradReview/>) #Sunni Silman Nāri (brother of ʿAlī Kulun, possibly fictional<ref name = ConradReview/>) #Sunni Ibrāhīm Kabay #Sunni ʿUthmān Kanafa #Sunni Bār Kayna Ankabī #Sunni Mūsā #Sunni Bukar Zunku #Sunni Bukar Dala Buyunbu #Sunni Mār Kiray #Sunni Muḥammad Dao #Sunni Muḥammad Kūkiyā #Sunni Muḥammad Fār #Sunni K.r.bīf #Sunni Mār Fī Kuli Jim #Sunni Mār Ar Kayna #Sunni Mār Aranda #Sunni Sulaymān #Sunni ʿAlī (ruled 1464-1492) #Sunni Bāru or Bukar Dāo (ruled 1492-1493)
==Rulers according to the ''Tarikh al-fattash''== The names with their diacritics listed below are those given in the translation of ''Tarikh al-fattash'' from the Arabic into French by Octave Houdas.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kâti|1913|pp=[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5439466q/f362.image.pagination 335]-338}}</ref>
#Sunni Ali-Golom #Sunni Silman-Nâri #Sunni Ibrâhîm-Kabayao #Sunni Ousmân-Guifo #Sunni Mâkara-Komsoû (on throne in 1321-1322)<ref>A comment in the ''Tarikh al-fattash'' states that the fifth ruler was in power at the time when Mansa Musa made his pilgrimage.</ref>{{sfn|Kâti|1913|p=335}} #Sunni Boubakar-Katiya #Sunni Ankada Doukourou #Sunni Kimi-Yankoï-Moûssa #Sunni Bâro-Dal-Yomho #Sunni Mâdao #Sunni Mohammed Koûkiya #Sunni Mohammed-Fâri #Sunni Balam #Sunni Souleïmân-Dâma #Sunni Ali (ruled 1464-1492) #Sunni Bâro (ruled 1492-1493)
==See also== * Za dynasty * Askia dynasty * Mali Empire * Songhai Empire
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==References== *{{citation | last=Hunwick | first= John O.| authorlink= John Hunwick | title= Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sadi's Tarikh al-Sudan down to 1613 and other contemporary documents | publisher=Brill| place=Leiden | year=2003 | isbn=9789004128224 }}. *{{citation | last=Kâti | first=Mahmoûd Kâti ben el-Hâdj el-Motaouakkel | year=1913 | title=Tarikh el-fettach ou Chronique du chercheur, pour servir à l'histoire des villes, des armées et des principaux personnages du Tekrour | publisher=Ernest Leroux | place=Paris | others=Houdas, O., Delafosse, M. ed. and trans. | url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5439466q | language=French}}. Also available from [http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.CH.DOCUMENT.nuhmkati1&pgs= Aluka] but requires subscription. {{Songhai Empire topics}} Category:Songhai Empire