OCR A-Level History A H505
Y101: Alfred and the Making of England 871–1016Unit group 1
Y102: Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1035–1107Unit group 1
Y103: England 1199–1272Unit group 1
Y104: England 1377–1455Unit group 1
Y105: England 1445–1509: Lancastrians, Yorkists and Henry VIIUnit group 1
Y106: England 1485–1558: The Early TudorsUnit group 1
Y107: England 1547–1603: The Later TudorsUnit group 1
Y108: The Early Stuarts and the Origins of the Civil War 1603–1660Unit group 1
Y109: The Making of Georgian Britain 1678–c.1760Unit group 1
Y110: From Pitt to Peel 1783–1853Unit group 1
Y111: Liberals, Conservatives and the Rise of Labour 1846–1918Unit group 1
Y112: Britain 1900–1951Unit group 1
Y113: Britain 1930–1997Unit group 1
Y201: The Rise of Islam c.550–750Unit group 2
Y202: Charlemagne 768–814Unit group 2
Y203: The Crusades and the Crusader States 1095–1192Unit group 2
Y204: Genghis Khan and the Explosion From the Steppes c.1167–1405Unit group 2
Y205: Exploration, Encounters and Empire 1445–1570Unit group 2
Y206: Spain 1469–1556Unit group 2
Y207: The German Reformation and the Rule of Charles v 1500–1559Unit group 2
Y208: Philip II 1556–1598Unit group 2
Y209: African Kingdoms c.1400–c.1800: Four Case StudiesUnit group 2
Y210: Russia 1645–1741Unit group 2
Y211: The Rise and Decline of the Mughal Empire in India 1526–1739Unit group 2
Y212: The American Revolution 1740–1796Unit group 2
Y213: The French Revolution and the Rule of Napoleon 1774–1815Unit group 2
Y214: France 1814–1870Unit group 2
Y215: Italy and Unification 1789–1896Unit group 2
Y216: The USA in the 19th Century: Westward Expansion and Civil War 1803–c.1890Unit group 2
Y217: Japan 1853–1937Unit group 2
Y218: International Relations 1890–1941Unit group 2
Y219: Russia 1894–1941Unit group 2
Y220: Italy 1896–1943Unit group 2
Y221: Democracy and Dictatorships in Germany 1919–1963Unit group 2
Y222: The Cold War in Asia 1945–1993Unit group 2
Y223: The Cold War in Europe 1941–1995Unit group 2
Y224: Apartheid and Reconciliation: South African Politics 1948–1999Unit group 2
Y301: The Early Anglo-Saxons c.400–800Unit group 3
Y302: The Viking Age c.790–1066Unit group 3
Y303: English Government and the Church 1066–1216Unit group 3
Y304: The Church and Medieval Heresy c.1100–1437Unit group 3
Y305: The Renaissance c.1400–c.1600Unit group 3
Y306: Rebellion and Disorder Under the Tudors 1485–1603Unit group 3
Y307: Tudor Foreign Policy 1485–1603Unit group 3
Y308: The Catholic Reformation 1492–1610Unit group 3
Y309: The Ascendancy of the Ottoman Empire 1453–1606Unit group 3
Y310: The Development of the Nation State: France 1498–1610Unit group 3
Y311: The Origins and Growth of the British Empire 1558–1783Unit group 3
Y312: Popular Culture and the Witchcraze of the 16th and 17th CenturiesUnit group 3
Y313: The Ascendancy of France 1610–1715Unit group 3
Y314: The Challenge of German Nationalism 1789–1919Unit group 3
Y315: The Changing Nature of Warfare 1792–1945Unit group 3
Y316: Britain and Ireland 1791–1921Unit group 3
Y317: China and Its Rulers 1839–1989Unit group 3
Y318: Russia and Its Rulers 1855–1964Unit group 3
Y319: Civil Rights in the USA 1865–1992Unit group 3
Y320: From Colonialism to Independence: The British Empire 1857–1965Unit group 3
Y321: The Middle East 1908–2011: Ottomans to Arab SpringUnit group 3
Y209: African Kingdoms c.1400–c.1800: Four Case Studies
The Songhay Empire c.1450–1591: the Sahel c.1450, Sonni Ali and Askia Muhammad
- 3 things to know
- Unit group 2
Overview
Recall questions on the Sahel around 1450, Sonni Ali and the capture of Timbuktu, cavalry and river power, the scholars’ hostility, Askia Muhammad’s rise and pilgrimage, al-Maghili, Shari’a and centralised government.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
What was the political situation in the Sahel around 1450?
Identify Sonni Ali and give the dates of his reign.
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What was the political situation in the Sahel around 1450?
Model answer
The Mali Empire's authority was collapsing, leaving its provinces and trading towns semi-independent; the Tuareg held Timbuktu, and Songhay at Gao was emerging as the strongest power on the middle Niger.
- 2
Identify Sonni Ali and give the dates of his reign.
Model answer
Sonni Ali was the ruler of Songhay from 1464 to 1492 and the real founder of its empire, a relentless campaigner who turned the kingdom of Gao into the dominant power of the western Sudan.
- 3
Name the great trading and scholarly city Sonni Ali took in 1468.
Model answer
He took Timbuktu in 1468, driving out its Tuareg overlords and bringing the greatest commercial and intellectual centre of the Sahel under Songhay control.
- 4
Why was cavalry so important to Songhay's military success?
Model answer
Horsemen could cross the open savannah quickly to raid, pursue and overawe rival states, and a costly armoured cavalry arm gave the ruler a permanent striking force that towns and villages could not resist.
- 5
Besides cavalry, what other arm gave Songhay control of the middle Niger?
Model answer
A river fleet of war canoes, commanded by an officer known as the hi-koi, which moved troops and supplies along the Niger and allowed Songhay to besiege and blockade river towns such as Djenné.
- 6
Why were the Muslim scholars of Timbuktu hostile to Sonni Ali?
Model answer
They regarded him as only nominally Muslim because he continued traditional religious practices, and he in turn distrusted them as a rival source of authority and persecuted, exiled and killed leading Sankore clerics.
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