On 13 March 1591, the Battle of Tondibi was fought in West Africa between the Moroccans under Pasha Judar and the Songhai Empire under Ashak II during the Moroccan-Songhai War.
Why did it happen?
Following the death of his brother Abd al-Malik at the Battle of Alcazarquivir in 1578, Ahmed al-Mansur became the ruler of Morocco and built up a standing army based around a core of Turkish mercenaries equipped with muskets and cannon. In 1589, an exiled courtier from the Songhai Empire arrived at the Moroccan court claiming to be the rightful heir to that kingdom. Ahmed al-Mansur, who desired to gain control of the salt mines of Taghaza, used this as an excuse to declare war on the Songhai Empire the following year. On 16 October 1590, he sent a small army under Pasha Judar south along the caravan networks through the Sahara Desert, supported by 8,000 camels and pack animals. By late February 1591, the Moroccan army was already on the Niger river at Kabara, south of Timbuktu. Having fatally underestimated his opponent, the Songhai ruler Ashak II assembled a large army to confront the Moroccans north of Gao.
Who was involved?
The Moroccan army at Tondibi consisted of 2,500 infantry, 1,500 cavalry and 8 artillery. Despite his small force, Pasha Judar was confident that his gunpowder weapons and the superior mobility and training of his soldiers would decide the day for him. Judar arranged his forces in two lines with his musketeers and artillery in the vanguard while his cavalry and swordsmen were stationed in the rear. In addition, their right flank was stationed by the Niger river and their left flank by the Sahara Desert. The Songhai army at Tondibi numbered 30,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry and 1,000 cattle. The Songhai positioned their infantry in the centre, cavalry on the flanks while the cattle were arranged in the vanguard. The Songhai plan was to drive their cattle into the Moroccan lines to disrupt their formation while the numerically superior Songhai infantry would overwhelm the Moroccans in melee combat.
What happened?
On 13 March, the Battle of Tondibi began when the Songhai drove their cattle towards the Moroccan lines with their infantry following close behind. Unfortunately for the Songhai, once the Moroccan musketeers and cannon opened fire, the cattle were spooked, turned around and stampeded back into their supporting infantry. In the confusion, panic spread through the Songhai army, with most of the infantry fleeing. However, the Songhai armoured cavalry on the left wing managed to stay calm and subsequently charged the Moroccan light cavalry. In response, the Moroccan musketeers realigned themselves and opened fire upon the Songhai left wing, whose morale broke and subsequently fled along with the Songhai right wing. With only the rearguard under Ashak II remaining, the Moroccan army then advanced upon the remaining Songhai army and, after a few hours of hand-to-hand combat, emerged victoriously. Casualties for both sides were relatively light, with the Moroccans losing 200 men and the Songhai 3,000 men.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Tondibi was a decisive victory for the Moroccans. Despite 400 of their men and horses succumbing to disease, in late April, the Moroccans entered the city of Gao, which had been evacuated shortly after the Battle of Tondibi. After receiving Songhai envoys, the Moroccans marched upon Timbuktu, where they encamped outside the city on 30 May. After receiving 10,000 pieces of gold and 200 slaves from Timbuktu, the Moroccans returned north with their empire much enlarged. Despite this, however, they found it difficult to govern such a vast area south of the Sahara Desert. While the Moroccan Sultanate would collapse into civil war upon the death of Ahmed al-Mansur in 1603, a rump Songhai state known as the Dendi kingdom would last until 1901, when it was conquered by the French. From a political, economic, and environmental perspective, the consequences of the Battle of Tondibi have repercussions right up to the present day. As listed by Comer Plummer:
“It altered the West African landscape, disrupting the thousand-year-old political and economic structures. It removed the regional hegemon, and ushered in a period of intense tribal conflict. It fundamentally undermined the economy of the entire region, favoring [sic] over the caravans a predatory economic system in which slavery played an ever great role. It left African states less able to deal with a series of natural disasters that plagued the land over the following two centuries—drought, famine, and disease—that swept away perhaps half of the population of the Niger River Valley” (Plummer, 2017).
Bibliography:
Fou, Monsieur. “Bataille de tondibi.” Wikimedia Commons. Last revised September 3, 2011. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bataille_de_tondibi.png
Grant, R.G. 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History. London, Cassell Illustrated, 2011.
Grant, R.G. Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2005.
Plummer, Comer. “The Battle of Tondibi: The Moroccan Conquest of the Songhay Empire.” Military History Online. Last revised May 23, 2017. https://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/Medieval/BattleOfTondibi
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