The Peasants And Craftmen's Conditions In Cao City In Sonphai Iskai Era Up to The

Tenth Century H./ Sixteenth Century A. D.

The first researcher: Assistant Professor Dr. Iman Obaid Wannas

Email: iman.abaid@iku.edu.iq

University College of Imam Al-Kadhim peace be upon him for Islamic Sciences - Babylon Departments, Babylon -Iraq

The second researcher: Professor Dr. Zaman Obaid Wannas

Email: zaman.o@uokerbala.edu.iq

University of Kerbala / The College of Education for Human Science/Department of

History , Kerbala - Iraq

Summary:

Objectives: - The research presented a study that discussed the conditions of farmers and masters of professions and crafts in the countries of West Africa as the majority of the general class, for the residents of the city of Kao, the capital , during the Asaki Songhai era 869-999 AH / 1464-1590 AD, as those people formed the destitute class of working proletariat in an aristocratic and feudal society within the limits of the country’s cultural and economic level at the time , These social characteristics characterized the absolute authorities of the Sing Emperor, In order to examine the hypothesis of this study, we extracted the texts and deduced them from their origins to confirm and explain the hypothesis.

Methodology: The research relied on the historical descriptive approach, as well as analysis according to the philosophy of historical materialism. On this basis, the research problem was observed and then analyzed, relying on the source of Islamic heritage books.

Results: The research concluded that the economic style prevailing and imposed by the state, represented by the emperor first and then by a group of princes, ministers, and influential people, was what shaped the society of West Africa at that time, and it was what placed the peasant and craftsmen class .

Conclusion: - The study concludes with the necessity of studying the sociology of societies in order to understand the process of historical events, whether political, economic, social or intellectual.

Keywords: Western Sudan - Kao - Peasants - Professions and Crafts - Songhai.

اوضاع الفلاحين وارباب المهن والحرف في مدينة كاو

عصر اساكي السونغاي حتى القرن العاشر للهجرة/ السادس للميلاد

الباحث الاول : الاستاذ المساعد الدكتور ايمان عبيد وناس

كلية الامام الكاظم عليه السلام للعلوم الاسلامية الجامعة – اقسام بابل – الحلة – العراق

Email: iman.abaid@iku.edu.iq

الباحث الثاني : الاستاذ الدكتور زمان عبيد وناس

جامعة كربلاء – كلية التربية للعلوم الانسانية – قسم التاريخ – كربلاء - العراق

Email: zaman.o@uokerbala.edu.iq

ملخص:

الاهداف :- قدم البحث دراسة ناقشت اوضاع الفلاحين وارباب المهن والحرف في غرب افريقيا بوصفهم سواد الطبقة العامة ، لسكان مدينة كاو عاصمة البلاد عصر اساكي السونغاي الذين امتد حكمهم بين عامي 869-999هـ / 1464-1590م ، إذ شكل هؤلاء الطبقة المعدومة من البروليتاريا العاملة في مجتمع ارستقراطي اقطاعي بحدود ثقافة البلاد ومستواه الاقتصادي آنذاك ، رسمت سماته الاجتماعية هذه لسلطات الامبراطور السنغي المطلقة ، ولأجل بحث فرضية هذه الدراسة قمنا باستخراج النصوص واستنباطها من اصولها لتأكيد الفرضية وشرحها .

المنهجية :- اعتمد البحث على المنهج الوصفي التاريخي ، فضلا عن التحليل على وفق فلسفة المادية التاريخية ، وعلى اساس ذلك جرى ملاحظة مشكلة البحث ثم تحليلها ، معتمدين على مصدرية كتب التراث الاسلامي .

النتائج :- خلص البحث الى ان نمطية الاقتصاد السائدة التي فرضتها الدولة المتمثلة بالإمبراطور اولا ثم جمع الامراء والوزراء والمتنفذين ، هي التي رسمت شكل المجتمع لأفريقيا الغربية آنذاك ، وهي من وضعت طبقة الفلاحين والحرفيين في وضع اقتصادي مزري حتى صاروا يقبعون في ادنى سلم المجتمع .

الخلاصة : - تخلص الدراسة الى ضرورة دراسة سوسيولوجية المجتمعات من اجل فهم صيرورة الاحداث التاريخية سواء اكانت سياسية ام اقتصادية ام اجتماعية ام فكرية .

الكلمات المفتاحية ، بلاد السودان الغربي – كاو – الفلاحين – مهن وحرف – سونغاي

The Peasants And Craftmen's Conditions In Cao City In Sonphai Iskai Era Up to The Tenth Century H./ Sixteenth Century A. D.

Kao is an ancient African-Sudanese city, according to medieval Arabic texts, located in the western part of the African continent, south of the Sahara. It is characterized by large areas of savannah plains, in which the climatic conditions of the land vary according to distance or proximity to the surrounding regions. In the north, the Sahara Desert and the savannah plains, and the rainforests in the south of the West African region, in addition to the influence of the Niger River, which borders it (1)

The territory of Western Sudan, according to the designation of the Arabs geographer of the Middle Ages, extends between latitude 5 degrees north to 25 degrees north, and longitude 17 degrees west to 15 degrees east (2), and the location of the city specifically on the eastern meandering of the Niger River. (3) As we mentioned above - where it begins its meandering and march towards the south in the direction of Kukiya (4), and in its northwest lies the most famous city of the Sudan Land historically, the city of Timbuktu, which is regarded as the largest commercial port in The Sahara of Africa. Al-Qalqashandi said (5): (Koko is east of the river) and Koko is one of the names given by the Arabs to Kao, as it will be explained later . Ibn Saad (6) said: (The city of Koko is to the east of the river attributed to it, where the length is 24 degrees and the width is 10 degrees and 15 minutes, and its north is the outskirts of The southern part of the Sahara Desert. Fodi (7) said: ((what borders this country from the north is wastelands and dry sands, not inhabited except some shepherds in summer. In the south of Kao is a fertile land that is suitable for agriculture due to the influence of the Niger River and its flood in summer, which lasts for three months (8), in addition to the seasonal rains. The well-known traveler Ibn Battuta - who visited the region and entered the city in the eighth century AH, fourteenth century AD, and witnessed its development - described it as “one of the best, largest and most fertile cities in the Sudan lands.”(9)

As for naming the West African region as the lands of Western Sudan, it is due to the Arabs in the Middle Ages - as we mentioned previously – who describe all the lands located in the south of African Sahara the land of Sudan, and they divided it into: the Near, Central and Western. Kaw belongs to the western part. As for the reason for naming it by this name, it is not known exactly, since the Arabic and local sources did not help us, including the geographical resources which were recorded by travelers who visited this country, about the meaning and reason for the name it by this name, rather they gave it different names and pronunciations. (10)

It was written with the names Kag(11) and Kago(12) and in Sudan’s local books Koko(13). Ka'at, the local historian of this region said(14): (There are two pronunciations for the name Kaag: Kag and Koko) and was also drown as Kukiya, and the name Kaag or Koga has become well-known to Moroccan merchants because of the political and commercial importance of the city as the capital of the Songhai Empire at that time (15), it was writted by Al-Yaqoubi With the wording “Koko” (16)(17) also, he said: The Kingdom of Koko is the greatest, the most noble and the greatest of the kingdoms of Sudan lands,.. and “Koko” is the name of the city.(18)

Due to its urban importance, it was inhabited by different human groups, which formed its urban society, which included different social classes (19), the first was the ruling feudal aristocracy class, followed by the feudal class of large landlords and the military, then the major merchants who practiced trade in addition to owning large agricultural fiefdoms. They are In addition to being described as bourgeois, they were also feudal. They are followed by the merchants who were lower in status than them, then the large craftsmen and the average landowners who belong to the middle class, then the destitute class: the proletariat of small owners, peasants, laborers, small craftsmen and professionals, then the last of them the slaves and serfs. who reside at the bottom of the human formation in the city. According to the medieval mentality, they were not considered part of the demographic and social scale in the country. Rather, they were nothing but an obedient tool in the hands of their masters. (20) These aforementioned population groups struggled into the economic activity in order to possess the means of production and from the pattern of economy to suit the interests of each class. As for our research, we shall shed the light on the conditions of the hard-working class, including: farmers, wage-earners, and owners of crafts and professions, each according to his economic activity, which determines his social class. For example, those who mastered goldsmith belonged to the wealthy people of the city, and as we said before people practiced and occupied themselves with various trades and economic activities, which as a whole shaped the economic life in Kao. However, the stereotype of the agricultural economy was the dominant. It imposed itself, despite the fact that the city became, during one of its historical periods, the political capital of the most important historical empire in the West Africa. The nature of the land is the main reason for the dominance of agriculture economy, its fertility and abundance of production on the one hand, and the importance of agricultural activity at that time on the one hand, so agriculture economy was the prominent feature of Kao.(21)

But the question that arises is whether this city, with its urban level at the time, made it different in the quality of practicing economic activity and ownership of the means of production. Especially the means of land ownership, and the conditions of workers. That is, society with its various classes practiced these activities in an urban way. The examiner to that methods of owning lands and the means of production in the City of Kao that time will find it very similar to the cities of the Arab cities and the cities of Sudan at that time. Indeed, the pattern of land ownership, especially feudalism, was identical to land ownership throughout the Islamic countries around the world (22). The historical texts of the peoples of that time reveals that feudalism in its various types was a characteristic of the Middle Ages in all parts of the world. For example, the phenomenon of serfdom, which existed in Islamic countries and appeared clearly in the first Islamic era in Iraq and the Levant, was present long before this time in Persia and Byzantium. Serfdom is when a landowner gives his land to a prince in order to protect it, so it becomes part of his lands in exchange for his protection, the real owner of the land becomes a serf. this ownership system is what shaped the lifestyle of workers in the agricultural fields and in industry, and put the extent to which the workers and farmers enjoy the benefits of their production, the quantity and the values ​​of their trade exchanges.(23)

The good quality of the soil and its fertility helped the growth and development of agriculture within the limits of the knowledge possessed by the inhabitants of that time, in addition to that, the sultans of the country sought to improve the agricultural activity in the city of Kao for the considerations that we mentioned at the beginning of the research - as these sultans are the primary owners of the land and the largest beneficiaries of its production (24) ) - The Sultans brought in skilled farmers from the Morocco and agricultural engineers. They introduced new methods for land reclamation and improving the quality of grains to raise production rates, as well as introduced some agricultural and irrigation systems adopted by the Arabs of North Africa. (25) this aforementioned description we just mentioned was special to the estates of the sultans, the most senior princes, the ministers, the leaders and the wealthy people of the country who belonged to the feudal aristocratic class. The military fiefdoms had their vast areas, and the fiefdoms of other civil gifts, in addition to the properties of the rich. Private people estates were also large. These lands and fiefdoms were served according to the type and degree of their owners social class. (26) The fiefdoms were served by land serfs and wage-earners, while the medium and small fiefs were handled by their owners. Of course, the production of those lands and the abundance of their benefits depend on the strength of their owner’s money. What is important in the matter is the conditions of those who work in it.(27)

In the lands of the Asakai - the Songhai sultans - the labor force there was numerous and varied, between wage-earners and serfs. The wage-earners were brought in to plow, sow, clean, harrow, prune trees or pick fruits. They worked alongside the labor force of the serfs of the Asakai slaves. The first category is -rental workers - their conditions were not fundamentally different from other Asaki serfs conditions, Lack of resourcefulness and poor living conditions are what prompted them to work as wage laborers in the affluents farms. Whatever they succeeded in achieving was not enough to cover the cost of a living despite abundant production (28). Their living conditions were very difficult, and local sources of that time refer to poor living conditions and poor housing, as these people lived in poor neighborhoods far away on the outskirts of the city - on its margins - whose homes were described as huts built of straw and wood (29), so Al-Wazzan described them, saying (30): "These people live With the ignorance, such that you will hardly find a person within a hundred miles who knows how to read and write."

As for the serfs, who were the second category of those who worked in the farms of the Sultan and the affluent people, their conditions were worse. In fact, they constituted nothing more than a gear in production machine - even though they represented the basis of the labor force in the farms - and they only had food to the extent that would keep them strong to perform the hard work. they did not constitute any class or group in the social hierarchy, and this was true not only of the sultans but also of the common people (31) (32) None of them enjoys a position despite their large population except those chosen by the Sultan who are close to him, such as his agents in monitoring the work of the serfs in his lands, and these do not constitute a significant number despite their numerous population. Laskiya Muhammad I is one agent mentioned by the sources.(32)

The peasants who are owners of medium and small farms were not in a good situation. Of course, the condition of the peasant and farmer varies in their standard of living according to the area of ​​his property. The larger you are, the better off you are compared to those of small owners, knowing that all of them were subjected to arduous taxes that burdened their shoulders, and most of them or all them, are the owners and farmers in their own land. The work is characterized by the collectivism, the entire family works for production, and there is no doubt that the conditions of this type of labor were slightly better than those of rented workers, and they often shared their standard of living in terms of the quality of their food, clothing, and housing. However, in some cases, the farmers lived on their farms if their areas allowed for that. (33) All of this class, in their circumstances, constituted the poor toiling class - the proletariat - in society, and here we mean renters, rental workers and public landowners (34)

The craft workers and professions among the people of Kao did not differ much in most cases, and the reason lies in the fact that the lands of Western Sudan in general - Western Africa south of the Sahara - were characterized by the simplicity of their craft and expertise. For example, most luxury goods - such as perfumes and luxurious textiles - were brought from Arab countries and Arab North Africa. Those workers in various crafts and industries practiced their activities in small shops spread throughout the local markets of the city. (35) Most of them were far from the craft and professional organization that the Arab lands witnessed in the days of their industrial prosperity in the Middle Ages. Their organization was limited to simple crafts, with each craft having its own place in the market. To say that crafts were characterized by simplicity compared to their counterparts in North Africa does not mean that they did not diversify, but rather Industrial diversity existed in Kao to meet the urgent needs of its residents from all demographic spectrum. Its industrial diversity stems from the abundance of raw materials in it or those around it from the Songhai country.(36)

Among the crafts and industries that Kao knew was the textile industry, the weaving of wool, cotton, and burlap fabrics (37), The craft of sewing and dyeing was associated with it (38)- and it is natural that the conditions of those working in this activity differ according to the type of craft and workmanship and its importance to people, and the level of need, in addition to the factor of scarcity of the commodity, and supply and demand - Likewise, bead shops spread, and there were leather tanning and processing shops, and leather industry shops (39), as well as simple food industries. (40)

All those who own the means of production and the workers who work in these crafts practiced these crafts - because some industries, such as tanning and weaving, are doomed to collective labor - have witnessed difficult conditions with high taxes and poor living conditions. The benefits of their labor power can barely meet their needs. In terms of their conditions, they are similar to the people of their city of farmers(41) They shared their standard of living in everything, so the description of their ways of life, livelihood, and housing matches the conditions of the peasants. Therefore, we will suffice with pointing out without elaboration. (42) This was the general condition except some industries and crafts that were characterized by a large demand for their products and the high benefits of their craftsmanship, such as copper and iron manufacturing workshops. Blacksmithing was one of the prestigious professions among the people of African people, also the silver and goldsmiths, as these are precious metals, and the workers who work in them and the professionals who make them are wealthy people (43). In fact, they occupied the forefront of the middle class - the bourgeoisie - in Kao, alongside with the merchants who sat on the top of the social ladder of the society in Kao, and we mean, of course, those who belonged to the African bourgeoisie at that time.(44)

In short, what we can consider as the conclusion of the research is that the redistribution of the nation’s output and benefits at a level that indicates the equality of people in the countries of Western Sudan land - not only the era of the Songhai Empire, but in its various eras up to the Songhai - did not exist at all, rather poor distribution and disparity in opportunities and levels of living is the main feature for distribution of the country’s wealth. The prevailing stereotype that controls and directs the country’s economic activity is the feudal aristocracy. Feudalism is the characteristic and stereotype of the economy of Western Sudan(Africa). Therefore, the classes of society suffered from poverty and need, especially farmers, industrialists, and wage-earners working in the fields of agriculture and industry, except the crafts of goldsmith and blacksmithing that we have referred to. Their living conditions, in addition to the high taxes, are difficult.

List of sources and references:

 ـ Trimingham .j.s. Islamic in west Africa , Clarenpon press ,2nd ( London: 1979)p1, Ajoyi.J.F.A, History of west Africa , Columbia university press ,2nd ( New york :1917 ) vol1 , p1 .

2 ـ Trimingham . Islamic in west Africa ,p1.

3- Ibn Saeed Al-Maghribi, Abu Al-Hasan Ali bin Musa (d. 685 AH / 1286 AD), Geography, edited by Ismail Al-Arabi, published by the Commercial Office for Printing, Publishing and Distribution, 1st edition (Beirut: 1970 AD), p. 95; Abu Al-Fidaa, Imad al-Din bin al-Malik al-Afdal (d. 732 AH/1332 AD), Taqmiyem al-Buldan, Royal Printing House Press (Paris: 1840 AD), p. 157.

4 - See Ibn Saad, Geography, p. 95; Expanding the Earth in length and breadth, edited by Juan Qarnabut Ghinis, published by the Moulay El Hassan Institute (Tetouan: 1958 AD), p. 26.

5- Al-Qalqashandi, Abu Al-Abbas Ahmad bin Ali (d. 821 AH / 1418 AD), Subh Al-A’sha in Sina'a Al-A’sha, edited by Muhammad Hassan Shams Al-Din, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Alamiya, 1st edition (Beirut: 1987 AD), vol. 5, p. 274.

6- Ibn Saad, Geography, p. 95.

7 - Fodi, Muhammad bin Othman Bello (d. 1203 AH / 1788 AD), Expenditure of the Means in the History of the Land of Takrur, edited by J. T. Watanak, Luzac Publishing (London: 1957), p. 5.

8 - Ibn Battuta, Abu Abdullah Al-Lawati Al-Tanji (d. 779 AH / 1377 AD), Tuhfat Al-Nazar fi Oddities of the Lands and Wonders of Travel, edited by Tom Bremer, National Press (Paris: 1927 AD), vol. 1, p. 203; Al-Wazzan, Al-Hasan bin Muhammad, known as: Leo Al-Ifriqi (d. 959 AH / 1552 AD), Description of Africa, Waraqa Al-Bilad Press, 1st edition (Rabat: 1982 AD), vol. 2, p. 169; Zabadia, Abdul Qadir, The Kingdom of Singai during the Era of the Isqays, National Publishing and Distribution Company (Algeria: D/T), pp. 130-131; The Encyclopedia America International "Timbauktu" Vol 26 (USA: 1980) vol20, p746.)

9 - Ibn Battuta Tuhfat Al-Nadhar, vol. 1, p. 203.

10 - Al-Idrisi, Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Hamawi (d. 560 AH/1164 AD), Sifat al-Maghrib, the Land of Sudan, Egypt, and Andalusia, taken from the book Nuzhat al-Mushtaq, Brill Press (1968 AD), p. 5; Ibn Saad, Geography, p. 94; Ibn Battuta, Tuhfat Al-Nazar, vol. 4, p. 395; Ibn Khaldun, Abd al-Rahman bin Muhammad (d. 808 AH/1405 AD), Ibar and Diwan al-Mubtada wa al-Khabar fi tarikh Al- Arabs wa Al- Berbers wa man Asarahum men Tawi Al-Sulatan Al- Akbar, Verified by Khalil Shehadeh, Dar Al-Fikr, 1st edition (Beirut: 1988), vol. 6, p. 294; Al-Saadi, Abdul Rahman bin Abdullah bin Imran (d. 1066 AH / 1655 AD), History of Sudan, published by Hodas (Paris: 1964 AD), pp. 21 et seq.; Shalabi, Ahmed, Islam and the Islamic countries of sub-Saharan Africa since its introduction to Islam until now, Encyclopedia of Islamic History and Islamic Civilization, Egyptian Nahda Library Press, 1st edition (Cairo: 1972 AD), vol. 6, p. 140.

11 - Kaat, Mahmoud ibn al-Mutawakkil Kaat al-Kurmani al-Tanbukti (d. 1002 AH/1593 AD), Tarikh al-Fatash fi Akhbar al-Buldan wal-Akbar al-Nas, published by Hodas (Paris: 1964 AD), p. 18; Al-Saadi, History of Sudan, p. 7; Al-Walati, Abu Abdullah al-Talib Muhammad bin Abi Bakr (d. 1229 AH/1813 AD), Fath al-Shukur fi Ma’rifat Ayyan al-Takrur, edited by Muhammad Ibrahim and Muhammad Hajji, Dar al-Maghrib al-Islami (Beirut: 1981 AD) 29.

12 - Al-Tanbukti, Ahmed bin Ahmed bin Omar Aqit (d. 1036 AH / 1626 AD), Nail Al-Ibtihaj be Tatreez Al-Dibaj, which is in the margin of the book Al- Dibaj Al- Muthahab by Ibn Farhun, printed by Abbas bin Abdul Salam, 1st edition (Cairo: 1351 AH), p. 331.

13 - Kaat, Al-Tarikh Al-Fatash, p. 45; Foudy, Spending the Affluent, p. 3.

14 - Al-Tarikh Al-Fatash, p. 45.

15 - Wanas, Zaman Ubaid, The History of the City of Kao from its inception until the fall of the Songhai Empire, Dar Al-Ayyam (Amman: 2015 AD), pp. 17-21.

16 - Al-Yaqoubi, Ahmad bin Ishaq bin Jaafar, History of Al-Yaqoubi, commentary by Khalil Mansur (Qom: 1425 AD), pp. 166-167.

17 - It was mentioned by the name of Koko among the Arab historians Al-Masoudi, Abu Al-Hasan Ali bin Al-Hussein bin Ali (d. 346 AH / 957 AD), Muruj Al-Dhahab and Maaden Al Jawhar, edited by Amir Muhanna, Al-Alami Publications Foundation, 1st edition (Beirut: 2000 AD), vol. 2, p. 5; Ibn Saad, Geography, p. 93; Expanding the Earth, p. 49; Al-Nuwairi, Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Nihayat al-Arb Wa Funoon Al-Adab (Cairo: 1949 AD), vol. 15. , p. 287; Abu Al-Fidaa, Imad al-Din bin al-Malik al-Afdal (d. 732 AH/1332 AD), Taqmiyem al-Buldan, Royal Printing House Press (Paris: 1840 AD), p. 157; Al-Omari, Ibn Fadlallah Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Yahya (d. 749 AH/1348 AD), Masalik al-Ibsar, manuscript published by Fuad Sezgin with photocopying from the Topkabu Sarayi Ahmed III manuscript under No. 797/2 (pp. 178-462) in Istanbul, publications of the Institute for the History of Arab Sciences ( Frankfurt: 1988 AD) Part 3, p. 34; Al-Maqrizi, Taqi al-Din Ahmad ibn Ali (d. 845/1441 AD), Al-Ilmam be Akhbar man be Ardh Al-Habasha men Mulouk Al-Islam, Press of the Composition and Translation Committee (Cairo: 1895 AD), p. 53; Al-Dhahab Al-Masbook fi Thikr man Hajj oen Al-Khulafaa wa Al-Mulouk, published by Jamal al-Din Shayyal, Press of the Committee for Authoring, Translation and Publishing (Cairo 1955 AD), p. 111.

18 - Al-Yaqubi, History of Al-Yaqubi, pp. 166-167.

19 - See Wannas, History of the City of Kao, pp. 35-39; Shelby, Countries of Islam, vol. 6, p. 121; Al-Gharbi, Muhammad Ahmed, The Beginning of Moroccan Rule in Western Sudan (Baghdad: 1982 AD), p. 583; Al-Dali, Al-Hadi Al-Mabrouk, The Political and Economic History of Trans-Saharan Africa from the End of the Fifteenth Century to the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century (Cairo: 1999), p. 92.

20- Al-Wazzan, Description of Africa, vol. 2, p. 170; Wanas, History of the City of Kao, pp. 42-43.

21 - Al-Wazzan, Description of Africa, vol. 2, p. 169; Al-Dali, Political History, pp. 267-268; Al-Gharbi, The Beginning of Moroccan Rule, pp. 471-472.

22 - Riyad, Zaher, Islamic kingdoms in West Africa and their impact on the trans-Saharan gold trade, Modern Art Press (Cairo: 1969), p. 137.

23 - Wanas, Zaman Ubaid and Nas, The State and the Phenomenon of Refuge, Journal of the Babylon Center for Humanitarian Studies, Volume 13, Issue 1, 2024 AD, pp. 2654-2660.

24 - See Zabadiah, Kingdom of Sangh, 171; Al-Dali, Political History, 268; Al-Gharbi, The Beginning of Moroccan Rule, p. 471; Bolm, Dhans, African Civilizations, translated by Ali Shaheen, Owainat Publications House (Beirut: 1972 AD), pp. 118-172.

25 - Wanas, History of the City of Kao, p. 95; Al-Gharbi, The Beginning of Moroccan Rule, pp. 471-472.

26 - Kaat, Al-Tarikh Al-Fatash, p. 18; Wanas, History of the City of Kao, pp. 97-98, pp. 168-170; Zabadia, Senghi Kingdom, 59.

27 - Al-Dali, Political History, p. 269; Bolm, African Civilizations, p. 118, p. 172; Al-Gharbi, The Beginning of Moroccan Rule, p. 471; Wanas, History of the City of Kao, pp. 98-99.

28 - See Kaat, Al-Tarikh Al-Fatash, pp. 94-95; Wanas, Zaman Ubaid, Timbuktu and its cultural impact in the later Islamic eras, Dar Al-Ayyam (Amman: 2015), p. 128.

29 - Al-Wazzan, Description of Africa, vol. 2, p. 170; Kaat, Al-Tarikh Al-Fatash, pp. 94-95; Al-Gharbi, The Beginning of Moroccan Rule, p. 472; Wanas, History of the City of Kao, pp. 99-100; Nouri, Duraid Abdul Qadir, The spread of Islam in Western Sudan, a study of the political and economic influences of the 5-11 century AH/11-16 AD, a doctoral thesis submitted to the College of Arts, University of Baghdad in 1981 AD, p. 227.

30 - Description of Africa, vol. 2, p. 30.

31- Al-Wazzan, Description of Africa, vol. 2, p. 170; Zabadia, Senghi Kingdom, p. 122; Wanas, History of the City of Kao, pp. 100-170.

32- Kaat, Al-Tarikh Al-Fatash, pp. 94-95; Bolm, African Civilizations, p. 118; Al-Gharbi, The Beginning of Moroccan Rule, 471.

33 - Al-Wazzan, Description of Africa, vol. 2, p. 170; Zabadia, Singhi Kingdom, p. 122; Al-Gharbi, The Beginning of Moroccan Rule, p. 472; Wanas, History of the City of Kao, pp. 99-101.

34- See Wannas, History of the City of Kao, p. 167.

35- Al-Saqati, Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Abi Muhammad Al-Malqi, Adab Al-Hisbah, edited by Levy Provensal (Paris: 1930 AD), p. 9; Wannas, History of the City of Kao, 105-106; Zabadia, Senghi Kingdom, p. 187.

36 - Wanas, History of the City of Kao, pp. 105-106; Jassim, Khalil Ibrahim, The Islamic Empire of Mali, a cultural study 632-793 AH / 1232-1390 AD, Master’s thesis submitted to the College of Arts, University of Mosul in 1980 AD, p. 95.

37 - Al-Idrisi, Description of the Maghrib, p. 11; Al-Qalqashandi, Subh Al-Asha, vol. 5, p. 274; Raafat, Ismail, Al-Tibyan fi Taytir Al-Buldan, Muhammad Muhammad Matar Press, 1st edition (Cairo: 1329 AH), vol. 1, p. 99; Zaki, Abdul Rahman, The Sudanese Islamic Countries in West Africa, Modern Institution for Printing, Publishing and Distribution (Cairo: 1961 AD), p. 100; Al-Gharbi, The Beginning of Moroccan Rule, p. 498; Al-Dali, Political History, p. 289, p. 291.

38- Kaat, Al-Tarikh Al-Fatash, p. 95, p. 97; Zabadia, Singhi Kingdom, p. 191, p. 192.

39- Majoul, Insight into the Wonders of Egypt, edited by Saad Zaghloul, Alexandria University Press (Alexandria: 1958 AD), p. 222; Kaat, Al-Tarikh Al-Fatash, p. 173; Wanas, Timbuktu, p. 106.

40 - Ibn Battuta, Tuhfat Al-Nadhar, vol. 1, p. 193; Qaddah, Naeem, West Africa under Islam, Arab Unity Press (Damascus: 1960 AD), p. 125.

41- See, Wannas, History of the City of Kao, pp. 164-169.

42- See Wannas, History of the City of Kao, p. 167; Zabadia, Singhi Kingdom, pp. 120-123.

43 - Ibn Battuta, Tuhfat Al-Nadhar, vol. 1, pp. 204-205; Al-Wazzan, Description of Africa, vol. 2, p. 169; Anonymous, Al-Istibsar, p. 222; Kaat, Al-Tarikh Al-Fatash, p. 37; Wanas, History of the City of Kao, pp. 109-111; Nouri, The Spread of Islam, p. 219.

44 – about the standard of living, see Wanas, History of the City of Kao, p. 195; Zabadia, Senghi Kingdom, pp. 118-119