Bamana Empire: Map & History
The Ségou Empire was one of the largest states of West Africa in the 18th century.
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The Ségou Empire was one of the largest states of West Africa in the 18th century. Along with Kaarta it was one of the most important successors of the Songhai Empire. Based on an earlier kingdom established in 1640, it grew into a powerful empire in the early 18th century under Bitòn Coulibaly. The empire existed as a centralized state from 1712 until the 1861 invasion by the Toucouleur conqueror El Hadj Umar Tall.
Modern Countries Once Part of Bamana Empire
At its mapped extent, Bamana Empire covered territory in 1 present-day country. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Bamana Empire's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Bamana Empire in Depth
History
Around 1640, Kaladian Coulibaly, also known as Fa Sine, became the leader of a small Bambara kingdom in the city of Ségou in Mali. Though he made many successful conquests of neighboring tribes and kingdoms, he failed to set up a significant administrative framework, and the new empire disintegrated following his death (c. 1660).
In 1712 Mamari Kulubali, also known as Biton Coulibaly, Kaladian's great-grandson, was elected the leader of a youth organization known as a tòn. Mamari soon reorganized the tòn as a personal army supplemented with runaway slaves, assumed the title of bitòn, and set about overthrowing the traditional political order. He became the first Faama of Ségou, making it the capital of a new Bamana Empire.
Government
The Segou Empire was structured around traditional Bambara institutions. The most important of these was the ton, or age-group. They were in theory completely egalitarian and elected their own leaders. Through charisma and ruthless power politics, however, Biton converted this into essentially an army made up of forobadjon (nominally, slaves of the community) led by tondjons, or slaves of the ton but who were in practice a military aristocracy. Any faama strong enough to control the tondjons was in effect an absolute monarch, doling out state property as rewards for bravery. A 40-man council of state swore allegiance and obedience to him and served as a rubber stamp. Relatives were given key posts, and the faama was the head priest of powerful and important religious cults.
Economy
The economy of the Segou Empire flourished through trade, especially that of the slaves captured in their many wars. One category of slave, the jonfin, could be sold; another, the jonba were put to work by the state either as laborers or as soldiers in the ton djon. The demand for slaves then led to further fighting, leaving the Bambara in a perpetual state of war with their neighbors, and slaves from the area formed the majority of those sold to European traders at the Senegal River and Gambia River trading posts.
Trade was conducted largely by Muslim maraka merchants who traded across the Sahara or towards the coast. They exchanged guns, shell money, horses, salt, gold, cloth, and slaves.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Ségou Empire (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Bamana Empire: Key Facts
| Capital | Ségou |
|---|---|
| Religion | ancestor worship |
| Founded | 1712 |
| Dissolved | 1861 |
Facts from Wikidata Q762084 (CC0).
Bamana Empire Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Bamana Empire appears, with the other states of the time.
Bamana Empire Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 104,716 km² in 1811 CE.
Bamana Empire: Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Bamana Empire exist?
The Bamana Empire is dated to 1713 CE – 1821 CE, in the Early Modern & Age of Discovery era.
What was the capital of the Bamana Empire?
The capital of the Bamana Empire was Ségou.
How large was the Bamana Empire at its peak?
At its peak in 1811 the Bamana Empire covered about 104,716 km².
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