Pre-Imperial Mali
The Mandinka kingdoms of Mali or Manden had already existed several centuries before Sundiata’s unification as a small state just to the south of the Soninké empire of Wagadou, better known as the Ghana Empire. This area was composed of mountains, savannah and forest providing ideal protection and resources for the population of hunters. Those not living in the mountains formed small city-states such as Toron, Ka-Ba and Niani. The Keita dynasty from which nearly every Mali emperor came traces its lineage back to Bilal, the faithful muezzin of Islam’s prophet Muhammad. It was common practice during the Middle Ages for both Christian and Muslim rulers to tie their bloodline back to a pivotal figure in their faith’s history. So while the lineage of the Keita dynasty may be dubious at best, oral chroniclers have preserved a list of each Keita ruler from Lawalo (supposedly one of Bilal’s seven sons whom settled in Mali) to Maghan Kon Fatta (father of Sundiata Keita).The Kangaba Province
During the height of Wagadou's power, the land of Manden became one of its provinces. The Manden city-state of Ka-ba (present-day Kangaba) served as the capital and name of this province. From at least the beginning of the 11th century, Mandinka kings known as faamas ruled Manden from Ka-ba in the name of the Ghanas.The Twelve Kingdoms
Wagadou's control over Manden came to a halt after 14 years of war with the Almoravides, Muslims of mostly Berber extraction from North Africa. The Almoravide general Abu Bekr captured and burned the Wagadou capital of Kumbi Saleh in 1076 ending its dominance over the area. However, the Almoravides were unable to hold onto the area, and it was quickly retaken by the weakened Soninké. The Kangaba province, free of both Soninké and Berber influence, splintered into twelve kingdoms with their own maghan (meaning prince) or faama. Manden was split in half with the Dodougou territory to the northeast and the Kri territory to the southwest.
The tiny kingdom of Niani was one of several in the Kri area of Manden. The Kaniaga Rulers
In approximately 1140 the Sosso kingdom of Kaniaga, a former vassal of Wagadou, began conquering the lands of its old masters. By 1180 it had even subjugated Wagadou forcing the Soninké to pay tribute. In 1203, the Sosso king Soumaoro of the Kanté clan came to power and reportedly terrorized much of Manden stealing women and goods from both Dodougou and Kri.
The Lion Prince
During the rise of Kaniaga, Sundiata of the Keita clan was born around 1217 AD. He was the son of Niani’s faama, Nare Fa (also known as Maghan Kon Fatta meaning the handsome prince). Sundiata’s mother was Maghan Kon Fatta’s second wife, Sogolon Kédjou. She was a hunchback from the land of Do, south of Mali. The child of this marriage received the first name of his mother (Sogolon) and the surname of his father (Djata). Combined in the rapidly spoken language of the Mandinka, the names formed Sondjata or Sundjata. The anglicized version of this name, Sundiata, is also popular.Maghan Sundiata was prophesized to become a great conqueror. To his parent's dread, the prince did not have a promising start. Maghan Sundiata, according to the oral traditions, did not walk until he was seven years old. However, once Sundiata did gain use of his legs he grew strong and very respected. Sadly for Sundiata, this did not occur before his father died. Despite the faama of Niani’s wishes to respect the prophecy and put Sundiata on the throne, the son from his first wife Sassouma Bérété was crowned instead. As soon as Sassouma’s son Dankaran Touman took the throne, he and his mother forced the increasingly popular Sundiata into exile along with his mother and two sisters. Before Dankaran Touman and his mother could enjoy their unimpeded power, King Soumaoro set his sights on Niani forcing Dankaran to flee to Kissidougou.
After many years in exile, first at the court of Wagadou and then at Mema, Sundiata was sought out by a Niani delegation and begged to combat the Sosso and free the kingdoms of Manden forever.
Battle of Kirina
Returning with the combined armies of Mema, Wagadou and all the rebellious Mandinka city-states, Maghan Sundiata led a revolt against the Kaniaga Kingdom around 1234. The combined forces of northern and southern Manden defeated the Sosso army at the Battle of Kirina (then known as Krina ) in approximately 1235. This victory resulted in the fall of the Kaniaga kingdom and the rise of the Mali Empire. After the victory, King Soumaoro disappeared, and the Mandinka stormed the last of the Sosso cities. Maghan Sundiata was declared “faama of faamas” and received the title “mansa”, which translates roughly to emperor. At the age of 18, he gained authority over all the twelve kingdoms in an alliance known as the Manden Kurufa. He was crowned under the throne name Mari Djata becoming the first Mandinka emperor. Manden Kurufa
The Mali Empire was the second in a wave of successive states forged in the Sahel characterized by stronger and stronger centralization. Whereas the Ghana Empire had very little centralization outside of the edicts of its emperor, the Mali Empire would emerge as West Africa’s first federalized state with sweeping laws that were more or less uniform over an area roughly the size of Western Europe. This trend of centralization would be adopted and further developed by the Songhai during Mali’s decline as well as Bamana, Wolof and Fula states thereafter.Organization
The Manden Kurufa founded by Mari Djata I was composed of the “three freely allied states” of Mali, Mema and Wagadou plus the Twelve Doors of Mali. It is important to remember that Mali, in this sense, strictly refers to the city-state of Niani.Mema was a powerful city-state near the bend of the Niger River outside of Manden. It was allied to Sundiata throughout his campaign against Kaniaga. Its faama (sometimes referred to as a mansa in oral traditions) was allowed to keep his crown and not prostrate before Sundiata, because of the latter’s exile at that court.
Wagadou, another land outside of Manden, was also allowed to keep its monarch. The Ghana ("warrior-king") of Wagadou received the same benefits as Mema and for the same reasons.
The twelve doors of Mali were a coalition of conquered or allied territories, mostly within Manden, with sworn allegiance to Sundiata and his descendants. Upon stabbing their spears into the ground before Sundiata’s throne, each of the twelve kings relinquished their kingdom to the Keita dynasty. In return for their submission, they became “farbas” a combination of the Mandinka words “farin” and “ba" (great farin). Farin was a general term for northern commander at the time. These farbas would rule their old kingdoms in the name of the mansa with most of the authority they held prior to joining the Manden Kurufa.
The Kouroukan Fouga
Immediately after being crowned mansa, Mari Djata instituted a universal constitution for all subjects of his new state called the Kouroukan Fouga. At a site just outside the town of Kangaba, he formalized the government and established the Gbara or Great Assembly.
The Great Assembly
The Gbara or Great Assembly would serve as the Mandinka deliberative body until the collapse of the Manden Kurufa in 1645. Its first meeting, at the famous Kouroukan Fouga (Division of the World), had 29 clan delegates presided over by a belen-tigui (master of ceremony). The final incarnation of the Gbara, according to the surviving traditions of northern Guinea, held 32 positions occupied by 28 clans.
Social, economic, and government reform
The Kouroukan Fouga also put in place social and economic reforms including prohibitions on the maltreatment of prisoners and slaves, installing women in government circles and placing a system of banter between clans which clearly stated who could say what about in who. Also, Sundiata divided the lands amongst the people assuring everyone had a place in the empire and fixed exchange rates for common products.Another crucial fact established at the Kouroukan Fouga was the supremacy of Manden over all realms controlled by or allied to the federation including Wagadou and Mema. All future mansas would have to be chosen from the Keita clan, and the city-state of Niani (in present-day Guinea) would become the federal capital. Mansa Mari Djata returned to and rebuilt the capital of Niani, which had been destroyed by Soumaoro in his absence, and made it the most important center of trade in West Africa for the next 200 years.
Mari Djata I
Mansa Mari Djata’s reign saw the conquest and or annexation of several key locals in the Mali Empire. When the campaigning was done, his empire extended 1,000 miles east to west with those borders being the bends of the Senegal and Niger Rivers respectively. After unifying Manden, he added the Wangara goldfields making them the southern border. The northern commercial towns of Oualata and Audaghost were also conquered and became part of the new state’s northern border. Wagadou and Mema became junior partners in the realm and part of the imperial nucleus. The lands of Bambougou, Jalo ( Fouta Djallon), and Kaabu were added into Mali by Fakoli Koroma, Fran Kamara, and Tiramakhan Traore, respectively.
When Mari Djata I dies, as the result of either drowning in the Sankarani river or an errant arrow in a celebration, he had a standing army and control over the coveted trans-Saharan trade routes.