Askia Muhammad Usurps Songhai Throne

1493

Muhammad Ture, a devout Muslim general, overthrew Sunni Ali's son and took the throne as Askia Muhammad. He centralized the Songhai administration, built madrasas at Timbuktu and Djenne, and made the pilgrimage to Mecca with three hundred thousand gold pieces. Islamic West Africa had acquired its most systematic ruler. His administrative reforms made Songhai the most efficiently governed state in West African history.