The Songhai Empire

Which feature made Gao an ideal hub for Songhai’s early trade and growth?

• Access to the Niger as a travel highway

• High mountains protecting the city borders

• Dense forests supplying timber and game

• Isolation far from neighboring kingdoms

What was Sunni Ali’s key military innovation along the Niger River?

• A fleet of fast war canoes

• Camel archers trained for deserts

• Stone fortresses around Gao

• Metal chariots pulled by oxen

Which cities did Sunni Ali capture to strengthen Songhai’s control of trade?

• Timbuktu

• Taghaza

• Djenne

• Kumbi Saleh

Askia Muhammad’s pilgrimage to Mecca led to which outcome for Songhai?

• Greater prestige and new skilled visitors

• Loss of allies across North Africa

• Decline of schools and libraries

• End of trade with the Arabian Peninsula

Which reform improved Songhai’s legal system under Askia Muhammad?

• Strengthening courts with Islamic judges

• Replacing courts with military councils

• Eliminating record keeping in Arabic

• Outlawing scholars from city jobs

How did farmers near the Niger support Songhai’s cities and army?

• Irrigated fields growing rice and millet

• Nomadic herding across the Sahara

• Hunting in dense forest regions

• Fishing exclusively without farming

Which group gained more respect as education expanded under Askia Muhammad?

• Scholars and judges

• Foreign mercenaries

• Traveling bards

• Ship captains

At its peak, how did Songhai’s size compare to Ghana and Mali?

• Larger than both combined

• Smaller than each individually

• Equal to Ghana but not Mali

• Only larger than Ghana

What was a major reason for Songhai’s decline in the late 1500s?

• Moroccan invasion with firearms

• Loss of the Niger River’s course

• Famine caused by failed monsoons

• Collapse of gold mines near Gao

What administrative step connected Songhai more closely to the wider Islamic world?

• Using Arabic for record keeping

• Banning trade with non-Muslims

• Replacing governors with priests

• Ending schools that taught astronomy