You’ve heard of Caesar. You’ve heard of Napoleon. But have you heard of Askia the Great?
In 1493, just a year after Columbus set sail for the Americas, Askia Mohammed Toure rose to power in West Africa and built the Songhai Empire into one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen.
He ruled a realm said to be larger than all of Europe. His capital, Timbuktu, became the Harvard of the 16th century—where students studied law, grammar, surgery, and philosophy under renowned scholars.
Books were imported from North Africa and sold for more than gold. Doctors, judges, and scholars earned high salaries from the king himself. Timbuktu had over 100,000 people, with libraries, schools, and mosques that rivaled any in Europe or Asia.
Askia didn’t just conquer—he reformed the military, built a strong financial system, and promoted education and justice. Henry Barth called him “one of the most brilliant and enlightened administrators of all time.”
It’s time to rewrite the narrative.
It’s time the world remembered ASKIA THE GREAT.
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