Sundiata Keita also known as Manding Diara, Lion of Mali, Sogolon Djata, son of Sogolon, Nare Maghan, and Sogo Sogo Simbon Salaba) was a prince and founder of the Mali Empire.
Sundiata was crippled from childhood and his mother (Sogolon) was the subject of ridicule among her co-wives. She was constantly teased and ridiculed openly for her son’s disability. This significantly affected Sundiata and he was determined to do everything he possibly could to walk like his peers. Through this determination, he one day miraculously got up and walked. Among his peers, he became a leader.
When King Soumaoro Kanté of Sosso conquered the Mandinka people, messengers were sent to go and look for Sogolon and her children, as Sundiata was destined to be a great leader according to prophecy. On his return, he was accompanied by an army given to him by the King of Mema. The warlords of Mali at the time who were his age group included: Tabon Wana, Kamadia Kamara (or Kamadia Camara), Faony Condé, Siara Kuman Konaté and Tiramakhan Traore (many variations: “Trimaghan” or “Tiramaghan”, the future conqueror of Kaabu).
It was on the plain of Siby (var: Sibi) where they formed a pact brotherhood in order to liberate their country and people from the powerful Sosso king. At The Battle of Kirina, Sundiata and his allies defeated the Sosso king, and he became the first Emperor of the Mali Empire. He was the first of the Mandinka line of kings to adopt the royal title Mansa (king or emperor in the Mandinka language).
It was during his reign that Mali first began to become an economic power, a trend continued by his successors and improved on thanks to the groundwork set by Sundiata, who controlled the region’s trade routes and gold fields. The social and political constitutions of Mali were first codified during the reign of Mansa Sundiata Keita. Known as the Gbara and the Kouroukan Fouga, although not written and even subject to alterations in retelling when they were first recorded in written form, they were part of the social and political norms of Mali. Many of these laws have been incorporated into the constitution of modern-day Mali.
Towards the end of his reign, “absolute security” is reported to have “prevailed throughout his dominion.
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