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The water resource of Songhai is the Niger River. The Niger River is a source of trade, movement, agriculture, and food.
The Songhai agriculture was mainly composed of spices and kola nuts. Agriculture and surplus goes hand in hand.

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The Songhai empire lasted from about 1375 to 1591. It was the largest and the last of the three major pre-colonial empires from West Africa. It was developed out of the kingdom of Gao. Ruler Sunni Ali Ber helped the Songhai empire in the take over of Mali.

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It was a great cosmopolitan market place where kola nuts, gold, ivory, slaves, spices, palm oil and precious woods were traded in exchange for salt, cloth, arms, horses and copper. Islam had been introduced to the royal court of Songhai in 1019, but most people remained faithful to their traditional religion.

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In 1493, Askia Muhammad became the leader of the Songhai. He brought the Songhai Empire to its height of power and founded the Askia Dynasty. Askia Muhammad was a devout Muslim. Under his rule, Islam became an important part of the empire. He conquered much of the surrounding lands and took control of the gold and salt trade from the Mali Empire.
In the mid-1500's the Songhai Empire began to weaken due to internal strife and civil war. In 1591, the Moroccan army invaded and captured the cities of Timbuktu and Gao. The empire collapsed and was divided into a number of separate smaller states.

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The Songhai culture became a blend of traditional West African beliefs and the religion of Islam. Daily life was often ruled by traditions and local customs, but the law of the land was based on Islam. The slave trade became an important part of the Songhai Empire.

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Mandé, Soninke, Fula (in Mali), Hausa, Toubou, Kanuri (in Niger). The Songhai people (also Songhay or Sonrai) are an ethnic group in West Africa who speak Songhai languages. Their history and lingua franca is linked to the Songhai Empire which dominated the western Sahel in the 15th and 16th century.

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Geography - Songhai Empire. The Songhai Empire is located in the West African Empire, A.D. 1500. It is also on the Niger river near Gao, Rainforest, Niger river and Sahara Desert. The grasses of the Savanna are some of the landforms found on the Songhai Empire