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https://www.britannica.com/place/Songhai-empire
https://www.worldhistoryedu.com/songhai-empire-history-and-major-facts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Askia_Mohammad_I
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonni_Ali
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songhai_Empire#:~:text=The%20trade%20goods%20included%20gold,living%20along%20the%20trade%20routes.

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Their music consists of minor pentatonic scale and recognizable lute fingerpicking style with singing. Songay's art was pottery,and their artifacts were statues like masks and molds.

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Important Leaders (Sonni Ali, Askia Muhammad) 

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Important Leaders (Sonni Ali, Askia Muhammad) 

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Sonni Ali was the first leader of the Songhay Empire. He is best known for conquering Timbuktu and Djenné.
Askia Muhammad was a very devoud Muslim and brought islam to a large part of West Africa in his time. He also just snatched the salt and gold trade from Mali because he could and because it could be profitable.

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The trade goods included gold, salt, slaves, kola nuts, leather, dates, and ivory.

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What they exchanged for their resources (Imports)

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What they exchanged for their resources (Imports)

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The main imports were salts, textiles, horses, and luxury goods. The salt was especially useful, because it could be traded elsewhere and it kept their meat fresh

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Influences on the Songhai Empire from Outside Contact.

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Influences on the Songhai Empire from Outside Contact.

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Under the rule of king Askia Muhammad, he converted to Muslim and tried imposing Muslim laws on its citizens and appointed people as Muslim officials for major cities. The Songhai also had control of the trade port in Timbuktu on the Niger River starting in 1469 CE and conquered Djenne in 1473 CE, neither of which gave them access to the gold fields used by Ghana and Mali. Trading allowed the Songhai to receive salts, textiles, horses, cloth, glassware, and sugar.

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King Mohammad's rule of Songhai made people in urban areas adopt Islam while rural areas still believed in animist beliefs. Trading for salt preserved meat which helped to significantly reduce the chance of famine sweeping the empire for the first half of its existence.

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How These influences Affected the Songhai Empire

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How These influences Affected the Songhai Empire

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Trading salt allowed for them to preserve meat and keep it from going bad. King Mohammad even tried to make Islam as the state religion which failed in the rural areas.