Battle of Kirina
The
Battle of Kirina (c.
1240) is a semi-historical confrontation between the
Sosso king
Sumanguru Kanté and the
Mandinka prince
Sundiata Keita. Sundiata Keita's forces roundly defeated those of Sumanguru Kanté, guaranteeing the pre-eminence of Keita's new
Mali Empire over
West Africa.
By the late twelfth century, the formerly dominant
Ghana Empire had collapsed, following the repeated invasions of the
Almoravids in the eleventh century. A number of smaller neighboring states rushed to fill the power void, including the
Sosso people of the
Takrur region, and the
Mandinka people of the Upper
Niger. Under the leadership of Sumanguru Kanté, the Sosso seized
Koumbi Saleh, former capital of the Ghana Empire, and expanded outward, conquering the Mandinka among others.
However, the exiled Mandinka prince Sundiata Keita organized a coalition of smaller kingdoms to oppose the growing power of the Sosso. The opposing armies met in the
Koulikoro Region of what is now
Mali in about 1240. Sundiata Keita's forces were victorious, and marched on to raze Sosso. The date is often cited as the beginning of the Mali Empire, which would control most of West Africa for the next two centuries.
The story of the battle is retold in the
Epic of Sundiata, widely considered Mali's
national epic. In it, Sumanguru Kanté is an evil sorcerer-king who oppresses the Mandinka people; however, when Sundiata discovers that his sacred animal is the
rooster, he is able to wound Soumaoro Kanté with an arrow tipped by a cock's spur. The Sosso king then flees the field, disappearing into the Koulikoro mountains.
*Davidson, Basil.
Africa in History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.
*
Summary of the Epic of Sundiata*
Sundiata and Mansa Musa on the Web
