Amadu Amadu
Encyclopedia
Amadu Amadu (b.1830 -16 May 1862) was the last ruler (Imam
or Amir al-Mu´minin)(1853 – 16 May 1862) of the Fula
Massina Empire
in what is now the Mopti Region
of Mali
. Amadu Amadu was the grandson of the Empire's founder, Seku Amadu
and assumed the throne following his father Amadu Seku
's 1852 abdication.
In 1861 Toucouleur
conqueror El Hadj Umar Tall
took Ségou
from its Bambara
rulers and launched a fresh jihad
down river against the Massina. After a series of bloody battles in which more than 70,000 men died, Amadu Amadu's forces were defeated on the fields before the Empire's capital, Hamdullahi
. On March 16, 1862, the city fell, and Amadu Amadu was captured by the Toucouleur and put to death. Though his brother Balobo
briefly continued resistance against the Toucouleur, Amadu Amadu's death and the loss of Hamdullahi marked the end of the Massina Empire as an effective force in the region.
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
or Amir al-Mu´minin)(1853 – 16 May 1862) of the Fula
Fula people
Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...
Massina Empire
Massina Empire
The Massina Empire was an early nineteenth-century Fulbe Jihad state centered in the Macina and Inner Niger Delta area of what is now the Mopti and Ségou Regions of Mali...
in what is now the Mopti Region
Mopti Region
Mopti is the fifth administrative region of Mali, covering 79,017 km². Its capital is the city of Mopti.-Geography:Mopti Region is bordered by Tombouctou Region to the north, Ségou Region to the southwest, and Burkina Faso to the southeast....
of Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
. Amadu Amadu was the grandson of the Empire's founder, Seku Amadu
Seku Amadu
Seku Amadu was the founder of the Fula Massina Empire in what is now the Mopti Region of Mali...
and assumed the throne following his father Amadu Seku
Amadu Seku
-External links:* *....
's 1852 abdication.
In 1861 Toucouleur
Toucouleur
The Toucouleurs are a Fula agricultural people who live primarily in West Africa: the north of Senegal in the Senegal River valley, Mauritania, and Mali.-History:...
conqueror El Hadj Umar Tall
Umar Tall
El Hadj Umar ibn Sa'id Tall , , born in what is now actual Senegal was a West African political leader, Islamic scholar, and Toucouleur military commander who founded a brief empire encompassing much of what is now Guinea, Senegal, and Mali.-Name:Umar Tall's name is spelled variously: in...
took Ségou
Ségou
Ségou is a city in south-central Mali, lying northeast of Bamako on the River Niger, in the region of Ségou. It was founded by the Bozo people, on a site about from the present town...
from its Bambara
Bambara Empire
The Bamana Empire was a large pre-colonial West African state based at Ségou, now in Mali. It was ruled by the Kulubali or Coulibaly dynasty established circa 1640 by Kaladian Coulibaly also known as Fa Sine or Biton-si-u...
rulers and launched a fresh jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
down river against the Massina. After a series of bloody battles in which more than 70,000 men died, Amadu Amadu's forces were defeated on the fields before the Empire's capital, Hamdullahi
Hamdullahi
Hamdullahi was a nineteenth-century imamate in what is now the Mopti Region of Mali...
. On March 16, 1862, the city fell, and Amadu Amadu was captured by the Toucouleur and put to death. Though his brother Balobo
Balobo
Balobo, or Ba Lobbo, was the son of Massina Empire ruler Amadu Seku, and brother of Amadu Amadu, the Empire's last king.After the 1862 fall of the Empire's capital Hamdullahi to El Hadj Umar Tall's Toucouleur Empire, Amadu Amadu was captured and executed, leaving Balobo the leader of remaining...
briefly continued resistance against the Toucouleur, Amadu Amadu's death and the loss of Hamdullahi marked the end of the Massina Empire as an effective force in the region.