Kong is a town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 and commune

Communes of Côte d'Ivoire

The Communes of Côte d'Ivoire are the third-level units of administratiion in Côte d’Ivoire. The Departments of Côte d'Ivoire are split into communes.- A :* Abengourou* Abié* Abigui* Abobo* Aboisso* Aboisso-Comoé* Abolikro* Abongoua* Abongoua...

 in the Ferkessédougou Department

Ferkessédougou Department

Ferkessédougou Department is one of the departments of Côte d'Ivoire. It is one of four departments of Savanes Region.* Ferkessédougou...

, in the Savanes Region of northern Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire

The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...

. It was the capital of the Kong Empire

Kong Empire

The Kong Empire , also known as the Wattara Empire or Ouattara Empire for its founder, was a pre-colonial African Muslim state centered in north eastern Cote d'Ivoire that also encompassed much of present-day Burkina Faso.-Early Period:...

 (1710–1895).

Natural history

Kong is in the in the sub-Saharan Sahel

Sahel

The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....

—tropical Savanna belt

Sudanian Savanna

The Sudanian Savanna is a broad belt of tropical savanna that runs east and west across the African continent, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Ethiopian Highlands in the east. The Sahel, a belt of drier grasslands and acacia savannas, lies to the north, between the Sudanian Savanna and...

 biogeography

Biogeography

Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...

 region, of grasslands with trees, such as the Baobab—Adansonia digitata

Adansonia digitata

Adansonia digitata is the most widespread of the Adansonia species on the African continent, found in the hot, dry savannahs of sub-Saharan Africa. It also grows, having spread secondary to cultivation, in populated areas...

 and Umbrella Thorn Acacia—Acacia tortilis

Acacia tortilis

Acacia tortilis, the Umbrella Thorn Acacia, also known as Umbrella Thorn and Israeli Babool, is a medium to large canopied tree native primarily to the savanna and Sahel of Africa , but also occurring in the Middle East....

 and other species. Comoé National Park

Comoé National Park

Comoé National Park is a national park in north eastern Côte d'Ivoire as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since its inscription in 1983. It is in the Ivoirian Zanzan Region between the towns of Kong to the west of both the park and the Comoé River, and Bouna to the east of the park, and just...

 is to the east.

History

Kong emerged as a trading center when Mali Empire

Mali Empire

The Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka from c. 1230 to c. 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I...

 merchants began trading in the territory of the surrounding Senufo

Senufo

The Senufo are an ethnolinguistic group composed of diverse subgroups of Gur-speaking people living in an area spanning from southern Mali and the extreme western corner of Burkina Faso to Katiola in Côte d'Ivoire. One group, the Nafana, is found in north-western Ghana...

 people. The sous-préfecture of Kong, in the area of Kong to Dabakala

Dabakala

Dabakala is the center town of Dabakala Department of Côte d'Ivoire. Dabakala Department and Dabakala City lie in Vallée du Bandama Region.-References:...

, is said to be the “origin” area, where Mandé

Mandé

Mandé or Manden is a large group of related ethnic groups in West Africa who speak any of the many Mande languages spread throughout the region. Various Mandé groups are found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Chad, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger,...

 ethnic group traders known as the Dioula — Juula migrated from the Niger basin to settle in the 12th century.

The Juula traders brought with them their trading skills and connections, and transformed Kong into an African international market for the exchange of northern desert goods, such as salt and cloth, and southern forest exports such as cola nuts, gold, and slaves.

As Kong grew prosperous from trade its early rulers from the Taraweré clan combined Juula and Senufo traditions, and extended their authority over the surrounding region.

Kong Empire
In 1710, Seku Ouattara (Wattara), a Dioula warrior, invaded the area and conquered the city of Kong with his cavalry. He established himself as ruler and, under his authority, the city rose from a small city-state to the capital of the great Kong Empire

Kong Empire

The Kong Empire , also known as the Wattara Empire or Ouattara Empire for its founder, was a pre-colonial African Muslim state centered in north eastern Cote d'Ivoire that also encompassed much of present-day Burkina Faso.-Early Period:...

. It held sway over much of the region for over 150 years.

19th century
In 1881 Samory Touré expanded his Wassoulou Empire

Wassoulou Empire

The Wassoulou Empire, sometimes referred to as the Mandinka Empire, was a short-lived empire of West Africa built from the conquests of Dyula ruler Samori Ture and destroyed by the French colonial army....

 in conquering the Kong Empire, and destroyed much of the city of Kong. In 1898 the Kong region and city then came under French colonial control, within the French West Africa

French West Africa

French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...

 colony created in 1893.

Features

Despite the Kong Empire's fall from power, their seventeenth century landmark Kong Friday Mosque survived. In the 20th century Kong was largely rebuilt in a traditional earthen Sahelian architecture style. It features a Qur'an

Qur'an

The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...

ic school and distinctive baked mud mosque buildings.