Mansa Sakura or Mansa Sakoura was the sixth mansa

Mansa

Mansa is a Mandinka word meaning "king of kings". It is particularly associated with the Keita Dynasty of the Mali Empire, which dominated West Africa from the thirteenth to the fifthteenth century...

 of the 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...

. A slave

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

 at birth, Sakura was freed and became a general in the army of Sundiata Keita

Sundiata Keita

Sundiata Keita, Sundjata Keyita, Mari Djata I or just Sundiata was the founder of the Mali Empire and celebrated as a hero of the Malinke people of West Africa in the semi-historical Epic of Sundiata....

, legendary founder of the Mali Empire. After a debilitating struggle for succession between Sundiata's sons Ouati Keita

Ouati Keita

Mansa Wati was the third mansa of the Mali Empire reigning from 1270 to 1274.Mansa Wati was one of two adopted children from among Sundjata's generals. He was raised in the royal court as a prince alongside the previous mansa Uli and another adopted sibling named Khalifa...

 and Khalifa Keita

Khalifa Keita

'Mansa Khalifawas the fourth mansa of the Mali Empire. He ruled the empire for only a year from 1274 to his assassination in 1275.Mansa Khalifa or Khalifah was an adopted son of the legendary founder Sundiata Keita. Like Mansa Wati before him, Khalifa was actually the son of an imperial general...

 and his grandson Abu Bakr

Abu Bakr (mansa)

Abu Bakr, also known as Abubakari I or Manding Bory, was the fifth Mansa of the Mali Empire, reigning from 1275 to 1285.He was born Manding Bory to mother Namandjé, third wife to Naré Maghan kon Fatta...

, Sakura seized control of the throne himself in about 1285. Near-contemporary historian Ibn Khaldun

Ibn Khaldun

Ibn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun was an Arab Tunisian historiographer and historian who is often viewed as one of the forerunners of modern historiography, sociology and economics...

 records that under Sakura's leadership, the Empire made a number of new conquests (most notably of Gao

Gao

Gao is a town in eastern Mali on the River Niger lying ESE of Timbuktu. Situated on the left bank of the river at the junction with the Tilemsi valley, it is the capital of the Gao Region and had a population of 86,663 in 2009....

), becoming the dominant political, economic, and military force in the Western Sudan

Sudan (region)

The Sudan is the name given to a geographic region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western to Eastern Africa. The name derives from the Arabic bilâd as-sûdân or "land of the Blacks"...

. Sakura performed the Hajj

Hajj

The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...

 but was killed (c. 1300) at Tadjoura

Tadjoura

Tadjoura is the oldest town in Djibouti and the capital of the Tadjourah region. Lying on the Gulf of Tadjoura, it is home to a population of around 25,000 inhabitants.Tadjoura has an airstrip and is linked by ferry with Djibouti City...

 near Djibouti

Djibouti

Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...

 by Danakil

Danakil

Danakil may refer to the following:*Danakil, an old ethnonym referring to:**Afar people**Afar language*Afar Depression *Danakil Desert...

 warriors hungry for his gold . He was succeeded by Sundiata

Sundiata

Sundiata is a given name or surname, and may refer to:* Ibrahim K. Sundiata, American historian* Sekou Sundiata, African-American poet and performer* Sundiata Acoli , African-American prisoner...

's nephew Gao

Gao (mansa)

Gao was Mansa of the Mali Empire from 1300 to 1305.Mansa Gao was one of two sons of Kolonkan. Kolonkan was a sister of the legendary founder Sundiata Keita. The mansa assumed the throne following the murder of the usurper Sakura on his return from the hajj. He ruled until 1305, when he was...

.

See also

• 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...
  
  
• Keita Dynasty
  Keita Dynasty
  The Keita Dynasty ruled pre-Imperial and Imperial Mali from the 12th century into the early 17th century. It was a Muslim Dynasty, and its rulers claimed descent from Bilal. Bilal was a freed slave who accepted Islam and became one of the Sahabas of the Prophet Muhammad. Bilal bears the...