Great-grandson of former
Ségou king
Kaladian Coulibaly, Mamary Coulibaly settled in Ségou in his youth and soon became head of the Tòn, a voluntary organization for young men, taking the title of "Bitòn." Under Coulibaly's leadership, the Tòn transformed from an egalitarian society into an army supplemented with runaway slaves called the
Ton djon. Prompted by popular uprising against the king of Ségou, the populace suggested he take over the leadership of the Bambara kingdom. Coulibaly quickly subdued rival chiefs of Ségou through a vote a
cloture of the chiefs, and used the city as a capital for his new Bambara Empire. Fortifying himself with defensive techniques from the
Songhai tradition, Coulibaly created a large army and a navy of war
canoes to patrol the
Niger River, staffing both with men captured in his conquests. Coulibaly then proceeded to capture the cities of
Bamako and
Djenne; he also attacked
Tomboctou, though he held the city only briefly. During this time he also founded the city of
Bla as an outpost and armory. He built a
mosque in Ségou. Bitòn Coulibaly was succeeded by
Dinkoro Coulibaly following his death in 1755. The Coulibaly dynasty soon fell to
Ngolo Diarra, a former slave and leader of the
ton djon, in 1766. Slaves had the right to property, and could win their way to nobility, as Diarra did. ==Tomb==